After the super-hit success of 'Kanna Laddu Thinna Aasaiya', Santhanam's next production venture under his own company Handmade Films Production, is none other than his debut as a solo hero, with 'Vallavanukku Pullum Aayudham'. Jointly produced with PVP Cinemas, it is the official remake of the 2010 Telugu film 'Maryada Ramanna' which had Telugu comedian Sunil as the protagonist. Successfully remade in most of the other regional languages, can Santhanam pull it off as a solo hero, with a proven script ?
Santhanam, who always shares the screen space with his buddy heroes, has taken up the mantle as the lead protagonist this time. It is an apt script and subject for him, and he has performed very comfortably. His efforts in relation to keeping a fit physique, improved dancing skills, and the effervescent screen presence, is very much evident. His comic timing and dialogue deliveries need no mention and as always, there are many perfect punch dialogues for him, to impress the audience. Ads model, Ashna Zaveri from Mumbai makes her film debut, as the pretty face of the film. She fits the bill as the pretty and homely girl role and performs adequately. Not to forget, she too has a pleasant screen presence. Telugu actor Nagi Needu reprises the role he did in the original as the film's main antagonist, alongside Ravi Prakash and Suguntha. Though their roles are the atypical loud and brash villains of Tamizh cinema, the actors did justice to their roles. Siddharth Vipin and Rajakumaran provides the comic relief in the first half, whereas VTV Ganesh has a small role in the second half. The others such as radio and television personality Senthil Kumar, Rekha Suresh, Sujatha, Subbu Panchu, John Vijay, Bose Venkat and etc sufficed the needs of the story. And don't miss out the hilarious cameo of 'Powerstar' Dr.Srinivasan in the first half !
Vasu handles the costume designing and his works has made Santhanam and Ashna Zaveri look very much presentable and stylish, within the commercial needs of the script and for the songs, as well. The VFX work is handled by Lorven Studios and surprisingly, the train sequence in the first half and the climax had very shoddy visual effects, which looked very amateurish. The action choreography is handled by 'FEFSI' Vijayan, and though the film had scope for some good action sequences, the choreography was a little overboard. Dhilip Subbarayan has handled the bicycle chase sequence, which was a very lengthy one, and Santhanam was really put to test, in this particular portion. The art design is handled by A.R Mohan and his work brought out the script's feel and desired look, aptly. The train set and the song sequence set was well put up. Also, the interiors of the grand village mansion was very well propped. Saikant's editing could have been more tighter, especially with the long climax chase and dialogues sequence, which dragged the film's duration unnecessarily. Cinematography is by Shakthi, who has experimented with the lighting, in order to give Santhanam, the extra edge in terms of screen presence. His camera movements, especially in the songs, brought out the necessary look and feel. Richard M.Nathan, too has been credited for additional cinematography works, as well.
Siddharth Vipin's musical compositions are good but the songs, were badly placed in the film, unfortunately. "Takkar Takkar" is the usual opening song of the protagonist. Santhanam, shows marked improvement in dancing and is evident in this song. The 'mass' feel was brought out well, especially with the street setting and plenty of extras as back-up dancers. More creativity could have given the song and extra edge. "Oh Oh Nadhigal" comes in the first half, with the lead pair and other characters travelling in a train. The camera movements within the tight space of a train compartment was well handled by Shakthi. A separate portion involving only the lead pair, in a train setup was well lit. The visual effects, could have been much better, though. "Vaada Mappilai" is the theme track of the film and is used in crucial moments of the film, especially during Santhanam's introduction to the antagonists scene. The 'mass' appeal of the song fits the seqeunce, quite well. "Chella Kutti" is the quintessential "kuthu" number shot on the lead pair, with colorfully attired back-up dancers, and equally colorful, set work by A.R Mohan. "Otrai Devathai" is a peppy number, shot in a very grand manner, involving plenty of extras and all the main characters, which has a in-house celebration theme to it. "Kadavule" is a situational song, which is played as the background score for the climax bicycle chase sequence. Siddharth Vipin's background score deserves mention, especially for the minute bytes he provides, like the "Maattikittaan" track, which enhances the comedy sequences. But he could have avoided lifting the "Mombassaa" track from the film 'Inception', which was originally scored by Hans Zimmer.
The original 'Maryada Ramanna' was directed by the hot-shot Telugu director S.S Rajamouli, who has co-written the script with S.S Kanchi. And what one should note is that, 'Maryada Ramanna' itself was a remake of the 1923 classic Hollywood silent comedy, 'Our Hospitality', directed and acted by Buster Keaton. That film was a satire of a real-life feudal war between the Hatfield and McCoy clans, which took place during the late 19th century. 'Vallavanukku Pullum Aayudham' has a wafer-thin story-line and it is the light-hearted screenplay, which keeps driving the film. The plethora of one-liners and funny punch dialogues from Santhanam are the main focal point of the film's humor aspect. Actor Srinath, helms the responsibility of director of the film and he has played safe, without altering too much with S.S Rajamouli's film. The direction could have been much better though, especially with the long drawn-out climax portion, which was too melodramatic for contemporary standards. The first half train sequence, has the best stretch of comedy one-liners and the cute bicycle track is a funny commercial element, for the film. The song placements could have been much better, as mentioned earlier. 'Vallavanukku Pullum Aayudham' doesn't click in all the departments, but overall it is a simple, fun film.
'Vallavanukku Pullum Aayudham' - If this succeeds, will Santhanam carry on to do his usual hero sidekick roles ?
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
One of the most eagerly spoken about films, is this Dhanush produced 'Ethir Neechal, starring the upcoming hot-shot Sivakarthikeyan and a host of youngsters. Sivakarthikeyan has been notching up the ratings, due to his immense reach, attained during his television days. And the extra USP of having Anirudh as the music director, who dished out chart-busters, once again. It looks like the season of Vetrimaaran's former assistants, coming up with their own directorial ventures, and R.S Durai Senthilkumar joins the fray as well, through 'Ethir Neechal'.
This protagonist role of 'Ethir Neechal' is a tailor-made role for Sivakarthikeyan, who excels in his comic timing. Not just in his dialogue deliveries, but also through facial expressions and body language, which are signs of very good improvement ! He's not bad in the emotional scenes as well, but it was still not good enough to rate his full capability in the acting quotient. Priya Anand breezed through her role as the beautiful girl-next-door teacher. Nandita of 'Attakathi' fame has a more stronger role, but a brief one though, yet she still makes a mark. Satish, as the sidekick of Sivakarthikeyan, was a scream with his in-your-face one-liners and is delight to watch in his combination scenes with Sivakarthikeyan. The next hit-pair ? Most probably ! Jayaprakash and Ravi Prakash, handled their roles very diligently. The rest of the cast such as Suza Kumar, Swaminathan, Manobala, Aarthi, Madan Bob and a cute cameo by 'Attakathi' Dinesh were adequate.
The film carries very neat and crisp technical works from the crew. Anu Parthasarathy's costume designing for Priya Anand was brilliant and Priya was looking gorgeous indeed ! 'Mirattal' Siva's action choreography was functional. G.Durairaj's art direction was very good, as he has maintained high production value, with an obviously low budget. There are plenty of locations in the film such as tailor shop, classrooms, training room, offices and the final marathon sequence, were all well neatly brought out, with the necessary props. G.Durairaj is turning into a favorite among the medium budget producers ! Kishore T.E's editing was flawless, as he keeps the film crisp and the flow of the screenplay, in check. R.Velraj's cinematography is dripping in quality, with apt camera positioning and framing. His camera movement is slick, the cool ambiance was a fine touch and his lighting for the dimly-lit sequences, were brilliant as usual ! Also, R.Velraj camera angles in tight spaces, worked out well for the necessary scenes.
Anirudh Ravichander's music, as mentioned earlier, was brilliant and peppy. The sort of attention-grabbing genre for the youth. "Nijamellam" has Sivakarthikeyan trying to woo Suza Kumar and has cool picturization from R.Velraj. The narrow alleys, wide beach section, crowded bus interiors, were all shot in montages. "Boomi Ennai" was pictured on Sivakarthikeyan falling for Priya Anand and is a another typical dance number with plenty of locations and crisp editing. "Velicha Poove" was the best shot song, in the postcard-worthy locations of Andaman and Nicobar. The camera movement and angles were very good and accentuated the lovely mood of the song, shot on Sivakarthikeyan and the Priya Anand, who was looking gorgeous to the tilt ! "Local Boys" was a super-fast number shot on a bar atmosphere, with plenty of props. The highlight of the song though was the cameo appearances by Dhanush, the classy Nayanthara and also by Anirudh himself ! The title track of "Ethir Neechal" was shot on Sivakarthikeyan and Nandita and has montages of the protagonist going through intensive training for the penultimate marathon episode. "Un Paarvaiyil" was a situational song shot on Sivakarthikeyan setting his sights on Priya Anand for the first time. Anirudh rocks in the background score department as well, with good touches of rock and melody elements. Being an ardent A.R Rahman fan, the background score does have some moments, which were obvious inspirations from A.R Rahman !
R.S Durai Senthilkumar's script, was very simple and straight-forwardly written. There director plays no hanky-panky in the screenplay. The love scenes were cute and amusing, the comedy portions were humorous, thanks to the witty one-liners and the emotional sequences were just nice and was not overtly melodramatic. The debutante director, has extracted exactly what was needed from his cast and his vision of his script, is full of clarity. A subtle message is woven into the screenplay, without being too preachy and obvious. The only downside of the film is that, it might not satisfy all section of audience, as its low in content. The film is not particularly racy, though its commendable that they have kept the length of the film, short. The transition from comedy to seriousness, from the first to second half, was rather formulaic, but the director can be excused, as he has come up with a neat entertainer.
'Ethir Neechal' - delivered nothing more and nothing less than promised. A clean entertainer !
Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'Neethane En Ponvasantham' a beautifully-titled movie, is one of the most expected films of the year, thanks to the expectations which bounds to arise when the director, Gautham Vasudev Menon comes back to his comfort zone, that is love stories. Added to that, the blockbuster hit of the soundtrack, scored none other than the genius, 'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraaja, elevated the film's expectations several notches higher, since the score was one of the best to come out from Raaja sir's stables. With excellent technicians and gorgeous looking casts, this film had all the necessary elements to score at the box-office.
Jiiva has delivered a refreshing and thumping performance as the cool, casual and handsome chap. His dialogue delivery and body language were so precisely, he embodies the character Varun Krishnan, perfectly. The spontaneous reactions and composed expressions, are the highlights of his character, though he was not entirely convincing as a school-boy, looks and physique, wise. Samantha Ruth Prabhu, was simply gorgeous in the film, and she too delivers a fantastic performance as Nithya Vasudevan. Her transition from a teenage 'angel' to a beautiful woman, looks and mentality/behavior wise, was smoothly handled by her. Its an advantage certainly for Samantha to dub in her own voice, which gives an authentic feel to her character. With more such roles, she could hone her acting skills even more, and she is definitely a good performer, in waiting. Jiiva and Samantha, literally lived and breathed as Varun and Nithya. Kudos to both of them. Santhanam was absolutely rib-tickling and smashing in his comedy portions. Though his usual teasing and double entendre dialogues were there, it was presented in a different style, which makes him look fresh. His scenes with debutante Vidyullekha Raman, parodying 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya' was a scream, with 'VTV' Ganesh, making a surprise cameo !! Ravi Raghavendra, Ravi Prakash, Sriranjani, Anupama Kumar, Christine Thambuswamy and etc were very apt for the film, and incorporated mannerisms and body language of typical Gautham Vasudev Menon's film characters.
The core of Gautham's favourite technicians are present in this film as well. First off, M.Ravi's stills, especially for the promotional posters, were beautiful and chic. Nalini Sriram's costume designing was a pleasant to the eyes of the viewers. The lead pair was looking simply ravishing, especially Samantha (Gautham's heroines are always portrayed beautifully). Rajeevan's art work was neat and in-tune with the script. The simple but wonderful sets for the songs, and the props for the plot settings, were very original and appropriate. Anthony was at his best as usual, with no gimmicks and tricks in the editing department. His work in the songs, especially the smooth transition from one scene to the other, was class. The cinematography was catchy, with correct color tones and appropriate angles for the important scenes. The pre-interval, lengthy scene, was shot well, capturing the emotional outbursts and body language of the lead pair. It was nearly impossible to differentiate the works of the three cinematographers who worked in the film but, S.R Kadhir, M.S Prabhu and Om Prakash, all share the credit for a neatly and aesthetically shot film.
'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraaja comes up with a beautiful and heavenly soundtrack. Most of the songs are gems in their own respective genres, but the instrumentation was fresh from the genius. Gautham Vasudev Menon, utilized Ilaiyaraaja extremely well, and the latter produced a wonderful, wonderful album which was recorded and mastered at the Angel Studios, England for which Anglo-Indian Music Productions was hired, providing singers, an 108-piece orchestra and percussion. "Pudikile Maamu" a half rock-half folk song, is the introductory song, with Santhanam opening it up, humorously. The dance for this song was stylishly choreographed by debutante Sathish Krishnan. There were plenty of cut-shots and it was precisely edited by Anthony, with good camera angles. "Vaanam Mella" is a flashback song, rewinding the past of the lead pair and a different color tone was used for the song, which was stretched for a longer duration. The pick of the lot, the melodious, "Saayndhu Saayndhu" was perfectly composed for the situation. It was placed when the love was proposed by the lead pair to each other by each other. This one too, has plenty of cut-shots and montages and smoothly edited by Anthony and some gorgeous art work by Rajeevan. "Mudhal Murai" is a situational song, showing the agony of the heroine living a lonely life without the romances of the hero. The song used montages and has plenty of close-ups of the heroine, but it sounds too heavy for the flow of the script. "Kaatrai Konjam", another situational song, highlights the travel journey of the hero in meeting the heroine after a gap. Actor Nani makes a smart cameo, in this song. "Ennodu Vaa Vaa", has some good camera movements and highlights the hero trying to woo back the heroine, and is also another situational song. "Pengal Endral" is a high-octane pathos song, showcasing the painful break-up of the lead pair, in montage sequences. "Satru Munbu", the final song, beautifully fits into the script and shows the sorry state of the heroine, fearing for the worst. This song too was stretched for the entire climax, portion. Ilaiyaraaja's background scoring is legendary and needs no specific mention, but here the magical touch was missing, since part of the songs were used sparingly as background score and dialogues taking more prominence, where Ilaiyaraaja, keeps everything else, muted.
Gautham Vasudev Menon has collaborated with Reshma Ghatala, in regards to the story, screenplay and dialogues of the film, and the pair has produced an excellently written script. The script was minutely observed and broken down, casually laid out, has in-depth and detailed dialogues. This is definitely Gautham's most maturely written love story, so far. He has taken off from where he left in 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa'. The complexities of the nitty-gritty details of love affair and arguments between the love couple, were explicitly and articulately portrayed. Gautham's success starts from the sketching of his characters. They all look familiar, just like any other individuals next door, but to shape them up in just pure writing, is an extraordinary feat. The lead pair has depth in their characterizations and look realistic, believable, and contemporary, which makes it relatable for any young, urban folks out there. The imperfections, the egoism, the hustle and tussle, the pressure, the disappointments, joy, sorrow, and the powerful, deep love between the lead characters, were just beautifully portrayed. Dialogues are extremely nuanced, and measured, smartly written but are of the heavy-duty category. And also, Gautham smartly makes sure that the names of the lead pair are mentioned constantly throughout the film, which convinces our minds to register those characters as Varun and Nithya, instead of just Jiiva and Samantha. The love portrayed here is more organic and natural since, it has a beginning from childhood and we see it develop through their teens and early adulthood. All these does not stop only with the characters of the lead pair, but also extends to the supporting characters, especially to family members of the hero. However, the pace of the film suffers, especially in the climax, which moves in a leisurely pace, which can test the patience of many viewers.
'Neethane En Ponvasantham' is not just another love story from Gautham, but a complete dissection of the love relationship between a man and a woman, who are filled with imperfections, but are expected to behave favorably towards each other. A definite cult-status worthy film in a decade or two and a classic in the romance genre in Tamizh cinema.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'Maattrraan' was hugely expected because of the return of the super-successful 'Ayan' combination of Suriya, K.V Anand and writers duo D.Suresh and A.N Balakrishnan (Subha, for short). Plus, K.V Anand and Subha is on a back-to-back blockbuster ventures, after the mega success of 'Ko'. Financed heavily by AGS Entertainments, this film boasts of spectacular locations and heavy visual effects and graphics portion, thanks to the conjoined-twins portion of the script, good music and a good-looking cast. With an A-class cast and technical crew, the trailers and promos suggested a good and exciting, fun ride for the viewers. Worth the wait ?
The current showman and entertainer of Tamizh cinema and the darling of the press and girls, Suriya rocks in his performance as Agilan and Vimalan, the conjoined-twins. He has put in tremendous hard-work in getting the emotions, body language, dialogue delivery method for the two characters right. He has to differentiate the major and also subtle differences between both the twins and his sincerity and honesty shines throughout the film. Be it dance, fight, emotions, he pulls it off with ease and its no mean feat, since he has to repeat the acts on a facial/performance capture devices, without any cues ! He deserves a round of applause, but in order to enhance himself as an actor, he should venture out of the city-boy, metro-sexual look and characterizations, and do more sophisticated and matured roles. Anyways, job very,very,very well done ! Kajal Aggarwal, looks much better and sexier, compared to her previous films and she's a breathe of fresh hair. She looks bubbly and cheerful but the problem was, she maintained that for the whole film, (even in emotional sequences) which should have been avoided. Chinmayi's dubbing for her, enhanced the character's intelligent and smart personality, even more. Sachin Khedekar has a big and meaty role to play and he too did a very good job with fine and composed performance. The rest of the cast were pedestrian such as Ravi Prakash, Tara Anooradha, Ajay Ratnam, Irina Maleva, Julia Bliss and etc.
'Maattrraan' has a very, very high technical standards, thanks to the those who are involved. Make-up artist Bhanu's prosthetic make-up for the conjoined-flesh was very authentic with all the nerves and flesh color, with tinges of blood veins. Great work ! Lakshmi Narayanan, the veteran audiographer did a good job, with all the sounds checked in place correctly, but he should experiment and venture out to use more variety of sounds, to knock off the heard-before feel to the movie. Nalini Sriram's costume designing was lavish and perfect, be it the dichotomous fashion sense of the conjoined-twins or even the beautiful Kajal Aggarwal. V.Srinivas Mohan, in charge of the visual effects portion, has done a tremendous job in the VFX department. His correct composition and lighting for the conjoined-twins portion was very evident and only a minute observation will help us to notice the the effects work. His usage of facial/performance capture, and 3D effects techniques, were a big, big boost to the film and without such a technician, it would have been impossible for the crew to do this film. Kudos to him !! Not to forget, Anthony's fast editing especially in the songs and stunts sequences involving the conjoined-twins portion, were crucial contributions for the film, which brought out the effects of the VFX properly to the screen. Peter Hein must have had a tough job in composing the stunt sequences. The conjoined-twins stunt scene in the first half, was thrilling and superbly choreographed, which captured the mood and emotions of the script very,very well. The latter half of stunts in the foreign locations, were very well done too, though it was a bit lengthy. Another feather in the cap for Peter Hein. Rajeevan's set-work was stylish and classy, be it the homes of the protagonist, the cow farm, the entertainment club, the Russian palace and etc. Fantastic job by him ! Soundar Rajan's contribution as a cinematographer was immense, because his homework was extensive in each and every minute detail due to the necessity of the script. His lens captured the beauty of the plethora of locations involved in the film, including the Balkan region in countries like Croatia, Serbia, Albania, Macedonia and especially a large chunk in Russia, Gujarat, Pakistan border and also the cool Norway. His angles and lighting too were very smart and innovative, which further enhanced the look and feel of the film. 'Maattrraan' is a milestone in Soundar Rajan's career !
Harris Jeyaraj's music was not bad but a sense of deja-vu kicks when you listen to the songs. "Rettai Kadhire" is the introduction song of the protagonists and captures their growth and progress in life, through montages. It serves as a platform for the audience to know the difference between both the twins. "Naani Koni" was shot in spectacularly, beautiful locations of Norway. The hills, lakeside and motorway, all looked elegant and classy, plus the lead pair of Suriya and Kajal Aggarwal looked splendid. "Theeye Theeye" was shot in a club atmosphere. The set work was good from Rajeevan, though it had very small space for a club sequence. The lighting was fantastic and Soundar Rajan, Anthony and V.Srinivas Mohan would have toiled for the song, in order to portray the conjoined-twins dancing and romancing the heroine, together ! The 3D composition on Suriya's body was good, and near flawless. "Yaaro Yaaro" is a melodramatic, situational song which features the characters recuperating from a loss, and was presented in montage sequences. "Kaal Mulaitha" is a refreshingly different song from Harris. Rajeevan's Russian palace set was the quintessential grandeur set. It had good choreography involving many Russian dance artistes. The background score was good, but Harris really needs to diversify and do more innovative scoring, if he wants to maintain his fan base and reputation, as a good music composer.
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K.V Anand must be applauded for his tremendous hard-work in putting meticulous efforts to pull of the foreign sequences. Together with Subha, the trio has been scripting the next-gen of commercial entertainers, with smart themes and intelligent packaging. Here, they have handled a myriad of unique themes such as genetic engineering, baby designing, drug enhancement research works, political motivations and etc, all into one single script. Though its a brilliant effort, it takes the toll on the audience because, they're good intentions of laying out all the justifications for the proceedings of the movie, stretches or drags the duration of the film, which makes the viewers a little uneasy. Plus, the stunts and songs are to be factored in as well by the audiences ! The story has racy and fiery elements in it, but the dragginess factor, takes out the racy effects. Their writing, be it dialogues of humorous scenes, are charming, intelligent, and naughty, too ! The intentions of pushing in a social message in a uniquely-themed commercial entertainer film, is praiseworthy. Though the trio presented a smart and interesting story with the correct commercial packages, few questions are left unanswered, which leaves some logical loopholes in the film. The USP of the film was the conjoined-twins factor, but that was just a gimmick, in order to pull in the audiences. Also, the trio could have avoided revealing the surprise or major twist of the film much earlier in the film, which actually gives away the excitement factor.
'Maattrraan' is definitely worth the watch. Its an interesting commercial entertainer and also has good social messages intertwined in the script. Hope, K.V Anand, D.Suresh and A.N Balakrishnan continue their quest in coming out with intelligent next-gen commercial entertainers.
Ratings: 3.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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