Bharath's 25th film, 'Aintham Thalaimurai Siddha Vaidhya Sigamani' is produced by Pushpa Kandaswamy on behalf of Kavithalaya Productions. Directed by debutante L.G Ravichandar, this flick is touted to be an out-and-out sit-com, and has a bandwagon of comedy artistes in the cast. Bharath needs a hit to sustain in Tamizh cinema and can he be saved by L.G Ravichandar ?
For Bharath, this film does not provide any platform for him to explore his acting histrionics. The character is way too one dimensional and has been portrayed as the quintessential Tamizh cinema hero, celebrated a few decades back. His dance does not need any mention and he has proved himself to be apt in performing action sequences. He is improving his comic timing and more variations in dialogue delivery and style can yield better results. Nandita has an even smaller scope to act and is just there to complement the hero. Thambi Ramaiah holds the majority screen timing among the other artistes but unfortunately, his characterization was poor and he goes too loud and overboard. The are a plethora of other artistes such as Karunakaran, Immanuel Annachi, Renuka, M.S Bhaskar, Singampuli, Manobala, Chaams, Bose Venkat, Kottachi, Mayilsamy, Badava Gopi, Dr.Sharmila, M.J Shriram, Komal Kumar, 'Kadhal' Dhandapani, Paandu, Madan Bob, 'Nellai' Siva, 'Scissor' Manohar and etc, but none had a purpose in their roles and were literally wasted.
The film's technical output was just pedestrian and has nothing to boast about. Action choreography is handled by Haridhinesh and it should be commended that the stunt sequences did not go overboard and was kept believable. The stunt sequence shot in the coconut farm was the pick of the lot. Art direction is by M.R Karthickrajkumar and he has put in some decent efforts from his side. The Siddha Vaidhya ambiance was well created, especially with all the herbs and set properties associated with that traditional medicine scenario. Also, the grand village home shown in the film was well adorned with set properties, and it goes for the small medical centres portrayed in the film. V.Vijay's editing seems to be like a stroll in the park and sufficed the needs of the director. The basic film editing is there but V.Vijay could have trimmed the film's duration because two hours and thirty minutes is just too much to bear. Cinematography is by P.G Muthiah and the talented cameraman's touches are missing here and apart from the action sequences and for the songs, there's nothing particularly impressive with his work.
Simon's musical score is frankly speaking, below average. None of the tunes is worth listening to and Simon better be prepared the face the music, if his music is not up to the mark. "Kandagi Selai" is the first song and is picturized on the lead pair. A village festive backdrop is used for the song, with all the colorful 'kavadis' and flowers strewn in the song. "The Elarai" has cameo appearances from Gaana Bala and Yobama JO, and was picturized on Bharath and Badava Gopi. Its a typical 'item song' without much focus on the 'item' girl. The beach side setting was the backdrop for this song. "Onnuna Rendu" was sung by Vijay Antony and was picturized on the lead pair, backed up by plenty of group dancers. A beach resort, popular among current Tamizh cinema directors, is used as the backdrop and P.G Muthiah's some good camera movements added a little zing to the song. "Madurai Trichy" is the theme song of the film, and is played during the end credits. The background score is just functional and has nothing remarkable.
Let's get straight to the point. L.G Ravichandar's idea for this film is to design it as a no-brainer comedy riot, which were popular during the late 80's and early 90's. Sundar.C's films must have been an exemplary template for L.G Ravichandar. But what worked in those days, will definitely not work now, due to the HUGE change in audience's taste and moreover, those flicks had genuinely funny and wacky comedy portions ! 'Aintham Thalaimurai Siddha Vaidhya Sigamani' is just so pre-historic in its making and the scripting and presentation values are just as old as the hills. It does make us wonder, if L.G Ravichandar has seen any Tamizh films in recent years. The comedy portions and jokes fall flat, the artistes are simply wasted, there's no coherence in the screenplay and there's no logic at all in the story-line. The lesser said, (sorry, nothing said !) the better it is.
'Aintham Thalaimurai Siddha Vaidhya Sigamani' - The joke is on us. This humor is definitely not good for our health or for us !
Ratings: 1.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Sasi, who is known for his sensitive and emotional story-telling methods, is back with a flick after the critically acclaimed 'Poo'. However, this time the landscape is urban and theme is an action-oriented suspense thriller. The film has been long in the making, for nearly 3 years and is a very, very vital film for Bharath, if he is serious about salvaging his acting career. Also, Bharath has put in tremendous effort to sculpt his physique, which is marketed as a USP of the film. So how does this fresh pairing works out, aided by a new team of technicians ?
Bharath has poured his best efforts to look and bring out the raw emotions of his characters, especially with the rough, bearded look. His dancing skills are of no questions, and has handled his stunt sequences not too bad, either. He has shown good maturity in handling his character but there are lots of room for improvements in terms of dialogue delivery and timing. He could work out more on his modulation, certainly. But bravo to the man, for his excellent output of his laborious hard-work, put in maintaining that eight-pack physique. The need of it for the script, is a different question altogether, but still hats-off to him. Of the two female leads, Mrithika has the meatier role and she does a fairly good job. Pulling off the innocent and naivety-filled character, seems to be an easy job for her. But still there is a long way to go. The petite and svelte-bodied Erica Fernandez was okay in her role, though she was not given enough screen space nor the proper room to stamp her mark. Nevertheless, another good looking glamor-girl is available for Tamizh cinema. Santhanam, chips in with his comedic one-liners, which is spread unevenly in the film, while also having a scope for more serious sequences. Sudesh Berry is a disappointment as the antagonist, as he is not convincing and looks out of place, though his' was an interestingly-motivated character. The film's small cast such as Letchumi, Ravi Ratnavelu, Rajbharath, Manobala, Swaminathan and etc are there to fill out the necessities of the script.
P.R Ganesh's costume designing was apt, in bringing out the persona of the characters and their current circumstances. Rajeevan's production design was simple but on the dot, especially with the interiors of the room sets used, such as bungalows and psychiatrist's counseling room. But the car-wreck should be the actual highlight of his work. Ravi Sri Chandran's action choreography was well handled, and fits the capabilities and physical aspects of Bharath, very well. Subarak's editing is a little too sharp and it hurts the flow of the screenplay. A smoother transition from one sequence to another could have made the film, even more better. But kudos to his work for the song sequences. Saravanan Abimonyu's cinematography was good. He has experimented with lighting and color tones for the various change-overs and mood of the script, and it has brought good results for the film. The car-accident sequence was very well and professionally handled, by the new cinematographer.
Newcomer Simon's music is just average but his love melodies, are pleasant numbers. "Rowdy Girls" was shot as Erica's opening song and was picturized in a harsh landscaped area, with minimal props and few dancers. Erica's costumes, made her look elegant. Some good editing by Subarak for this song. "Saregamapa" was used used as a background bit-song in few scenes of the film. "Mudhal Mazhai Kaalam" has montages and dance sequences mixed, with the latter shot on simple sets and had seamless dance work from Bharath. "Kaadhal Indha Kaadhal" was shot on Erica and Bharath, and has few montages used as a situational song. "Vizhiyile Vizhiyile" is the pick of the lot, and was shot in localities of Malaysia such as upmarket streets and parks, as well as indoor dance portions. Subarak has experimented with some editing methods for the song. A decent work from the crew, indeed ! "Elavu" was shot in a club-like setting, with dark lighting and featured John Vijay in a cameo, and was used as a situational song. "Ghanni Khamma" was shot in North India and featured Mrithika in the song, which was only used as a bit song. The background score was just functional, but the melody numbers have been used well.
Sasi, is a director who can handle his subject very well. He has used Aravind and Suresh Kumar's basic storyline, and developed a screenplay, with many intriguing mini plots and some fine twists and turns. However, the crux of the film is the love episode of Bharath and Mrithika, which was not up to the mark. The direction was a little disappointing, because the love episodes were not strong and emotionally, powerful enough to drive the film further. To have this sort of work from a director, who is a master in sensitive love portrayals, is a disappointment. But Sasi tries to make up for it by packaging the film with enough suspense elements and revealing it one by one, as the film progresses, though the non-linear screenplay is a little turn-off. The relationship between Erica and Bharath was not worked out well too, as it is inorganic and has no depth in it. The dubbing for the artistes are substandard, and is the real turn-off, actually. Sasi should have worked out well in regards to his casting. There are minor continuity mistakes and the detailing is a little amateurish. A more gripping screenplay and direction, could have worked wonders for the film. Songs have been ill-placed, as well and spoils the flow of the screenplay.
'Ainthu Ainthu Ainthu' is a neat thriller, but with its own shares of flaws.
Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Director Perarasu, or comically called as 'Oorarasu' for titling his movies based on names of towns and cities, is back with a film which has been long in the making. After his back to back successes with 'Thirupachi' and 'Sivakasi', none of Perarasu's following films made bucks at the box office. Yet, it still amazes to see him churning out movies, and that too without deviating from his usual formulas ! Here, he teams up with Bharath, who himself badly in need of a hit film, in order to survive in Tamizh cinema.
Bharath, appears as a gym instructor in this film, and does what was required by the director. He aptly mouthed all the 'punch' and fiery dialogues written by the director. In order to to be realistic, he has buffed up his physique a little. He dances, fights, emotes and 'wins' the approval of the audience An archetypal 'commercial cinema hero' ! Sunaina looks okay but she stutters a little with her dialogue delivery, which looks out of sync with the dubbed voice. Rajkiran as an ex-military, was at his usual self. Pandiarajan, Ashish Vidyarthi, M.S Bhaskar, Chitti Babu, Appukutty, Kottachi and etc all were just there for apparently no reasons, except for Ashish who is the antagonist of the film. Its bewildering for us to watch him essaying the same role again and again and again, and yet he still continues to do the beaten-to-death roles without any remorse !
A.Seenu, the costumer of the film did not do his homework well, because the lead pair were dressed in designer clothes, though they were portrayed as ones from the middle-class segment. 'Theepori' Nithya's action choreography was awful G.K's art work, Jaysankar's editing and Bala's cinematography were all pedestrian. Perarasu decides to take the mantle of music director as well and churns out unnecessarily 7 songs in the film and none of them were interesting ! "Vaana Vedikkai" is a typical Perarasu's hero-intro song, with plenty of dancers and shot around packed streets. "Nee Enakku" was shot in European cities against established landmarks. "Yemma Yemma" was shot in a village-festival environment, with minimal set-work "Saamikku" and 'Evano Oruvan" were situational numbers, one of a sad situation and the other of an uprising situation. "Adi Vaanavil" a melodious number is also shot on European cities and finally "Vannarapettai" was shot in Binny Mills which resembles like a garage set work and also around some mining areas.
Perarasu's script is poor in quality and taste, very old-fashioned, formulaic, bland and ridiculous. Perarasu sticks to his pattern of screenplay and sketches compilation of scenes containing plethora of emotions. This film makes us skeptical of Perarasu's knowledge of contemporary films, and the latest trends of Tamizh cinema. Is he still trapped in some 'inescapable' time warp ? The tidbits appearing in the film, reminding us of Vijay and Ajith's films with Perarasu gives credence to that doubt.
'Thiruthani' - a shame for the actual Thiruthanigan !!
Ratings: 1/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
It's been a very long time since Bharath had a decent hit in his career based on a original script by a director. The last was way back in 2006, that is the critically acclaimed Veyil by Vasanthabalan. He has been dishing out meaningless films and had a decent result with Kanden Kadhalai which was a remake of Jab We Met from Hindi and the recent multi-starrer Vaanam, another remake this time from Vedam, the Telugu film. Looks like the trend of delivering bad movies continues for Bharath as Yuvan Yuvathi didn't entertain the audiences at all, apart from Santhanam's comedy portions.
Bharath, does the usual antics of a cinema hero, by dancing, fighting and romancing the heroine but other than that there's nothing commendable from him. It applies to newcomer Rima Kallingal as well. A pleasant looking dusky girl, she didn't overact in her character and was natural, thanks to the experience of doing few films in Malayalam. Sampath was apt for the role and he scored in expressions and body language though it was a little bit loud. Sathyan made a small cameo and surprised as with a gay character. He's been improving from one film to another. Krishna and Divyadarshini played their parts appropriately and there's a cute cameo scene involving Sakthi and Anuja Iyer. The only character delivering good entertainment was Santhanam and as usual he was on top form, delivering sarcastic dialogues with brilliant timing and expressions, especially in his 'dream song'.
The film delivers average on technical front too. Vasugi Bhaskar and Santhiyasri dressed up the characters appropriately. Super Subbarayan's final stunt scene was normal, Ilaiyaraja's art direction was normal and G.K Prabakaran's editing was normal too. Gopi Jegadeeswaran did a decent job in the cinematography department especially in capturing the scenic locales of Seychelles in the "Oh My Angel" song. Vijay Anthony's delivery was average too with the "24 Mani Neram" song being the pick of the lot but the "Kolaikuthu" song was too loud and unwanted. Writer Ramakrishnan might had a decent story to tell but GNR Kumaravelan's screenplay was shoddy and boring. The proceedings in the film was not properly justified and the climax was abruptly done.
Yuvan Yuvathi was boring and Bharath should stop picking poor scripts, if he wants to survive in the heavily competitive Tamizh film industry.
Ratings: 1.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Vaanam, kicked off the actual multi-starers spree in Tamizh cinema. Expectations were big since it involved talented artistes coming together in one film and also for the script as this film is the remake of the critically acclaimed Telugu film Vedam, directed by the same director Krish. Besides that this movie has another added expectations thanks to the controversy of Simbhu walking out of Ko and proceeded to do this film and everyone wanted to know whether Simbhu made the right choice or not. This film follows the multi-story narration where 5 separate tracks converge into one situation in the climax. This sort of narration mode is very popular in the international scene where successful films like Babel and Crash has proved it. In Indian cinema Mani Ratnam used it in Aayitha Ezhuthu/Yuva and even in a recent Malayalam film Traffic.
Each track has it's own story, characters and issues involved. First up is Bharath as the aspiring rock star. It's refreshing to see Bharath in a good role but as per storyline we don't get to see him really living the role of a rock song artist. His stunt scenes in the highway and the risks he has taken to execute it such as running down from the hill and breaking the glass panel of an oncoming car should be applauded. He was presented in a clean and youthful look but his costumes could have been better to be in tune of a rock-song artiste. Vega complemented him well as his partner and her looks and costumes were near perfect.
Prakash Raj as a devout Muslim was too good. The veteran has once again proved why he is a sought after character artiste. His expressions and voice modulation when showing his anger and getting hit by the shocking reality was really brilliant especially in the scene where he gets slapped by Ravi Prakash. Sonia Aggarwal had a neat performance although her role had very less scope in the film. Ravi Prakash as a racist policeman who in the end realises his mistakes, delivered a good performance as well. Jayaprakash had a very small but powerful role and he was in his best elements.
Saranya Ponvannan as the helpless mother who has to rescue her son from the clutches of loan-shark, was brilliant as usual. Her expressions, voice modulation, body language, everything was very natural and she has proved once again that she's an actress of substance. The old actor who played her father-in-law character was also very natural and simple.
Anushka did a role which finally justified her glamour. As Saroja, the commercial sex worker she has excelled in a once in lifetime role and her body language was very apt for that role. As a girl with big aspirations, her best scene was her encounters with Radha Ravi in the police station and it was good to see her role not being depicted in a vulgar manner. Veteran Radha Ravi appeared for one scene but yet stamped his mark with his voice modulations being the highlight. The eunuch character was very well portrayed and Brahmanandam's cameo was an added attraction to the movie.
Silambarasan, has delivered a knock out performance as Cable Raja and it's good to see him following up a fantastic performance after Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa. If analyzed throughout the movie, the last 45 minutes was his best and Silambarasan was simply superb by handling the emotional scenes very sensitively and with high level of maturity. It takes a big effort for anyone to act out those scenes and he has done it really well. The only complaints one would say is the unnecessary heroic build up given to him, be it in the title credits or even in his introduction scene. Santhanam and Ganesh were perfect complements to Silambarasan and the trio rocked in the comic department with fantastic timing and it was a relief Santhanam had his own usual punches but sans any vulgarity, this time and Ganesh was at his best as well. Jasmine, the newcomer was apt for the rich girl role and it's good to hear her dub in her own voice.
Neerav Shah and Gnanasekharan did a fine job with the cinematography department and the angles of the camera was good but the best part of it is the lighting and mood/tone selected for each separate story tracks which really brought out the feel of the film. Some of the best shots are the salt field in Tuticorin and the rain scenes involving Prakash Raj. Rembon, the art director created apt sets for the film be it the whorehouse or the streets created for the final dance sequence. Yuvan Shankar Raja's music was a little disappointing as Vaanam cant be said as one of his best tracks although the Yevandi Unnai Pethan song had fantastic sound engineering work with well shot video song and Na Muthukumar's lyrics for the title track was brilliant though songs were unnecessary speed breakers of the film. Yuvan made up for the disappointing album with an excellent background score. The film's biggest asset is the dialogue write Gnanagiri who wrote simple, straightforward and thought provoking dialogues. Kudos to him for coming up with such gems and that too for the important scenes of the film. Krish has penned a neat story with strong messages but the script had space for improvements especially for the first half but still he should be appreciated for not coming up with a nonsensical masala film.
Vaanam manages to get the recognition as a good film though it had room for improvements and the director should have stuck to his original Telugu film, when it comes to depicting the ending of 2 major characters of the film. Overall, a decent and different film for the average viewers.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
