ORU KAL ORU KANNADI MOVIE REVIEW

'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi', was eagerly anticipated solely for a single reason  - the combination of Rajesh and Santhanam. They've rocked in their previous two hits 'Siva Manasula Sakthi' and 'Boss Engira Baskaran'. Both films' comedy tracks have eventually become cult classics and the expectations on this combo to repeat it again in this film, was big. Also it is the entry ticket of popular producer and distributor Udhayanidhi Stalin as a hero into Tamizh cinema, which is an interesting aspect as we don't get to see producers turning into heroes. The expectations soared high when a short teaser trailer was released, which was amusing and humorous to the core. Added to that, Rajesh is teaming up with Harris Jeyaraj this time instead of Yuvan Shankar Raja who gave him chart-busting tracks 'Siva Manasula Sakthi' and 'Boss Engira Baskaran'. Is this a hat-trick for the Rajesh-Santhanam duo?

Udhayanidhi Stalin who makes his debut here, has chosen very wisely. He chose a script which was easy going and a good starter for his acting career. As expected from debutantes, he did have his flaws here and there, with ordinary dance moves and some expressions not being performed to the fullest, but still he did a decent job. His appearance on screen was pleasant and neat. His emoting skills are decent but certainly he should do much better in his upcoming films. His innocent, yet naughty personality was apt for the role and he should be patted for making a decent entry into Tamizh cinema. Hansika Motwani is a perfect choice for the heroine's role and kudos to both Udhayanidhi and Rajesh for choosing her. As Meera, she was looking lovely and her expressions, her body language, her comedy timing, and the lip-sync for Savitha's dubbing, everything was near-perfect. No mistakes, no over-acting and no letdowns. Job very well done! Saranya Ponvannan shows her histrionics in comedy and its a welcome relief to see her in comedy roles, a throwback to her "Veettuku Veedu Looty" television serial-days. The scene where she goes comes back to home only to realise that her loved ones' were looking for her was a joy to watch. A lovely and beautiful veteran, she is. The others in the cast like Azhagam Perumal, Sayaji Shinde, Uma Padhmanabhan, Swaminathan and delivered what was expected from their minor roles. Sneha, Arya and Andrea made cool and refreshing cameo appearances. But the whole movie belongs to one man and its none other than Santhanam. A total SCREAM and a ROCKING performance from him!!! As usual, he is at his best with his witty one liners and the movie is replete with it. His expressions, dubbing and dialogue delivery, everything was oozing in comedy and he deserves to be called the current King of Comedy in Tamizh cinema. Many scenes are testimony to this but the highlights are the in-flight sequence, the attempt to save the hero from committing suicide, and also the "Adiye Kolluthey" scenes. Santhanam carries the film on his shoulder and he has proved that he is indeed a very, very bankable star in his own rights.

The technical department in the film carries simple and neat work. Stunt choreographer Rajasekar basically has nothing to do other than the one small chasing scene and art director Jacki's work was limited due to many real locations being used throughout the film. Jacki's work of the interiors of the hero and heroine's homes was simple. Nalini Sriram's casual costume for Udhayanidhi made him look very presentable on screen which is vital for his boy-next-door role and Priya Manikandan's costumes for Hansika was very chic and credit goes to her for making Hansika look lovely on the screen. Vivek Harshan's editing was neat but he could have trimmed some portions as the movie was a little long, stretching to nearly 3 hours. Balasubramaniem's cinematography was very breezy and cool and it was a commendable job by him to shoot in live locations with popular artistes and also for showing Hansika beautifully on screen. Harris Jeyaraj is the other asset to the film. His song reflected the mood of the script which is being simple and breezy. "Azhage Azhage" was pictured in the deserts and harsh lands of Jordan and it involves simple choreography and cinematography. Hansika's costumes was eye-catching. Following the same trend is the "Akila Akila" song which was also shot in Jordan but in urban atmosphere. "Adada Adada" was done in montage style and it was the best-placed song in the film and mostly shot in real locations such as streets and malls. "Venam Machan" is the most favourite track of the masses and it has been a long time since Harris came out with a foot-tapping dance number. For the first time, Santhanam appears and dances throughout the song along with Udhayanidhi and it has simple and catchy choreography by Dinesh. Another typical catchy number of Harris is the "Kadhal Oru Butterfly" number. It has a mixture of montage plus choreographed sequence with the latter part having the choreographer Dinesh himself dancing to the tunes. Once again simple and catchy moves from him.


Rajesh's script is a very pretty thin one, which is the same as his previous films, where the story and logic are not to be searched for, but what makes the film enjoyable is the feel good, light-hearted screenplay along with the fantastic comedy portions. 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi' shares certain similarities with his previous films such as the drinking sessions, comedic mother of hero, friendly banters and repartee and also Santhanam. Yet, Rajesh still manages to keep us engaged with the film, thanks to his witty dialogues and the chemistry he shares with Santhanam. He does brings in the twists and knots at the right time which gets us hooked on to the screenplay. Though the romance portion didn't really work out well and the angst of Azhagam Perumal's character towards Saranya's character was not well etched out and convincing, it still doesn't matter much as the logic and sensitivities are not bothered here. Enjoyment and fun was expected and that is what was delivered.

Is it okay for us to say Rajesh and Santhanam scored a hat-trick? Its not only okay, but OKOK! A movie to be watched with your best buddies around you.


Ratings: 3/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

'3' MOVIE REVIEW

One of the most eagerly expected film of the year, thanks to the popularity and craze of one particular song ie, "Why This Kolaiveri", '3' has been gaining popularity thanks to marketing techniques of the production team, Wunderbar Films which belongs to Dhanush and Aishwarya R.Dhanush, the director and wife of the protagonist of the film. Anirudh Ravichander,the debuting music director, makes a sensational debut, with a refreshing and soulful album. The relatively young cast, invokes more curiosity around the film. So, did the film live up to all the hype it created ?

The performances of the lead artistes were poignant, soulful and were of heavy duty-material. Dhanush, has been having an extremely good time and with his previous, 'Mayakkam Enna' earning him rave reviews, he continues his form in this film as well. Though the role he played looked like an extension or evolution of the one he essayed in 'Mayakkam Enna', he makes it up with different portrayals of moods and emotions. Its no easy at all, to perform strong emotions, facing the camera single-handedly with no cues for support, Dhanush came up with a brilliant and fantastic performance. His additional advantage is his looks and physique, which enables him to portray different age-periods of his character. Take a bow, Dhanush ! Shruti Haasan, who is into her second film in Tamizh cinema after '7am Arivu', makes a decent outing in the film, with much improved performances. Her dialogue delivery was good but she struggles a little, when it comes to very heavily, emotional sequences. With more experience, the starlet of 'Ulaga Nayagan' can make it up. Sivakarthikeyan and Sunder Ramu provided som funny moments, especially the former, with fantastic comic timing and dialogue delivery (expecting more from him) and the latter continuing what he did previously in 'Mayakkam Enna'. A big suppor to all of them were the veterans, Prabhu, Bhanupriya and Rohini whom, needless to say, were brilliant with very subtly nuanced performances. A special note must be made of the little girl, Gabriella who was splendid as the mute sister of Shruti.

The film boasts of very talented technicians. Resul Pookutty and his associate Amrit Pritam, handled the sound designing portion very well. The subtle and minute sounds were audible, especially during the rain and fight sequences. Chaithanya Rao's costume designing was classy and efficient at the same time, with the characters looking how they should have been portrayed, especially for the different time-periods. Silva's car-park stunt sequence was well choreographed and was natural, though it was picturized in a little dramatic manner. Kola Bhaskar's editing was flawless and crisp, but it could have been smoother during the song sequences. Kiran's art work was a touch of class as well, especially the posh apartment sets and also of those middle-class house setting, which looked very natural. R.Velraj's work is a big asset for the film, because his cinematography work was excellent. His framing and lighting was very apt for the changing nature of the mood of the script. His picturization was crystal-clear, especially for the rain sequences. Not to forget, as usual, he shows his prowess during the darkly-lit sequences, with minimal or no lights. Brilliant work from him !

Anirudh Ravichander, the cousin of the director makes a smashing debut through this film. His musical score was melodious and soul-stirring, which is another vital importance for the film. Almost all of his songs were already super-hits before the release of the film. "Idazhin Oram" was picturized in a montage manner, with many cut-shots and depicted the teenage lives of the lead pair, falling in love with each other. "Kannazhaga" was picturized in a small, and middle-class type apartment in a night sequences, against the lead pair. R.Velraj's close-ups on the lead pair, helps to elevate the mood of the song. "Come on Girls" was shot in a club sequence, with plenty of dancers in a party mood, celebrating the marriage of the lead pair. "Nee Partha" is another song shot in a montage style, depicting the happy and romantic post-marriage period of the lead characters, shot mostly in a posh, apartment setting. "Po Nee Po", is a soul-stirring, emotional and situational song, which is also shot in montages, featuring the emotional travails of the lead pair, late in the second half. The smash-hit song of the album, "Why This Kolaiveri" was surprisingly, disappointingly-shot. The protagonist was shown dancing with dancers in a beach-side hawker vendors' stalls setting. The zing of the audio was not visible in the video, and it's a big letdown from the team, considering the fact, that it was shot only during the ending period of the film's production process ! Anyway's, Anirudh made sure that his background score too gets noticed, and he did not fail in his endeavor. The background score was simple, yet melodious and beautiful. A fantastic work by the young musician. Welcome to Tamizh cinema, Anirudh !

Aishwarya R.Dhanush makes her debut as a director, after assisting her brother-in-law, Selvaraghavan. Not surprisingly, her script and screenplay have the remnants of her mentor's touches. She has good writing skills, which is evident in sensitive, poignant and subtle sequences she has penned in the screenplay. The humor portions and the songs, were well inserted into the screenplay. The dialogues were simple and pretty straight-forward. What pulls down the quality output of the film, is the slow screenplay and also Aishwarya R.Dhanush's decision in depicting her script in a non-chronological order, which takes the impact of the suspense element out from the film, in the beginning moments, itself ! Also, few questions can be raised, regarding the proceedings of the screenplay, which are quite implausible and inadvertently, leaves some loopholes in the script. However, she should be appreciated for sketching strong and in-depth characters, whom looks original and believable. 

'3' actually did not live up exactly, to the expectations it evoked, but this is a very good effort from Aishwarya R.Dhanush on behalf of her husband's home production team. If the flaws are overlooked, this film is a good-watch.

Ratings: 3/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL