VANA YUDDHAM MOVIE REVIEW

Director A.M.R Ramesh is known for his selection of controversial incidents as the backdrop of his films. Most notable of them is his work in 'Cyanide', which centered on the assassination episode of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Now, its the turn of the ever-hotly discussed and debated personality, the dreaded and infamous dacoit/smuggler, Veerappan. Scripting the life and times of a man, who terrorized the governments of three states, is no joke and it involves intense research and acute scripting sense, to pull off a great film.

Casting is a very important aspect of any film, and what more with a take on a real-life personality. The pivotal Veerappan, was enacted by the versatile and talented Kishore, who was looking very much apt for the role. The popular mustache look of Veerappan, fitted Kishore to a T. The rough and threatening voice, complements the looks and performance wise, it was a decent effort from him. Arjun as Vijayakumar IPS, was in his usual elements, and playing cop roles is like second skin to him. The cool and smart looks is nothing new and he carries the look with ease, but is that how the real Vijayakumar IPS is in the real world, is a totally different question, though. Suresh Oberoi, looks and behaves very much as the deceased Kannada Superstar Rajkumar. Jayachitra as Chief Minister J.Jayalalitha was a good choice and so does Ravi Kale and Ram Sampath as Senthamarai Kannan and Sethukuli Govindan, respectively. Writer Jayabalan of 'Aadukalam' fame, has an important role in the second half, but his performance was a little raw and less convincing. The rest of the cast such as Shikha, Sulakshana, Vijay Anand and Lakshmi Rai has little to do, in characters of lesser importance. Vijayalakshmi's portions have been sadly chopped off entirely, due to a court ruling of the case filed by Muthulakshmi, the real life wife of Veerappan, who wanted all the scenes depicting her, to be taken off the film.

On the technical front, this film has average works and nothing extraordinary, in order to be raved. The stunt sequences have been well choreographed by Dhilip Subbarayan, Ravivarman and K.D Venkatesh, which was well conceptualized, in accordance to the needs of the script. D.Nagu's editing work was marred by the excessive deletion and the flow of screenplay, gets disturbed. Annamalai's production design was kept minimal and it should have been an easy job for him. There are no song-and-dance routine in this film, and Sandeep Chowta only had the background score department, to prove his skills. Sadly, he faltered in his attempt to deliver a rousing score. The background score was too loud and uninspiring. S.D Vijay Milton's commendable camera work, helped to bring out the look of the film. Capturing the essence of the real life forest and the usage of natural lighting method for the penultimate, climax sequence, are the highlights of the film. And occasionally we can see his trademark camera movements implemented.

A.M.R Ramesh's script is a very simple one and he has picked some of the most important events in Veerappan's notorious timeline. Some of the indispensable episodes are the kidnapping of Kannada Superstar Rajkumar, kidnapping and murder of politician Nagappa, the killings of elephants and illegal smuggling of ivory tusks and the gradual shift to sandalwood and the legendary 'Operation Cocoon'. The research work is evident through the depictions of Veerappan's daily life, such as the spiritual side of his, his friendship among his band of brigands and his behavioral habits. On the other side, we do get to see, the tasks carried out by the elite police pair of Arjun and Ravi Kale, in drawing and executing the plans to nab Veerappan. But the artistic presentation and necessary intensity was missing in the narration and the proceedings looked too simple and bland. There's no exciting element to the script, which can make us be hooked to the film. The forced deletion and extensive bleeping/muting, further spoils the flow of the screenplay. The poor dubbing work, is something unacceptable and should have been rectified, or at least taken care of from the start, itself. Due to the lack of emotional connectedness, the film has a documentary feel to it, and adding fuel to it, is the occasional insertion of actual television clippings. It is quite obvious, that the director has worked on a low budget, but these sort of films will definitely need a budget of higher scale to bring the actual depth and intensity of the topic. Ajaybalan's dialogues were simple and just adequate enough for the script.

'Vana Yuddham' is worth a look, for the subject handled, and to some extent, the performance of the two, lead artistes.


Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

EPPADI MANASUKKUL VANTHAI MOVIE REVIEW

'Eppadi Manasukkul Vanthai' is a film long in the process which marks the next directorial venture of the "Naaka Mukka" director P.V Prasath. 'Kadhalil Vizhunthen' attained great media coverage for its chartbuster songs and also for the dark thriller aspect. With a totally fresh cast and crew, P.V Prasath treads the same path with another dark thriller this time, as well.

As mentioned earlier, the acting cast is entirely fresh and new. Vishwa makes his debut as a hero through this film. With good height and decent physique, he should have capitalized on his plus points. His dancing is okay and dialogue delivery is not too bad but his expressions and emoting skills need to be improved vastly, if he intends to pursue a career in this acting field. His character loses the depth and emotional connectivity it needed, due to his lack of emoting talent. Tanvi Vyas, a former Miss India Earth, makes her debut too. A pretty face was required and she pretty much fits the bill. With standard expressions and scope of performance in this film, she has to work with better directors if she wants to improve her acting capability. Irfan, the television personality, Ravi Kale, Mahendran, Satish and others makes up for the rest of the cast.

Technical wise, this film carries some good and decent work. 'Supreme' Sundar's stunt sequences are well choreographed, especially, the one shot in a half-built building, at night. Veteran V.T Vijayan's editing is flawless, compact and concise. Paulraj, the art director has done a decent job with the art department, especially with the interiors of the heroine's posh apartment, keeping in mind with the fashion designing background of the heroine's character. S.D Vijay Milton has done a very well in the cinematography department. His long shot, camera movement, angles and color tone used for scenes were very apt. Especially in the songs and night sequences, he captures the moment and intensity very well with his camera. A.J Daniel, the music director is also a newcomer. A former assistant to Harris Jeyaraj, he has delivered good songs in this film. Funnily, the film director has structured the format and song pattern, resembling the same situation and mood as his previous film ! "Oorakaali" is a typical loud and abrasive dance song, with quirky movements from Sridhar and some interesting camera movements and lighting from Vijay Milton, shot in warehouse, streets and dhobi ghat areas. The pick of the album is certainly the "Oru Paarvaiyile" number. A melody rendered by Harish Raghavendra, it was shot in montage sequences with some dance movements in between, set in Bangalore. "Eppadi Manasukkul Vanthai" song comes in a bit-song format. "Yen Kadhal" is another hummable song, sung by Karthik. Again, Vijay Milton uses fine camera movements and breezy color tone throughout the song, with minimal and subtle artwork by Paulraj, with couple of montage sequences. "Kannakuzhi Azhagi" is another dance routine number, picturized on open-top bus and the college areas, featuring the hero dancing in unique dance movements. "Uyire" is another bit-song, picturized with the heroine against the heroine and finally "Muthangal" song is shot in the apartment set with very romantic mood and lighting created by S.D Vijay Milton and Paulraj's art work enhances the feel-good look of the song.

As mentioned earlier, P.V Prasath has gone for a similar dark theme as with his debut venture. This time it has couple of interesting twists and knots. The problem with the script is that, it has gaping holes in the plot and a unnecessarily long drawn-out climax. Questionable circumstances are aplenty in the film and the performance of the lead artistes are not engaging or powerful enough, but it is watchable to certain extent, due to the interesting twists, here and there. Surprisingly, S.D Vijay Milton handles the dialogues as well and he has done a good job with it, as the dialogues are sharp and crisp. Also, the songs are eerily similar in structure with his previous film, with same situations and mood. His casting is not so strong as well, because with a better cast, especially for the lead pair roles, the performance would have lessened the damage of the weak script.

P.V Prasath, came up with a interesting idea but his loophole-filled scripting work and weak performances of lead artistes brought down the film, which has good technical values.


Ratings: 2/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL