PAANDIYA NAADU MOVIE REVIEW

'Paandiya Naadu' raised eyebrows and piqued the interest of Tamizh audience when it was launched. Suseenthiran join hands with Vishal for the very first time. An intriguing pairing this is, due to their current form in Tamizh film industry. The former is basking in the glories with the critically-acclaimed 'Aadhalaal Kaadhal Seiveer' and the former, reeling in consecutive flops and poor showing of films. Also, Vishal has decided to take things into his own hands by flaunting a new film production company (Vishal Film Factory) and churning out this flick as its maiden debut. Throw in, the best of technicians and Bharathiraja, this is a very interesting concoction indeed. Can Susee redeem Vishal's flagging career ?

'Paandiya Naadu' is certainly a throwback for Vishal to his 'Sandaikozhi' and 'Thimiru' days. Coincidentally, both those films were based in Madurai and its third time lucky for Vishal, because this performance is easily the best from him thus far. Though 'Avan Ivan' had plenty of struggle and pain, Vishal makes us fall for him and root for his success. He is totally convincing as the shy and mild-mannered Sivakumar. Its a refreshing change to see him shed his action-hero image and immerse into a believable and endearing character. A very well written role and neatly portrayed by Vishal, especially with the transformation in the second half, and the way he carried the stammering issues. The legend, Bharathiraja steals the show, with his terrific performance, and its a real shame that only a handful of directors in Tamizh cinema, had actually utilized his acting capabilities. The veteran just oozes class and moves us with his emotional outbursts and a touching performance in the end. Take a bow, sir ! Though Lakshmi Menon was adequate and convincing in her role, her acting scope was very much limited in the screen timing. Antagonist, Sharath Lohithashwa looks menacing and powerful, and is just the perfect villain for this genre of films. A fantastic portrayal by the Kannada actor. Harish Uthaman, comes close as well, with very commanding screen presence and looks. Soori makes his mark, wherever he was given space and Vikranth does a energy and rage-filled cameo appearance. The rest of the cast such as Somasundaram, literateur Jayabalan, Muthuraman, R.S Amudheswar, Thulasi, Keerthi Shetty, Priya, Soumya Satish, Bava Lakshmanan, the cute 'Baby' Rakshana and etc were befitting of their neatly presented roles.

Vasugi Bhaskar has done a terrific job with Vishal's costume designing, as he looks like a Madurai chap, perfectly ! Malini and Nikila are in charge of Lakshmi Menon's and their work was not bad, either. Rajeevan has handled the production design very well and all the landscape and plot setting looked very apt and authentic. The prop detailing was intricate and very well-researched. The opening sequences are a highlight and also the climax fight sequences, which had very good detailing, in terms of set properties. Anthony's editing was as usual, sharp and precise. Some trimming in the first half would have made wonders to this film, but the feel-good moments will have to be sacrificed, which could deter the reception of general, family audiences. 'Anal' Arasu's action choreography is simply superb, as it is very original and realistically shot. The climax fight sequence, where Vishal uses whatever props he can reach, was very well executed. Action sequences are definitely big highlights of the film ! The backbone of the film, is definitely Madhie's exceptional cinematography work. He made use of the 4K resolution camera very well, and each frame and camera movements, were well measured and carefully shot. The golden brown color tone maintained throughout the film, brings the nativity feel to the script. Virudhu Nagar of Madurai has been shot beautifully and 'Paandiya Naadu' will certainly be one of Madhie's best works, so far, especially with the fantastically shot, action blocks. 

D.Imman is certainly having the time of his life, and he rocks again with brilliant musical score for this film, as well. The "Theme Music" was used for the opening credits and also used sparingly as background score. The thumping score, certainly eleveates the mood of the script. "Daiyare Daiyare" is an enjoyable opening song, which had a colorful, funeral 'celebration' as its backdrop. The camera movements and angles are the highlights of this song's picturization. "Yelay Yelay" was beautifully shot inside the ancient temples of Madurai, on Vishal and Lakshmi Menon, and had brilliant natural lighting and color tone, which brought out the earthy essence of the song. The pick of the lot, "Othakadai Othakadai" was shot on Vikranth, Soori and Vishal and was mostly shot in the narrow back-lanes and alleyways of Virudhunagar, with few montages interspersed. "Veri Konda Puli" is a situational song and had plenty of montage sequences, depicting the hero in his new 'journey'. "Fy Fy Kalachify" is a typical dance number, shot on Vishal and Lakshmi Menon, on barren fields, with minimal props. D.Imman, scores big time with the background score as well, with stirring and emotional arrangements. Clean hit, D.Imman !

When it comes to script novelty, there's nothing path-breaking here, since Suseenthiran has taken the beaten-to-death revenge story as his core content. But the treatment and screenplay, developed along with G.K Gopinath, Arun Balaji, Nagarajan and Vijay Anand, wins our attention and interest. The screenplay is packed with well-written, thrilling and suspenseful moment, especially in the second half, and keeps us on the edge of our seats. Suseenthiran should be really applauded for proving that one can still make a decent and innovative new script, based on as-old-as-the-hills type of theme lines. The unpredictability factor, coupled with some amusing scenes in the first half, entertains us pretty much, and Suseenthiran proves that he is a master in handling his artistes and bringing the best effort from them, with perfect conviction. Dialogues, co-written with Suseenthiran's pal, writer Bhaskar Sakthi are a scream in certain scenes and has a no-nonsense approach, with the serious sequences. Another plus point of the film, is the avoidance of over-glorifying of the protagonist and the shelving of needless heroism and a special thank you to Suseenthiran for not taking the audience for granted, by avoiding illogical scenes. The travel in the screenplay is nearly free of jerkiness, except for the needless song, late in the second half, which sticks out like a sore thumb. 

'Paandiya Naadu' - Suseenthiran saves Vishal's career and enhances his directorial repertoire. They hit the bull's eye !


Ratings: 3.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

AADHALAAL KADHAL SEIVEER MOVIE REVIEW

Suseenthiran, who made a promising start with 'Vennila Kabbadi Kuzhu' and followed up with successful films such as 'Naan Mahaan Alla' and 'Azhagarsamiyin Kudhirai', took a beating with his last project, the dreadful 'Rajapattai'. After a two year hiatus, he is back in his forte and has churned out a juvenile love story, with a relatively unknown and young cast and backed by a good script. Will 'Aadhalaal Kadhal Seiveer', be a springboard again for Suseenthiran ?

Santhosh Ramesh makes his debut as a lead actor, and he fits the role of an immature and hasty teenager. He has plenty of scope to improve on every facets of film acting. Timing is a very important aspect which he should improve a lot, if he wishes to pursue acting. Manisha Yadav Suresh performs well as the vulnerable and joyful youngster. Her role seems to be like an extension of her debut role she carried out in 'Vazhakku En 18/9. Better directors and stronger scripts and character writing could bring out better performances from her. The two character artistes, Jayaprakash and Thulasi as the parents of the heroine, were absolutely terrific in their performances as the distraught parents. These artistes brings out the best in them and made use of the scope offered by Suseenthiran, fantastically. It is almost unbelievable to believe that they are actually just artistes and are acting ! Hats-off to both of them. Poornima Bhagyaraj had a strong role as well but had quite limited time and screen presence in this film. Arjun brings a few chuckle as the 'Godfather' of love among the bunch of friends. The rest of the cast such as Ramnath Shetty, Archana Raha, Srinidhi Vasudevan, Anburaj and etc are apt.

D.Venkatesh's costume designing and H.K Suriya Prakash's make-up was very functional and apt, and all the characters looked very natural and realistic. Anal Arasu's action choreography was very realistic as well, since there were no actual fights and stunt sequences. S.Jayachandran's art direction expertise, sufficed the needs of the script. The props of the interiors of homes, were well noticed and arranged, since most of the film are shot in real locations. Anthony's editing was flawless and sharp, as the duration of the film is very crisp, keeping the proceedings neat and tidy. Soorya A.R's cinematography is functional and has captured the pertinent moments very well, with good usage of close-ups.

Yuvan Shankar Raja delivered good numbers in the film. "Mella Sirithal" is the opening track and was shot like a music video, on Marina beach, focusing on the bunch of youngsters involved in the script, with interspersing montages of various couples falling in love. "Alaipaayum" is another montage song, shot on the lead pair and their love escapades, in their daily lives. "Thappu Thanda" is a sensuous song, shot on the lead pair, in a set resembling a hotel room, which was very well designed by S.Jayachandran, with apt color palette, suiting the song. "Nenje Kel" and "Kaadhale" are situational bit-songs, used appropriately, while the final number, "Aaraaro" is a heart-wrenching one, which was shot on a small child in a foster home. The delicate and moments of the child was very well captured by the technical crew of the film. Yuvan sizzles in the background score department as well, and has delivered one of his best works in recent times. The score complements the needs and moods of the script, perfectly.

Suseenthiran has written this story based on an idea, pitched by Lenin Bharathi, who has been credited in the film. The screenplay has been well structured by a team of writers, including Suseenthiran himself, besides Nagarajan and Vijaya Ananth. The first half is a smooth and light-hearted delight, with funny and lively moments, among the bunch of friends portrayed in the film, as well as the blossoming love episode of the lead pair. There are a myriad of characters involved and kudos to Suseenthiran for having a keen eye of detail, and presenting them in an realistic and unforced manner. Also, Suseenthiran must be appreciated alongside C.Clyton for the simple, natural and realistic dialogues, be it for any episode in the film and any characters involved. It takes a lot of hard-work and proper research and some good maturity to handle such delicate but actual matters. What particularly strikes the most, is the nonchalant manner in which the love is portrayed between the lead pair without any gimmicks nor purposely written scene to enforce the love. It takes guts and lots of conviction to deliver such simple episodes, perfectly on the screen and Suseenthiran has done it like an ace ! The only minus one can come up, is the less sizzling and powerful emotional connect between the lead pair. Though juveniles are expected to be like that, a more powerful portrayal could have done more justice to the script. But still, kudos to Suseenthiran for the climax, which leaves a lump in the hearts of all viewers.

'Aadhalaal Kadhal Seiveer' - A brilliant comeback from Suseenthiran ! Concisely and conscientiously, done.


Ratings: 3.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL 

PATTATHU YAANAI MOVIE REVIEW

G.Boopathy Pandiyan, an excellent comedy script and dialogue writer turned director, is back after a three-year hiatus, with his last release being the dud 'Kaadhal Solla Vandhen'. He teams up once again with Vishal after 'Malaikottai', which was released 6 years back. Vishal has been consistently missing the elusive hit-status mark for his films, and his career looks like to be in an imminent danger. Will or can this duo strike back again, and that too with Santhanam in their company ?

Vishal is pretty much in his comfort zone with this script and he has delivered earnestly, what was expected out of him. His execution in stunt sequences are well filmed thus far, and it continues in 'Pattathu Yaanai' as well. His dance is improving film by film. And that's about it with his performance. As for debutante Aishwarya Arjun, well, she is there. In songs and the build-up sequences before them. (Was Arjun briefed about the actual state of his daughter's debut film ?) Santhanam, the only saving grace in the film, tries his best to muster some humorous portions out of the poorly written scenes. He has tried a different type of modulation for his dialogue delivery and it works to some extent, and his body language has marked improvement. But unfortunately, he goes missing in the second half, until the climax, where he makes an appearance for a brief moment. Murali Sharma and John Vijay play the roles of the main antagonists and only the latter makes some mark in the film, and that too due to his good comedy timing. The rest of the cast such as Chitra Letchumanan, Mayilsamy, Jagan, Karthik Sabesh, 'Vada Poche' Sarithiran, 'Pattimandram' Raja, Seetha, 'Besant' Ravi, Rajendran, Swaminathan and Singamuthu appear in insignificant roles, alongside Subbu Panchu and Mouli, who make cameo appearances.

Sai and Vasugi Bhaskar's costume designing was in sync with the needs and wants of the commercial demands of the script and thanks to Vasugi, Aishwarya looked more presentable in the songs. Anal Arasu's stunt choreography was also in sync with the necessities of a commercial caper, and the second half stunt scene, shot in the rain, is particularly more impressive than the others. Karthik Rajkumar's production design was minimal and his props, sufficed the needs of the sequences. A.L Ramesh's editing is just functional. Nothing experimental, in style. Vaidy.S's cinematography reminds us of R.D Rajashekar's work in Vishal's previous, 'Vedi'. The bright yellow hue, gives a bright look for the entire film and his shots for the second half stunt sequence, canned with rain effects, looked good.

S.S Thaman's musical score, is pretty average to say the least. Repeated listening might pave way for some sort of liking to them. "Thattungada Mealatthae" is the opening song of the hero and his bunch of friends. The song was shot on barren crop fields, with minimal art work and some comedy bit thrown into, involving a glamorous 'item girl'. "Enna Oru" is the pick of the lot among the songs, and is shot on the lead pair and which happens to be a fantasy song. The sand work in beaches and colorful streets are the highlight of the songs, with pretty costumes designed for Aishwarya. "Raja Raja Naandham", has a mix of dance and montages blended into it. The montages were some comedy bits and the dance portions were shot in an simple manner. "Poosani Kai" was shot at an open balcony terrace, featuring Mayilsamy and the lead pair, with the former involving in some quirky dance movements. "Thale Kaalu" is the archetypal 'kuthu' song warranted for such 'masala' flicks. The song features, as usual, colorful sets and groups of colorfully dressed dancers. Sabesh-Murali duo handles the background score department, surprisingly. They have done justice to their work by giving good focus for the comedy portions and also for imbibing Thaman's tunes into their re-recording.

Its unforgivable for someone like Boopathy, who has a very good humor-filled script-sense, to come up with such a tepid and lukewarm script. The script is jarringly out of logic and sense. The scenes are disjointed and there is no proper continuity in the flow of the screenplay. The comedy sequences are low in humor and high in irritable factor and many of them are unwarranted ! The story is prehistoric. The over-used trend of having Ilaiyaraaja's composition is also incorporated into the screenplay. Its just puzzling to come up with a conclusion, as to what was Boopathy's idea, behind this project ? Is it supposed to be 'masala'-filled humor film or vice-versa ? Only he has the ability to narrate the answer to us (hopefully !). As mentioned earlier, Santhanam's dialogues are the only saving grace in the film, and he alone has greatly helped the script in sustaining our remaining meager interest of us' on the film.

'Pattathu Yaanai' - Success still eludes Vishal, successfully !


Ratings: 2/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

SINGAM II MOVIE REVIEW

Sequels are a pretty pain-in-the-ass for most director, as there will be the omnipresent expectations and heavy pressure, due to the success of the first installment. What more when it has one of the most important artiste of the film industry as its protagonist. Director Hari has taken the daring plunge in coming up with a sequel to his 2010 blockbuster, 'Singam' starring the smashing Suriya in the titular role. The first installment did end up with a promise of a sequel, and finally Hari has indeed delivered one. Will this be a springboard for Suriya to regain his place in the blockbuster arena after two under-performed films in '7am Arivu' and 'Maattrraan' ?

With the majestic and awe-inspiring larger-than-life persona and screen presence, Suriya shoulders the weight of the entire script on his well-built shoulders. His passion and dedication in living the role of Duraisingam, is evident with his strong and powerful emotions, dialogue delivery and expressions, especially with his eyes ! The actor handled the pressure with relative ease and he performs even meaner and power-packed. His cinematic role as a police officer, brings great stature and respect to the khaki uniform he donned. A raw and powerful, inspiration perhaps ! Suriya has proved big time, that he is capable of handling commercial, 'masala' protagonist roles with conviction and the necessary oomph factor. Way to go, Suriya ! There is a long, long list of ensemble cast, atypical of Hari's films. International artiste, Danny Sapani plays the main antagonist role and aided by veteran Rahman and Mukesh Rishi. Danny's role was projected off well initially, but peters out towards the end. Rahman and Mukesh, play the quintessential commercial cinema villains, to 'perfection' ! Anushka and Hansika Motwani charms in their respective sequences, though the latter has a more meatier role here. Vivek, who rocked as 'Erimalai' in the preceding film, has a limited screen timing, but still delivers the goods. The current 'Comedy Superstar' Santhanam, never fails to rock and he continues his fine form here as well with some side-splitting comedy portions, especially when he does a Suriya and Kamal Haasan in the film ! Radha Ravi, Nassar, Rajendran, Mansoor Ali Khan, Manorama, Vijayakumar and etc, etc, etc, performed their roles to a T, in limited and inconsequential roles.

Sai and Perumal Selvam's costume designing was apt for a commercial pot-boiler like this, especially for the lead pair in the songs, and for the rest of the character artistes, as well. 'Rocky' Rajesh and Anal Arasu's stunt choreography was well suited for such loud and larger-than-life films, which is a little low in terms of logic and common sense. Suriya performs with great energy and vigor, which actually helps us to overlook the flaws of the choreography. Editing by V.T Vijayan and T.S Jay, was efficient and neat, though the second half was a little prolonged, except for the abrupt ending ! K.Kathir has done a brilliant work with his production design. Most the sets looked perfect, especially the small town jails and lock-ups, interiors of the character's homes or the colorful but simple sets for the song sequences. Job, well done ! Priyan has tried some roving camera tricks here and his camera doesn't seem to rest at all ! However,there are no fantastic or outstanding visuals from him and his works were mostly functional, except for some action sequences.

Devi Sri Prasad, who has been retained for the sequel, has performed badly with his scores and almost all the songs are below average, for current standards. "Vaale Vaale" is the opening song, shot in a boat and around the port of Tuticorin, with a special appearance from a rather flabby-looking Anjali. The song also has some minor shots, featuring the vigilante work of the protagonist. "Puriyavillai" is a montage song for Hansika Motwani, who develops a crush for the masculine protagonist. "Singam Dance" is a peppy club song, shot on Suriya and Anushka and has colorful blue-themed sets by Kathir and good lighting from the cinematographer. "Kannukkulle" also follows the same style, with a more simpler sets. "Achamillai" and "Vidhai Pole" are situational songs, praising the histrionics of the protagonist, shot in montages. The background score is unimpressive, with loud and familiar sounds most of the time !

Director Hari's successful films, have one thing in common. A racy screenplay. From the word go, Hari did not stop for a single moment, and has scripted a screenplay which is full of power-packed action sequences, which were very convincingly played out by Suriya. What differs between 'Singam' and this sequel, is the lower importance given to the other commercial elements of a 'masala' film. Sentiments, romance, and comedy portions were evenly proportioned in the first half, but the sequel highlighted more and more of the brain and brawn of Duraisingam, rather than the other elements in/surrounding him. The antagonists roles, especially of Danny's was ill-written and lacks the necessary counter-effect to the heroics of the hero. Though the duration of the film, especially the second half is a little draggy, Hari keeps his scenes, tight and short, which gives us the impression of a speedy story telling. Some continuity factors were not properly ironed out, and raises a few questions pertaining to logic. The ending was handled in a very abrupt and rushed manner, it spoils the good-ride one was enjoying all the while !

'Singam II' - A near-perfect 'masala' concoction. A thoroughly enjoyable film, but strictly for commercial enthusiasts. A powerful and kingly show from Suriya !


Ratings: 3.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

KUMKI MOVIE REVIEW

After the super hit 'Mynaa' Prabhu Solomon and team are back once again with a new premise-based film. 'Kumki' was promising in many ways, thanks to the promotions of Thirrupathi Brothers and the distributors Studio Green, the stunning musical score of D.Imman and an intriguing cast, that too a newcomer from the legendary Ganesan family. Vikram Prabhu, the son of actor Prabhu, makes his debut through this film. Much expectations and anticipation was there for this film. Ironically, an elephant plays a major role in this 'wild love story'. 

Starting of with the debutante, Vikram Prabhu has done a splendid job with the very tough task of performing a mahout's role. It takes time before he really grows into the minds of viewers, but he confidently performs the myriad of emotions and actions needed,with ease, since its a heavy-duty role, emotionally and physically. He looks very apt for the role of 'Bomman', with a tall and lanky physique. His dialogue delivery too was spot on, and he definitely has a very bright future in Tamizh cinema. With more tutelage under talented directors such as Prabhu Solomon, he is bound to carry on the lineage of Sivaji Ganesan, proudly. Way to go ! Lakshmi Menon, who was supposed to take a bow with this film, comes out neat as a tribal girl. Her expressions are spot on but she has very less dialogues to utter (well dubbed by Meenalokshini) and her interactions with the protagonist was limited as well. Thambi Ramaiah, however takes the whole spotlight among entire cast, with his funny antics and dialogue delivery. His one-liners and body language are a scream, indeed ! Watch out for his 'mind-voice' sequences ! Ably aiding him in some scenes are Ashvin Raja. The rest of the cast such as'Junior' Balaiah, Nelson, Jamalloori, Anbu, Dharan and etc were very apt in their roles, including the cute elephant, Manickam.

P.R Ganesh handles the costume designing very well. The differentiation between each class and ethnicity was well shown in the costumes, especially among the tribal group. The VFX of the film, done by White Lotus, plays a very crucial role but the work was quite average, and it needs to be enhanced in a more realistic manner, since the movie is well shot. S.Durairaj's sound designing was spot on, with good sounds to give us the tribal and forest milieu feel. 'Anal' Arasu's action choreography was well done, which involves extremely hard work with the elephant. Vairabalan's art work was simple but very realistic. The entire village of the tribal folks were very realistically built, including the huts and houses. A thorough research must have taken place, during the filming and Vairabalan deserves praises for it. L.V Thasson's editing was neat, and his work for the VFX sequences are the highlights, and not to forget the songs as well. However, M.Sukumar takes the cake among the appreciation for the technician lot, because his cinematography was absolutely stunning ! The majestic Jog Falls, the extremely lush, green forests, the rain-soaked atmosphere, the close-ups and top-angles of the elephant, the beautiful sunflower fields, this film is definitely one of M.Sukumar's best works. He successfully transports us into the world and life of the characters very easily, and it almost feels like a dream. Hats off to M.Sukumar. 

As mentioned earlier, D.Imman's musical score is stunning ! This can arguably be one of his best albums in his entire career. The songs are melodious and the instrumentation, especially the percussion and wind instruments, are put to very good use. "Yella Oorum", a short number is the opening introductory song, chronicling the life of the mahouts and the elephant and their journey making a living through the elephant. The are plenty of close-ups of the elephant, here. "Onnum Puriyile" portrays the protagonist falling in love at first sight with the heroine. The forests, the water and dew-drops were all caught in camera beautifully by M.Sukumar. Among the pick of the lots, "Aiyaiyo Aanandhame" brings out the fiery passion in the protagonist and the bonding session of the heroine and the elephant. The shots taken during dawn, are mystical yet beautiful. The song was mostly shot in landscape-type frames. "Nenju Vedikudhu" which did not feature in the album, is a situational bit-song. "Nee Yeppo" is a brilliant pathos song, showing many close-ups and montages of the hero, who is in the agony of pain, caused by love. "Sollittaale", another pick of the lot, was picturized in the stunning Jog Falls and the sunflower fields of Orissa. The top-angles used in the song, were breathtaking. This song features the actual chemistry of the lead pair, which was missing until then, in the film. "Soi Soi" also used lots of top-angles, and covers the harvest period, celebrated by the tribal people. It has good dance choreography by Noble and the instrumentation by D.Imman was brilliant. The background score too, was superbly handled, which were soothing and melodious, mostly. Take a bow, D.Imman ! You deserve all the appreciation.

Prabhu Solomon must be applauded for the selection of a fresh and unique premise of mahouts, elephants, tribal folks and forest life. The life and times of these people were well captured and portrayed in the film. The characters were well etched, the setting was well planned, and the research was well done. But the film lacks a commanding and arresting story line, nor any emotional quotient. What's present, are just mandatory sequences. Remember, Prabhu Solomon advertised it as a 'wild love story', and in order to have a good love story, the love between the lead pair must be well handled. But here, the love was lacking in depth and emotions, and by the time the love actually happens, the movie neared its climax soon and finishes off, in an contrivedly, predictable manner. The story takes its own sweet time to unravel, but is compensated with the funny antics of the characters, the fresh premise laid in the plot and for the songs, picturized beautifully. The elephant was put to good use, which is commendable and the team must be praised for their strenuous hard-work. The end dialogues of the protagonist were very touching and and wonderfully, written by Prabhu Solomon. 

'Kumki' is not in the same league as 'Mynaa' emotion quotient wise, but the extreme hard work put in by Prabhu Solomon's team, in giving a quality and neat film, is laudable. Could have been better, but it will be too harsh to criticize the film, overtly.


Ratings: 3/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

SAGUNI MOVIE REVIEW

Karthi, the actor with an impressive box-office performance record is back to the silver screen after more than year of his last super-hit release, 'Siruthai'. This movie created good expectations, thanks to the return of his combination with Santhanam, the current "King of Comedy". Also, the coming together of few veteran actors and a political-satire template, generated good amount of  curiosity among the mass 'masala'/commercial cinema lovers. 'Saguni' is a character from Mahabharata. He is a schemer and comes up with interesting knots and twists in the epic mythology story. Judging by the trailer, Karthi's "Kamal" character too appears to be someone who is similar in nature to 'Saguni'. Will this new-age 'Saguni' enthrall the audience?

Karthi has turned in a natural performance. Nothing great to do in front of the camera, as his character nor the script did not demand intense scenes which evokes serious emotions. His warm yet naughty demeanor, catches the attention of the audience. He runs the show throughout the film and he appears in nearly most of the sequences. His dancing skills has improved quite a lot but he has to keep in check of his weight, because inconsistency in body shape is a terrible thing to watch in a movie. Santhanam rocks in his role as "Rajini" Appadurai and his camaraderie with Karthi was good. His one-liners were brilliant as usual and what made it more amusing was the banter between him and Karthi as "Rajini-Kamal". Though the film was marketed, with this combination as its main USP, it did not really meet the expectations it created and failed to beat their previous performance in 'Siruthai'. Heroine Pranitha (dubbing by Savitha), has nothing much to do/offer apart from appearing in a couple of scenes with the sad looks and looking pretty in songs. The big cast of veterans did what was expected out of them. Each and everyone delivered the right amount of expressions and body language needed for their roles. Prakash Raj (replacing Salim Ghouse), Kota Srinivasa Rao (dubbing by Rajender), Nassar, Raadhika takes the bulk of scenes among the lot. Prakash Raj was as efficient as the antagonist, Kota Srinivasa Rao was less serious and had more funny expressions which is a welcome relief. Nassar was fantastic with his comedy timing and dialogue delivery as the God-man and Raadhika had different shades to her character, from the Idly-seller to the Mayor. The rest of artistes like Roja (dubbing by Jayageetha), Kiran (replacing Mumtaz and dubbing by Priya Anand), V.S Raghavan, Manobala, Devadarshini, Delhi Ganesh, Naren, Chitra Letchumanan and etc fill up the screens with their timely presence. Anushka makes a cameo as a cute police officer and Andrea Jeremiah appeared in a small scene in a blink-and-you-will-miss role.

'Saguni' has a good team of technicians involved. Costumes by Neha was good especially for the lead pair in songs and also for the styling of Karthi in the second half which gave him a smart-look. 'Anal' Arasu's stunts was not bad with only two sequences and the better one was the short scene shot in the bar. Rajeevan once again does a neat job. The film involved lots of real-life locations, so its more of tweaking job for him to make the scene look believable, especially with the multitude of props. The election scenes and his set for the "Manasellam" song are noticeable. Veteran editor Sreekar Prasad seems to have struggled a lot in the editing department. The movie was unnecessary long but judging from the teasers and trailers released, he must have done lots of chopping as many scenes were already missing! P.G Muthiah did what was needed for the film in the cinematography department. His lighting and top angles shots were good. G.V Prakash, flexes his skill this time in a out-and-out commercial script. "Kandha Karavadai" was a simple and chill song with the energetic Shankar Mahadevan behind the mic. It was shot in plenty of locations like harbor, streets, flyover, buildings and etc. Sreekar did well in making the song look smooth with his editing. "Manasellam" had beautiful sceneries  from the Eastern European countries with soft lighting and the set work too was not bad with good lighting and color tones. "Vella Bambaram" was shot in the city centers of Poland and also had a soft and cute color tone throughout the film with chirpy dance movements from the lead pair. "Pottadhu Patthale" had a good bar set but could have made it look even more realistic. This song had good and unique dance movements with Santhanam too making his efforts. "Annachi" song was a rather situational one with extensive props from Rajeevan. G.V should have done better in his background score. He repeats the same track he used for his 'Veyil' theme-music in one of the scenes and apart from Anushka's sequence, the film had pretty average score from him.

Shankar Dayal made the script in such a way where, the first half had all the comedy portions and romances and the second half with all the twists and turns of the 'Saguni'. The intention of making and out-and-out commercial movie was very much evident and keeping that in mind, he has taken the liberty of over-looking logic and coherence in the story. The characters are all cinematic and just black-and-white, either they are good/innocent or dirty/villainous. The film does have one or two witty one-liners here and here, but its far apart from each other. Songs were unnecessary speed-breakers, especially in the first half. The director promised again and again through interviews that each character has its beginning, transition and end phase to them but sadly he did not live up to his words as many characters have no proper depth to them and some of them just disappear from the screenplay without any explanation.

'Saguni' is a pretty average product and though the intentions of doing a commercial 'masala' cinema was made out clearly, the film did not live up to the expectations and promises it made. An average time-pass 'masala' flick.


Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

URUMI MOVIE REVIEW

Santosh Sivan, the only personality from Asia Pacific to be awarded a membership in the prestigious American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), is known for his visual masterpiece. As a director, he has directed a few films and his 'The Terrorist' is a critically acclaimed film and even included in Roger Ebert's best films ever list. For the first time, Santosh Sivan has tried his hands in directing a commercially entertaining film meant for the masses. Though its for commercial purpose, the novelty factor is still there in the shape of historical fantasy. Originally made in Malayalam, the film was altered for Tamizh cinema yet it attracts audience because of its subject matter and also for the impressive star-casting. Its even impressive to know that the film was shot in a record 65-70 days with a big cast and that too a historical subject.

Prithviraj, who co-produced the film, gave out a good performance. As the brave Chirakkal Kelu Nayanar, he handled the stunt sequences very well, especially with the usage of the urumi. Though he was portrayed as an angry young man throughout, his minute expressions and emotions in love portions was good. Prabhu Deva as Vawwali was the funnyman in the film. His body language and comedy timing was flawless. His episode with Nithya Menon was naughty and cute and his dialogue delivery was perfect. Arya, was menacing as Chirakkal Kothuwal and carried good body language though he should have improved more for the tribal leader Thangappan role, especially with the dialogue delivery. Genelia D'Souza was a revelation as Arackal Ayesha. We get to see some stunt performances from her and she rendered a reasonably good performance as the young angry woman. Nithya Menon was cute and subtled as Chirakkal Bala, the princess. Her naughty behaviour and expressions was well brought out. Vidya Balan makes a cameo as a sorceress and as an NGO representative. The National Award-winning girl plays both roles very well and the former was the better one. Amole Gupte was efficient as Chirakkal Thampuram and his character's voice was well dubbed by Naran. Jagathy Sreekumar was excellent as the minister, who was cunning and at the same time carried effeminate qualities in him. M.S Bhaskar pulled off a good job in dubbing for Jagathy. Tabu makes a short cameo appearance in a song.

The biggest asset and USP of the film is the technical aspects of the film. For a average budget, this film carries fantastic work. Ranjith Ambady's make-up should be appreciated for his work on the artistes, especially on Jagathy and Amole. Eka Lakhani's costume was brilliant though it did not represent the era portrayed in the film, accurately. Yet, all characters were dressed accordingly and their costumes made them look apart from each other and helped the artistes to have their own identity. Genelia and Prithviraj's costumes are the testimony. 'Anal' Arasu' action choreography was splendid and he should be applauded for his unique choreography for each characters which suits their body language respectively. Though Prithviraj and Prabhu Deva plays the roles of friends, they have their own styles of self-defense which enhances their characters more. Anand Babu and Rajakrishnan's sound designing was good, especially the final battle sequences where each weapon's sounds, especially Prithviraj's urumi, was well utilized. Sreekar Prasad made the film look racy though it runs for nearly 2 hours and 20 minutes and the battle scenes were edited well with no gimmicks. Art director Sunil Babu did a fantastic job with simple, elegant yet detailed art work and that too in a limited budget. The abode of Chirakkal Thampuram and the props were well used and also the village sets were believable. The battle ground episode too was well portrayed and kudos to Sunil for pulling off a wonderful job. The man, Santosh Sivan weaves his magic as usual and the film is a visual opulence. The choice of locations and the usage of mist and rain throughout, gave the film a beautiful look. Nearly each and every scene looks like a portrait and it just shows the wizardry of Santosh. Kudos to his assistance Anjuli Shukla as well.

Music by Deepak Dev is soothing and very much apt for the script. "Vadakka Vadakka" was used situationally with not much emphasis given. "Yaaro" is the pick of the lot and the slow-motion shots, together with mist and cool color, picturized on Prithviraj and Genelia was beautifully and aesthetically shot. "Chinna Chinna" shot on Nithya Menon and Prabhu Deva, had good utilization of the glow of oil lamps and tight close-ups on the artistes. The naughty Nithya and naive Prabhu Deva brought-out the mood of the song very well. "Kondaadu Kondaadu" brought out the brilliance of Santosh Sivan in making use of rain drops and mist. Picturized on Prabhu Deva and Prithviraj, with a cameo from Tabu, the song had minimal art work which was a effective move. "Aararo" was also used as a situational song and weaves into the story smoothly. "Chalanam Chalanam" had Vidya Balan performing her 'sorcery' and her costumes complemented her look and the character she portrayed in that song. Santosh made excellent use of mist in this song.

What's pleasing of the script is that, its pretty much straight-forward and there were no big build-ups nor overtly-dramatic sequences. The narration was pretty simple and the script has scope for further exploitation. Its applaudable that Santosh and writer Shankar Ramakrisnan, made good research on the subject and infusing realistic fictional elements into the script, efficiently and smoothly. The movie pretty much did not deviate from its core focus point, apart from the songs and some small love scenes. Sasikumaran, the Tamizh dialogue writer deserves a pat for his sharp and hard dialogues.

'Urumi' is a simple and neat historical fantasy. Honestly written and technically well-made, it made the producers proud and might serve as an inspiration for upcoming directors to come up with similar ventures.
 

Ratings: 3/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

THADAIYARA THAAKKA MOVIE REVIEW

With a chaste Tamizh title to the film, Magilzh Thirumeni has changed tracks from the soft romantic, 'Mundhinam Parthene' to this action-packed thriller. The former assistant of Gautham Vasudev Menon has lots to prove with this new attempt on a different genre than his previous work. Arun Vijay is coming back to screens after a two-year absence, with his home production 'Maanja Velu'. This film is produced by the same firm as well and Arun Vijay needs a solid hit to cement himself as a saleable actor in Tamizh cinema.

Arun Vijay, has put in a sincere and honest effort in his role as the private vehicle driver Selva. His buff body was apt for this action packed role and he pulled off the stunts scenes effortlessly. His body language and restrained emotions was very life-like. Not to forget, a decent dialogue delivery, in sync with the characterization warrants him a good dosage of appreciation. Wishing him luck for serious success, which has been eluding him for a very long time. Mamta Mohandass makes a comeback after three years after 'Guru En Aalu'. This is her first Tamizh film post-marriage and she was the perfect foil for Arun Vijay's protagonist role. The chirpy and bubbly personality is a fresh breathe of air, in this otherwise dark film. Rakul Preet Singh, a former finalist of Miss India pageant makes her splash as an actress through this film, and though she was okay, her character was not properly exploited, hence limiting her histrionics skills. Murugadass and the other bunch of friends roles provides some laughter here and there. But the real scene stealers are the antagonists artistes, Maha Gandhi and Vamsi Krishna. Both of them were menacing and gritty with their performances with their brooding screen presence and non-exaggerated expressions. Kudos to both of them!

The team comprises of technicians who knows their work well and the film has some decent efforts. Costumes were apt and perfect for the roles, not being too flashy and tacky with Ganesh doing for Arun and Deepali Noor for both the ladies. Mohana Mahendiran used proper props to complement the scenes, which were shot mostly in real locations. Praveen K.L and Srikanth N.B's editing had fast-cuts and the movie moves in rapid pace with the duration slightly more than two hours. Thaman's music was simple with only two songs making it into the film. "Kelamale" was shot in a breezy manner with only a single location with various angles and simple choreography by Nagendra Prasad. "Poonthamalli" is a typical dance number and had fast movements by Noble with the addition of Debi Dutta as the 'item' girl. Thaman should improve more on his re-recording in order to avoid the 'heard-before' feel. 'Anal' Arasu has choreographed simple and neat action sequences and the blows delivered looked very real especially the back alley fight featuring Arun Vijay and Aruldass and also the climax fight scene in a factory warehouse. Sukumar's camera work was efficient with the well-shot night effect sequences, heavily used in the second half and the tone used which was apt for the script.

The script was concise and intelligently written, which is a welcome relief among the glut of nonsensical crass commercial flicks churned out these days. The intelligence does not stop only in the twists and turns but also continues in the form of light and subtle humor of the characters. The innocence of the protagonists friends, the quirkiness of the protagonist, the stubborn-yet naive heroine and even the antagonists had subtle humors to their characters which is a refreshing thing to watch. Magilzh has etched out each characters well and established them with correct dialogues and mannerisms which doesn't give them a caricature-kind of feel. The romance scenes between the lead pair is quirky, cheeky and mature and guess its the rubbing off of the charm of Magilzh's mentor. The best aspect of 'Thadaiyara Thakka's' script is the twists and turns which is shown in the second half especially. It keeps the audience guessing and waiting for 'the moment'. But the same factor is the minus point of the film as well. The amount of twists and turns are plenty and they are thrown to the audience at a rapid pace which actually makes the audience to be unsettled and confused. The second half takes a dip in pace but overall it was a decent effort of intelligent writing from the director.

'Thadaiyara Thakka' has a decent script, good action scenes, life-like characters and neat performances from the artistes. If the second half was polished with a neater screenplay, the movie would have been even better.


Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

VEDI MOVIE REVIEW

After the superb performance in Avan Ivan, Vishal is back in a film which belongs to his forte, the action genre. Helming the director's seat is Prabhu Deva which raises the bar and expectations of the film. The teasers and trailers promised some pumping action sequences. It's an important film for Vishal, reputation and financial wise as his last decent hit was Thamirabharani way back in 2007 and since this is his home production. As for Prabhu Deva, his Engeyum Kadhal was a disaster and to be on the safer side, he has chosen to remake a hit Telugu film called Shouryam. As the title suggests, will this film be a cracker ?

Vishal embodies the perfect Tamizh cinema action hero with his dark complexion, tall and well built physic as well as good looks. His radiates the macho look very well and it suits him perfectly, a throwback to his Sandakozhi and Thimiru days. There was no overreaction in any sequences from him. His dialogue delivery has improved a lot and the manner he performs his stunts scenes are ferocious. He's very much fit to be in the action hero category. Sameera Reddy has nothing much to do, as expected in mass masala films. She should be commended for trying comedy and she got her expressions right. Not to forget, she looks very pretty and attractive. Vivek's comedy fails to arise laughter and he only impresses in bits and pieces. It's pathetic to see Sayaji Shinde dishing out similar performances and that too as the same, lame, shouting villain. Wonder what happened to the man who portrayed Bharathiyar in that classic film, Bharathi. Poonam Kaur gets a small role to play, which she did neatly. Oorvashi and Seeman's brief roles, bring a smile to us with their perfect timing. Devi Sri Prasad was impressive in his cameo in the opening song.

Vijay Anthony's score is adequate and mild and the pick of the lot will be the "Ichu Ichu" number, youthfully written by Vaali sir. "Enna Aachu" and "Ippadi Mazhai" numbers can get more popular with repeated airings on television and radio. His background score was not loud. Among the songs the "Enna Aachu" has been captured in the beautiful Ladakh region but the promised sizzling number "Bombay Ponnu" featuring Sophie Chaudary was a damp squib. RD Rajashekar is one of the best in the cinematography field, especially the fight sequences, "Kaakha Kaakha" and "Bheema" being testimonials to it. He has brilliantly captured the fight sequences, especially the one right before the interval and the climax portions with the slow motion effect, well used. His angles and placement of camera elevates the impact of the fight sequences. Anal Arasu, who did a wonderful work in "Rowthiram" continues his work here, though he should have avoided the 'bouncing' effect and some over-the-top moves. His one-to-one combat sequences was well choreographed. Chaitanya Rao's costumes for Sameera was very pretty and apt which accentuates her good looks. V.T Vijayan's editing was clean and neat making the film crisp. RK Nagaraju's sets especially the villain's house was noticeable.

The biggest problem with the film is the outdated, worn-out, boring and lame script. The story is as old as the hills and was seen hundreds of times on screen. Prabhu Deva tries to prep up the excitement level by infusing some "time-limit" sequences in the second half but it actually fails to achieve the intended result. The "Pokkiri" effect can be seen here and there in bits and parts. Though the film doesn't drag and is made crisply, the sequences are out-dated and not fresh at all.

End of the day, Prabhu Deva and Vishal has dished out a film which has decent performances, decent cinematography, decent music, decent action sequences but a bad script and story.


Ratings: 2/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

ROWTHIRAM MOVIE REVIEW

After the blockbuster success of KO, Jiiva's next Rowthiram was much expected as he has to sustain the success of KO and to also maintain a decent name as a successful and bankable actor. This movie carried a decent level of expectations, with Jiiva doing a movie under his home banner SuperGood Films besides the curiosity evoked by the teasers and trailer of the film. Also it's a much needed release for Shriya Saran as she has no other films in Tamizh cinema apart from this one. Overall, the movie did impress but only in few places as the film was very draggy and the duration of nearly 2 hours and 45 minutes is not justified entirely.

Casting wise, all the main performers in the film did a good job. Jiiva as the angry youth, underplayed all the emotions and it worked well for his character. The silent and subtle angry young man role suited him very well and brought out the desired effect the director wanted to convey through his protagonist. He was at ease in all the action sequences and proves himself as a good action movie star. Shriya Saran was chirpy and bubbly and she indeed has a good role in the film, where through her character the story moves on. Though she has to check her lip-syncing more carefully, it is a welcome relief to see her perform instead of simply showing off her curves. Prakash Raj in a cameo was brilliant and laid the foundation for the tone of the film, which it will travel on for the rest of the film. Jayaprakash, Lakshmi Ramakrishnan, Srinath, Sathyan, Mounica, Babu Anthony, Chaitanya Krishna all performed decently. Srinath and Sathyan's comediy portion brings some light moments in the film. Ganesh Acharya was a miscast and he doesn't have much to do. The director Gokul made small cameo himself and he emoted well, too.

Shanmugasundaram's cinematography is very apt and adequate and it captured the right mood of the script. His different angles and camera movements in the action sequences was splendid. His picturization of the song 'Adiye Un Kangal' number was cool and nice. Music by Prakash Nikki was a letdown with the 'Adiye Un Kangal' and the title track noticeable. Raja's background score was good in some places, but little bit loud in certain portions. Could improve a lot if he experiments more. Mathen Gunadeva's editing could have been better and he should have trimmed many unnecessary portions. S.Sivaraj's art designing was simple and natural. Deepali Noor's costume designing was natural as well, and she made Shriya to look good even without glamorous dresses. Still, the best praise should go to the stunt director Anal Arasu for he has choreographed superb action sequences. Each frame was well done and delivered the necessary 'punch' needed in those scenes. Certainly this film will stand out to be one of the best in his career. Kudos to him.

Gokul Ramana's script was a letdown. He does have some capability to churn out good sequences/scenes but the problem is, all the scenes do not connect properly and unnecessarily dragged the film for no reason. The movie has been publicized as an action film, yet it has pretty decent romance/sentiment/family scenes where, some scenes were cute while some were humorous, without going overboard. This shows that Gokul has some substance in him but he needs to sharpen his screenplay.

Final verdict, a film with superbly choreographed action blocks which could have created a big impact with the viewers if the director had concentrated more on improvising the screenplay.

Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL