'Pulivaal' started making noise once the promotions kicked-in, and features a double-hero subject as its story. Vemal and Prasanna team up in a film produced by R.Radikaa Sarathkumar and Listin Stephen. G.Marimuthu, who previously did Prasanna's 'Kannum Kannum' makes a comeback as a director. The trailer promised a hodgepodge of elements such as comedy and thriller and etc. Was it worth our time ?
The two male leads play diametrically opposing characters, where Vemal is from the lower-class society, whereas Prasanna belongs to the rich and suave section. As for Vemal, its the umpteenth time he's playing such a character, so there's nothing much extraordinary with his performance. He did what he was expected to do and what he can do. But the changeover from a naive chap to a manipulating impostor is less convincing. Prasanna, scores in his role with a decent performance, especially from the sequences building up to the climax, onward. He's pretty much confident with his role, probably due to his experience, enacting something similar to what he did in 'Muran'. Among the three female leads, its Oviya who has the most impact upon the script. She has upped her ante in the glamour quotient but rarely passes muster in the performance department, though she tried her best to be confident enough in difficult sequences, such as the intimate scenes. Ananya, plays Vemal's pair and is adequate for her role and has her fair share of screen presence. Iniya, plays a less substantial role. Soori and Thambi Ramaiah's comedy portions evoke some chuckles in the beginning, but the humor starts to get tedious as the movie proceeds further, especially with Soori's SMS jokes. Prem Kumar, Swarnamalya and etc dons the peripheral characters needed here and there.
Perumal Selvam has done a neat work with the costumes department, though better work could have been focused on Oviya, since she has glamour quotient in her character. G.C Ananthan's production design sufficed the need of the script, especially with the swanky and posh bungalow of Prasanna's character, along with the office scenarios. Rajasekhar, takes care of the action choreography, and the final climax fight sequence, had very natural and realistic touch in the choreography. The tight angles of the toilet cubicles setting, has been well exploited. Kishore T.E handles the editing department, and his work was just average with his techniques. He could have trimmed the first half to some good extent, due to the excessively unwanted comedy and romance tracks. Bhojan K.Dinesh's cinematography is pretty ordinary as well, and the climax fight was the best shot scene. Better lighting in the some sequences could have elevated the mood of the scenes, further.
N.R Raghunanthan's songs are hummable but acts as mere speed breakers in the film, unfortunately. "Netrum Party" appears as a situational bit song, shot on Prasanna and Prem, in a nightclub setting. "Neelangaraiyil" was shot on Vemal and Ananya and had quite a few locations such as the Athirapally waterfalls, beaches, temples and etc, aided with minimalist props done by G.C Ananthan. "Kichu Kichu" was shot on Prasanna and Oviya, with the usual backup dancers, with some ancient temple setting, as its backdrop. "Naadu Naadu" is a situational song, which appears just before the climax and was shot on Prasanna, with montages of several supermarkets. "Vaazhkai Unnai" appears right during the end credits. The background score is scored by Gopi Sundar and he has utilized N.R Raghunanthan's tunes as the basis of his score. He has tried his best to elevate the intensity of the climax sequence, with his music.
Before dwelling on G.Marimuthu's direction, it is to be noted that 'Pulivaal' is a direct remake of Sameer Thahir's 2011 Malayalam film, 'Chaappa Kurish' starring Vineeth Sreenivasan and Fahadh Faasil. Though Sameer has been credited for the story, the original Malayalam film raised some controversies in reference to the originality of the script. Some of the scripts elements has been lifted from the 2003 Hollywood film, '21 Grams' starring Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Benicio del Toro, which was written by Guillermo Arriaga and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. The trailer of 'Chaappa Kurish' was almost a direct copy of '21 Grams'. Meanwhile, the script has a striking resemblance to the 2009 Korean crime thriller 'Handphone', written by Kim Mi-hyeon and directed by Kim Han-min. Coming to G.Marimuthu's handling of the film, there are quite a few flaws. The director has failed to properly establish the two male leads, which ultimately led to the audience failing to root for, neither of them. We don't sympathize nor empathize with the male leads. The story wanders into no-man's land for the most of the first half and has too much of unnecessary scenes. As mentioned earlier, the director failed to convincingly portray the changeover of characters and the driving force behind such a changeover. What could have been an intense script, turned out to be a damp squib, due to the poor direction.
'Pulivaal' - Below average due to poor handling of the script.
Ratings: 2/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'Kalyana Samayal Saadham' has a very friendly-friendly look and feel to it, but debutante director R.S Prasanna, had an undercover "agenda" in his script, which is one of the most discussed about issues among adults. Newly-married, to be precise. With an ensemble cast of supporting artistes and a fresh, young technicians, this Arun Vaidyanathan (maker of Prasanna-Sneha starrer, 'Achamundu Achamundu') produced, did it live up to the expectations ?
First things, first. The lead pair has done a brilliant job, with their performances. The lead pair looked like a perfect match for each other, and its certainly a fresh pairing. Prasanna, must be applauded for taking up this role without any inhibitions, which might stroke the egos of other contemporary Tamizh cinema heroes. He is flawless with his dialogue delivery and has delivered a nuanced performance, underplaying whenever needed. He has improved his timing, in regards to comic sense. Lekha Washington makes a comeback, and she is a very apt choice for the role of a modern, Tamil Brahmin, IT-educated, bride. One wish that she gets more good roles, especially when we have a scarcity of good-looking and an able performer, among the girls ! The lead pair shares a good chemistry as the love-smitten, engaged couple and complements each other's character, quite well. The supporting cast such as 'Delhi' Ganesh, Uma Padmanabhan, Ragav, 'Kaathadi' Ramamurthy, Dr.Sharmila, 'Crazy' Mohan, M.J Shriram, Praveen, Neelu, Srilekha Parthasarathy, R.S Sivaji and etc were really lovable and cute in their roles, especially the seasoned veterans.
The film's technical crew has worked in tandem with the director's vision and presentation style, which is very commendable. Preethi Kanthan's costume designing was extensive, as she has kept the lead pair look very contemporary, yet retained the traditional Brahmin-look among the upper middle class, urban Brahmin community. Lekha was particularly pretty in the traditional attires. Sathyaraj.N's editing was neat and crisp, as he has kept the running time short and also for the excellent work he did in the "Facebook" themed song sequence. Arusamy's production design was simple yet sufficed the needs of the script. The Tamil Brahmin wedding scenarios and the beach-wedding, sets are the highlights of his work, in this film. Krishnan Vasant's cinematography works, is complimentary to the script's style and plot setting. He has maintained a pleasant look, throughout the film and his lighting gives a more joyous look for the second half of the film.
Flautist Naveen Iyer, prominent in the Carnatic circuit, makes his debut as music director, albeit under a different name, Arrora. His song compositions are in sync with the mood and feel of the script and also with R.S Prasanna's presentation. "Mella Sirithai" is the pick of the lot, which is very creatively shot and edited to look like a collage of Facebook timeline postings of the lead pair, with some situational dialogue sequences, interspersed. Brilliant stuff ! "Pallu Pona Raja" is a situational song, with plenty of montage sequences, focusing on the hero Prasanna, facing the 'crisis' of his life, before his impending marriage. "Kadhal Marandhaayada" is also a situational song, shot in a 'sangeet' ceremony setting, with plenty of characters and extras involved, but at the same time highlighting the unpleasant situation, faced by the lead pair. "Kalyanam 2.0" was used in bits and pieces in a couple of situations and "Modern Kalyanam" was used as the pre-climax song, featuring the reception function of the lead pair. Arrora scores well in the background music department too, and is definitely someone who can come up with pleasant melodies. Good debut !
R.S Prasanna must be appreciated for taking a bold, universal subject, which is seldomly discussed among newly weds and also for those who have an active sexual life. What's strikingly nice and pleasant in the film, is the realistic presentation by the director, who has penned life-like scenarios, surrounding the upper-class urban, Tamil-Brahmin milieu. Nothing is over-dramatized or very theatrical with R.S Prasanna's script and the dialogues, co-written along with producer Arun Vaidyanathan, are very subtle, smart, emotional, yet resonate a real-life feel and emotions to the script. The director seems to know the needs of the script very well, and has extracted good outputs from his artistes, who were helped by the director's well-written roles. Each character is very life-like and real, with very less cinematic approach in the artistes performance delivery. R.S Prasanna's screenplay is very straightforward and he has not tried any gimmicks, terms of techniques, which kept the audience at ease. As mentioned, dialogues are certainly good and comical, especially those by the lead pair and 'Crazy' Mohan. The second half seems to slow down a little, but the emotional content was needed to give, a more realistic appeal for the developments of the script.
'Kalyana Samayal Saadham' - R.S Prasanna has handled a 'dirty' issue in a squeaky-clean, light-hearted manner. Certainly delivered what it promised !
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'Chennaiyil Oru Naal', if the official remake of the critically acclaimed Malayalam film, 'Traffic', which actually piqued the interest of 'Ulaga Nayagan' Dr. Kamal Haasan, who wanted to remake it himself. Though course of nature diverted it from him, the script did come to Tamizh, and has been produced by Raadhika Sarathkumar, in collaboration with Listin Stephen. With a noble message, in the form of organ donation, how did the film fare ?
Whom to start with, in regards to the cast ? Especially when you have a stellar cast list, wherein one can find tons of experiences !! The main roles were all played by exceptional actors. Sarathkumar as the smart police commissioner, Cheran as the redemption-seeking constable, Prakash Raj as the narcissistic film star, Prasanna as the guilt-driven surgeon, Raadhika as the frustrated by supportive wife and mother, Parvathi Menon as the heartbroken girlfriend, Jayaprakash and Lakshmy Ramakrishnan as the grieving parents, each and every one of them were strong in terms of performance. Adding more strength to the film, the rest of the cast such as Iniya, Sachin, Mithun, Aishwarya Devan, Mallika, Manobala, Santhana Bharathi, Subbu Panchu, Vijayakumar, Bala Singh, Raju Krishnamoorthy 'Kitty', Udhayakumar, Devan, R.J Dheena, Akshara, Vaishali and Gabriella Charlton were equally good, in their assigned roles. Also, we have Suriya making a cameo appearance towards the climax and also during the end credits, giving his thoughts on the issue of organ donation. Its a rarity in Tamizh cinema, to have such an ensemble cast in a single film, and that too with very good acting ! Kudos to the team!
Selvam's costume designing and Muthukrishnan's make-up was very much apt for the cast, who all looked the role they were carrying. Perhaps, the make-up could have been handled more diligently, for some characters, in order to have a proper continuity. 'Miracle' Michael's action choreography was more of vehicle handling, and it was not bad. Vinesh Banglan's art direction was simple and efficient. Be it the hospital setting, the interiors of the different styles of houses, shown (be it posh apartments, bungalows or middle-class flats), the hi-tech police chamber and etc. All the backdrops looked perfect and spotless. Job, well done ! Mahesh Narayanan's editing work was interesting, and adds strength to the film, especially when the script has multi-narration and characters, with several timelines. The necessary fast-cuts, adds to the excitement and tension the script, creates. Shehnad Jalal's cinematography was good, especially for the super-fact chasing sequences, and also for his interesting angles, especially when it involves several characters in one scene or sequence. Mejo Joseph's music score was average, though. "Un Thozhil" is the introductory song for Sachin and Parvathi Menon, who play a couple-in-love. The song was picturized with typical dance and montage sequences interspersed and was shot in multi-location such as highways, harbor, malls and etc. "Mannil Ulla Manithan" has montages of all the main characters, living their daily life. Mahesh's smooth editing for the song, is commendable. "Yen Yen Yen", comes at the climax, which has a race-against-time theme and plenty of rapid cut-shots. It was picturized on Cheran, Prasanna and Mithun on their mission to deliver the donated heart, in a dense housing colony. The background score, was too melodramatic and loud in certain sequences, which devalues the intended impact of some sequences.
Starting off with Samuthirakani's voice-over, Bobby and Sanjay's hyperlink script, which has multi-narration, multi-character and multi-timeline, was brilliantly written. The screenplay unravels slowly but steadily and picks up plenty of pace in the second half, especially with the unpredictable twists and turns, during intense moments ! They have struck a nice balance of emotional quotient and thrilling moments in the film. But the overtly done, frenzied, mad-rush climax with a heavy and fast song playing in the back, only gives a 'filmy' effect, rather than a class act, which could have been avoided. The emotional quotient of the film, could have easily warranted highly-charged dialogues, Ajayan Bala must be appreciated for penning simple dialogues. But there are scenes which could have been accentuated by intellectual dialogues, which would have given more depth to the screenplay. Besides that, there is an uncanny dose of Malayalam flavor in the writing, which should have been altered, to suit Tamizh nativity. Shaheed Kader has earnestly tried his best to be sincere to the original Malayalam script, and kudos to him for lucid vision in the execution of the script. Applaudable work from the writers but there are continuity mistakes in the film, which the director, should have taken note off.
'Chennaiyil Oru Naal' could have been a classic and classy film, if it was handled by more experienced and talented crew. A potential unforgettable great film, becomes "just" a good film. But still, congratulations for the brilliant effort of the cast and crew.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
A movie long in the making, Muran was the talk of the town once UTV Motion Pictures came into the fray, deciding upon watching the film. Cheran and Prasanna make up a interesting pair of male leads as both are distinctively different from each other in style and school of film making. One common thing between both of them is that, they need a hit badly to salvage their careers, especially Prasanna to survive in the industry. The director in Cheran has taken some sort of sabbatical as he has been acting out in more movies after his last directed film, "Pokkisham" was a dud in the box office. Debutant Rajan Madhav, a former assistant of Mysskin has promised a decent thriller and judging from the trailers, it was indeed promising. How did the movie fare?
The two male leads are the pivots which the story centers on. Cheran has delivered a neat and excellent performance. He delivered marvelous performance in his last "Yuddham Sei" and he continues with this film as well. As the musician who is trying to get a decent break, who underplays his emotions and yet delivered what was expected of his character. The scenes where he is challenged by Prasanna and the 'torment' he goes through in the second half are proof to his acting credentials. Kudos to him. The real scene stealer however is Prasanna, who has rocked as Arjun, the spoilt brat son of a multimillionaire. It's reminiscent of hi "Anjaathey" days but with some more style, flair and smart dialogue delivery. The real achievement is the manner in how he projected the character. Tamizh cinema tends to stereotype the "psychologically-affected" characters with disturbing mentality, rough body language and violence filled behavior, but here Prasanna, was a more believable and casual in his manner and approach, which is a welcomed change. Bravo to him for adding another dimension to his acting career. Among the heroines, Haripriya has more screen presence. Nikitha and Suma Bhattacharya are adequate for their roles, but the dubbing for Suma's character was odd and out-of sync in certain shots. Jayaprakash, Prathap Pothen, Neelima Rani and others slip in and out of the screen play, making up for the other character roles.
Technically, the film has some decent work. Saajan Madhav, the brother of the director handles the music and his background score was decent. Among the songs, the "Etho Ithuvarai" number is hummable. Padmesh handled the cinematography department well, with the highway sequences being the highlight. Arun Durairaj kept the film short without being stretched but he could have trimmed some scenes in the first half to speed-en up the pace. JPK Prem's art direction was in-tune with the film but he could have chosen more variety of color tones to prep up the screen as after a certain period of time, the proceedings look dull as the same colors are used over again. Rajasekar's stunt was simple and reflected realism. The fight sequences looked more of like a physical struggle between individuals in a fight, rather than actual stunts scenes, which actually gives the film more realistic look.
It is difficult to assess Rajan's actual story conceiving talent as this film is a local adaptation of Alfred Hitchcock's classic "Stranger on a Train". He does have some intelligent writing skills and the dialogues exchanged between Cheran and Prasanna during the highway sequences are proof to it. The way he composes certain shots are similar to the style of his mentor Mysskin. The first half is a little slow but the second half picks up the pace, with the addition of a sudden twist in the middle of the second half.
Muran is a decent thriller with some wonderful and composed acting from the two male which is worth a watch.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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