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.
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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
'Vaanavarayan Vallavarayan' marks the second inning of Rajamohan, who previously did the 2009 rural drama, 'Kunguma Poovum Konjum Puravum'. He has gone back for a rural subject once again and its about the bond of two brothers played by Kreshna and Ma Ka Pa Anand, a popular television anchor, who makes his cinema debut. With Yuvan Shankar Raja in charge of music, can Rajamohan strike a hit with this flick ?
Kreshna, whose previous 'Yaamirukke Bayamey' was a super hit, keeps and energetic presence to his character, and is seen bubbly all the time. But that counters the serious and emotional scenes of his as well, and his portrayal did not leave the desired results. Other than that his dancing and action scenes are good enough. Ma Ka Pa Anand, shows his good timing sense during dialogue deliveries and has tried his earnest best, in performing the sentimental scenes. He looks adept for the action sequences as well, but struggles a little in the dance routines. Monal Gajjar has the rare distinction of 'debuting' in two films, wherein her other film 'Sigaram Thodu' releases along with 'Vaanavarayan Vallavarayan'. She passes off as a typical village belle and has a pleasant personality. Acting wise, nothing much thus far. The film is replete with character artistes such as Thambi Ramaiah, Kovai Sarala, S.P.B Charan, Jayaprakash, Niharika Kareer, Meera Krishnan, Krishnamoorthy, Chelladurai, Shanmugasundaram and the legendary Sowcar Janaki, who makes a comeback to the silver-screen after nearly two decades. Though they are quality artistes, the film leaves no scope for them to utilize their skills. Finally, we have our Superstar Comedian Santhanam, who makes a small cameo appearance towards the end of the film. As usual, his counter-lines were a real treat and lifts the mood of the film.
The film's technical output is just functional and there's nothing outstanding about it. T.Ramesh's action choreography was adequate and it was not so overboard. Moreover, it complemented the physical attributes of both Kreshna and Ma Ka Pa Anand and kudos to T.Ramesh for that. Remiyan's art direction sufficed the needs of the script. Most of the film was shot in real rural locations and the set properties for the rural scenes were well matched, in accordance to the social status of the characters depicted. Editing is taken care by Kishore T.E and his work was pretty ordinary. Lots of montages were involved in songs, which were well edited but he could have trimmed the length of the film, which meanders aimlessly. M.R Palani Kumaar's camera catches the lush green areas of Pollachi but other than that, the cinematography was just functional.
Yuvan Shankar Raja's songs are pleasant and foot-tapping, though the songs fail to lift up the film, due to bad placing. "Kongunaatu" is the introductory song of the two male leads and has plenty of montages depicting the hot-and-cold relationship of the brothers. "Vangamma Vangappa" is a situational turned dance number, which was shot in a marriage situation. The set was well designed by Remiyan and resembles a real-life wedding scenario. All the main leads were present in the song. "Tharaimele" is a peppy folk melody sung by Yuvan himself. It was shot on Kreshna and Monal Gajjar, with Ma Ka Pa Anand, appearing in some montage shots. "Thakkaalikku" is a folk melody shot on the lead pair and Remiyan's minimal art work, fits the bill. The green surroundings of Pollachi is a treat for the eyes. "Vidungada" is a dance number featuring both Kreshna and Ma Ka Pa Anand and is a typical girl-bashing song for the guys. The song was shot in night effect and has street locations and bar scenes as the backdrop. Yuvan's background score would have made better effect on an another film but alas it goes to waste here.
Taking the names of the protagonist and antagonist from 'Superstar' Rajinikanth's 1992 hit film 'Yejamaan', Rajamohan has based the entire story on the relationship of the two brothers and how it plays havoc in the love life of the elder one. Lets be frank, the film is just out of touch with contemporary standards and is just a throwback of screenplay and scripting of late 80s and 90s. The melodramatic moments just fail to click and at times are unintentionally funny. Rajamohan infuses some unwanted vulgar moments in the film, which were just gross. The ending was made in an contrived manner, just for the sake of an happy ending. The comedy portions too were not rip-roaring material and gets too loud and insipid. The film may appeal the rural folks, but then people have improved their taste buds so much, this film could just be a reminder to other directors and producers to not venture into film-making, if your product is not up to the mark.
'Vaanavarayan Vallavarayan' - A cool title, abused !
Ratings: 2/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
After the unexpected disastrous result of 'Anjaan', UTV Motion Pictures has immediately released their next South Indian offering and its Vikram Prabhu's 'Sigaram Thodu'. Directed by Gaurav Narayanan, who previously did 'Thoonga Nagaram', it is a crucial film for all the key stakeholders. A film touted to be based on real-life incidents of ATM robberies and credit/debit card scams, will 'Sigaram Thodu' make it big ?
After the moderate 'Arima Nambi', Vikram Prabhu has nailed another suitable script for him. He has done justice to his role, which has its fair share of boisterous nature together with subtle emotions. His physique lends credence to his role. Also, his dancing skills has improved by some good measure and he is convincing in the action sequences. Nothing memorable but a clean and neat performance from him. Veteran Sathyaraj shows his class and experience in his acting, which suits him well. His role is pivotal since he is the driving force behind the protagonist and the realistic portrayal of his character adds little substance to the film. Debutante Monal Gajjar looks pretty and natural in front of the camera, but there's nothing much else to discuss about her. Gaurav himself plays the main antagonist and the character suits him well and he carried off his role well. Sathish's comedic timing was on the dot as usual and evokes some laughter but the relevance of his character is another question. Others in the cast are 'Erode' Mahesh, Singampuli, Kovai Sarala, Vijay Raj, Charan Deep, Paandu, Krishnamoorthy, Kamalakrishnan, Swaminathan, Manohar and etc, and we also have a cameo appearance from K.S Ravikumar, whom happens to be the mentor of Gaurav.
Costume designing by Niranjani Agathiyan sufficed the needs of the script, and the characters' urban looks were, well achieved. Videsh is in charge of art direction and his work gave the film, a perfect look for the script. The police station, bank premises, office interiors and etc have been well put up and justified the moderate budget provided by the producers. Dhilip Subbarayan and 'Billa' Jagan have taken responsibility for action choreography and kudos to the duo for composing realistic action sequences. The one-to-one fight situations have been done in keeping reality in mind and the choreography is based on proper martial arts moves. Simple, but it was powerful and effective ! Editing by Praveen K.L, especially in the second half keeps the proceedings racy and intact but the first half was just a waste of time, with unwarranted romance & comedy sequences, as well as songs. The investigation portions are the highlights of Praveen K.L's editing work. Cinematograhy by Vijay Ulaganath is a little quirky with plenty of gimmicks in camera angles and movement. Some camera movements were a little unusual but it shows the creative spark of Vijay Ulaganath. Besides that, the beautiful sceneries of the far northern regions of Haridwar, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, Yamunotri, Rudrapur, Gangotri and etc were well captured and is pleasing on the eyes.
D.Imman delivers some neat compositions but they were not as catchy as some of his previous works. Nevertheless, some might still fancy a number or two in 'Sigaram Thodu's track-list. "Takku Takku" has plenty of simple animation and bright, K-Pop like CG-works, and serves as an introductory song for Vikram Prabhu. The song's visual idea was unique and it might appeal to the kids, which was well edited by Praveen K.L. "Pidikkudhe" is a typical D.Imman melody and is apparently shot on the lead pair. Vijay Ulaganath's top angle shots are the highlights of the song, which has pleasing visuals of the Rishikesh and Uttarakhand's mountainous landscape. The usage of the bird-wing like costume for Monal Gajjar was eye-catching. "Scenenu Scenenu" is a dance number and is again shot on the lead pair, but this time the locations are just the usual urban, upmarket locations such as malls, parks and apartment colonies. "Anbulla Appa" sung by the legendary K.J Yesudas, is focused on the father-son relationship portrayed by Sathyaraj and Vikram Prabhu. The song is full of montages, which is sort of like a sentimental pathos song. D.Imman's background score was a little less impressive this time because there are many moments in which the music director adds too much of melodramatic scores, unnecessary 'elevating' the sentimental quotient of the scenes. Hope D.Imman fixes this issue for his other projects !
Gaurav Narayanan's intention of trying to come up with the "perfect" screenplay of an contemporary Tamizh cinema commercial film, is understandable. But that's what precisely pulls down all the hardwork put in by the director, for his research part of the script. The comedy and romantic portions did not work out well and is a big hindrance to the main plot of the film. Apart from Sathish's one-liners, none of the comedy sequences really gel well with the script and the romantic portions are just too insipid. But still, Gaurav deserves credit for his great effort in compiling details on ATM robberies, and scams involving the financial/banking sector, especially with the debit/credit card services. He also deserves plaudits for structuring those issues in his screenplay in such a manner, wherein a common man can understand the processes involved in such robberies and scams. Gaurav should thank his cinematographer and editor for coming up with visuals and edits, which helped him to convey his research in an convincing manner. The investigation sequences in the final stretch of the film was well conceived and written, as well. Gaurav's character designing was neat as well and never goes overboard with unnecessary "masala" elements. If at all Gaurav took the bold decision of not succumbing to conventional pressures, he could have come up with a much better screenplay.
'Sigaram Thodu' - It doesn't reach the peaks, but it did ascend higher than the usual norm !
Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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
'Thillu Mullu' is a legendary film, directed by K.Balachander and ably performed by Superstar Rajinikanth and Thengai Seenivasan, who made their roles memorable ! And when one is to remake one of the classiest comedy films of Tamizh cinema, it takes a bucket load of guts and dare to do it, and to have Shiva to reprise the role of Rajini's, the stakes just shoot several notches higher. Badri has taken the extremely daunting challenge, by remaking the cult hit. Did he succeed in making any sort of justifications for his actions ?
Shiva, does what Ajith did when the latter donned the role of 'Billa', another role made memorable by Rajinikanth. He made the role as his own, without any imitations of the Superstar. His stoic expressions, with a poker face, is his USP and he plays to the gallery with them. He pulls of his comic portions with consummate ease ! The naughty and quirky smile adds more sheen to both character(s) he portrays in the film. Prakash Raj, dons the role of Thengai Seenivasan's, and he too follows Shiva's way by not imitating the legendary actor, and utilizing his own creativity to the hilt. It must have definitely been a cake walk to the veteran performer. Isha Talwar makes her debut in Tamizh cinema, and is lucky enough to have an easy role to do. A big bunch of comedians such as Kovai Sarala (in her usual loud self), Soori, Sathyan, Manobala, Ilavarasu, Sachu, Monisha, Devadarshini, Ajay Rathnam, Swaminathan, Ashwin Raja and George contribute to the fun quotient of the film. As for cameos, there are Venkat Prabhu, cinematographer Sakthi Saravanan, rapper Blaaze, Bosskey, Valeri Nobbe, and Shivashankar but the grandest of it, goes to the one and only Santhanam, who was in his usual wise-cracking elements ! He takes center-stage in an extended cameo, and happily entertains us, with his one-liners !
The technical department of the film was functional with their contributions, and there's pretty much nothing to rave about in particular. 'Thalapathy' Dinesh and 'Dragon' Prakash's stunt choreography was quite overboard, though it fitted the style and presentation of the overall film. R.K Vijay Murugan's production design was okay, especially with the interior props of the protagonist's middle-class home and the posh bungalow and office premises of Prakash Raj's character. Praveen K.L and Srikanth N.B have done their best, to keep the film racy and not languorous in its pace, though two songs in the second half were absolute speed breakers. J.Lakshmanan's cinematography was adequate, though his song picturization was quite ordinary, considering the brilliant works being showcased in contemporary Tamizh cinema by fellow cinematographers.
M.S Viswanathan and Yuvan Shankar Raja join hands for the first time in composing songs for a film. The legendary latter's two songs have been retained for this film, while Yuvan has composed another set of two fresh songs. The cult opening title song, "Thillu Mullu" had both the composers making a cool cameo, along with Canadian singer Tha Prophecy, in a video song mixed with funny montage clips. "Kai Pesi" was shot on the lead pair, in nice locations with simple building landmarks, and interspersed with funny montage sequences of Shiva day-dreaming of his heroine. "Aaja Aaja" was shot in a Dubai club, and also had scenic views of Dubai, with a glamorous Isha Talwar. "Raagangal Padhinaaru" was also shot in more picturesque locations in Dubai, especially in the desert landscape. The background score was just functional, along with some nice touches of melody, sprinkled in few moments.
Badri has taken the basic thread of Sachin Bhowmick's story and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's screenplay and made a more contemporary slapstick mould of the original comedy film. The film is enjoyable, especially with the funny and wacky one-liners of T.Balaji and Ramesh Vaidhya's. But for those who have watched the original, the unchanged storyline might bore you, since one is familiar with all the twists and turns. Badri has made use of his artistes USP to good use for the film and incorporated all of their pluses into his style of presentation of 'Thillu Mullu'. As mentioned earlier, the crisp film could be even better, if the songs did not play as mere speed-breakers, especially in the second half. Some sequences have been especially inserted into the screenplay, just for the sake of making use of the artistes' performance style and ability. The eccentricity and zany attitude of the original is not present in this, loud and clumsy film, which might be a turn-off for the fans of the original.
'Thillu Mullu' - Badri comes unscathed in his remake attempt but still some classics can be just left untouched.
Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
One of the eagerly anticipated films, 'Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiyaa' promised loads of fun and humorous moments with Santhanam and most importantly, 'Powerstar' Dr S.Srinivasan making his debut in a properly taken cinema, instead of the poorly executed low-budget films. Armed with nothing but good comedy writers and able technicians, this film is the maiden production venture of Santhanam, who has also roped in veteran Rama Narayanan to co-produce it. It is instead a major coup by Santhanam to rope in 'Powerstar' and certainly looks like a safe bet.
Santhanam, plunges into the lead role after a long time, and though it is his own production, it is commendable of him to give ample space and scope for his fellow 'musketeers' to perform and earn applause. Nevertheless, Santhanam still brings the roof down with his excellent punch lines and humorous antics and facial expressions. The comfort level of acting in his own production, enabled Santhanam to be at ease and he performs to his best. The sequence where he delivers his love letter to the heroine and the aftermath expressions are too hilarious and evokes rip-roaring laughter from the audiences ! However, it is 'Powerstar' Dr.S.Srinivasan, who steals the show with his unpretentious comedic acts. What works for the film is that, 'Powerstar' was allowed to do comedy and he allowed others to make fun of him, which makes the proceedings to have a spoof like-effect. Anyways, it was him who took the most cheers and screams from the fans !! Newcomer Sethu was not bad and debutante Vishakha Singh was expressive and passes the test. The Santhanam-'Powerstar' duo was ably assisted by the rest of the cast such as 'VTV' Ganesh, Kovai Sarala, Sivashankar Master , 'Pattimandram' Raja, Devadharshini and Vanitha Krishna Chandira. The cameo appearances of Gautham Vasudev Menon, Silambarasan, cinematographer Balasubramaniem, and stunt choreographer Silva, adds sheen to the film.
Though it was meant to be a moderately budgeted film, 'Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiyaa' carries notable production values. Karishma Shroff's costume designing was very apt and matched perfectly with the settings and characterizations of each artistes. A.Vanaraj's simple set-work for songs were well done and also for filling up the typical Kumbakonam house and other live locations, with appropriate props. Silva's stunt work was adequate and decent enough for a comedy caper like this film. G.Ramarao's editing was smooth and crisp. Balasubramaniem is a big strength to the film. His cinematography adds a glossy and rich look to the film. His lighting for the night scenes, along with good angle choices, adds to the cheerfulness element of the film. Good job, Balu !!
Thaman's music was foot-tapping and almost all songs were decently done. The opening "Aasaiye Alaipole" was shot in live locations with adequate props and good lighting work by cinematographer Balasubramaniem. Balu captured the Kumbakonam streets and township effectively, with his camera. "Ye Unnethaan" is a colorful song, with simple but decent set work by A.Vanaraj and again Balu's cinematography, gave the song a glossy look, especially with the lighting. The "Love Letter" song is a situational song, shot within a typical Kumbakonam mansion house and features Santhanam in his rip-roaring element, together with the heroine, Vishakha Singh. "Potti" song is another situational song, which was funny and kept short. The "Birthday" song was shot within temple locations with plenty of props, which matched the birthday celebration theme. The final "Duet Song" appears during the end credits, showcasing a wedding scenario, which again looked glossy thanks to Balu's lighting. Thaman's background score was adequate and carries his trademark synthesized, violin pieces.
K.S Manikandan's directorial debut makes no mistake in stamping its stance and promise of being a 'laughathon' and fun-filled ride. The writers of the film made no bones about it and delivered their promise to great extent. Though the film carries an uncanny resemblance to K.Bhagyaraj's classic 'Indru Poi Naalai Vaa', the film was made keeping today's youngsters and Santhanam and 'Powestar's presence was effectively used. The natural performances of the acting crew adds to the fun quotient of the film and there are plenty of rip-roaring sequences inserted throughout the duration of the film. Also, the excellently written punch dialogues uttered by Santhanam are a scream and the film is replete with them ! Story wise, there is nothing to expect, but no one really gives a damn about the story and tirelessly waits for the next bone-tickling sequence. The second half of the film hit a slow-pace mode but was compensated with the funny antics of the artistes.
'Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiye' delivered what it has promised and not more or less than what was intended to be. A thorough and jolly-good entertainer for the viewers !
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Srikanth, makes a comeback through 'Paagan' under the directorial debut of Mohammed Aslam, a former associate of Ameer. This is indeed a crucial project for him, as it can salvage his career as a hero in Tamizh cinema. Along with a relatively small cast, this film promised us a decent comedy with some sentimentalism attached, to make itself appealing for the mass audiences. Will 'Paagan' save Srikanth, who had a decent outing in 'Nanban' ?
Srikanth, is a good performer but he needs solid script and acting scope, if at all he wants to make it bigger. Sadly, in 'Paagan' he has nothing much to offer, other than being comical throughout the film and being emotional in certain scenes. He is a total miscast in the film because and this proves to be one of the biggest drawbacks of the film. He looks too polished and refined for a character who hails from the village and is an out-and-out rural folk. Also, his costumes did not help to counter-balance the effect, because it is illogical to see him wearing neat and tidy attires, which contradicts with the character he plays. Other than that, there is nothing much to speak about his performance. Janani Iyer makes her second appearance on screen after 'Avan Ivan' and this is a proper heroine role for her, though it was strictly just a Tamizh-cinema conventional heroine. Looking pretty and petite, it is refreshing to hear her dub in her own voice and adds authenticity to her character. Soori and 'Black' Paandi appears as sidekicks for nearly throughout the film, with each of them performing in styles which they are popular for. Some sequences do evoke laughter but majority of them fell flat and was boring. Kovai Sarala was in her essence but it was a little too loud and over-the-top. George, Anu Mohan, director A.Venkatesh makes small appearances in the film, though they have nothing much to contribute to the flow of the film.
The technical team of the film was just functional and none of the department was outstanding in their work. 'Supreme' Sundar's stunts were a little innovative since it involves bicycle chase sequences and the usage of the bicycle as part of the stunt choreography. N.K Rahul's artwork was simple and natural, with the village house props and bungalow house props noticeable Kevin's editing could have been better since the movie moves at a very slow pace and also the climax portion should have been better. J.Laxman has captured the essence of Pollachi and Tirupur quite well with his camera, utilizing the lush greenery of the former and the industrial backdrop of the latter. Also, many shots were taken with the camera mounted on the bicycle, to get the feel of the ride of the protagonist. James Vasanthan's music was melodious and soft but it was boring ! None of the songs were hummable or interest-evoking. "Thatti Thavi" is a sequential song, featuring the 'bonding' of the protagonist with his bicycle and featuring many bicycle shots, obviously against picturesque Pollachi. "Poonthendral" is a typical heroine introduction song, featuring Janani Iyer prancing around with a couple of dancers and this too was shot against a lush and green Pollachi. "Simba Simba" was shot on a market set featuring the main casts of the film, minus the heroine and featured few cut-shots. "Ennai Mannipaya" a sad song shot on the lead couple, uses the Jimmy Jib quite well along the high terrains and hill-side areas. "Ippadi Oar" a typical dream song, was shot along temple lakes, with soft and breezy color tone and ample usage of the Jimmy Jib. The background score of the film was just functional and hearing all these poor scores, makes us wonder what happened to the man who gave beautiful scores in 'Subramaniapuram'.
Mohammed Aslam, who is in charge of the writing and direction department. As a viewer, one has no idea who Aslam wanted to project as the protagonist of the film, is it Srikanth or himself (since he gave the voice-over for the bicycle). The direction was poor because none of the character were believable and the direction of the script is also confusing because the viewers have no idea whether is this a full-length comedy film with little sentiments or the other way around. None of the events in the film looks serious and there are big gaps in the screenplay with many questions left unanswered. The climax too was a perplexing because, the viewers have no clue, why the sudden turn of events are taking place and it has nothing to contribute to the story as well !
'Paagan' is a poor product from Aslam, as there's no good direction, proper characterization or even story to tell in the movie.
Ratings: 1.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Kanchana was publicized as Muni - Part 2 but there's absolutely no resemblance to the plot of the original film other than the reprisal of scaredy-cat hero of the first film. Muni was talked for the simple twist in the knot and for the performance of Raj Kiran. Raghava Lawrence weaved a similar plot with Kanchana as well and he did a even better job than the previous film, thanks to the strong social message he sent out to the viewers.
Casting and acting was very important for a horror film, as the actors need to be convincing enough on the screen. Raghava Lawrence just repeated the same act from the first film and it was a cake walk for him in delivering all the comedy portions though it must have been very taxing physical wise to portray certain/specific nuances needed for the 'possessed' character. Lakshmi Rai has nothing to do other than to shake her legs in song sequences. Sriman was not properly utilized but his combination scenes with Devadarshini and Kovai Sarala was good. Devadarshini was apt for her role but Kovai Sarala was simply outrageous in her comedy timing. The veteran proves that she is one of the best with her superb expressions and voice modulations. The scene where her character and Devadarshini's will be conducting tests to clarify the existence of ghosts in their house was simply too funny. Kovai Sarala is sorely missed in Tamizh cinema. The surprise packet of the film was definitely Sarath Kumar as a trans-gender. No one could have imagined him in a effeminate role before this, as Sarath was always portrayed as a action star with his big and well built physic. Sarath deserves a round of applause for portraying such a role in a convincing manner.
Technical wise, the movie has nothing to talk about. Thaman's music was a big bore and only the 'Karuppu Perazhaga' song was worth watching, for it's beats and Raghava's choreography. Raghava Lawrence should be appreciated for coming out with a horror script which has a decent and needed social message of advocating the acceptance of trans-genders in the society. Their plight, sufferings, and feelings were well captured in the film and the movie highlighted the social stigma surrounding this particular group of people. Besides that, Raghava scripted the film with ample dosage of thrills, spooks and also timely comedy portions which actually keep the audience's interest and attention.
Overall, the film is an above average horror film, which spooks the audience at the right level and also with ample dosage of commercial elements, such as comedy and songs, manages to entertain viewers
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
