Pyaar Impossible (2010)

I didn't expect to like this film, which is probably why I did. I'm not a really big fan of either Priyanka or Uday Chopra, but I actually liked them both quite well in this film. Priyanka is just right for the beautiful and popular girl on campus, and Uday surprised me by being a really sweet and believable geek.

Abhay (Uday Chopra) is a put-upon geek who has a gigantic crush on the most popular girl at his college, Alisha (Priyanka Chopra). When Alisha's father takes her out of school, Abhay has never spoken to her, although he did save her life when she drunkenly fell off a bridge. Seven years later, Abhay's innovative software technology is stolen and at the advice of his dad (Anupam Kher) he heads to Singapore to try to recover it. He doesn't have much luck with that initially, but while he's there he bumps into Alisha, who is now a single mother working at the company interested in the software stolen from him and whom he still idolizes. Alisha mistakes him for the new nanny sent to take care of her undisciplined daughter, and Abhay allows himself to be cajoled into the job. Then all he has to do is make friends with the daughter, get back his software, outsmart the villain who stole it, and win Alisha's heart. No problem.


The script, written by Uday Chopra, is not especially original, but it is played with so much humility and sincerity that it ends up being a sweet film whatever its faults. The comedy actually works pretty well, especially the Thai dinner scene. And Uday should only play geeks from now on.

Yuvakudu (2000)

Here's the back cover's take on this story, (spelling and grammatical errors preserved):

Siva (Sumanth) life long ambition had always been to join the Indian army. His father having died on the battle field serves to make his intention only stronger. However his attempts at getting into the army are not proving successful. When he meets sindhu (Bhoomika) and falls in love with her, he loses her by not declaring his love she treats him as she might any other friend. And when sindhu meets Padmavathi (Jaya Sudha) and agrees to marry her son, all hope for siva seems to be at an end. Will he ever realize any of his dreams?

Here's my take:

Padmavathi is a widowed mother who loves her son very much and is willing to do just about anything to make him happy. Her son, Shiva, is a spoiled, hot-tempered jerk who cares for nobody's feelings but his own. He falls for the beauty and compassionate heart of the neglected and love-starved Sindhu, but instead of trying to get to know her better or to win her favor, he arrogantly demands her hand in marriage. After she refuses to say yes immediately, he's barely civil to her, although he still likes her.* Padmavathi befriends Sindhu for the sake of her son's love, and Sindhu becomes attached enough to her to do anything for her. So Shiva lives happily ever after, sort of.

*I think his nastiness is supposed to show that he a tender heart that he's protecting with his arrogance. What he really has is a preoccupation with his own wants and a total lack of interest in what anyone else is thinking or feeling.

Why don't they hire me to write the back covers of these things?

Nandanam (2002)

This sweet film centers around a maid servant named Balamani (Navya Nair) who falls in love with the son of the household, Manu (Prithviraj). This is supposedly kind of presumptuous of her, but I don't see who could help falling for Prithviraj if he flirted with her. Look at this cute "candlelight dinner" he has with her out on a broken box in the back of the house.


But of course not everything can go smoothly (this is true love, after all), and issues come up. As much as I love Prithviraj, I'm glad the film was centered around Navya Nair instead of him, because every time I see his face in the second half of the film it makes me feel like I'm imploding, (and it's not because of his beard). He just looks so sad and restless that it breaks my heart.


I really like Balamani's character a lot. She lectures inanimate objects and sings and dances while she does her work about the house. She sticks up for herself but is also kind and compassionate. She's sweet and self-sacrificing while still being spunky and fun. She's believes in her dreams but is also a pragmatist. She's true to everyone, including herself. Basically, she's just a really good human being.


One of the characters I think I was supposed to like and I didn't was Manu's mom. She's introduced as being a lot like I see Balamani as being--strong, hard-working, loving, etc. However, when things get rough she puts her pride before her son's happiness.

Still, overall it's a lovely movie. Prithviraj and Navya Nair are adorable, and the storyline is pretty good. The songs are good and fit in nicely with the story. The pacing is slow but steady and right for this film. If you like stories about true love and religious devotion, this is the right film for you.