After the sensitive and decent debut in 'Aarohanam', Lakshmy Ramakrishnan is back again in the director's seat with her second venture. Curiously titled, 'Nerungi Va Muthamidathe' is a road movie, with a multiple-person narrative based screenplay. Consisting of a fresh cast, with some old-timers and a young technical crew, can Lakshmy Ramakrishnan outdo her debut and deliver a clean film ?
Debutante Shabeer comes out clean with his first film and looks convincing. He can work out to improve his screen presence and his expressions, nevertheless he looks like a promising actor, waiting for his big moment. Piaa Bajpai makes her return to Tamizh cinema and though she appears more often than the other artistes in the film, she has a very limited role and her character doesn't have screen timing and space. She's okay, but she could do more. Kannada actress Sruthi Hariharan makes her Tamizh debut, and in a very small role with very limited screen timing, she comes unscathed. Hoping to see more of her in Tamizh cinema ! There's a big list of veteran Tamizh cinema character artistes and there's the likes of A.L Azhagappan, Viji Chandrasekhar, Y.Gee Mahendra, Thambi Ramaiah, 'Thalaivasal' Vijay, Ambika, Shyam Sagar, Gautam Kurup, Bala Saravanan, producer A.V Anoop, Ramakrishnan, Kavithalaya Krishnan and etc. Bala Saravanan and Thambi Ramaiah gave the film's lighter moments and A.L Azhagappan alongside Gautam Kurup and a cameo by Lakshmy Ramakrishnan herself, don the antagonist roles. The experienced folks nailed their characters and delivered no-nonsense performances.
Sai Naresh handles the costume designing department and his work fits the bill and all the characters looked their roles. Its refreshing to see Viji Chandrasekhar's character donning stylish wears, especially if you consider how Tamizh cinema has portrayed widows. 'Mirattal' Selva's action choreography was functional and looked very realistic and kudos to the director for incorporating stunts only when it is needed. Art direction is taken care by Raja A.S and G.Kumar, and the duo have executed their roles very well. The vegetable factory, the interiors of the protagonist's town home, Viji Chandrasekhar's posh bungalow, everything looked realistic and was aptly propped. Sabu Joseph V.J's editing work has no gimmicks, functional and sufficed the needs of the script. Cinematography is handled by Vinod Bharathi.A and its very evocative, with vivid visuals and purposeful camera-movements. The dry and hot Trichy/Karaikal outskirts were effectively used and portrayed through his lenses and adds more color to the script.
Music is by the Madley Blues team, consisting of Prashanth Techno and Harish Venkat. Music is a big strength to the film and the Madley Blues team has delivered a very refreshing score and goes along with the screenplay very well. The songs are situational and fits the mood of the scenes well. "Hey Sutrum Boomi" focuses on Piaa Bajpai and a group of youngsters having an outing, with montages of them having fun in a beach house atmosphere. "Kaligaalam" is a situational song, sung by Shankar Mahadevan and has its focus on the main leads, especially on Sruthi Hariharan's character's journey. "Yaar" has montages of Viji Chandrasekhar and Piaa Bajpai and focuses on their troubled mother-daughter relationship. "Yaarum Paakama" starts of with Viji Chandrasekhar performing as a lead singer of an pop/rock band and it continues till the end credits, finishes rolling. The background score by the Madley Blues team, is very refreshing, cool and is very apt for the script. It gives a different color to the story and accompanies along as an additional character itself. Good work, guys !
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Lakshmy Ramakrishnan has gone for a different subject and moved away from the feminism based scripts. A road movie, can be tiring and boring for some people, due to the slow nature of the screenplay but with 'Nerungi Va Muthamidathe', she has kept us guessing till the end, which holds our attention, very well. The multiple-person narrative, doesn't give away any suspense elements early and kudos to Lakshmy for coming up with a clean screenplay with no hiccups in the narration. What keeps us hooked is the interesting small twists and turns, which comes one after another during the climax. But, the zing and zest was missing from the narration, which could have made it more engrossing. Also, the ending looks contrived, which she could have avoided. Lakshmy Ramakrishnan has done her homework and the detailing in the plot setting is laudable. Her choice of issues discussed is very pertinent, relevant and topical and being a women herself, the way she handled the issue of violence against women, was very subtle. But some of the issues needed more explanation and many questions and issues are left unanswered or unexplained. Her characterizations were not bad, but they need more depth, which many characters lacked. A better dialogue writer could have given stronger content but Lakshmy's work was commendable. End of it, what works for 'Nerungi Va Muthamidathe' is the sincerity and honest work done by Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, and may this be a stepping stone for even better works from her.
'Nerungi Va Muthamidathe' - Lakshmy is showing improvement as an film maker !
Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Pooja Umashankar, the beautiful and talented Sri Lankan makes a comeback to Tamizh cinema, after a 4-year hiatus, with her last release being the critically-acclaimed Bala film, 'Naan Kadavul'. She teams up with debutante Balaji K.Kumar, an University of California graduate and a story board artist, who has worked for internationally reputed advertising firms such as Ogilvy & Mather, JWT, Saatchi & Saatchi. The trailers and teaser promised us a dark and emotional thriller, so did the final product live up to the expectations ?
Pooja makes a strong comeback, with a refined performance as Rekha, the desperate-for-cash prostitute. Her body language and dialogue delivery is spot-on, and she brought out the character very well. Her nervous expressions and trembling voice, gave plenty of realistic touches to her performance. But the real scene-stealer, is the young child prodigy Malavika Manikuttan. She is simply superb with her nuanced expressions and perfect timing in her dialogue delivery. She is a revelation and possess a maturity, beyond her adolescent age. Surely, a great find for Tamizh cinema ! Vinoth Kishan uses his eyes very well to bring out the silent, creepy mannerisms of his character. John Vijay, as the scheming villain, makes use of his opportunity fantastically, with great voice modulation. Lakshmy Ramakrishnan and Amarendran Ramanan, were very natural and realistic with their character portrayals.
Jayalakshmi Sundaresan, handles the costume designing very well, and she certainly brought out the apt look for Pooja and Amarendran. 'Thalapathy' Dinesh's action choreography was neatly executed, which had some deadly blows dished out by some of the characters, especially by Vinoth in the climax. Very realistic yet powerful ! Sathyaraj Natarajan, kept the duration of the film as crisp as possible, but the second half drags a little, which could have been avoided. Some post production works are a little tacky, especially the night shots of vehicles, but it could be due to the small-scale budget of the film. Edward Kalaimani, has done a really good job in the production design, especially with the set-work of John Vijay's garage-like set. The detailing was minute and complicated ! Also, the interiors of the various homes featured in the film, was very neatly propped up. Sivakumar Vijayan's cinematography was good, especially with the experimentation of the color tone, which ranges of sepia, dusty brown, and dark blue effects, which complements the mood of the sequences. Also, the night and rain shots, were well captured.
Girishh Gopalakrishnan of 'Marina' fame handles the music department. "Theeradha Mounam" is the opening song of Pooja and had some good slow-motion camera techniques, complemented by rain shots. "Penne" is a situational song, appearing in bits, in the late second half. And "Vidiyaatha Iravu" is the climax song, which fit very well for the situation and ups the mood of the climax portions. Girishh's background score elevates the thrill factor and suspense-building elements of the script, and tracks such as "Rage" and "Redemption" were very well scored, and used in the film.
What attracts us to the film, is the slow yet suspenseful screenplay, narrated by Balaji K.Kumar. He keeps us guessing on the next proceedings, with some intelligently handled sequences, those of John Vijay's, especially. What Balaji K.Kumar really deserves appreciation for, is his focus on the script and narration and the tight handling of the screenplay. There are no excessive and unwanted scenes thrust into the screenplay, which does a lot of good for the film. The subject of the script, was handled very well and pertained to an important and critical social issue, plaguing the world. Balaji's plot was well structured and he manages to give importance to his characters, which ensued a marked impression on the audience. The climax, is the real clincher for the film, and was very intelligently handled and executed. The biggest drawback of the film ? Nothing film wise, but its the fact that the story is not original. 'Vidiyum Munn' is an "inspiration/adaptation/remake/copy" or whatever you want to call it as, of the critically-acclaimed 2006 British film, 'London to Brighton' directed by Paul Andrew Williams. Well, nearly everything was lifted from this film, be it the idea, screenplay, characterizations, plot setting, sequence execution, the surprise ending and etc. Balaji K.Kumar has tweaked the story and some characterizations a little, in order to adapt to the Tamizh sensibilities and commercial factor. But apart from that, many scenes are a just direct copy from the original, including from dialogues to shot composition !
'Vidiyum Munn' - It can be more pleasant, if Balaji K.Kumar gives the original film and its makers, the real credits.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'Chennaiyil Oru Naal', if the official remake of the critically acclaimed Malayalam film, 'Traffic', which actually piqued the interest of 'Ulaga Nayagan' Dr. Kamal Haasan, who wanted to remake it himself. Though course of nature diverted it from him, the script did come to Tamizh, and has been produced by Raadhika Sarathkumar, in collaboration with Listin Stephen. With a noble message, in the form of organ donation, how did the film fare ?
Whom to start with, in regards to the cast ? Especially when you have a stellar cast list, wherein one can find tons of experiences !! The main roles were all played by exceptional actors. Sarathkumar as the smart police commissioner, Cheran as the redemption-seeking constable, Prakash Raj as the narcissistic film star, Prasanna as the guilt-driven surgeon, Raadhika as the frustrated by supportive wife and mother, Parvathi Menon as the heartbroken girlfriend, Jayaprakash and Lakshmy Ramakrishnan as the grieving parents, each and every one of them were strong in terms of performance. Adding more strength to the film, the rest of the cast such as Iniya, Sachin, Mithun, Aishwarya Devan, Mallika, Manobala, Santhana Bharathi, Subbu Panchu, Vijayakumar, Bala Singh, Raju Krishnamoorthy 'Kitty', Udhayakumar, Devan, R.J Dheena, Akshara, Vaishali and Gabriella Charlton were equally good, in their assigned roles. Also, we have Suriya making a cameo appearance towards the climax and also during the end credits, giving his thoughts on the issue of organ donation. Its a rarity in Tamizh cinema, to have such an ensemble cast in a single film, and that too with very good acting ! Kudos to the team!
Selvam's costume designing and Muthukrishnan's make-up was very much apt for the cast, who all looked the role they were carrying. Perhaps, the make-up could have been handled more diligently, for some characters, in order to have a proper continuity. 'Miracle' Michael's action choreography was more of vehicle handling, and it was not bad. Vinesh Banglan's art direction was simple and efficient. Be it the hospital setting, the interiors of the different styles of houses, shown (be it posh apartments, bungalows or middle-class flats), the hi-tech police chamber and etc. All the backdrops looked perfect and spotless. Job, well done ! Mahesh Narayanan's editing work was interesting, and adds strength to the film, especially when the script has multi-narration and characters, with several timelines. The necessary fast-cuts, adds to the excitement and tension the script, creates. Shehnad Jalal's cinematography was good, especially for the super-fact chasing sequences, and also for his interesting angles, especially when it involves several characters in one scene or sequence. Mejo Joseph's music score was average, though. "Un Thozhil" is the introductory song for Sachin and Parvathi Menon, who play a couple-in-love. The song was picturized with typical dance and montage sequences interspersed and was shot in multi-location such as highways, harbor, malls and etc. "Mannil Ulla Manithan" has montages of all the main characters, living their daily life. Mahesh's smooth editing for the song, is commendable. "Yen Yen Yen", comes at the climax, which has a race-against-time theme and plenty of rapid cut-shots. It was picturized on Cheran, Prasanna and Mithun on their mission to deliver the donated heart, in a dense housing colony. The background score, was too melodramatic and loud in certain sequences, which devalues the intended impact of some sequences.
Starting off with Samuthirakani's voice-over, Bobby and Sanjay's hyperlink script, which has multi-narration, multi-character and multi-timeline, was brilliantly written. The screenplay unravels slowly but steadily and picks up plenty of pace in the second half, especially with the unpredictable twists and turns, during intense moments ! They have struck a nice balance of emotional quotient and thrilling moments in the film. But the overtly done, frenzied, mad-rush climax with a heavy and fast song playing in the back, only gives a 'filmy' effect, rather than a class act, which could have been avoided. The emotional quotient of the film, could have easily warranted highly-charged dialogues, Ajayan Bala must be appreciated for penning simple dialogues. But there are scenes which could have been accentuated by intellectual dialogues, which would have given more depth to the screenplay. Besides that, there is an uncanny dose of Malayalam flavor in the writing, which should have been altered, to suit Tamizh nativity. Shaheed Kader has earnestly tried his best to be sincere to the original Malayalam script, and kudos to him for lucid vision in the execution of the script. Applaudable work from the writers but there are continuity mistakes in the film, which the director, should have taken note off.
'Chennaiyil Oru Naal' could have been a classic and classy film, if it was handled by more experienced and talented crew. A potential unforgettable great film, becomes "just" a good film. But still, congratulations for the brilliant effort of the cast and crew.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
A proven versatile actress of substance and a hot-favorite among directors to play strong female leads in their movies, Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, forays into direction for the very first time, without any apprenticeship under any directors, other than some tutelage experience with some of the directors that she has worked with. And in her very first film itself, she has taken the difficult subject of bipolar disorder. Moreover, its a comeback of sort for Viji Chandrasekhar, a capable and proven actress who has been missing in action for some time.
Viji Chandrasekhar shines brightly with a very good performance and the way she uses her eyes is a highlight, which adds more believability to her bipolar disorder-affected character. Her voice modulation and expressions were perfect and she is the pivot of the film, where the entire story unfolds through her experiences. The very difficult task of enacting mood-swings were done very comfortably by Viji. Job well done ! Director Marimuthu comes out with a restrained performance as well, and so too Jai Queheni. Veeresh looks a little uncomfortable on screen, though. Rajie Vijay Sarathy fits well into the role of an unmarried successful women entrepreneur but her performance was not convincing, though her looks reminds us of Lakshmy and ironically Lakshmy was the one who dubbed for her. Uma Padmanabhan looks casual and befitting. Sampath Raj makes a cool late entry, meanwhile Jayaprakash and Krishnan makes up for some funny moments, though their roles do not contribute to the film in anyways !
Though the film was shot on a low-scale budget, the film carries clean work in the technical department. Sruthi R's costume designing was apt, especially when it comes to the differentiation between the different class of people portrayed in the film. M.Gita Gurappa's audiography was in sync and gives a natural feel to the film. Dhilip Subbarayan coordinates some risky stunts well. Prem's art direction was spot on, especially for the interiors of the poor household of the lead character and the middle class lifestye and not to forget the club set. Kishore T.E's editing was smooth and flawless and keeps the film as short as possible. N.Shanmugasundaram's cinematography was good, with lots of close-ups, tight angles, and natural lighting. Music director K, does a brilliant job in the music department. "Indha Vaan" is a situational song with scenes and montages establishing the character of Viji who is suffering from bipolar disorder. "Dhisai Ariyaadhu" is another short song which also has some montages, reminiscing the sacrifices of the lead character for her children. "Thappaattam" was catchy and well shot in a club setting in the luxurious Le Meridien hotel. The lighting was apt and some catchy dance movements were choreographed. The background score too was in sync with the mood and feel of the script, enhancing the writing of the director. Good work, K !
Lakshmy Ramakrishnan's intentions of highlighting a serious psychiatric disorder among the lower-class people, which most of the time goes unnoticed, is noble and laudable The script is short and crisp but the screenplay lags good space and might test the patience of the viewers. Lakshmy should be appreciated for portraying the pressing issue of bipolar disorder in a very subtle and nuanced way, rather than going for a overtly-emotional and crude manner. But the narration of the script suffers a lot due to the imperfections in handling the direction department. There are a lot of English dialogues, which does not fit in well if you would want to establish a take-away message for all social strata of life. The message is not delivered smoothly and convincingly, though audiences will somehow figure out the travails and difficulties faced by such psychologically affected patients. Also, its baffling to see why Lakshmy decided to incorporate some characters into the script, which are of no use to the story. In spite of these mistakes, its laudable that Lakshmy has handled the script in a sensitive manner, especially in delivering the take-away message in a subtle manner, rather than being preachy. And also for portraying human emotionals in an realistic manner.
'Aarohanam' is a good try by Lakshmy but in order to be a successful director, she needs to honer her skills in writing. Short-films would be a great medium to practise since the film was indeed done in a short-film style rather than a motion picture.
Ratings: 2/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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