Two years after the huge blockbuster success of 'Thuppakki', 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay is back once again with A.R Murugadoss in another 'deadly' titled film. 'Kaththi' has been making all the right and wrong noises, thanks to the hype around the subject, Anirudh's "Selfie Pulla" and also for the alleged involvement of the Sri Lankan government with the producing company, Lyca Productions (and co-produced by Ayngaran International). After a tense and critical stage of protests and political interventions, 'Kaththi' hits the theaters for the festive season. Can this duo strike another bull's-eye ?
'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay's dabbling with double role subjects have not gone down well previously, but with 'Kaththi', he is fantastic as both Kathiresan alias Kaththi and Jeevanandam. The former holds the most amount of screen timing and 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay plays to the gallery with his swashbuckling body language and a charismatic screen presence. This character does all the action, comedy, dance and its an out-and-out "mass" 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay show for his die-hard fans ! Whereas, as Jeevanandam 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay brings out the serious performer in him, in a character which is docile, meek, naive yet resilient and apathetic. Its a throwback to his 'Kannukul Nilavu', 'Thulladha Manamum Thullum' & 'Nilaave Vaa' days. Its refreshing to see him in this sort of a role devoid all his regular antics and hope he does more in the future ! Samantha Ruth Prabhu is there only as an eye-candy and she did what can be expected out of her poorly written role, by being cute and pretty and show those emoticon-style expressions. Popular Bollywood artiste, Neil Nitin Mukesh dons the main antagonist and though his demeanor and look was suave and stylish, the character lacks intensity and never really rile us up, as how a terrifying villain should. But kudos to Neil Nitin Mukesh for dubbing in his own voice and getting the lip-sync almost perfect, in an language totally alien to him ! Sathish plays 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay's side-kick and provides one or two laughs. Tota Roy Chowdhury, R.Ravi, Rupesh Gupta, writer Veera Santhanam, Sreerag Nambiar, Seetha and others fill up the rest of the cast, with A.R Murugadoss himself appearing in an cameo appearance.
'Kaththi' has a lavish budget and technically the film looks rich and vibrant with various shades of color tones and landscapes. Costume designing by Deepali Noor and S.Rajendran was very apt, and the lead pair looked lovely in the film and songs, with 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay being very casual and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, in some gorgeous outfits. Veteran Sreekar Prasad takes care of the editing department, and his work complements the narrative style adopted by A.R Murugadoss. The action sequences were brilliantly presented and brings out the pumping feel needed for those sequences to stand out. Editing was 'Kaththi' indeed ! The film's lavish budget was well spent on the art department and art director 'Lalgudi' N.Ilayaraja has done a fabulous job. The film has plenty of set works, such as a jail set, godown set, old folks home, an entire dried up village set, and plenty of set properties for real locations such as the Chennai airport sequence, and all of them looked very realistic and fitting for the script. A very neatly designed and executed film ! Action choreographer 'Anl' Arasu's work was brilliant in this film, and it could be one of his best works, till date. 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay's body language and mannerisms fitted the choreography perfectly and his screen presence upped the ante. The action scene involving the coins, was very unique, cheeky, creative yet powerful and explosive. Don't miss it ! The film attained a great look thanks to George C.William's eye-catching cinematography work. He seems to share a great chemistry and wavelength with A.R Murugadoss and its pretty obvious for us to see, The camera movements, angles and lighting techniques were top-notch works and some of the calculated works, paid off big time when it added more zing and vibrant energy to the scenes.
Teenage sensation Anirudh Ravichander is on fire and his songs were very catchy and peppy, alas the positioning of the songs in the film, was just awful ! "Pakkam Vanthu" was shot on 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay in the swanky new portions of Chennai International Airport and also at its runway. The additional set properties by 'Lalgudi' N.Ilayaraja added more authentic look for the song, which also had plenty of group dancers, adorning airport/flight themed costumes. "Aathi" has fantastic VFX visuals from Prasad EFX and the various color tones used, added more glossy factor to the song. 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay and Samantha Ruth Prabhu's costumes matched the song's setting, so does the simple props by 'Lalgudi' N.Ilayaraja and some light-hearted montages were interspersed with the original visuals. The chart-buster, "Selfie Pulla" was shot on the lead pair, in a simple set work, replicating a western city square. The usage of psychedelic colors such as blue, pink and purple shades for the lighting and tone, gives a radiant but stylish look for the song ala Bollywood style. 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay dances like a dream and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, tries her best to match him, alongside the group dancers. "Nee Yaar" sung by the legendary K.J Yesudass, is used as a situational bit-song, during the end of the film. "Kaththi Theme - The Sword of Enemy" and "Bad Eyes" theme tracks are used throughout the film, at the appropriate places and the Anirudh Ravichander's background adds more strength to the film's narration and pushes the impact of the sequences by several notches higher. 'Kaththi' is definitely, a feather in the cap for Anirudh Ravichander !
A.R Murugadoss continues the 'Thuppakki' feel and mood with 'Kaththi' as well, but there's plenty of 'Ramana' coating in it. This time, A.R Murugadoss has opted for a more serious social issue and he presents to us the domino/cascading effect of capitalist economy and corporatism in the current Indian scenario. He takes a lashing swipe at the bigwigs of corporate Indian conglomerates and how they capitalize and exploit the pitiable and downtrodden state of an average Indian, especially with the farmers. The film has some fiery, sucker punch dialogues, which was mouthed passionately and aggressively by 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay, especially in the pre-climax sequence. Also, A.R Murugadoss hits at the news-hungry, 'salivating' media people, who only cares about target rating points for their respective channels and more circulation for the print media. Though all these are pertinent issues which should be discussed, the message does get quite preachy as the film progress. Nevertheless, A.R Murugadoss has tried to balance it with some high-octane "masala" elements such as cleverly written scenes and impactful action scenes. But the love track deserves zero-rating, for its ill-conceived scenes and redundant dialogues. But 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay's fans might not complain much for their star's exceptional comic timing and expressions. There are some loopholes in the storyline, some logical lapse in the script, and exaggeration of the emotional quotient, but these are ought to be overlooked, if you are to enjoy a great "masala" action film. The staging of some sequences fell flat, which could have been dealt better and the transition of 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay's characters should have been smoother and organic, with a proper delineation of both characters he portrayed. But whatever it is, A.R Murugadoss has definitely struck a chord with the audience once again, and 'Kaththi' seems to be another glowing addition to his CV.
'Kaththi' - Sharply 'Kaththi', indeed !
Ratings: 3.25/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
After the colossal flop of 'Billa 2', Ajith Kumar aka "Thala" is back once again, and this time in a true multi-starrer, with Vishnuvardhan at the helm. The stylish 'Billa' remake still linger in the minds of movie buffs, and its a tricky tight-rope for this combo, as they have to ensure the hype is met and at the same time re-launch the career of hit-maker A.M Rathnam as a producer in Tamizh cinema once again. Backed by good technicians and a solid cast, what does 'Arrambam' has for us ?
For "Thala" Ajith Kumar, this is a piece-of-cake sort of role, and he waltzes through it with style and elan. His impeccable timing in dialogue delivery, broods excitement and adds more classy touches to his performance. His look is an added element, which further elevates his stylish avatar as AK. The man, pulled off all the stunt sequences by himself, in a very professional manner and deserves a big round of applause for taking the risk. There are plenty of shots, which highlights the stylish element of Ajith's and it is a treat for his die-hard fans. Though the grey-shaded role is repetitive, no one actually bothers about it, as Ajith is enjoyable in such roles. Arya is lively with his comic timing and his antics and a little surprise is there in store, in regards to his appearance. Though his role pales in terms of screen appearance, he still makes his mark. Nayanthara is the stylish diva here and she pulls of some action sequences effervescently, and also manages to oomph the glamour quotient, nonchalantly. Taapsee Pannu was cute as the naive amateur journalist, though her character has not much relevance to the script. Kishore rocks as the tough cop, while Mahesh Manjrekar is a good addition to Tamizh cinema. Atul Kulkarni, Suman Ranganathan, Akshara Gowda, Naren, Murali Sharma, Krishna and etc had stylish rendering in their characterizations. Not to forget, Rana Daggubati made his official entry to Tamizh cinema with a solid cameo appearances.
Action choreography is a real highlight of the film, and there were plenty of them, induced into the screenplay. 'Billa' Jagan, Lee Whittaker and Kecha Khampakdee of the 'Jaika Stunt' team, rocked in the action choreography. The bomb-threat encounter scenes were very professionally choreographed and executed by the team. And the shoot-out sequence shot in a warehouse, was very well planned as well. Anu Vardhan and Pinida P.Shamdasani's costume designing was fantastic and all characters looked brilliant in the stylish costumes, especially Ajith Kumar, Nayanthara and Taapsee. Production design by Lalgudi N.Ilayaraja blends well with the script's needs and was very realistic. The interiors of apartments and buildings were very well detailed and each props complements the mood and plot setting of the script. Multiple National Award-winning editor, the veteran Sreekar Prasad's editing is taut and he manages to tighten the grip on the screenplay, by ensuring there's no over-stretched sequences. The story moves fast and kudos to the veteran for a neat work. Cinematography is big highlight of the film, done by Om Prakash with some few sequences canned by P.S Vinod. The camerawork is stylish and the aqua-green color tone, complements the mood of the script. There were plenty of hand-held shots and appropriate usages of steady-cams. The Dubai sequences were very stylishly done, but the real highlight is the bomb-threat action sequence, which was brilliantly shot and edited.
Yuvan Shankar Raja always had a great combination with Vishnuvardhan and they have churned out chart-busters But 'Arrambam' is a disappointment, because the tunes were repetitive and not enthusiastic enough, to further spur the energy of the script and cast. The opening song "Adada Aarambame" was shot on Ajith, accompanied by dancers, and the heavy Maharashtrian percussion instruments. The fort in Maheshwar was the backdrop, and the bright daylight adds more gloss to the song. "En Fuse Poche" was shot on Arya and Taapsee and had some cute montages, with colorful ambiance The simple special effects complemented the mood of the song. "Melaala Vedikkuthu" was shot on Ajith, Nayanthara and Rana with splashes and splashes of Rangoli Colors, which was a visual treat in terms of color palette. "Stylish Tamizhachi" was Akshara's introduction song and featured her in a glam-doll role and was shot in a clubbing arena. Yuvan's background score is a letdown and it does not capture our attention. Not the best of works from Yuvan and Vishnu combo.
Vishnuvardhan, known for his stylish, visualistic story-telling, engrosses us most of the time in the screenplay, which was co-written by the 'Subha' duo, D.Suresh and A.N Balakrishnan. The sequences were well etched and executed and some of them very well exploited the stylish mannerisms of Ajith Kumar. Nonetheless, there were a few drag moments, especially in the second half, which could have been avoided. This is due to the very cliched flashback sequences and some sentimental and emotional ones, as well. The letdown in their script, is the predictable nature of the story-line, which kills of the excitement factor. And for ardent movie buffs, they would have spotted that the entire script is a clever adaptation of the 2001 Hollywood action-thriller 'Swordfish' starring John Travolta, Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry and Don Cheadle. Vishnu and 'Subha' duo have taken the basic plot of 'Swordfish' and adapted it with some real-life Indian scandals. There are plenty of loopholes and logical gaps in the script and screenplay, which are to be ignored if one wants to enjoy this film thoroughly. The 'Subha' duo have written some killer, punch-dialogues in the film, which will definitely be well received by the fans. Vishnuvardhan has a neat directorial touch and has good grip of his script and end-product, but still 'Arrambam' is not as gripping as his 'Pattiyal'.
"Lets make it simple" - 'Arrambam' is a Vishnuvardhan, 'masala' entertainer. Enjoyable and neat. Nothing more, nothing less.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Haridas, piqued our interest with its trailer, which promised a clean-cut film, with very good artistes, in Kishore and Sneha, doing the lead roles. G.N.R Kumaravelan, who's last venture, was the pathetic 'Yuvan Yuvanthi', has handled a more serious but delicate theme of autism and the tough life of parents of an autistic child. Can the director redeem himself of a good career, with this sensitive theme as a backdrop, aided by good artistes and technicians ?
'Haridas' is fueled with very good performances, from the two main leads, Kishore and Sneha. The former plays an encounter specialist, who's life comes to a sudden halt, due to situations leading him to take care of his autistic child, all by himself. This film could be one of Kishore's most sincerest and honest performance, ever. His composed, yet heartfelt emotions and subtle reactions makes us to sympathize or even empathize with his character, especially in scenes where he is clueless on what to do next with his autistic son. Also, his macho and charismatic screen presence, makes him perfectly fit into the role of an encounter specialist police officer. Sneha, puts her heart and soul into the 'Amudhavalli' teacher character. Lucky for getting such a role, she pulls off a beautiful performance and her experience, gives her the edge in enacting the emotional scenes. Also, she has mastered the dialogue delivery capability and has handled the dubbing herself, which adds more realistic element into her role. Master Prithviraj Doss, has a very good entry and he was too very much natural in his role as the autistic boy. His body language, mannerism and screen presence gave the character more color and life. The rest of the cast such as Pradeep Rawat, Soori, G.Rajesh Kumar and etc did what was expected out of them, and Rajkapoor, as well as Yugi Sethu make wonderful cameo appearances, especially the later, who was in his usual witty elements.
Rajashekar's action choreography was good enough for the script, though it could have been handled well, especially when you have an able actor like Kishore. Lalgudi N.Ilaiyaraja's production design was simple, yet class. The opening posh apartment setting, the police quarters, and the climax warehouse, all were well set up and designed, giving the film a simple, but beautiful look. Raja Mohammed's editing was neat and the opening sequences were well handled. But the length of the film could have been shortened, which would have made the film even crispier. The movie, would not have been made to look high in quality, without the excellent cinematography by R.Rathnavelu. Randy's simple color palette, with natural lighting worked out brilliantly for the film. Each shot was picture-perfect, and the warm ambiance implemented throughout the film, complemented the script very well. Great work, Randy !
Vijay Antony, had delivered simple songs for the film, which fits well for the film. "Vellakuthira" is a pathos song, used in a particular sober situation. It was shot with few montages and the old house charm was captured beautifully by the cinematographer, with perfect natural lighting. The "Police" song, is a comedic take on the miserable life of police officers. It has an item girl with plenty of dancers, and was shot in the streets. Again Randy, has handled the natural lighting available for this song, pertaining to the situation and this time has more darker shots. "Vaazhkaiye" is a situational song, which acts out as a motivational one, too. It has lots of montages and small sequences interlaced in between those montages. Also, the camera angles, are an highlight of this song, as well. "Annaiyin Karuvil" was shot in a very photographic manner, with picturesque shots along the white, sandy beaches and also few montage sequences, fit into it. The background score was handled well, in most of the scenes bar some, which was too loud and melodramatic at times.
The film has plenty of heartfelt, emotional scenes, which adds strength to the film. The gradual transformation of the autistic son, was very natural and well presented. Although, the police scenes were well sketched, it takes the focus out of the main theme, though it can be excused. A little more maturity in the direction and script writing, would have made this film, an even much better product. Some melodramatic sequences could have been avoided, or as said, handled with more maturity. A.R Venkatesan's dialogues were simple and there are some good dialogues, peppered here and there in the script. But an even more astute writer, could have put in fantastic outputs, in terms of dialogues. Nevertheless, a good job by the dialogue writer. The build-up to the climax was fantastic but the end could have been different, since it felt a little forced and unnecessary. Yet, G.N.R Kumaravelan deserves a pat for handling a sensitive subject, without going too preachy or overtly sentimental. Also, kudos to him for glorifying the pains and sacrifices parents of such special kids, go through in bringing up their kids, in this complicated and tedious life.
Films like 'Haridas' should be encouraged and supported by audiences. Though the script has potential to be developed into an even much better film, yet bravo to G.N.R Kumaravelan, for a simple and family-friendly film. 'Haridas' - Is this from the same guy who gave us, 'Yuvan Yuvathi' ? Wow !
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
