Kandukondain Kandukondain

I came to this film with the background of having watched and thoroughly Bride & Prejudice, and having not read Austen's Sense & Sensibility. (I did re-read P& P after watching B&P and enjoyed the contrast.) I was intrigued to see a "real" Indian movie, since Bride & Prejudice is by its own admission a blend of Bollywood and Hollywood. When I read the reviews of I Have Found It on Amazon, I was intrigued by comments about the difference between Tamil movies such as this and Bollywood musicals. With that and of course Aishwarya Rai to attract me to this film, I was expecting something good, and I was very much rewarded. I have the Kino DVD which has good subtitles. I particularly liked Major Bala--my hat's off to Mammootty for his portrayal of a man torn between love and the fear of pity. He is the steady center-point while the rest of the characters whirl tumultuously around. In addition to funny scenes, as when Manohar meets Sowmya, there are many funny comments (e.g., about the necessary elements of Tamil films) and visuals (e.g., the opening shot of a waterfall that seems so romantic but turns into a military scene). Probably a lot more if you know India and its film industry. The songs do manage to convey some of the story and not just stop the speeding train (another of Menon's comments on Tamil films), especially my favorite in which Meenu laments losing her poetry. This is a film one can enjoy over and over.

Having watched Bride and Prejudice and being an Austen fan, I was more than curious to see how this adaptation of Sense and Sensibility would turn out. What a treat! This film takes the basic plot line of two sister's and their journey with love. There is an older sister who longs for love, yet puts family above her own needs, and the younger one, who nearly misses true love because of her inability to see past her romanticized ideas. The opening battle scenes are definitely not Austen, and neither are all the MTVized song and dance numbers. BUT, that's what makes this movie a unique screen experience. It's the blending of Western and Eastern ideas of a universal plot: love lost and love regained. There is comedy, romance, even action in this one. We are becoming definite fans of Bollywood films. They bring a new twist to the old Hollywood musicals of yesteryear, and subtitles don't get in the way of the entertainment. Very colorful, fun, and even enchanting.

The few Bollywood films I've seen have usually thrown me for a loop - I have trouble holding on to all of the plot points when the music videos interrupt - but this one grabbed me and wouldn't let go. When the dancing happened, the story wasn't destroyed. The constant gorgeous visuals helped carry me through, and the actors were completely engaging. It was great to be able to enjoy Jane Austen again, without knowing quite what would happen next.

Someone must have misunderstood the system when rating this movie. It's far better than the 6.1 it has right now. The only trouble I noticed was that Miss World kept outshining her surroundings, and occasionally drew my attention away from the story. No complaints, though.

Indian movies are unlike any other movies I have ever seen--and I've seen a lot of foreign films! I was initially surprised to see some very odd clichés--even in a drama like this reworking of Jane Austin's Sense and Sensibility the actors periodically break into MTV-like music video songs! The first couple times, this movie really surprised me--as out of no where, groups of dancers magically appeared and the main characters suddenly appeared in such diverse locales as Scotland and Egypt! However, once I got past the oddness of this and the music, I found I actually liked the musical numbers--they were strangely endearing.

But, the best thing about this story was the script. It started off weird--with a group of Indian soldiers being ambushed while on a peace-keeping mission. I certainly did NOT remember that when I read the book!! Try to look past this and the singing and you will find a very vibrant script with characters you really care about and that will touch your heart. I found myself getting quite misty-eyed near the movie's conclusion!

Mammoty was able to show his emotions perfectly. Ajith also has done well . Both aiswarya rai and tabbu also performed well