Meter Idre Nodu Maga!

Arjun Movie Review By Raju Shanbhag

Shock No.1: Darshan tears a thick AC wire and passes the current from both ends to his body. While the bewildered villain gapes at him, Darshan smiles as if he is receiving a warm water shower bath. Shocks are only for the audience, not for Darshan, the cop.

Shock no. 2: Darshan takes off the innocent looking shoes on which he just walked and throws it out in the air. It explodes like a Diwali cracker and people standing miles away from the bomb jump in thin air in perfect unison.

Shock no. 3: Anant Nag plucks a bullet hot out of the gun as if he is plucking an apple from the tree; he chews it, spits and beats the living daylights out of Zaheer Khan. Nopes, Zaheer Khan ain’t our beloved fast bowler; he is a criminal. But this is funny as this is Anant Nag’s dream sequence.

Shock No. 4: While interrogating a criminal in the cell, Darshan hulls off his nail, (Nopes, no writing mistake, Darshan hulls his own nail to torture the criminal!).

Shock No 5: A gang of notorious criminals’ barges right into the commissioner’s office where there is a top level meeting going on as if they are hanging out in a shopping mall. Nobody stops them.

Shock No 6: Darshan is in Bangkok having the time of his life with bikini clad white chicks. But when he comes back, we learn that he was there to learn kick boxing! Kick boxing with babes wearing two pieces? Boy, I wanna learn kick boxing only in Bangkok!

Shock No. 7: If Darshan enters into fight, he beats at least 30 people at a time. While he jumps in air in slow motion, en extra patiently waits below to get kicked. Darshan uses bombs and machine guns as we use TV remotes in our houses.

Shock No. 8: Sadhu Kokila is wandering around with his usual below the belt buffoonery. He has no connection with the main storyline and he not once meets any of the main characters in the story or takes the story forward in any way.

Shock No. 9: Among this bloodbath and mayhem, Darshan actually acts well and carries of the role well. No wonder he has so many fans. The man does look like a cop with his macho physique and acting. Man, is he a superstar of the masses!

Shock No. 10: You actually will watch this no brainer fully and may even enjoy this in parts, wishing secretly that the person sitting next to you doesn’t notice you enjoying the film.

Now, the mother of all shocks: The 4:20 and 7:20 shows were houseful in PVR! None of Darshan’s mega shocks could actually top this shock!

Tauba re Tauba tunes!

Arjun Audio(Music) Review By Suchitra Preetham

Challenging star Darshan is cop this time! For most Darshan fans, it is an eager wait till the release of Arjun on August 15^th. From the music, this sounds like a  Darshan-to-the-core movie. So if you are not a Darshan fan, then August 15^th could just mean Independence Day. The songs of Arjun do not hold any promise. Music by Harikrishna sounds miserable. Neither there is any magic in the lyrics of Kaviraj or V. Nagendra Prasad. There are a couple of item numbers that makes you wonder if this is a new (phew) Darshan trend.

Balle Balle: No Balle Balle, this one. Lyrics by Nagendra Prasad makes this number reasonably listenable. Somehow the tunes wear you out. Sonu Nigam opens on some ‘balle balle’ beats followed by Shreya’s crisp voice but beyond the two lines, you could easily lapse into coma. Only to be awakened for the next ‘balle balle’.

Taubare Tauba: Another MCP song! After ‘Nanna lukku berene’ and ‘I’m so bombaat’; Taubare Tauba joins the list. Taubare Tauba, saves Arjun’s musical visage. Dashing Darshan in his even dashier outfits dancing to this one may be the single reason for Harikrishna’s pen in Arjun being reminiscent for a few weeks. Singer Tippu sounds good.

Leftalli Jaymala: Left or right, this is the worst! A big zero for Harikrishna’s tunes and Kaviraj’s lyrics for this one makes it sub-zero. No thoughts, forget marks for Jessi Gift and Rita who have failed miserably in getting Jaymala, Rajalaxmi or Nagarathna on the dance floor.

Gunturu Gunturu: After Bengali Hudugi, is it Gunturu now? Pavlov’s reflexes don’t work in the world of music. Just because Chitra’s resonating pitch in Gaja’s ‘Bengali Hudugi naa’ was a chart-buster, changing the ‘ooru’ will not re-create the same magic. Will Harikrishna and Kaviraj take note of this?

Hey Kanaka: Do I have to write on this one? Silence is better than listening to this track.