Chimbu Deven, one of the creative directors of Tamizh cinema, is back after 'Irumbu Kottai Murattu Singam'. As always this film too is intriguingly titled, this time as 'Oru Kanniyum Moonu Kalavanikalum'. Arulnithi, an earnest performer needs a solid hit to cement his presence in Tamizh cinema. With Chimbu Deven in helm, can this film deliver a different yet entertaining flick for us ?
Arulnithi, shows good progress from film to film. Here, he proves his mettle in handling comedy throughout the film and with his subtleties, he delivers a very decent performance. There's not much of scope for him, in terms of the range of emotions and variations in dialogue deliveries, but he still makes good use of the subject taken and convincingly portrayed the role of the protagonist. Sharing equal space with him is K.Bagavathi Perumal of 'Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom' fame. He continues his 'NKPK' act very well, and his one-liners are the best in the film. His dialogue deliveries are perfectly timed and neatly presented. A little more expressions can certainly do wonders for him. Good job ! Bindhu Madhavi plays the 'third musketeer' and she should be appreciated for picking an unconventional role. The attractive lass has delivered a clean performance and hoping to see more of her in Tamizh cinema. Ashrita Shetty has an important role, but with limited scope and screen presence, she makes use of what she had in the script, quite well. The rest of the big cast, who played minor characters such as Karthik Sabesh, Manobala, Jayaprakash, Naren, Aruldas, Paandu, Nassar, M.S Bhaskar, 'Delhi' Ganesh, V.S Raghavan, Ravi Raghavendra, Benjamin, Sriranjini and etc were effective and some of them had some witty detailing to their characters, which worked out well.
Costume design has been handled by Sai, and considering the limited scope offered by the script, his works sufficed the needs of the script. Dhilip Subbarayan's action choreography was adequate, especially for the pre-climax fight sequence and for the chasing sequences, which were shot in many real locations. T.Muthuraj's art direction also had lesser importance to the script, since bulk of the movie's portions were shot in real locations. Yet, the minor detailing in the protagonist's apartment, the church wedding scenario and etc deserves appreciation. Raja Mohammed's editing was very much linear, and that helped the flow of the story, so that the screenplay could be straightforward in fashion and easy to understand for the common folks. S.R Kathir's cinematography techniques were effective for the script's demands and needs. His works are very simple and there's nothing fancy about it, which gives the film a realistic look. Also, his camera movements and top-angle shots for the chase sequences, add more zing to the narration.
Natarajan Sankaran's musical score was passable. The melodious "July Madham" was picturized against a chase sequence between Naren, Arulnithi and Bindhu Madhavi, which has interspersing of montages shots of Arulnithi and Ashrita. "Moonu Kodi" is the next chase sequence, this time featuring all three main leads and was mostly shot on rooftops of high-rise apartments and narrow back-lanes. "Bachelor Enakke" plays when the end credits roll. The four theme tracks, "Breeze-African", "Marriage", "Storm-Indian" and "Theme Thunder (Trance)" - the title track, plays throughout the film and at important placements, and also serves as the basis for the background score. Natarajan Sankaran is capable of better musical deliveries, and hope he improves his background score.
Chimbu Deven always had a penchant for unique concepts for each of his film, and in 'Oru Kanniyum Moonu Kalavanikalum' its about the importance of time passages. Chimbu Deven starts the film with a quote from the Holy Bible regarding time, and what we get is a palate of fantasy, reality, sci-fi, and myth. Chimbu Deven's tells us that each minute dictates its own course of fate for each human being, and how one's life can alter by the slightest of time change and various minute elements, omnipresent around us. His screenplay narration is Chimbu Deven's example for the concept that he conveys. Chimbu Deven's quirkiness in writing is evident, with all the minute detailing he gives for many of the minor characters, for example a psychotic inspector's penchant for kid's magazine, the colony secretary's affair and etc. These small details adds the fun element for the script. But the screenplay slowly turns out to be more tedious, when the chain of events are repeated twice, but with different repercussions, since each episode starts a minute later than the previous. The gags are not super exciting or rip-roaring fun, which makes us feel exhausted by the time, the 'real' climax, climaxes ! Also, the concept was exaggerated and its nearly impossible to believe that everyone's life would change just by a minute or two. Nevertheless, Chimbu Deven's dialogues are fun and humorous, especially those mouthed by K.Bagavathi Perumal. Not to forget, he should be also appreciated for his smart writing for minor sequences, such as the various stages of watermelon being cut, in each chronological timeline. Chimbu Deven has credited Tom Tykwer's German classic 'Run Lola Run', Akira Kurosawa's Japanese classic 'Rashomon', Kamal Hassan's 'Virumaandi' and etc as his inspiration. It should be noted that, the film's concept has similarities with Jake Gyllenhaal's 2011 techno-thriller, 'Source Code'.
'Oru Kanniyum Moonu Kalavanikalum' - An intelligent concept, a simple story-line and some fun gags in between !
Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'Udhayam NH4', was an ambitious project of Vetrimaaran with his buddy Dhanush, which unfortunately did not materialize into a full-fledged film. Now, the script has been handed down to an associate of Vetri and has a different cast, than what was initially drawn. With the big contribution of Vetrimaaran, who is known for his fantastic writing, in the scripting stage, this film promises a good and neat thriller. So, did Manimaran live up to Vetri's standard ?
Siddharth, is once again back after his last success, 'Kadhalil Sodhapuvadhu Eppadi'. He pulls in a very restrained and nonchalant performance. There is a no non-sense approach to his character, which is kind of laid-back and casual, but smart and witty. His dialogue delivery was very measured. But, somehow his role looks too obviously written with Dhanush in mind, and there are plenty of sequences, where you can imagine Dhanush and see how fitting he is for the character. No discredits to Siddharth, but the 'presence' of Dhanush in the script was inevitable, in the end. Debutant Ashrita Shetty (Devapriya has dubbed for her), fits the role of an under-aged girl, but more emotions and expressions are warranted, if she aspires to survive in the industry. Veteran Hindi artiste, Kay Kay Menon was terrific in his role as the cop. His timing and cool persona, added with the rough and arrogant nature of his job, helps him to pull off a brilliant performance. Welcome to Tamizh cinema, Kay Kay ! The rest of the cast such as Naren, Avinash, Surekha Vaani, Karthik Sabesh, Deepak, Ajay, Rohit Balaiah and etc, especially the friends characters of Siddharth were adequate.
The film carries very good technical works from the technical department. Anu and Priya's costume was adequate for each artistes' roles. Dhilip Subbarayan's stunt choreography was raw and gritty, especially the ones' done in the climax and in the clubbing arena. G.Durairaj's art work was good, especially when one is has to deal with lower budgets. The interiors of the Bengaluru apartments, as well as clubbing houses, were well detailed and convincing, but the tight spaces do show off. Kishore T.E's editing was razor sharp. There are no spaces in between dialogues, and the cuts comes in a rapid manner ! S.Saravanan handles the editing for two of the songs, which were neatly handled. R.Velraj once again proves that he is one of the best cinematographers in Tamizh cinema. The gripping, stylish and roving cinematography complements the thrill element of the script. And he is certainly one of the best, in filming darkly-lit sequences. Check out his cameo appearance in the film, as well !
G.V Prakash Kumar, who is on a roll with big films in his kitty, continues his decent form in 'Udhayam NH4' as well. "Vaa Iravugalil", is the opening number, picturized on the gang of Siddharth and his buddies, getting used to the colorful and lively night life of Bengaluru, especially in clubs and discotheques. The fast-cut editing by S.Saravanan, keeps the racy element intact and the creative statutory warning infused in between the song, was interesting. "Ore Kannaale" is a situational song and has the singer Gaana Bala, making an appearance as well. The song was picturized on a street-stage performance model, and has quirky dance moves. "Yaaro Ivan" is the melodious number, with plenty of montage sequences, shot on the lead pair, romancing in and around Bengaluru, along the beaches, streets, mall, college campus and etc. "Indrodu Thadaigal" is another fast-paced song, with neat editing by S.Saravanan and colorful lighting by R.Velraj, and G.Durairaj's set work was adequate. The background score was a little loud, and could have been more racier.
Vetrimaaran, once again proves that he is very good with his writing skills. He takes credit for the story and dialogues, and also pens the screenplay along with the director Manimaran. There's nothing new in the story, but the racy screenplay and clean narration, makes the film to click. The intelligent and unexpected twists and turns adds to the fun quotient. The comedy portions were very well handled, and Vetrimaaran's organic dialogues played a big part. The director has handled the script well, by infusing sensible, small detailing in the film, which adds more authenticity to the film (including the voice dubbing by Deepa Venkat). But Manimaran could have given more attention to the hero's role, in order to erase the 'presence' of Dhanush's personality into Siddharth's role. Besides that, disappointingly, there are some small loopholes and loose-ends in the script, which should have been rectified. The films moves in a fast pace in the first half, but looses the tautness in the second half, after key moments have gone through.
'Udhayam NH4' is a clean-cut film, which delivered what it promised. Nothing less, nothing more. A simple and clean commercial thriller, with good performances and technical outputs.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
