I Have Found It

South Indian Director Rajiv Menon's "Kandukondein Kandukondein", is the adaptation of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. A really marvellous adaptation. Done with a touch of finesse. Malayalam actor Mammootty, givesa superb performance. Beauty Queen, Aishwarya Rai, and Tabu(Mira Nair's: Namesake), Ajith, Abbas and the late Srividya all have acted with immaculate originality. Music maestro, AR Rahman proves his genius yet another time. The DVD is really worth collecting.

As most people buying this know this is an adaptation of Jane Austen's 'Sense & Sensibility'. It is a Tamal production from South India's 'Kollywood' industry. It is often described as Bollywood and in fact it is similar in its song and dance style, but 'Bollywood' is a blend of Bombay (now Mumbai) and Hollywood. I wont relate the story as Austen's is well known and it part of the fun spotting the parallels.I have owned this for a while but kept shifting it down the stack as it looked a bit more traditional and subdued and I prefer more staginess, modernity and power often. However, although it started looking more traditional, it became more and more modern and accessible and you stood very similar to current Bollywoods of the time.The music is by international award winning A.R. Rahman and others so this raises it to higher standards too. What really stood out for me was the cinematography as it is beautifully framed. Some of the dance numbers are beautiful, sometimes fairly energetic and at other times unusual.The way they have taken the essence of the Austen story into a modern context of film-making, arranged marriages and a soldier dealing with feeling forgotten by those that sent him to war (where he came back partly disabled).Tabu and Aishwarya are very good as usual Tabu and Aishwarya are very good as usual. Mammootty as the older caring male was also good though I didn't really believe the developing love Ash's character had for him. Ajith as the filmmaker was also very good but for us Abbas (as a corporate high-flying romantic interest who sells out for money instead of fulfilling his promise to marry) wasn't that charismatic and ended up being the weak point. Perhaps he doesn't cross cultures as well.If you love your Bollywoods try this Tamal one - though give it a little time to settle in as the pace and feel is just a little different to begin with.It rates well above average generally elsewhere on the Net.