Vishal is back in action for Deepavali once again and he has joined hands with director Hari, who is fresh from the blockbuster success of 'Singam II'. After a lengthy 7-year gap with 'Thaamirabarani', this duo is back in action with a typical, commercial "masala" film, full of sentiments, action, glamour, song-and-dance and comedy and produced under Vishal's own Vishal Film Factory banner. With the usual huge supporting cast and his trusted technicians, can Hari and Vishal score back to back hits in their respective careers with 'Poojai' ?
This is a perfect platform for Vishal to flex his muscles and showcase the machismo side of his. This is a very apt and comfortable setup for Vishal and he has come out clean, with an energetic yet subtle performance. He has matured more as an actor and manages to stamp his mark with his screen presence. Job, well done ! Shruti Haasan is only making her third appearance in Tamizh, after a two year absence from '3'. She replicates her Telugu cinema act, with a simple modern-day, girl-next-door performance and ups the ante in the glamour department, for the songs. Mukesh Tiwari as the main antagonist was passable, though a better actor would have created an heavier impact. Soori, 'Black' Paandi and Immanuel Annachi takes care of the comedy portions, and though one or two scenes are funny, thanks to the quirky dialogues, their tracks were redundant, on an overall basis. The huge supporting cast, consisted of some of the best character artistes such as Sathyaraj, Raadhika Sarathkumar, Jayaprakash, 'Thalaivasal' Vijay, Prathap Pothen, and also other artistes such as Manobala, R.Sundarrajan, Abhinaya, Kausalya, Renuka, Sithara, Aishwarya, Janaki Sabesh, Awadesh Mishra, Vinay Bihari, Mathumila Mano, Sanjay Singh, Sounthara Raja, Barath Raj and etc. Most of them do fill up the spaces but their relevance and importance to the film, is another question entirely.
Costume designing by Vasuki Bhaskar and Chaitanya Rao fits the bill, and the lead pair looked natural and realistic. Shruti Haasan was particularly, glamorous in the sons sequences. Some of the character artistes, costumes could have been better and not over-done. Action choreography is by the once-in-demand-once-upon-a-time, Kanal Kannan. As it has mostly been with Kanal, the action sequences were over-the-top, repetitive and unwarranted. The opportunities were there in the screenplay for an pulsating action choreography, alas it was wasted for good ! K.Kadhirr's art direction was splendid, especially with the elaborate market set-work, which looked realistic and also with the grand & posh mansion, apartment and office settings, which had all the necessary props to enhance the setting. Veteran V.T Vijayan and T.S Jay duo takes care of the editing department, and their quick-cuts helped overcome the obvious flaws of the action sequences. The film moves at a good and steady pace, but there are many redundant scenes, which could have been edited out, to make it racier. Hari's right-hand man and regular, Priyan is the cinematographer here as well, and his work suffices the need of the script and complements, Hari's presentation style, very well. Especially with the top-angle and chopper shots.
Yuvan Shankar Raja's musical score is below average for his standards and only a couple of the songs are really hummable numbers. "Soda Bottle" is the opening item-number song, shot on Vishal and has a cameo appearance from Andrea Jeremiah, who had a glamorous make-over for this song. K.Kadhirr's market set was well shot by Priyan for this song and most of the detailing of the art work was visible on screen. "Devathai" is the pick of the lot and was shot on Vishal and Shruti Haasan, dancing in scenic urbane and hill stations of Switzerland. Shruti Haasan was at her glam-best, for the first time in Tamizh cinema. Some montage sequences were interspersed along the choreographed portions. "Ippadiye" is a folk dancer number, with elements of trance music from Yuvan Shankar Raja. Its an atypical Hari song, shot on the lead pair, in a simple yet colorful set, accompanied by colorfully-attired group dancers. "Uyire" is a situational pathos song, also shot on the lead pair and comes at two different places. "Odi Odi" is the final situational song and was had plenty of chases and sentimental scenes, and serves as the prelude for the climax portion. Yuvan Shankar Raja's background score was functional enough but for his standards, it could and should have been way much better.
As with all Hari films, 'Poojai' too has the commercial, mass "masala" template with its script. Hari has repeated the same formula for the umpteenth time and arranges the screenplay in an sequence of comedy, action, song, sentiment and this sequence repeats throughout the whole screenplay. There are no twists and turns in the script and the story has a very linear and straightforward timeline. The story only picks up pace just before the interval and stutters occasionally after that, with some redundant songs and comedy portions. There's no cohesion nor coherence in the screenplay and many scenes do not gel well and sticks out like sore thumbs. There's not enough of emotional depth, be it in the hero/villain episode nor the hero/heroine portions, as well. The action sequences tire you after a point of time and it doesn't really fire up the emotion in us. Though all of Hari's films has the same template, he gets it right with some scripts, which has the right proposition and proportions of the "masala" quotients. But with 'Poojai' there seems to be miscalculation and obvious flaws, in the execution of the script and even in the directorial department as well.
'Poojai' - An average 'darshan' with some working bits and pieces !
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'Chennaiyil Oru Naal', if the official remake of the critically acclaimed Malayalam film, 'Traffic', which actually piqued the interest of 'Ulaga Nayagan' Dr. Kamal Haasan, who wanted to remake it himself. Though course of nature diverted it from him, the script did come to Tamizh, and has been produced by Raadhika Sarathkumar, in collaboration with Listin Stephen. With a noble message, in the form of organ donation, how did the film fare ?
Whom to start with, in regards to the cast ? Especially when you have a stellar cast list, wherein one can find tons of experiences !! The main roles were all played by exceptional actors. Sarathkumar as the smart police commissioner, Cheran as the redemption-seeking constable, Prakash Raj as the narcissistic film star, Prasanna as the guilt-driven surgeon, Raadhika as the frustrated by supportive wife and mother, Parvathi Menon as the heartbroken girlfriend, Jayaprakash and Lakshmy Ramakrishnan as the grieving parents, each and every one of them were strong in terms of performance. Adding more strength to the film, the rest of the cast such as Iniya, Sachin, Mithun, Aishwarya Devan, Mallika, Manobala, Santhana Bharathi, Subbu Panchu, Vijayakumar, Bala Singh, Raju Krishnamoorthy 'Kitty', Udhayakumar, Devan, R.J Dheena, Akshara, Vaishali and Gabriella Charlton were equally good, in their assigned roles. Also, we have Suriya making a cameo appearance towards the climax and also during the end credits, giving his thoughts on the issue of organ donation. Its a rarity in Tamizh cinema, to have such an ensemble cast in a single film, and that too with very good acting ! Kudos to the team!
Selvam's costume designing and Muthukrishnan's make-up was very much apt for the cast, who all looked the role they were carrying. Perhaps, the make-up could have been handled more diligently, for some characters, in order to have a proper continuity. 'Miracle' Michael's action choreography was more of vehicle handling, and it was not bad. Vinesh Banglan's art direction was simple and efficient. Be it the hospital setting, the interiors of the different styles of houses, shown (be it posh apartments, bungalows or middle-class flats), the hi-tech police chamber and etc. All the backdrops looked perfect and spotless. Job, well done ! Mahesh Narayanan's editing work was interesting, and adds strength to the film, especially when the script has multi-narration and characters, with several timelines. The necessary fast-cuts, adds to the excitement and tension the script, creates. Shehnad Jalal's cinematography was good, especially for the super-fact chasing sequences, and also for his interesting angles, especially when it involves several characters in one scene or sequence. Mejo Joseph's music score was average, though. "Un Thozhil" is the introductory song for Sachin and Parvathi Menon, who play a couple-in-love. The song was picturized with typical dance and montage sequences interspersed and was shot in multi-location such as highways, harbor, malls and etc. "Mannil Ulla Manithan" has montages of all the main characters, living their daily life. Mahesh's smooth editing for the song, is commendable. "Yen Yen Yen", comes at the climax, which has a race-against-time theme and plenty of rapid cut-shots. It was picturized on Cheran, Prasanna and Mithun on their mission to deliver the donated heart, in a dense housing colony. The background score, was too melodramatic and loud in certain sequences, which devalues the intended impact of some sequences.
Starting off with Samuthirakani's voice-over, Bobby and Sanjay's hyperlink script, which has multi-narration, multi-character and multi-timeline, was brilliantly written. The screenplay unravels slowly but steadily and picks up plenty of pace in the second half, especially with the unpredictable twists and turns, during intense moments ! They have struck a nice balance of emotional quotient and thrilling moments in the film. But the overtly done, frenzied, mad-rush climax with a heavy and fast song playing in the back, only gives a 'filmy' effect, rather than a class act, which could have been avoided. The emotional quotient of the film, could have easily warranted highly-charged dialogues, Ajayan Bala must be appreciated for penning simple dialogues. But there are scenes which could have been accentuated by intellectual dialogues, which would have given more depth to the screenplay. Besides that, there is an uncanny dose of Malayalam flavor in the writing, which should have been altered, to suit Tamizh nativity. Shaheed Kader has earnestly tried his best to be sincere to the original Malayalam script, and kudos to him for lucid vision in the execution of the script. Applaudable work from the writers but there are continuity mistakes in the film, which the director, should have taken note off.
'Chennaiyil Oru Naal' could have been a classic and classy film, if it was handled by more experienced and talented crew. A potential unforgettable great film, becomes "just" a good film. But still, congratulations for the brilliant effort of the cast and crew.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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