Siddharth - taking a look at his films

Siddharth is one of the reasons why I branched out to South Indian films. I loved him so much in Rang De Basanti and wanted to see more of him.

When I looked at his filmography and realized that he had Tamil and Telugu films, I tried my best to find them.

I am proud to say till this day, I have watched EACH and SINGLE one of his films. I love each of them for different reasons. It's usually hard for me to choose one film over the other.

Many of his films have helped me convert my Hmong Bollywood-loving friends to the South side :)



I'm just going to briefly disset Siddu's filmography since I haven't reviewed all his films yet.

Boys (2003)

Language - Tamil
Cute, adolescence film about friends....in a singing band!
Worth watching. The music is wonderful. Siddhu & Genelia are a breath of fresh air. Both look like 13-years-old!
Descriptive review & caps :)

Ayutha Ezhuthu (2004)

Language - Tamil
Before there were Raavan (Hindi) and Raavanan (Tamil), with Mani Ratnam re-shooting the same film in two different languages, existed Ayutha Ezhuthu (Tamil) and Yuva (Hindi).
If you have seen Yuva, you may think...I don't want to see the Tamil version. Hello, remember what happened with Raavan and Raavanan?? :) Sure, you are seeing the same storyline again, in different languages but it's about different stars portraying the same character through their eyes. Don't judge until you've seen both.
Comparison between the two

Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana (2005)

Language - Telugu
Take a hyper, adorable, cute Siddhu. Throw in a dash of the innocent Trisha. Blend it with the awesomeness of Shihari. Top it with the one and only Prakash Raj! Decorate it with the energetic choreography of Prabhu Deva. What do you get?? A wonderful, must-watch Nuvvostanante Nenoddantana!
It has shades of Salman Khan's Maine Pyar Kiya, Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya, & Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Even if you're not a fan of Sallu, it's okay, just watch it Siddhu style :D
Descriptive review & caps

Chukkallo Chandrudu (2006)

Language - Telugu
If you like Siddhu, you have to watch to watch Chukkallo Chandrudu. It is an underrated film that probably went unnoticed because all his other films have been talked about more.
Siddhu even co-wrote the screenplay. Gosh, this man is talented :) I really enjoyed it. Watch it not only for Siddhu, the screenplay. There's also Charmy, Sadha, Saloni Aswani, Sunil, & Prabha Deva.
It is a cute film about a guy who has to find his soulmate to please his grandfather. He goes back to his childhood town to find the three girls who made a significant impact in his life and never forgot them. But...he doesn't tell them who he is because he wants to see if there is any chemistry.

Rang De Basanti (2006)

Language - Hindi
Like many people, just like me, my first taste of Siddhu was of Rang De Basanti. Even though he was only a supporting character, he shined enough for me to want to see him more.
Do I really have to write a brief synopsis of this film??
All you need to know is that it's a multi-star film. Not only does it star the one and only Siddhu, there's Aamir Khan, Madhavan, Soha Ali Khan, Kunal Kapoor, Atul Agnihotri, Waheeda Rehman.

Bommarillu (2006)

Language - Telugu
Watch the film that started it all. The original one. What am I talking about?
Well, Bollywood has It's My Life coming up, a remake of Bommarillu. It's already been done Tamil style as Santosh Subramaniam. All three films star the princess of smiles, Genelia too! But is missing the charm of the original, Siddhu!
Descriptive review & caps

Aata (2007)

Language - Telugu
Copy/paste, taken from my mini-review that I written before.
Siddharth!!!! I've been wanting to see this film for so long. Needed my Sid fix. I needed to have my expectations lowered a bit cause I was slightly disappointed. It was a bit too long to me. But it was a fun movie though. I think Ileana was so adorable and found a new like for her. Sid & Ileana look really cute together. Aata means game. Therefore, the film is about a game, a game that is played on the villian (Munna) by the one and only, Sid. Munna is villian but also son of a politician who is in love with Ileana and wants to marry her. Her family is scared of Munna's family. Sid and Ileana love each other. Sid manipulates Munna and plays games with him, only to have the game turn around and be in his favor.

Blood Brothers (2007)

Language - Hindi
Short Film about a man who is HIV positive and struggles to tell his pregnant wife about it.
I didn't want to give out too many spoilers about this short film. I'm sure many could just google it online and find out themselves. In the 13-minutes section, this short film was able to portray each character's emotional conflict in a very detailed way.
Must watch! I want to see Siddhu & Ayesha Takia in a full length film now!

Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam (2009)

Language - Telugu
I don't know what else to say that I haven't on my descriptive review with caps.
Go watch it!

Oy (2009)

Language - Telugu
Listed on my top 5 Telugu films :)
Yes, I like it that much.
Descriptive review & caps

Striker (2010)

Language - Hindi
I didn't participate in the watch-along but I was able to get the dvd afterwards. There are so much strong opinions and controversy about the last 20 minutes of this film!
All I have to say is that to me, Striker shows Siddhu's versatile acting. In his Telugu films, he has the cutsey romantic roles, whether it's the lovesick puppy or the boy that had to grow up to be a man.
Rang De Basanti helped paved his way in Bollywood, which gave him a powerhouse performance. But it was Striker that let him stand on his own.
A must-watch film, strictly for the awesomeness of Siddhu.

Oy - my fave Sid film

It's official. I have seen all of Sid's films, from Boys to Rang De Basanti to Ayutha Ezhuthu to the short film, Blood Brothers, to Konchem Ishtam Konchem Kashtam. He is the first reason why I was curious to find out about South Indian cinema.

So what if Sid is playing the cutesy boy-in-love again?
I think he's great in this type of role. His romantic comedy style has gotten a lot of my Hmong friends converted into Telugu films. Sure, Magadheera is also another choice, but I cannot go wrong with Sid either.



Movie starts off with Uday (Siddharth) sitting by the bench with his sad, puppy eyes. He narrates why he isn't celebrating his birthday, which is on New Year's Day.



Some people compared Oy with the Hollywood movies, A Walk to Remember or even Love Story. I have never seen Love Story, so I cannot compare. However, I did read the synopsis online and don't see so much similarities. It has been a while since I've seen A Walk to Remember; however, I don't think Oy has taken inspiration from it or anything.

People like to compare. Yes, there are many things in life that are similar and reminds you of something. But that doesn't mean that it is a copy or inspired by. It could just be coincidental.



Honestly, the feel of the film took me back to Korea instead. What made me think about this is the looks and character of the leading heroine. In many Korean films, the leading heroines usually are sassy, independent, with a brain. Many of them are non glamorous and the guys in the film fall in love with them for who they are. Most of the Bollywood films I've seen, when the girls are a "plain Jane," the guys usually aren't attracted to them. Once the girl gets a makeover and looks "hot," that's when the guy take notice (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Main Hoon Na, Ishq Vishq).

Another reason for the Korean feel is portraying the girl with a terminal illness. Only difference is she doesn't know it, but the guy does.



What Oy brought to me is how Uday fell in love with Sandhya, pursued her, made her open her eyes to her surroundings. He loved her so much, he hid his identity and he fulfills her wishes, sorta like a bucket list of things she wanted to do.



I love Uday. He's cute & wealthy; and also have a great sense of humor, love that in man. I love that he fell in love with Sandhya because she was "different," exactly opposite of what most people would think. This rich guy could have any girl he wanted. Instead he chose the girl who refuses to party and not to talk to him. She was "ordinary" (non glamorous, never did she even show any skin) , no makeup (not even eyeliner!) and even wear glasses! (even Preity Zinta's character in Kal Ho Naa Ho wore glasses but she was portrayed glamorous) His persistence of pursuing her won me over.



Sid is my favorite South Indian actor. Period!



Many people try to avoid Sandhya. Not because she's a scary person or anthing, just because she mainly keeps to herself. She doesn't communite with the neighbors or celebrate/participate in any events/festivals. She'll hang out with her bff at a party but will just be there in her own world.



Shamili is a child star and made her debut in Oy. I am curious to see more of her!



Fatso (Krishnudu) is Uday's bff.



Satya (Surekhavani) is Sandhya's bff. She gave me the Tabu vibe!



Abhishek (Sunil) is an insurance salesman.

At first I was wondering why Sunil was in the film. He mainly was there for comedic purposes. But he does have a slight signifacant role.



I loooove the soundtrack! I've been playing it nonstop for the past few days!



Song #1 - "Seheri"
Intro
Some people cringe at the the rapping and the non Desi people in the background but I don't care. I still loved it and the dancing is awesome!!!








Song #2 - "Oy Oy"
Uday's inspiration
The title song is awesome and featured in an 80s style club, hence the odd outfits. What I do wish for is at least show flashes of Sandhya since he was the inspiration for the song. Oh yeah, sidenote - Sid actually provides the vocals for this song, he's so talented :)







Song #3 - "I'm Waiting For You"
Uday waits for Sandhya
Picturization is beautiful, so serene.










Song #4 - "Anukoledenadu"
Uday & Sandhya spend time together
What I love about this song is Sandhya dancing while Uday mostly watches her enjoying her time.







Song #5 - "Tholisaari"
Uday & Sandhya visit temples
The different looks of the temples...








Song #6 - "Saradaga"
In love
Beautiful to look at. The only problem I had was Uday's scarves :D








Song # 7 - "Povoddhe Prema"
Uday is sad








A funny scene is when Uday & Sandhya travel the cities of India. Uday spots an Annavaram poster in Mumbai? He was surprised and then sees two fans with a tee shirt of Pawan Kalyan.




Overall, I am just in love with Oy, from the storyline to the characters to the music. Why wasn't Oy nominated at the Filmfare Awards? OST is awesome.

To some people, Oy was just another "cute" film of Sid's. To others, Oy was nothing special.
To me, I have seen all of Sid's films and Oy is my fave one.