Since the title is very much self-explanatory, 'Vanmham' is basically a story of revenge and vengeance. That is not something very novel or daringly new in Tamizh cinema, but presentation and narration can make a big difference to a mundane subject. Being a double hero subject, can Jai Krishnaa, an old timer of Tamizh cinema and an former assistant to 'Ulaga Nayagan' Kamal Haasan, come clean with his debut film ?
Doing rural subjects is not something new to Vijay Sethupathi but we get to see him perform out and out action sequences, and sporting the white dhothi for throughout the film. He is very natural and mouths the Nagercoil accent very well. The performer in him sneak peeks in a scene or two but otherwise, its just an average outing for him. Kreshna is sincere and has come up with an earnest performance. His voice modulation is better and he has shown some improvement in his acting capability. Sunaina, looks pretty and that's about it with her role. Madhu Sudhan Rao, Anjali Rao, Bose Venkat, Muthuraman, Sriranjani, Radhamani Ammal, Vinodhini, Subburaj and etc completes the rest of the cast. Sadly, no one stood out for their performances, due to poor characterization and detailing.
'Supreme' Sundar's action choreography works for most of the time. Its not raw, quite filmy but somehow it works out. There's nearly equal amount of action footing for both lead heroes but Vijay Sethupathi gets the more intense ones. Shiva Yadav takes care of the art direction and his work fits the bill. The detailing for the inner section of the rural homes were well propped. The market scene stands out, if its pertaining to his work. Veteran Suresh Urs' editing was functional but he could have definitely chopped down plenty of scenes to spice things up, or to at least speed up the proceedings. The film takes it's own sweet time in unravelling and the unnecessary melodramatic moments are just mere speed-bumpers ! Bala Bharani's cinematography is passable and he has captured the beauty of the southern areas of Tamil Nadu, particularly Nagercoil and Kanyakumari very well. The quarry area, surrounded by deep waters, were well captured, especially during the intense fight scene, just before the interval.
S.S Thaman's musical score is frankly, below average. "Paadatta Paadatta" is the obligatory introductory song for both, Vijay Sethupathi and Kreshna. The typical song-and-dance routine number featured both heroes, with the backing of group dancers, shaking their legs, in and around picturesque areas of Nagercoil. "Aetti Enge Pore" is a duet song, picturized on Kreshna and Sunaina. Some of the beautiful spots of Nagercoil was shot by Bala Bharani, especially of the small water dam and river areas. Kreshna and Sunaina shares good chemistry but the substance was missing from this combination, due to poor writing. "Maname Maname" is a pathos song, and has montage shots of all the main lead characters of Vijay Sethupathi, Kreshna and Sunaina and nearly all the other character artistes. S.S Thaman's background score is passable.
Being an associate of 'Ulaga Nayagan' Kamal Haasan, Jai Krishnaa should have realized the responsibility lying on his shoulders. Being an old-timer of the industry, his knowledge of presentation and contemporary film-making is, sorry to say, grossly missing ! The film has such an outdated theme of revenge but what's inexcusable is the bland, insipid and boring narration and dialogue writing of the film. The film's presentation is very archaic and is full of melodramatic moments, which would have worked out in the 80's and early 90's ! There's plenty of unnecessary action sequences thrown into the linear screenplay. There are plenty of loopholes and unanswered questions in the film's screenplay. Apart from the Nagercoil/Kanyakumari setting and the native accent used in the film, nothing else captures our attention. A certain sequence of the film is directly lifted from the 1998 Malayalam film, 'Kanmadam' starring Mohanlal and directed by A.K Lohithadas. The film is shockingly dreary and flavorless and sadly another liability to the film-based business people.
'Vanmham' - Vijay Sethupathi, you are suppose to be the poster-boy of new-age Tamizh cinema !
Ratings: 2/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'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
When the announcement came, it really intrigued the interest of viewers. That's because the legendary character of Nagaraja Chozhan perished, under the vengeful anger of his illegitimate son. So how does this 'Amaithipadai 2' will work out as a sequel ? Nonetheless the combination of Manivannan and Sathyaraj, will still invoke the interest, especially of those who are fond of sarcasm, since these two are the best of the best of that category. So how did this film fare ?
Being his 200th film, Sathyaraj proved that experience matters and he is definitely a class above, when it comes to performing quintessential sadistic and sarcastic characters. His perfectly-timed dialogue delivery and casual expressions were top class. He oozes the brashness and arrogance demanded by the character. Its just a pure delight to watch him taking potshots at others ! And playing the perfect foil fro him, is his 'partner-in-crime', Manivannan. These two veterans share fantastic chemistry between them, and their respective uniqueness, complements each other's styles and variations. This particular combo has been sorely missed in Tamizh cinema ! The only sore point was the younger Sathyaraj role of an CBI officer, which lacks screen space and time. Raghu Manivannan plays a small but significant role in the film and passes muster. Directors Seeman and Jegannath were very stiff and stoic in their performances. The rest of the cast such as Mrudula, Komal Sharma, Varsha Ashwathi, Anshiba, M.S Bhaskar, Vaiyapuri, Krishnamoorthy, Rajkanth, Sujatha and etc were just functional but insipid.
The technical department's work were just adequate and there's nothing much to speak about. Bhuji's costumes and Durai's make-up for the titular role of Sathyaraj's was spot on. The veteran looked perfect as how he would have aged from the original 'Amaithipadai' days. 'Supreme' Sundar's stunt choreography was overdone with excessive usage of ropes and outdated choreography. B.Sai's art direction was adequate, though he could have done better with the tribal episode and also for the interiors of the posh bungalows of the lead characters. R.Sudharsan's editing was functional and so does D.Shankar's cinematography. There are a couple of some good shots of the forest, but other than that, there's nothing else to discuss about. James Vasanthan's musical score was drab a humdrum. "Malai Mele" is a song shot on the celebration of a tribal wedding ceremony, which eulogized the importance of the pristine jungle. "Kannadi Paapa" is a typical item song, with two gals prancing around with dancers, amidst a house party. "Viraivil Vidiyum" is a situational song, picturized on the affected tribal community mourning their losses and their uprising against the corrupted titular character. The background score was too bland and unimpressive.
As his 50th directorial venture, Manivannan has taken the classic Nagaraja Chozhan character from his cult-hit 'Amaidhipadai' and made an unrelated spin-off. The movie is filled with current social problems and takes a liberal dose of mockery about the sorry state of the Tamil Nadu political scenario and its politicians. The problem with the script is that, its only enjoyable when the hot-shot combo of Sathyaraj and Manivannan is there. Other than that, there are no engaging scenes, pertaining to the other characters. The success of the original was due to the sarcasm-filled writing and also a strong emotional quotient, attached to the script. But in this film, the latter is missing, and what we have are just mere 'bullet-points' like highlights of all the scams and wrongdoings of the current politicians, narrated in a repartee between the two lead roles of Sathyaraj and Manivannan. And also, we had the fantastic musical score of 'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraja in the original, which added more color to the film, but alas, its the other way around in this unrelated sequel.
'Nagaraja Chozhan' is definitely no where near the quality of its original, but fans of Manivannan-Sathyaraj combo might as well just enjoy the combination scenes, alone !
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Srikanth, makes a comeback through 'Paagan' under the directorial debut of Mohammed Aslam, a former associate of Ameer. This is indeed a crucial project for him, as it can salvage his career as a hero in Tamizh cinema. Along with a relatively small cast, this film promised us a decent comedy with some sentimentalism attached, to make itself appealing for the mass audiences. Will 'Paagan' save Srikanth, who had a decent outing in 'Nanban' ?
Srikanth, is a good performer but he needs solid script and acting scope, if at all he wants to make it bigger. Sadly, in 'Paagan' he has nothing much to offer, other than being comical throughout the film and being emotional in certain scenes. He is a total miscast in the film because and this proves to be one of the biggest drawbacks of the film. He looks too polished and refined for a character who hails from the village and is an out-and-out rural folk. Also, his costumes did not help to counter-balance the effect, because it is illogical to see him wearing neat and tidy attires, which contradicts with the character he plays. Other than that, there is nothing much to speak about his performance. Janani Iyer makes her second appearance on screen after 'Avan Ivan' and this is a proper heroine role for her, though it was strictly just a Tamizh-cinema conventional heroine. Looking pretty and petite, it is refreshing to hear her dub in her own voice and adds authenticity to her character. Soori and 'Black' Paandi appears as sidekicks for nearly throughout the film, with each of them performing in styles which they are popular for. Some sequences do evoke laughter but majority of them fell flat and was boring. Kovai Sarala was in her essence but it was a little too loud and over-the-top. George, Anu Mohan, director A.Venkatesh makes small appearances in the film, though they have nothing much to contribute to the flow of the film.
The technical team of the film was just functional and none of the department was outstanding in their work. 'Supreme' Sundar's stunts were a little innovative since it involves bicycle chase sequences and the usage of the bicycle as part of the stunt choreography. N.K Rahul's artwork was simple and natural, with the village house props and bungalow house props noticeable Kevin's editing could have been better since the movie moves at a very slow pace and also the climax portion should have been better. J.Laxman has captured the essence of Pollachi and Tirupur quite well with his camera, utilizing the lush greenery of the former and the industrial backdrop of the latter. Also, many shots were taken with the camera mounted on the bicycle, to get the feel of the ride of the protagonist. James Vasanthan's music was melodious and soft but it was boring ! None of the songs were hummable or interest-evoking. "Thatti Thavi" is a sequential song, featuring the 'bonding' of the protagonist with his bicycle and featuring many bicycle shots, obviously against picturesque Pollachi. "Poonthendral" is a typical heroine introduction song, featuring Janani Iyer prancing around with a couple of dancers and this too was shot against a lush and green Pollachi. "Simba Simba" was shot on a market set featuring the main casts of the film, minus the heroine and featured few cut-shots. "Ennai Mannipaya" a sad song shot on the lead couple, uses the Jimmy Jib quite well along the high terrains and hill-side areas. "Ippadi Oar" a typical dream song, was shot along temple lakes, with soft and breezy color tone and ample usage of the Jimmy Jib. The background score of the film was just functional and hearing all these poor scores, makes us wonder what happened to the man who gave beautiful scores in 'Subramaniapuram'.
Mohammed Aslam, who is in charge of the writing and direction department. As a viewer, one has no idea who Aslam wanted to project as the protagonist of the film, is it Srikanth or himself (since he gave the voice-over for the bicycle). The direction was poor because none of the character were believable and the direction of the script is also confusing because the viewers have no idea whether is this a full-length comedy film with little sentiments or the other way around. None of the events in the film looks serious and there are big gaps in the screenplay with many questions left unanswered. The climax too was a perplexing because, the viewers have no clue, why the sudden turn of events are taking place and it has nothing to contribute to the story as well !
'Paagan' is a poor product from Aslam, as there's no good direction, proper characterization or even story to tell in the movie.
Ratings: 1.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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Rasu Madhuravan, known for his village-type, old tearjerkers, is back with another offering in 'Paandi Oli Perukki Nilaiyam' but sadly there's no deviation from his previous track. He has Sabarish and Sunaina as the lead pair this time, with a bevy of known and unknown artistes playing unimportant characters in the film, and appear just for the sake of sentimentality.
Sabarish, son of popular stunt director 'FEFSI' Vijayan makes another splash, or should say tried to make another effort to prove his mark as an actor. He has an interesting get-up, which reminds us of Vikram's image in 'Pithamagan'. He has clarity in his dialogue delivery but there's no variations in it nor in his body language, which makes his performance look very caricature-like. His expressions are very standard and normal, which does not make him look outstanding from the overcrowded hero circle of Tamizh cinema. Being a son of stunt artiste, he delivers good action skills but his dancing capability seems to be limited. Sunaina looks okay, with decent face and physique and she has some acting capabilities which is not exploited here properly. The only thing which was used properly was her physical features in short, skimpy clothing. Karunas, 'Thambi' Ramaih, Soori and Singam Puli provides some comic relief here and there with their trademark buffoonery antics, and Singam Puli especially continues with his silly and amusing dialogue deliveries. Raj Kapoor, Vaiyapuri, K.Selvabharathi and etc makes up the big cast of the film and all of them delivered what was expected from them by the director.
The film has nothing to shout about technical wise. 'Supreme' Sundar's stunt scenes are okay and bearable but oddly, it looks very similar to the ones composed in 'Pithamagan' ! Veera Samar's art work is minimal, with the microphone and sound service shops, as well as the interiors of village houses looking natural. Suresh Urs keeps the film's pace watchable without much lag but he could not save much, thanks to the poor quality of the script. U.K Senthil Kumar, a veteran cinematographer captures the village portions, properly but other than that, there's nothing much to shout about in his work, apart from one or two good shots in the stunt scenes. Kavi Periathambi's music work is lame and boring. "Azhagu" is the introductory song of the protagonist with boring picturization, based on film festival setting and bad looking 'glamor' girl. "Mudhan Mudhalai" is a song shot in paddy fields and slowly transforms to the scenic localities of the Langkawi Islands in Malaysia, and also featuring Sunaina in revealing outfits. "Kettukodi" is a poorly remixed song of the old Sivaji Ganesan's 'Pattikaada Pattanama' film. This song was shot in the Bukit Bintang and KLCC areas of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, with mostly streets being shot with Sunaina, in short and body-hugging clothes. "Azhagana" song is shot in village setting with background dancers and is a slow-paced melody with more scenes from the Malaysian streets being covered with the lead pair dancing in a silly manner. "Dandanakra" is another festival song, but this one shot at night with again a badly looking 'glamor' girl as the lead dancer !
Rasu Madhuravan should either stop making films or should try to change his direction in cinema, if at all he wants to survive ! The story is out-dated and would have worked out in the 70's or 80's. The dialogues by him are mediocre, the romance portion between the lead pair looked very theatrical, the presence of many village folks as artistes making it look like another tearjerker. When even new, upcoming directors are experimenting with novel ideas, Rasu Madhuravan has stuck with a typical revenge story, which is boring and least interesting. Also, his characterizations were poorly etched out, leaving many looking like cartoons.
'Paandi Oli Perukki Nilayam' is a poor, poor product and its baffling to think what made Sunaina to accept such a film !
Ratings: 0.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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