YENNAMO NADAKKUDHU MOVIE REVIEW

Vijay Vasanth, one amongst the big bunch of Venkat Prabhu's 'Chennai 600028' boys, who does the occasional cameo appearances in Venkat's film, is back in the limelight with a lead role. This small budget thriller 'Yennamo Nadakkudhu', directed by a newbie P.Rajapandi is a home production of Vijay Vasanth's brother, V.Vinothkumar of Triple V Records. Can Vijay Vasanth make a decent mark, after the poor outing in 'Mathil Mel Poonai' ?

Vijay Vasanth benefits from a good characterization provided by the director. There's the rustic element based on the geographical background of his character, yet there's the benevolent aspect to his character, which makes his likable and acceptable as a hero. He has definitely improved a lot as an actor, and there's more composure and conviction in his portrayal. But there are some niggling issues, especially in the romance sequences, and he could work out his body language, for the action sequences. Mahima Nambiar, who previously did the Samuthirakani starrer, 'Saattai' makes a decent outing and has a pivotal role to play. Saranya Ponvannan is a treat to watch, especially with her animated expressions and North Chennai slang, which she delivered to the T ! Rahman as the main antagonist is passable, as well as the others in the cast such as Prabhu, Thambi Ramaiah, Sukanya, Azhagam Perumal, Ashwin Raja, Namo Narayanan, Vincent Selva, Sounder, Thirumurugan and etc, who holds the movie together, with neat performances in convincing roles, with good characterizations.

Dakshayini's costume designing was simple and apt for the script, though her work is limited due to the timeline of events in the script, in which the bulk of the events, happen in a single day. M.S Jayakumar's art designing sufficed the needs of the script. The climax portion, which required a good dose of construction based props, was well executed and the detailing of the lead pair's houses, should be noted too. K.Ganeshkumar's action choreography was good, but the chasing sequences in the climax, could have been toned down to reduce the unnecessary heroism element. Also, a more realistic approach would have worked for Vijay Vasanth's image and body language, wherein a more stylistic action choreography, handled in the film would have suited an action hero, pretty well. Praveen K.L and Srikanth N.B duo handled the editing department, and as always, their fast paced cutting pattern, gave the film an extra lift, and the taut screenplay keeps the attention of the audience, quite well. Cinematography is by A.Venkatesh, and his work is commendable, especially with the action sequences, which had tight close-ups and the climax chase sequence, which was well shot.

Premgi Amaren, scores the music for the film and it fits the mood of the script. "Aagayam Vizhigiradhe" appears during the opening credits. "Ora Kannu" is the pick of the lot, and has plenty of sequence shots, well edited and put together by Praveen K.L and Srikanth N.B. In-spite of the plenty of cuts, the song has a smooth transition from one scene to another and had the indoors and outdoors, especially the beach as the locations. "Meesa Kokku" has a temple festival like atmosphere and is a dream sequence between the lead pair and includes the hero's mother ! Saranya Ponvannan makes her appearance, throughout the song and has also sung her portions. "Vaa Idhu Nethiyadi" was picturized on Prabhu, in a flashback sequence, which had the typical dance routine, shot against a festival backdrop, reminiscing the 80's style. "Money Money" was the best shot song in the film and featured Raju Sundaram as the main dancer. The song was shot in a dance club-like atmosphere with the atypical color lighting and sexily dressed female dancers, with some nice camerawork by A.Venkatesh and the trademark cutting pattern by the editor duo. Premgi's background score, works well with the film and there are traces of Yuvan Shankar Raja-inspired score, here and there. 

Written and directed by P.Rajapandi, the film makes an interesting watch, thanks to the abundance of twists and turns, which comes at a rapid pace in the tense climax portion. The director has played his cards well, and arranged the screenplay appropriately, so that the climax will keep the audience on their seats' edge. The film does not lag much and has a pretty straightforward screenplay, with no unwanted meandering. G.Radhakrishnan's dialogues are okay and fits the need of the script, but some comedy dialogues, mouthed by Ashwin and Thambi Ramaiah, were chuckle-worthy. P.Rajapandi has handled his artistes quite well, especially with well written roles, which had clarity in it. But the film slackens in certain places, especially with the placement of songs, and the lead scenes of songs, which were quite dull and boring. Some minor loopholes and gaps are there in the film, but P.Rajapandi covers it up, with a fairly engaging screenplay, with a no-nonsense approach. A little more finesse in the execution, and this film would have been much, much better.

'Yennamo Nadakkudhu' - Well handled, small-budget action-thriller !


Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

YENNAMO YEDHO MOVIE REVIEW

Gautham Karthik, is back to the silver screen with 'Yennamo Yedho', after the impressive debut in the Mani Ratnam directed, 'Kadal'. With a relatively young and unknown cast, this project should put Gautham's cinematic career path, into his own hands. So, how did 'Yennamo Yedho' turned out ?

Gautham Karthik, definitely has the talents and potential to make it big in the Tamizh film industry. His screen presence is admirable and his energetic demeanor, makes him a charm. His dancing skill is quite good, but he can definitely work out on the expressions and dialogue delivery, which can enhance the dynamics of his character. Rakul Preet Singh, looks pretty and gets most of her lip sync right. She shares a good chemistry with Gautham, but performance wise, she can definitely do way much better. Her expressions and overall performance, do look artificial, at times. Nikesha Patel has not much to do, whereas Prabhu provides some form of lighter moments in the film. Anupama Kumar sufficed the need of the script and the others like Azhagam Perumal, Madan Bob, Manobala, Shakeela, Surekha Rani, Sai Prakash, Manohar, Raja Sankar, Sinitha, Kalpika and etc play inconsequential roles.

Sai and Shiva takes care of the costume department and their work was okay and fulfilled the script's needs. Kumar's art direction was just apt, especially with the wedding scenarios and the interiors of the locations such as posh bungalow homes. I.J Alen's editing was simple and neat, and there were no gimmicks with his approach. Action choreography has been handled by B.Thyagarajan and the initial car sequence was well handled. Besides that, the action is very limited since the film is a romantic comedy. Cinematography is handled by Gopi Jagadeeswaran, and his work has nothing extraordinary about it. The car action sequence was well handled, but other than that, its just average. 

D.Imman has scored some peppy numbers for the film, which will find place among music lovers. The pick of the lot, "Nee Enna Periya" sung by Anirudh Ravichander, was shot on the lead pair, with a roadside dhaaba erected for the song, followed by a farm-house like location with the pool-side being the main designated area. "Mosale Mosale" was shot on the lead pair, and this time the locations are in Thailand, where some portions have been shot on the rooftop of a city skyscraper and the rest canned in a Buddhist temple. "Muttaalai Muttaalai" is another peppy song, sung by D.Imman himself, and had the lead pair dancing to the tunes, in the city of Bangkok, with plaza squares and other urban landscape being the locations. "Shut Up" sung by Shruti Haasan, was shot on Gautham, in a club-like location. The typical colorful lighting, back-up dancers and a quintessential item girl, were all present in the song. "Podhaadha" is a pathos bit song, shot on the misfortunes of the heroine, whereas "Pudhiya Ulagai" has montages of the protagonist's own misfortune. D.Imman's background score was above average, and his melody based scores were the highlights.

Debutante Ravi Thyagarajan wields the megaphone for this film, but the film is a remake of the super-hit Telugu film, 'Ada Modalaindi' which starred Nani and Nithya Menen in the lead roles. The story and screenplay belongs to Nandini Reddy and though the Telugu original turned out to be a hit, the Tamizh version unfortunately fails to deliver. The supposedly breezy rom-com, turns out to be a dull affair. The sequences are not synergistic, which leaves us with loopholes and gaps in the screenplay, in addition to its snail-pace. There is apparently no reasoning nor logic in the continuity of the story and everything seems to happen at the convenience of the director's liking. The direction was below average, especially with the handling of the characters and plot setting. R.K Vidhyadharan's dialogues were below average too, apart from a couple in some comedy portions and scenes pertaining to Anupama Kumar's character. In conclusion, 'Yennamo Yedho' is truly a disappointing product and its pitiful to see a talent of Gautham's calibre, to be featured in such a sub-par feature film.

'Yennamo Yedho' - A truly half-baked attempt !

Ratings: 1.75/5 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

MIRATTAL MOVIE REVIEW

'Mirattal' is the comeback vehicle of actor Vinay Rai after 3 years of absence in Tamizh cinema. This film is a remake of a hit Telugu film titled 'Dhee'. As it is the flavor of the season to have Santhanam, in its cast, this film too has him playing the sidekick to the hero.

Vinay Rai looks at ease, pulling off the character of Babloo and plays comedy quite well too. But he has to improve his dancing skills a lot, if he wants to make it out as commercial artiste. Sharmila Mandre, a Kannada actress makes her debut in this film. Her expressions and emotions are pathetic and seriously needs to go for acting lessons, if she intends to make a living as a performing artiste. Prabhu breezes through his role and Pradeep Rawat as the antagonist was loud and his character looks silly. Santhanam was the best asset and only asset of the film. He is simply funny with his dialogue delivery and fantastic one-liners. The film is full of such witty one-liners, which keeps you entertained for sometime. Accompanying him in the comedy portions are 'Ganja' Karuppu, Pandiarajan and Mansoor Ali Khan. Besides them, Rishi, Uma Padhmanaban, Yuvarani and Bosskey dons small roles in the film.

The film carries very average technical standard. Vivek Harsha's editing work was just normal, as in to compile a set of scenes into a film. E.I Mayan's art work was average too, with sloppy work in the birthday sets. D.Kannan's camera work has nothing to shout about apart from few scenic locations shot in England covering areas such as Richmond, Windsor, Bath, Surrey, Oxfordshire and around the University of East London. Praveen Mani's songs were boring too. "Radio Radio" a typical 'kuthu' number was shot in England around housing complex areas and "Kalla Paarvai" was shot with castle and greenery backdrop. "Mugamoodi" was shot with a birthday celebration background, involving the other cast members.

Director Madhesh's film has a script which is as old as the hills and nothing novel about it. Also the presentation was pretty lame and only Santhanam was helping the audiences to not fall sick. The only saving grace act from the director is to include Santhanam in the film and to pen funny one-liners for him. The story has plenty of flaws in script wise and the supposedly 'thrilling' climax was just lame.


'Mirattal' is just a one-time watch and that too for the comedy portions only.


Ratings: 1.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

'3' MOVIE REVIEW

One of the most eagerly expected film of the year, thanks to the popularity and craze of one particular song ie, "Why This Kolaiveri", '3' has been gaining popularity thanks to marketing techniques of the production team, Wunderbar Films which belongs to Dhanush and Aishwarya R.Dhanush, the director and wife of the protagonist of the film. Anirudh Ravichander,the debuting music director, makes a sensational debut, with a refreshing and soulful album. The relatively young cast, invokes more curiosity around the film. So, did the film live up to all the hype it created ?

The performances of the lead artistes were poignant, soulful and were of heavy duty-material. Dhanush, has been having an extremely good time and with his previous, 'Mayakkam Enna' earning him rave reviews, he continues his form in this film as well. Though the role he played looked like an extension or evolution of the one he essayed in 'Mayakkam Enna', he makes it up with different portrayals of moods and emotions. Its no easy at all, to perform strong emotions, facing the camera single-handedly with no cues for support, Dhanush came up with a brilliant and fantastic performance. His additional advantage is his looks and physique, which enables him to portray different age-periods of his character. Take a bow, Dhanush ! Shruti Haasan, who is into her second film in Tamizh cinema after '7am Arivu', makes a decent outing in the film, with much improved performances. Her dialogue delivery was good but she struggles a little, when it comes to very heavily, emotional sequences. With more experience, the starlet of 'Ulaga Nayagan' can make it up. Sivakarthikeyan and Sunder Ramu provided som funny moments, especially the former, with fantastic comic timing and dialogue delivery (expecting more from him) and the latter continuing what he did previously in 'Mayakkam Enna'. A big suppor to all of them were the veterans, Prabhu, Bhanupriya and Rohini whom, needless to say, were brilliant with very subtly nuanced performances. A special note must be made of the little girl, Gabriella who was splendid as the mute sister of Shruti.

The film boasts of very talented technicians. Resul Pookutty and his associate Amrit Pritam, handled the sound designing portion very well. The subtle and minute sounds were audible, especially during the rain and fight sequences. Chaithanya Rao's costume designing was classy and efficient at the same time, with the characters looking how they should have been portrayed, especially for the different time-periods. Silva's car-park stunt sequence was well choreographed and was natural, though it was picturized in a little dramatic manner. Kola Bhaskar's editing was flawless and crisp, but it could have been smoother during the song sequences. Kiran's art work was a touch of class as well, especially the posh apartment sets and also of those middle-class house setting, which looked very natural. R.Velraj's work is a big asset for the film, because his cinematography work was excellent. His framing and lighting was very apt for the changing nature of the mood of the script. His picturization was crystal-clear, especially for the rain sequences. Not to forget, as usual, he shows his prowess during the darkly-lit sequences, with minimal or no lights. Brilliant work from him !

Anirudh Ravichander, the cousin of the director makes a smashing debut through this film. His musical score was melodious and soul-stirring, which is another vital importance for the film. Almost all of his songs were already super-hits before the release of the film. "Idazhin Oram" was picturized in a montage manner, with many cut-shots and depicted the teenage lives of the lead pair, falling in love with each other. "Kannazhaga" was picturized in a small, and middle-class type apartment in a night sequences, against the lead pair. R.Velraj's close-ups on the lead pair, helps to elevate the mood of the song. "Come on Girls" was shot in a club sequence, with plenty of dancers in a party mood, celebrating the marriage of the lead pair. "Nee Partha" is another song shot in a montage style, depicting the happy and romantic post-marriage period of the lead characters, shot mostly in a posh, apartment setting. "Po Nee Po", is a soul-stirring, emotional and situational song, which is also shot in montages, featuring the emotional travails of the lead pair, late in the second half. The smash-hit song of the album, "Why This Kolaiveri" was surprisingly, disappointingly-shot. The protagonist was shown dancing with dancers in a beach-side hawker vendors' stalls setting. The zing of the audio was not visible in the video, and it's a big letdown from the team, considering the fact, that it was shot only during the ending period of the film's production process ! Anyway's, Anirudh made sure that his background score too gets noticed, and he did not fail in his endeavor. The background score was simple, yet melodious and beautiful. A fantastic work by the young musician. Welcome to Tamizh cinema, Anirudh !

Aishwarya R.Dhanush makes her debut as a director, after assisting her brother-in-law, Selvaraghavan. Not surprisingly, her script and screenplay have the remnants of her mentor's touches. She has good writing skills, which is evident in sensitive, poignant and subtle sequences she has penned in the screenplay. The humor portions and the songs, were well inserted into the screenplay. The dialogues were simple and pretty straight-forward. What pulls down the quality output of the film, is the slow screenplay and also Aishwarya R.Dhanush's decision in depicting her script in a non-chronological order, which takes the impact of the suspense element out from the film, in the beginning moments, itself ! Also, few questions can be raised, regarding the proceedings of the screenplay, which are quite implausible and inadvertently, leaves some loopholes in the script. However, she should be appreciated for sketching strong and in-depth characters, whom looks original and believable. 

'3' actually did not live up exactly, to the expectations it evoked, but this is a very good effort from Aishwarya R.Dhanush on behalf of her husband's home production team. If the flaws are overlooked, this film is a good-watch.

Ratings: 3/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL