VALLAVANUKKU PULLUM AAYUDHAM MOVIE REVIEW

After the super-hit success of 'Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiya', Santhanam's next production venture under his own company Handmade Films Production, is none other than his debut as a solo hero, with 'Vallavanukku Pullum Aayudham'. Jointly produced with PVP Cinemas, it is the official remake of the 2010 Telugu film 'Maryada Ramanna' which had Telugu comedian Sunil as the protagonist. Successfully remade in most of the other regional languages, can Santhanam pull it off as a solo hero, with a proven script ?

Santhanam, who always shares the screen space with his buddy heroes, has taken up the mantle as the lead protagonist this time. It is an apt script and subject for him, and he has performed very comfortably. His efforts in relation to keeping a fit physique, improved dancing skills, and the effervescent screen presence, is very much evident. His comic timing and dialogue deliveries need no mention and as always, there are many perfect punch dialogues for him, to impress the audience. Ads model, Ashna Zaveri from Mumbai makes her film debut, as the pretty face of the film. She fits the bill as the pretty and homely girl role and performs adequately. Not to forget, she too has a pleasant screen presence. Telugu actor Nagi Needu reprises the role he did in the original as the film's main antagonist, alongside Ravi Prakash and Suguntha. Though their roles are the atypical loud and brash villains of Tamizh cinema, the actors did justice to their roles. Siddharth Vipin and Rajakumaran provides the comic relief in the first half, whereas VTV Ganesh has a small role in the second half. The others such as radio and television personality Senthil Kumar, Rekha Suresh, Sujatha, Subbu Panchu, John Vijay, Bose Venkat and etc sufficed the needs of the story. And don't miss out the hilarious cameo of 'Powerstar' Dr.Srinivasan in the first half !

Vasu handles the costume designing and his works has made Santhanam and Ashna Zaveri look very much presentable and stylish, within the commercial needs of the script and for the songs, as well. The VFX work is handled by Lorven Studios and surprisingly, the train sequence in the first half and the climax had very shoddy visual effects, which looked very amateurish. The action choreography is handled by 'FEFSI' Vijayan, and though the film had scope for some good action sequences, the choreography was a little overboard. Dhilip Subbarayan has handled the bicycle chase sequence, which was a very lengthy one, and Santhanam was really put to test, in this particular portion. The art design is handled by A.R Mohan and his work brought out the script's feel and desired look, aptly. The train set and the song sequence set was well put up. Also, the interiors of the grand village mansion was very well propped. Saikant's editing could have been more tighter, especially with the long climax chase and dialogues sequence, which dragged the film's duration unnecessarily. Cinematography is by Shakthi, who has experimented with the lighting, in order to give Santhanam, the extra edge in terms of screen presence. His camera movements, especially in the songs, brought out the necessary look and feel. Richard M.Nathan, too has been credited for additional cinematography works, as well. 

Siddharth Vipin's musical compositions are good but the songs, were badly placed in the film, unfortunately. "Takkar Takkar" is the usual opening song of the protagonist. Santhanam, shows marked improvement in dancing and is evident in this song. The 'mass' feel was brought out well, especially with the street setting and plenty of extras as back-up dancers. More creativity could have given the song and extra edge. "Oh Oh Nadhigal" comes in the first half, with the lead pair and other characters travelling in a train. The camera movements within the tight space of a train compartment was well handled by Shakthi. A separate portion involving only the lead pair, in a train setup was well lit. The visual effects, could have been much better, though. "Vaada Mappilai" is the theme track of the film and is used in crucial moments of the film, especially during Santhanam's introduction to the antagonists scene. The 'mass' appeal of the song fits the seqeunce, quite well. "Chella Kutti" is the quintessential "kuthu" number shot on the lead pair, with colorfully attired back-up dancers, and equally colorful, set work by A.R Mohan. "Otrai Devathai" is a peppy number, shot in a very grand manner, involving plenty of extras and all the main characters, which has a in-house celebration theme to it. "Kadavule" is a situational song, which is played as the background score for the climax bicycle chase sequence. Siddharth Vipin's background score deserves mention, especially for the minute bytes he provides, like the "Maattikittaan" track, which enhances the comedy sequences. But he could have avoided lifting the "Mombassaa" track from the film 'Inception', which was originally scored by Hans Zimmer.

The original 'Maryada Ramanna' was directed by the hot-shot Telugu director S.S Rajamouli, who has co-written the script with S.S Kanchi. And what one should note is that, 'Maryada Ramanna' itself was a remake of the 1923 classic Hollywood silent comedy, 'Our Hospitality', directed and acted by Buster Keaton. That film was a satire of a real-life feudal war between the Hatfield and McCoy clans, which took place during the late 19th century. 'Vallavanukku Pullum Aayudham' has a wafer-thin story-line and it is the light-hearted screenplay, which keeps driving the film. The plethora of one-liners and funny punch dialogues from Santhanam are the main focal point of the film's humor aspect. Actor Srinath, helms the responsibility of director of the film and he has played safe, without altering too much with S.S Rajamouli's film. The direction could have been much better though, especially with the long drawn-out climax portion, which was too melodramatic for contemporary standards. The first half train sequence, has the best stretch of comedy one-liners and the cute bicycle track is a funny commercial element, for the film. The song placements could have been much better, as mentioned earlier. 'Vallavanukku Pullum Aayudham' doesn't click in all the departments, but overall it is a simple, fun film.

'Vallavanukku Pullum Aayudham' - If this succeeds, will Santhanam carry on to do his usual hero sidekick roles ?


Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL