Autograph (2004) Reviews

• Pleasantly surprised

  lavy-jo2004-07-19

  I'm not a huge fan of Indian movies in general, but I let myself be talked into watching this one, expecting nothing more than an afternoon of fun with friends making fun of some cheesy dialogue. About 10 minutes into it, I was completely captivated by the touchingly sweet portrayal of a high school boy's first love. The movie begins with the viewer being told that a man who's about to be married shortly, is on his way to invite people to his wedding. So from the moment you meet his first love, you're drawn deep into the story, wanting to know more about what happened to each person he meets and most importantly who the woman is that he finally marries. The rest of the movie is a series of vignettes on the years of his life leading up to the present. Every human emotion is treated so honestly with no melodrama (not to mention acted out superbly on screen), that you feel like you're making that journey with him. Rejoicing in his happiness and hurting with him in his sorrows. There are very few movies (Indian or otherwise) that portray the ups and downs of growing up quite as well. This is definitely one of those.

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• quite touching

  sridharisreddy2004-10-23

  I don't watch much Tamil cinema (mostly because I'm not familiar with it), but when I was last in India I heard many people talking about this film. They were saying it was moving and touching, something which i generally equated to overwrought melodrama. Almost eight months later, I came across the DVD for "Autograph" by accident, and decided to give it a try. I was shocked. This was an excellent picture, done with care and a lot of heart. Sure there are a few (and only a rare few) overly melodramatic moments, but overall it really touched me. Anyone (especially men) who have gone through the turmoils of relationships broken or incomplete will feel a joyfully sorrow connection to this film. I was moved by its honesty and quite frank look at relationships, and it brought a smile to my face when the film reveled in the exuberance and innocence of childhood crushes and young infatuation. I rarely recommend modern commercial Indian cinema (because most of it is unfortunately subpar), but this is a lovely little film, definitely an engaging romantic drama. Kudos to the director/ writer Cheran for doing excellent work with visuals and performances, and I hope he continues to make such honest films in the future. 8/10

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• a kind of one last look ...

  reva-82005-05-18

  With the help of a superb cast Cheran (Senthil) looks back over his teenage and youth. With its various puppy loves and real loves, and the humor and pathos that they bring, this gaze is bittersweet. In these desensitized days, this is an achievement. Mallika is a natural actress, though I am sure she will be relegated to sister roles because in the venerable Indian movie tradition she would not be considered flashy enough to be a lead--though the Tamil film industry has resisted this trend somewhat successfully. In any case, it may not be a bad thing in the end for Mallika to play supporting roles, for the female leads in Indian films have rarely to do any real acting. Mallika's character in the movie is well conceived and true to real life. Gopika is also good and she carries off the character's transformation through the movie well. Kanika as the bride at her wedding reception is super. Very expressive face. (I cannot say anything about anyone's dialog delivery because most actors in Tamil films nowadays dub their lines in post production or have them dubbed by others who make a living out of this profession. Which is why sometimes, Jyothika and Nmaitha (and any number of others) sound alike.) But why the 9?: Though Sneha is passably good and her lines are very well written, it is the character I have a quarrel with. So aggressively self-righteously idealistic and so insufferable: I guess we are still reeling in the backlash from the portrayals of meek women in Indian cinema of the earlier decades.

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• Beautiful & meaningful

  kidilancochan2005-02-23

  Autograph was a rare movie in that it is artsy but not boring like the other art films. It can be enjoyed by both commercial movie lovers and parallel cinema lovers. I truly enjoyed this movie. I can say that I loved the second part and the 4 th (last) part of the movie. 1st part and 3rd parts were OK. 3rd part was a little overdone. But yes, definitely worth watching. The music was very pleasant to hear. The song picturizations were definitely a plus. Special mention about Gopika. She has a fresh face and acted pretty well considering that she is a new comer. The director and the lead guy Cheran also wins my appreciation. Congrats with this movie and expecting more of such movies from him.. P.S - Kerala is depicted so beautifully. I must appreciate the camera work.

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• Cheran is a director turned actor.

  cricket_rox2004-08-08

  Actually guys Cheran is a director turned actor. He's directed quite a lot of rural-India based movies and most of them captivating. Just to clarify I would like to say that the song sequences where Senthil and his gf dance is actually based on song sequences in tamil movies from about 30 years ago. The costumes, the way they dance and everything was made to look like those sequences were made in 1970 Kollywood. Also its kollywood not tollywood. There's a place called Kodambakkam in Chennai (4th largest city in India) which mirrors Hollywood in the sense that most of the tamil actors live there. So Kollywood obviously comes from the Ko in Kodambakkam. ps: Wonderful Movie :)

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