Since the title is very much self-explanatory, 'Vanmham' is basically a story of revenge and vengeance. That is not something very novel or daringly new in Tamizh cinema, but presentation and narration can make a big difference to a mundane subject. Being a double hero subject, can Jai Krishnaa, an old timer of Tamizh cinema and an former assistant to 'Ulaga Nayagan' Kamal Haasan, come clean with his debut film ?
Doing rural subjects is not something new to Vijay Sethupathi but we get to see him perform out and out action sequences, and sporting the white dhothi for throughout the film. He is very natural and mouths the Nagercoil accent very well. The performer in him sneak peeks in a scene or two but otherwise, its just an average outing for him. Kreshna is sincere and has come up with an earnest performance. His voice modulation is better and he has shown some improvement in his acting capability. Sunaina, looks pretty and that's about it with her role. Madhu Sudhan Rao, Anjali Rao, Bose Venkat, Muthuraman, Sriranjani, Radhamani Ammal, Vinodhini, Subburaj and etc completes the rest of the cast. Sadly, no one stood out for their performances, due to poor characterization and detailing.
'Supreme' Sundar's action choreography works for most of the time. Its not raw, quite filmy but somehow it works out. There's nearly equal amount of action footing for both lead heroes but Vijay Sethupathi gets the more intense ones. Shiva Yadav takes care of the art direction and his work fits the bill. The detailing for the inner section of the rural homes were well propped. The market scene stands out, if its pertaining to his work. Veteran Suresh Urs' editing was functional but he could have definitely chopped down plenty of scenes to spice things up, or to at least speed up the proceedings. The film takes it's own sweet time in unravelling and the unnecessary melodramatic moments are just mere speed-bumpers ! Bala Bharani's cinematography is passable and he has captured the beauty of the southern areas of Tamil Nadu, particularly Nagercoil and Kanyakumari very well. The quarry area, surrounded by deep waters, were well captured, especially during the intense fight scene, just before the interval.
S.S Thaman's musical score is frankly, below average. "Paadatta Paadatta" is the obligatory introductory song for both, Vijay Sethupathi and Kreshna. The typical song-and-dance routine number featured both heroes, with the backing of group dancers, shaking their legs, in and around picturesque areas of Nagercoil. "Aetti Enge Pore" is a duet song, picturized on Kreshna and Sunaina. Some of the beautiful spots of Nagercoil was shot by Bala Bharani, especially of the small water dam and river areas. Kreshna and Sunaina shares good chemistry but the substance was missing from this combination, due to poor writing. "Maname Maname" is a pathos song, and has montage shots of all the main lead characters of Vijay Sethupathi, Kreshna and Sunaina and nearly all the other character artistes. S.S Thaman's background score is passable.
Being an associate of 'Ulaga Nayagan' Kamal Haasan, Jai Krishnaa should have realized the responsibility lying on his shoulders. Being an old-timer of the industry, his knowledge of presentation and contemporary film-making is, sorry to say, grossly missing ! The film has such an outdated theme of revenge but what's inexcusable is the bland, insipid and boring narration and dialogue writing of the film. The film's presentation is very archaic and is full of melodramatic moments, which would have worked out in the 80's and early 90's ! There's plenty of unnecessary action sequences thrown into the linear screenplay. There are plenty of loopholes and unanswered questions in the film's screenplay. Apart from the Nagercoil/Kanyakumari setting and the native accent used in the film, nothing else captures our attention. A certain sequence of the film is directly lifted from the 1998 Malayalam film, 'Kanmadam' starring Mohanlal and directed by A.K Lohithadas. The film is shockingly dreary and flavorless and sadly another liability to the film-based business people.
'Vanmham' - Vijay Sethupathi, you are suppose to be the poster-boy of new-age Tamizh cinema !
Ratings: 2/5 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
RS Infotainments' Elred Kumar's next production, 'Yaamirukka Bayamey' is a medium-budget venture with lesser known stars. Directed by debutante Deekay, a former associate of K.V Anand, this flick is touted to be a horror comedy, which is a genre rarely exploited in Tamizh cinema. We have our fair share of comedies and horror films, but this hybrid genre, is a rarity. Is this flick, worth of our time and money ?
Actor Kreshna, makes use of his opportunity, well. The expressive demeanor of his character was brought out well by him and he shares good rapport with the other cast members. He might need to work out in bettering his screen presence, as well as his dialogue delivery and voice modulation, which could have given his character, a better dimension. Rupa Manjari, looks cute and performs adequately and makes a good pairing with Kreshna. Karunakaran, is the actual scene-stealer, who keeps us glued to the film. His presence and comic timing, with apt dialogue delivery, evoke the chuckles from us. To put it bluntly, the film would have lost its appeal, if its not for his presence. Oviya, has upped the ante in glamour appeal, and shows no inhibitions in looking sexy. But her character has the lesser amount of screen timing and importance, among the main leads. Mayilsamy, scores in his portion with his usual excellent comic timing. Aadhav Kannadhasan makes a cameo appearance whereas, Anaswara Kumar has a role of importance, with limited screen timing. The rest such as Nalinikanth, Bose Venkat, Namo Narayana, Sona, Devipriya, 'Mahanadhi' Shankar, Balaji Mohan, Rayil Ravi, Yogi Babu, Daniel and etc sufficed the needs of the script.
The film has good production values, which gives the film an appealing look and feel. VFX for the horror segments were handled by Lorven Studios, and they have done a pretty decent job, especially in the climax, involving the main lead characters. Veena Shankaralingam designs the costumes for the lead characters, and the heroines have been particularly given lots of focus, with their dressing. Lalitha Rajamanickam's special make-up, complements the VFX usage of the film. Action choreography has been handled by Dhilip Subbarayan and his works are functional, as there are not important action sequences in the script. Art designing is handled by Senthil Raghavan, and his work gives the film a very alluring look. The mansion setup and its rooms were well designed, which has an elegant yet spooky feel to it, especially when you have dark colors, taking centre-stage. Sreekar Prasad's tight editing ensures that the film is well packaged, and his work in the climax portion, delivers the right output needed to ensure the scary element, is rightly presented. Cinematography by Rammy, is cool and appealing, especially with the cool climate of Nainital well utilized, in terms of lighting. His work is of paramount importance, especially in the climax portions, and his camera movements, delivers the necessary effect.
Music by S.N Prasad is passable, especially with the songs. "Yemathukaaran" is the opening song and has all four main leads in the picturization. Nainital's hill tops and the other locations are the main premises, as well as the all important, mansion. "Adaikalam" is the introductory song of Mayilsamy, and has a simple and colorful setup by Senthil Raghavan, with Mayilsamy being accompanied by attractive lasses. The satire on fake faith healers is obvious in the song, which is more of like a bit-song. "Vellai Pandhu" is the pick of the lot and was picturized on Aadhav Kannadhasan and Anaswara Kumar, who looked pretty in her yellow saree. The romantic song has good color tone and camera movements, which complemented the romantic feel of 'under-the-moonlight' feel, as well as some picturesque snow capped mountains and beautiful lakes of Nainital. "Ennamo Edho" appears when the end-credits roll. The background score was quite average and passes muster. A better re-recording would have done wonders to the film.
Debutante Deekay, has experimented with the horror comedy genre, as mentioned earlier. He divided those two quotients evenly, with the first half having more funny moments, whereas all the thrills and spooks come blaring in the second half. The horror element was better handled, and though the spook gags were just the conventional effects which one often come across in Hollywood films, it did deliver the right effects. Deekay preserved the suspense element, till the late second half, which keeps us guessing on the suspicious circumstances unfolding in the film. The script has a wafer-thin story line, and though the horror element was well presented, the writing aspect takes a backseat, with no thorough explanation nor story which would have kept us engrossed with the film. The script leaves us with a couple of unanswered questions being overlooked, which open up loopholes in the story-line. The comedy element too, did not work out as a rip-roaring episode, neither. Couple of jokes fell flat, whereas some just did not deliver the necessary goods. As mentioned earlier, without the presence of Karunakaran, it would have been a damp squib. Also, some gags tend to side a more adult content, in its writing and presentation. The basic plot and idea of the script, is lifted from the 1998 South Korean horror comedy, 'The Quiet Family', directed by Kim Ji-woon, which Deekay has apparently simplified and made it more suitable for Tamizh sensibilities.
'Yaamirukke Bayamey' - A little funny, a little creepy !
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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