Vishal is back in action for Deepavali once again and he has joined hands with director Hari, who is fresh from the blockbuster success of 'Singam II'. After a lengthy 7-year gap with 'Thaamirabarani', this duo is back in action with a typical, commercial "masala" film, full of sentiments, action, glamour, song-and-dance and comedy and produced under Vishal's own Vishal Film Factory banner. With the usual huge supporting cast and his trusted technicians, can Hari and Vishal score back to back hits in their respective careers with 'Poojai' ?
This is a perfect platform for Vishal to flex his muscles and showcase the machismo side of his. This is a very apt and comfortable setup for Vishal and he has come out clean, with an energetic yet subtle performance. He has matured more as an actor and manages to stamp his mark with his screen presence. Job, well done ! Shruti Haasan is only making her third appearance in Tamizh, after a two year absence from '3'. She replicates her Telugu cinema act, with a simple modern-day, girl-next-door performance and ups the ante in the glamour department, for the songs. Mukesh Tiwari as the main antagonist was passable, though a better actor would have created an heavier impact. Soori, 'Black' Paandi and Immanuel Annachi takes care of the comedy portions, and though one or two scenes are funny, thanks to the quirky dialogues, their tracks were redundant, on an overall basis. The huge supporting cast, consisted of some of the best character artistes such as Sathyaraj, Raadhika Sarathkumar, Jayaprakash, 'Thalaivasal' Vijay, Prathap Pothen, and also other artistes such as Manobala, R.Sundarrajan, Abhinaya, Kausalya, Renuka, Sithara, Aishwarya, Janaki Sabesh, Awadesh Mishra, Vinay Bihari, Mathumila Mano, Sanjay Singh, Sounthara Raja, Barath Raj and etc. Most of them do fill up the spaces but their relevance and importance to the film, is another question entirely.
Costume designing by Vasuki Bhaskar and Chaitanya Rao fits the bill, and the lead pair looked natural and realistic. Shruti Haasan was particularly, glamorous in the sons sequences. Some of the character artistes, costumes could have been better and not over-done. Action choreography is by the once-in-demand-once-upon-a-time, Kanal Kannan. As it has mostly been with Kanal, the action sequences were over-the-top, repetitive and unwarranted. The opportunities were there in the screenplay for an pulsating action choreography, alas it was wasted for good ! K.Kadhirr's art direction was splendid, especially with the elaborate market set-work, which looked realistic and also with the grand & posh mansion, apartment and office settings, which had all the necessary props to enhance the setting. Veteran V.T Vijayan and T.S Jay duo takes care of the editing department, and their quick-cuts helped overcome the obvious flaws of the action sequences. The film moves at a good and steady pace, but there are many redundant scenes, which could have been edited out, to make it racier. Hari's right-hand man and regular, Priyan is the cinematographer here as well, and his work suffices the need of the script and complements, Hari's presentation style, very well. Especially with the top-angle and chopper shots.
Yuvan Shankar Raja's musical score is below average for his standards and only a couple of the songs are really hummable numbers. "Soda Bottle" is the opening item-number song, shot on Vishal and has a cameo appearance from Andrea Jeremiah, who had a glamorous make-over for this song. K.Kadhirr's market set was well shot by Priyan for this song and most of the detailing of the art work was visible on screen. "Devathai" is the pick of the lot and was shot on Vishal and Shruti Haasan, dancing in scenic urbane and hill stations of Switzerland. Shruti Haasan was at her glam-best, for the first time in Tamizh cinema. Some montage sequences were interspersed along the choreographed portions. "Ippadiye" is a folk dancer number, with elements of trance music from Yuvan Shankar Raja. Its an atypical Hari song, shot on the lead pair, in a simple yet colorful set, accompanied by colorfully-attired group dancers. "Uyire" is a situational pathos song, also shot on the lead pair and comes at two different places. "Odi Odi" is the final situational song and was had plenty of chases and sentimental scenes, and serves as the prelude for the climax portion. Yuvan Shankar Raja's background score was functional enough but for his standards, it could and should have been way much better.
As with all Hari films, 'Poojai' too has the commercial, mass "masala" template with its script. Hari has repeated the same formula for the umpteenth time and arranges the screenplay in an sequence of comedy, action, song, sentiment and this sequence repeats throughout the whole screenplay. There are no twists and turns in the script and the story has a very linear and straightforward timeline. The story only picks up pace just before the interval and stutters occasionally after that, with some redundant songs and comedy portions. There's no cohesion nor coherence in the screenplay and many scenes do not gel well and sticks out like sore thumbs. There's not enough of emotional depth, be it in the hero/villain episode nor the hero/heroine portions, as well. The action sequences tire you after a point of time and it doesn't really fire up the emotion in us. Though all of Hari's films has the same template, he gets it right with some scripts, which has the right proposition and proportions of the "masala" quotients. But with 'Poojai' there seems to be miscalculation and obvious flaws, in the execution of the script and even in the directorial department as well.
'Poojai' - An average 'darshan' with some working bits and pieces !
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Bharath's 25th film, 'Aintham Thalaimurai Siddha Vaidhya Sigamani' is produced by Pushpa Kandaswamy on behalf of Kavithalaya Productions. Directed by debutante L.G Ravichandar, this flick is touted to be an out-and-out sit-com, and has a bandwagon of comedy artistes in the cast. Bharath needs a hit to sustain in Tamizh cinema and can he be saved by L.G Ravichandar ?
For Bharath, this film does not provide any platform for him to explore his acting histrionics. The character is way too one dimensional and has been portrayed as the quintessential Tamizh cinema hero, celebrated a few decades back. His dance does not need any mention and he has proved himself to be apt in performing action sequences. He is improving his comic timing and more variations in dialogue delivery and style can yield better results. Nandita has an even smaller scope to act and is just there to complement the hero. Thambi Ramaiah holds the majority screen timing among the other artistes but unfortunately, his characterization was poor and he goes too loud and overboard. The are a plethora of other artistes such as Karunakaran, Immanuel Annachi, Renuka, M.S Bhaskar, Singampuli, Manobala, Chaams, Bose Venkat, Kottachi, Mayilsamy, Badava Gopi, Dr.Sharmila, M.J Shriram, Komal Kumar, 'Kadhal' Dhandapani, Paandu, Madan Bob, 'Nellai' Siva, 'Scissor' Manohar and etc, but none had a purpose in their roles and were literally wasted.
The film's technical output was just pedestrian and has nothing to boast about. Action choreography is handled by Haridhinesh and it should be commended that the stunt sequences did not go overboard and was kept believable. The stunt sequence shot in the coconut farm was the pick of the lot. Art direction is by M.R Karthickrajkumar and he has put in some decent efforts from his side. The Siddha Vaidhya ambiance was well created, especially with all the herbs and set properties associated with that traditional medicine scenario. Also, the grand village home shown in the film was well adorned with set properties, and it goes for the small medical centres portrayed in the film. V.Vijay's editing seems to be like a stroll in the park and sufficed the needs of the director. The basic film editing is there but V.Vijay could have trimmed the film's duration because two hours and thirty minutes is just too much to bear. Cinematography is by P.G Muthiah and the talented cameraman's touches are missing here and apart from the action sequences and for the songs, there's nothing particularly impressive with his work.
Simon's musical score is frankly speaking, below average. None of the tunes is worth listening to and Simon better be prepared the face the music, if his music is not up to the mark. "Kandagi Selai" is the first song and is picturized on the lead pair. A village festive backdrop is used for the song, with all the colorful 'kavadis' and flowers strewn in the song. "The Elarai" has cameo appearances from Gaana Bala and Yobama JO, and was picturized on Bharath and Badava Gopi. Its a typical 'item song' without much focus on the 'item' girl. The beach side setting was the backdrop for this song. "Onnuna Rendu" was sung by Vijay Antony and was picturized on the lead pair, backed up by plenty of group dancers. A beach resort, popular among current Tamizh cinema directors, is used as the backdrop and P.G Muthiah's some good camera movements added a little zing to the song. "Madurai Trichy" is the theme song of the film, and is played during the end credits. The background score is just functional and has nothing remarkable.
Let's get straight to the point. L.G Ravichandar's idea for this film is to design it as a no-brainer comedy riot, which were popular during the late 80's and early 90's. Sundar.C's films must have been an exemplary template for L.G Ravichandar. But what worked in those days, will definitely not work now, due to the HUGE change in audience's taste and moreover, those flicks had genuinely funny and wacky comedy portions ! 'Aintham Thalaimurai Siddha Vaidhya Sigamani' is just so pre-historic in its making and the scripting and presentation values are just as old as the hills. It does make us wonder, if L.G Ravichandar has seen any Tamizh films in recent years. The comedy portions and jokes fall flat, the artistes are simply wasted, there's no coherence in the screenplay and there's no logic at all in the story-line. The lesser said, (sorry, nothing said !) the better it is.
'Aintham Thalaimurai Siddha Vaidhya Sigamani' - The joke is on us. This humor is definitely not good for our health or for us !
Ratings: 1.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Long in the making and after quite an delay, newbie Venkatesan.R's debut, 'Nalanum Nandhiniyum' has officially released. A former associate of Venkat Prabhu, Venkatesan.R's story is a countryside-based family entertainer, with the hero and heroine being the central theme. Can Venkatesan.R, make Venkat Prabhu proud ?
Playing protagonist is debutante Michael Thangadurai of Vijay TV's 'Jodi No.1' reality dance program fame. Since dance is his forte, he doesn't seem to have any problem performing in songs, but when it comes to acting, he is no where near being good enough to hold the attention of the audience. He lacks the screen presence and does not show much variations in his emoting, especially in emotionally charged scenes. Meanwhile, Nandita has done a good job with her role and looks completely at ease in performing. She suits the role to a T, and shows good promise. The film has a host of character artistes such as Jayaprakash, Azhagam Perumal, Renuka, Soundara Rajan, Soori, Chaams, Madhumitha, Rinson Simon, Janaki, Rekha Suresh and etc, who have limited screen timing, with roles of unimportance.
Costume designing is by Sivakumar and Santhosh Kumar, and their work was apt for the necessity of the script. The costume designers have kept in mind of the characters, sociological background and comes up with a clean work. B.Thyagarajan's action choreography is functional and Gopi Anand's art direction, sufficed the needs of the script. His properties for the middle-class home setting and also for the rural background, was good. I.J Alen's editing was simple and plain but not flawless. The cuts for the flashback was jerky and could have been much better. Nizar Shafi's cinematography is pretty much functional, but his lighting gave the film a better look, throughout the entire duration.
Musical score is done by newbie Ashwath Naganathan and shows some promise. But the unnecessary number of bit songs in the film, kills the magic of the original full-length songs. "Sivagangai Cheemai" is an introductory song for the characters of the film, and has montages of all the character artistes involved. "Gummunu Varuguthu" is a typical village festival dance number and has good lighting work by Nizar and Michael shows his prowess and comfort in dance, with this folk number. "Thoongama" is a pathos song, shot on the lead pair and presented in montages, which has some good scenic views of Erode. "Vaadagai Koodu" is a duet song, shot on the lead pair and has a middle-class home as its setting and once again Nizar's framing gives the song a good picturization. "Kodi Neeyadi" is situational bit song, and "Sala Sala" is the final song of the film which depicted a film shooting process, throughout. Ashwath's background score is not bad, but he should avoid inserting bit songs, which impedes the flow of the screenplay.
Director Venkatesan.R's intention of delivering a neat and clean family film, deserves appreciation, but his execution falls flat, especially with the screenplay. The film's dramatic moments and episodes are all too cliched for contemporary Tamizh cinema, though they are not overtly melodramatic. It somewhat reminds us of the Tamizh serials being aired in Tamizh satellite channels. There are too many characters in the film, and most of them are not given proper importance nor any good scenes to act, especially when you have top notch artistes like Jayaprakash, Azhagam Perumal and Renuka. The director's film scenes fail to invoke any sympathy nor empathy from the audience, and the plot too doesn't keep us glued to our seats, due to the predictable nature of it.
'Nalanum Nandhiniyum' - Good attempt but too old-fashioned for contemporary standards.
Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'Vanakkam Chennai' has been making the right noise since its inception and its noise increased by a few decibels thanks to the super-hit soundtrack from the young starlet Anirudh Ravichander. A directorial debut by Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi and the project being bankrolled by her husband, its pretty much her comfort zone and its rather a safe-bet in penning a rom-com script. The music was really good, but how does the movie fare ? A dream debut for Kiruthiga ?
Shiva, one should say, has chosen a script which offers more serious sequences and acting capabilities for him. Though there are plenty of sequences, which enabled him to showcase his trademark comic timing and dialogue delivery with a "poker-face" reactions, the script did offer him more than that, and he has managed to dish out a decent performance indeed. Credits to Kiruthiga for adapting Shiva's style and incorporating into this rom-com, perfectly ! Expecting more from Shiva after this and hoping for more refreshing roles from him. Priya Anand proved that she's more than a pretty face and the damsel nailed it with a fine performance. The excelled in the second half and in the climax sequences. She's pretty much comfortable in her role as an NRI and has tried perfecting her English accent. Her pleasant screen presence and good dialogue delivery in her own voice, are added plus points for her. An apt choice for the role, indeed ! Santhanam, is at his comfort zone and has done it for the umpteenth time. His wisecracks are funny, though its getting repetitive. Rahul Ravindran makes a good entry in the second half, but sadly his character does not leave much impression. Oorvashi, Manobala, 'Black' Paandi, Aarthi, Swaminathan, 'Nizhalgal' Ravi, Misha Ghoshal, Renuka, C.Rajkumar and etc were apt for their roles and there are some noteworthy cameo appearances from Sangeetha, Nassar and producer Udhayanidhi Stalin himself !
Shilpa Vumitti and Rajini Natraj Vishnu should be appreciated for their fine works in the costume designing, for Priya Anand and Shiva, respectively. Priya, especially looked a million bucks and would 'Vanakkam Chennai' is the best of her films, in showcasing her gracefully. Dhilip Subbarayan's "unique" action choreography was well executed and is a pleasant surprise indeed. Good job from the artiste who did the action sequence ! V.Selvakumar's production design is tastefully done. The plush apartment setting and the sets erected for the songs were rich in colors and detailing, and gives a colorful ambiance to the film, as well as a glossy look, too. T.S Suresh's editing was flawless and neat for the songs, especially but he could have trimmed down the second half a little. Richard M.Nathan's cinematography is a big plus for the film, since its his work which gave the film the rich and pleasant look throughout. He has captured the picturesque beauty of Theni very well, with brilliant framing and also his camera movement for the indoor sequences are very commendable. The space in the sets were well utilized by Richard, and the soothing visuals are the results of his excellent work.
The actual star of the film, is definitely the hot-shot young music director, Anirudh Ravichander. His songs are a knock-out and absolute chart-topping numbers. "Ailasa Ailasa" is the opening number which had a photography exhibition as its backdrop and some great photographs were included as slides for the song, with some neat camera movements by Richard M.Nathan. "Hey" had plenty of montages and was shot on Shiva and Priya Anand, each of them separately, and showcased their new adventures. The urban sets complemented the mood of the song. "Engadi Porantha" was shot in Binny Mills, which was colored with vibrant colors and designs and had well-dressed back-up dancers, accompanying the lead pair. Some montages are interspersed into this song sequence as well. "Osaka" was beautifully shot by Richard M.Nathan in Theni and had wonderful and pleasing visuals of the rural land, with greenery and dry lands, equally portrayed. Priya Anand looked beautiful in the traditional attires, too ! "Oh Penne" was picturized cleverly with some camera tricks employed by Richard, in creating a puzzling illusion for the audience. The dream-like set work by neatly done by V.Selvakumar and Priya was a stunner in this song ! "Chennai City Gangsta" was showcased during the closing credits and was done like with a music video concept, featuring Anirudh Ravichander himself, alongside his singers, Hard Kaur and 'Hip Hop' Tamizha. Anirudh's background score was also rocking and blended perfectly well with the script.
'Vanakkam Chennai' is a rom-com to its truest sense. The first half goes breezily with well-placed songs and some light-hearted moments between the lead pair and only the second half of the film, Kiruthiga did employ some emotional quotients of the script. The screenplay unfolds in its own sweet pace, which may test the patience of some audience, but many would not be complaining, since the sequences were enjoyable. Though the lead pair's characters were well written, a few peripheral characters such as Oorvashi and the one who plays Rosy Aunty, were needless and irritating. The climax is a little stretched out, which could have been much tighter. What's pleasant here is that, there are no sour-face inducing sequences nor double meaning dialogues anywhere, and credits to both Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi and S.Divyanathan for developing such a screenplay and clean dialogues. Since the people behind the writing of the film are clever women, such an end-product is expectable . The blossoming-of-love episodes could have handled with more maturity and deft handling, which could have accentuated the feelings the sequences tried to convey. Kiruthiga actually achieves the necessary element of a rom-com, which is the rooting for the lead pair by the audience, and its commendable that she has managed to do it in her debut film.
'Vanakkam Chennai' - Delivered what it promised and meets the expectations generative of such flicks.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
As it was in 2011, Karthi starts off 2013 with another "masala" oriented action-comedy which borrows its title from one of Rajinikanth's epic characters list, 'Alex Pandian'. The name reminds us of the class, style, fury and charismatic performance of the one and only 'Superstar'. Suraaj who has been borrowing titles inspired by Rajinikanth lately, has teamed up with Karthi and Santhanam for the first time. A lavish budget from Studio Green, 'Alex Pandian' made no bones about the expectations audience should have on this film, through the teasers and posters. So, is 'Alex Pandian' worth all the budget ?
Karthi, who is armed with a charming and instantly likeable personality, sleep walks through the film. There is nothing much to do in the performance and this film only acts as another medium for him to improve his dancing and stunts performances. Karthi has been showing his inclinations in becoming an all out mass hero, but without a power-packed performance, will he succeed in his mission ? Definitely, no and he has been failing to realize it. The other 'hero' of the film Santhanam, carries the entire first half on his shoulders with his wise-cracking dialogues and funny antics. We have seen him do this plenty of times, and he does it with complete ease. The only difference here, is that he takes the opposing camp of Karthi, instead of playing the usual sidekick buddy. His dialogue delivery and timing are near perfect as usual, but he should control the level of double entendre jokes, since he is such a popular comedian now and kids are taking a liking for him. Anushka, pitiably has nothing much to do other then being the usual damsel-in-distress and dancing for song sequences. The film has a big star cast in Milind Soman, Suman, Prathap Pothen, Visu, Nikita Thukral, Akanksha, Sanusha, Manobala, Renuka, Saravanan, Vaiyapuri, Santhana Bharathi, Rajkapoor and Mahadevan, but sadly all of them have been wasted and appears as mere caricatures and laughable characters. Wonder what made all of them to choose to do this film, apart from the remunerations.
The film carries quite a big budget, but the works of the technical crew has been average. Costumes by Perumal Selvam makes the characters look lively and appealing, especially of Karthi's and Anushka's. The stunt choreography by K. Ganesh Kumar was too bad to be true. Laws of physics and practicality issue takes a severe beating. The opening action block was outrageously choreographed and if it wasn't for the editors, the opening scenes would have been a total mess. M.Prabakaran's art work was just nice. The interiors of Santhanam's town house, Karthi's jungle hideout, the sets for songs, all were neatly done. Praveen K.L and Srikanth N.B's editing work was crisp but sadly the film lacked maturity, which makes it hard to appreciate their work. S.Saravanan's cinematography was not bad and good enough for the script.
Devi Sri Prasad's songs are just below average, with some mass appeal. The first song, "Onnam Class" is a typical mass item song with Karthi dancing along with the three other girls of the film, Nikita, Akanshka and Sanusha. The setwork was good, with colorful blue, read and black themed sets and elaborate lighting. "Thakka Thaiya" was shot in a small town house set, with a joyous ceremony as its backdrop. The typical props such as serial lights, stage, flowers and back up dancers in traditional attires, are all there, with some comedic elements thrown into. "Naalu Pakkam" was well shot with very detailed set work. The tribal, wild western and pirates themed set works were very well done, especially the pirate set. "Rayya Rayya" is a typical "kuthu" song with simple sets erected in a studio, and the lead pair and dancers dressed in colorful costumes. "Bad Boy", which was used as the promotional song and appears during the end credits, was the best shot among all the songs. It has a little touch of class in its editing and the sets erected in the popular Binny Mills. DSP's background score is not worth discussing about, other than being sufficient enough for the film.
Coming back to the earlier asked question, Suraaj's script is not worth the budget spent at all, and it baffles why waste a big amount of money on a poorly written, half-baked script. The film has no cohesive screenplay, justified story telling, unnecessary comedy bits, and low-in-taste action scenes. Also, The plot wanders into no-man's territory in the second half. As mentioned earlier, Suraaj wasted the talents and capabilities of his acting cast. He tries to push the burden of the film on Santhanam for the first half and then shift the second half to Karthi. Suraaj's previous films such as 'Thalainagaram' and 'Marudhamalai' had humorous comedy scenes in them with less action, but here the action quotient is on par with the comedy quotient, and both elements were poorly written and executed.
'Alex Pandian' is an unabashedly, pretentious "masala commercial" which is poor in taste but high on budget. Karthi and Suraaj, what's wrong with you guys ?
Ratings: 1.75/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
