When the announcement came, it really intrigued the interest of viewers. That's because the legendary character of Nagaraja Chozhan perished, under the vengeful anger of his illegitimate son. So how does this 'Amaithipadai 2' will work out as a sequel ? Nonetheless the combination of Manivannan and Sathyaraj, will still invoke the interest, especially of those who are fond of sarcasm, since these two are the best of the best of that category. So how did this film fare ?
Being his 200th film, Sathyaraj proved that experience matters and he is definitely a class above, when it comes to performing quintessential sadistic and sarcastic characters. His perfectly-timed dialogue delivery and casual expressions were top class. He oozes the brashness and arrogance demanded by the character. Its just a pure delight to watch him taking potshots at others ! And playing the perfect foil fro him, is his 'partner-in-crime', Manivannan. These two veterans share fantastic chemistry between them, and their respective uniqueness, complements each other's styles and variations. This particular combo has been sorely missed in Tamizh cinema ! The only sore point was the younger Sathyaraj role of an CBI officer, which lacks screen space and time. Raghu Manivannan plays a small but significant role in the film and passes muster. Directors Seeman and Jegannath were very stiff and stoic in their performances. The rest of the cast such as Mrudula, Komal Sharma, Varsha Ashwathi, Anshiba, M.S Bhaskar, Vaiyapuri, Krishnamoorthy, Rajkanth, Sujatha and etc were just functional but insipid.
The technical department's work were just adequate and there's nothing much to speak about. Bhuji's costumes and Durai's make-up for the titular role of Sathyaraj's was spot on. The veteran looked perfect as how he would have aged from the original 'Amaithipadai' days. 'Supreme' Sundar's stunt choreography was overdone with excessive usage of ropes and outdated choreography. B.Sai's art direction was adequate, though he could have done better with the tribal episode and also for the interiors of the posh bungalows of the lead characters. R.Sudharsan's editing was functional and so does D.Shankar's cinematography. There are a couple of some good shots of the forest, but other than that, there's nothing else to discuss about. James Vasanthan's musical score was drab a humdrum. "Malai Mele" is a song shot on the celebration of a tribal wedding ceremony, which eulogized the importance of the pristine jungle. "Kannadi Paapa" is a typical item song, with two gals prancing around with dancers, amidst a house party. "Viraivil Vidiyum" is a situational song, picturized on the affected tribal community mourning their losses and their uprising against the corrupted titular character. The background score was too bland and unimpressive.
As his 50th directorial venture, Manivannan has taken the classic Nagaraja Chozhan character from his cult-hit 'Amaidhipadai' and made an unrelated spin-off. The movie is filled with current social problems and takes a liberal dose of mockery about the sorry state of the Tamil Nadu political scenario and its politicians. The problem with the script is that, its only enjoyable when the hot-shot combo of Sathyaraj and Manivannan is there. Other than that, there are no engaging scenes, pertaining to the other characters. The success of the original was due to the sarcasm-filled writing and also a strong emotional quotient, attached to the script. But in this film, the latter is missing, and what we have are just mere 'bullet-points' like highlights of all the scams and wrongdoings of the current politicians, narrated in a repartee between the two lead roles of Sathyaraj and Manivannan. And also, we had the fantastic musical score of 'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraja in the original, which added more color to the film, but alas, its the other way around in this unrelated sequel.
'Nagaraja Chozhan' is definitely no where near the quality of its original, but fans of Manivannan-Sathyaraj combo might as well just enjoy the combination scenes, alone !
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
After 'Udhayam NH4', the main technicians of that team has regrouped again for another of Vetrimaaran's assistant, Prithvi Rajkumar's debut film. 'Naan Rajavaaga Pogiren' has Nakul making a comeback after a 4-year hiatus, accompanied by some new and old faces of Tamizh cinema, filling up the character artistes quotient. Aided by Vetrimaaran, did Prithvi Rajkumar live up to his mentor's name ?
Starting off with the cast, Nakul shows some improvement in his performance. He shows more ease and comfort in the action sequences and his dialogue delivery. But as Jeeva, his diminutive-in-heroism act was on the poorer side of the acting scale. The acting was not convincing and natural, and the 'forced' attempt to act was visible. Poor extraction from the director, perhaps ? Chandini, has the more substantial role of the heroines. She has been accorded more screen space and the heavier performance-enhancing scenes. Avani Modi, is too static and conscious of the presence of the camera. Savitha dubs for the former, while Chinmayee takes care of the latter's. But Avani Modi's performance suffers, due to the mismatch in dubbing sync. Directors Gaurav and A.Venkatesh carry the antagonist roles, and they look apt for the characters they portrayed, though there's nothing particular to praise about. The film has a glut of character artistes such as Nishanth, Manivannan, Kasthuri, Suresh, Vanitha Vijayakumar, Chetan, Muthuraman, Simhaa, Vasu Vikram, 'Delhi' Ganesh, Thiyagu, Mayilsamy, Aarthi and etc and all of them were functional.
Dhilip Subbarayan has choreographed solid action sequences, with the element of kick-boxing, fitting the style of Nakul's. The cricket ground and mall fight sequences, were very professionally done. G.Durairaj's art direction was decent. His art work for the posh apartment sequences, the half-built construction sites, and minute details such as posters and props, were decent works, indeed. Mabbu Jyothiprakash's editing work is functional, but he could have chopped of plenty of scenes, so that the film could have been more racier, with better continuity. R.Velraj proves his class again, with very good framing and camera movements, which creates and aura of suspense and thrill. His night shots are very well shot, and his best works of the film is evident in the mentioned action sequences !
G.V Prakash Kumar, who has been on a role, with a string of decent hits, takes a dip in form in , 'Naan Rajavaaga Pogiren'. The songs were dull and none of the number's were catchy enough ! "College Paadam" is a customary college-intro song, with plenty of good looking female dancers and shot mostly in and around the college campus. Plenty of cut-shots and good camera movements are incorporated into the song. Vetrimaaran, R.Velraj and G.V Prakash make cameo appearances in the song. "Raja Raja" is a montage song, showing the moments shared by the characters played by Nakul and Avani Modi, with dialogue sequences interspersed. "Kalaaipom" is a party song sung by Silambarasan, with all dancers appearing in particular dress codes. The song was shot on all three lead artistes and with different lights used in the backdrop to create a party atmosphere. "Yaar Ivano" was shot on Nakul and Chandini, romancing along the picturesque Goan beaches and landmarks. "Malgova" is a typical item song and Zarine Khan does the jig this time around. The song was poor in quality and the choice of totally-out-of-shape Zarine as an item girl, is a bewildering one by the director. The song was set in a shooting-like scenario. The background score was better than the songs, to be frank. Especially for the tensed moments.
Prithvi Rajkumar has an interesting knot to his story and a clever title. But what's totally missing is an acute and engrossing screenplay ! It is obvious that, Prithvi's style of film-making has a heavy sense of Vetrimaaran's touch, but the screenplay and direction was poorer in quality. The film moves in a very slow pace with a barrage of social messages, thrust into the film, unnecessarily. The usage of monologues was excessive, which gets boring after a certain period. The direction was hurried and there's no proper execution in canning important sequences. Characters were very not properly developed nor the artistes were properly utilized. Surprisingly, Vetrimaaran's dialogues were just handy enough and nothing impressive, in particular.The only plus point one could think of is the cleverly used red herring element in the screenplay, and the rest of the film is just a cover-up for it, which unfortunately plays spoilsport.
'Naan Rajavaaga Pogiren' - Good idea, below average execution.
Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
