Love after (Love failure X 2)...

With all the hype that is going on around us about the movie ‘Raja Rani’, I definitely had to go watch it. And the result – Terrible dissatisfaction. Are people still falling prey to the pretty colorful movies with all the low budget meaningful movies popping around us? Well… It’s not the first time we are watching a movie with lead pair getting married without interest in each other. Ever since the classic Mouna Raagam till the latest Sillunu Oru Kadhal, we have witnessed the same.

 The curtain rises with the quote ‘There is life after love failure. There is love after love failure’ and a really fancy wedding - the protagonists John (Arya) and Regina (Nayanthara) getting married in a pretty looking church. Both recite ‘I do’ without will. Both enter their married life without any involvement. Both hate each other to the core. Due to some sudden turn of events, Regina narrates her love story with a guy called Surya (Jai) who used to work in a call center. After listening to her story John gains respect over Regina but Regina still feels hostile over John. Now is the time for Regina to know John’s love story. And then she begins respecting John. With both the protagonists beginning to understand their counterparts, they start to fall in love yet again. And the rest of the story is quite predictable.

When you actually have a love story to narrate, the love should be felt not only by the lovers but also by the listeners. Since this movie’s theme line is ‘There is love after love failure’, there gotta be a really intense love story which failed. Though the part of John- Keerthana (Nazriya) love story could be considered amusing, the other story Surya –Regina was totally not gripping since there’s no explanation to ‘How did they fall in love?’ A love failure must make the audience cry with the characters of the story. Well… This story doesn’t make you cry. And I seriously wonder ‘What makes a person fall in love? Is it always love at first sight?’ With three love stories slammed into one movie, you don’t actually get time for the main storyline to actually unfurl in a gradual manner.

I don’t really wanna sabotage this movie cuz I don’t say ‘I didn’t enjoy the movie’ since I did. The music is really good. The song ‘Hey baby’ is very interesting. The camera work deserves accolades for capturing the wedding sequence in a beautiful way and also the song videos are cool. Special effects deserve to be mentioned. And the cameo role of Satyaraj is very good. Also certain lines like ‘It doesn’t mean that we should as well leave when our loved ones leave us’ spoken by the characters makes us feel as if we are reading a really good novel.

The scene where the mirror reflects the lead pair’s minds was very creative. And the creativity extends in dressing the pair in black when they fight and in white when they ultimately fall in love. Also this is a modern flick which doesn’t limit the crying part only to the female characters since everyone gets to express their feelings. Also the leading ladies get to slap their man.

With all its flaws and illogical story, the movie is still worth a watch because it’s not often you step across a light hearted romantic story that is portrayed in beautiful colors.

Bottomline: Go watch it for fun!

Anna Karenina

Anna Karenina- This is definitely not a book that can be read over a cup of coffee on a rainy day sitting in the porch. There is much more to the novel other than just the romantic elements. The concept of the novel dances right in front of our eyes and though it is hard for us to take a sip out of it, we need to gulp it down.

‘All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’ Hence begins the book Anna Karenina written by Leo Tolstoy. Leo Tolstoy, is definitely a legend since he wrote a massive epic almost a century back which reflects even today’s society like a giant mirror. A classic usually looks elegant like ball room dance, feels good like courtship and looks beautiful like a spring evening. Leo Tolstoy in his book ‘Anna Karenina’ has gone a step further in bringing not only the protagonists’ love but also the agony and passion and the woes which is caused by a love affair.

In this book, the writer portrays a love affair that shook an entire nation. ‘Anna Karenina’ stands apart from other classics as a Russian classic with all the Russian flavors. Anna Karenina is about a married aristocrat woman whose love affair becomes the talk of the country. She enters the novel to make peace between her brother Oblonsky and sister-in-law Dolly after her brother’s affair with a governess of their children. While in St Petersburg, she happens to meet Count Vronsky upon whom Kitty, the younger sister of Dolly has a liking. But ever since the two meet, they fall in love and it leads only to a series of unfortunate events because she had been content with her married life until the moment she meets him.

 Unlike other classics where love and marriage contributes the majority of the book, Anna Karenina crosses the typical boundaries and sets out to explore further into the lives of the people after marriage. The book focuses on the love story between two couples: Levin - Kitty and Anna – Vronsky.

One major thing to be noted is that when adultery is committed by a man, it’s hushed up whereas if it is a woman, it becomes the talk of the society. Vronsky is able to roam about the society normally but it is Anna who suffers the insults of the people. It has been the case since then till this day.

Like the opening line states, this novel is also about families. In this book two different family lives are described: the Levins at the countryside and the Vronskys at the city.

The woes, misery and insecurities of Anna are portrayed very well by Tolstoy that the reader can almost feel her emotions. The book celebrates marriage and mourns death.

To write a short review on this book is really difficult since the essence is better felt only when the book is read. With all due respect to Tolstoy, I would like to say that this book is an epic masterpiece and the author Leo Tolstoy deserves a standing ovation for having given it to the world.