GOLI SODA MOVIE REVIEW

'Goli Soda' made the right noises for the return of the 'Pasanga' boys in their early teenage years, but this time in a totally different world. S.D Vijay Milton, the popular cinematographer takes up the baton of director for the second time after 'Azhagai Irukirai Bayamai Irukiradhu', a film which got released in 2006. Produced by his brother Bharath Seeni, under the Rough Note Production company and distributed by N.Lingusamy's Tirrupathi Brothers, can 'Goli Soda' quench our thirst for good cinema ?

The 'Pasanga' boys consisting of Kishore, Sree Ram, Pandi, and Murugesh have equal screen presence and importance in the film and they have shown complete understanding of their characters and have shown good maturity. Each of them had their own unique personalities, and all of them have pulled it off, effectively. Promising talents ! The debuting girls, Chandhini and Seetha too were very adequate. The former, projecting the sweet and homely character, whereas the latter is the firecracker and actual scene stealer of the film ! Madhusudhan plays the main antagonist role and he is certainly someone to watch out for. Besides that, Samuthirakani's dubbing for Madhusudhan, was very apt and a good choice made by the director. Sujatha and Immanuel Annachi, had very likeable and natural roles, and both of them were good to watch. A.Manoharan, Meenal, Senthikumari, R.K Vijay Murugan and etc filled up the remaining roles, quite well.

R.K Vijay Murugan, who has acted as the second antagonist, is in charge of the art direction as well. Nearly every scene was shot in the actual locations of Koyambedu market and whatever props needed, especially for the "Aachi Mess" setting, was neatly and aptly done. 'Supreme' Sundar's action choreography was raw, gritty and superbly done. The first action sequence, though lengthy, was splendidly shot and executed by the boys and stunt artistes. The climax fight sequence too was edgy and fast-paced, but the first action block, simply takes the cake. This would definitely be one of 'Supreme' Sundar's best works. Adding more zing to these action sequences, is Anthony's editing. His fast-cuts and no-gimmicks approach worked very well for the movie's overall presentation and elevated the raw and gritty look. The film is also very racy and slickly packaged, with perfect running time of just over 2 hours. S.D Vijay Milton's cinematography brings the story forward and his guerrilla technique, with candid shots gives the film a natural and raw look. Nothing looked staged and purposely choreographed at all, and that's the biggest plus, when it comes to the cinematography aspect.

S.N Arunagiri's songs were all shot in montages. Though they don't stand out as brilliant tracks, they do gel well with the theme and mood of the script. "All Your Duty" is the opening first song and was shot on the boys, with their small fun in their limited world. "Killadi" depicted a shopping spree sequence, and "Silusilunu" is about the urge of the boys to earn extra. "Oyyale" was picturized on the boys, girls and Sujatha which showed the boys' next progress in business. "Aaru Adi" was shot as a night sequence, bit song in dim lights. "Jananam Jananam" had plenty of other locations such as Himachal Pradesh, Murudeshwara, Allepy and etc which was essential for the songs, in order to project the boys' separation. "Kadhal Panne" had the guest appearances of 'Powerstar' Dr S.Srinivasan and 'Dancing Sensation' Sam Anderson and had a cinema song-shoot theme, which was shot in and around Koyambedu. The background score meanwhile, is handled by Kannada musician, Anoop Seelin. Although it served the purpose, the score is quite archaic and uninspiring, especially when you have new talents doing great in Tamizh cinema.

S.D Vijay Milton has used Koyambedu, the biggest market in Asia as his base and the lost individuals, dwelling in this ultra-busy place, as his protagonists. The bone of contention of this script, is the non-existence of identities for his protagonists and their struggle and fight in developing and keeping one. S.D Vijay Milton has scripted the screenplay in a nice fashion, where the second half develops slowly and leads into an explosive second half, which holds our attention greatly. And most of the scenes are well crafted and genuinely staged and enacted by good artistes. The director should be applauded for developing characters of flesh and blood and giving most of his artistes, the ample screenplay time and apt scenes, in bringing out the nuances of their respective characters. Dialogues by Pandiraj is definitely a highlight, especially for the humor sequences, which give us the chuckles. What S.D Vijay Milton and Pandiraj, could have avoided though, is the preaching and over-emphasis on the question of identity, which gets repetitive after some time. Also, the director could have parted ways with some of the songs, which does not serve much purpose. Nevertheless, the makers can be proud of their product, which is a commercial entertainer, yet different in making and approach.

'Goli Soda' - Smashingly original and a brave attempt.


Ratings: 3.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL