'Irumbhu Kuthirai' is the comeback film for Atharvaa Murali, after the critically acclaimed 'Paradesi'. Directed by debutante Yuvaraj Bose, a former associate of Arivazhagan, the film's USP is the script being based on motorcycle race backdrop and super-bikes. Produced on a generous budget by AGS Entertainment, can Yuvaraj race into Tamizh cinema as another young prodigy ?
After the hard struggle and excruciating pain in 'Paradesi', Atharvaa Murali dons a conventional hero role and it looks like he has been working out on his physique. He looks better and has improved his dialogue delivery and timing but his character lacks the zing and energy needed. Unfortunately, this film lets him down, on acting performance aspect. Priya Anand, looks gorgeous and is the regular Tamizh cinema heroine (friend turned damsel-in-distress turned lover !). The lead pair looks compatible on screen, but their chemistry fails to sizzle. Johnny Tri Nguyen is a surprise casting and fits the role of a really mean baddie, but somehow his character becomes unintentionally funny (especially with the Tamizh dialogues !). Among the character artistes, its Devadarshini who's role as the protagonist's mother, is an interesting choice. We are seeing some serious performances from her, and hope she continues to showcase her acting skills. The rest of the cast includes Raai Laxmi & Jagan (both looking out-of-sync with the film), Manobala, Mayilsamy, Joe Malloori, Anupama Kumar, Swaminathan, Sachu and Joshna. Alisha Abdullah (India's first female national racing champion & only female biker racer) has a cameo, which the needs of it can only be comprehended by the director.
Thanks to AGS Entertainment, the films has rich production values and slick technical outputs. Muruganandam takes care of the costume designing and Priya was given the most attention, as she was simply cute and lovely in he simple and casual clothing. He could have worked it out better for Raai Laxmi and Jagan, who looked completely weird and unflattering. Art direction is by Sakthee Venkatraj.M and though most of the film was shot outdoors, the set work and properties for the homes of the lead pair, the bike sales gallery and the warehouse like set-up for the pre-climax fight sequence, looks good. Action choreography is by 'Kanal' Kannan and he has made good use of Johnny Tri Nguyen's martial arts skill. Though the execution was okay, the choreography did not really match Atharvaa's personality and it was a little over-the-top, especially with the ropes. William Ong, takes care of the bike action sequences, and being an expert in it, there are no complaints with his work. T.S Suresh must be commended for the crisp running time of the film and for his work in the action scenes, but the film has a very jarring pace and the continuity takes severe beating due to this. Cinematography is by R.B Gurudhev and Gopi Amarnath and both of them have given good visuals, be it Pondicherry or the Italian countryside and Venice city. They have tried to match the visuals of Italy with Pondicherry and they have managed to work it out in bits and pieces, though the cover up is pretty obvious.
G.V Prakash Kumar's music is decent but the songs fail to create any impact due to the bad timing and placement in the screenplay. "Hello Brother" is the introductory song of Raai Laxmi and was shot in a bar like set-up, which incorporated plenty of color lighting. "Ange Ippo Enna" is a melody between the lead pair and has many cut-shots of the lead pair, texting each other in which grand and majestic buildings in Venice becomes a backdrop for this song. "Alai Paayum" is almost a similarly shot song, but this time it's a dance number and has more coastal and cliff side locations in the song, which was also shot in Italy. "Penne Penne" is a pathos song, shot on the lead pair and has Pondicherry's colonial and colorful buildings as its backdrop, with many cut-shots, in it too. "Pondicherry" was visually the best shot song, which is an item number featuring the tall, dusky and hot Akshara Gowda. Johnny Tri Nguyen and Alisha Abdullah makes appearance in the song as well, which had a ringside like set-work and good lighting, which complemented the song very well. G.V Prakash Kumar's background score, especially for the climax race sequence is adept. His signature scores for the love portions, are highlights of the background score, too !
A Tamizh film on superbike racing is certainly a refreshing and unique idea, but ideas alone will not make films, watchable. Yuvaraj Bose's plot for the script is so simple, which an adolescent teenager can come up with ! His screenplay lets you down terribly and the film lacks the great energy needed, especially since its about super-bikes. As said earlier, the placement of songs irks us even more and the unwarranted comedy and sentimental portions are a big bore. The love portions lack the sizzle needed and is pretty ordinary. But Yuvaraj's sequence setting doesn't go overboard and he comes up with casual scenes, pertaining to the characters' dilemmas and stature. But for such scenes to hold up on its own, you need strong and interesting dialogues, which Narsim fails to deliver. The dialogues are just pretty much conventional and sufficed the needs of the script. Yuvaraj does spring a surprise, in late second half, but its way too late to save the film and the audience's attention. Instead of tweaking the script and closing down the gaping loopholes in the screenplay, Yuvaraj succumbs to the contemporary Tamizh cinema pressure and fills his film with unwanted elements. Weak characterization further dampens the mood of the film and by the end of the film, you wouldn't have felt like you have watched a film !
'Irumbu Kuthirai - Instead of galloping, it stuttered !
Ratings: 2/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
The name Bala, spells awe and astonishment among the crème de la crème of Indian directors. Revered for his stunning narration and unimaginable characterizations, Bala's 'Paradesi' is his first period film (set in the 1930's) and also the fastest to be shot (in record 90 days time !). Loosely based on Paul Harris Daniel's 1969 novel, 'Red Tea' which records the author's experience of having first-hand experience, witnessing the deplorable and agonizing state, of the tea plantation workers. With a relatively young cast and crew, Bala has perfectly titled the film and how shocking is the auteur's newest release ?
This was a lifetime role for Atharvaa Murali, and boy, did he grab it with such adroitness ! To have a lead role in Bala's film at such a young stage of his career, Atharvaa was simply outstanding as Raasa ! As the innocent and somewhat gullible chap, he delivered a stellar performance, right from the beginning and till the final crescendo. His climax performance was simply too good, as he brought out the intense pain and frustrations of the torturous hell he is trapped into. Take a bow, Atharvaa !! Vedhika, who resembles the yesteryear Srividhya in some sequences, was not far behind, either. Its amazing to see her grasp the inputs of Bala and to perform with aplomb, in a character and setting which is totally alien to her. She delivered perfect and beautiful expressions, and also kudos for her climax performance ! Dhanshikaa delivered a very matured performance, and its highly commendable because the grittiness and seriousness in her character, was very well brought out by her. Besides that, her voice modulation was fantastic, and she got her pronunciation perfectly. A real talent, to look out for ! Popular advertisement filmmaker, Jerry was natural as the vicious and cold-blooded 'Kangaani'. He has different shades to his role, and came out with flying colors, in his first acting assignment. Debutantes, Udhay Karthik and Riythvika, were brilliant and so too the other odd characters and not to forget, the hundreds of hard-toiled junior artistes. Bravo to the whole casting crew !!
The technical crew, worked in sync with the needs of the script. Poornima Ramasamy's costume designing was splendid, and her hard-work, put in research payed off, very well. All the characters were accurately costumed, and the clothes became part of the nature of the characters. Dheepak Bhojraj's opening titles and credits sequences, with those sketches, had a touch of poignancy. M.J Raju and Raj Krishna's sound work was perfectly in sync with the story, as some minute sounds, makes big mark in the film. Debutant art director, C.S Balachander created the perfect environment and setting of the pre-independence Salur village and the pathetic tea plantation squatters. The huts, the 'Panchayat' temple and the rugged terrains were in tandem with the script and he certainly brought out the village alive, for us ! And cinematographer Chezhiyan, captured those important structures, beautifully with his camera. The cinematography, narrated the script in a visualistic manner, thanks to the camera movements. The very dark color tone, further brought out the gloomy environment needed for the script. Fantastic work by both Balanchander and Chezhiyan ! Kishore T.E should be applauded for his concise and crisp editing, by shortening the length of the film to be just above 2 hours.
G.V Prakash Kumar, collaborates with Bala for the first time and he comes out with in-sync tunes. "Kannaalamam Kannaalam" is one of G.V Prakash Kumar's best and different score. The song was written by director Thiagarajan Kumararaja of 'Aaranya Kaandam' fame and it was picturized on a wedding sequences of the people of Salur. Avatha Paiya" is a beautiful melody picturized on the love trysts of the lead pair, Atharvaa and Vedhika, in and around the Salur village. The emotions and expressions of the lead pair, were captured beautifully by Chezhiyan. "Sengaade" has wonderful lighting, and chronicles the treacherous and long journey of the 'Paradesis' to the tea estate. The camera angles brought out the pain and trouble of the junior artistes, who performed in this song. "Senneerthaana" is a pathos song, highlighting the early hardships and troubles faced by the folks, who has started working in the tea estate. Chezhiyan's framing and color scheme for this song, is commendable. "Or Mirugam" further highlights the continuing pain and agony of the characters, which have now realized that, they are trapped in a hell, waiting for their death. The final song, "Thannai Thaane" is the only dance number, which had Master Sivashankar, along with a foreign artiste, dancing and singing in praise of Jesus Christ. G.V Prakash Kumar, scores well in the background music as well, but he should have toned down some overtly melodramatic score, such as the shehnai sound, just before the climax. An experienced composer would have done wonders, but still kudos to G.V Prakash Kumar, for trying his best, in achieving something different.
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To those who are accustomed with Bala's style of film-making, they would know that he shows no remorse in dealing with extremely dark and undocumented topics and settings. Bala's expertise, is his remarkable and extremely bizarre characterizations. In 'Paradesi' too, we get to see intense, raw, gritty and powerful characters. The vision of Bala in sculpting and giving life to his characters, is just unsurpassable by anyone and he continues his terrific form in 'Paradesi' as well. This film, is definitely Bala's most straight-forward and honest film, so far as there is no sugar-coating or deviation in the storyline. Its just a simple, "start-take off-bang-the end" type of narration. Bala's previous films had shocking, brutal, violent and unfathomable climax sequences, but here, its just kept simple. There's only extreme pain, agony, torture and a heart-wrenching ending. There is just pain, after pain, after pain, with no place for whatsoever other emotions, in this latest Bala's offering. Bala's usual "dark comedy" or macabre in nature, is present as well but the humor, is very limited but Nanjil Nadan's dialogues, were in tune with Bala's taste. Especially the in-your-face, crude jokes ! And also the mockery and pot-shot taken at the Church missionaries, who comes for proselytizing purposes, in the pretext of curing people, was hilarious ! Having Rajkiran narrate the starting monologue, was a touch of poignancy from Bala. 'Paradesi' is a laborious and grueling effort from the cast and crew of the film, deserves great appreciation from all
'Paradesi' - Not the "cup of tea" of many, but so much for just a cup of tea in the 1930's ?
Ratings: 4/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Atharvaa Murali makes a comeback with this wonderfully titled film, after the demise of his wonderful father, actor Murali. "Muppozhudhum Un Karpanaigal" has been marketed as a trendy, urbane and slick thriller with good music and cinematography. Debutant Elred Kumar who helms the director's chair is surprisingly the producer behind RS Infotainment, and its a rarity to see a producer turning into a director. Added to that, Amala Paul has been glamorized up for this film and the chemistry between the leading pair is the selling point of the film.
Atharvaa as the troubled IT employee made his mark as a decent debutant in "Baana Kaathadi" continues his fine form in this film as well. He dances well and shows good agility in stunt sequences, and showed more improvement from his first film. With the guidance of more prolific directors, this guy has very good potential to be a powerful performer. Kudos to him for carrying this whole film on his shoulders, though its only his second outing. Amala Paul was cool and breezy throughout the film and so far, this has been her most glamorous outing yet in Tamizh cinema with trendy and chic costumes, a straight contrast to her "Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Eppadi" looks. Besides that, it was a change with Chinmayi doing the dubbing for her this time, which actually suits the character which she plays. With two releases at the same time, she is the current hot babe of Tamizh cinema. Jayaprakash was cool and trendy as usual, with this flawless dialogue delivery and voice modulations. Nassar was decent as usual in an limited role and Anupama Kumar and Yashika did what was expected from them. The biggest disappointment though was Santhanam. His comedy track was totally unnecessary to the screenplay and most of his jokes didn't really take off well.
Since Elred Kumar himself has produced this film, it is obvious that he has spent lavishly and its evident through the fantastic output of the film. The DI work by Gemini Labs was well done in 6K and shows very good picture quality. Kiran's art direction was trendy with the posh apartment and office of IT suites, all depicted in a very stylish and contemporary style. But not only that, the artwork in village sequences too were very natural and minimal. Antony L.Ruben's editing was neat, but he could have trimmed the film a bit and made the screenplay racier with the arrangements of scenes. Rajasekar's stunts incorporated some new style of fighting techniques like Parkour and Beacon but he could have avoided the use of the ropes as some stunt shots look fake. Deepali Noor's costumes made the characters look chic, casual and trendy, especially for Amala Paul who comes in various designer dresses throughout the film. The biggest asset to the film though, is cinematographer Shakthi. His framing and visuals were fantastic with such cool and breezy shots, giving the whole film a very calm feeling. The usage of blue tone nearly throughout the film, maintains the cool and aesthetic feel. This man, has a great future in cinema and will be one to lookout for. Kudos to Shakthi!
GV Prakash's music was cool and trendy as well. "Mazhai Pozhiyum" was well captured in the Grand Canyons and follows a road travel theme throughout. One of the rare occasions, where cinematographer Shakthi adopts a different tone color in the film where the whole song was given a warm feeling, with light orange tinge. "O Sunandha" was done in montages and follows the lead pair throughout Bengaluru with well placed angles in camera. "Oru Murai" is the best of the lot and though the picturization was hyped up as it was done in the world's largest gift shop, Bonanza Shop in the Las Vegas strip, it didn't really live up to the hype it generated. But it was still well shot, with cool choreography by Brindha and shot in music video style. Not to forget, the wonderful lyrics of Thamarai. "Sokku Podi" is the usual set-song and the sets were done keeping in mind with the cool-blue theme of the film and Prasanna's choreography was decent. "Yaar Aval Yaaro" was also done in a music video style with untried Gothic theme and the graphic works by Pixon was decent. "Kangal Neeyae" is another flashback montage song, aesthetically shot and also incorporates a warmer color tone. The disappointing fact is that, the songs are a drawback to the film as it slows down the screenplay and was more of a roadblock in the story. GV Prakash should avoid lifting tracks from other sources as one piece of his BGM work was directly inspired from Zack Hemsey's "Mind Heist" track which was incidentally used as the music piece in the initially trailer of the mind-bending Christopher Nolan's classic "Inception"! His other haunting piece which comes throughout the film, was well scored though.
The problem with Elred Kumar's film is that, it has a weak script though the basic storyline is an interesting one. Though the film was made to look like a classy one, once in a while it incorporates unnecessary commercial aspects like comedies, flashbacks, sentiments and etc. Initially, the film was touted to be a romantic thriller but then the romance quotient was not properly emphasized leaving the audience with only the thrills to savor. The script does have its good moments, especially with the scenes just before interval, which really keeps the audience guessing of what is happening. But the thrill and momentum was not sustained at all, and sadly few questions went unanswered and loopholes were evident here and there in the screen which cannot be excused and as mentioned earlier, songs were just pure roadblocks. A couple of dialogues were crisp and witty but they are far in between in the screenplay. A few different perceptions where thrown into the screenplay which looks forced.
Elred Kumar titled the film spot on beautifully, enhanced the film with good technicians and was lavish in spending but let us down with a loophole-filled script.
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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