ARANMANAI MOVIE REVIEW

Sundar.C, known for his slap-stick and sit-com based movies, is back with another offering but this time its in tune with the current flavor of horror comedy genre. Packed with the usual commercial 'masala' elements such as dance, comedy and action, can Sundar.C pull of another hit with a huge cast and a significantly higher budgeted, 'Aranmanai' ? Will the mix of horror and comedy be in a right proportion ?

Coming to the huge cast list, almost every frame in the film has more than 2 artistes involved and its a constant riot. But its an out-and-out female-centric film and the main lead roles are played by Hansika Motwani and Andrea Jeremiah. Hansika Motwani's second half show was decent enough for this film. She's surprisingly convincing as a village belle and looks bubbly and pleasing. Her screen presence is good as she keeps our attention well. Her lip-sync is getting better but still there's plenty of room to improve. Andrea Jeremiah fits the sensuous role perfectly, and her voice is an added advantage to her character, especially in the transformation scenes. Its definitely a good performance from her, but she somehow her character doesn't sink in to the proceedings easily. Sundar.C plays himself the most important male role and is functional in that role. Santhanam keeps us in splits, though not all of his one-liners were chuckle worthy. The big cast of the film includes Vinay Rai, Raai Laxmi, Kovai Sarala, Manobala, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Saravanan, Chitra Letchumanan, Santhana Bharathi, Swaminathan, Nithin Sathya, Aarthi, Ganesh, Akila, 'Kadhal' Dhandapani, Meera Krishnan, Alwa Vasu, Yogi Babu, Soundar, Gowtham, Raj Kapoor and etc. Though most of them were all over the screenplay, their relevance and importance to the script is a big question mark.

The film's technical aspects needs special mention, for their inputs. Vasuki Bhaskar's costume designing for the female leads are noteworthy, and all character's costumes blends in well with their respective characterizations. The film is loaded with VFX and computer graphics and the teams from Prasad EFX Group and Sinthu Graphics, deserves special mention. The final climax scene is completely ruled by the VFX, especially with the river water sequence and the solar eclipse effects. The color tone gave the climax a perfect look and its a visual treat indeed. Kudos to them ! Action choreography by 'Thalapathy' Dinesh was over-the-top, especially for the climax sequence, although Sundar.C's introductory fight scene was decent. Art director Gururaj deserves appreciation for his splendid work ! The whole film is based on the huge palace set which was erected and its completely filled with apt set properties. The set-work brought out the look needed for the film and aptly complemented the horror element of the script. Also, his work for the other village festival and etc sequences were rich in detailing. A feather in the cap for Gururaj ! Editing by N.B Srikanth was okay but he could have trimmed the length of the film, which runs unnecessarily long. U.K Senthil Kumar, a veteran and firm favourite of Sundar.C is the cinematographer for this film and his work was functional, but the climax sequence stood out, especially for the scenes involving the river. 

The songs of the film is scored by Bharathwaj and frankly speaking, the songs were just pretty boring and lukewarm. "Kaththi Parvakaari" is the opening song for Vinay Rai and Andrea Jeremiah. Its like a mini-road song, which has all the rural hot-spots in it. The lush greenery and colorful art work by Gururaj, especially with the colorful village festival like set properties, deserves mention. "Petromax Lightu" is a typical dance song, involving Santhanam, Nithin Sathya, Sundar.C, Vinay Rai, Andrea Jeremiah and Raai Laxmi. The indoor scenes were well captured and the song's idea stems from the song "Maama Nee Vaama", which featured in Sundar'C's classic slap-stick comedy, 'Ullathai Alli Thaa'. "Sonnathu" is a female melody shot on Hansika Motwani and Vinay Rai and also had all the typical village locations such as paddy fields, water dam and rural homes as its backdrop. "Unnaiye" is a situational song, which sounds like a typical Rama Narayanan 'Amman' film songs and has a huge Hindu festival as its backdrop. The splendor and richness of the event was well captured on camera and also incorporated plenty of VFX in it. There are cameo appearances from singers Manicka Vinayagam, Dr.Sirkazhi G.Sivachidambaram and Sivashankar Master. The background score is handled by Karthik Raja and his work was functional and fits the horror based sequences, well. 

The story by Sundar.C reminds us of other Indian horror flicks, such as 'Manichitrathazhu', 'Chandramukhi', 'Yaar', 'Muni', 'Kanchana' and etc. Its not a very novel attempt, but Sundar.C and S.B Ramadoss' screenplay tries to keep us waiting for the outcome and potential twists and turns, though the proceedings were pretty much, predictable. One must admit that though the film may entertain quite a few, there are plenty of obvious loopholes and unanswered questions in the film. The film tries to pick up some speed in the second half, especially one the the surprise is revealed during the interval junction, but is hampered by some dull songs and comedy tracks. Venkat Ragavan and Sundar.C 's dialogues were pretty ordinary too, apart from some efforts in the one-liners for Santhanam. Some visuals might be a turn-off or little disturbing for those who are young aged but other than that, 'Aranmanai' isn't really a scary flick. Sundar.C's direction sufficed the needs of the script, although the Rama Narayanan's 'Amman' film-like climax, was over-the-top. 

'Aranmanai' - Unmajestic and run-of-the-mill kind, bearable horror-comedy !


Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

DAMAAL DUMEEL MOVIE REVIEW

Debutante director Shree, a former associate of Shankar during the 'Endhiran' days, has joined hands with some of his mates from the 'Endhiran' stable and comes out with 'Damaal Dumeel'. Touted to be a neo-noir genre or black comedy with some dashes of comedy, it features lesser known artistes such as Vaibhav and Remya Nambeesan as the main leads. Can Shree come up with a crackling product, befitting of the title ?

Vaibhav carries the whole film on his shoulders, because the plot is woven around him. He looks good, enacts well, but the screen presence is missing and he doesn't stand out, especially during the most crucial sequences. A better characterization and vision from the director could have brought out a more enthralling performance from him. Remya Nambeesan has nothing much to do, and is just adequate enough. Kota Srinivasa Rao, keeps our funny bones tickled, with some good comic timing and expressions and his screen presence, is what actually keeps our attention towards the film. The veteran just breezed through the role, yet left his mark. The same cannot be said about Sayaji Shinde, though. His character is of equal importance with Kota's, but the characterization was weak, and his role suffered from poor detailing. Charlie, Venkat, Manobala and a host of newcomers and junior artistes, make up the rest of the small cast.

The film carries some decent technical outputs from the technical crew. Action choreography is handled by G, and his stunt sequences are kept simple and sufficient for the need of the script. The altercations between Vaibhav and the other artistes, taking place in the protagonist's apartment, were realistically staged. K.Arusamy's art direction was neat, especially with the interior works of the protagonist's apartment setting, as well as with the climax paint factory premise. The vision was simple, yet well pulled-off. Editing by Paramesh Krishna was adequate, and he has kept the running time to less than 2 hours. Some of the visual splits, which he employs in the second half, is interesting. Cinematography by A.M Edwin Sakay, was neat and purposeful. The camera movements and the angles used by the cinematographer was simple, yet it did the job of conveying the story's mood and style.

S.S Thaman's soundtrack is good and fits the movie's flow. "Saga Saga" is the opening number and acts as the introductory song of the lead pair. The song was shot in a nightclub, which had all the atypical dark shots, with different lighting. Deepika Kamaiah makes a cameo in this song. The titular track, "Dumeel" is a situational song, featuring montages of Vaibhav, Kota Srinivasa Rao and Sayaji Shinde, trying to figure out plans and 'tactics'. The editing by Paramesh Krishna for this particular song was slick. "Pogadhe Pogadhe", sung by Remya herself, is a bit-song, highlighting an unfortunate incident between the lead pair. "Odi Odi" appears in the climax, and is also a situational song, with some visual split-ups, well thought by the director and executed by the editor. The "Damaal Dumeel" theme music, appears sporadically, throughout the duration of the film. S.S Thaman's background score was good too, especially for the crucial 'twist-and-turn' scenes. Overall, this film would have been a walk in the park for S.S Thaman.

For a first time filmmaker, Shree has some clever ideas, which he has tried to execute well. Unfortunately, the film is riddled with inconsistencies with the scripting and writing. The dialogues by Shree, was just bland and unexciting, which should not be the case in a black comedy. Especially, when you had some good films from the same genre, with excellent dialogues (Soodhu Kavvum & Moodar Koodam). The lifestyle and issues faced by the IT-based employees, were well presented, though and Shree can be commended for that, as well as for not dragging the screenplay with unnecessary sequences. The screenplay was just apt and the director immediately starts off the film, based on the crux of his plot. As mentioned earlier, the artistes suffered due to poor characterizations, wherein their characters lacked the depth and detailing needed, which makes it almost impossible for us to empathize with the lead pair. There is no organic development in the story-line, and everything happens so quickly, without any rational quotient to it. There are plenty of blatant loopholes and glaring gaps in the plot, which were not addressed by the director. The ending was pretty much too simple, which makes all the earlier proceedings to just go kaput, for no reasons. The comedy sequences too, did not work out well, apart from those, which features Kota Srinivasa Rao. Conclusion, 'Damaal Dumeel' would have worked out fine, if this was a short film.

'Damaal Dumeel' - Tame, celebratory 'shoot-out' !


Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

MALINI 22 PALAYAMKOTTAI MOVIE REVIEW

Veteran actress Sripriya makes her debut as a director with this flick, which is a remake of the well-received Malayalam film, '22 Female Kottayam' starring Rima Kallingal and Fahadh Faasil and directed by new-age director Aashiq Abu. A women-centric film, the original created some stir for its boldness in story telling and for its urbane approach. Can Sripriya recreate the same effect with Malini ?

Nithya Menen is a talented actress, but unfortunately she seems to be the wrong pick for this role. She is hardly convincing in this role of Malini's and struggles to shoulder the entire film, which is to be expected since she is the protagonist. Her changeover in the second half is not convincingly portrayed and she lacks the power and vigor to pull off the emotional climax sequence. Newcomer Krish J.Sathaar is equally less convincing as the sweet-talking Casanova and his pairing with Nithya Menen fails to sparkle, which is a crucial element of the script. Naresh is a total letdown, in the role done wonderfully by Prathap Pothen in the original. Naresh is certainly no match for Prathap. The rest of the cast such as the overbearingly loud Kovai Sarala, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Vidyullekha Raman, Anjali Rao, Janagi, AC Murali, Mohan V.Ram and etc had miniscule roles and has no effect over the script, pretty much.

Anu Parthasarathy could have done better with Nithya's costumes. Though she looked like a modern city girl, some excitement needed for the role was missing. And it applies for the rest of the cast as well. Prem Navas handled the art direction and his works with the posh bungalow setting and its properties was okay. The hospital set though could have been better propped. Bavan Sreekumar's editing was functional and he has kept the duration of the film crisp. But his scene transition is not smooth and is very abrupt, especially in the first half. Manoj Pillai handles the cinematography and his work sufficed the needs of the script. Better visuals could have done more wonders for the script.

Aravind-Shankar duo handles the music department. Their score is pretty much lukewarm and unexciting. "Vinmeengal" is the opening song of the protagonist and shot alongside her housemates, with montages of them and the hospital surroundings. "Kanneer Thuliye" is a pathos song, also shot with montages involving the lead pair. "Madharthammai" is the final song, which highlights feminism and appears towards the end. A remix version of the song, with music video style format was shot for promotional intentions and is available on Youtube.

First things, first. Its a welcome to see a woman director making her mark in Tamizh cinema. But sadly, Sripriya's direction is a major letdown. The film failed to elevate itself into a thrilling revenge-drama, though the script had potential. Sripriya has made some minor changes to Abhilash Kumar and Shyam Pushkaran's original storyline, but the overall effect of the film is a major minus-point. The first half is a very boring proceeding with lacklustre romance episodes, insipid drama, and irritating comedy sequences. Its a big disappointment that Sripriya has overlooked the most important elements of the script and has put her attention more into the dialogues element alone. Her dialogues are full of anger and feministic views and its sort of pretty obvious that this anger looks to be an extension of the memorable character she played in the 1978-released, C.Rudhraiya classic 'Aval Appadithaan'. The connectivity between the character played by Sripriya and the intensity of the dialogues mouthed by Nithya in the climax, is very apparent. Besides that, Sripriya's handling of the characterizations is weak as well, especially of the protagonists'. All the characters are half-baked and has no depth in the artistes' portrayal. The transformation of Nithya from the a naive, sweet girl to the revenge-seeking hardened woman, was badly presented.

'Malini 22 Palayamkottai' - Climax is the only sequence to check out !


Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

ALL IN ALL AZHAGU RAJA MOVIE REVIEW

This film had all the ingredients to be a 'killer' comedy flick. A catchy title, the successful combo of 'Comedy Superstar' and M.Rajesh and add in Karthi into the equation. Isn't this suppose to be an exciting combination and that too for a Deepavali season ? M.Rajesh has scored hat-trick of successes but can he and Santhanam utilize their prowess in comedy and score a nearly, unprecedented four strikes in a row ?

Karthi has the charming looks and cute expressions to win over the ladies. He certainly looks handsome and cute in the colorful attires and with his facial expressions. His voice modulation too can be appreciated but he does not seem to be entirely convincing in an out-and-out comedy role. He certainly seems to lack some confidence in certain sequences, but it can be overlooked due to his chemistry with Santhanam. The fabulous entertainer is in fine form, though 'All in All Azhagu Raja' is no where near his best. His myriad of expressions and body language must be appreciated and for pulling it off effervescently, as well. The 80's episode does look over-the-top, but its a good try from Karthi and Santhanam, who have put in personal efforts to mimic Prabhu and Suruli Rajan, respectively. Kajal Aggarwal has put in simple efforts and she's at complete ease in her role. There's conviction in her performance, though there are plenty of room for improvements. Additional plus point is her gorgeous attires and looks in songs. Prabhu does a simple role and looks like the perfect gentleman whereas Naren tries and out-and-out comedy for the first time. The biggest drawback is the wastage of talents such as Saranya Ponvannan, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Nassar, M.S Bhaskar, who are fantastic performers, but was made to do ill-written roles. Radhika Apte was cute in the flashback sequence. Sri Ranjani, Santhana Bharathi, V.S Raghavan, Senthil, Vetrivel Raja and etc make up the rest of the cast.

The technical crew of the film have delivered very decent output, in terms of production value. Priyanka Kochar and Rustam Chauhan's costume designing was very rich and vibrant in colors. Kajal Aggarwal was looking beautiful in half-sarees especially and the pair should be lauded for their work on Santhanam's look and dress code. Not to forget, the 80's episode was well worked as well. Om Prakash's action choreography was unnecessary for this script, though it was well executed. Vivek Harshan could have done a lot, lot better in terms of editing. The film is conspicuously slow paced and drags too much in the second half. Other than that, the 80's episode was well edited and presented, though the 35mm format could have been maintained for it. Jacki's production design was just adequate and perfect. The props used for songs were colorful and lively and the ambiance of small town ambiance has been well maintained throughout the film. Sakthi Saravanan's cinematography was very colorful and bright and its just a pity that the 80's sequence was reverted to stereoscopic format, instead of the originally intended 35mm format. Balasubramaniem also chips in with his contribution and on overall basis, the film's cinematography works were simple, neat and colorful.

S.S Thaman has scored decent numbers for this flick, which has the potential to be chart-busters. "All in All" is the opening introductory song and had few montages of comedy portions involving Karthi, Santhanam and Kota Srinivasa Rao, with apt production design by Jacki, who erected sets resembling jewelry commercial advertisements. "Ore Oru" is a situational bit-song and serves as Kajal's introductory song, and was shot in a wedding hall premise. "Yaarukkum Sollaame" is the pick of the lot and had colorful props by Jacki, resembling Pongal celebrations. Sakthi Saravanan has captured good shots of rural temples and small town ambiance very well. Kajal looked a million-bucks in the traditional half-sarees, she was wearing for this song. "Silu Silu" is another situational extra bit-song, and was shot on Karthi dancing in the streets, shot in the dark, middle of the night atmosphere. "Unnai Paartha Neram" is the visually best made song. Inspired by the "Oh Maane Maane" song from 'Vellai Roja', Karthi and Radhika Apte were made to resemble like Prabhu and Ambika, and the choreography and camera works were all in-tune with the 80's style and format. Good stuff ! "Yamma Yamma" was shot on Karthi and Kajal and had vibrantly colored, simple house-like set works and some sharp editing by Vivek Harshan. The background score too was neatly done, but whether the songs were well utilized or not is a different question all together.

When it comes to M.Rajesh's films, its all about contemporary funny dialogues and a comedy entertainer, pertaining to the tastes of youth audiences. One cannot expect a fully bounded, well-researched script from M.Rajesh, if you are familiar with his previous films. The light-hearted manner of his script was his trump card, though all of his films had very thin plot-line. The same applies to 'All in All Azhaguraja' as well, but this time the output is disappointingly, a big letdown. Santhanam has always been omnipresent throughout the length of his M.Rajesh's previous films', apart from a few scenes. But here, Santhanam only appears sporadically and most of the jokes fell flat. Literally ! There's no excitement or any rip-roaring comedy sequences in this flick, as how it was in 'Siva Manasula Sakthi, 'Boss Engira Baskaran' or 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi'. Although all of them were simple comedy films, they all had some semblance of true emotional content. But its conspicuously absent in 'All in All Azhagu Raja' and whatever we encounter just seems to be too farcical to be taken serious. The ending is the epitome of ludicrousness. Also, there are more silly and unpretentious gags throughout the film, which are pretty much not welcomed. The story appears to be heading no where, and it tests our patience, especially with the draggy second half. Although the 80's episode were well etched out, they hold not much importance to the script. As mentioned earlier, talented artistes have been wasted just like that, which is an unacceptable factor. 

'All in All Azhagu Raja' - The first blip for M.Rajesh and a hat-trick of flops for Karthi. For sure !

Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

THAANDAVAM MOVIE REVIEW

The entire team behind the successful, 'Deiva Thirumagal' is back yet again, with some changes to the cast list. A.L Vijay, has penned an action script this time and he looks to be smitten by a real life personality, Daniel Kish who is an expert in echolocation and  President of World Access for the Blind, a non-profit founded in 2000 to facilitate "the self-directed achievement of people with all forms of blindness" and increase public awareness about their strengths and capabilities (Wikipedia). A.L Vijay has sketched protagonist Vikram's character, using Daniel Kish as an inspiration,  which is a unique presentation in Tamizh cinema. So, how did A.L Vijay and Vikram combine this time, amid a heavy marketing spree by the producer, UTV Motion Pictures.

As, with any A.L Vijay film, 'Thaandavam' too has a big cast and that too, a star cast ! Vikram, whose last release, 'Raajapaattai' was a washout at the box-office, comes up with a sincere and excellent performance as the intelligent and brilliant RAW officer. He has less dialogues to mouth, this lack of dialogue delivery is covered with fantastic expressions through his eyes and body language. He enacts his scenes in a very subtle and refined manner. His character looked very real and convincing and also credits to A.L Vijay for incorporating the inputs of Daniel Kish to enhance the look and attitude of the character Vikram, enacts. As usual, Vikram rocks ! Jagapathi Babu, the veteran Telugu artiste, makes his debut appearance in Tamizh cinema through 'Thaandavam' and he too notches a very composed and neat performance, though he appears sporadically during the duration of the film. Anushka, was a revelation here, with a calm and beautiful performance. A.L Vijay taps in the other side of Anushka, that is the soft and beautiful side of her acting. She shares a crackling and wonderful, matured chemistry with Vikram, though her height makes it a little obvious, that she towers above Vikram ! Plus, Deepa Venkat's dubbing for her blends in perfectly for the character played by Anushka. Amy Jackson, comes in for the 'pretty-doll' role and has done what can be expected from such roles. She should be appreciated for her near-perfect synchronization with the dubbed voice, done by Savitha, which has plenty of Tamizh dialogues, since her character has a mixed parentage of Tamizh and English. Nassar and Santhanam takes much of the remaining screen time among the big lot of character artistes, with the former in his best elements as usual, with an astute performance and the latter with his rocking comedy sense and dialogue delivery. There's a big army of supporting cast which gives the film plenty of dramas and events and nearly all of them are experienced and fantastic performers, such as Saranya Ponvannan, Lakshmi Rai, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Sayaji Shinde, M.S Bhaskar, Thambi Ramaiah, Delhi Ganesh, Sujitha and etc.

'Thaandavam' is one of the technically-better made movies, which has released in Tamizh cinema this year. The usual suspects, which are associated with A.L Vijay are here again and all of them have given very good outputs. Falguni Thakore and Devyani Kapoor scores full marks for their costume designing. Vikram, Anushka, Amy Jackson and Jagapathi Babu were looking uber-cool and stylish throughout the film. Manohar Verma handles the action scenes very well. He has done good homework in incorporating the echolocation factor in composing the stunt sequences and Vikram adjusted his body language very well. The park scene was the best of the lot. R.K Naguraj's artwork was extensive. Lots of props would have been used for the London shoots and during the New Delhi portions. Nothing extraordinary from him, but neat and nice work. Anthony's editing was flawless but he could have trimmed the movie more because of the sluggish pace of the screenplay. Nirav Shah does a splendid job in capturing the beauty of London's city landscape. His lighting comes into much appreciation for following the mood of the script and screenplay. The superb cinematographer was at his best form, as usual ! Great work by Nirav Shah in utilizing the RED Pro 5.0 camera for his cinematography !

G.V Prakash Kumar, who's combination with A.L Vijay has always been a success  delivers a neat work here, though not all songs are catchy. "Yaaradi Mohini" is the introduction song of Amy Jackson and was shot in soft lighting amidst beautiful locations of London such as Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Big Ben, the Westminster Parliament and etc. Amy looked pretty and hot in her lovely costumes, but she struggles a little in the dancing category. "Adhigala Pookal" is a short number, mostly shot in montage sequences in New Delhi, depicting the early life of marriage-hood between Vikram and Anushka's characters and a piano theme piece of the song, appears mostly in the first half, with Vikram playing the tune in a church. "Will You Be There", is a dream song for Amy Jackson, who starts to fall for the hero, Vikram. It was shot mostly in slow-motion montage sequences, with song establishing shots on Amy Jackson. "Anicham Poovazhagi", is a colorful song with a marriage backdrop and has plethora of character artistes involved. This song is a semi-dream song, ending with the marriage between Vikram and Anushka. "Uyirin Uyire" was beautifully shot in the Dover hills under sunset and Nirav Shah used the chopper to capture the beauty of the hills and also the sand artwork utilized for the song. Anushka and Vikram were adorned with simple but beautiful costumes. The pick of the lot among all the songs is the duet, "Oru Paadhi Kadhavu". This was shot in montage sequences, showing the blossoming of love between Vikram and Anushka and is replete with scenes of sweetness and cutesiness, throughout the song which ends at the Taj Mahal. Beautiful cinematography by Nirav Shah in this song. G.V Prakash is improving in his background score and the "Shiva Thaandavam" theme is a complement for the script.

A.L Vijay's marketing technique of emphasizing echolocation as the USP of the film, was a clever move but that factor was just a gimmick, as once the film ends, viewers will realize that its after all, an average revenge flick. The plus-points in A.L Vijay's films are the sensitiveness and maturity in handling the script. But what pulls down the film is its lethargic and slow narration. For an action film, this level of pace, is unacceptable because boredom will start kicking in as the film progress into the later stages, but the director tries to salvage the attention of his audience, by including a major twist in the second half of the film. Though the twist is welcomed, the justification for the twist falls flat and is not entirely convincing. Also, there are some obvious logical flaws in the script, which are very much questionable and not thoroughly convincing. The dialogues though, are very well written and articulative.

'Thaandavam' is a film with high in standards, when it comes to technical quality and also with good performance from the lead artistes but is hampered by a slow screenplay and weak story-line  A.L Vijay must work harder and smarter, if he wants to be noticed in the coming years.


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

KO MOVIE REVIEW

KV Anand's ambitious film Ko was raising eyebrows from the initial days of announcement, thanks to the peculiar title (still in doubt why the film is named as such) and for the casting of Simbhu for the protagonists role who was fresh from the success of Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa. Things took a change and Jiiva was roped in to the film. Anand's last, Ayan was a blockbuster and automatically the expectations were sky high and that too with a young and chic cast. Jiiva was in need of a hit to establish his name as one of the top performers in Tamizh cinema and it is a delight to say that he made the absolutely right choice.

Jiiva was at his best in portraying the role of a photo-journalist and also in his looks. His body language and his passion to cover the hot news with stunning pictures was very well brought out by him and no one else could have done justice to his role. His dialogue delivery is impressive and his emotional expressions were in place. Kudos to KV Anand for projecting his hero in such a way and for also utilizing the camera as his 'weapon'. Ajmal was another apt choice for the role of a young aspiring politician and his looks and and dialogue delivery too was very much perfect. Debutant Karthika Nair make a decent entry to Tamizh cinema. She has the looks (beautiful eyes), physique and talents as well . It will be better if she can dub for herself after improving her Tamizh though Chinmayee has once again done a brilliant job for the dubbing. Piaa Bajpai takes the cake for the best performance among the female artists as she was the live-wire in the film. As a bubbly and enthusiastic reporter, she has delivered a natural, spontaneous and chirpy performance and also provided the comic relief for the audience. Veterans Prakash Raj and Kota Srinivasa Rao and Bose Venkat as well had very limited screen presence although both of them did their roles to perfection. All the supporting cast in the film has done justice to their role and helped the film to move forward. It was also good to see people behind the camera to make an appearance in the film such as art director Kiran, writers Suresh-Bala and editor Anthony too.

On technical aspects, Ko boasts some of the best in the industry and all of them delivered their best. Starting off, cinematographer Richard M. Nathan did a wonderful job in capturing intense moments of the film very aptly with the climax fight sequence (close-ups') and the bomb blast scene. His camera movement in the bank robbery scene was first class and the use of Phantom Flex camera for the high resolution capture of action scenes in the climax was a splendid job. Besides that, he has captured the beauty of Norway and Harbin in the song sequences very well and it was an absolute treat to the audience. Art director Kiran's sets especially the bank and the press office was near perfect and looked very authentic. Costumes by Swetha Srinivasan was cool and chic which really gave the lead casts the classy and stylish looks especially Jiiva's apparels and Karthika's saris. Anthony could have trimmed some scenes, although the cuts in the climax was class and the arrangements of photos in the title credits was very creative. Lakshmi Narayanan's sound designing was realistic especially in the climax and bank robbery scenes. Choreography should have been much better by Dinesh, Brindha and Gayathi Raguram. Not to forget, Peter Hein's stunts was no-nonsense especially the climax fight sequences which was pulsating but he could have avoided some cinematic liberties in the initial bike chase scenes.

Coming to the music, Harris Jeyaraj has delivered what KV Anand wanted needless to say most of the songs has been chart-busters especially the 'Ennamo Edho' and 'Venpaniye' being the pick of the lot. His background music was very much in tune with the film and thankfully it was not loud. Lyrics especially by Madharn Karky for 'Ennado Edho' was beautiful with the inclusion of unheard chaste Tamizh words. Although songs were good, the concept behind the picturizations behind few songs didn't really match the mood the songs create. For example, 'Ennamod Edho' was picturized exactly like 'Vizhi Moodi' though this is a even more melodious and haunting number where group dancing and interspersing of normal scenes would not really bring out the feel of the song, though Anthony's editing was good. For 'Amali Thumali' picturizing on exotic locations was not a matching option as it is a peppy song where group dancing would have done added more zing to it but nevertheless, locations were simply breathtaking. 'Venpaniye' and 'Gala Gala' was done aptly but 'Aga Naga' was a total disappointment. When a big celebrities list (Abbas, Adharva, Bharath, Ganesh Venkatraman, Harris Jeyaraj, Jai, Jeyam Ravi, John Vijay, Kannan [director], Karthi, Krish [singer], Madhan Karky [lyricist], Narain, Peter Hein, Sasikumar, Shakthi, Siva, Suriya, Anjali, Anuja Iyer, Reema Kalingal, Sanjana Singh, Sona Heiden & Tamannah) was present, the director blew off the chance of making an awesome video music. Besides that, what was it with the graphic censoring by the Censors'? That was totally unnecessary and was a hindrance in the video. Come on Censor Board members, that was ridiculous. Overall, songs were good to listen but sadly they were the actual speed breakers of the screenplay.

KV Anand must be commended for coming up with a realistic film within the commercial formats. He gives respect to the intelligence of the audiences and came up with a interesting and smart script. Being a photo-journalist himself, his experiences has come in handy. He has portrayed the moments behind the publication of each breaking news in newspapers and how the scenario of a press office will look like especially the portrayals of other characters in such offices. Besides that, KV Anands has strongly portrayed how journalism and politics go hand in hand in Tamil Nadu and how intense situations can change of a single news publication. Writers Suresh-Bala should be applauded for coming up with very contemporary and simple dialogues which are not cinematic but at the same time catchy and quirky.

Overall, Ko delivered the promises it made and engages us throughout the film especially with the unpredictably stunning climax which catches the audiences with surprise. Kudos to the whole team for coming up with an entertaining film and Simbhu blew off a big chance to do a good film. Make wise decisions next time, buddy.

Ratings: 3.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL