'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
After the cult-hit 'Soodhu Kavvum', the in-demand hot-property of Tamizh cinema, Vijay Sethupathi is back quickly. Another off-beat project and another dark-humored film. But the direction is by Gokul Ramana instead, who previously wielded the baton for the Jivva-starrer 'Rowthiram'. What's interesting is that Madhan Karky has been roped into the board as a dialogue writer and the barrage of peripheral characters. Did 'Idharkuthaane Aasaipattai Balakumara' satiate the thirst of fans of different attempts ?
Vijay Sethupathi, has rocked it once again with a brilliant and acute performance. This guy is raising the bar for himself, higher and higher for each of his films, and this flick is no different from it. The guy oozes composure and apt maturity to handle this peculiar 'Sumaar Moonji Kumar' character with panache ! His improvisation in dialogue delivery is fantastic and he finishes off his dialogues with the apt timing, needed. His theater experiences, have obviously molded this guy into a very good performer. The climax definitely belongs this chap ! Ashwin Kakumanu, has a parallel role as Vijay's, which plays an important part in the script. His histrionics are diametrically opposite to that of Vijay's and he has grabbed his opportunity with both his hands. Though some sequences might suggest a sense of over-acting or exaggeration, it adds more zing to the script. The balancing act sequences between his nagging boss and possessive girlfriend, was well performed. Swati Reddy and Nandita, look good on screen and did what was required from them, with limited screen space though their characters were of importance to the script. The supporting cast have been fantastic as well and all added more fun elements to the script. Pasupathy takes the cake but still others such as M.S Bhaskar, Soori, Livingston, Robo Shankar, Rajendran, Daniel, Sai Ramani, Madhumitha, Pattimandram Raja and etc were fun to watch with their unconventional and peculiar characters.
Harikesh and Karthik did their research well, in terms of the costume designing, as each character was very much complemented by their costumes, which reflected all the weirdness the characters portray. Anbariv's action choreography was adequate and very realistically choreographed. S.Sivaraj should be applauded for his very detailed work in regards to the production design. All the minute, small props mattered for the sequences, which mostly was shot on real locations and some of the artificial sets, looked very much realistic as well. Leo John Paul's editing styles worked aptly with the presentation of the script, though the second half's pace drops a little and the dragging factor, kicks in. Mahesh Muthuswamy's cinematography style was very contemporary and fits the mood and feel of the script.
Siddharth Vipin's music was peppy and appealing to the audience. "Naaye Naaye" is used as a background score during Vijay Sethupathi's introductory scene and also in the late second half. "En Veetula" is the pick of the lot, and was shot on Vijay Sethupathi and Nandita, in and around a low-cost housing colony board. Plenty of dancing and montages are interspersed in between the songs, and its also great fun to watch and listen to this number. "Yean Endral" was shot on Ashwin and Swati, and also had plenty of slow-motion montages. The backdrops were based on contemporary and modern urban-setting. "Enge Ponalum" is the infamous "Prayer Song" and was shot in a bar-like setting, which had good detailing work by S.Sivaraj. V.S Raghavan makes a cute cameo appearance in this song, and Vijay Sethupathi is slowly picking up the dancing skills. The background score too is fun and brings out the quirky elements of the script, very well.
Director Gokul Ramana has cleverly laid out all his ideas and plans and placed them well in his script. But the screenplay was a winner, which was very cleverly and intriguingly written. The narration does not lose its core contents and makes us to stick with the characters for the entire film. To add more strength to the writing, is Madhan Karky's funny, intelligent yet unconventional dialogues. The film is replete with funny dialogues and its great fun to watch black comedies, written and executed well in Tamizh cinema, these days. Though Gokul has perfectly played his cards by executing each of his mini-ideas into the screenplay, the second half could have been a little tighter. Also, the director should be applauded for his character sketching and apt casting for each roles. Not to forget, cheers to Gokul for ending this dark-humored film on a sweet note, which leaves us with a smile on our faces.
'Idharkuthaane Aasaipattai Balakumara' - We are "HAPPY", too !
Ratings: 3.25/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'Raja
Rani' has been making quite some buzz since its inception due to all
the big names associated with it. Produced by none other than A.R
Murugadoss, who collaborates with Fox Star Studios (the Indian
subsidiary of 20th Century Fox) for this rom-com. Directed by a newbie
Atlee, who has assisted Shankar in 'Endhiran' and 'Nanban' and also
known for his YouTube-hit short-film 'Mugaputhagam', it has the best of
casting with good-looking artistes and best of upcoming technicians,
behind-the-scenes. Hence, does 'Raja Rani' justify all the hype and buzz
it bombarded in the medias ?
First, things first. Let's start
off with the lead pair Arya and Nayanthara. Arya oozes charm and wits in
his role. He is at total ease with the character he plays, but the
actual plus point is his performance and matured handling of the
emotional scenes. And the ladies' guy, shares great rapport with both
heroines featured in the film. This film would have been a piece of cake
for Arya ! Nayanthara made a perfect comeback to Tamizh cinema, after a
three-year hiatus. A very composed and heartfelt performance from her.
She definitely has the advantage of enacting the best-written role in
the film, but still credits to her for pulling it off easily.
Definitely, one of her career-best performance, thus far. And its an
undeniable fact that she is the actual fulcrum of the movie.
Jai,
makes a splendid appearance as the naive, innocent, timid Surya. His
antics were good relief in the first-half, and his voice modulation as
well as dialogue delivery complements the nature of his character. The
latest sweetheart of Tamizh cinema, Nazriya Nazim has one of the
'cutest' heroine introductory scenes in Tamizh cinema ! The girl
personifies cuteness and proves her mettle in dishing out typical
bubbly-crazy Tamizh cinema heroines, perfectly. Sathyaraj plays the
uber-cool urban dad, many teenagers and youths would die to have one for
themselves. His stylish make-over looks very refreshing on-screen.
Santhanam, has his right balance of emotional scenes as well, and he
delivers it finely. But nonetheless, his comic is brilliant as usual,
especially in the flashback sequences, featuring him in an odd-wig, with
a Rajni-type mannerism. Sathyan was terrific with his comic timing and
complemented Jai, very well. Rajendran's suave avatar was a crackling
surprise and the other characters such as Manobala, Singamuthu, Dhanyaa
Balakrishnan, Wang, Arun Raja, Misha Ghoshal and etc did their parts
well.
Atlee
has appointed four various costume designers for the film and each of
them, Deepali Noor, Chaitanya Rao, Sathya N.J and Kavisa Rebello, should
be congratulated for their excellent work in the costume department.
All the artistes were looking at their best, be it in any scenes. The
heroines were stunningly pretty, especially ! Dhilip Subbarayan's action
choreography was simple and neatly executed. T.Muthuraj's production
design was of A-grade ! The setting, be it for ordinary or for the
songs, everything looked colorful, fresh and sparkling. The posh
apartment setting, or even the middle-class home setting was very
minutely done, in detailing. A swanky environment is what you get and
feel for most of the film's duration. Very good job, T.Muthuraj !
Ruben's editing could have been better, especially with the lengthy
climax portions, though his edits are fine for the songs. The real hero
of the film is definitely the cinematographer. A sure-hot, next
hot-property of Tamizh cinema, George C.Williams captures the sunlight
beautifully and his color-palette usage were just terrific ! Brilliant
visuals and deft camera-handling. The next big cinematographer has just
arrived !
G.V
Prakash Kumar's songs were complementary for the setting and mood of
the script. "A Love for Life" theme music plays in the opening
sequences, which had the church wedding scene. The framing and
photographic-shots were just too good ! "Hey Baby" has good montages
between Arya and Nayanthara and then transcends into a drunkard-song
type, with even Gaana Bala making a sneaking cameo appearance. The
second part of the song was shot in dark, dead-night streets of Chennai.
"Chillena" was shot on Jai and Nayanthara, and had plenty of sequences,
shown in montages. The usage of sun light and color by George
C.Williams, in the opening portion of this song was catchy. "Unnale" is a
bit-song, also shot on Nayanthara and Jai, with different backdrops of
each character, shown interspersing. "Oday Oday" was shot on a lavishly
decorated Binny Mills and was picturized on Arya and Nazriya. The
colorful sets and costumes, complemented the mood of the song well.
"Imaye Imaye" was shot on Arya and Nayanthara, and was used as a
situational song, with a couple of montages, edited well. G.V Prakash
Kumar handles the background score very well too and definitely 'Raja
Rani' would be one of his best works, collectively.
Now,
the theme of life after love is not something unique nor novel. This
same theme has been handled by greats such as Mahendran and Mani Ratnam
in their films, 'Nenjathai Killathey' and 'Mouna Ragam' respectively.
The only difference is that, such a themed film was missing all the
while for the current generation of social network-crazed youngsters.
Atlee shows maturity in the way he handles his artistes and getting the
best from them. But the hallmarks of a good director-in-making, does not
stop with that alone. The actual crux, which is the script, has plenty
of flaws and weaknesses, in terms of logic and organic, emotional
development. The foundations are there, but Atlee fails to establish a
strong reason for the lead pair to overcome their past relationships and
to accept their new life-partner. If you are to watch this film in
hindsight, you could actually realize the amateurish writing and the
kiddishness of the theme's presentation. The film has its own good
moments and sequences and a couple of well written dialogues, but it
just ends there. The flick fails to actually satisfy the rom-com genre
its supposed to be and its only a rom-com in partitions. The long-drawn
out climax is a turn-off as well, and there are some discrepancies in
the character development aspect. As for Arya and Nayanthara, though
this film did not do any sort of damage to their respective careers,
such films can be avoided, as they have progressed ahead with more
challenging and varied roles.
'Raja Rani' - A misguided,
supposedly rom-com, with fantastic production outputs. A fairly good
rating, only because of the technical outputs artistes' contribution.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
The current flavor and poster-boy of Tamizh cinema, and the apple-of-the-eye of the family audiences, Sivakarthikeyan is on a hot-streak after back to back successes. This time he is in his comfort zone of comedy, with a rural backdrop and an equally comical Soori as his aide. Directed by Ponram, a former under-study of youth-centric humor genre master M.Rajesh, 'Varuthapadatha Vaalibar Sangam' has been making noise with the right kind of noises, thanks to D.Imman's chartbusting songs, pre-release. Will this be a clean hat-trick for Sivakarthikeyan in 2013 ?
Sivakarthikeyan delivers what best comes to him with finesse and the rural character suits him to a T. His timing is terrific and his dialogue delivery is near flawless. His expressive facial expressions and body language is a major asset to his role, as well. Bringing the best out of him is Soori, who plays the perfect foil for Sivakarthikeyan. With funny counter-dialogues and measured counter-reactions, Soori and Sivakarthikeyan are complementary to each others' characters. The film is basically built upon their gags and antics, and they have understood the demands, perfectly. Job well done, boys ! Sri Divya makes her debut in Tamizh cinema, and this sweet-looking, docile-natured element, fits her image very well. Not to forget, this girl has the right capabilities to actually do decent acting. Has very good potential to deliver better performances in the future, subject to proper scripts. Sathyaraj is a marvel in his role as the heroine's father, especially with the majestic mustache of his. The veteran's look and make-up was well designed, giving more believability to his role. Performance wise, the man just simply rocks with his impeccable comic timing and dialogue deliveries. Bindhu Madhavi plays a short but cute role and the rest of the cast such as Rajendran, 'Kathal' Thandapani, Raja, Gopal, Sri Ranjani, Vinodhini, Swaminathan, Kumaravael, and etc were very apt for their roles.
The film has some good technical outputs, thanks to its young crew. Vasugi Bhaskar's costume designing was on the dot, especially for the lead pair, which looked very natural. She should be commended for her part in Sathyaraj's costumes as well. 'Super' Subbarayan handles some simple action sequences, especially the midnight fighting sequence, shot in a plantation. G.Durairaj's, production design was neat, especially with the props for the village sequences, covering various different backdrops such as wedding, festivals and etc. The design blended well with the actual, natural surroundings of the rural setting. Vivek Harshan's editing was neat and he delivered what was expected from him, though more trimming could have made the film look sleek. Balasubramaniem's cinematography is an asset to the film, as his work blends well with the rural setting. The colorful, yet earthy tone the film carries throughout is a pleasant sight for the eyes. His lighting for the songs, especially gives the frames a rich yet earthy tone.
D.Imman is on fire and he delivers another winning album with 'Varuthapadatha Vaalibar Sangam'. The title track, "Varuthapdatha Vaalibar Sangam" which introduced the 'singer' Sivakarthikeyan to us, was shot with good framing and had good village settings as backdrops. "Yennada Yennada" is a cute montage song, shot on Sivakarthikeyan, Sri Divya and Bindhu Madhavi, with a love triangle on the anvil. The best song of the album, "Oodha Color Ribbon" is a foot-tapping song shot on Sivakarthikeyan and Sri Divya, with some song-purpose, conceptualized montages and also in village festival setting. "Kannaale" which is absent from the audio list, is a pleasant bit-song, played during a wedding scene. "Paarkaathe" is a montage song shot on Sivakarthikeyan and Sri Divya, who have finally professed love to each other. "Indha Ponnungale", another chart-buster, was shot on Sivakarthikeyan and Soori and serves as the typical drunkard song, shot in minimal but good lighting by Balasubramaniem. D.Imman also scores well in the background score department, with thumping scores and pleasant tunes. Way to go, D.Imman !
Debutante Ponram, follows his guru's safe template of a humor structure for a whole script, and infuse it with good dialogues. The dialogues, have been taken care of by M.Rajesh himself, and as usual he does not fail to deliver, though they were not the best of punches from him. The storyline is a wafer-thin one, and only the entertainment quotient, keeps the audiences engaged with the film. The screenplay wobbles a little in the end, after an unexpected, but pleasant twist in the climax. Kudos to Ponram for making use of Sivakarthikeyan's image and talents properly, to suit the mood and feel of the script. The gags arrive one-after-the-other and only in the late second half, the mood goes sombre for few moments. There is no any pretext of a great film with this and that. The makers promised a decent, laugh-riot and that is what has been delivered.
'Varuthapadatha Vaalibar Sangam' - Clean hat-rick of success for Sivakarthikeyan, indeed !
Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Sequels are a pretty pain-in-the-ass for most director, as there will be the omnipresent expectations and heavy pressure, due to the success of the first installment. What more when it has one of the most important artiste of the film industry as its protagonist. Director Hari has taken the daring plunge in coming up with a sequel to his 2010 blockbuster, 'Singam' starring the smashing Suriya in the titular role. The first installment did end up with a promise of a sequel, and finally Hari has indeed delivered one. Will this be a springboard for Suriya to regain his place in the blockbuster arena after two under-performed films in '7am Arivu' and 'Maattrraan' ?
With the majestic and awe-inspiring larger-than-life persona and screen presence, Suriya shoulders the weight of the entire script on his well-built shoulders. His passion and dedication in living the role of Duraisingam, is evident with his strong and powerful emotions, dialogue delivery and expressions, especially with his eyes ! The actor handled the pressure with relative ease and he performs even meaner and power-packed. His cinematic role as a police officer, brings great stature and respect to the khaki uniform he donned. A raw and powerful, inspiration perhaps ! Suriya has proved big time, that he is capable of handling commercial, 'masala' protagonist roles with conviction and the necessary oomph factor. Way to go, Suriya ! There is a long, long list of ensemble cast, atypical of Hari's films. International artiste, Danny Sapani plays the main antagonist role and aided by veteran Rahman and Mukesh Rishi. Danny's role was projected off well initially, but peters out towards the end. Rahman and Mukesh, play the quintessential commercial cinema villains, to 'perfection' ! Anushka and Hansika Motwani charms in their respective sequences, though the latter has a more meatier role here. Vivek, who rocked as 'Erimalai' in the preceding film, has a limited screen timing, but still delivers the goods. The current 'Comedy Superstar' Santhanam, never fails to rock and he continues his fine form here as well with some side-splitting comedy portions, especially when he does a Suriya and Kamal Haasan in the film ! Radha Ravi, Nassar, Rajendran, Mansoor Ali Khan, Manorama, Vijayakumar and etc, etc, etc, performed their roles to a T, in limited and inconsequential roles.
Sai and Perumal Selvam's costume designing was apt for a commercial pot-boiler like this, especially for the lead pair in the songs, and for the rest of the character artistes, as well. 'Rocky' Rajesh and Anal Arasu's stunt choreography was well suited for such loud and larger-than-life films, which is a little low in terms of logic and common sense. Suriya performs with great energy and vigor, which actually helps us to overlook the flaws of the choreography. Editing by V.T Vijayan and T.S Jay, was efficient and neat, though the second half was a little prolonged, except for the abrupt ending ! K.Kathir has done a brilliant work with his production design. Most the sets looked perfect, especially the small town jails and lock-ups, interiors of the character's homes or the colorful but simple sets for the song sequences. Job, well done ! Priyan has tried some roving camera tricks here and his camera doesn't seem to rest at all ! However,there are no fantastic or outstanding visuals from him and his works were mostly functional, except for some action sequences.
Devi Sri Prasad, who has been retained for the sequel, has performed badly with his scores and almost all the songs are below average, for current standards. "Vaale Vaale" is the opening song, shot in a boat and around the port of Tuticorin, with a special appearance from a rather flabby-looking Anjali. The song also has some minor shots, featuring the vigilante work of the protagonist. "Puriyavillai" is a montage song for Hansika Motwani, who develops a crush for the masculine protagonist. "Singam Dance" is a peppy club song, shot on Suriya and Anushka and has colorful blue-themed sets by Kathir and good lighting from the cinematographer. "Kannukkulle" also follows the same style, with a more simpler sets. "Achamillai" and "Vidhai Pole" are situational songs, praising the histrionics of the protagonist, shot in montages. The background score is unimpressive, with loud and familiar sounds most of the time !
Director Hari's successful films, have one thing in common. A racy screenplay. From the word go, Hari did not stop for a single moment, and has scripted a screenplay which is full of power-packed action sequences, which were very convincingly played out by Suriya. What differs between 'Singam' and this sequel, is the lower importance given to the other commercial elements of a 'masala' film. Sentiments, romance, and comedy portions were evenly proportioned in the first half, but the sequel highlighted more and more of the brain and brawn of Duraisingam, rather than the other elements in/surrounding him. The antagonists roles, especially of Danny's was ill-written and lacks the necessary counter-effect to the heroics of the hero. Though the duration of the film, especially the second half is a little draggy, Hari keeps his scenes, tight and short, which gives us the impression of a speedy story telling. Some continuity factors were not properly ironed out, and raises a few questions pertaining to logic. The ending was handled in a very abrupt and rushed manner, it spoils the good-ride one was enjoying all the while !
'Singam II' - A near-perfect 'masala' concoction. A thoroughly enjoyable film, but strictly for commercial enthusiasts. A powerful and kingly show from Suriya !
Ratings: 3.25/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
