(Images courtesy: Google)
Having heard all the raving reviews, the husband and I went to watch Bangalore Days yesterday with high expectations. And boy, am I glad that we took the decision to watch it on the same day that the movie released here in Dubai! It was a fun, bubbly movie that moves at a fast pace and leaves you wanting for more.
Bangalore Days is a 2014 drama-comedy Malayalam movie, written and directed by Anjali Menon, which talks of the wonderful bond shared by three cousins- Kuttan (Nivin Pauly), Divya (Nazriya Nazim) and Arjun (Dulquer Salmaan). Since childhood, they have shared a special friendship and though they are taken their seperate ways as they grew older, Divya's marriage to Das (Fahadh Faasil) brings all three of them together once again.
Kuttan is a software engineer working in Bangalore. He represents the face of many Indian students who are forced to take engineering though his passion lies elsewhere. He is portrayed as the homesick son who constantly craves for the fresh air and life found only at his home- Kerala and also likes to dabble in poetry. Divya is the typical young girl who immediately after completing her degree is forced into an arranged marriage due to the pressure from her parents. Though she has dreams of making it big in the future, she compromises and moves to Bangalore with her new husband. Arjun is a true gypsy, who moves around from place to place doing all the odd jobs, whose passion is bike riding and he too, moves to Bangalore to be near his cousins.
Their crazy and huge family, filled with a lot of remarkable characters are also entertaining and will leave a smile or two on your face. Be it Divya's narrow minded parents or Kuttan's striving-for-greener-pastures Mom and his subdued Dad.
The movie gives importance to the special relationship that these three cousins share, understanding each other as only cousins can. The city, Bangalore plays an important role as the movie's name indicates, as it is a childhood dream for the three to have a blast in this city of dreams. It also talks about the other characters that enter their lives, be it the workaholic husband Das, the beautiful air hostess Meenakshi or the lively RJ Sarah. Each one has done justice to their roles and the moves along at an interesting pace the entire two and a half hours.
This is the perfect movie for a weekend that can be enjoyed with your friends and family while munching on popcorn. The only place which I felt could be avoided was the bit dramatic portion towards the end, which seemed a bit out of reality as compared to the rest of the movie (not giving it away here in case you decide to see it!). Also, personally, I felt that Nazriya's dramatics could have been toned down as it felt a bit out of place, compared to the rest of the cast.
My favorite character from the movie is, undoubtedly, the RJ Sarah (Parvathy) who wins all hearts when you leave the theater. Arjun is drawn to the positive vibes that radiates through her morning radio show. However, he is shocked to see a woman in a wheel chair when he goes to visit his favorite radio jockey. The special friendship between them, which soon blossoms into love, leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling in your heart that makes you wish that their story has a happy ending, no matter what.
Bottom line- a must watch! I would definitely give this one a four point five stars on five. Do watch it, I heard it releases with subtitles everywhere, so that even those who can't follow the language can watch it as well! Hats off to Anjali Menon and the entire crew for bringing out such a lovely movie with a lot of goodness in it. Give it a try, if you haven't already. You won't be disappointed, trust me.
This post is written for Day 5 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge for July 2014 and NaBloPoMo.
