JANNAL ORAM MOVIE REVIEW

'Jannal Oram' marks the comeback of Karu Palaniappan after his below average performance in 'Mandhira Punnagai'. Karu is known for his sensitive portrayal and family friendly milieu, apart from his last project. Backed by some of his favorite artistes, can 'Jannal Oram' bring back the success to Karu Palaniappan, a once-promising script and dialogue writer in Tamizh cinema ?

The film has a big cast of artistes, and everyone has some screen timing to stamp their marks. But unfortunately, the high number of artistes does not add value to the script. That's due to the average performances and lack of emotional content for each artistes to register their capabilities in the minds and hearts of viewers. R.Parthiban, as the rural, middle-aged Casanova, mouths his dialogues fluently in a different accent. Vemal, is pretty much in his comfort zone and gets to romance the heroine in songs and pull off some action sequences. Vidharth leaves a better impression on us, although his characterization was just a mere extension from the protagonist role he did in 'Mynaa', albeit with a twist. Among the ladies, both Poorna and Manisha Yadav have limited acting scope, though the latter had more screen timing. A gang of character artistes such as Ramana, Rajesh, Yuvarani, Ilavarasu, Santhana Bharathi, Sanjay Bharathi, Bala Singh, Sri Ranjani, Singampuli, Krishnamurthy and etc get to do their usual stuffs.

Dhilip Subbarayan's action choreography was apt for Vemal, Vidharth and Parthiban. It was not over the top, but not fiery, as well. Rajeevan's production design complemented the script very much. The rural house setup was apt for the milieu of the script, with relevant props. The village setup too looks very much believable. Simple, but neat work from one of the best ! Saravanaa, could have done better with the editing department. The proceedings in the second half moves at a snail's pace, and some trimming could have increased the tempo of the script. Arbhindu Saaraa, definitely owns the film, through his good cinematography works. The hill stations have been very aptly captured from his lenses and at the same time, Arbhindu maintained a natural look for the whole film, which is very much the style template of Karu Palaniappan's films. His experimentation with different angles or view-points of the bus, is commendable.

Vidyasagar, the trusted aide of Karu Palaniappan, disappoints us with below average song compositions. Though melodious, they don't capture your attention nor the interest, pretty much. "Athili Pathili" is the opening credits song, shot on the lead characters' bus' journey it makes in a day. The hilly terrains and lush greenery is a cool sight for the eyes. "Ennadi Ennadi" also has the bus as the backdrop, but the focus is on the characters this time and Vemal gets to woo Manisha in this song, shot with montages. "Unnai Paarkkama" was shot on Vemal and Manisha Yadav, against the backdrop of Athirappilly waterfalls and its surrounding lush and green forests. "Aasa Vacha" had a village festival backdrop, with apt props by Rajeevan for the production design side. The song also had separate shots of Vemal-Manisha and Sanjay-Poorna, interspersed into it. "Ela Malathoppu" is a situational song, and covered most of the lead characters' dark moments they were facing through. "Aatho Appatho" is a promotional song which was not used in the film. The song had the puppet play shot, as its backdrop. The background score was quite ordinary, for Vidyasagar's standards.

Though Karu Palaniappan has made this film, the script and screenplay does not belong to him, and its the first time Karu has attempted a remake film. 'Jannal Oram' is the official remake of the 2012 Malayalam film, 'Ordinary' which turned out to be a super-hit. The story was written by Sugeeth and screenplay by Nishad K.Koya and Manu Prasad, the makers of the original film. The problem with the film, is that it moves at a leisurely pace and the viewers could not muster what to expect from this film, even from half-way into it ! Karu, slowly introduces us to each characters one by one, and that proceeding had nothing novel in the methodology perspective. The first half was insipid, and the only thing which kept us watching were the dialogues, written by Sugunakumar K.E. There are a few sharp dialogues, atypical of Karu's film dialogues, but they are few and far between. There is an unexpected twist just before the climax, but it was far too late to save the film and was overtly stretched, as well. Karu Palaniappan, should have done more homework in fine tuning the original script, to suit the tastes and pace of a typical, 'good' Tamizh-film. Nevertheless, kudos to Karu for delivering a very clean film, which can be watched by anyone.

'Jannal Oram' - Below average showing from Karu Palaniappan. Where's the guy who made 'Parthiban Kanavu' ?!


Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

AADHALAAL KADHAL SEIVEER MOVIE REVIEW

Suseenthiran, who made a promising start with 'Vennila Kabbadi Kuzhu' and followed up with successful films such as 'Naan Mahaan Alla' and 'Azhagarsamiyin Kudhirai', took a beating with his last project, the dreadful 'Rajapattai'. After a two year hiatus, he is back in his forte and has churned out a juvenile love story, with a relatively unknown and young cast and backed by a good script. Will 'Aadhalaal Kadhal Seiveer', be a springboard again for Suseenthiran ?

Santhosh Ramesh makes his debut as a lead actor, and he fits the role of an immature and hasty teenager. He has plenty of scope to improve on every facets of film acting. Timing is a very important aspect which he should improve a lot, if he wishes to pursue acting. Manisha Yadav Suresh performs well as the vulnerable and joyful youngster. Her role seems to be like an extension of her debut role she carried out in 'Vazhakku En 18/9. Better directors and stronger scripts and character writing could bring out better performances from her. The two character artistes, Jayaprakash and Thulasi as the parents of the heroine, were absolutely terrific in their performances as the distraught parents. These artistes brings out the best in them and made use of the scope offered by Suseenthiran, fantastically. It is almost unbelievable to believe that they are actually just artistes and are acting ! Hats-off to both of them. Poornima Bhagyaraj had a strong role as well but had quite limited time and screen presence in this film. Arjun brings a few chuckle as the 'Godfather' of love among the bunch of friends. The rest of the cast such as Ramnath Shetty, Archana Raha, Srinidhi Vasudevan, Anburaj and etc are apt.

D.Venkatesh's costume designing and H.K Suriya Prakash's make-up was very functional and apt, and all the characters looked very natural and realistic. Anal Arasu's action choreography was very realistic as well, since there were no actual fights and stunt sequences. S.Jayachandran's art direction expertise, sufficed the needs of the script. The props of the interiors of homes, were well noticed and arranged, since most of the film are shot in real locations. Anthony's editing was flawless and sharp, as the duration of the film is very crisp, keeping the proceedings neat and tidy. Soorya A.R's cinematography is functional and has captured the pertinent moments very well, with good usage of close-ups.

Yuvan Shankar Raja delivered good numbers in the film. "Mella Sirithal" is the opening track and was shot like a music video, on Marina beach, focusing on the bunch of youngsters involved in the script, with interspersing montages of various couples falling in love. "Alaipaayum" is another montage song, shot on the lead pair and their love escapades, in their daily lives. "Thappu Thanda" is a sensuous song, shot on the lead pair, in a set resembling a hotel room, which was very well designed by S.Jayachandran, with apt color palette, suiting the song. "Nenje Kel" and "Kaadhale" are situational bit-songs, used appropriately, while the final number, "Aaraaro" is a heart-wrenching one, which was shot on a small child in a foster home. The delicate and moments of the child was very well captured by the technical crew of the film. Yuvan sizzles in the background score department as well, and has delivered one of his best works in recent times. The score complements the needs and moods of the script, perfectly.

Suseenthiran has written this story based on an idea, pitched by Lenin Bharathi, who has been credited in the film. The screenplay has been well structured by a team of writers, including Suseenthiran himself, besides Nagarajan and Vijaya Ananth. The first half is a smooth and light-hearted delight, with funny and lively moments, among the bunch of friends portrayed in the film, as well as the blossoming love episode of the lead pair. There are a myriad of characters involved and kudos to Suseenthiran for having a keen eye of detail, and presenting them in an realistic and unforced manner. Also, Suseenthiran must be appreciated alongside C.Clyton for the simple, natural and realistic dialogues, be it for any episode in the film and any characters involved. It takes a lot of hard-work and proper research and some good maturity to handle such delicate but actual matters. What particularly strikes the most, is the nonchalant manner in which the love is portrayed between the lead pair without any gimmicks nor purposely written scene to enforce the love. It takes guts and lots of conviction to deliver such simple episodes, perfectly on the screen and Suseenthiran has done it like an ace ! The only minus one can come up, is the less sizzling and powerful emotional connect between the lead pair. Though juveniles are expected to be like that, a more powerful portrayal could have done more justice to the script. But still, kudos to Suseenthiran for the climax, which leaves a lump in the hearts of all viewers.

'Aadhalaal Kadhal Seiveer' - A brilliant comeback from Suseenthiran ! Concisely and conscientiously, done.


Ratings: 3.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL 

VAZHAKKU EN: 18/9 MOVIE REVIEW

Balaji Sakthivel was a trendsetter when he came up with "Kadhal", a movie which left a lump in the throat of all viewers. That story and his next, "Kalloori" were all based on true incidents. This time, he has came up with a script which is not based on an actual incident, but what one regularly reads in newspapers. His "Kalloori" didn't fare well and he had to face brickbats for the unpopular climax and ending of that film. Its been a long five years since that film released, and Tamizh cinema has seen different attempts of film-making. Balaji took a long time to script this film "Vazhakku En:18/9 and even took another few years to fine tune it. His cautious approach is understandable because the pressure is there to deliver and that too, when he has his friend, director Linguswamy producing it. The promos and trailers were impressive, and it promised another hard-hitting, realistic film from the director.

Half the battle is won for the director when it comes to making a hardcore realistic film, when he chooses the right face for the roles and making them to perform. Hats off to Balaji Sakthivel for painstakingly going through the arduous process of picking the right people for the roles. The film is based on four main characters and all the new artistes who took up the role was excellent. Sri, as the street vendor, has literally lived the role and hats off to him for taking strenuous approaches to perfect his body language and appearance necessary for the role. Urmila Mahanta as the maid too did a decent job, and she was very natural and convincing, although she's from Assam. Mithun Murali and Manisha Yadav as the school goers were perfect and they did their roles in an convincing manner as well. Muthuraman as the corrupt police officer is another revelation and it would be wonderful to have him in more films. Chinnasamy, the young boy and a street performer was a wisecrack with his mannerisms. All the others in the cast was very natural and life-like. Literally, all of them have lived the roles. A big applause to the whole acting cast!

All the technicians should be applauded for delivering a good product with detailed and minute inputs. The DI work by Nilesh Sawant and VFX by Sasi Kumar was very good as the film had cinematic feel to it, although it was shot digitally by the cinematographer. Sound recording by A.S Lakshmi Narayanan, the veteran and the dialogues recording by R.Ravichandran and T.Ramesh was in sync which highlights the natural look the film intended to be. All the dialogues were captured naturally at the given scenario, and it gives the impression of listening something live, to the audiences. A.Seenu's costumes was apt and kudos to him for being very minute in the costume details. L.V Raja's make-up was perfect as well. Silva's stunt work was just a struggling scene which was very natural and mild, and Mayil Krish's set work was spot on. Especially with the interiors of the apartment and the police stations, Mayil Krish has done a very decent job. Gopi Krishna's editing was flawless, though the second half could have been trimmed a little. R.Prasanna, a Carnatic electric guitar player, makes his debut as music composer. Known for his Carnatic music shows and also for composing the score of the Academy Award-winning documentary "Smile Pinki", he has given refreshing musical score, the style contrasting with the characters the music score associated with. Also, the decision of not using any instruments for the two songs worked out very well. Karthik's "Oru Kural" and Dhandapaani's "Vaanathaiye" plays throughout the movie, and enhances the feel and mood of the film, especially the latter, which gives a haunting feeling in the end. S.D Vijay Milton, did a fantastic job with his cinematography. Although the film was shot in digital format using the Canon EOS 7D, there look and feel had no difference than any other cinematic film. His camera work in the police station sequences was very well done, and the gloomy color tone together with natural lighting gives the film an excellent cinematography appeal. Job very, very well done by Vijay Milton.

Balaji Sakthivel, should be applauded for sketching his characters in a very minute and detailed manner. Every expressions, body language and movements was meticulous but yet natural. The characters were developed very well, keeping out any unwanted loopholes. The screenplay is gripping to quite an extent, but the back and forth method of showing flashbacks and present situation makes audience a little unsettled. But that's not an excuse to not appreciate for the sincere and realistic work by him. The climax was definitely hard-hitting which makes us to realise how bitter and unfathomable, the real world is. The film certainly carries a thumping message but at the same time, was very subtle and not preachy, which is a very tough thing to do for a film maker. Balaji Sakthivel definitely deserves a standing ovation for his in-depth study on the lives of Chennai citizens, stretching from the poor and downtrodden, to the desperate middle class and ending with the corrupted rich folks.


Once again, Balaji Sakthivel has proven that, he is no ordinary film maker but a sensitive and master craftsman. He deserves credit and appreciation for highlighting the subtle message of how cruel and harsh, humans can be. The issue of how corrupt middle class folks, take advantage of the poor's vulnerability and naivety, together with the desperateness and lackadaisical mentality of the rich, stands testimony to this.


Ratings: 4/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL