Oh My Friend (*ing Siddharth, Shruti Hassan)

[Istina]

A few snippets:

From Idlebrain

Siddharth with Dil Raju
Dil Raju who produced Bommarillu - the best movie in the career of Siddharth is going to produce another film with him. This film is going to be directed by the first timer Venu Sreeram. The regular shoot is expected to happen from December of this year. Dil Raju has recently registered a title - ‘Roti Kapada Romance’. We have to wait and see if that title is meant for this movie or not.

From OneIndia

Speaking about the director, Dil Raju says, "Debutant Venu Sriram has been associated with our banner right from the film Aarya. He has prepared a beautiful subject and Siddharth has given his nod for the story."

"We will formally launch the film during Dasara and start the regular shooting soon after we finish the present assignment with Prabhas. We will soon announce the details about the cast and technicians of the film.", Producer concluded.

Exciting!

[Kishi]

I'm ready for more Siddarth!

[mysticgoryfilms]

The trailer came out yesterday. It's very short though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGLqLjSRmkw&feature=player_embedded#at=10

[Usha]

The trailer came out yesterday. It's very short though.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGLqLjSRmkw&feature=player_embedded#at=10

The little fangirlie in me says " Yaaaay"  
Another romcom, mushy movie with Sid   doing what he does best
I`m digging the hair ( not so much the guitar   ) , but not sure wether it suits him or not. Can`t decide. Haha, a really big issue I know  

[S Hushpuppy]

I'm ready for more Siddarth!

I absolutely agree! 

[NewLaura]

I just saw it and I really LOVED it!  I loved both Siddharth and Shruti Haasan.  They both look amazing and both give great performances.  I think this might turn out to be one of my favorite Siddharth movies.  I can’t wait to watch it again on the dvd with subtitles. 

[Usha]

You make me excited NewLaura !   
You make my expectations skyhigh ( and I had high hopes for "Once upon a warrior" too, but was horrible disappointed    )

Could you write up some of your thoughts about the movie ?  ( nothing too spoilerish )

[Usha]

Some song trailers :

Sri Chaitanya   ( Sidd is singing )
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8C77cOExH_c&feature=relmfu

Nuvvu Nenu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNK2U4FKSNA&feature=relmfu

Aalochana Vastene
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7BOlK8RCL_A&feature=relmfu

[mysticgoryfilms]

Hasn't this movie already released? Where are all the reviews for it? (Thanks for your review, NewLaura!).

Btw, what's the story for this movie? In the song trailers I see that there are two girls.

[NewLaura]

It’s hard to write about this one without spoiling it!  And then it didn’t have subtitles, either.

It’s a movie about best friends who are not of the same gender (Siddharth and Shruti), and what happens when they each find other romantic partners (Hansika and Navdeep).  I've had male non-romantic best friends at different points in my life, and the movie really touched a nerve with me.
 
I think Siddharth looks the best he has ever looked.  I sat there with a big stupid grin on my face for at least the first half of the film.  I was aware I was grinning like an idiot, but I just couldn’t stop. 

I liked both Siddharth’s and Shruti’s characters.  Shruti’s character has some spunk and personality.

You can read a detailed review here:
http://cinemachaat.wordpress.com/2011/11/15/oh-my-friend/

I loved the songs.  I loved that Shruti was with Siddharth for Shri Chaitanya (and I think they both sing that song).  It’s the type of song he usually does by himself (dancing through the streets of the city).

I thought Ali’s entrance was hilarious.  The subsequent comedy track was kept to a minimum, and didn’t seem like it was too annoying.

I have to admit that I remembered one thing that bothered me.  Siddharth and Shruti get into a couple of intense arguments, and during one of them, Siddharth grabs her by the hair and jerks her head back and down.  Somehow it bothered me more than big, violent battles between the hero and villains in other Telugu films.  To me, the big battles seem more like cartoon-ish, unreal, metaphorical battles.  But this quick moment of violence seemed all too real, and I found it disturbing.  And it didn’t seem like it was censured in any way.  There were no subtitles, of course, but I didn’t get the impression he apologized or that it was considered an instance of “crossing the line” or of wrong-doing or of unacceptable violence.  I’m really hoping there was an apology somewhere in there in the dialogue.  It's the kind of thing villains often do to the heroine in movies, but, to me,  it's different having the hero do it, especially if it isn't censured in any way.

[mysticgoryfilms]

Thanks NewLaura! So it's a bit like Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. So do Siddharth and Shruti get together in the end? 

Also does anyone know how well this movie is doing? It released along with Rockstar right?

[NewLaura]

Thanks NewLaura! So it's a bit like Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na. So do Siddharth and Shruti get together in the end? 

pm me, if you really want to know... 

Also does anyone know how well this movie is doing? It released along with Rockstar right?

Siddharth tweeted this trade report this morning.  It says it has broken even in the first 10 days.
http://www.idlebrain.com/trade/omf-10days.html

[Prem Rogue]

Siddharth singing in the studio:

Sri Chaitanya

Maa Daddy Pockets

[red42]

Thanks NewLaura for the link to my review

I really enjoyed it too  -  despite all the things I picked on when I wrote about it 

I definitely think this is one of Siddharth's better efforts in recent times and also really liked Shruti. I wasn't that impressed with her in AOD or 7Aam Arivu but I can't wait to see her in 3 with Dhanush now!

It's a fun film and the friendship between Siddharth and Shruti is very sweet. I'd totally forgotten about the way he fights with her but you're totally right - that was disturbing. Hopefully subtitles will put it a bit more in perspective, but somehow I doubt it!

[gabahd]

I agree Shruti was much better in this than 7aum Arivu.
I quite enjoyed the movie despite not having subs.

Spoiler (hover to show)

. . . .  but I sooo wish they would have ended up together! They make a great pair!

Well, it wouldn't have been so bad if their choice of spouse was better... The guy was a typical case of "dump that jerk and go with your best friend" so maybe they made him that way to mess up with our expectations. He did wear a beautiful jacket in the final suit though, so I'm willing to give him a chance.

Random thoughts:
-It seemed Siddharth spent half the movie with his hands in his pockets and shoulders shrugged up, I think that was an attempt to make his biceps look bigger or something, it annoyed me a little, lol.
- Hansika's introduction was very much focused on her clivage, which I found quite disturbing!
- Also didn't like how he pulls her hair. I could see how they could tease eachother in a buddy/buddy way, but this seemed very disrespectful to me.

Questions/Clarifications:
- What was the story behind Hansika making decisions by picking a finger? I mean I get it, but it seemed there was some sort of background story in the scene in the restaurant.
- What is the exact relationship with the elders? 2 are Sid's parents, Shruti has a mother, not a father? We didn't really get that.

Spoiler (hover to show)

- What was the good news when they interrupted the 24hours of being together? That his dad had finally used the motorbike?

[mayabazar]

Questions/Clarifications:
- What was the story behind Hansika making decisions by picking a finger? I mean I get it, but it seemed there was some sort of background story in the scene in the restaurant.
- What is the exact relationship with the elders? 2 are Sid's parents, Shruti has a mother, not a father? We didn't really get that.

Spoiler (hover to show)

- What was the good news when they interrupted the 24hours of being together? That his dad had finally used the motorbike?

Spoiler (hover to show)

1) Hansika was a daddy's little girl whose ALL decisions used to be taken by her father. And with his passing away she finds herself soooooooooo confused that she cant decide for herself.
2) Yes, Shruti didnt have a father. Relationship between parents = friends
3) That Sid's father rode on the bike

[NewLaura]

I just re-watched it with subtitles, and it made me cry again.  Siddharth is adorable.  I loved Shruti’s spunky character.  

And I love that it was Hyderabad and not Zurich!  There are a lot of scenes filmed on regular streets in Hyderabad, and I really enjoyed that.  I loved Siddharth’s ubiquitous sum-up-the-movie-theme rant at the end.  And the final scene made me cry.  Again.

Mild spoilers (not the ending)

I liked Sri Chaitanya even better with subtitles.  I hadn’t realized that the two of them were roaming the city looking for Hansika.  Knowing that she was helping him look for Hansika the way guys are often shown doing that in movies made me like it even more.
 
Something weird…I missed the hair-pulling thing.  When they have the fight in his bedroom about her love for Uday vs. his love for Reethu, he grabs her by the back of the neck and pushes her out of his room, but I don’t think that’s the hair-pulling incident I remember seeing in the theater.  I was very aware of it from the first viewing and had wanted to see if there were any apology in the subtitles, but then somehow didn’t see it.  Not sure how that happened.  Maybe I looked away at that moment, or maybe it was cut??  Or maybe that scene in the bedroom looked worse on a big screen?  But, anyway, one thought I had on the topic:  maybe it’s supposed to be seen as a hold-over from their childhood friendship.  In other words, he pulls her hair the way a little boy fighting with a little girl might pull her hair.  Or, at least, the same type of little boy who would grab a little girl’s doll and run away with it.  (I don’t think I could ever possibly be best friends with a guy who pulled my hair in an argument, but then again…as a child I wouldn’t have been best friends with a boy who stole my doll, either!)

Another random comment:  that thing of him using his tongue to get the gnat off her eyeball…GROSS!  Now that is a scene that should have been cut.  

That whole thing with Hansika and picking a finger is just as eye-roll provoking with subtitles.  I liked that Siddharth was helping her learn to know herself and make her own choices, at least.  But still, come on, enough with the baby heroines who can’t do anything.  I much preferred feisty, capable Shruti.

Ali’s entrance to Jiya Jale (also filmed in Kerala) is pretty hilarious.  And the subtitles very kindly explain one of Ali’s comedy gags which involves double meanings of a Telugu word (thagalai).   Navdeep does a Prabhas impression from Chatrapathi.   Hansika dances to Barso Re from Guru (not a good idea to have her imitate Aish, imo).   And Ali imitates Balakrishna from Simha, then Chiranjeevi dancing, and Mahesh Babu from Pokiri.  I didn’t realize Ali was purportedly reprising a role from another film:  

In Oh My friend, comedian Ali did a hilarious character it seems. He is striking back with his famous role 'Chaata'. In early nineties he did this Character in SV Krishna Reddy's Super hit 'Rajendrugu Gajendrudu'. Now Ali is playing the 'chaata' character again in this movie. Let’s wait and see if Ali repeat the same magic of 'Rajendrugu Gajendrudu'.

http://www.supergoodmovies.com/30827/tollywood/ali-chaata-repeats-for-oh-my-friend-news-details

I found a youtube clip of Brahmanandam and Ali scenes from that movie Rajendrudu Gajendrudu (1993).  I can’t tell if it really is the same role or not.  The quality is pretty bad, but you can see a young Brahmi and Ali.   I had no idea they’d been doing this for 20 years!  According to imdb, Brahmi has been doing it for 25 years – 900+ movies!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AGu64RqjOA

ETA:  I definitely haven't seen Rajendrudu Gajendrudu, but I have this weird feeling I've looked at that comedy clip of Brahmi and Ali before.

[Usha]

I thought Oh my friend an ok movie, there were things that I loved like Sid and Hansika falling inlove scenes and I liked the songs and how playful and real the friendship between Sid and Shruti felt.

I`m not that terrible happy with the ending

Spoiler (hover to show)

the way Sid said to save both their loverelationship he would avoid Shruti for 3 years, and then after the years gone by her husband "permitted" them all to be friends again. It felt strange/forced to me.

There were also other stuff I felt was weird, in one way I felt that Sid and Shruti were selfish in their friendship. I can`t really blame neither Shrutis fiancee or Hansika for being hurt / jealous when the two just run off to meet, ruining dates / plans and so on :/

[odadune]

I was not high on this one; both Siddharth's character and Shruti's boyfriend came off as high-handed and full of themselves and Hansika's character was kind of a drip.  But I'm posting here to see if anyone else noticed that, at the end of the scene where Siddharth helps Hansika choose a new outfit, she comes out through a door with what looks like a poster of Abhay Deol on it?

[MrB]

I caught this on a plane flight, where it was edited for length and, being an Arabian airline, probably for content, so I must have missed parts of it. But it was still an enjoyable watch. The title and plot summary made me think it would be heavily inspired by Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na, but it was entirely its own film, and a very interesting premise. Siddarth was good as usual; this was the first time I've seen Shruti, and I also thought she was good. Hansika Motwani's appeal entirely escapes me though, so I found it hard to accept that she would be considered beautiful, or that Siddarth would fall in love with her at first sight. Well worth a watch, I would say.

Spoiler (hover to show)

The ending increased my enjoyment a lot. Right through the film I expected Siddarth and Shruti to end up together, but the ending really lifted the film out of the ordinary.