Maybe some day Mahesh Bhatt will make something watchable with Alia Bhatt, one of the most exciting actors of this generation. Sadly, Sadak 2 is not that film. Sadak 2 movie cast: Sanjay Dutt, Alia Bhatt, Aditya Roy Kapur, Jisshu Sengupta, Priyanka Bose, Makrand Deshpande, Gulshan Grover Sadak 2 movie director: Mahesh Bhatt Sadak 2 movie rating: One star All those waiting to pounce on all those who dared to like Sadak 2, kindly exhale. The film is, in one word, terrible: why would anyone want to make something so dated, so jaded, in this day and age? Harking back to the 1991 Sadak, a high-pitched romance between a lanky taxi-driver and a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, brings back memories of a time when Bollywood knew how to tell stories. There was nothing madly original about that Sanjay Dutt-Pooja Bhatt starrer, but something about the mix of pulpy plot and performance, toplined by the incomparable Sadashiv Amrapurkar as the evil Maharani, made it one of the most memorable films of that era. Nearly thirty years later comes this ‘sequel’, and straight away you know that this one is a lost cause. Not that Sanjay Dutt, now appropriately older and attractively grizzled, reprising his role as the strong-of-heart taxi-driver Ravi, has lost anything. And it isn’t as if Alia Bhatt, whose heiress-on-the-run Aarya needs desperately to hit the road, isn’t a solid performer. The supporting cast isn’t too shabby either: Jisshu Sengupta, who has been making steady inroads into Hindi cinema, is here as Aarya’s father, with Priyanka Bose as her sinister mother. The usually reliable Makrand Deshpande, gets a chance to vamp it up madly as a ‘dhongi baba’. And for a bit of the late 80s, early 90s nostalgia, up pops Gulshan Grover, briefly. But not one of these actors is given anything credible to do. Who dreamt up this hare-brained plot? Sure, it’s perfectly acceptable to have wicked mommies and befuddled daddies and greedy swamis who prey upon the innocent. And there can be brave girls, accompanied by their faithful swains (Roy Kapur) who want to go up against the ungodly. To fight against ‘andhvishwas’, as Sadak 2 patently wants to, is a good thing, but like this? With not one believable scene, or character, or twist? It’s hard to believe that this comes from Mahesh Bhatt’s baton, who has given us such classics as Arth, Naam, and the 1999 Zakhm, which spoke so eloquently and emotively to the growing rift between religions, and people. That was a landmark film. In his best work, Bhatt had the ability to catch the flavour of the moment and translate that into smart mainstream fare, and it was a wrench when he decided to stop directing. The only one who keeps struggling against the leaden storyline is Dutt. Those with long memories may recall how Dutt, never a great actor, had screen presence, and how he and Pooja Bhatt (whom we see in frequent flashbacks in the sequel) made a pair we cared for. In these intervening years during which he experienced personal and professional turbulence, Dutt learnt how to fill out a role, and make us believe. In Sadak 2, despite all the ludicrousness, he stays the last man standing. But it doesn’t do this unbelievably tacky film the least bit of good. Maybe some day Mahesh Bhatt will make something watchable with Alia, one of the most exciting actors of this generation. Sadly, Sadak 2 is not that film. REVIEWS: Masaba Masaba | Aashram | Ram Singh Charlie Sadak 2 is streaming on Disney Plus Hotstar.

Ram Singh Charlie is careful not to descend into too much sadness even as it shows us the sad reality of the outside world which treats clowning as a not-to-be-taken-seriously job, and short people as permanent butts of pathetic jokes. Ram Singh Charlie movie cast: Kumud Mishra, Divya Dutta, Akarsh Khurana, Farrukh Seyer, Sharib Hashmi Ram Singh Charlie movie director: Nitin Kakkar Ram Singh Charlie movie cast: Three stars The death of the circus is something we have seen in our times. A live entertainment option, full of magic and fun, when there was little else, was what the circus offered: as we started turning more and more towards easy on-the-tap entertainment at home, there were less and less takers for the big top, and the lion tamers and the trapeze artists and, yes, the clowns. Ram Singh (Mishra), whose ‘circus name’ is Charlie, knows of no other life. When Jango Circus closes overnight, he is catapulted into the real world, with his pregnant wife (Dutta) and son. How will this man, who has no other skills, survive? The film was made in 2018, and its arrival in these times gives it an immediacy and poignancy, mirroring the millions of pandemic-struck people struggling with the loss of jobs and self-worth. Except perhaps for Raj Kapoor’s Mera Naam Joker, there have been very few Hindi films made on the inner lives of circus artists. What goes on behind the glitter and the shining lights of the big top? Does the ringmaster’s whip stop cracking? The film gives us a sense of the close ties of circus people, who live wandering lives, pitching their tents wherever they find space, from one town to another. The performances are all credible: from the short-haired female owner of the circus who loves her people but cannot stop the inevitable, to the other characters: nice to see Divya Dutta getting a part where she can be her natural self, and Mishra, who usually gets supporting parts, lift a film on his own. The film is careful not to descend into too much sadness even as it shows us the sad reality of the outside world which treats clowning as a not-to-be-taken-seriously job, and short people as permanent butts of pathetic jokes. Potential employers push Charlie around, expecting him to wear heavy costumes in the extreme heat and humidity of Kolkata without a drop of water: patrons are happy to laugh at the antics of Jenny the Hen, the comic character Charlie plays, but exhibit no empathy for the human in the costume. Good to see an unexoticized Kolkata, where Charlie and his family, as well as his compatriots are left looking for livelihood: there is only a passing scene in which a pujo idol is shown. There is an occasional predictable turn of events, a too sudden change of heart on the part of a character, and the idea of following your dreams regardless of difficulties underlined more than once. But Ram Singh Charlie stays pretty much on point with its gentle messaging: optimism and a never-give-up spirit is the only way we can survive. Ram Singh Charlie is streaming on SonyLIV.

The One and Only Ivan makes for a moving and delightful 90-odd minute experience -- for all age groups. The messages it propounds — the ills of an anthropocentric worldview, compassion towards our fellow living organisms, and so on — may be old, but the film still works by doing most things right. The One and Only Ivan movie cast: Bryan Cranston, Sam Rockwell, Angelina Jolie, Danny DeVito The One and Only Ivan movie director: Thea Sharrock The One and Only Ivan movie rating: Three and a half stars The One and Only Ivan is a film which, without saying anything particularly profound or interesting to anybody over the age of 14, makes for a moving and delightful 90-odd minute experience — for all age groups. A Thea Sharrock directorial, The One and Only Ivan revolves around a silverback gorilla (the titular Ivan) who performs for his human master Mack (Bryan Cranston) in a mini-circus inside a mall. A gentle soul whose preoccupations include hanging out with other captive animals and a stray dog that sneaks into the cages once in a while, Ivan, the headliner of the circus, nevertheless has to look fierce and deadly in front of the audience. Because that is how humans imagine gorillas are, which in turn justifies all sorts of cruelties meted out to these animals. Despite all the beating of the chest and roars, not many people are buying tickets to the acts. His new predilection becomes drawing stuff using spare crayons which the janitor’s daughter gifts him. This helps Mack sell tickets to the acts somewhat. The arrival of a baby elephant, Ruby, further helps restore the business to its glory days. However, Ivan had promised Stella, an old elephant who died soon after the arrival of Ruby, that he would not let Ruby live out her days in a cage. When the more routine running away method fails, he finally uses his art to make the case. As I said, the film’s central message does not say anything bold or new, and yet the film is strangely affecting. I have not read the book, but the script and direction are quite sharp, and despite moments of rumination and quite a bit of conversation, the movie never feels slow. The premise makes the film sound more adventurous than it actually is. In reality, this is a contemplative film, which should not be confused with boring. The story does not have a villain per se, and so the stakes are not as high as you would expect. Mack is not bad, as humans go. Although he does exploit animals to earn money, he also genuinely cares about them and is generally a kind man. There is just enough humour in the script to make you chuckle every now and then. The film knows when to stop being flippant, and gives emotion-heavy moments their due. As for performances, there isn’t enough Bryan Cranston here. The actor does his best in whatever screen time he has been given, and anyway, after Breaking Bad, his career can only go downhill. It is Ivan who is the hero here, and Sam Rockwell adds a lot of depth into the character just by his voice. There are moments when Ivan feels like somebody you’ve been friends with for years. The voice-cast is otherwise impressive too, especially Danny DeVito, who is an inspired choice to voice the stray dog, Bob. The technical aspects also make this movie more than worth its screen time. The visuals, especially the astoundingly detailed animals (so much so that it is nigh impossible to tell those computer-generated characters from actual animals) and music (most notably in emotion-heavy moments) are both top-notch. Overall, I quite enjoyed The One and Only Ivan. The messages it propounds — the ills of an anthropocentric worldview, compassion towards our fellow living organisms, and so on — may be old, but the film still works by doing most things right and telling a charming story that should appeal to all ages. The One and Only Ivan is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar.

Starring one of South Korea's most charismatic, talented and versatile actors, Lee Byung-hun, All In (2003) is an exciting, fast-paced and touching drama set in the glamorous world of high stakes gambling (and filmed mostly on beautiful Jeju Island with some scenes in Las Vegas on location). The Story: The series starts with a bang (literally) as we see a beautiful young woman, Min Su Yeon (played by the exquisite Song Hye Kyo, more recently displaying her acting chops in Descendants Of The Sun and That Winter, the Wind Blows), preparing for her wedding while the man she is waiting for, Kim In Ha, played by Lee Byung Hun, is shot in the chest. From there we flashback to the. In Ha is an orphan raised by his gambler uncle Kim Chi Soo (Im Hyun Sik). As a teen, In Ha is played by a young actor named Jin Goo, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Lee Byung Hun. (Another Korean drama specialty characteristic is that they often seem to get their casting perfectly right with the younger / older versions of characters). The boy finds a friend in Choi Jung-won (later played as an adult by handsome Ji Sung, who would later get his own chances to be the leading player in a similarly set drama, Swallow the Sun, and also in the hit series Kill Me, Heal Me), the rich young son of a movie theater owner named Choi Do Hwan (Lee Deok Hwa from Hyde, Jekyll and I and countless other dramas). In Ha falls in love at first sight with Su Yeon (played as a young girl by Han Ji Min; she would go on to star in such dramas as Padam Padam and Hyde, Jekyl and I, and Rooftop Prince), who is the daughter of the theater's projectionist. When Su Yeon's father gets into debt with some evil gangsters (are there any other kind?) and later dies, In Ha and Jung Won seek revenge by starting a fire at the gangster's hideout. However, their plan to simply do damage goes awry when the gang leader is killed. In Ha is caught, and spends the next seven years in jail. Jung-won is spared any jail time because his rich family flexes their connections to get him out of it. Meanwhile, heartbroken and orphaned, Su Yeon joins a convent where she becomes the beloved Sister Angela. RARE FULL OST Then, seven years later, the lives of these three people converge again. In Ha is hired at the casino where Su Yeon (forsaking her original vocation to help the convent by earning money) is a dealer and surprise! Jung-won's family owns this casino. In Ha and Su Yeon are drawn to each other yet again, but many obstacles await, including In Ha's detour to America and a bout with amnesia. (It's amazing how often amnesia figures into so many Korean dramas' plot lines!). I absolutely loved All In; it is one of my top favorite dramas. It has a little bit of everything, romance, action, endearing and multi-layered characters, friendships and rivalries, big business and criminals, and off the charts chemistry between the two leads (who also dated in real life). You get a glimpse into the world of casinos, where In Ha shines because he is a natural born card shark (thanks to his uncle's tutelage when he was a boy). Also a beautiful soundtrack, multiple subplots, and endless complications driving the lovers together and apart over and over again. It is also fun to see part of the action set in the United States. Of course, as we often see in Korean dramas, there is also a love triangle, as both In Ha and Jung Won love Su Yeon, while a wealthy young casino / hotel heiress Jin Hee (lovely Park Sol Mi, with her fantastic head of hair (who was in Beloved, and also played the other woman in Winter Sonata) longs for Jung Won. Another thing I liked about this drama is that the two lead women are also smart and capable. Best of all, there is the performance of Lee Byung Hun, who captivates you with his masculinity, charm and startlingly sweet smile. A terrific soundtrack too, with the main theme song later revealed as being sung by the wonderful late actor Park Yong Ha (Winter Sonata and Story of a Man) who committed suicide in 2010. A dynamic Korean drama that both men and women will enjoy, All In demands a long commitment for its full 24 episodes but it is worth every minute.  Now that I finished All In (2003) myself, I can add that I agree with Alison's review and grade of A for this classic. This show on the high stakes world of gambling had great breadth and vision, wonderful location shots in Vegas and Jeju, and depicted constant struggles between good and evil, loyalty and betrayal, love vs. obsession. My only reservation on this show has nothing to do with the production values of the drama itself, which were excellent, even for 2003, rather the mediocre prints that are circulating on the online sites. If you really want to enjoy this classic for all its worth I would say there is no other substitute than to purchase the legal DVD set at Amazon. The resolution and sound quality and even the English subs will be better in a professionally packaged legitimate DVD box set. One would think the online sites would want to obtain the best prints, since this show, as well as other early K-dramas, began the Hallyu Wave in the first place, but I guess they just don't care. What a shame. If you do watch through an online site on your big screen TV through ROKU or other external device then make sure to use your remote to expand the screen image to "stretch"; that should at least make your experience watching a bit better. Consider writing to these K-drama sites to update their prints of these Classics. If no one pressures them nothing will ever change and these excellent shows with stars we all love will be lost to future generations. HOME TO KOREAN DRAMA REVIEWS

One of the most memorable American films from the year 1950 was the classic Bette Davis melodrama, All About Eve. It featured a deceptively sweet and demure young woman from a poor background named Eve, who quietly but ruthlessly attempts to usurp everything she covets from her idol, a successful but aging actress. The highly enjoyable Korean drama of the same name borrows just a little bit from its predecessor. It takes place not in the world of theater, but in that of television news-casting. Its protagonist is not named Eve (that is the name of a television program), but she is another deceptive young woman who hides her true ambitious nature under a guise of wide-eyed innocence. She too relentlessly pursues what another woman has, from her career to her boyfriend. The Story: The two rivals in work and love are Jin Sun-mi (Chae Rim, Oh My Lady, We Are Dating Now), a cheerful, pretty, somewhat complacent young woman from a good family who lives with her widowed father, and Ho Young-mi (Kim So Yeon, IRIS, I Need Romance 3), a beautiful, impoverished orphan with a troubled past. Chae Rim's character projects an earnest, girl next-door appeal, while sultry and willowy Kim So Yeon plays the darker character Young-mi, around whom all the future intrigue revolves. She is the one to watch here as she creates a memorable anti-heroine whom you can never entirely hate. She won several awards for her role here and it made her famous for the first time. Young-mi has her reasons for being tenacious of life. Raised by an alcoholic father and without a mother, she was orphaned when the father dies in an accident working for Sun-mi's father's construction company. She struggles to pay off debts and make ends meet. Mr. Jin feels responsible for what happened, so he helps Young-Mi financially while Sun-Mi befriends her. Both girls aspire to be newscasters, and attend the same school. Not unlike Bette Davis' character in the American All About Eve, Sun-mi doesn't realize for quite a while how false Young-mi's friendship is and how secretly the other girl is trying to undermine her. First Young-mi wins the heart of Woo-Jin, then she focuses her attention on trying to get Sun-Mi's job at the television station where both of them work. Young-Mi resents Sun-Mi because she has led a more privileged life. The sad thing is, like most bitter people Sun-Mi remains a friend and confidante to Woo-Jin, and is well on the path to permanent romantic heartbreak as she sees he is committed to Young-Mi. However, fate (or perhaps Cupid) brings another man front and center in her life. While visiting London, she had met wealthy playboy Hyung-Chul, played by Jang Dong Gun (A Gentleman's Dignity), as handsome and debonair in this role as a Korean Cary Grant. She likes him, and he falls hard for her (though he does not really declare himself since he knows her heart belongs to another). Sun-Mi starts working at a Korean TV station, and surprise! Hyung-Chul turns out to be one of its top executives. Ambitious Young-Mi is working there too, and figures that Hyung-Chul is a better steppingstone to her career as well as a better catch than Woo-In. She rejects the devoted Woo --- something from which he never recovers and begins practicing her wiles on the other man. (Fortunately, he is having none of that as he is savvy and worldly enough to see through her quickly). Young-Mi and Sun-Mi continue to compete for TV airtime, with Sun-Mi basically playing fair while Young-Mi uses every trick in the book to weasel her way to the top. The behind-the-scenes perspective is quite interesting, and you keep waiting to see what Young-Mi will do next to attain success. For me what makes this drama which is a little quaint and earnest -- have impact is the performance of Kim So Yeon. Her beauty, talent, and versatility are perfectly showcased in the role of Young-Mi, which was a real breakout role for her. She is a two-faced, conniving, grasping liar but she is also someone who has overcome a lot of adversity that she certainly did not deserve. What's more, she does not deceive herself; she has regret for some of her actions, but is incapable of stopping. She knows she should be punished for her behavior, yet that does not prevent her from doing whatever it takes to get her way. Young-Mi is a damaged person, and damaged people can be dangerous. On the other hand, it is a lot easier to be sunny, confident, and generous when you have had all the advantages and the warmth of a loving parent, like Sun-Mi. I always felt some compassion for Young-Mi, which I think was mostly due to Kim So Yeon's performance. Even with all of her devious and occasionally despicable actions, I never gave up hope that she would redeem herself. In contrast, Chae Rim is just a sweetheart - she is enormously likeable as an actress, and as a character. She projects that she is a good girl with a good heart. Her appeal is more cute and perky and her lightness of spirit stands in dramatic contrast to Kim So Yeon's intensity. Chae Rim's Sun-Mi deserves to get her prince and she does in the person of Jang Dong Gun, who is Charming with a capital C. His character has his own unhappy childhood memories and he is clearly captivated early on by Sun-Mi's simple radiance. He courts her in a straightforward, determined fashion, never coming on too strong, but always being in the right place at the right time. Finally, actor Han Jae Suk portrays the drama's truly tragic character. His Woo-Jin starts out as a happy, openhearted (if somewhat oblivious) young man and winds up a broken shell who makes the ultimate sacrifice for the woman he loves. It is actually painful to witness his decline. I had previously seen Han Jae Suk in a very different role in Glass Slipper, where he played a self-made man of power and confidence. In All About Eve, he is boyish, vulnerable, and a little pathetic. However, in the end, his actions touch your heart. Although the relationships and personal rivalries drive most of the action, All About Eve is truly a workplace melodrama. It highlights two equally powerful kinds of love: one for another person, and the other for the work you do. On occasion, the behind the scenes atmosphere seems a bit phony, but it is still provides insight as to how reporters come up with and track down stories. In addition, there is the compelling contrast between someone trying to make it on her own merits and someone else determined to use every possible manipulation to eliminate the competition. Anyone who has ever dealt with office politics can identify with some of the situations depicted here. HOME TO KOREAN DRAMA REVIEWS

Unforgettable, beautiful, heart-warming, inspiring, sweet and tender, spiritual, funny, boasting utterly fantastic writing, superb acting, and grand music, the romantic fantasy-melodrama of 49 Days (2011) has EVERYTHING fans of Korean drama yearn for. There really aren't enough superlatives in the English language to describe it, or how much I love it! It will always be in my Top Five of Korean dramas no matter how many hundreds I watch in my lifetime. Any show that has to do with the Afterlife is profoundly interesting to me. The Story: A beautiful, happily spoiled, and rich young girl named Ji Hyun (the exquisite and angelic Gyu Ri Nam) is about to be betrothed to a dashing young man named Min Ho Kang (Bae Soo Bin, in his first role as a villain) who works for her father Shin Il Shik's (actor Jung Woo Choi, from Master's Sun) successful company. On the day of her betrothal party she is delayed by traffic and she and her two best friends Eun Jung Shin (actress Ji Hye Seo, who has the most beautiful eyes I've ever seen on any woman!), and Seo Woo Park (lovely and sweet Geu Rin Bae) make a dash for it on foot, with Ji Hyun losing the heels of her shoes from running. At this point she looks up and sees a strange man on a motorcycle, and he seems to be the only person who can see her soul which is caught in between life and death. It turns out this is The Scheduler (fascinatingly played with great dramatic flair and humor by the iridescent actor Il Woo Jung), a sort of "angel of death", who greets the souls of those who are to depart from earth and guides them "up or down the elevator" to heaven or to hell. Ji Hyun's body is taken to the hospital for surgery and her soul waits in anguish, seeing her parents and Min Ho grieving for her outside the operating room. The Scheduler acknowledges her, and so begins a unique journey for the both of them that will have everlasting consequences. He gives her a teardrop necklace and tells her she must collect three genuine tears from three people who truly love her, and then her soul can be re-united with her comatose body and she will re-awaken. At first Ji Hyun thinks this will be easy, but she is told parents and siblings do not count, therefore it has to be true friends who cry for her. Who are Ji Hyun's true friends who will weep for her? She has 49 Days to find out! It turns out to be a lot more difficult than she expected! The Scheduler arranges it so that she can enter the body of a clinically depressed young woman named Yi Kyung Song (beautifully played by fantastic actress Yo Won Lee); she has given up on life since the death of the man she loved, whose identity is not revealed until later in the drama. She lives in a one room apartment, eats nothing but ramen noodles, goes to work at a convenience store at night, and sleeps all day. As Ji Hyun takes over this woman's body she begins to care about the person who has been living such an empty life for five long dull years, but there is something of major importance about Yi Kyung that Ji Hyun has yet to find out. In the meantime, as she uses the woman's body, she can appear in front of family and friends under a new identity, and most importantly, try to expose false friend Eun Jung and cheating fiance Min Ho. She sees that they are trying to rob her father of his company and in the form of this other woman she can establish new relationships with them and uncover their devious secrets. There is a catch, however: the Scheduler tells her she can never reveal to anyone that her soul is using Yi Kyung's body. Meanwhile, her friend Kang from high school, who loves her, begins to catch on to her true identity. He knows Ji Hyun so well, and even remembers the key signature of the favorite song she used to sing, so when, as Yi Kyung, she plays the piano and sings this song in the same key he is amazed and confronts her about her true identity. Will she reveal it to him and risk everything? This wonderful, sterling 20 episode drama has many surprises in store for its audience, and some adorable side characters add fun, humor, and warmth. Some viewers claim the first episode is a bit slow, but I disagree. It's exciting leading up to the car accident which changes everything, sets up the plot for what is to follow, and is very necessary to begin to understand the foundation of this drama's expert and imaginative story line. You will care deeply about beautiful Ji Hyun's plight, and root for her to gain her 3 tears of genuine love, so that she can emerge from her coma and greet her loved ones once again. You will miss the characters dreadfully once the show is over. I know I did and had to revisit them several times with repeat viewings. It's just that good! 49 Days is a must-see K-drama. Viewers of all ages will enjoy it. I watched with my 16 year old daughter at the time and she was completely engrossed in it with me. Its universal themes of love, forgiveness, and acceptance are brilliantly executed and unforgettable. This drama could very well change your life, and cause you to re-examine your own philosophies of life and death. Best way to watch: PURCHASE DVD RELEASE AT AMAZON I have bought this DVD release and it's excellent. Don't bother with bad streams online, this is a classic and deserves the best picture and sound quality. The streaming sites show disappointing prints that don't always work, are too soft, and have screen bugs constantly running throughout. Disrespectful. Don't cheat yourself with inferior images and subtitles. This is a Masterpiece and deserves the best viewing possible. Enjoy!

My friend from childhood Alison assures me that the biggest clue you can have as to whether you are really immersed and addicted to a Korean drama is by the amount of time you spend yelling at your television set while watching the story unfold. If this is true then maybe A Gentleman's Dignity (2012) should be my top rated show of all time! Even my children couldn't help but notice how often Mom was talking back to the characters in this show! "Why don't you turn it off if it frustrates you?" they laughed. Mom's sterling reply, "I can't. I WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS!" Oh yes, I was majorly addicted, even though some (most!) of the characters made me want to pull my hair out, strand by strand - at least in the beginning!!! Am I a masochist that I made it through the whole show and by the end loved it till death? FULL OST This is a story about four 40-41 year old South Korean buddies, friends since high school, who are still very involved with each others' lives, even though they have many problems relating to women. When they get together socially they act more like 20 years old than 40 years old. You probably know middle aged American men like this but it's rare to see them so consistently portrayed as boy-like in Korean dramas. Some might find this refreshing and modern, others might dislike it because of the men's often controlling, petty, and sexist behaviors toward women. However, the men's characters DO improve and grow during the course of the show. Be warned though, you will probably not warm to the lead male character played by Dong Gun Jang until later in the story. He seems afraid of emotionally connecting with women. To the woman he has obviously fallen in love with at first sight (Kim Ha Neul) he says things like, "If you won't sleep with me then don't flirt with me," and "I never want to share my money with a wife and child." If it was me I would have walked away immediately, no matter how good looking he was! I essentially watched this for actress Kim Ha Neul, who played the lead female character opposite Dong Gun; I love her to bits since seeing her in the classic Korean movie Ditto years ago, and she didn't disappoint here; she just glows with beauty and style. As opposed to most of the men in the show SHE possessed the most true Dignity. Her holding out against giving him sex before marriage gained her the ultimate advantage: he proposes marriage to her in front of all his friends. If more women would wise up and make their men work for them, like Kim Ha Neul's character does in this show, there probably would be a far lower divorce rate in society. Men don't really respect anything - or anyone - they get for free. As the old sexist saying goes, "Why buy the cow when you get the milk for free?" Dong Gun Jang (All About Eve) plays the chauvinistic middle-aged architect Do Jin Kim, who thinks he is the cat's meow when it comes to women, until he happens to spy a beautiful lady high school teacher named Yi-soo Seo (Kim Ha Neul) seeking shelter from a sudden downpour of rain. He is inside a coffee cafe waiting for yet another girlfriend to show up and he looks outside the window and sees her standing in front of him under an awning, waiting for the rain to stop. As he stares at her she senses she is being looked at and turns around and stares right back at him. Suddenly the girlfriend shows up and covers his eyes and says "Guess who?" and by the time he shakes her hands off his eyes the beautiful lady outside is gone. Not too long after, however, they run into each other again, when she is looking at a table of books outside a shop and bends down to grab a book and he passes by her. His briefcase snags her red yarn dress in the back and by the time he realizes what has happened half of the bottom of Yi-soo's dress is gone! He walks up to her and tells her what happened and then to her embarrassment he creates a makeshift cover for her bottom. She pretends to not recognize him from their first contact outside the coffee place. Then later they meet yet again when she turns out to be the new umpire for a community baseball team he sometimes volunteers to play in, along with his three best friends from childhood: his co-worker Tae San Im (Kim Suro) an engineer, Jung Rok Lee (Jong Hyuk Lee) who owns the coffee place, and Choi Yoon (Min Jong Kim, my favorite of the men because he was just so sweet) who is a lawyer. Once again Yi-soo pretends not to recognize Do Jin, which annoys him, but obviously the sparks are flying already between them. We are dealing though with a man who seems better able to truly love his car, whom he calls Betty, more than he is capable of loving women! One of Yi-soo's high school students, troublemaker Dong Hyeob Kim (Woo Bin Kim pre-Heirs), happens to accost Do Jin as he is walking to his home one night; ostensibly over obtaining cigarettes but that's just an excuse to pick a fight. Choi Yoon happens to walk in on the skirmish and he gets involved in the fight too. It all ends up at the police station, with everyone bruised and bloody, but while Dong Hyeob tries to lie and say that Do Jin started the fight, Do Jin proves otherwise, since everywhere he goes he carries a special recorder pen. Once the police hear the evidence Dong Hyeob is on the hot seat and Yi-soo is called as his guardian / teacher because he has no living parents. Now Yi-soo has to start begging the wolf Do Jin to drop the charges against her student. "Come to my office with a rose in your mouth and maybe I'll think about it," he tells her! So good sport that she is she shows up at his office, pulls a rose out of her purse and asks him if she can save face by simply putting it behind her ear instead. "That will suffice", he says, but then as he is finishing up his paperwork at his desk, he looks up and sees Yi-soo tenderly touching a pair of gloves his friend Tae San owns that he had left on his desk; Do Jin can tell instantly that this woman he admires has a crush on his best friend and he confronts her on it. He then refuses to drop the charges against her student, going back on his word. (What did I tell you about him being annoying in the beginning?) Their ensuing relationship seems to be a continuing cat and mouse game for quite some time, but despite that their sense of intimacy grows over time and Yi-soo switches her romantic feelings from Tae San to Do Jin. There's more trouble ahead though when a young man named Colin (Jong Hyun Lee, a member of the popular Korean rock band CNBlue) approaches all four friends and claims that one of them is his biological father. Do Jin quickly figures out that he is the most likely candidate, which puts extra strain on his new relationship with Yi-soo. Tae San, meanwhile, is in love with Yi-soo's best friend and roommate, Se Ra Hong (Yoon Se Ah), a professional golfer. Their relationship is off and on, since Se Ra really has no interest in marriage whatsoever but the earthy Tae San is ready to settle down and start a family. My favorite of the men, the lawyer Choi Yoon (Kim Min Jong), had lost his young wife to cancer, and struggles against his feelings for the much younger sister of Tae San, Maeri Im (Jin Yee Yoon), a former student of Yi-soo's, who had until recently been in the States finishing her education and is presently working at Jong Rok's coffee place as a server. When she returns to Korea she is entirely concentrated on winning Choi Yoon's heart, but her older brother Tae San is against the relationship because of the vast difference in their ages. Maeri is rather on the whiny side, but still you can tell she truly loves Choi Yoon, so I did end up feeling compassion for her and rooting for her to get her man. I have to admit I enjoyed seeing Choi Yoon struggle against his feelings for her. I think some of the most romantic relationships portrayed in films and dramas are when two characters fight hard against their feelings but end up together anyway. Jung Rok (Lee Jong Hyuk), the fourth friend, who owns the coffee shop, is a married playboy who has a bad habit of taking off his wedding ring every time he sees a pretty girl he wants to flirt with. His wife, the very rich socialite Min-sook Kim (Jung Nam Kim) is constantly threatening to divorce him but can never quite bring herself to do it since she's obviously still in love with him despite his cheating ways. He does seem to have some love for his wife, but it's only on his own terms. You are left wondering if the real reason he stays with her is the money she brings to the marriage. One of the best features of A Gentleman's Dignity are the preludes which begin every episode, flashbacks which show the audience how these men became so close over time. There are funny ones, like when they all decide to quit smoking at the same time and suffer nervous ticks, and beautiful sad ones, like the flashback when they showed three friends comforting the fourth (Choi Yoon) after he lost his wife to cancer. He was so grief-stricken that he couldn't even dress himself for the funeral and his three friends tenderly do it for him, all of them weeping for him at the same time. I thought that scene one of the most moving I have ever seen in any K-drama. Heck, in any film, either! There are many ups and downs in everyone's relationships, which keep you guessing who will get together and who might possibly break up. There is one particular marriage proposal scene near the end which is an unforgettable charming one, danced to Lee Seung Gi's beautiful song Will You Marry Me? (the song is also heard in Heirs). I loved it so much I played it over and over again. The whole OST is fantastic on this show. I ordered the CD. I watched this K-drama on Netflix originally butit has of course since been removed. If you like shows where the characters seem like people you'd meet in your own life, or sophisticated, more mature shows that focus on middle aged people instead of young "flower boys", then don't miss A Gentleman's Dignity. It's written by the same authoress, Kim Eun Sook, who brought us the classic Secret Garden, and more recently the worldwide hits Descendants Of The Sun and Goblin. She really knows how to write interesting, sexy, and unique stories. Buy DVD Boxset on Amazon HOME TO KOREAN DRAMA REVIEWS

I watched this short series Aftermath (2014) the year it premiered, then watched it again in 2017 to write my review. The series was based on a science fiction web toon by Kim Sun Kwon and originally filmed to appear on mobile devices. It was directed by Kim Yang Hee, a graduate of New York Film Academy, and produced by Oasis Pictures. Because of its short length you can breeze through this drama in no time. The young actors were new to me at the time, but now, several years later, I recognize some of them from other shows I've watched since its original premiere. The Story: Quiet, unassuming, and nice high school student Ahn Dae Yong (actor Dong Joon, Neighborhood Lawyer Jo Deul Ho, and the So Jisub film A Company Man) has an accident while talking to his girl friend Joo Hee Kyung (Sun Joo Ah, Doll House) on the top of a second story building, falling and landing on a car below. He is rushed to the hospital and ends up in a coma, but makes a miraculous recovery. Soon enough, his mother takes him home and he suddenly becomes aware he has developed a super power, to predict who could be a murderer and who is about to die. Those who appear to him to have red eyes seem to be destined to die soon, while those with blue eyes seem to be about to commit murder. (Since most Asian folks have dark brown to almost black eyes BOTH eye colors stand out as unusual to an audience). Ahn Dae Yong decides to use this power to try and save the lives of people with red eyes who are about to die, and after some successes and consequent notoriety in the media he becomes an unexpected hero to the people. Gone is his nice quiet life. At first he relishes all the extra attention he receives, for instance saving an entire bunch of people with red eyes who are on a train with him, and preventing a young lady withred eyes from committing suicide, but soon enough he starts dreading his newfound popularity, especially when some nefarious types such as bully Kim Jung Gu (Kim Geun Hyung) try to start trouble with him, to the point where he gets so angry HE suddenly develops blue eyes as he develops murderous thoughts toward the bullies, and even toward his own best male friend, Jo In Ho (Kim Min Sook, Descendants Of The Sun, High School: Love On). Can he ever get his life back to normal again, or is he destined to become a murderer? If you like short but suspenseful K-dramas and a strong performance by a leading man then check it out. It's scary, but since it was mostly aimed at teenagers it's not quite as scary as one would expect. HOME TO KOREAN DRAMA REVIEWS

A mostly funny and upbeat webdrama about a robot from the future coming to save what's left of a dysfunctional family in the present day, 109 Strange Things (2017) was perhaps too short for such a delightful story premise, but nevertheless I enjoyed every minute of it, particularly the performance of lead actor Choi Tae Joon (Exit, Padam Padam) as the robot, an actor whom I've always felt was underutilized by the Korean drama industry - he should have gotten so many better roles over the last ten years; he's such a completely natural and intelligent actor, not to mention very handsome in his own way, and it's no wonder popular Korean actress Park Shin Hye picked up on his attractions and made him her boyfriend in real life. I don't blame her one bit! As I write this he is doing his required military service so I probably won't see him in anything new for another two years. Not fair! Korea should make robots their military soldiers and leave young human men alone! (How's that for an odd Sci Fi statement?). ;) The pretty actress who was his leading lady was Jung Chae Yeon, the sweet lead from another favorite short drama of mine To: Jenny. She had nice chemistry with Choi Tae Joon here, which I'm sure in some scenes would have been difficult for her: how do you show growing feelings for a robot instead of a human man? Then again, when your leading man possesses such a beaming smile, how could you not warm to him? The Story: We first meet a recent college graduate young lady, who majored in Philosophy, named Shin Ki Won (Jung Chae Yeon), when she is on an interview with a large firm trying to find a job, but with only a liberal arts degree she is not accepted. We discover this has been a pattern of hers for several months: no one will hire her because she has no experience and a liberal arts degree is seen as basically useless in the corporate world. Even when she tries to tell them why philosophy interests her so much they dismiss her intelligent discourse on the subject. Ki Won is majorly disheartened at all the rejections she has been facing, and after this current rejection she goes home only to find her lazy, older married sister, with baby in tow, accompanied by her equally lazy unemployed brother-in-law, standing outside the door of their parents' house wanting in, since they've been kicked out of their apartment for non-payment of rent. Ki Won reluctantly lets them in and they quickly make themselves at home, asking when dinner will be ready! (no offers to pay for a dinner or make one themselves). Then added to the household burden is Ki Won's younger high school age sister, who seems to be a little slow in her studies, plus a younger brother still in college who lacks ambition as well. Their parents are nowhere to be seen and we learn they are on frequent "business trips" that have to do with the father of the family being a robotics science engineer and inventor. Ki Won overnight is placed in the awkward and unenviable position of having to look after all these losers in her family herself. After dinner, as they sit around arguing, as all irresponsible families tend to do, they suddenly hear a BOOM! sound and the lights in the house go out. They run outside and see a strange, lifelike robotic man who calls himself KDI-109 and tells them he's been sent back in time from the year 2050 in order to be of help to them and get them all on the fast track to success, especially Ki Won, whom he states is his primary mission case. He can take one look at them and know everything about them, their names, their ages, their body chemistries, and their weaknesses physically and mentally. Just as they decide he's too scary to accept into their lives, no matter what he says, a strange team of gangsters arrive on the scene (two men and one woman dressed all in dark clothes and giving off evil vibes) who seem to know all about this robot man and they want to kidnap him and dissect him to see how he works! The Shin family feel sympathy for him and with the robot's help manage to shake the gangsters off and bring KDI-109 back to their home. Slowly they all get to know one another and feel comfortable with each other. Soon enough KDI-109 seems to start fulfilling the promises he made to the family to improve their lives. He tells the younger sister that she has more flexible learning opportunities at another school, how to make the brother excel at college, how to make the older sister employable from home despite having a baby, how to find a new job for the chronically unemployed brother-in-law, and last but not least, how to get Ki Won to impress hiring executives at companies so that she can make herself more employable, perhaps even confident enough in future to start her own successful business! As Ki Won wrestles with life’s big questions, and with the demands of her dependent family, will KDI-109 help her find the answers she needs to be successful? What will happen to those gangsters who want to destroy 109 so they can tear him apart and find out how he was built? Will the family's father inventor ever return to help them all stabilize their lives -- and 109's -- as well? Will any romance be able to bloom between a human, and a robot? Watch this fun short drama and discover the answers for yourselves. Enjoy!

A completely addictive Korean historical drama (sageuk), I watched 100 Days My Prince (2018) in a two day marathon while waiting for upcoming episodes of an ongoing drama I was watching to arrive on schedule. I didn't know going in that this K-drama would be so captivating and enjoyable, but I should have known, given the excellence of this great ensemble cast, and the writing of scriptwriter No Ji Sul, who had written the unforgettable masterpiece Scent Of A Woman in 2011. I finally watched this in 2020, and I wouldn't have waited two years if I had known it would be that mesmerizing a drama! I've been watching the leading lady Nam Ji Hyun (23 when she made this drama) since she was a little girl in the 2005 fusion sageuk Rebirth: Next, and had really loved her in Angel Eyes (2014) playing the younger version of Gu Hye Sun's character, and her role in Late Night Restaurant (2015) playing Oh Ji Ho's young fiance (lucky girl!). She has a wonderful warmth about her that makes her an exceptional actress. Leading man D.O. (full name Do Kyung Soo from world famous Kpop group EXO) had very much impressed me in the masterpiece It's Okay, That's Love (2014), playing an imaginary character who haunted Jo In Sung's character's schizophrenic mind, and as a psychotic criminal in I Remember You (2015). He's pleasant to look at, no doubt, but with each drama or film I watch him in I realize that underneath that pretty boy outward appearance is an actor with great substance and depth and intelligence for one so young. There was one scene in this drama, in particular, that made my mouth drop down in awe due to his superb acting, when his character cradles the blood stained clothes of a friend who had died to protect him from assassination. I felt my hot tears pour down at that unforgettable scene. "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." - John 15:13 KJV. I can just imagine what an even more impressive actor D.O. will be ten years from now, and after he finishes military service and becomes more manly in appearance instead of boyish. Watch out, K-drama World! Rounding out the excellent main cast was veteran actor Cho Seung Ha (Gu Family Book) as the dastardly villain of the story (phenomenal performance, how I hated his character!), my particular favorite Kim Sun Ho (You Drive Me Crazy!, Catch The Ghost) as second male lead, playing a coy Royal Librarian, Jung Hae Kyun (Black Dog, My Mister) playing the supportive adoptive father of the female lead character (he's always excellent), and for comic relief Lee Joon Hyuk (The Wind Blows), and veteran actor Ahn Suk Hwan (Partner, Chuno) playing an oafish politician who inappropriately lusts after the much younger leading lady character. It is so much fun to watch so many familiar faces pop up in Korean dramas. They make you smile when you recognize them in the cast. Also, the two child actors who played the leads as children are worth noting, because they were simply fabulous, even if their time on screen was relatively short: Jung Ji Hoon (Goblin, My Mister, Circle), and cutie pie Heo Jung Hun, who had played Han Ji Min's character when young in Hyde, Jekyll, and I. Every time she was on the screen and smiled so pertly my heart melted, she was just that adorable! The Story: During the Joseon era, a young boy named Lee Yool (Jung Ji Hoon, child, D.O. adult), the nephew of the current King sitting on the throne, likes to play at pretend battles with his male friends, but he always needs to win to be happy, which leads to some bullying by him of children who can't keep up with his martial arts' skills. During one particular "battle", a strong and brave young nobleman's daughter named Yoon Si Yeo (Heo Jung Hun as a child, Nam Ji Hyun as an adult) enters the scene and rescues a bullied boy, and tells Lee Yool off to his face: "You're supposed to be kind to people weaker than you are", she lectures him. Despite himself, Lee Yool is impressed by this brave little girl and starts to befriend her. They grow to like each other and they cast former enmity aside. Lee Yool even promises to marry her someday, as cherry blossoms fall down all around them. However, in the adult world, plots to disrupt the Kingdom begin to brew, initiated by an ambitious Left State Councilor named Kim Cha Eon (Cho Song Ha), events which will threaten the happiness of these two childhood friends. Cha Eon wants a weak King on the throne so that he can control him, and recognizes that the current King's brother (Jo Han Chul) is perfect to fill that role. Being a coward at heart, this brother goes along with Cha Eon's plan to get rid of the current King, his brother, by force, so that he can take his place on the throne. This all works out almost too perfectly for the evil forces in the Kingdom, and the only one to object to the new King happens to be a righteous and noble minister, the father of little Si Yeo, who is murdered right before her eyes by the evil Left State Minister. He thrusts a sword into him with all the Satanic hate he can muster. Also watching events on the sidelines, in shock, is little Lee Yool, who will become a Prince now that his weak father will take the throne as King. The two childhood friends are torn apart by these tumultuous events, and little Si Yeo has to run away for her life with her protective older brother named Moo Yeon, and eventually brother and sister are parted by fate and she is raised by a kindhearted poor man (Jung Hae Kyun) in a distant village, whom she learns to call "father", in place of her biological nobleman father who was murdered. Si Yeo's name is changed to Hong Sim to protect her identity, because of course the Left State Councilor wants to kill her since she was a witness to her father's murder. Meanwhile, Prince Lee Yool grows up harboring resentments against his weak father who is now the King and easily manipulated by the Left State Councilor, who holds the real power in the Kingdom. As a maturing young man, Lee Yool blames his father for the early death of his beloved mother, which occurred under mysterious circumstances, and to make matters worse he is married off to a girl he does not love, Kim So Hye (Han So Hee), the daughter of that same evil Left State Councilor! The only things that bring Lee Yool any happiness are 1) becoming proficient at martial arts, 2) studying Confucianism, and 3) memories of that brave little girl he had grown to love in childhood. His only friends are his devoted bodyguard named Dong Joo (Do Ji Han, lovely performance), and a Royal Librarian with a good sense of irony and fun, named Jung Je Yoon (Kim Sun Ho, who always brightened my mood whenever he showed up in a scene). Je Yoon becomes a kind of secret advisor to the Prince, and even later he grows fond of Si Yeo alias Hong Sim, too, so yet another kind of Second Male Leaditis Syndrome befell me, as I watched his cute scenes with actress Nam Ji Hyun blossom on screen. I always knew she would never forget the Prince, but at times I couldn't help rooting for Je Yoon anyway. The Left State minister Cha Eon then finds out that his daughter the Princess, who is married to Lee Yool, is pregnant, but since he knows his daughter and Prince Lee Yool have never consummated their marriage, since the Prince does not love her, he realizes soon enough he will somehow have to get rid of Prince Lee Yool permanently before he discovers his "wife" is pregnant. When Cha Eon asks his daughter who the biological father of her child is she refuses to answer him, wanting to protect that man from discovery. The wicked Cha Eon secretly orders his private soldiers to assassinate Lee Yool, but during a chase through the woods the Prince's bodyguard comes up with the idea that they should switch clothes and separate, and the poor bodyguard is murdered in the Prince's place. While falling down a hill in the escape, Prince Lee Yool hits his head on a rock and blanks out. When he is discovered later, unconscious - by none other than "Hong Sim's" adopted father - and nursed back to health by him and his "daughter" Hong Sim - Lee Yool does not remember his identity when he wakes up. They give him the fake name of Won Deuk, and they pretend Won Deuk was an ex-soldier who is her fiance, hoping to keep the lusting paws of a local politician named Park Sun Do (Ahn Suk Hwan) off Hong Sim. They even hold a fake marriage ceremony, with all the funny locals in the village they live in attending and cheering them on. Even though Lee Yool as Won Deuk no longer remembers he was a Prince, he still strangely holds some of the same personality traits and quirks he had before, such as a rude way of speaking (his standard line to everyone is "This makes me uncomfortable" - it got to be a bit of a joke after awhile), and fussiness with the run down cabin they live in, and the plain food offered him (as a Prince he of course was served wonderful gourmet food!), plus troubles relating to women and to the plain people in the town. Eventually, some of his strengths as a Prince come into focus, for instance he can read Chinese (when most poor people of that time period were illiterate), and his skills at the bow and arrow and sword are incomparable. He slowly gains the respect of the poor village people, which enhances Hong Sim's standing in the community as well. They even make extra money by transcribing books into Chinese for the local bookseller, which helps pay off debts that are owed. As time goes on Lee Yool alias Won Deuk falls in love with his fake wife Hong Sim, and she feels closer to him as well. Will he ever recover his memory, or return to the palace as a Prince, and if he does, will the evil Left State Minister stop targeting him for assassination, or plan another one all over again? What will happen to the Prince's legal wife, who supposedly is carrying his child? Will Hong Sim ever be able to recover from the loss of her "Won Deuk", whom she has grown to love, as a real wife would love her real husband? Will they ever remember that they were once childhood friends? What about Hong Sim's long lost brother, Moo Yeon (Kim Jae Young as an adult) who saved her life as a child? Will she ever see him again? What will happen to the current King, who was placed on the throne after the deaths of too many innocent people, even his own brother? Will he abdicate in favor of his far more moral son, or will a harsh punishment be delivered to him instead? The multiple side stories going on in 100 Days My Prince add lots of cool interest to this drama as well (too many to go into here without giving away major spoilers), and I can guarantee that if you start this saqeuk you will become majorly hooked on this borderline masterpiece and probably want to marathon it the way I did. Check it out if you have a long block of time you can devote to it, especially if you like historical dramas. Overall this drama has a very sweet ambiance to it, and many poetic screen moments that will linger in your memory long after you have concluded the drama. Don't forget to bring tissues ... and Enjoy!

சென்னை: இருட்டு அறையில் முரட்டு குத்து படத்தின் இரண்டாம் பாகத்தின் ஹாட் டீசரை நடிகர் ஆர்யா வெளியிடுகிறார். இயக்குநர் சந்தோஷ் பி. ஜெயக்குமார் இயக்கத்தில் உருவாகி உள்ள இந்த படத்திற்கு இரண்டாம் குத்து என பெயர் வைத்துள்ளனர் அந்த மாதிரி படம் ஹாரர் காமெடி எனும் பெயரில் அந்த மாதிரி அடல்ட் படங்களாக இயக்கி வருகிறார் இயக்குநர் சந்தோஷ் பி. ஜெயக்குமார். அவர் இயக்கிய ஹரஹர மஹாதேவகி, இருட்டு அறையில் முரட்டுக் குத்து படங்கள் இளைஞர்கள் மத்தியில் ஹிட் அடித்த நிலையில், மூன்றாவது படத்தை ரிலீஸ் பண்ண ரெடியாகி விட்டார். அவரே ஹீரோ சந்தோஷ் இயக்கத்தில் வெளியான இரண்டு படங்களிலும் நாயகனாக நடித்த கெளதம் கார்த்திக், மூன்றாவது படத்தில் நடிக்கவில்லை என மறுத்த நிலையில், ஏகப்பட்ட ஹீரோக்களை அணுகியுள்ளார் இயக்குநர் சந்தோஷ். அடல்ட் படத்தில் நடித்தால், ஃபேமிலி ஆடியன்ஸ் போய்விடுவார்கள் என எண்ணிய ஹீரோக்கள் கை விரிக்க, கடைசியாக அவரே ஹீரோ ஆகிவிட்டார். 4 நாயகிகள் பெரிய வாழைப் பழத்துடன் படு ஆபாசமாக ஹீரோ சந்தோஷ் மற்றும் காமெடியன் பிக்பாஸ் டேனி இருக்கும் அந்த ஃபர்ஸ்ட் லுக் போஸ்டர் நடுவே பிகினியில் மிரட்டும் நடிகை மீனள் உடன் சேர்த்து மொத்த 4 நாயகிகள் இந்த படத்தில் கவர்ச்சிக் காட்டி மிரட்டி உள்ளனர். கரிஷ்மா, ஆக்ரித்தி மற்றும் ஷாலு ஷம்முவின் அதகளத்தை ரசிகர்கள் சீக்கிரமே கண்டு ரசிக்க உள்ளனர். ஹாட்டஸ்ட் டீசர் ஃபர்ஸ்ட் லுக் வெளியாகி தமிழ் சினிமா ரசிகர்கள் மத்தியில் பெரும் எதிர்ப்புகளையும், இளைஞர்கள் மத்தியில் ஆதரவையும் பெற்ற நிலையில், நாளை ஹாட்டான டீசர் வெளியாகப் போகும் அறிவிப்பு தற்போது அசத்தலாக வெளியாகி உள்ளது. இயக்குநர் சந்தோஷ் வெளியிட்ட அந்த புரமோ தற்போது டிரெண்டாகி வருகிறது. உள்ளாடைகள் பறக்க பெட்ரூமில் இருந்து உள்ளாடைகள் ஒவ்வொன்றாக வெளியே வந்து விழுவது போல, தற்போது வெளியாகி இருக்கும் ஹாட் புரமோவை பார்த்த ரசிகர்கள், கடைசியில் பெரிய பல்ப் ஒன்றை வாங்குவது நிச்சயம். அது என்ன என்பதை அந்த புரமோவை பார்த்தே தெரிந்து கொள்ளுங்கள், சர்ப்ரைஸை உடைக்க விரும்பவில்லை. டீசரை வெளியிடும் ஆர்யா கெளதம் கார்த்திக் ஃபர்ஸ்ட் லுக்கை வெளியிட்டதற்கே கேவலமாக திட்டுக்களை வாங்கிக் கட்டிக் கொண்டார். இந்நிலையில், நடிகர் ஆர்யா, அந்த ஹாட்டான டீசரை வெளியிட துணிந்து தாமாக முன் வந்துள்ளார். நாளை மாலை 5 மணிக்கு ரிலீசாகவுள்ள இரண்டாம் குத்து டீசரில் எத்தனை உள்குத்துகள் இருக்கப் போகிறதோ, நடிகர் ஆர்யாவின் நிலைமையை நினைத்தால் பாவமாக இருக்கிறது.

சென்னை: தங்களை பற்றி மற்ற போட்டியாளர்களுக்கு சொல்லும் டாஸ்க்கில் சனம் ஷெட்டி தனக்கு நேர்ந்த விபத்து குறித்து கூறியது பலரையும் உருக செய்துள்ளது. பிக் பாஸ் நிகழ்ச்சியில் இந்த வாரம் எவிக்‌ஷன் இல்லை என்கிற சந்தோஷமான செய்தியை சும்மா கிழி பாடலுக்கு நடுவே பிக் பாஸ் கூறி போட்டியாளர்களை குஷிப்படுத்தினார். முதலாவதாக நாட்டுப்புற பாடகர் வேல் முருகன் இந்த டாஸ்க்கில் தன்னை பற்றியும் தான் வளர்ந்து வந்தது. ஆடு மாடு மேய்த்துக் கொண்டு கஷ்டப்பட்டதையும், அப்துல் கலாமிடம் கவிதைப் போட்டியில் பரிசு பெற்றது குறித்தும் கூறி, அம்மா பற்றி பாடல் பாட, அனைத்து போட்டியாளர்களும் தாரை தாரையாக கண்ணீர் சிந்தி அழுதனர். மாடியில் இருந்து விழுந்து பிக் பாஸ் நிகழ்ச்சிக்கு ஆடல் பாடல் இல்லாமல் நடந்தபடியே வந்த சனம் ஷெட்டியை பார்த்து, கமல்ஹாசன் அவருக்கு நடந்த ஒரு பிரச்சனை குறித்து மறைமுகமாக கூறினார். சனம் ஷெட்டிக்கு அப்படி என்ன பிரச்சனை என ரசிகர்கள் குழம்பித் தவித்த வேளையில், இந்த டாஸ்க்கில் தான் மாடியில் இருந்து கீழே விழுந்த விஷயத்தை கூற அனைத்து ஹவுஸ் மேட்ஸ்களும் ஷாக்கானார்கள். காப்பாற்றிய ஆட்டோக்காரர் மாடியில் இருந்து 22 அடி உயரத்தில் ஸ்டன்ட் ஒன்றை செய்யும் போது எதிர்பாராத விதமாக கீழே விழுந்துட்டேன். வேலிக்காக போடப்பட்ட ஃபென்ஸ் கம்பிகளில் மாட்டி சுமார், 2 மணி நேரம் தவித்துக் கிடந்தேன். யாருமே வந்து உதவி பண்ணாத நிலையில், ஆட்டோக்காரர் ஒருவர் ஓடி வந்து உதவி செய்து, என்னை மருத்துவமனையில் சேர்த்தார் எனக் கூறும்போது, ஷிவானி, கேப்ரில்லா உள்ளிட்ட ஹவுஸ் மேட்ஸ் கண்கள் குளமாக மாறியது. பாத்ரூம் பேன் உசுரு போய் உசுரு வந்தது போல அந்த விபத்தில் இருந்து பிழைத்து வந்தேன். என்னை என்னோட அப்பா அம்மா தான் பார்த்துக்கிட்டாங்க, இந்த வயசுல பாத்ரூம் பேன் எல்லாம் அவங்க மாத்திவிட்டதை இப்ப நினைச்சாலும் என தனது வலிகளை முதல் முறையாக சனம் வெளிப்படுத்த வெளிப்படுத்த அவர் மீது பலருக்கும் மரியாதை அதிகரித்தது. ஜித்தன் ரமேஷ் எல்லாம் ரொம்பவே ஃபீல் பண்ணார். அம்மா அப்பா தான் காதலர் தர்ஷனை பிரிந்த நிலையில், சனம் ஷெட்டி, இந்த விஷயத்தை மற்றவர்களுடன் பகிர்ந்து கொள்ளும் போது, இந்த உலகத்துலயே நமக்கு ஒண்ணுனா அம்மா அப்பா தான் வருவாங்க, வேற யாருமே வரமாட்டாங்க என நெகிழ்ந்த தருணங்கள் இரண்டாம் நாள் பிக் பாஸ் நிகழ்ச்சியில் பொன்னான தருணங்களாக மாறின.