THIRUDAN POLICE MOVIE REVIEW

'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

AADAMA JAICHOMADA MOVIE REVIEW

The title 'Aadama Jaichomada' is inspiration of the hit-song from the album, 'Mankatha'. Ironically, the film's theme is revolved around the match fixing scam associated with the highly successful Indian Premier League cricket tournament. Though the film's content might suggest something of a B/C Grade film, but the content could surprise you and might be of good entertainment value for your time and money, spent. With an eclectic mix of upcoming artistes, can Badri pull it off, after the horrendous remake of 'Thillu Mullu' ?

The film has no particular lead protagonist nor antagonist and its nice to see that all main characters have nearly equal amount of space and importance to the script. Leading the pack of artistes is Karunakaran, who is on the roll with another decent and spot on performance. Karunakaran impresses us with his unique dialogue delivery and facial expressions. His comic timing is just near perfect and pulls off most of the jokes, effortlessly. However, he should improve his romance and dancing portions, if he is to pursue lead roles in the future. Bobby Simhaa, has a big makeover from the 'Jigarthanda' looks and plays the role of a cop, for the first time. The pretentious, over-ambitious and unintelligent cop role suits him to a T, He has the ample scenes to showcase his acting histrionics and doesn't let us down. Heroine Vijayalakshmi has done an adequate job and gets her diction and dialogues right. The other artistes such as Balaji Venugopal, K.S Ravikumar, Radha Ravi, Naren, Chetan, Gautham, Chitra Letchumanan, Abhishek and etc have delivered wacky performances in a very nonchalant way, especially with K.S Ravikumar and Naren. Its a jolly-good casting, indeed !

Action choreography is handled by Hari Dinesh, and since the film is purely a comedy, the action sequences are not meant to be taken serious too. The actions are over-the-top, but it is meant to be like that, in order to maintain the comical element of the screenplay. The usage of ropes in such obvious manner, could have been avoided though. Art director Gururaj's work lends a big helping hand for the film's production quality. Almost many sequences in the film have a set based scenario or plenty of props. Be it the interiors of the homes, the songs, police station set, control room and etc, every avenue is properly done and the set properties matched the ambiance very well. Kudos to Gururaj ! K.J Venkatramanan's editing is slick and he keeps the duration of the film short and has done managed the cuts for the wild-goose chase scenes, quite well. A little bit of pace in the first half, would have done more good for the film. Dwarakanath's cinematography suits the film's script and budget very well. His works for the chasing scenes are noteworthy and the lighting sense in some scenes, brought out the right effect, which added more credence to the comedy quotient of the script. 

Sean Roldan's music works fine for the film and some of the songs are appealing even if you are to listen to it as standalone soundtracks. "Thanniyile" is montage song shot on Karunakaran and Vijayalakshmi. There are plenty of funny touches here and there's such as the dancing angels ala Bharathiraja-style. The posh bathroom set for this song deserves mention ! "Odura Nari" is a situational song and is shot on Karunakaran who is chased by Naren and his motley crew of henchmen. "Naalellam" is a folk dance number, shot on Karunakaran and Vijayalakshmi, with colorful set work, based on an Rajasthani theme. "One Day" is another situation song, shot in a nightclub/pub scene, and has good lighting effects, with the additional eye-candy in the form of an sexy Caucasian dancer. The editing for the song complements the way the song was shot. "Nalla Kettuko" appears during the end-credits and features all the main leads in an 70's retro style look, with brightly colored simple set work and some patch ups of computer graphics. Sean Roldan's background score is unique and this young composer is very fast making progress and stamping his own mark but he should be cautious in not repeating his works.

Story and screenplay, developed by the director Badri, alongside with T.Senthilkumaran has touches of dark humor or black comedy. The film's thematic contents are definitely not children-friendly but the gags are indeed humorous. Some real life issues and moments are parodied unabashedly and what helps the film is the quirky mix of idiosyncratic characters and their own bizarre scenarios or situations. Be it the foolish theater owner who produces a film deemed failure, a heroine who has some sort of a yearning for a personal bathroom, a police officer who is seen as a complete joker and a philandering but helpful bookie and etc, these sort of standalone weird characters, have their lives intertwined somehow, ensuring the sparks doesn't fail to fly. Helping Badri's screenplay is the colloquially funny dialogues, written by actor Shiva. The dialogues by Shiva keeps the film lively and can be considered the backbone of the script. What hampers the film though, are the needless songs, especially the duets ! 'The film is a breezy entertainer and a perfect light-hearted black comedy.

'Aadama Jaichomada' - An effortless winner, indeed !


Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

PORIYAALAN MOVIE REVIEW

Vetrimaaran's production company Grass Root Film Company, has produced this medium budget flick, interestingly titled as 'Poriyaalan', meaning an engineer ! The film's plot is based on civil engineering projects and the protagonist plays a civil engineer (Vetrimaaran and Dhanush, seem to be on the same wavelength !). Written by Manimaran, who previously wielded the megaphone for Vetri's 'Udhayam NH4' and directed by debutante Thanukumar, can Vetrimaaran produce a quality output ?

Harish Kalyan looks comfortable and at ease in essaying his role. But he lacks screen presence and charisma to hold our attention, which he should improve, if he's to do more protagonist roles. Rakshitha/Hasika/Anandhi (hope she zeroes a name, very soon !) looks demure and fits the bill. She has a pleasing personality and comes out with subtle performances. With better directors and scripts, she can go places. Achutha Kumar was functional was the atypical Tamizh cinema villain, whereas its veteran artiste Mohan Raman, who surprises us with a terrifically nonchalant performance ! The rest of the cast includes 'Delhi' Ganesh, Naren, Mayilsamy, Ajay Rathnam, 'Munnar' Ramesh, Udhayabanu Maheshwaran, 'Crane' Manohar, Bava Lakshmanan and etc.

'Tiger' Babu's action choreography may seem to be functional, but it just did not suit the personality of Harish Kalyan, and gives out an exaggerated feel, which definitely, is a turn off. G.B Venkatesh's editing is slick and he keeps the pace of racy, especially in the second half, bar some unwanted songs and stunt scenes. R.K Vijay Murugan's art work sufficed the needs of the script. His set properties were very apt, especially for the middle-class homes depicted in the film. R.Velraj is in charge of cinematography and though the ace cinematographer tries his best to come up with good visuals, the quality is obviously missing. The songs look lackluster and even his forte of night shots, look dull. 

M.S Jones' music is below average and none of the songs, manage to stick with our minds. "Porappu Erappu" is the introductory song for the protagonist and the song has a celebration theme, with low-cost flats, as its background. Gana Bala makes a cameo appearance in this song. "Kan Rendum" sung by G.V Prakash Kumar and Saindhavi, is a melody shot on the lead pair and has full of montage sequences, which doesn't really leave any impressive impression on us. "Yedhedho Sila" is another melody shot on the lead pair and this romance track was shot on the backwaters of Alleppy, Kerala and has its famous houseboats, as a venue. "Haryana Devathai" is an item number, which was unfortunately, very boring. The background score was overwhelming and often drowns the proceeding of the screenplay. M.S Jones, should be more careful with his rerecording and try not to overdo his work.

Manimaran's story is a very simple thriller plot line, which has the typical scandals and scams being the main theme. The screenplay was neat and plays safe by incorporating all the commercial elements into it, but the story picks up pace in the second half and the detailing is worth mentioning. We get to see the other side of civil engineers, real estate projects, brokers & agents and all the hanky-panky issues of that side of the world, which we might not know. Though the film is filled with realistic approaches, the negative points of the film, brings down the thrill quotient. The film lacks energy and strong characterizations. The characters have a basic sketch about them, but other than that, the characters lack depth and is pretty insipid. Mohan Raman's character was a surprise exception ! The romance, comedy and song sequences really pulls down the momentum of screenplay but Manimaran tries to keep us engaged with some poignant touches here and there, especially in the manner the protagonist faced and managed his love affair, once it becomes an open secret. The dialogues are crisp in those portions, but the execution in the direction department by Thanukumar is not up to mark. The film has a good content and subject matter but it faltered in the making.

'Poriyaalan' - A B-grade thriller, not going right !


Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

MEGHA MOVIE REVIEW

Touted as an 'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraaja's "musical festival", 'Megha' is the first film for Ashwin Kakumanu and Srushti Dange, to don the role of a lead pair. Directed by debutante Karthick Rishi, 'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraaja's songs have been giving the film the needed publicity but will that transform into a successful venture for all parties ?

Ashwin Kakumanu has proved his mettle in playing character roles of lesser proportions, but for the first time, he carries the entire film on his shoulders. His smart and presentable appearance helps him to fit the character well and he has tried his best in delivering an earnest performance but he falters in those heavy-duty scenes and really needs to buck up in those areas. As for Srushti Dange, she passes of as the atypical innocent and naive Tamizh cinema heroine, and she too needs plenty of improvement from her side, in order to succeed as an artiste. Jayaprakash has the best role among the character artistes and the veteran is dependable as always, but there's something not right with his characterization, though. The rest such as Angana Roy, Naren, Vijayakumar, Meera Krishnan, Y.Gee Mahendran, Ravi Prakasam, Nithya Ravinder, Sasikumar, Sai Prashanth, S.Selvakumar and etc did their roles well, although the necessity for some of the respective artistes' characters, is a big question mark.

Sathya N.J's costume designing sufficed the needs of the script, and each character were realistically attired. Action choreography is handled by 'Action' Prakash and though the scope is minimal, his work was decent and fitted the film's nature. Mani Karthick is in charge of art direction and his work was good, considering the limitations of the film's medium budget. The laboratory and office scenes, as well as the wedding hall set-up was well put up. Ramsudharsan's editing could have been slicker, since the film's duration is a tad too long, and he could have avoided some abrupt cuts, which is unacceptable for today's standards. Cinematography plays a big role in the film's look and R.B Gurudhev has given a nice look throughout the film and the way he portrayed the rain sequences, needs special mention. Also, his lighting and color tone for each sequence tracks, brings out the right mood and feel. 

What adds soul to the film, is definitely the musical score of 'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraaja. Though the excessive number of songs is a hindrance to the screenplay, the fit the scenes really well. "Mugilo Megamo" sung by Yuvan Shankar Raja, plays during the opening credits, which had lovely CG portions of the blue sky and beautiful clouds. The classic "Putham Pudhu Kaalai" from 'Alaigal Oivadhillai' has been remixed here, and is used for a marriage sequence, featuring the lead artistes. The lighting by R.B Gurudhev and wedding decoration set-up by Mani Karthick, adds more class for the song, though the composition of sequences could have been better. "Chellame" is the first duet for the lead pair and had a rain soaked Chennai street, in the dead night, as its backdrop. "Kalvane" is another melody shot on the lead pair and this time, its and out-and-out indoor song, which was complemented by apt color tone and lighting by R.B Gurudhev. "Jeevane" sung by 'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraaja himself is a situational song, featuring the male lead in search of the female lead. The film ends with 'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraaja's version of "Mugilo Megamo" during the end credits. The background score has the 'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraaja stamp all over it, and they would make a decent listening, on its own. 'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraaja at his casual best !

Karthick Rishi has tried to balance two genres, romance & investigative thriller, into a single screenplay. The investigative thriller block was decently written and the element of the hero being a forensic ballistics expert, is an interesting idea, though it was not fully capitalized, apart from a scene or two. The romance portion is the weaker side of the screenplay, wherein the romance track lacks the spark and intensity needed by several yards, and the lead pair is unconvincing as a lead pair. And some dialogues in this portion is just unintentionally, way too cheesy, for current norms ! There's no organic development in the love track and everything seems to happen just like that. The characterization of the artistes is a little weak and as mentioned earlier, some characters appear and disappear in the film, for no solid reasons. The film does have some sweet spots, in terms of writing, but they are few and far between. The screenplay lacks pace, especially in the second half when the whodunit element is revealed a little earlier than it should have been. And that leaves us, with some unanswered questions, which exposes the loopholes in the script. 

'Megha' - Nice template, but less conviction in execution.


Ratings: 2.5/ STARS

BY:TAMIL

SARABHAM MOVIE REVIEW

After the successful 'Thegidi', TCS Studios and C.V Kumar's Thirukumaran Entertainment have joined hands once again for another small/medium budget film, 'Sarabham'. Named after a mythical half-lion & half-bird creature, this film is the debut venture for its director, Arun Mohan, who happens to be the son of popular comedy artiste Anu Mohan. With C.V Kumar's support, can 'Sarabham' be another feather in the cap for Thirukumaran Entertainment ?

Lesser known Tamizh and Telugu actor Naveen Chandra comes up with an above average performance and has mouthed the dialogues properly, which enabled Gautham to dub in perfect lip-sync for him. He can work out more on his expressions, which goes flat at times. With more films, he should work it up and improve his acting credibility. Debutante heroine, the Delhi model Salony Luthra was impressive in some sequences, but falters in the emotionally-charged scenes, which was a necessity due to her unconventional character's various dimensions. Her characterization reminds us of Angelina Jolie's brooding and mysterious Hollywood roles, she donned. Raagini Sree's voice suits Salony, to the tee. She can do better and she has to do better if she's to survive as an actress. Naren, comes clean with a very measured performance, but the actor can definitely deliver more. The whole film is based on these three artistes and the supporting cast such as 'Kadhal' Kannan, 'Boys' Rajan, Shankara Narayanan, Thilak, Sam Anton and etc are just there to fill up the script's needs.

Technically the film is sleek, with some good outputs from the able technicians. Vishnu Govind and Sree Sankar's sound designing was a big boost for the film, because of the many background score-less scenes. The climax action sequence, deserves appreciation. Preethi Kanthan's costume designing was apt, especially with Salony Luthra's costumes, which demanded changes in accordance to the changeover of her character. But better designing could have been worked out for Naveen Chandra and Naren. Anbariv's action choreography was minimal, but was effectively and neatly executed, with only the climax scene having a real sense of action. A.Gopi Anand's art direction sufficed the needs of the script and his work with the posh apartment setting of the protagonist's home and the female lead's home, deserves mention. The posh, upmarket feel and look was achieved. Leo John Paul's no-nonsense editing worked well for the script and the duration was kept tight, with the running time going just above 2 hours. Krishnan Vasant's cinematography adds the necessary glossy touch and his work complemented the director's vision, especially with the distinctive camera movements and also for the lighting, which gave the film a fixed mood and look, throughout.

Music is handled by Britto Michael and his scores are just passable since the songs are just situational and goes along the screenplay. "Pudhidhaai Or Iravu" was shot on the lead pair and has montages of them, roaming around Chennai at night. Krishnan Vasant's lighting for the shots was okay, though the clubbing sequence could have been better. "Bodhaiyil Paadhai" was shot on Naveen Chandra and is also full of night shots and montages of the Chennai streets at dead-night. "Neram" sung by Usha Uthup appears during the end credits. Britto Michael's background score worked well for the film, especially with the inclusion of the "Sarabham Theme" track sung by Malaysian artiste Rabbit.Mac, at the right moments (during the 'surprise' moments, to be precise).

Arun Mohan has knitted a tight screenplay revolving around the three important characters alone, which keeps the proceeding from not going out of path. But the screenplay lacks pace and some spunky energy needed for such simple thrillers, especially when you have lesser known artistes, who struggles to hold our attention or have the charismatic appearance. Also, the screenplay gives space to some loopholes in the script and also left some questions being unanswered, especially with the scenes involving the police. What Arun Mohan makes up for the lack of pace, are the shocking twists in the second half. He keeps his cards very close and slowly unravels to us one by one, before jolting us with a big surprise, right after the interval. That surprise element keeps us engaged, but for those audience who likes to simply keep guessing, some might actually predict the correct outcome in the climax. Another novelty of this particular script is the grey nature of all the characters portrayed in the film, which was a little unique. K.Rajaraman's dialogues are above average, but if more attention were given to the dialogues, it would have elevated the impact of some sequences, by a few notches. Nevertheless, this simple thriller is worth checking out, if you have some time to kill.

'Sarabham' - Patience and attention are necessities, if you are ought to enjoy it. 


Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

JIGARTHANDA MOVIE REVIEW

Listed as one of the most eagerly expected Indian film of 2014 by Forbes India Magazine, the long awaited second film of Karthik Subbaraj gets released ! 'Jigarthanda' is said to be the first script of Karthik Subbaraj and eventually it was 'Pizza' which got made first. With a fantastic cast and crew, can Karthik justify all the expectations created and fulfill the expectations of Tamizh film connoisseurs ?

Siddharth is a fantastic choice by Karthik for the lead role, and he is ultra-convincing with his performance. As the meek and opportunistic budding film director, he was just very good with his composed expression and nonchalant acting. His dialogue delivery too was excellent and he nailed his character to perfection. Lakshmi Menon was adequate and carries a role with a morally ambiguous nature, very comfortably. She has limited scenes, but she impresses in where ever she gets her space. Karunakaran rocks with his comic timing and the informal and casual approach to his role, works very well. His antics in the second half are just pure rip-roaring comedy. A super star comedy artiste, in the making ! But the film definitely belongs to Bobby Simhaa, who was just simply terrific as the antagonist 'Assault' Sethu. Right from his deadly & electrifying introductory scene, he was simply a class act and made complete justice to the role and belief of Karthik Subbaraj for casting him. This is definitely a lifetime performance from Bobby Simhaa and one should expect a shower of awards for his acting, in the coming year. Take a bow Bobby Simhaa, you have truly arrived ! The film has a big cast which includes Ramachandran Durairaj, Naren, Guru Somasundaram, Soundara Rajan, Ambika, Sangili Murugan, Delhi Ganesh, Vinodhini, 'Munnar' Ramesh, Bala Singh, Rajkumar, Bagavathi Perumal, Sudha, Ajay Rathnam and etc and most of them were just perfect for their roles. There are interesting cameos from Nassar, Vijay Sethupathi, Nalan Kumarasamy and Vetrimaaran. Do not miss the awesome cameo sequences of Vijay Sethupathi, especially !

Natraj and Satya takes the responsibility for costume designing and they have done a very good job. The designing for Siddharth and Bobby Simhaa's costumes are noteworthy and highlighted their lifestyles, perfectly. Action choreography is handled by 'Billa' Jagan and this is one of his best works so far. There are no heavy action blocks with elaborate stunt movements, but the neatly executed action scenes, do deserve some mention. The action scenes drip with heavy violence, but they are essentials to such scripts and fulfills the demands of the story. Raju is in charge of art direction and though most of the film was shot in live locations, Raju's detailing work for the interiors of the Madurai homes, needs to be mentioned. The detailing for Karunakaran and Bobby Simhaa's home setting stands out in the first half, and the shooting spot setting for the second half were brilliant. Vivek Harshan's editing was very neatly done, and the connectivity between each sequences were just smooth, in spite of the rough and rugged nature of the sequences. Yet, he could have trimmed the film, especially in the second half which takes its own sweet time to conclude. Cinematography is by Hariharan, who was credited as Gavemic U Ary in the film. His work elevates the film's screenplay to the next level and he his outdoor and night shots, especially the rain sequence just before the intermission, was brilliant ! His lighting and color tone for the indoor shots, deserves special mention as well. The film is littered with brilliant compositions, camera movements and framing by Gavemic U Ary, and he is definitely a top class material in Tamizh cinema ! Vishnu Govind and Sree Sankar's sound effects and design work was top-notch. Their work stood out in scenes which had no background score and the action sequences bears their hallmark.

Santhosh Narayanan continues his trailblazing form and once again proves that he is a wonderful talent. Most of the songs are played in the background and each one of them aptly complements the nature of the script. "Ding Dong" has montages of Siddharth and Karunakaran tracking Bobby Simhaa and serves as another perfect setting to showcase Simhaa's character's antagonistic nature. The one particular action block involving a car, has fantastic lighting work from Gavemic and an even more fantastic editing by Vivek Harshan ! "Kannamma" was shot on Siddharth and Lakshmi Menon and has montages of them getting together in love. "Baby" is a fun song which appears twice in the film and serves as a background song. "Paandi Naatu" is the only choreographed song in the film and it was shot in a deep and water drained well and had all the lead characters performing. The lighting by Gavemic was very good for this particular song and finally "Jigar" plays during the end credits. Santhosh Narayanan's background score elevates the script to another step up and the vibrant nature of his work complements the screenplay very well. The swag and quirkiness element in the background score, adds more fun quotient to the film. Way to go, Santhosh Narayanan !

What works for us in the film, is the fantastic characterization of the lead artistes and the extraction of performance from them by Karthik Subbaraj. But what's strikingly good in the film, is the quality of writing and the transfer of the output from a bounded script to a feature film. The unabashed nature of Karthik Subbaraj's script and dialogue writing deserves applause. The film does not fit into any specific genre, but still its highly entertaining with an equal amount of intelligent artistry, combining very well. The film has wonderful stretches of comedy portions and all of them are fresh, innovative, quirky yet splendidly humorous ! Also, one should take note of Karthik Subbaraj's smart writing where he cleverly insert's elements of meta-cinema and it gels well with the script's original story-line. Karthik Subbaraj makes a scathing mockery of the practices and people of current Tamizh cinema, in a very succinct manner. Karthik Subbaraj should also be applauded for his uninterrupted screenplay, though there are non-linear narration used in the film. What may irk some film-buffs is the changeover of the film's purported genre in the second half. The first half was all drama in its full glory but the second half was more of like a black comedy/dark humor satire. The transformation of Bobby Simhaa's character paved the way for the comedy quotient in the second half, but the necessity for such a changeover for that character is definitely a question mark, indeed with some cinematic liberties taken. Also, the basic plot and idea of the film has a striking similarity with the critically acclaimed 2006 Korean neo-noir gangster flick, 'A Dirty Carnival', directed by Yoo Ha. Nevertheless, 'Jigarthanda' is still one of the best films to come out in 2014 and Karthik Subbaraj's artistry and craftsmanship, must be appreciated.

'Jigarthanda' - A sip too hard to resist !


Ratings: 3.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

ORU KANNIYUM MOONU KALAVANIKALUM MOVIE REVIEW

Chimbu Deven, one of the creative directors of Tamizh cinema, is back after 'Irumbu Kottai Murattu Singam'. As always this film too is intriguingly titled, this time as 'Oru Kanniyum Moonu Kalavanikalum'. Arulnithi, an earnest performer needs a solid hit to cement his presence in Tamizh cinema. With Chimbu Deven in helm, can this film deliver a different yet entertaining flick for us ?

Arulnithi, shows good progress from film to film. Here, he proves his mettle in handling comedy throughout the film and with his subtleties, he delivers a very decent performance. There's not much of scope for him, in terms of the range of emotions and variations in dialogue deliveries, but he still makes good use of the subject taken and convincingly portrayed the role of the protagonist. Sharing equal space with him is K.Bagavathi Perumal of 'Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom' fame. He continues his 'NKPK' act very well, and his one-liners are the best in the film. His dialogue deliveries are perfectly timed and neatly presented. A little more expressions can certainly do wonders for him. Good job ! Bindhu Madhavi plays the 'third musketeer' and she should be appreciated for picking an unconventional role. The attractive lass has delivered a clean performance and hoping to see more of her in Tamizh cinema. Ashrita Shetty has an important role, but with limited scope and screen presence, she makes use of what she had in the script, quite well. The rest of the big cast, who played minor characters such as Karthik Sabesh, Manobala, Jayaprakash, Naren, Aruldas, Paandu, Nassar, M.S Bhaskar, 'Delhi' Ganesh, V.S Raghavan, Ravi Raghavendra, Benjamin, Sriranjini and etc were effective and some of them had some witty detailing to their characters, which worked out well.

Costume design has been handled by Sai, and considering the limited scope offered by the script, his works sufficed the needs of the script. Dhilip Subbarayan's action choreography was adequate, especially for the pre-climax fight sequence and for the chasing sequences, which were shot in many real locations. T.Muthuraj's art direction also had lesser importance to the script, since bulk of the movie's portions were shot in real locations. Yet, the minor detailing in the protagonist's apartment, the church wedding scenario and etc deserves appreciation. Raja Mohammed's editing was very much linear, and that helped the flow of the story, so that the screenplay could be straightforward in fashion and easy to understand for the common folks. S.R Kathir's cinematography techniques were effective for the script's demands and needs. His works are very simple and there's nothing fancy about it, which gives the film a realistic look. Also, his camera movements and top-angle shots for the chase sequences, add more zing to the narration.

Natarajan Sankaran's musical score was passable. The melodious "July Madham" was picturized against a chase sequence between Naren, Arulnithi and Bindhu Madhavi, which has interspersing of montages shots of Arulnithi and Ashrita. "Moonu Kodi" is the next chase sequence, this time featuring all three main leads and was mostly shot on rooftops of high-rise apartments and narrow back-lanes. "Bachelor Enakke" plays when the end credits roll. The four theme tracks, "Breeze-African", "Marriage", "Storm-Indian" and "Theme Thunder (Trance)" - the title track, plays throughout the film and at important placements, and also serves as the basis for the background score. Natarajan Sankaran is capable of better musical deliveries, and hope he improves his background score.

Chimbu Deven always had a penchant for unique concepts for each of his film, and in 'Oru Kanniyum Moonu Kalavanikalum' its about the importance of time passages. Chimbu Deven starts the film with a quote from the Holy Bible regarding time, and what we get is a palate of fantasy, reality, sci-fi, and myth. Chimbu Deven's tells us that each minute dictates its own course of fate for each human being, and how one's life can alter by the slightest of time change and various minute elements, omnipresent around us. His screenplay narration is Chimbu Deven's example for the concept that he conveys. Chimbu Deven's quirkiness in writing is evident, with all the minute detailing he gives for many of the minor characters, for example a psychotic inspector's penchant for kid's magazine, the colony secretary's affair and etc. These small details adds the fun element for the script. But the screenplay slowly turns out to be more tedious, when the chain of events are repeated twice, but with different repercussions, since each episode starts a minute later than the previous. The gags are not super exciting or rip-roaring fun, which makes us feel exhausted by the time, the 'real' climax, climaxes ! Also, the concept was exaggerated and its nearly impossible to believe that everyone's life would change just by a minute or two. Nevertheless, Chimbu Deven's dialogues are fun and humorous, especially those mouthed by K.Bagavathi Perumal. Not to forget, he should be also appreciated for his smart writing for minor sequences, such as the various stages of watermelon being cut, in each chronological timeline. Chimbu Deven has credited Tom Tykwer's German classic 'Run Lola Run', Akira Kurosawa's Japanese classic 'Rashomon', Kamal Hassan's 'Virumaandi' and etc as his inspiration. It should be noted that, the film's concept has similarities with Jake Gyllenhaal's 2011 techno-thriller, 'Source Code'.

'Oru Kanniyum Moonu Kalavanikalum' - An intelligent concept, a simple story-line and some fun gags in between !


Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

ITHU KATHIRVELAN KADHAL MOVIE REVIEW

'Ithu Kathirvelan Kadhal' made the right noises for the production value, thanks to the producer and protagonist of the script, Udhayanidhi Stalin. After the super-hit 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi', he is back on the silver-screen with his "other-half" Santhanam, but this time under the baton of S.R Prabhakaran, who delivered the sleeper-hit 'Sundarapandian'. How does this equation fare, especially when you have good artistes and technicians as support ?

Udhayanidhi Stalin shows lots of progress in his acting repertoire. His dancing, emoting, dialogue delivery and the timing, as well confidence is way better than his debut. But, he has plenty of space for more improvements. Especially, when it comes to romance sequences, which brings us to Nayanthara. Being an experienced and able performer, she easily overshadows Udhayanidhi with her acting skills, is more convincing and has better screen presence than the Udhayanidhi. Nonetheless, they look like a good match, but Udhayanidhi has to buck up, if he's to attain more acting credentials ! Santhanam does his regular routine of being the hero's sidekick cum love-guru and as expected, delivers what he can. Not rip-roaring but still amusing enough, especially with his popular one-liners. Sunder Ramu has the only negative role of the film, and has not much of scope to score with his performances. Not to blame him, but his shallow characterization, that is. Chaya Singh makes a very pleasant comeback as a character artiste and the rest of the cast such as Naren, Murugadass, Saranya Ponvannan, Jayaprakash, Vanitha Krishnachandran, Dr. Bharath Reddy, Mayilsamy, Swaminathan, Kala Kalyani and etc, though underused, were befitting of their respective characters.

Rajini Vishal's costumes were chic and elegant, especially for Nayanthara, who looks gorgeous, especially in the chudithars and suits ! Dhilip Subbarayan has been credited for action choreography, but there's nothing substantial nor apparent, except for any functional purposes. Don Bosco's editing is crisp and neat, but he could have definitely handled the first half better, which drags unnecessarily with unimportant scenes. V.Selvakumar's production design was spotless, especially with the props used in the farm house and also of the other real locations. Balasubramaniem does not need foreign locations to showcase his expertise in cinematography, yet he does make use of his opportunities well. His lighting and angles for the indoor locations, especially of the rural farm house, looks pleasant for the eyes. He has tried to project a colorful tone overall for the movie, keeping in mind of 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi's template.

Udhayanidhi's favorite, Harris Jeyaraj scores the music for this film. Though the songs have the stamp of his, its a below-par album actually, and the songs are not really exciting nor fun. "Pallakku Devathai" looks like another rehash of "Venam Machan", but a lesser sprightly version. It serves as Santhanam's introductory song and has a college backdrop with back-up dancers and minimal artwork by V.Selvakumar. "Vizhiyae Vizhiyae" is a soft-number picturized on the lead pair, against the picturesque Swiss mountains. The lush-green landscape looks very cool and pleasant with colorful costumes for the lead pair. Nothing extraordinary with the camerawork but good locations by the unit. "Melae Melae" is a peppy number shot on the lead pair, this time in urbane Spain. Modern architectures acts as the background and Udhayanidhi proves his dancing improvements in this song. The best song of the album, "Anbe Anbe" has plenty of montages shot on the lead pair. Though the picturization was functional, it fails to do justice to the sweet composition of Harris Jeyaraj. The final song, "Sara Sara" is the typical rural-based dance number, shot in green villages and barren fields, with village-based set properties and appropriately dressed back-up dancers. The background score is a letdown, though Harris impresses in one or two occasions.

The makers have insisted during the promotions that they have tried to strike a balance between 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi' and 'Sundarapandian', and precisely that's what the film looks like. Unfortunately, this concoction does not mix up well, thanks to the disconcerting screenplay. The film does not fall properly into neither the rom-com nor the family drama genre, though the latter based sequences, has better writing. There is no cohesion nor a smooth flowing continuity in the screenplay, which creates space for unnecessary gaps. The emotional sequences portrayed has no organic element in it, and looks staged. The screenplay has a very orthodox arrangements, pertaining to the regular Tamizh cinema format of fun-and-frolic in the first half, and seriousness and crisis in the second half. Some sequences are archaic in the handling and some sentimental scenes are as good as the sensibility-degrading mega-serials shown in Tamizh satellite channels. Heck, even the conceptualization bears the same manner ! The characterizations is equally weak as well, with no depth in purpose for changeover of behaviors, which leaves us having no empathy for any characters. S.R Prabhakaran had a good material for a neat commercial entertainer, but his execution fell flat !

'Ithu Kathirvelan Kadhal' - An "Inbetweener" attempt of rom-com and family-drama, ends up being insipid !


Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL 

ALL IN ALL AZHAGU RAJA MOVIE REVIEW

This film had all the ingredients to be a 'killer' comedy flick. A catchy title, the successful combo of 'Comedy Superstar' and M.Rajesh and add in Karthi into the equation. Isn't this suppose to be an exciting combination and that too for a Deepavali season ? M.Rajesh has scored hat-trick of successes but can he and Santhanam utilize their prowess in comedy and score a nearly, unprecedented four strikes in a row ?

Karthi has the charming looks and cute expressions to win over the ladies. He certainly looks handsome and cute in the colorful attires and with his facial expressions. His voice modulation too can be appreciated but he does not seem to be entirely convincing in an out-and-out comedy role. He certainly seems to lack some confidence in certain sequences, but it can be overlooked due to his chemistry with Santhanam. The fabulous entertainer is in fine form, though 'All in All Azhagu Raja' is no where near his best. His myriad of expressions and body language must be appreciated and for pulling it off effervescently, as well. The 80's episode does look over-the-top, but its a good try from Karthi and Santhanam, who have put in personal efforts to mimic Prabhu and Suruli Rajan, respectively. Kajal Aggarwal has put in simple efforts and she's at complete ease in her role. There's conviction in her performance, though there are plenty of room for improvements. Additional plus point is her gorgeous attires and looks in songs. Prabhu does a simple role and looks like the perfect gentleman whereas Naren tries and out-and-out comedy for the first time. The biggest drawback is the wastage of talents such as Saranya Ponvannan, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Nassar, M.S Bhaskar, who are fantastic performers, but was made to do ill-written roles. Radhika Apte was cute in the flashback sequence. Sri Ranjani, Santhana Bharathi, V.S Raghavan, Senthil, Vetrivel Raja and etc make up the rest of the cast.

The technical crew of the film have delivered very decent output, in terms of production value. Priyanka Kochar and Rustam Chauhan's costume designing was very rich and vibrant in colors. Kajal Aggarwal was looking beautiful in half-sarees especially and the pair should be lauded for their work on Santhanam's look and dress code. Not to forget, the 80's episode was well worked as well. Om Prakash's action choreography was unnecessary for this script, though it was well executed. Vivek Harshan could have done a lot, lot better in terms of editing. The film is conspicuously slow paced and drags too much in the second half. Other than that, the 80's episode was well edited and presented, though the 35mm format could have been maintained for it. Jacki's production design was just adequate and perfect. The props used for songs were colorful and lively and the ambiance of small town ambiance has been well maintained throughout the film. Sakthi Saravanan's cinematography was very colorful and bright and its just a pity that the 80's sequence was reverted to stereoscopic format, instead of the originally intended 35mm format. Balasubramaniem also chips in with his contribution and on overall basis, the film's cinematography works were simple, neat and colorful.

S.S Thaman has scored decent numbers for this flick, which has the potential to be chart-busters. "All in All" is the opening introductory song and had few montages of comedy portions involving Karthi, Santhanam and Kota Srinivasa Rao, with apt production design by Jacki, who erected sets resembling jewelry commercial advertisements. "Ore Oru" is a situational bit-song and serves as Kajal's introductory song, and was shot in a wedding hall premise. "Yaarukkum Sollaame" is the pick of the lot and had colorful props by Jacki, resembling Pongal celebrations. Sakthi Saravanan has captured good shots of rural temples and small town ambiance very well. Kajal looked a million-bucks in the traditional half-sarees, she was wearing for this song. "Silu Silu" is another situational extra bit-song, and was shot on Karthi dancing in the streets, shot in the dark, middle of the night atmosphere. "Unnai Paartha Neram" is the visually best made song. Inspired by the "Oh Maane Maane" song from 'Vellai Roja', Karthi and Radhika Apte were made to resemble like Prabhu and Ambika, and the choreography and camera works were all in-tune with the 80's style and format. Good stuff ! "Yamma Yamma" was shot on Karthi and Kajal and had vibrantly colored, simple house-like set works and some sharp editing by Vivek Harshan. The background score too was neatly done, but whether the songs were well utilized or not is a different question all together.

When it comes to M.Rajesh's films, its all about contemporary funny dialogues and a comedy entertainer, pertaining to the tastes of youth audiences. One cannot expect a fully bounded, well-researched script from M.Rajesh, if you are familiar with his previous films. The light-hearted manner of his script was his trump card, though all of his films had very thin plot-line. The same applies to 'All in All Azhaguraja' as well, but this time the output is disappointingly, a big letdown. Santhanam has always been omnipresent throughout the length of his M.Rajesh's previous films', apart from a few scenes. But here, Santhanam only appears sporadically and most of the jokes fell flat. Literally ! There's no excitement or any rip-roaring comedy sequences in this flick, as how it was in 'Siva Manasula Sakthi, 'Boss Engira Baskaran' or 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi'. Although all of them were simple comedy films, they all had some semblance of true emotional content. But its conspicuously absent in 'All in All Azhagu Raja' and whatever we encounter just seems to be too farcical to be taken serious. The ending is the epitome of ludicrousness. Also, there are more silly and unpretentious gags throughout the film, which are pretty much not welcomed. The story appears to be heading no where, and it tests our patience, especially with the draggy second half. Although the 80's episode were well etched out, they hold not much importance to the script. As mentioned earlier, talented artistes have been wasted just like that, which is an unacceptable factor. 

'All in All Azhagu Raja' - The first blip for M.Rajesh and a hat-trick of flops for Karthi. For sure !

Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

NAIYAANDI MOVIE REVIEW

'Naiyaandi' made its news due to the unwarranted "body-double" accusation pointed at the makers by the upcoming "next-big-heroine" of Tamizh cinema, Nazriya Nazim. In her first big-hero project, Nazriya's claim to fame suddenly became infamy. All's well that ends well and the movie got released smoothly. A.Sarkunam's first big hero project with Dhanush, promised a good family entertainer, on the lines of the director's 'Kalavaani'. Was all the hype and hoopla, justified in the end-product ?

For Dhanush, its back to the light-material scripts, and 'Naiyaandi' turns out to be too light for him. He simply waltzes through his role. The National Award-winning actor did not strain a bit, acting capability wise and shares good rapport with his supporting cast members. When expectations are sky-high when this man comes out with a film, and its tad disappointing that 'Naiyaandi' does not meet that expectations. After her claim to fame with 'Raja Rani', Nazriya gets a solo heroine role and she looks pretty much in her comfort zone. Looking cute and bright, she displays her acting skills convincingly. Among the glut of comedy actors, Sriman and Sathyan were an amusing pair in the second half, with their comedic antics. Soori vibes well with Dhanush whereas Vamsi Krishna was resorted to a farcically written antagonist character. Meera Krishnan, Pyramid Natarajan, Sathish, Immanuel Annachi, Singampuli, Ashvin Raja, Naren, Sachu, Manobala, Prof Gnanasambandhan and etc were adequate fits for the supporting roles. 

K.Natraj's costume designing was apt for the rural-based characters and Nazriya looked cute in the songs, especially. R.K Vijay Murugan's production design sufficed the needs of the scripts. Be it the elobarate village festival setting, or the for the songs, the sets were neatly erected, with good detailing. The lamps and bells stacked in the protagonist's house is one such clear example. Dhilip Subbarayan's stunt choreography suited Dhanush's personality and the final climax sequence reminds us of the 'Sandaikozhi' climax action sequence. Raja Mohammed's editing was a letdown, and some sort of connectivity is missing in the transition from one sequence to another. R.Velraj's cinematography work is a big plus to the film. The visuals are crystal clear and the rural landscape is a pleasant sight for the eyes. Also, R.Velraj's lighting was commendable for the sequences featuring the lead pair, surrounded by lamps and bells.

M.Ghibran's work just passes muster, though he is a creative person with unique sounds infused in his song arrangements. "Marriage Marketil" was uniquely done, with a full animation concept, featuring the debacles faced by Sriman and Sathyan, in finding brides, respectively. "Ae Le Le" was shot on the lead pair, and has some majestic and beautiful Swiss localities in the background, such as lakes and mountains. "Yendi Paathagathi" is a bit-song shot on Dhanush and featured some good framing by R.Velraj. "Munnadi Porapulle" is a duet shot on the lead pair and accompanied by foreign dancers. The song featured more urban landscapes such as rivers and harbors. The much publicized "Teddy Bear" song was picturized keeping kinds in mind, with vibrantly colored sets with a gaming arcade backdrop and costumes for the dancers. "Inikka Inikka" is a sensous number, which was shot cleverly by R.Velraj with plenty of close-ups of the lead pair. Nazriya was looking very good in her sarees. Though the background score had plenty of unique ideas, they don't linger in our minds.

A.Sarkunam, known for his nuanced handling of his scripts, fails to entertain us this time. An inspiration from the 1993-Malayalam super hit film 'Meleparambil Aanveedu', starring Jayaram and Shobaran, the script is almost farcical in entirety and turns out to be a quintessential damp squib ! The entire comedy portions in the first half is a big letdown and only with the presence of Sriman and Sathyan, funny elements serve its purpose. The performances of some supporting artistes are too casual. The script has no purpose at all, and there seems to be no serious element at all, apart from the climax, which is rarely palpable. The screenplay is a letdown and there seems to be no smooth progress from one scene to another nor any logic or continuity. Some sequences stood out like a sore thumb and has no purpose in the film. Dialogues were insipid and boring. It really boggles our mind, thinking what convinced Dhanush to accept this film. A.Sarkunam's script has a time immemorial formula written all over, if you view it with a hindsight. Throw in some exaggerated sequences and characters, and all you get is a complete mess and wastage of good artistes and technicians' capabilities. 

'Naiyaandi' - An appalling product from A.Sarkunam ! Its shocking to see it coming from the director who gave us 'Kalavaani' and 'Vaagai Sooda Vaa'.


Ratings: 2/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

MOONDRU PER MOONDRU KAADHAL MOVIE REVIEW

Director S.M Vasanth, known for his critically acclaimed hits such as 'Keladi Kanmani', 'Aasai', 'Nearukku Ner' and etc is back after a long 6 years absence, with 'Satham Podathey' being his last release. A unique compilation of artistes, S.M Vasanth tried to weave three different story-lines, based on three couples, from three different landscape backdrops. How did all three story-lines merge or complement each other, is what we are looking for. So, is it worth a shot ?

Veteran Arjun, looks very fresh and shines in the role of a swimming coach. His body language and composed dialogue deliveries, are indicators of his vast experience. One sincerely hopes, that Arjun continues to choose such films henceforth and stop continuing mindless action 'masala' scripts. Cheran breezed through his role but is not entirely convincing as a foreign-returned. Also, its Cheran who has the lesser number of screen time among the heroes. Vemal, struggles as a smooth-talking charmer and its clearly evident that he is finding it hard to shake off the rural/town guy image, for which he is known for. Muktha Bhanu had the best of the female roles, and kudos to her for stealing the show, with her nuanced performance. Debutante Lasini is not bad, but has a long way to go, as her expressions were still not so organic and natural. The other debutante, Surveen Chawla tries her best to fit into the role of Arjun's student cum lover, but she misses her mark. The rest of the cast such as Thambi Ramaiah, Appukutty, Sathyan, Naren, John Vijay, Ravi Raghavendar, Shanthi Williams, Bosskey, Sivakumar, Chandramohan, Rajan and etc were functional.

The technical department of the film, dished out just above average works, except for the soundtracks. Sathya N.J's costume designing was apt, as each characters looked their part, but Vemal's look could have been altered for the better. Magi's art direction was neat, as most of the scenes were canned in real locations and the props matched the backdrops, showcased in the respective story-lines. The editing was handled by S.N Fazil and S.M Vasanth together, and probably both minds did not gel well during the cutting process. The film looked very choppy, with loose hangings and non-cohesion in the transition from one scene to the other. Bhojan K.Dinesh's cinematography work was very good and he captures the mood of each the three distinctive backdrops of hillside, coastline and city landscapes, very well. But the framing and close-ups could have been better.

S.M Vasanth's films always had fantastic soundtracks, and 'Moondru Per Moondru Kaadhal' is no exception either. This film is probably one of Yuvan Shankar Raja's best works in recent times, and nearly all the songs were fantastically scored and well mastered. Brilliant work, Yuvan ! But sadly, the song picturization quality was not up to the standards of the soundtrack. "Kaadhal Endhan Kaadhal" is a haunting, yet peppy number which comes during the opening credit sequence, with the backdrop of the Kovai sea and also appears in a montage sequence during the Cheran-Bhanu episode. "Unakkaagave Uyir" is an experimental dub-step type song, and was picturized on the Vemal-Lasini pair, also in montages. Lasini was shot beautifully by Bhojan, with good framing sense. "Padapadakkudhu" also appears during the Vemal-Lasini episode, but was shot on Robert and Blaaze making cameo appearances as 'Sanjay Ramasamy' and 'Sivaji The Boss' wannabes. The song had simple set work of light bulbs and dim-lighting for the backdrop. "Aaha Kaadhal" is a montage song, shot on Bhanu falling for Cheran and was mostly shot along the coastal lines of Kovai. "Mazhai Mazhai" was shot on Arjun and Surveen, who was in scanty sarees. The song was lacks any imagination and was shot in and around Binny Mills. "Stop The Paattu" was shot on a food court premise of a business complex and had Ritvik Varun, the son of S.M Vasanth, making a cameo. Ritvik does dance well, but is too camera conscious and looks uncomfortable in performing in front of the camera. The background score is handled by Tubby-Parik and is average, though most of the soundtrack is inspired from the songs. Not up to the expertise of Yuvan, but it was still functional.

S.M Vasanth should be appreciated for coming up with decent and believable characters and dilemmas faced by the characters. But what leaves a lot to be desired, was a proper screenplay ! Shankar Raman and S.M Vasanth's joint screenplay-writing was very badly structured and there's no proper connectivity between each story-lines. The pace was very lackadaisical in nature and the film moves in a very tepid manner. Though the songs were good, they were ill-fitting for the screenplay and as said before, poorly picturized. The message is something laudable, but falls flat and the writing is lethargic. Dialogues were pretty archaic, if you take into the current standards and tastes of the younger lot, but there were some sparkles, here and there. But still, kudos to S.M Vasanth for not thrusting unnecessary double entendres and glamor into the screenplay.

'Moondru Per Moondru Kaadhal' - definitely not on par with S.M Vasanth's earlier films. And definitely not the cup of tea of the present youngsters !

Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL