Who is this Priyanka Pulla?

[akhilis2cool]

...frm wht I hear, garam masala isnt as big a hit as shaadi no. 1...

u heard wrong i think... today evening 4:30pm, Garam Masala was sold out at Anand cinema for the 6pm show. i then moved to sangeet for shaadi #1 and found the ticket counter still open with a few tickets left over 'corz better sense prevailed and i didnt see it...

names of akshay, john and priyadarshan definitely wud draw more crowds compared to the 3 non-actors in shaadi#1...

elsewhere my frnd didnt get tickets for shaadi no. 1, where as tickets for garam masala were easily avlbl...but thats not the issue here...

[fullhyd.com]

...when a reviewer justifies his position by linking to a popular website.....that doesnt say a lot about them.

First, the reviewer did not justify her position. A moderator posted there. It's the culture of fullhyd.com that we respond to our users.

Then, the original post by a user said this: "Now I've come to understand from 'other' sources that all the three movies are Triple-Tripe!!!"

We did not know from that statement at that time what other source the user referred to, and that statement would imply to several people reading it that most other published sources differ from our stand. And so we quoted another online source as an example to say that was not right.

It was no justification of our stand, it was only a response to a statement that was generating a certain impression about what other sources are saying. We have to quote some other source to respond to something giving that impression.

Are reviews supposed to predict the success of a movie?

Yes. Our reviews are supposed to predict the success of a film. We clearly said that in the previous post, and we continuously measure ourselves by how often hit films had a high rating on fullhyd.com on day 1. We averaged more than 90% this year, which is why our reviews are more and more popular each passing quarter.

We do not make our users read our reviews to tell them whether we enjoyed the film - we tell them whether they will enjoy the film. We seldom try to sit on a haloed pedestal of a "critic", which is why popular mass movies get high ratings on day 1 on fullhyd.com.

How come the mods answered so instantly? was it because someone made fun of their employee? If so....then thats a pathetic way of reassuring your employees and yourself.

For someone with 30 posts here, it's taken you very little time to say something rude about the people working for fullhyd.com, totally unprovoked.



We already needed to edit a post by you where you said in no subtle way that the users of these forums are not worthy of reading your blog - some other forums would have banned you right then.



You stay nice to people who post here and to us, we stay nice to you. You do not like our reviews, don't read them. And you do not like our moderation policies, please leave this site.

[CtrlAltDel]

arguing abt movie reviews, of all things?



either u like a review or u dont...whats there in it that it has to be made into such a g8 issue...?



whether we agree with the reviewer or not, one cant deny that FH writes entertaining reviews...sometimes more entertaining than the movie itself...

[Sandeep]

Well, Garam Masala is turning out to be the biggest hit of the year. No doubt. It is drawing huge crowds every where.



Well, Fullhyderabad does write entertaining reviews, but they too sometimes get carried away with slick making without giving much importance to the story. Can't believe they gave such a good rating for "Danger"!!!!!! Such a pathetic movie.

[fullhyd.com]

one cant deny that FH writes entertaining reviews...sometimes more entertaining than the movie itself...

Thanks !

[betty]

Are reviews supposed to predict the success of a movie?

Yes. Our reviews are supposed to predict the success of a film. We clearly said that in the previous post, and we continuously measure ourselves by how often hit films had a high rating on fullhyd.com on day 1. We averaged more than 90% this year, which is why our reviews are more and more popular each passing quarter.

I don't know 90% of what, but I suggest you re-check the calculations as per Hindi movies.

We do not make our users read our reviews to tell them whether we enjoyed the film - we tell them whether they will enjoy the film.

But, whatever I have been reading of Ms. Pulla's reviews, she seems to be a total critic who gives a higher star rating to a critically acclaimed movie and thinks most movies with massy appeal as 'silly', case in point : 'Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya'....pretty ok movie, in fact, a very good entertainer, but look at what she has written in the review.

You stay nice to people who post here and to us, we stay nice to you. You do not like our reviews, don't read them. And you do not like our moderation policies, please leave this site.

While your efforts of 'protecting' the people who post here are appreciated, the extent to which this is being carried is pretty ridiculous. And, I don't know if there are new moderators appointed to fullhyd, but presently the moderators are being very rude and arrogant in their actions and written words. There is always a fine line between being strict and being rude.

[spamtaneous]

For someone with 30 posts here, it's taken you very little time to say something rude about the people working for fullhyd.com, totally unprovoked.

We already needed to edit a post by you where you said in no subtle way that the users of these forums are not worthy of reading your blog - some other forums would have banned you right then.

You stay nice to people who post here and to us, we stay nice to you. You do not like our reviews, don't read them. And you do not like our moderation policies, please leave this site.

:clap: :clap:

thanx

[CtrlAltDel]

But, whatever I have been reading of Ms. Pulla's reviews, she seems to be a total critic who gives a higher star rating to a critically acclaimed movie and thinks most movies with massy appeal as 'silly', case in point : 'Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya'....pretty ok movie, in fact, a very good entertainer, but look at what she has written in the review.

i agree...even i dont agree with most of her review opinions. there was another recent reviewer (whose name i have forgotten) whose reviews i never agreed with...she seemed to hate all action movies n thrillers



plz get back Mithun Verma! i can forgive his blind adoration of chiranjeevi just to read his hilarious write-ups...!

[CtrlAltDel]

...there was another recent reviewer (whose name i have forgotten) whose reviews i never agreed with...

oh yeah...i remember now! it was Ghazala Rizvi!

[fullhyd.com]

While your efforts of 'protecting' the people who post here are appreciated, the extent to which this is being carried is pretty ridiculous. And, I don't know if there are new moderators appointed to fullhyd, but presently the moderators are being very rude and arrogant in their actions and written words. There is always a fine line between being strict and being rude.

The moderators are the same, Betty. Have you seen the moderators being rude, or have you heard that they have been rude?

And since you quoted a previous post of ours when you typed this, were you saying we were "very rude and arrogant" in how we reacted there? It's okay for someone to call our actions (and, from the tone, obviously us) "pathetic", when there has been no prior interaction between him and us, we've done nothing to antagonize him?

But, whatever I have been reading of Ms. Pulla's reviews, she seems to be a total critic who gives a higher star rating to a critically acclaimed movie and thinks most movies with massy appeal as 'silly', case in point : 'Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya'....pretty ok movie, in fact, a very good entertainer, but look at what she has written in the review.

We rated that film 2/5, and it ran for 5 weeks (32 days) in Hyderabad. 3 weeks to 6 weeks is fullhyd.com's band for a 2-2.5/5 rating for Hindi films in Hyderabad. BO performance-wise, we weren't off the mark at all.

What people differed with in that specific review (from all user comments there) was that it was a flippant film which the review took seriously. But that is not a representative example of the reviewer's work. There is a lot of good work done and there are plenty of right calls taken by all reviewers of fullhyd.com. The same reviewer gave high ratings to such films with purely 'massy appeal' as Athadu, Super, and, recently, Garam Masala - films which are not critically acclaimed at all. We should not take one example and generalize when that example is not representative.

I don't know 90% of what, but I suggest you re-check the calculations as per Hindi movies.

We took up your suggestion and did . These are the year's top 10 films, in order of gross revenues (there are no hits outside this list), and the fullhyd.com ratings done on day 1.



As the legend states at the bottom of every review on fullhyd.com, 2/5 is average on fullhyd.com, and anything more than that means a watchable film.



Indiafm.com is considered best for trade figures and for ratings of films based on their projected business, with its reviews done by a trade analyst of repute. So we are displaying our day 1 ratings alongside Indiafm.com's day 1 ratings.



1. Bunty Aur Babli (Rs. 42,01,54,719)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 3/5

Indiafm.com's Day 1 rating - 1.5/5



2. No Entry (Rs. 40,04,16,686)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 2/5

Indiafm.com's Day 1 rating - 3.5/5



3. Black (Rs. 30,81,76,644)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 4/5

Indiafm.com's Day 1 rating - 2/5



4. Sarkar (Rs. 28,25,86,850)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 3/5

Indiafm.com's Day 1 rating - 3.5/5



5. Salaam Namaste (Rs. 28,14,73,132)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 2.5/5

Indiafm.com's Day 1 rating - 4/5



6. Mangal Pandey (Rs. 28,14,00,020)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 3/5

Indiafm.com's Day 1 rating - 4/5



7. Waqt (Rs. 23,21,48,128)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 2.5/5

Indiafm.com's Day 1 rating - 3.5/5



8. Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya (Rs. 20,97,68,010)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 2/5

Indiafm.com's Day 1 rating - 3.5/5



9. Dus (Rs. 20,59,27,676)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 2.5/5

Indiafm.com's Day 1 rating - 2/5



10. Parineeta (Rs. 19,01,60,130)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 2/5

Indiafm.com's Day 1 rating - 2.5/5



Number of hit Hindi films of 2005 that fullhyd.com rated watchable on day 1 (>=2.5/5): 7

Number of hit Hindi films of 2005 that Indiafm.com rated >=2.5/5 on day 1: 7



Ergo.



Then, fullhyd.com's ratings are done for the Hyderabadi audience. These are the hits in Hyderabad (> Rs. 35,00,000 in 2005):



1. Bunty Aur Babli (Rs. 73,12,241)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 3/5



2. Mangal Pandey (Rs. 61,51,729)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 3/5



3. No Entry (Rs. 57,18,357)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 2/5



4. Sarkar (Rs. 51,50,000)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 3/5



5. Dus (Rs. 38,46,711)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 2.5/5



6. Waqt (Rs. 35,00,000)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 2.5/5



7. Lucky (Rs. 34,81,541)

fullhyd.com's Day 1 rating - 3/5



Salaam Namaste, Black and Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya figures aren't compiled yet, and Parineeta flopped in Hyderabad (about Rs. 18,00,000). So if Lucky replaces Parineeta in the list above, we called right 8 out of 10 times for Hyderabad, failing only for No Entry and Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya (assuming this is a hit, even though figures for Hyderabad aren't available for the latter, and it ran for only 32 days here).



Add to that current declared hits less than 3 weeks old - Hanuman (3/5 on fullhyd.com) and Garam Masala (3/5 on fullhyd.com) - and you have 10 out of 12 that we called right in 2005.



That's a strike rate of 83%. If you know a medium in the nation that's called better than us for Hindi, please tell us.



In other words, we are now saying we are the best in India at this. And in an area that is nowhere near our core business, which is being a local guide.



The reviewer you say is too critical had 3 reviews in the top 10 list for India, of which only Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya was rated average - she rated the other 2 high. In any case, as we said, Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya was not a hit in town, while the other two were.



You also said that this reviewer "seems to be a total critic who gives a higher star rating to a critically acclaimed movie". Which ones? How many "critically-acclaimed films" did this reviewer give a high rating that led you to this generic conclusion?



This R&D took some 35 minutes. If we were "rude", we wouldn't have dug up so much for you .



You should remember that this is a public forum, Betty. You make one fleeting unverified statement about us based on some one-off incidents / reviews / private discussions with someone else, and it forms the perception of several people who see these and who neither know nor care about actual facts. We are then guilty until proven innocent, and have to type these long posts. Painting is far simpler than removing the paint. fullhyd.com is an assiduously being built brand.



Like we say several times, if we were rude or autocratic, we simply wouldn't allow any comments on us online. People who do not like us will anyway go - why would we allow their comments to affect others' perceptions of us? It's just that we are quite open and democratic.





The figures are from: http://www.ibosnetwork.com/curyeartotals.asp

Hyderabad figures are from: http://www.ibosnetwork.com/topgrossesby ... sYear=2005

[CtrlAltDel]

thats ^^^^ one research!

[Sandeep]

Moderator,



The rating is immaterial, as most of them go by what is written in the review. I once again reiterate tht the ratings and reviews don't match.



Compare the ratings you gave for Indra (Biggest hit in telugu cinema) and Danger ( which is turning out to be a major disaster)!



Don't tell me tht u give ratings based on if the movie is hit or not!! Various different factors decide if a movie is hit or not and not just the quality. The figures u gave are very misleading. How can u even compare a movie like Bunty Aur Bubli which released with more than 400 prints with something like Parineeta which saw a very limited release? The more the theaters, greater the collections. It has nothing to do with how good a movie is.

[General Grevious]

Building brand Fullhyd eh? Good work.



Next think the site should do is get a facelift. You planning anything? Newer reviews of theatres, newer pictures etc

[Amused HP]

Wanted to post this on friday itself but fel short of time. Anyways, since so much is being said/discussed about movie reviews on FH nowadays, I decided to have a look at the source of the controversy too. What came up was not what I was really expecting but here's what was.



I read two reviews. Telugu as I'd never watch the movies and so, a spoiler wouldn't be one. They were the first two names that popped up on the page (Mazaa and Paandu). My findings :



1. Mazaa



FH Rating - 2.5 (Above Average)



My views on the review - The review consisted of 8 large paragraphs and two small ones. Of which, 6 large and one small paragraph were full of the so-called negatives of the movie. One large and one small paragraphs camouflaged the positives. I say camouflaged because each positive was peppered with two pinches of salt - a lot of buts there.



That leaves us with one large paragraph - the first one. I've seen reviews that begin with paragraphs that have nothing in them even remotely connected to the film. Usually a premise on which the review is based. But here was a first. A review that begins with a paragraph that has nothing in it even remotely connected to anything. Surprising to see 80 odd words being wasted for nothing and word limits given as a justification for poor quality of videos co-exist.





2. Paandu



FH Rating - 2 (Average)



My views on the review - The reviewer starts with the premise that the script of the movie is something that can be encapsulated within an SMS...and a PJ about Idea Cellular's contests.



He/she then goes on to describe the very same script over the next 4 paragraphs. And finally, when the word limit alert flashes, he/she decides to wrap up with the customary note on cliches, skin show etc. And not to forget the only highlight of the movie - the comedians. And finally a smart-alecy line about the movie killing you.



I fail to understand one fact. How can movies whose reviews are so negative be classified as average or above average? For example, in Paandu, if everything else was so trashy and cliched, and the comedy track was the factor that put the movie into an Average bracket, then it must have been a great comedy track and demanded more mention than just a line in the last paragraph.



Could the website please explain this?

[fullhyd.com]

Wanted to post this on friday itself but fel short of time. Anyways, since so much is being said/discussed about movie reviews on FH nowadays, I decided to have a look at the source of the controversy too. What came up was not what I was really expecting but here's what was.

I read two reviews. Telugu as I'd never watch the movies and so, a spoiler wouldn't be one. They were the first two names that popped up on the page (Mazaa and Paandu). My findings :

1. Mazaa

FH Rating - 2.5 (Above Average)

My views on the review - The review consisted of 8 large paragraphs and two small ones. Of which, 6 large and one small paragraph were full of the so-called negatives of the movie. One large and one small paragraphs camouflaged the positives. I say camouflaged because each positive was peppered with two pinches of salt - a lot of buts there.

That leaves us with one large paragraph - the first one. I've seen reviews that begin with paragraphs that have nothing in them even remotely connected to the film. Usually a premise on which the review is based. But here was a first. A review that begins with a paragraph that has nothing in it even remotely connected to anything. Surprising to see 80 odd words being wasted for nothing and word limits given as a justification for poor quality of videos co-exist.


2. Paandu

FH Rating - 2 (Average)

My views on the review - The reviewer starts with the premise that the script of the movie is something that can be encapsulated within an SMS...and a PJ about Idea Cellular's contests.

He/she then goes on to describe the very same script over the next 4 paragraphs. And finally, when the word limit alert flashes, he/she decides to wrap up with the customary note on cliches, skin show etc. And not to forget the only highlight of the movie - the comedians. And finally a smart-alecy line about the movie killing you.

I fail to understand one fact. How can movies whose reviews are so negative be classified as average or above average? For example, in Paandu, if everything else was so trashy and cliched, and the comedy track was the factor that put the movie into an Average bracket, then it must have been a great comedy track and demanded more mention than just a line in the last paragraph.

Could the website please explain this?

You have 2 options, HP - you can either read a nice long reply from us about how we think that post misrepresents the work, or you can join us for a dinner at a slick downtown restaurant. Which do you prefer? Either way, we'll be flattered .

[CtrlAltDel]

i think FH must be pleased that its movie reviews are subject to deep analysis. maybe one day someone will write a thesis on them for a PhD...



i am sure it doesnt happen with any other review anywhere....

[Smart Alecy HP]

You have 2 options, HP - you can either read a nice long reply from us about how we think that post misrepresents the work, or you can join us for a dinner at a slick downtown restaurant. Which do you prefer? Either way, we'll be flattered .

My post was for the benefit of all readers who have been following the reviews on fh. And in case you want to reply to it, it should again be for the benefit of all those who are following them. So you have two options - you can either post a long reply here, or you can host the next fullhyd meet at a slick downtown restaurant. Your choice.

[fullhyd.com]

Okay, here goes. Though it's unlikely all readers want to know all this .



Except with some specific films (very well-made films, art films and films on serious themes), fullhyd.com's reviews some with a good tinge of light-heartedness. We believe that a user spending his time on our site should get his time's worth. That's why we do not follow any template.



We do understand that a lot of work and emotions go into making a film, so we never criticize anything unduly. No light-heartedness ever is personal or an unjustified comment (by our judgement, of course - a whole review is the writer's judgement). But our responsibility is to our readers, so we portray the watchability as we perceive it, even if we have to call a spade a spade.



We strive to be competent. As we demonstrated earlier, our day 1 calls are amongst the best anywhere on the whole, and more and more people now use fullhyd.com just for movies.



Over 5 years now, several people from across the globe have written in about how they love our reviews, how we are a staple. Most regulars now are used to a standard, and sometimes feel we're bad even when we're very good, simply since we were better in our best work that they read. To impress our regulars, we have to now be outstanding every time. That cannot happen.



Of 100-150 Telugu films that release in a year, 10 become hits (in a good year). All the rest are average, just above average or below average.



Even hit films have negative points, even bad films have positive points. In general:



1-star:

0%-20% good

80%-100% bad



2-star:

30%-50% good

50%-70% bad



3-star:

50%-80% good

30%-50% bad



4-star:

75%-90% good

10%-20% bad



5-star:

90%-100% good

0%-10% bad



So even a 2.5-star or 3-star film might have more bad than good. But since 120 films release, and only 1-2 brilliant films are made a year (we gave just one 4-star this whole year in Telugu), even several films like 2.5 and 3 become hits, simply since others are even worse. It's relative - people watch some stuff since they have to watch something.



Aparichitudu is a case to discuss. At a point, the hero kills people for being plain lazy. No reviewer can then go ahead and give it a fantastic rating on a public medium, even if he knows it'll be a hit for several other reasons. Our review pointed this out as the only problem, but said several other glowing things, even if the rating was only 2.5.



Our ratings are not as scientific as the numerical analysis above - they are mostly gut-feel developed over years. But this is still the broad logic.

[fullhyd.com]

1. Mazaa

FH Rating - 2.5 (Above Average)

My views on the review - The review consisted of 8 large paragraphs and two small ones. Of which, 6 large and one small paragraph were full of the so-called negatives of the movie. One large and one small paragraphs camouflaged the positives. I say camouflaged because each positive was peppered with two pinches of salt - a lot of buts there.

That leaves us with one large paragraph - the first one. I've seen reviews that begin with paragraphs that have nothing in them even remotely connected to the film. Usually a premise on which the review is based. But here was a first. A review that begins with a paragraph that has nothing in it even remotely connected to anything. Surprising to see 80 odd words being wasted for nothing and word limits given as a justification for poor quality of videos co-exist.

You wrote, "6 large and one small paragraph were full of the so-called negatives of the movie." Let's look at each para then.

Mazaa is nothing like the kind of dubbed Tamil films that actually become hits here – either with sleek trendy visuals and hit music or with Rajnikanth in them. It is a tale set in rural TN with a semi-literate hero who can beat up all the local landlord's goons. Yes, if the '80s films of Chiranjeevi came to mind, with Rao Gopala Rao and Allu Rama Lingaiah playing villains and a voni-clad Vijayashanti playing daughter of the village oppressor, then bingo.

Para 2. Zero negative comments.

It never said anything negative about the film, that it is not a good film. It just said that (a) it is not the typical kind of Tamil film that becomes a hit here, and (b) it has a script popular in the '80s. Neither of them makes a film bad. If the writer wants to make these points, how else does he/she do it? Was there even any sarcasm here?

If you want to watch those kinds of films in 2005 in a theater, paying good money, then Mazaa is all yours. Prasad (Vikram) and Adi (Pasupati) are brothers who are into burglary with their father Govinda (Manivannan), but they all decide to turn honest serendipitously (or whatever is a hep word to use for "suddenly"). They buy a lorry and move out of their village. On the first night, Adi steals food from a house on the way, but it turns out to be heavily poisoned and their father has to be hospitalized.

Para 3. Zero negative comments.

Only the first sentence has any opinion, the rest is pure screenplay narration. And the first sentence says nothing about the film not being watchable. We are telling the reader that if he likes that kind of stuff, detailed in the earlier para, he can watch this.

If you have ever stolen food from a random house and found it to be heavily poisoned, then you will find yourself in a minority. Especially because it is so hard to compile statistics of people thus affected. There is no association of such people, no website, no forum even (yes, we searched on Google for "association of people who have stolen food from a random house and found it to be heavily poisoned" to get no matches), and they do not report the issue to authorities in a brazen lack of social responsibility.

Para 4. Zero negative comments.

This was a complete deviation from the review for some light-hearted stuff, building upon an innovative comic scene from the film itself. We do not know what in this was negative about the film - it was just fun thinking up a ridiculous premise.

Anyway, we at fullhyd.com are making a start – this page will now turn up for that string above (since it has it), so please post all information you have about such errant houses you have encountered, in the comments to this review. Please also leave your name and mobile number.

Para 5. Zero negative comments.

Same as above. Complete deviation.

So anyway, completely lacking in direction as to how to handle such a situation due to no precedents or documentation, Prasad lands up at the house again and is about to beat the crap out of its owner, when he realizes that the latter had actually kept that food aside to feed his kids and then himself.

Para 6. Zero negative comments.

Now unless you have been specifically trained to respond to such situations, it's hard to come up with an appropriate statement, and the best that Prasad can manage is, sorry, can they replace the food with all the ingredients. Thankfully his father intervenes, and tells the owner that suicide is no escape from life, without realizing what a stupid statement that is – if suicide isn't an escape from life, what else is it? But we need to get into the spirit of things.

Para 7. Zero negative comments.

(That comment about suicide was nothing to state that the film itself was bad - it was just, as you would perhaps put it, a PJ. Anyone can say that suicide is no escape from life while not meaning it the way it sounds, and we made a light-hearted comment.)

They find out that the village is ruled by a Narasimha Rayudu, who is about to throw these people out of the house due to a debt that they haven't repaid for a long time. Needless to say, Prasad takes on Rayudu full throttle, and in the process wins the love of his daughter Lakshmi (Asin). Rayudu also becomes okay with this since he likes Prasad's machismo. But then a new villian emerges.

Para 8. Zero negative comments.

The film is time-pass, with plenty of light-hearted stuff and good performances (all performers are acclaimed Tamil actors, and Vikram is of course a National Award winner), but it's hard to see the urban Hyderabad audiences, increasingly used to glitz and style in movies, accepting a rural theme from another land with its own customs and way of dressing. Plus, the music and the cinematography are just average (even if the locations are well-chosen), primarily considering that those have to make all the difference for a dubbed Tamil film.

Para 9. The only place in the entire review where we said anything negative, and that in just one sentence ("the music and the cinematography are just average"). In the earlier sentence we did not say there was any problem with the film.

However, Mazaa doesn't bore you one minute, and, with dubbing by Brahmanandam and Kota Srinivasa Rao for key characters, is fully worth your time.

Para 10. Zero negative comments.





As you can see, there was 1 para with negative comments, as against what you said: "6 large and one small paragraph were full of the so-called negatives of the movie. One large and one small paragraphs camouflaged the positives. I say camouflaged because each positive was peppered with two pinches of salt - a lot of buts there."



Paras 6 and 8 at least were actually pure narration that had nothing "full of the so-called negatives of the movie" at all, or any positives camouflaged with "lots of buts". Where did your calculations and strong words come from?



When you start talking about paragraphs, the debates get mostly nitty-gritty like this. And we are arguing elaborately about someone else's work that makes little difference to any of us.



But when you come onto the forums and say, pretty articulately, whatever you did, a lot of people will just believe it. You form a completely wrong opinion of a work through your strong words, for several people who have neither the need nor the inclination to actually even read the review. Then we have to make these lengthy nitty-gritty posts to defend ourselves.



As for the 1st para, the writer obviously went on a Diwali to watch a dubbed film, wasn't too thrilled with how he had to spend a holiday, and made some flippant comments about it to start off. Are we trying to tell the writer how he/she should write right down to paragraphs? It is that individual's space, and as long as he/she tells us about the film in reasonable detail, there's enormous license we allow for that individual's particular style.

[Jaan]

I have held myself back commenting on this (read all the above comments) because it got from a simple question to arguments and serious accusations to replying in his/her defense tag game...which is okay considering this is a discussion boards for all sorts of discussion.



The reviews, they are just reviews. Why is everyone reading so much into it? Movies are for entertainment and if you don't like someone opinion but get over it. Why was it dragged out for so long...oh, nevermind. I don't want to delve into in now.



As per the banning, as a (semi)regular on this DB, I am sure every web administration has their own policies and they cannot cut slack for everyone. Whatever it is, it is their site and therefore, their responsibility. Personally, I felt that these past months, I kept hearing a lot of those happening. But you know, I also understand the many things you take in consideration before banning a person. I am sure it's not fun for the Mods either.



But I digress.



The real reason for this post ---> People people, calm down. Please.



Peace,

Jaan

[fullhyd.com]

We think you deserve dinner at a slick downtown restaurant, Jaan .

[CtrlAltDel]

The reviews, they are just reviews. Why is everyone reading so much into it? Movies are for entertainment and if you don't like someone opinion but get over it...

exactly my opinion on this.....dammit...who cares what one wrote abt a movie...

[fullhyd.com]

For the other review:

2. Paandu

FH Rating - 2 (Average)

My views on the review - The reviewer starts with the premise that the script of the movie is something that can be encapsulated within an SMS...and a PJ about Idea Cellular's contests.

He/she then goes on to describe the very same script over the next 4 paragraphs.

The reviewer did not describe the script in 4 paragraphs - it was a summary of the screenplay. And even that would've been much lesser than that but for some comments and deviations to lighten the tone.

The script was: "Man loves woman who doesn't reciprocate, woman gets into trouble with powerful lecherous bad guy, man beats 'em all up and saves her, she falls in love." Or, the oldest tale, damsel-in-distress. Can you try writing the script for Pather Panchali or Gandhi in that length without losing any of the essence ?

How can movies whose reviews are so negative be classified as average or above average?

Because in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

You are assuming that in Tollywood, there are 10 very bad films, 25 bad films, 30 average films, 25 good films and 10 very good films each year - a perfect normal curve. There are usually 10 very bad films, 40 bad films, 40 tolerable films, 8 good films and 2 very good films, strictly by box-office performance.

This one was average simply since it wasn't "bad" or "very bad". Average is relative, and the Telugu film ratings are relative to Tollywood.

And finally, when the word limit alert flashes, he/she decides to wrap up with the customary note on cliches, skin show etc.

Well, what should the writer have done alternately? Should he/she have elaborated on the cliches and the skin show? Or avoided mentioning them altogether since it is "customary"?

In Paandu, if everything else was so trashy and cliched, and the comedy track was the factor that put the movie into an Average bracket, then it must have been a great comedy track and demanded more mention than just a line in the last paragraph.

Like you yourself suggested, you are not too familiar with Telugu films. The comedy track in Telugu films isn't usually something you can elaborate on - it's a motley bunch of comic actors who have specific idiosyncrasies and utter funny dialogues all through the film. All regular Telugu film viewers know about them, and the idiosyncrasies change from film to film. The comedy is mostly a mixture of this and situational humor.

The only way to elaborate would be to actually describe the idiosyncrasies - undesirable since it is neither expected nor desired, as it would spoil the film for the reader - or actually narrate the dialogues.

If something is outstanding, we mention it. For example, in this film Venu Madhav's character was poorly written, and we mentioned it.

And not to forget the only highlight of the movie - the comedians. And finally a smart-alecy line about the movie killing you.

Which of those should we not have done?





You have expressed a problem with the rating, the introduction, the screenplay narration and the summary . 90% of our film reviews are like this - 1-2 paras of intro, 3-4 paras of story/screenplay summary, and 1-2 paras of summary/analysis. Readers everywhere are used to that, and there would have to be good reason to digress - the film warranting it.



You give us any film review written by anyone anywhere, and we'll trash it the way you did this one, and sound very logical, too (for example, saying "the word limit now flashes, and so now the writer quickly summarizes", when anyway at that point he/she would do it) . Just like any joke can always be responded to with a dry "Very funny" and a roll of the eyes.



Like we said, when someone makes what we believe to be unjustified comments of our work on our own public forums, we have no option but to type time-consuming lengthy replies, since other users will otherwise form opinions on these comments. People should be conscious of that when criticizing.



If you continue to believe that these write-ups were illogically written, perhaps we are not capable of better, so we'll leave it.



What we are undisputedly capable of, however, is dinner at a slick downtown restaurant. You are still welcome . We'll enjoy the food, we'll enjoy the wine, and we'll enjoy not talking about movies made by people we don't even know.

[betty]

The reviews, they are just reviews. Why is everyone reading so much into it? Movies are for entertainment and if you don't like someone opinion but get over it...

exactly my opinion on this.....dammit...who cares what one wrote abt a movie...

I don't, because after all, reviews are personal opinions...but it puts me off when the fullhyd team start gloating over the fact that they can accurately predict hits and flops with their reviews. ..that too according to their own scale which says 2.5/5 is a hit ....



As for banning members, even if the mods have a reason, they are not saying it...so till they do, there is food for ample arguements/discussions to increase the PC of the board in all.

[Not so amused HP]

You have expressed a problem with the rating, the introduction, the screenplay narration and the summary . 90% of our film reviews are like this - 1-2 paras of intro, 3-4 paras of story/screenplay summary, and 1-2 paras of summary/analysis. Readers everywhere are used to that, and there would have to be good reason to digress - the film warranting it.

I agree with your break-up of how a review should be written. And my problem was not with the composition of the review. My problem was with the contents. I'll elaborate further.

When I spoke of the number of paragraphs containing the positives and negatives of the movie Mazaa, this is what I had in mind. The intro and the plot summary was done in a manner that would make the reader feel that the plot is cliched and repetitive. A good reason for many to not go to see the movie. I probably took the same creative freedom that your review writers take while writing reviews and put across my views in terms of the number of paragraphs. I'm sorry to say here that you couldn't appreciate your own sense of humour.

And I don't intend to continue with this paragraph by paragraph dissertation of the review, but I'd still have to present this. When the first paragraph of the intro says something negative about a movie in a strong way, and that's followed by a seemingly bored commentary on it, the reader is sure to take the review in a negative manner. There might be exceptions to the rule as I can see that people can declare a movie to be average on day 1 after having been so bored with it.

You give us any film review written by anyone anywhere, and we'll trash it the way you did this one, and sound very logical, too (for example, saying "the word limit now flashes, and so now the writer quickly summarizes", when anyway at that point he/she would do it) . Just like any joke can always be responded to with a dry "Very funny" and a roll of the eyes.

My intention was not to compare fullhyd's reviews with anyone else's. I was following this discussion and just put across my thoughts. Can't help it if they didn't show the fullhyd reviews in a favourable light. There were a couple of questions that did come to my mind, and I guess that in the context of this discussion, they were perfectly valid points. Let me reiterate them once for the sake of clarity.

1. Why make the word limit an issue when the reviewers have to literally work hard to fill the space?

2. The ratings awarded to films in reviews are an indicator of how watchable a movie is rather than how much it would make at the box office. So I felt a disconnect in the ratings awarded to the movies and what the reviews said. And I echoed just that.

Like we said, when someone makes what we believe to be unjustified comments of our work on our own public forums, we have no option but to type time-consuming lengthy replies, since other users will otherwise form opinions on these comments. People should be conscious of that when criticizing.

If you continue to believe that these write-ups were illogically written, perhaps we are not capable of better, so we'll leave it.

I've already clarified my stand on the review. If you feel I was making unjustified comments, I can't really help it. And yes..I did criticise your reviews on your forums. Had I been in your place, I would have welcomed such activity on my public forum as I feel a live and constructive discussion is the best way one can get a feedback about his work. And I would have simply listened rather than spending time composing lengthy replies and conducting detailed research. IMO, a better vindication of your stand would have been to have incorporated whatever feedback comes through these forums. Hotly debating; trying to justify yourself in any manner possible; and trying to trash anything that doesn't confirm to your whims and fancies has done nothing but degrade you.

I might have gotten a bit too carried away while saying whatever I did, but it came from the bottom of my heart. I feel that you have an awesome potential in the form of a very popular horizontal portal(I'd have traded this kind of horizontal portal popularity for my left ball, you see), but somehow I feel its being wasted.

What we are undisputedly capable of, however, is dinner at a slick downtown restaurant. You are still welcome . We'll enjoy the food, we'll enjoy the wine, and we'll enjoy not talking about movies made by people we don't even know.

Since you're insisting, I wouldn't mind taking you on that. Where n when?