I hate Vijay. I hate Trisha. And I hate movies with plot holes the size of dinosaurs. So writing this review is real tough for me – because I have to publicly admit that I actually like a movie with all the above-mentioned negative points. Sigh.
STORY IN A NUTSHELL
Multi-talented and brave Boy (Vijay/Velu) with a passion for a little-appreciated sport. Loving family but uptight father who doesn’t understand him or his strange-but-goodhearted friends. Bad guy crazy to marry Girl and destroys her family. Boy saves Girl from bad guy and hides her in his house. Girl loves Boy but Boy is oblivious till the end, where Boy defeats the Bad Guy, gets the Girl and makes his father appreciate his real talent.
SIGNS OF SUCCESS
No comedy track
No convincing plotline
No direct love scenes and this movie is a superhit!!!
SECRET OF SUCCESS
Ghilli is a movie that comes once in a while when people are zonked out and restless, either fed up with box-office duds or confused by “ahead of its time” movies. The plot is so typical, it has such run-in-the-mill theme and sometimes it even has no real story but the plate – pace - it is delivered is so shiny and the aroma – tension - of the movie is so invigourating that you cannot help being charmed by it.
And it IS good to see some actual acting by some actors.
TOP 3 SCENES
How Vijay saves Trisha – the song in the jeep
Appidi Podu song picturisation
Bhuvi (Velu’s sister) acting in all scenes
INTERESTING TIDBIT
I really liked the way Vijay’s Mom is portrayed as the naïve simpleton who’s more childish that Velu’s sister (she’s better as Velu’s Mom than as Munna’s Mom). An interesting info is, psychologically considering, she is SUPPOSED to be like that.
Given the age group between Velu and Bhuvana (his sister), Mom’s maternal growth must have stopped when Velu was 10 or 12, since Bhuvi must have born around that time and Mom again had go back to infant nursing, so altogether missing Velu’s adolescence, teenage and adulthood. If you doubt my analysis, I dare you to visit my home (my brother is 10 years younger than me.)
WHY YOU SHOULD SEE GHILLI
See this movie if you want to understand your son
see this movie if you want to learn ’’madras’’ tamil
see this movie if you want to know why movies like Anbe Sivam flop
BOTTOMLINE
I like when a director does his job properly. I love it when he dares to move aside the oft-beat path and try on tangents, particularly when the lead stars consider themselves the “happening” dudes in the country. It implies that he’s banking on his dream and ambition, not on the lead’s current market.
And it’s really heartwarming to look at the new-age directors who are making films and casting stars, rather than the other way around. Dharani has proved his merit!
True, Ghilli is a masala movie through-and-through, but hey, masala maketh Indian cuisine, doesn’t it?
RECOMMENDED
Yes.