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
'Attakathi' fame Dinesh, who had a decent outing with 'Cuckoo' has taken up a lead role with some commercial elements for the first time. 'Thirudan Police' is touted to be a melodramatic comedy fare, with some serious moments in between. Co-produced by S.P.B Charan, can debutante Caarthick Raju come up with a decent feel-good entertainer ?
Dinesh has chosen an apt script for him, where he can showcase his acting histrionics and at the same time, try his hand at comedy. He is convincing as the loafer turned constable, but at some places, he looks quite stiff and rigid. He must certainly improve his dancing capabilities and be more natural in the songs, as his uncomfortness romancing the heroine, is quite obvious. Iyshwarya Rajesh has nothing to offer here and only appears for some romance portions and song sequences. Muthuraman as the main antagonist was okay but its Rajendran and John Vijay who steals the thunder with their comedic acts. The pair complemented each other well and brought out the better comic timing from each other. The climax scene was hilarious ! Upcoming comedian Bala Saravanan is a riot with his dialogue deliveries and voice modulation. His natural demeanor works as a charm for him and sooner or later, he is sure to reach new heights ! Veteran Rajesh sparkles in his short role as a strict constable father and the others like Naren, Nitin Sathya, Krishnamoorthy, Renuka, Uma Iyer, Rajendranath, Vaiyapuri and etc make up the rest of the cast, with a very dignified special appearance from the legendary S.P Balasubrahmanyam.
Sruthi Kannath's costume designing sufficed the needs of the script and most of her work would have been on the heroine since the hero and the other main characters appear in police constable outfits, most of the time. Dhilip Subbarayan's action choreography was very realistic and apt and the highlight would be the jail lock-up fight scene involving Dinesh, Rajendran and John Vijay. The colony chase and the ensuing fight sequence, during the beginning of the movie. Art direction is by Jacki and the set properties for the police station set and also for the police housing colony was very realistic. The difference in class between a superior and a lower-level police officer was well showcased through the projection of their houses. Praveen K.L's editing was clean as usual and the fight sequences were very well edited. Siddharth's cinematography is functional and there's nothing really outstanding with his work, except for the fast movements through the housing colony, involving a fight sequence between Nitin Sathya and Dinesh.
Yuvan Shankar Raja's musical score is way below average for his standards and its pretty much run of the mill, stuff. "Moodu Panikkul" is a duet shot on Dinesh and Iyshwarya Rajesh in the highlands of the lush, green Kodaikanal. The panoramic views are the usual stuff, we are accustomed to. "Dheivame" is a situational bit song, which was shot on Rajesh and is also used during the end credits, and highlights the love of a father. "Ennodu Vaa" is a party dance number and featured Vijay Sethupathi and Aruldass in cameo appearances. Rajendran and John Vijay amuses with their lady get-ups for this song ! "Pesadhe" is the pick of the lot and melody number and has montages of Dinesh and Iyshwarya Rajesh, which was mostly shot in the housing colony area. Yuvan Shankar Raja's background score was just functional and nothing more than that.
Caarthick Raju's story is nothing new and the revenge element is as old as the hills. But the lighthearted treatment of the script is a bit refreshing and the melodramatic moments were kept bare minimum, apart from a fiery verbose speech by Naren. The song placements looked forced and disturbs the flow of the screenplay. Also, there plot development could be more organic and less jarring. The script highlights the pitiful and poor lives of the lower-level police constables and their daily miseries. Their lifestyle and struggle were well captured and how their higher officials make use of them, were explicitly shown. Caarthick Raju has infused the comedy element well into the script but at times, it makes us to ponder on how are we suppose to treat certain scenes, as either being serious or as light-hearted moments. The dialogues are a big plus to the film, especially for the comedy portions, and in particular for Bala Saravanan, who mouthed it perfectly. The end credits, which has photographs of all the technicians with their respective fathers, is an ode to fatherhood and was a nice touch. A film without lofty ambitions, 'Thirudan Police' is meets its expectations, though there are rooms for improvements.
'Thirudan Police' - Funny hide-and-seek !
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'Paandiya Naadu' raised eyebrows and piqued the interest of Tamizh audience when it was launched. Suseenthiran join hands with Vishal for the very first time. An intriguing pairing this is, due to their current form in Tamizh film industry. The former is basking in the glories with the critically-acclaimed 'Aadhalaal Kaadhal Seiveer' and the former, reeling in consecutive flops and poor showing of films. Also, Vishal has decided to take things into his own hands by flaunting a new film production company (Vishal Film Factory) and churning out this flick as its maiden debut. Throw in, the best of technicians and Bharathiraja, this is a very interesting concoction indeed. Can Susee redeem Vishal's flagging career ?
'Paandiya Naadu' is certainly a throwback for Vishal to his 'Sandaikozhi' and 'Thimiru' days. Coincidentally, both those films were based in Madurai and its third time lucky for Vishal, because this performance is easily the best from him thus far. Though 'Avan Ivan' had plenty of struggle and pain, Vishal makes us fall for him and root for his success. He is totally convincing as the shy and mild-mannered Sivakumar. Its a refreshing change to see him shed his action-hero image and immerse into a believable and endearing character. A very well written role and neatly portrayed by Vishal, especially with the transformation in the second half, and the way he carried the stammering issues. The legend, Bharathiraja steals the show, with his terrific performance, and its a real shame that only a handful of directors in Tamizh cinema, had actually utilized his acting capabilities. The veteran just oozes class and moves us with his emotional outbursts and a touching performance in the end. Take a bow, sir ! Though Lakshmi Menon was adequate and convincing in her role, her acting scope was very much limited in the screen timing. Antagonist, Sharath Lohithashwa looks menacing and powerful, and is just the perfect villain for this genre of films. A fantastic portrayal by the Kannada actor. Harish Uthaman, comes close as well, with very commanding screen presence and looks. Soori makes his mark, wherever he was given space and Vikranth does a energy and rage-filled cameo appearance. The rest of the cast such as Somasundaram, literateur Jayabalan, Muthuraman, R.S Amudheswar, Thulasi, Keerthi Shetty, Priya, Soumya Satish, Bava Lakshmanan, the cute 'Baby' Rakshana and etc were befitting of their neatly presented roles.
Vasugi Bhaskar has done a terrific job with Vishal's costume designing, as he looks like a Madurai chap, perfectly ! Malini and Nikila are in charge of Lakshmi Menon's and their work was not bad, either. Rajeevan has handled the production design very well and all the landscape and plot setting looked very apt and authentic. The prop detailing was intricate and very well-researched. The opening sequences are a highlight and also the climax fight sequences, which had very good detailing, in terms of set properties. Anthony's editing was as usual, sharp and precise. Some trimming in the first half would have made wonders to this film, but the feel-good moments will have to be sacrificed, which could deter the reception of general, family audiences. 'Anal' Arasu's action choreography is simply superb, as it is very original and realistically shot. The climax fight sequence, where Vishal uses whatever props he can reach, was very well executed. Action sequences are definitely big highlights of the film ! The backbone of the film, is definitely Madhie's exceptional cinematography work. He made use of the 4K resolution camera very well, and each frame and camera movements, were well measured and carefully shot. The golden brown color tone maintained throughout the film, brings the nativity feel to the script. Virudhu Nagar of Madurai has been shot beautifully and 'Paandiya Naadu' will certainly be one of Madhie's best works, so far, especially with the fantastically shot, action blocks.
D.Imman is certainly having the time of his life, and he rocks again with brilliant musical score for this film, as well. The "Theme Music" was used for the opening credits and also used sparingly as background score. The thumping score, certainly eleveates the mood of the script. "Daiyare Daiyare" is an enjoyable opening song, which had a colorful, funeral 'celebration' as its backdrop. The camera movements and angles are the highlights of this song's picturization. "Yelay Yelay" was beautifully shot inside the ancient temples of Madurai, on Vishal and Lakshmi Menon, and had brilliant natural lighting and color tone, which brought out the earthy essence of the song. The pick of the lot, "Othakadai Othakadai" was shot on Vikranth, Soori and Vishal and was mostly shot in the narrow back-lanes and alleyways of Virudhunagar, with few montages interspersed. "Veri Konda Puli" is a situational song and had plenty of montage sequences, depicting the hero in his new 'journey'. "Fy Fy Kalachify" is a typical dance number, shot on Vishal and Lakshmi Menon, on barren fields, with minimal props. D.Imman, scores big time with the background score as well, with stirring and emotional arrangements. Clean hit, D.Imman !
When it comes to script novelty, there's nothing path-breaking here, since Suseenthiran has taken the beaten-to-death revenge story as his core content. But the treatment and screenplay, developed along with G.K Gopinath, Arun Balaji, Nagarajan and Vijay Anand, wins our attention and interest. The screenplay is packed with well-written, thrilling and suspenseful moment, especially in the second half, and keeps us on the edge of our seats. Suseenthiran should be really applauded for proving that one can still make a decent and innovative new script, based on as-old-as-the-hills type of theme lines. The unpredictability factor, coupled with some amusing scenes in the first half, entertains us pretty much, and Suseenthiran proves that he is a master in handling his artistes and bringing the best effort from them, with perfect conviction. Dialogues, co-written with Suseenthiran's pal, writer Bhaskar Sakthi are a scream in certain scenes and has a no-nonsense approach, with the serious sequences. Another plus point of the film, is the avoidance of over-glorifying of the protagonist and the shelving of needless heroism and a special thank you to Suseenthiran for not taking the audience for granted, by avoiding illogical scenes. The travel in the screenplay is nearly free of jerkiness, except for the needless song, late in the second half, which sticks out like a sore thumb.
'Paandiya Naadu' - Suseenthiran saves Vishal's career and enhances his directorial repertoire. They hit the bull's eye !
Ratings: 3.25/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
After 'Udhayam NH4', the main technicians of that team has regrouped again for another of Vetrimaaran's assistant, Prithvi Rajkumar's debut film. 'Naan Rajavaaga Pogiren' has Nakul making a comeback after a 4-year hiatus, accompanied by some new and old faces of Tamizh cinema, filling up the character artistes quotient. Aided by Vetrimaaran, did Prithvi Rajkumar live up to his mentor's name ?
Starting off with the cast, Nakul shows some improvement in his performance. He shows more ease and comfort in the action sequences and his dialogue delivery. But as Jeeva, his diminutive-in-heroism act was on the poorer side of the acting scale. The acting was not convincing and natural, and the 'forced' attempt to act was visible. Poor extraction from the director, perhaps ? Chandini, has the more substantial role of the heroines. She has been accorded more screen space and the heavier performance-enhancing scenes. Avani Modi, is too static and conscious of the presence of the camera. Savitha dubs for the former, while Chinmayee takes care of the latter's. But Avani Modi's performance suffers, due to the mismatch in dubbing sync. Directors Gaurav and A.Venkatesh carry the antagonist roles, and they look apt for the characters they portrayed, though there's nothing particular to praise about. The film has a glut of character artistes such as Nishanth, Manivannan, Kasthuri, Suresh, Vanitha Vijayakumar, Chetan, Muthuraman, Simhaa, Vasu Vikram, 'Delhi' Ganesh, Thiyagu, Mayilsamy, Aarthi and etc and all of them were functional.
Dhilip Subbarayan has choreographed solid action sequences, with the element of kick-boxing, fitting the style of Nakul's. The cricket ground and mall fight sequences, were very professionally done. G.Durairaj's art direction was decent. His art work for the posh apartment sequences, the half-built construction sites, and minute details such as posters and props, were decent works, indeed. Mabbu Jyothiprakash's editing work is functional, but he could have chopped of plenty of scenes, so that the film could have been more racier, with better continuity. R.Velraj proves his class again, with very good framing and camera movements, which creates and aura of suspense and thrill. His night shots are very well shot, and his best works of the film is evident in the mentioned action sequences !
G.V Prakash Kumar, who has been on a role, with a string of decent hits, takes a dip in form in , 'Naan Rajavaaga Pogiren'. The songs were dull and none of the number's were catchy enough ! "College Paadam" is a customary college-intro song, with plenty of good looking female dancers and shot mostly in and around the college campus. Plenty of cut-shots and good camera movements are incorporated into the song. Vetrimaaran, R.Velraj and G.V Prakash make cameo appearances in the song. "Raja Raja" is a montage song, showing the moments shared by the characters played by Nakul and Avani Modi, with dialogue sequences interspersed. "Kalaaipom" is a party song sung by Silambarasan, with all dancers appearing in particular dress codes. The song was shot on all three lead artistes and with different lights used in the backdrop to create a party atmosphere. "Yaar Ivano" was shot on Nakul and Chandini, romancing along the picturesque Goan beaches and landmarks. "Malgova" is a typical item song and Zarine Khan does the jig this time around. The song was poor in quality and the choice of totally-out-of-shape Zarine as an item girl, is a bewildering one by the director. The song was set in a shooting-like scenario. The background score was better than the songs, to be frank. Especially for the tensed moments.
Prithvi Rajkumar has an interesting knot to his story and a clever title. But what's totally missing is an acute and engrossing screenplay ! It is obvious that, Prithvi's style of film-making has a heavy sense of Vetrimaaran's touch, but the screenplay and direction was poorer in quality. The film moves in a very slow pace with a barrage of social messages, thrust into the film, unnecessarily. The usage of monologues was excessive, which gets boring after a certain period. The direction was hurried and there's no proper execution in canning important sequences. Characters were very not properly developed nor the artistes were properly utilized. Surprisingly, Vetrimaaran's dialogues were just handy enough and nothing impressive, in particular.The only plus point one could think of is the cleverly used red herring element in the screenplay, and the rest of the film is just a cover-up for it, which unfortunately plays spoilsport.
'Naan Rajavaaga Pogiren' - Good idea, below average execution.
Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Director Pandiraj, who debuted with the charming 'Pasanga', has dabbled in different attempts before, such as 'Vamsam' and 'Marina'. All three films were different from each other, but he has realized that his forte is comedy, and that's a safe bet in current circumstances, at the box office. With two upcoming small budget, safe-bets in Vemal and Sivakarthikeyan, Pandiraj has promised a clean film with a good dosage of comedy. Did he succeed ?
Vemal was flawless in his role, as it is his comfort zone, playing middle-class, youngster. He certainly has improved very much, in dialogue delivery and voice modulation. He looks more confident in dance and emotional scenes as well. Neat job ! Sivakarthikeyan was exploited of his terrific comedy timing and good mimicry skills. It is second nature to him in delivering 'killer-blow' punch dialogues, since he was a versatile television presenter before. His dancing capabilities are not bad, either. More good films, and this top-notch entertainer, will find huge success in Tamizh cinema ! Bindu Madhavi, plays a good foil as Vemal's pair. She gets to play a "different" Tamizh heroine, contradicting the norms of such backdrop-based films. She gets to bash the hero, for a change and plays the more assertive one, rather than the hero ! Whereas, Regina Cassandra is a breathe of fresh air, and this girl is good in what she does. With her experiences of doing Telugu films beforehand, her expressions and performance have an unbidden nature to it, a far cry from her 'Kanda Naal Mudhal' days ! If she dubs in her own voice, it would do wonders for her. Soori was havoc in the film, with his exceptional dialogue delivery and comedy timing ! He was at complete ease in his role, and delivers the dialogues at the right note, ensuring the comedy hits on the right moment ! This film will be one of his best in his repertoire. The rest of the supporting cast such as 'Delhi' Ganesh, Sujatha, Gopal, Muthuraman, Manoj Kumar and etc were apt for the roles they played.
K.Natraj's costume designing and G.Vijayakumar's make-up sense, was very much in tune with the script. They ensured the lead folks, looked their roles, without being too flashy. Especially for the heroines, as both girls were looking as the simple and sweet girl-next-door. Rajeevan's art direction was spotless, in terms of quality. He created authentic market and bar settings for the songs and the props for the election sequences, were very authentic and immaculate. Athiyappan Siva's editing was smooth, but he could have done a little trimming in the first half, as there are couple of standalone, unwarranted sequences. Rajashekar's stunt work was over-the-top, but it was in dictation of the script and scene. Vijay's cinematography complements the backdrop of the film's setting, and he captures the native look and feel of Tiruchi quite well, with the RED Pro 5.0. His poised handling of the camera movement, adds strength to the scenes, especially those which were shot indoors.
Yuvan Shankar Raja's tunes were simple and neat for 'Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga'. The peppy "Oru Porambokku" sung by him, together with Silambarasan, was picturized on the triumvirate of Vemal, Sivakarthikeyan, Soori and as well as with the other friend character. The song is about the negativeness of drinking and ironically, it was shot showing the characters enjoying drinking and dancing for the apparent "one, final time". Rajeevan's set work, especially the brightly-lit street set-up was very authentic. Vijay's framing sense was apt as well. "Konjum Kili" was shot on the Vemal and Bindu. It was shot in real locations, such as temples, streets and markets. The color tone of the song was suitable and he captured the facial expressions of the artistes, quite well. "Suda Suda" was shot on Sivakarthikeyan and Regina, and has plenty of montages, edited into the song. It too was shot on plenty of real locations such as railway station, market, streets, railway tracks and etc. "Ulladha Naan" has the backdrop of a campaign election, and was shot on the main leads, in their council election campaign. The props and set-up by Rajeevan was top-notch. "Deivangal Ellame" is a situational song, with montages of the difficult moments in the lead heroes' lives. The background score was good as usual, with some typical melodious hook-lines, used sparingly.
Judging from what Pandiraj has done, its quite evident that he has put his bets on comedy. His clarity in it is laudable, and kudos to him for coming up with a neat and family-friendly film, with plenty of fun-filled moments. The strength of Pandiraj, is his witty dialogues. Starting off with Samuthirakani's voice-over, Pandiraj has packed the first half, with gags over gags. The dialogues were very cleverly written, and shines with good creativity. Pandiraj (he does appear in the film along with the editor Athiyappan and dance choreographer Dinesh, before the credits) has come up with novel, but funny sequences throughout the film, and has extracted the correct level of performance from his artistes. His antithetical situations and dialogues reminds us of Pandiyarajan's movies of the 80's and 90's, unmistakably. But, the script takes a sharp diversion in the climax, and out of a sudden, you get to see some melodramatic moments and sentimental dialogues. And that's when we realize Pandiraj's notion of wrapping his intended message, with loads of comedic gags. Also, its a little bizarre to notice his heroines mellowing to the charms of the heroes out of the blue, in the second half, whereas they were in resistance, throughout the first half ! Apart from this minor blips, the film was presented neatly and packaged properly, with the correct dosage of comedy, romance, songs and sentiments, without going too preachy nor draggy.
'Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga' is levity-filled fun film, which is good for unwinding on a stressful day.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
