Boys

Boys," the 2003 Tamil film directed by Shankar, might not have been a massive hit at the time of its release, but it's a movie that has aged surprisingly well. Back then, it was criticized for its bold portrayal of youth culture, relationships, and the rebellion against societal norms. However, in today's context, where audiences are more open to exploring different narratives, "Boys" could easily find its place as a cult classic.

The film centers around a group of college friends Munna, Babu, Juju, Kumar, and Krishna who are carefree and deeply entrenched in their youthful exuberance. Their lives take a dramatic turn when Munna falls in love with Harini, leading to a series of events that test their friendships, dreams, and relationships. The movie doesn't shy away from exploring themes like love, lust, ambition, and the consequences of impulsive decisions.

One of the film's highlights is its music, composed by A. R. Rahman. The soundtrack of "Boys" was groundbreaking at the time, with tracks like "Girlfriend," "Dating," and "Secret of Success" becoming instant hits. Rahman's music perfectly captures the energy and spirit of the youth, and even today, the songs are enjoyed by fans across generations.

Comedian Vivek's role as Mangalam, a street-smart marriage broker and bank employee, is another standout element of the film. His witty one-liners and impeccable timing provide much-needed comic relief amidst the drama. Vivek's character also serves as a voice of reason, often delivering sharp critiques of society's hypocrisy, which resonates even more today.

The movie's portrayal of friendship and the struggles of young adults is something that many can relate to, even after two decades. The way the film addresses issues like parental pressure, career choices, and the clash between tradition and modernity was ahead of its time. If "Boys" were released now, it would likely be appreciated for its boldness and the way it challenges outdated mindsets.

Yes, the film has its flaws, with some scenes and dialogues feeling a bit over the top. However, it's important to view "Boys" through the lens of the era it was made in. The movie dared to be different, and while it may not have been perfect, it certainly wasn't as bad as many critics made it out to be. In fact, it's a film that grows on you with repeated viewings.

In conclusion, "Boys" is a film that deserves a second chance. With A. R. Rahman's incredible music, Vivek's perfect comedic timing, and a storyline that resonates with the struggles of youth, it's a movie that could very well have been a blockbuster if it had been released in today's more accepting and open-minded climate.

Most of the criticism surrounding Boys more or less relates to Shankars traditional story lines with high morals and family entertainment. Boys in far from a family movie and it is perhaps the most sexually explicit Tamil movie to ever come out, without actually having any nudity after censorship.

Boys is thus something one just cannot watch together with the family as most of it concerns the sexual adventures of 5 Boys, all newcomers, putting in superb performances. Now, while people who consider themselves morally upright and strict may find this embarrassing, most of the actual teenagers of India will actually be disturbed at how accurately it depicts what they actually do, without their parents knowing.

Boys will be Boys and that needs to be accepted. Society is'nt as squeaky clean as one would like to believe. First the teen, especially college going, audience will be disturbed, then thrilled and then appreciative. This made the movie a success in the cities but a lot of revenue actually comes from conservative suburbs and villages where people viewing will not have a clue of whats going on since the movie reflects the behavior of mostly, socialite urban populace.

But with Shankar's style and AR Rehman's music, Boys is certainly a superb movie if you don't have any of the reservations discussed above. It does'nt have a great storyline on the line of Indian, Mudhalvan etc but Shankar injects quality into each and every scene, making this movie highly enjoyable from the beginning to the end. Its just sheer bloody fun and genius.

This is a first of its kind teen drama in Tamil. Puthiya paadhai, indru poi naalai vaa,pudhiya mannargal, kadhal desam have equal share of teen drama but not raw enough like Boys. The visionary of youngsters predicted in 2003 is brilliant.

Vikatan wrote 'Chiiii' on its first page but now giving reviews to trash like Iruttu arayil murattu kuthu, hara hara mahadevaki, zombie etc in the name of A movie.

This is a gem for many reason. Everyone starred in this movie got a better life. Panjum panjum sernda thappu, Dating, Barbie doll anime, 6 ambitioous people starting a music brand, getting sony sponsor, Mtv shows oh my god a lotttt of things that people doesn't even knew existed.

This movie was spoiled by the boomer 80s kids who objected this like its a sin for people to enjoy their life, elope, find their way in life.

The audio track of this movie is a GEM. This is a dictionary book for electrifying music. Even after 20 years the songs are so fresh and enjoyable. I'm a fan of 'Ayyappan' song. Most underrated. Just look at the artists in this movie - Karthik, Tippu, Sunitha Sarathy, Adnan Sami, Blazze, vasundra Das, Clinton, Lucky Ali uffff...🔥 Secret of success is such a motivational song.

The main story is 5 teen boys who are controlled by their parents wants to break the chain and live a free life. One of them falls in love with a girl, supported by their friends, plans to elope. To get their life going they opt in for their interest of life - starting a music band named 'Boys'. Remaining of the movie describes the adventures they go through, downfall, struggles in life on the way to success.

Vivek gets a great credit to this movie. He motivates them, advises them, helps them, lateral thinking etc. Sendhil appears for just 2 scenes in the movie but explains Data and Information concepts - Information is wealth.

I still gave 8 rating only because of the obscene scenes which are not needed in the movie. Those scenes almost dilutes what director wants to convey. If those portions were edited, this movie might make an impact.

Let kids be free. Let them go out of house, let them try new things, let them learn life on their own, let them figure out their future that's all its about.

I had a chance to see a trailer of this movie in a cinema theater and it looked modestly impressive but I imagined that it would be the standard Tamil movie fare and thus not worth wasting precious time on.

A day before of its release, one of my buddies proudly flashed his first-day-first-show ticket at me. I wondered if this movie was really worth bragging about? Then I learned that it was by the same director and writer who made Indian (Hindustani), Mudhalvan, Gentleman, Kaadhalan and Jeans. The First three movies were really good and the first and last were Indian's entries for the Oscars, so I speculated that this movie "Boys" could possibly be good.

A few days after the movie released, it was was the talk of the Town and the entire college was raving about it. Every single discussion was about Boys, Boys and Boys. People bragged that they had seen it 6 times already and were going to see it again. It kinda was like the Itchy and Scratchy movie hype in a Simpsons episode. I finally got to see this movie in the cinema. When we went and asked if we could get a ticket, the salesman said that "It was Boys for crying out! House full". We had to grab some quick tickets in black. Unfortunately, all the controversies caused by this movie had lead to all sorts of censorship already.

First of all, one must congratulate Shankar for a very daring and bold initiative in Boys, especially given how conservative the people of Tamil Nadu can be. This movie is extremely sexually explicit and I believe that it even had nudity before the censor cuts. Shankars big mistake was to advertise this as a family movie which it certainly is not. Any parent who sees this movie, especially those conservative ones from TN, are going to be furious. I believe that this was what cost the movie its performance in Box office and commercial success. The audience of middle class teenagers and college students was simply not enough to ensure it a box office success.

Molestation charges There is one song "Girlfriend" in this movie which could possibly just fall under the category of eve teasing or even molestation by sex-hungry Boys. This is probably what caused the most disturbance and did not let people see beyond think, leading to very harsh criticism of the movie in many circles. I would also imagine that women would be a bit uncomfortable with the scenes shown, to say the least. However, they fail to realize that it was just one song which had that and that it was JUST A MOVIE.

Stupid People vs a Great movie

You gotta know that the general population of Tamil Nadu actually went on riots and burnt effigies of a single celebrity who dared to say that premarital sex was OK. They also burnt effigies of the single supporter she had. Such were the conservative and village minded people who Shankar had to unfortunately deal with.

It really made my blood boil to see that so many good scenes and dialog from this movie were cut voluntarily. I've seen this movie 6 times already and would kill for an uncensored version. In contrast, the people of Andhra Pradesh, famous for its modernity, loved this movie.

Technical Aspects

As with all Shankar movies, every single technical aspect from dialog to screenplay to cinematography is top notch and by far the best of all his movies and also on par if not better than every single Tamil movie out there. The dialog is hilarious and extremely creative. Its impossible to come up with stuff like that seen in this movie. Every single action and hilarious antic in this movie has its consequences which are shown and utilized till the very end.

The acting is super-realistic. Shankar really knows how to get the best out of everybody. The acting of every single person including every extra is superlative and draws you in deeply. The freshly introduced cast of Boys are amazing actors.

Shankar has really explored the teenage life and antics of the Boys. He has also effectively portrayed their perspectives of the world, their studies and their parents, who are generally not shown in very good light but like I said, it was extremely realistic and something many can relate to. The Screenplay is unbelievable.

Social Message

Who says that this movie doesn't have a social message? It has a very important one and that is Love and Passion vs Getting Settled in Life which every parent wants a quick solution to. Every conservative family wants to get their children settled in life as soon as possible but completely ignores the personal life and needs of the child. Its an extremely good message if one could just keep and open mind and see the movie till the very end.

Songs

I used to hate the songs at first but truth be told, they are awesome. After seeing this movie, I really started to like the songs and they had some true significance and relation to the plot. The songs were all super hits, done by none other than AR Rahman who unfortunately went and blabbered something about Boys running successfully only due to the songs, leading Shankar to ditch him for his unfortunate crapfest, Anniyan.

Conclusion

Indeed, Boys may not be for everyone and one really has to keep an open mind while watching it, especially if one is a woman. Teenagers should have no problems. Having said that, this movie is undeniably a ground breaker and a landmark film in Indian cinema. It is extremely under-appreciated in Tamil Nadu just because some of the sexually explicit stuff that the Boys do caused too much shock which presided over common sense.

This movie is awesome and a ground breaker when it came to Tamil Cinema or even Indian Cinema as a whole. What I cant figure out is how the director/writer came up with all the stuff seen in this movie? He must have interviewed hundreds of college going guys throughout Chennai and studied their life very carefully. The ideas here are pure genius and typical of Shankar, even if too controversial. Sujatha also writes dialog for most other Tamil films but only when it comes to Shankar's movies does the dialog really stand out. Shankar has the ability to bring out the best in every performer, actor and writer, even extra. Even if Mani Ratnam makes more realistic movies, Shankar is the better director for being far more creative in his work. For example, the "Malgova Aunty" scene and dialog threw me off the chair. I was on the floor. If you don't like this movie, then you're

a) Completely retarded b) A conservative c) From a mofussil background d) All of the above

If only Shankar could be as creative as he was in this movie, in Anniyan which was absolute crap in comparison. I don't think that even Shivaji would be as good as Boys. I hope that after Shivaji, Shankar makes Boys-2.