Kandukondain Kandukondain

That Jane Austen's novel "Sense and Sensibility" is a terrific piece of literature goes without saying. Ang Lee adapted Austen's story for his film of the same name. The film won Lee accolades for his ability to portray the relationships that Austen weaves with finesse. Seven seas across from Hollywood, Indian filmmaker "whizkid" Rajiv Menon has created a second, and an even better visual adaptation of Austen's book. "Kandukondain Kandukondain" is simply an enthralling and enchanting adaptation of a great piece of literature.

While he borrows the basic plotline from Austen's novel, Menon changes and adds to numerous portions of the story. Setting it in contemporary, modern Indian society, Menon gives the film a more identifiable and consumable quality than Lee's version. The principal characters of the two sisters, played by Tabu and Aishwarya Rai are a notable diversion from the conventional nature of female characters in Indian cinema. These are strong, determined, and capable women. Unlike the norm of female characters in many Indian films, these women do not have an obsession with love. It is just an integral part of their life which the film focusses on. Rajiv Menon's ability to handle the relationship between the characters of the two sisters and the men who come into their lives and leave, is highly impressive. While Ang Lee did a commendable job in his treatment of the relationships, one could not identify or even feel for the character because the nature and society in which they were set were too distant. In "Kandukondain Kandukondain," the characters are real. They are one of us, we are one of them.

Menon has added a lot more material to the plot in order to increase the film's saleability. However, what sets this film as a class apart is the fact that the addition of "masala" as Indian film industry auteurs like to say it, does not interfere with the artistry of the film. Menon uses the conventional technique of mass-hybridization and creates an amazingly entertaining, yet fulfilling, "feel-good" film.

A.R. Rahman, the musical genius, adorns Menon's film with some exceptional music. The songs are simply wonderful with Vairamuthu's lyrics drawing inspiration from the poems of Bharathi, perhaps one of the most prominent personalities in the history of Tamil literature. Bharathi's poems also form an intricate link in the story that is used as a catalyst to build relationships. This artistic, and poetic feel is something that not only Lee's adaptation lacked, but even the original work by Austen.

The cinematography by Ravi K. Chandran is breathtaking. The extensive use of color stands out, but never gets too loud to be replusive. The color combinations are very pleasant and used effectively to create meaning within every shot of the film. The sets during songs like "Kannamoochie" seem to involve numerous characteristics of modern three dimensional abstract art. The remaining songs are picturized on locations in 70 MM CINEMASCOPE from the rice fields and waterfalls of South India to the pyramids of Egypt and the castles of Scotland.

The film boasts exceptional performances from both Tabu and Aishwarya Rai. Mammootty is the pick of the lot with his highly sensitive, and underplayed performance as Major Bala. Ajit, Manivannan, and Srividya are very competent. On the whole, "Kandukondain Kandukondain" is a masterpiece of Indian cinema because of its ability to wholesomely entertain with a lot of intelligence, sense, and sensibility.

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.

When I first saw this movie, I wondered how an Indian director managed to come up with such a simple and yet lovely story. Upon finding out that it is an adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, I was amazed at how Rajiv Menon had managed to make an English story so Indianized.

Not only is the story excellent, so are the characters in the movie and the actors who play them. Everyone played their role to perfection. I tried hard but could not find any fault with any of them. Music by A.R. Rahman is excellent too.

Of course, my rave review for the movie will not attract everyone to watch it. Those who like a mix of action, love, silly dances around the tree will probably be bored. Those of you who like to have a movie bring a smile to your lips and tug at your heartstrings, go watch it. You won't regret it!

At first I didn't really know what to think and I was a bit lost, but as I got used to who was who and what was going on in the story I LOVED IT! It was a great story and the one of the ending scenes surprised me with how well the actors did. I'm not going to lie...I cried a bit. Jane Austen's stories are always good no matter how lose the adaptation. I started to like it for comedic value and then ended up loving it for serious! It is of course not trying to be just like Sense and Senseability so a few of the main story lines are out of order when it comes to the movie, but I think it worked well. The only really odd part was that on the DVD we were watching it seemed as if every line was being dubbed over. I'm sure that wasn't the case in reality, but it almost looked like I was watching a dubbed film at parts.

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.