Boys (2003)

Great Film overall

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Wow, finally, Shankar had the guts to do a different movie. I saw this movie a lot of times. The concept is really good. It's more natural. It's not a hero movie. It's teenage movie where characters are given importance...First time, infatuations of various teenagers and their sexual fantasies are shown. It shows how teenagers grow into matured persons. That, at this age these things are common and is felt by every person from boys to girls...The comedy is good too. Songs are exceptional. The dance sequences by Bob Gally are awesome. The role of Vivek was good too. No super masala fights... No punch dialogs... A very fun-filled entertainment movie with a simple message. That too a correct message....Way to go Shankar... I am glad that you turned your attention from corruption movies... Don't go back into it....WARNING FOR ADULTS:-MOVIE NOT SUITABLE FOR ADULTS !!! MOVIE SUITABLE FOR TEENAGERS !!!A 8.3 out of 10 rated movie, I would say...

I had a chance to see a trailer of this movie in a cinema theater and it looked modestly impressive but I imagined that it would be the standard Tamil movie fare and thus not worth wasting precious time on.A day before of its release, one of my buddies proudly flashed his first-day-first-show ticket at me. I wondered if this movie was really worth bragging about? Then I learned that it was by the same director and writer who made Indian (Hindustani), Mudhalvan, Gentleman, Kaadhalan and Jeans. The First three movies were really good and the first and last were Indian's entries for the Oscars, so I speculated that this movie "Boys" could possibly be good.A few days after the movie released, it was was the talk of the Town and the entire college was raving about it. Every single discussion was about Boys, Boys and Boys. People bragged that they had seen it 6 times already and were going to see it again. It kinda was like the Itchy and Scratchy movie hype in a Simpsons episode. I finally got to see this movie in the cinema. When we went and asked if we could get a ticket, the salesman said that "It was Boys for crying out! House full". We had to grab some quick tickets in black. Unfortunately, all the controversies caused by this movie had lead to all sorts of censorship already.First of all, one must congratulate Shankar for a very daring and bold initiative in Boys, especially given how conservative the people of Tamil Nadu can be. This movie is extremely sexually explicit and I believe that it even had nudity before the censor cuts. Shankars big mistake was to advertise this as a family movie which it certainly is not. Any parent who sees this movie, especially those conservative ones from TN, are going to be furious. I believe that this was what cost the movie its performance in Box office and commercial success. The audience of middle class teenagers and college students was simply not enough to ensure it a box office success.Molestation charges There is one song "Girlfriend" in this movie which could possibly just fall under the category of eve teasing or even molestation by sex-hungry Boys. This is probably what caused the most disturbance and did not let people see beyond think, leading to very harsh criticism of the movie in many circles. I would also imagine that women would be a bit uncomfortable with the scenes shown, to say the least. However, they fail to realize that it was just one song which had that and that it was JUST A MOVIE.Stupid People vs a Great movieYou gotta know that the general population of Tamil Nadu actually went on riots and burnt effigies of a single celebrity who dared to say that premarital sex was OK. They also burnt effigies of the single supporter she had. Such were the conservative and village minded people who Shankar had to unfortunately deal with.It really made my blood boil to see that so many good scenes and dialog from this movie were cut voluntarily. I've seen this movie 6 times already and would kill for an uncensored version. In contrast, the people of Andhra Pradesh, famous for its modernity, loved this movie.Technical AspectsAs with all Shankar movies, every single technical aspect from dialog to screenplay to cinematography is top notch and by far the best of all his movies and also on par if not better than every single Tamil movie out there. The dialog is hilarious and extremely creative. Its impossible to come up with stuff like that seen in this movie. Every single action and hilarious antic in this movie has its consequences which are shown and utilized till the very end.The acting is super-realistic. Shankar really knows how to get the best out of everybody. The acting of every single person including every extra is superlative and draws you in deeply. The freshly introduced cast of Boys are amazing actors.Shankar has really explored the teenage life and antics of the Boys. He has also effectively portrayed their perspectives of the world, their studies and their parents, who are generally not shown in very good light but like I said, it was extremely realistic and something many can relate to. The Screenplay is unbelievable.Social MessageWho says that this movie doesn't have a social message? It has a very important one and that is Love and Passion vs Getting Settled in Life which every parent wants a quick solution to. Every conservative family wants to get their children settled in life as soon as possible but completely ignores the personal life and needs of the child. Its an extremely good message if one could just keep and open mind and see the movie till the very end.SongsI used to hate the songs at first but truth be told, they are awesome. After seeing this movie, I really started to like the songs and they had some true significance and relation to the plot. The songs were all super hits, done by none other than AR Rahman who unfortunately went and blabbered something about Boys running successfully only due to the songs, leading Shankar to ditch him for his unfortunate crapfest, Anniyan.Conclusion Indeed, Boys may not be for everyone and one really has to keep an open mind while watching it, especially if one is a woman. Teenagers should have no problems. Having said that, this movie is undeniably a ground breaker and a landmark film in Indian cinema. It is extremely under-appreciated in Tamil Nadu just because some of the sexually explicit stuff that the Boys do caused too much shock which presided over common sense.

Boys is aimed for a very select audience and that would be middle class, teenage or semi-mature urban youth and in particular, collegites who can related with this events in this movie. That however isn't exactly a good reflection of the percentage of the demographic, meaning that it will have a very difficult time being digested by the lower income sections of society or the moral oldies who cannot relate and appreciate the concept of this movie. This is why the director went and made Anniyan which was engineered to appeal to masses, instead of going with good ideas of his own.The first 1/3rd of the movie is what was already described before - sex, sex and more sex. Although its not nude sexual activity as in porno, it concerns the Boys chasing women and making all sorts of perverse moves which will make any viewer seeing the movie with his family, cringe and run away. Not because it was so perverse but because this was probably what he does or did in the past as a teenager. Yes some of the Boys activities are perverse beyond imagination but its nothing unreal or unbelievable for people who have been there. Those who hold morals are going to be bit outraged though and will either be angry at society or the director for portraying the Boys this way but come on, its just a movie.The next 1/3rd of the movie concerns the Boys being oppressed by their parents, quite realistically I might add. The actors in the parent roles have done an amazing job at portraying strict and humiliated middle class parents. The question now is whether a relationship can survive the hardships of society and when it comes to a developing country like India where everyone has slog their ass off to earn their daily meals with little conveniences provided by the government, this forms a very good philosophical question. We know which one - love or getting settled in life, is more important and the Boys take up the challenge.The next part concerns the hardship that the Boys, who were previously spoilt by their parents, suffer after running away from home to make it on their own. Their suffering has been portrayed very nicely and contrasts against the starting portion of the film. Yet with all the suffering, the Boys manage to maintain a positive outlook and find happiness with each other.The last part is probably the most weak as it progresses from suffering to their incredible and amazing success like a quantum jump. Their success was just too fast but then you notice that the movie has already played for a long time. But even though its long, you never feel bored at all and after seeing it, it will feel like a very short movie.Overall, Boys is an extremely bold movie and highly controversial yet very very entertaining and enjoyable, with a good message that most fail to see too. There is bit more emphasis on the songs in this movie overall than most other movies but thats not a bad thing since the songs themselves are very good. Unlike many people who can't see beyond the sexual element in this movie, I do feel that the movie has a superb message. Studies aren't everything. You can succeed where you want to. This is without doubt a must watch movie at least once but the audience it was aimed for, can easily view it three or four times without getting bored. Perhaps the director should have made a sequel to this movie instead of Anniyan.

"Boys" is the sixth movie from India's most successful commercial director today,Shankar,whose all 5 previous films(not including the hindi remake of Mudhalvan) have been runaway blockbusters not only in his home state but also in other languages in which they were dubbed.Remarkable thing about Shankar is his movies have also gained critical acclaim which is reflected in the fact that 2 of his movies(Indian & Jeans) were India's entry for Oscars in Foreign film category.Further,Shankar's movies have broken new grounds on the technical side.Jeans contained 22mins of CGI(Computer Generated Imagery) which was a new record for a live action movie anywhere.Apart from all this,songs from Shankar's movies(all composed by A.R.Rahman) have been immensely popular not only in India but also in various parts of the world where Indians live.Infact Rahman gives his best for Shankar.Shankar's last movie "Mudhalvan" was released in 1999 and was one of the biggest commercial hits in Tamil movie history.Shankar remade Mudhalvan in Hindi as Nayak which was moderately successful.Coming after nearly a gap of 4 yrs,Boys obviously is highly anticipated amongst the moviegoers in India.The songs of Boys have already topped the charts in Shankar's homestate of Tamil Nadu and also in neighbouring state of AP.So far,Shankar has maintained an alternative pattern of tackling serious social & political issues in one movie and light hearted romances in the next.He says he does so inorder to avoid getting too serious or bored with himself.Whether it is a serious or fun movie,audiences are hardly getting bored with the way Shankar presents them.In tune with his pattern,Shankar has again turned to romance with `Boys' after almost single-handedly giving a new dimension for the word Leader in `Mudhalvan'."Boys" tells the story of 5...well boys,their transition from fun loving & easy going youths to becoming a MTV music award winning pop group.Shankar litters enough obstacles for the boys to overcome on their way to success.But to start with,the director moves the initial scenes by showing the boys as adolescents who think of nothing else but girls,romance and....to put it simply.. sex.They chase females of all ages,get into fights for them,earns a hard fought date and do heroic deeds to impress them(even if it means running nude across the road in peak traffic).And if you leave town thinking they'll be doing a group study,they will bring home a hooker to do gang-bang.Though these scenes are really hilarious,its disturbing to see our youth portrayed this way not to mention some scenes,though meant to be funny,makes you cringe in your seats incase you are seated next to your family member.When the boys' parents meet and try to put an end to their antics,the boys erupt.They leave home,help the lead boy to elope with his love to get married and vows to become successful.Subsequently the homeless boys now start to endure all the trials & tribulations of life to no end.While trying to become successful musicians,they inadvertently mingle with a radical group and ends up in jail.After getting released,things start to brighten up for the boys as they succeed in getting a record contract with Sony after impressing the Sony's boss by playing a revolutionary number in a packed cricket stadium.But tragedy strikes when one of the boys dies in his effort to save the lead boy's marriege which gets into troubled waters when the girl comes to know about their night of orgy with the hooker. But the boys re-group their spirits and ultimately become the talk of the nation with their debut album aptly named `Boys' which garners glory at the MTV music awards. Boys is no doubt an entertaining movie which hardly has any dull moments.If not taken seriously,it has sufficient things to give a satisfactory viewing.Rahman's music is mind boggling,song sequences are pictured beautifully,some scenes are really funny,the digital imagery are well made and above all the movie literally drips in a youthful ambience with the boys bubbling with energy and the lead actress is absolutely charming and fits the role perfectly.But if you take the movie seriously in a social conscious manner,lets face it.The boys depicted in the movie have a fairy tale ending to their journey,though it was appalling to see the antics they did in the first half in the name of fun loving youths.Their parents are portrayed as caricatures or stick figures whose lives are devoid of any fun.What a shame!.Shankar's intentions may be right in trying to show the capability of today's youngsters.But unless you are really blessed,what is the chance of having such a fairy tale finish after going totally awry during your college or school days?.If a boy from Chennai takes a cue from `Boys' and goes on to do the unprecedented thing of winning accolades for India in Olympics or MTV awards,its more than welcome.But if the movie is going to change the perspective of group study in the minds of even a couple of students,then it's a disaster.But `Boys' is part of show business.You can't blame Shankar,who did exactly what he had in mind in `Boys' and could very well continue his impressive run.But lets hope his next venture will occupy a place in the line of Gentleman,Indian and Mudhalvan and not in the line of Boys.