Bharath's 25th film, 'Aintham Thalaimurai Siddha Vaidhya Sigamani' is produced by Pushpa Kandaswamy on behalf of Kavithalaya Productions. Directed by debutante L.G Ravichandar, this flick is touted to be an out-and-out sit-com, and has a bandwagon of comedy artistes in the cast. Bharath needs a hit to sustain in Tamizh cinema and can he be saved by L.G Ravichandar ?
For Bharath, this film does not provide any platform for him to explore his acting histrionics. The character is way too one dimensional and has been portrayed as the quintessential Tamizh cinema hero, celebrated a few decades back. His dance does not need any mention and he has proved himself to be apt in performing action sequences. He is improving his comic timing and more variations in dialogue delivery and style can yield better results. Nandita has an even smaller scope to act and is just there to complement the hero. Thambi Ramaiah holds the majority screen timing among the other artistes but unfortunately, his characterization was poor and he goes too loud and overboard. The are a plethora of other artistes such as Karunakaran, Immanuel Annachi, Renuka, M.S Bhaskar, Singampuli, Manobala, Chaams, Bose Venkat, Kottachi, Mayilsamy, Badava Gopi, Dr.Sharmila, M.J Shriram, Komal Kumar, 'Kadhal' Dhandapani, Paandu, Madan Bob, 'Nellai' Siva, 'Scissor' Manohar and etc, but none had a purpose in their roles and were literally wasted.
The film's technical output was just pedestrian and has nothing to boast about. Action choreography is handled by Haridhinesh and it should be commended that the stunt sequences did not go overboard and was kept believable. The stunt sequence shot in the coconut farm was the pick of the lot. Art direction is by M.R Karthickrajkumar and he has put in some decent efforts from his side. The Siddha Vaidhya ambiance was well created, especially with all the herbs and set properties associated with that traditional medicine scenario. Also, the grand village home shown in the film was well adorned with set properties, and it goes for the small medical centres portrayed in the film. V.Vijay's editing seems to be like a stroll in the park and sufficed the needs of the director. The basic film editing is there but V.Vijay could have trimmed the film's duration because two hours and thirty minutes is just too much to bear. Cinematography is by P.G Muthiah and the talented cameraman's touches are missing here and apart from the action sequences and for the songs, there's nothing particularly impressive with his work.
Simon's musical score is frankly speaking, below average. None of the tunes is worth listening to and Simon better be prepared the face the music, if his music is not up to the mark. "Kandagi Selai" is the first song and is picturized on the lead pair. A village festive backdrop is used for the song, with all the colorful 'kavadis' and flowers strewn in the song. "The Elarai" has cameo appearances from Gaana Bala and Yobama JO, and was picturized on Bharath and Badava Gopi. Its a typical 'item song' without much focus on the 'item' girl. The beach side setting was the backdrop for this song. "Onnuna Rendu" was sung by Vijay Antony and was picturized on the lead pair, backed up by plenty of group dancers. A beach resort, popular among current Tamizh cinema directors, is used as the backdrop and P.G Muthiah's some good camera movements added a little zing to the song. "Madurai Trichy" is the theme song of the film, and is played during the end credits. The background score is just functional and has nothing remarkable.
Let's get straight to the point. L.G Ravichandar's idea for this film is to design it as a no-brainer comedy riot, which were popular during the late 80's and early 90's. Sundar.C's films must have been an exemplary template for L.G Ravichandar. But what worked in those days, will definitely not work now, due to the HUGE change in audience's taste and moreover, those flicks had genuinely funny and wacky comedy portions ! 'Aintham Thalaimurai Siddha Vaidhya Sigamani' is just so pre-historic in its making and the scripting and presentation values are just as old as the hills. It does make us wonder, if L.G Ravichandar has seen any Tamizh films in recent years. The comedy portions and jokes fall flat, the artistes are simply wasted, there's no coherence in the screenplay and there's no logic at all in the story-line. The lesser said, (sorry, nothing said !) the better it is.
'Aintham Thalaimurai Siddha Vaidhya Sigamani' - The joke is on us. This humor is definitely not good for our health or for us !
Ratings: 1.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
After the successful 'Thegidi', TCS Studios and C.V Kumar's Thirukumaran Entertainment have joined hands once again for another small/medium budget film, 'Sarabham'. Named after a mythical half-lion & half-bird creature, this film is the debut venture for its director, Arun Mohan, who happens to be the son of popular comedy artiste Anu Mohan. With C.V Kumar's support, can 'Sarabham' be another feather in the cap for Thirukumaran Entertainment ?
Lesser known Tamizh and Telugu actor Naveen Chandra comes up with an above average performance and has mouthed the dialogues properly, which enabled Gautham to dub in perfect lip-sync for him. He can work out more on his expressions, which goes flat at times. With more films, he should work it up and improve his acting credibility. Debutante heroine, the Delhi model Salony Luthra was impressive in some sequences, but falters in the emotionally-charged scenes, which was a necessity due to her unconventional character's various dimensions. Her characterization reminds us of Angelina Jolie's brooding and mysterious Hollywood roles, she donned. Raagini Sree's voice suits Salony, to the tee. She can do better and she has to do better if she's to survive as an actress. Naren, comes clean with a very measured performance, but the actor can definitely deliver more. The whole film is based on these three artistes and the supporting cast such as 'Kadhal' Kannan, 'Boys' Rajan, Shankara Narayanan, Thilak, Sam Anton and etc are just there to fill up the script's needs.
Technically the film is sleek, with some good outputs from the able technicians. Vishnu Govind and Sree Sankar's sound designing was a big boost for the film, because of the many background score-less scenes. The climax action sequence, deserves appreciation. Preethi Kanthan's costume designing was apt, especially with Salony Luthra's costumes, which demanded changes in accordance to the changeover of her character. But better designing could have been worked out for Naveen Chandra and Naren. Anbariv's action choreography was minimal, but was effectively and neatly executed, with only the climax scene having a real sense of action. A.Gopi Anand's art direction sufficed the needs of the script and his work with the posh apartment setting of the protagonist's home and the female lead's home, deserves mention. The posh, upmarket feel and look was achieved. Leo John Paul's no-nonsense editing worked well for the script and the duration was kept tight, with the running time going just above 2 hours. Krishnan Vasant's cinematography adds the necessary glossy touch and his work complemented the director's vision, especially with the distinctive camera movements and also for the lighting, which gave the film a fixed mood and look, throughout.
Music is handled by Britto Michael and his scores are just passable since the songs are just situational and goes along the screenplay. "Pudhidhaai Or Iravu" was shot on the lead pair and has montages of them, roaming around Chennai at night. Krishnan Vasant's lighting for the shots was okay, though the clubbing sequence could have been better. "Bodhaiyil Paadhai" was shot on Naveen Chandra and is also full of night shots and montages of the Chennai streets at dead-night. "Neram" sung by Usha Uthup appears during the end credits. Britto Michael's background score worked well for the film, especially with the inclusion of the "Sarabham Theme" track sung by Malaysian artiste Rabbit.Mac, at the right moments (during the 'surprise' moments, to be precise).
Arun Mohan has knitted a tight screenplay revolving around the three important characters alone, which keeps the proceeding from not going out of path. But the screenplay lacks pace and some spunky energy needed for such simple thrillers, especially when you have lesser known artistes, who struggles to hold our attention or have the charismatic appearance. Also, the screenplay gives space to some loopholes in the script and also left some questions being unanswered, especially with the scenes involving the police. What Arun Mohan makes up for the lack of pace, are the shocking twists in the second half. He keeps his cards very close and slowly unravels to us one by one, before jolting us with a big surprise, right after the interval. That surprise element keeps us engaged, but for those audience who likes to simply keep guessing, some might actually predict the correct outcome in the climax. Another novelty of this particular script is the grey nature of all the characters portrayed in the film, which was a little unique. K.Rajaraman's dialogues are above average, but if more attention were given to the dialogues, it would have elevated the impact of some sequences, by a few notches. Nevertheless, this simple thriller is worth checking out, if you have some time to kill.
'Sarabham' - Patience and attention are necessities, if you are ought to enjoy it.
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
"A movie without a story" - No one else can come up with such quirky caption in Tamizh cinema, if not Radhakrishnan Parthiban, for his 'Kadhai Thiraikadhai Vasanam Iyakkam' ! After lying low for sometime and occasionally making appearances in film events, Parthiban is back in the directorial seat after the forgetful 'Vithagan' but this is the first time he's not doing the lead role of his own directorial. Known for his out-of-box thinking, can Radhakrishnan Parthiban satisfy the taste-buds of the contemporary Tamizh cinema lovers ?
The lead role is carried by newcomer Santhosh Prathap and he has performed decently, though his characterization marks a striking resemblance to Parthiban's own personality, especially with the dialogue delivery. He is ably supported by other newcomers such as Dinesh Natarajan, Lallu Prasath, Vijay Ram and etc. But the one who steals the show is Thambi Ramaiah, who was fantastic with his comic timing and dialogue delivery. The veteran is simply in top-form here and Parthiban's humorous dialogues keeps it even more engaging. As for the female leads, debutantes Akhila Kishore, Mahalakshmi and former Miss Chennai Sahithya Jagannathan, too had credible debuts and as it always in Parthiban's films' the female leads were intelligent characters with a seductive and sensuous nature. Akhila's performance was accentuated by Suchitra's dubbing for her, whereas Mahalakshmi makes a strong impression. Sahithya has a limited role, but looks confident and natural. Besides them, there's literally a battalion of Tamizh cinema stars who made cameo appearances in the film such as director/actor Cheran, UTV South chief Dhananjayan Govind, veteran artiste Kalaignanam, Prakash Raj, Taapsee Pannu, music director S.S Thaman, producer A.L Azhagappan, director/actor Venkat Prabhu, Vijay Sethupathi, Vishal and Parthiban himself. Meanwhile, Arya and Amala Paul played extended cameos and had more screen timing than the others.
The art direction department is handled by R.K Vijay Murugan and his work complements the needs and necessities of the script, in a big manner. There are many imaginary sequences, which features the Tamizh cinema stars' cameos and R.K Vijay Murugan has come up with a quality output. As for the main story, his work with the interiors of the apartment of the lead pair, shows a good sense of artistry. R.Sudharsan's editing work sufficed the needs of the script, and his editing work suits the narrative style of Parthiban's script. But the second half could have been better, in which the cuts could have been smoother, especially with the transition. Cinematography by Rajarathnam is good, especially with the lighting, which creates a dreamy like atmosphere for the correct sequences. The camera movement too must be appreciated, which adds more fun element to the script, especially under the direction of Radhakrishnan Parthiban.
Parthiban has employed the services of 4 different music directors for the songs and an additional one more, for the background score. "Kaathil Kadhai", scored by singer/musician Alphons Joseph, is the theme track which plays during the opening credits and also appears occasionally, till the second half. "Pen Megam Pole", is composed by Malayalam composer Sharreth and was picturized on Santhosh Prathap and Akhila Kishore, highlighting their intimate and romantic moments. The song, which was sung by G.V Prakash Kumar and Saindhavi, also comes in the second half, during the imaginary Arya & Amala Paul sequence. "Live the Moment" is done by S.S Thaman and appears during the end credits. The song is meant to be like a promotional piece and has an array of another set of stars such as Bharath, Iniya, Iyshwarya Rajesh, Roopa Shree, Shanthnu Bhagyaraj, Srikanth and Vemal. The song, which had a music-video like format with plenty of lighting effects was choreographed by Raghava Lawrence. "A for Azhagirukku" is composed by Vijay Antony, which comes available in the soundtrack. Background score is handled by C.Sathya and it suits the film's mood and complements the presentation style of Parthiban's.
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'Kadhai Thiraikadhai Vasanam Iyakkam', conceived and crafted by Radhakrishnan Parthiban, is a film about film discussion and Parthiban needs to be applauded for daring to attempt on such a hard to execute idea ! The film is littered with Parthiban's brilliant (sometimes corny !) lines and with Thambi Ramaiah at helm, the dialogues have a different shade and dimension, overall. The first half is very much casual and it takes its time to unravel, but Parthiban keeps us glued with his pleasant surprises, writing wise. Since the film is about film discussion, Parthiban has infused metacinema elements in the script, especially in the second half with the Arya & Amala Paul episodes, which gives us an introspective look, on how screenplays and dialogues evolve from paper to celluloid. As promoted by Parthiban, the film has an unpredictable screenplay and that keeps us glued to our seats, waiting for any surprise element from the director. Despite the overflowing creative juice of Parthiban's, the film lacks pace, especially in the second half and a sense of cohesiveness in the screenplay is missing. The abrupt end could be forgiven because Parthiban's message through the film, after all is "Live the Moment" and he literally scripts his story in accordance with the message itself. Overall, 'Kadhai Thiraikadhai Vasanam Iyakkam' is a good comeback from Radhakrishnan Parthiban and the man has shown that he did not lose his creative writing and directorial sense.
'Kadhai Thiraikadhai Vasanam Iyakkam' - A filmy discussion regarding film discussion !
Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Thirrupathi Brothers has finally released their biggie of the season, and its none other than the very, very highly anticipated Suriya-N.Lingusamy project, 'Anjaan' ! Both Suriya and N.Lingusamy is back after personal highs with the 'Singam II's success for the former, whereas the latter enjoyed his run of success in distributing some medium-budget films. In collaborating with UTV Motion Pictures, which released it in record number of cinemas, the project has created a huge anticipation among fans of Suriya across the globe. Can they hit the bull's eye and rake in the moolah ?
For the powerhouse performer in Suriya, 'Anjaan' seems to be a pedestrian affair for his caliber. The stylish makeover, makes him look fantabulous on screen, and he has good screen presence, throughout the film. He carries the entire film on his shoulders and its an out-and-out Suriya flick, indeed. Samantha Ruth Prabhu is at her most glamorous avatar thus far in Tamizh cinema and that's about it. Nothing more, nothing less for a quintessential Tamizh cinema heroine ! The buff and manly Vidyut Jamwal has a role of equal importance as with Suriya's but the dubbing and light-hearted manner of his character leaves no impact on screen. But still kudos to this guy, for pulling off his elaborate stunt sequence all by himself ! The most unforgivable inclusion in the casting is of Manoj Bajpai's, as the antagonist. Its a sheer waste of talent for casting him in this poorly-written role, which is a disgrace to the brilliant performer's acting histrionics ! Soori and Brahmanandam (obviously as an attraction for the Telugu folks !) are there for the unwanted comedy portions and the others in the cast were Dalip Tahil, Murali Sharma, Asif Basra, Joe Malloori, Chetan Hansraj, Manobala, Sanjana Singh and etc and most of them looked so out of place, due to the bad lip-syncing and dubbing !
Deepali Noor, one of the most sought after costume designer of the industry, takes care of the costume designing in 'Anjaan'. Her warm and dark colored attires for Suriya, gives him a smashing makeover and it suits this specific hair/facial hair style, used for this film. Samantha looked gorgeous, be it in the conservative attires or even the skimpy clothes, worn for the songs. Better handling and focus could be given for Vidyut Jamwal, whom lacked style and Manoj, who looked unnecessarily too colorful. The action choreography is handled by Silva and his work needs special mention. The action blocks looked fantastic, yet powerful and realistic at the same time. Suriya's aptitude in pulling of such action blocks, adds more zing to the sequences and Vidyut Jamwal too has his own action block, in the second half. Excellent work by Silva ! Hot-shot editor, Anthony's cuts were brilliant as usual, and there's a very good smooth transition between each shots, but he should have definitely trimmed a bulk of unwanted scenes, due to the excessive running time of nearly 3 hours ! Rajeevan handles the art department and his work have the film a rich and glossy look, especially with the bar and hotel sequences and the set properties for the song sequences. Ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan ASC, ISC rocks with the Red Dragon Camera, fitted with 'Angenieux Lens'. His cinematography work and the bright yellow and warm color ambiance, adds more sheen and glossiness to the film. His angle placements, framing and camera movements for the action sequences, are the real highlights of the film, especially for the pre-interval stunt scene !
Yuvan Shankar Raja has delivered chart-busters, with his previous N.Lingusamy collaborations. But with 'Anjaan' the songs are just pretty passable and sounds ordinary, without the touch of magic and charm in them. "Bang Bang Bang !" is the opening introductory-sort of song for Suriya's mobster role. There are plenty of action montages interspersed in this song, which had a rich in color, upmarket bar setup, done by Rajeevan. Also, do check out the song for the special appearance of the hot Swedish-Iranian model/actress/choreographer Maryam Zakaria ! "Kaadhal Aasai" is a love song, shot on the lead pair, with plenty of montages and some dialogues, beautifully framed by Santosh Sivan, though the Sufi-styled song did not suit the proceeding. "Oru Kan Jaadai" is a fast number shot on the lead pair, and has the popular Miramar beach in Goa, as its backdrop. Fans of Samantha, don't miss out this song ! The pick of the album, is the peppy dance number, "Ek Do Theen", sung by Suriya himself. The song was shot in the picturesque location of Morjim, Goa. The cinematography and dance choreography complemented the feel and nature of the song's mood. "Sirippu En" is an item number and the final song of the film. Bollywood actress Chitrangada Singh, dons the item girl role and the lighting of Santosh gives the song the right mood, though the final output lacked the oomph factor. Yuvan Shankar Raja's background score was a letdown in many places and some of the film's signature hook-lines sounds insipid and unintentionally funny. Least expected from Yuvan Shankar Raja !
Let's get straight to the point. 'Anjaan' is possible the worst product to come from N.Lingusamy's directorial stable ! Its not because he is a bad filmmaker, but he has set high standards for how a contemporary commercial/'masala' Tamizh film should be and its time he has a retrospective view of his own past films, to amend his mistakes. The film is so lifeless, dull, uninspiring and has gaping loopholes, with no attempt in coming up with an organic development of emotional contents ! Brinda Sarathi's dialogues may sound powerful, but it all fell flat, due to the below average staging and execution of the sequences by N.Lingusamy. Giving a stylish makeover for the lead protagonist and having a maverick cinematographer will not hold the audience's attention for much longer than 15 minutes. What's inexcusable is the languorous approach with the screenplay, which takes its own sweet time in unraveling and delivering the guns. How is it possible for N.Lingusamy to overlook such fundamental aspects, especially when his previous films such as 'Run' and 'Sandakozhi', had brilliantly fast-paced screenplays, with the right amount of 'masala' elements ? Because of this, even the atypical, N.Lingusamy's trademark surprises and twists in the plot, which always ooze wonderful zing and power, goes kaput ! There's no character delineation in the film, which leaves us with half-baked characters and as mentioned earlier, its totally unforgivable, especially when you have talented artistes such as Suriya, Manoj Bajpai, Samantha and etc as your cast ! Like it or not, Suriya & N.Lingusamy has 'Anjaan' as a very ugly mark in their repertoire of films. D-I-S-A-P-P-O-I-N-T-M-E-N-T ! Big time !
'Anjaan' - Reportedly, Suriya & N.Lingusamy have discarded 3-4 scripts before zeroing on this. Now, that sounds scarily worrying !
Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Listed as one of the most eagerly expected Indian film of 2014 by Forbes India Magazine, the long awaited second film of Karthik Subbaraj gets released ! 'Jigarthanda' is said to be the first script of Karthik Subbaraj and eventually it was 'Pizza' which got made first. With a fantastic cast and crew, can Karthik justify all the expectations created and fulfill the expectations of Tamizh film connoisseurs ?
Siddharth is a fantastic choice by Karthik for the lead role, and he is ultra-convincing with his performance. As the meek and opportunistic budding film director, he was just very good with his composed expression and nonchalant acting. His dialogue delivery too was excellent and he nailed his character to perfection. Lakshmi Menon was adequate and carries a role with a morally ambiguous nature, very comfortably. She has limited scenes, but she impresses in where ever she gets her space. Karunakaran rocks with his comic timing and the informal and casual approach to his role, works very well. His antics in the second half are just pure rip-roaring comedy. A super star comedy artiste, in the making ! But the film definitely belongs to Bobby Simhaa, who was just simply terrific as the antagonist 'Assault' Sethu. Right from his deadly & electrifying introductory scene, he was simply a class act and made complete justice to the role and belief of Karthik Subbaraj for casting him. This is definitely a lifetime performance from Bobby Simhaa and one should expect a shower of awards for his acting, in the coming year. Take a bow Bobby Simhaa, you have truly arrived ! The film has a big cast which includes Ramachandran Durairaj, Naren, Guru Somasundaram, Soundara Rajan, Ambika, Sangili Murugan, Delhi Ganesh, Vinodhini, 'Munnar' Ramesh, Bala Singh, Rajkumar, Bagavathi Perumal, Sudha, Ajay Rathnam and etc and most of them were just perfect for their roles. There are interesting cameos from Nassar, Vijay Sethupathi, Nalan Kumarasamy and Vetrimaaran. Do not miss the awesome cameo sequences of Vijay Sethupathi, especially !
Natraj and Satya takes the responsibility for costume designing and they have done a very good job. The designing for Siddharth and Bobby Simhaa's costumes are noteworthy and highlighted their lifestyles, perfectly. Action choreography is handled by 'Billa' Jagan and this is one of his best works so far. There are no heavy action blocks with elaborate stunt movements, but the neatly executed action scenes, do deserve some mention. The action scenes drip with heavy violence, but they are essentials to such scripts and fulfills the demands of the story. Raju is in charge of art direction and though most of the film was shot in live locations, Raju's detailing work for the interiors of the Madurai homes, needs to be mentioned. The detailing for Karunakaran and Bobby Simhaa's home setting stands out in the first half, and the shooting spot setting for the second half were brilliant. Vivek Harshan's editing was very neatly done, and the connectivity between each sequences were just smooth, in spite of the rough and rugged nature of the sequences. Yet, he could have trimmed the film, especially in the second half which takes its own sweet time to conclude. Cinematography is by Hariharan, who was credited as Gavemic U Ary in the film. His work elevates the film's screenplay to the next level and he his outdoor and night shots, especially the rain sequence just before the intermission, was brilliant ! His lighting and color tone for the indoor shots, deserves special mention as well. The film is littered with brilliant compositions, camera movements and framing by Gavemic U Ary, and he is definitely a top class material in Tamizh cinema ! Vishnu Govind and Sree Sankar's sound effects and design work was top-notch. Their work stood out in scenes which had no background score and the action sequences bears their hallmark.
Santhosh Narayanan continues his trailblazing form and once again proves that he is a wonderful talent. Most of the songs are played in the background and each one of them aptly complements the nature of the script. "Ding Dong" has montages of Siddharth and Karunakaran tracking Bobby Simhaa and serves as another perfect setting to showcase Simhaa's character's antagonistic nature. The one particular action block involving a car, has fantastic lighting work from Gavemic and an even more fantastic editing by Vivek Harshan ! "Kannamma" was shot on Siddharth and Lakshmi Menon and has montages of them getting together in love. "Baby" is a fun song which appears twice in the film and serves as a background song. "Paandi Naatu" is the only choreographed song in the film and it was shot in a deep and water drained well and had all the lead characters performing. The lighting by Gavemic was very good for this particular song and finally "Jigar" plays during the end credits. Santhosh Narayanan's background score elevates the script to another step up and the vibrant nature of his work complements the screenplay very well. The swag and quirkiness element in the background score, adds more fun quotient to the film. Way to go, Santhosh Narayanan !
What works for us in the film, is the fantastic characterization of the lead artistes and the extraction of performance from them by Karthik Subbaraj. But what's strikingly good in the film, is the quality of writing and the transfer of the output from a bounded script to a feature film. The unabashed nature of Karthik Subbaraj's script and dialogue writing deserves applause. The film does not fit into any specific genre, but still its highly entertaining with an equal amount of intelligent artistry, combining very well. The film has wonderful stretches of comedy portions and all of them are fresh, innovative, quirky yet splendidly humorous ! Also, one should take note of Karthik Subbaraj's smart writing where he cleverly insert's elements of meta-cinema and it gels well with the script's original story-line. Karthik Subbaraj makes a scathing mockery of the practices and people of current Tamizh cinema, in a very succinct manner. Karthik Subbaraj should also be applauded for his uninterrupted screenplay, though there are non-linear narration used in the film. What may irk some film-buffs is the changeover of the film's purported genre in the second half. The first half was all drama in its full glory but the second half was more of like a black comedy/dark humor satire. The transformation of Bobby Simhaa's character paved the way for the comedy quotient in the second half, but the necessity for such a changeover for that character is definitely a question mark, indeed with some cinematic liberties taken. Also, the basic plot and idea of the film has a striking similarity with the critically acclaimed 2006 Korean neo-noir gangster flick, 'A Dirty Carnival', directed by Yoo Ha. Nevertheless, 'Jigarthanda' is still one of the best films to come out in 2014 and Karthik Subbaraj's artistry and craftsmanship, must be appreciated.
'Jigarthanda' - A sip too hard to resist !
Ratings: 3.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'Thirumanam Enum Nikkah' has been lying in the cans for quite sometime and finally, Aascar V.Ravichandran's production has released. Directed by debutante Anis, this was suppose to be the debut venture of Nazriya Nazim, though her other ventures managed to release earlier. A film touted to be on the lines of 'Monsoon Wedding', did Anis come up with a decent product ?
Jai was in his usual elements and he fits such lightweight roles. If you are a Tamizh cinema film-buff, you would have by now guessed the level of performance from Jai. Meanwhile, Nazriya Nazim looks charming and has her moments, but the characterization was poor, hence the lesser scope for performance, for this lass. Heebah Patel looks good, but her role has no purpose and leaves no mark. The rest of the cast such as Jamal (voiced by Nassar), Dinesh, R.Pandiarajan, Mayilsamt, Deekshitha Manikkam, Badri Narayanan and etc were okay with their performances.
Vanitha Srinivasan's costume designing was good, especially for the lead pair, and her homework on two distinct cultures of Hindus and Muslims, was evident on screen. The costumes, especially for Heeba were gorgeous ! Action choreography was handled by Kanal Kannan and there was only one action block in the film. The initial chase and fight sequence was well executed and was not so over-the-top. Mu.Kasi Vishwanathan's editing was very functional and there were no gimmicks from the editor's table. Art direction is handled by Crawford and Dharmendra and both of them have done a good job with their respective tasks. The detailing for the Shia Muslim household, as well as Tamil Brahmin community's homes is notable, especially with the set properties. Loganathan Srinivasan's cinematography sufficed the needs of the script. His work in capturing the rich culture of Shia Muslim and Tamil Brahmin, is commendable.
The silver lining of the film is the brilliant musical score from M.Ghibran ! The songs are fantastic and it complements the mood and feel of the script. "Yaaro Ival" is a situational song, which was used initially as Nazriya's introductory song. The song appears sporadically throughout the film, in bits and pieces. "Rayile Raa" has Jai trying to impress the heroine and was shot on a railway platform and a medical camp-like set was put up for the song. Loganathan's rain shot, with the rays of sun, deserves mention. One of the pick of the lot, "Kannukkul Pothivaipen" is a cute and lovely song, shot on both Jai and Nazriya, in a Tamil Brahmin household environment, with the Golu Festival as the backdrop. The rooftop shots, with different rangolis looked lovely, especially with Loganathan's lighting for the particular portions. "Khwaja Ji" is picturized on Jai attending a Shia Muslim ritual, and is an eye-opener (literally !) for those who are unaware of the traditions of that particular Muslim denomination. "Chillendra" was shot on Jai and Heebah and is another celebration song, and this time it's the Ramzan festival. Jai's costume designing in this song, deserves mention. "Enthaara Enthaara" is the other chart-buster song and it was shot on Jai and Nazriya, developing their feelings for each other, which had plenty of montages. M.Ghibran's background score elevates the boring and half-baked sequences and its a pity that his brilliant scores are simply wasted !
Did Anis come up with a decent product, as asked earlier ? The answer is a resounding NO ! The script has a very wafer-thin plot and there's no connectivity at all between the sequences and the proceedings of the screenplay. There's no proper explanation of the dilemma faced by the lead pair and Anis did not convincingly portray the actual feelings of the lead pair. Were the pair in love with each other ? Or did they actually fall in love with the other's religion and not the individual ? Did they feel unconnected with their own community's trappings ? On an even serious note, was Anis trying to 'promote' Shia Muslim teachings and practices and not bother about story-telling and character development ?Only Anis has the answer ! To make it even worse, Anis falls for the commercial compromises, such as songs, an unwanted action sequence, half-baked romance portions and woefully portrayed serious/emotional scenes. There is no effort in detailing, in terms of writing & execution and Madhan Karky's dialogues too were abruptly cut short, which leaves the characters with unfinished dialogue portions !
'Thirumanam Enum Nikkah' - A blunder of an attempt in making a good film, which unfortunately had excellent musical score and interesting plot ideas !
Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
