THANGA MEENKAL MOVIE REVIEW

Director Ram, renowned for his dark and critically-acclaimed 'Katradu Tamizh', is back after a hiatus with 'Thanga Meenkal'. To be initially produced and acted by Karunas, the film has undergone transformation in casting and production, with Ram himself making his splash as a lead actor and Gautham Vasudev Menon co-producing it with J.Sathish Kumar. Ram's intense and thoughtful writing, is a pleasure for those who crave intellectual script-writing. Will this be a proper follow up to the outstanding, 'Katradu Tamizh' ?

Ram, as a lead actor is undoubtedly fabulous in his role as an affectionate, but with a different sets of strong but radically different views and philosophies, against his conventional folks. He has breathed life into the role of Kalyani and being the writer himself, there can be only a select few in the industry who can pull it off, other than the director himself. The character does look over-emotional and hyper-sensitive, but the traits are the actual elements, which adds myriad of shades to the emotional content of the film. Sadhana, makes a very strong debut as a child artiste in this film. It takes a lot of conviction and maturity beyond her tender age to pull of the character, envisioned by the director, with utmost ease. And Sadhana did just that, with a magnificent portrayal of Chellamma. Hats off to this child prodigy ! Nabhukumar Shelly, who plays the mother of Sadhana, is another splendid performer, whose nonchalant and nuanced performance, marks her firm presence in some sequences. 'Poo' Ram and Rohini were befitting of Ram's old-school parents, and they were natural and realistic in their respective portrayals. Another child artiste, Sanjana makes her debut as well, and she's an absolute sweetheart, in her own rights ! The rest of the cast such as Umapathy, Lizzy Variyar, Ramya and others were very apt for their roles. Padmapriya makes a very noble and lovely guest appearance. Kudos to Ram for a great casting !

Ram has the privilege of having the best of technicians as important film crew members for 'Thanga Meenkal'. Rajashekar has choreographed very natural and realistic action sequences, wherever it warranted. Production design was handled by Rajeevan and since most of the film were shot on actual locations, Rajeevan has appropriately put in necessary props for the settings, especially with the classroom setting and also with the protagonist's home. Veteran master editor, Sreekar Prasad's editing is flawless and though the film is a little stretched, the flow was not disrupted at all, and the slow-moving screenplay was a necessity for this script. Arbhindu Saaraa's cinematography was beautiful, especially with the scenic, hillside and lush mountainous landscape, wonderfully captured with his lenses. Also, the rustic beauty of Nagercoil was well captured as well. Ram has extracted the best of works from a newbie, pretty much !

Yuvan Shankar Raja, reserves some of his career-best works for Ram, and 'Thanga Meenkal' is not an exception. "Aanandha Yaazhai" is a beautiful melody, shot on Ram and Sadhana having their little escapades, in the spectacularly, breathtaking Achankoil hilltop region. Its an absolute treat for the eyes and the coloring for the graphic portion was well handled. "Nathivellam" has plenty of montages shot in and around Cochin as well as Nagercoil, with very well-shot frames. "First Last" was shot on Sadhana, in an exam-oriented backdrop, with the school, serving as the location. "Yaarukkum Thozhan" is the final song, which also has few montages and some of it were shot in the deep regions of Wayanad, with its misty and surreal greens pastures, serving as perfect backdrop. The background score was superbly handled by Yuvan and 'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraja would have been proud by his offspring's achievement. Hats off, Yuvan !

Though the entire focus has been projected on the deep and loving relationship shared between father and daughter, Ram has actually brilliantly veiled the issue of the dark-side of private-funded schools, which runs on donations done by parents. Ram has wonderfully weaved in the agony gone through by poor-performing kids in such high-demand private schools, who vouch on their false-promises, of providing excellent education. The theme is something very topical and contemporary in nature, in respect to the current living conditions of middle and upper-middle class sections of the Tamil Nadu populace. As for the crux of the film, Ram has etched out many beautiful and poignant scenes for the father-daughter relationship episodes, and has also not forgotten about the other obvious characters present in the family, with equally well-written sequences. The story has been given credits to Ram and Shri Sankara Gomathy Ram. For those who were expecting another hard-hitting, high intensity, 'Katradu Tamizh'-type of film from Ram, 'Thanga Meenkal' might be a slight disappointment, but nonetheless, Ram proves yet again that he's a fabulous and well-read and well-thought writer. A big round of applause for the producers, for showing real passion by producing such a gem of a film.

'Thanga Meenkal' - A passionately done, sweet film with the highest order of acting and writing.


Ratings: 3.75/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

18 VAYASU MOVIE REVIEW

R.Panneeselvam, the director of the well-received 'Renigunta' comes up with another novel and unique script with '18 Vayasu' with the same crew of 'Renigunta' backing him. Produced by S.S Chakkaravarthy with his son Johnny in the lead, this film evoked curiosity with a unique psychiatric syndrome as a theme. Having such themes is not new, since Tamizh cinema fans are accustomed to watching such theme-based films, like 'Sigappu Rojakkal', 'Guna', 'Aalavandhaan', 'Anniyan', and even the latest '3'. What's peculiar here is the theme of clinical lycanthropy, which involves a delusion that the affected person can transform into, has transformed into, or is a non-human animal !

To start of with the cast, the protagonist and heir of the producer, Johnny has done a good job indeed with his character. He is suited for the role of a mentally-affected person and kudos to him for imbibing the body language of animals very aptly. The last stunt scene where he fights like a bull, must have been very painful and exhausting for him. This chap deserves some appreciation for his hard work. Newcomer Gayathri looks okay and homely but she needs intense acting course if she wants to be successful in her career. She looks uncomfortable in her role and is not entirely convincing. Rohini plays an important role but was wasted with very little screen timing. Kannada actor Sathyendran, plays another mentally-challenged person and evokes laughter at times with his antics but tends to go overboard. Yuvarani, J.S, Sevazhai, Krishna Davinci and others make up the cast.

This film has a compilation of talented and interesting technicians behind the film. Sanjay Karan's artwork is minimalistic with little props except for a couple of bazaar sets used for songs. Anthony is behind the editing board, and he tries to keep the pace of the film from not slowing down, but he was unsuccessful largely, thanks to the slow direction of the script. Rajasekar has done a brilliant work with the stunt portions. As this film needs special detailing, he has done his homework very well and brought out the maximum output from Johnny, in executing the stunt scenes. The bull-like fight in the climax, was the best. Great work ! Shakthi, is the man behind the camera and he too has done some wonderful job with interesting low-angles and close-ups. He has managed to capture the dry and dusty landscape the script demanded and maintained a yellow and dusty color tone for the film throughout, except for the night scenes. Also, with the correct length, Shakthi manages to picturize the fights properly and ensured that the hard work done by the stunt choreographer and the protagonist, does not go waste.

Popular hip-hop and rap music artists and producers, Dinesh Kanagaratnam and Charles Bosco duo are the people behind the music of this film. If you keep in mind of their previous works, this album will be a little surprise for you. Most of the tracks in this album are melody numbers, which they are not popular for. "Entha Ulagil" is a good melody number picturized against the lead pair, where the protagonist meets his heroine for the first time and its love at first sight with bazaar sets around. "Aanum Illa" is a song picturized on transgenders and transsexuals, in a night backdrop along the long street with hawker stalls. An unnecessary song in the story line. "Enakkena Nee" is a joyful number, picturized on the lead pair with small number of dancers thrown into with round-trolley shots used mostly in real locations. The pick of the album "Unnai Onru" was picturized in the now unavailable-for-shoot, Madurai Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal with minimal props and simple costume designs, shot in a typical dance number with plenty of dancers. "Podi Podi Pennae" is a number, picturized on the protagonist, on the run and has strong lighting and dusty tone throughout.

R.Panneerselvam, excited and enthralled us with his previous 'Renigunta' because of the unique stunt scenes and the exciting chase. But here, though the idea and concept was novel and unique, the direction and scripting lets us down big time, due to the bad handling of the director. Except for the lead protagonist, the rest of the cast members have poorly conceived and etched characters, which makes them look like caricatures. There is no cohesion and proper flow in the screen play. Though the songs were nice, they are wrongly placed and makes the screenplay to lag in pace. As the film progresses, boredom sets in with the viewers having no idea of where the film is progressing. Many questions go unanswered and characters go missing for no obvious reasons.

'18 Vayasu' is a tedious affair, with slow and lazy screenplay and a bad direction. After watching this, the viewers would definitely wonder, "Is this film from the same guy who directed 'Renigunta' ?"


Ratings: 2/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

'3' MOVIE REVIEW

One of the most eagerly expected film of the year, thanks to the popularity and craze of one particular song ie, "Why This Kolaiveri", '3' has been gaining popularity thanks to marketing techniques of the production team, Wunderbar Films which belongs to Dhanush and Aishwarya R.Dhanush, the director and wife of the protagonist of the film. Anirudh Ravichander,the debuting music director, makes a sensational debut, with a refreshing and soulful album. The relatively young cast, invokes more curiosity around the film. So, did the film live up to all the hype it created ?

The performances of the lead artistes were poignant, soulful and were of heavy duty-material. Dhanush, has been having an extremely good time and with his previous, 'Mayakkam Enna' earning him rave reviews, he continues his form in this film as well. Though the role he played looked like an extension or evolution of the one he essayed in 'Mayakkam Enna', he makes it up with different portrayals of moods and emotions. Its no easy at all, to perform strong emotions, facing the camera single-handedly with no cues for support, Dhanush came up with a brilliant and fantastic performance. His additional advantage is his looks and physique, which enables him to portray different age-periods of his character. Take a bow, Dhanush ! Shruti Haasan, who is into her second film in Tamizh cinema after '7am Arivu', makes a decent outing in the film, with much improved performances. Her dialogue delivery was good but she struggles a little, when it comes to very heavily, emotional sequences. With more experience, the starlet of 'Ulaga Nayagan' can make it up. Sivakarthikeyan and Sunder Ramu provided som funny moments, especially the former, with fantastic comic timing and dialogue delivery (expecting more from him) and the latter continuing what he did previously in 'Mayakkam Enna'. A big suppor to all of them were the veterans, Prabhu, Bhanupriya and Rohini whom, needless to say, were brilliant with very subtly nuanced performances. A special note must be made of the little girl, Gabriella who was splendid as the mute sister of Shruti.

The film boasts of very talented technicians. Resul Pookutty and his associate Amrit Pritam, handled the sound designing portion very well. The subtle and minute sounds were audible, especially during the rain and fight sequences. Chaithanya Rao's costume designing was classy and efficient at the same time, with the characters looking how they should have been portrayed, especially for the different time-periods. Silva's car-park stunt sequence was well choreographed and was natural, though it was picturized in a little dramatic manner. Kola Bhaskar's editing was flawless and crisp, but it could have been smoother during the song sequences. Kiran's art work was a touch of class as well, especially the posh apartment sets and also of those middle-class house setting, which looked very natural. R.Velraj's work is a big asset for the film, because his cinematography work was excellent. His framing and lighting was very apt for the changing nature of the mood of the script. His picturization was crystal-clear, especially for the rain sequences. Not to forget, as usual, he shows his prowess during the darkly-lit sequences, with minimal or no lights. Brilliant work from him !

Anirudh Ravichander, the cousin of the director makes a smashing debut through this film. His musical score was melodious and soul-stirring, which is another vital importance for the film. Almost all of his songs were already super-hits before the release of the film. "Idazhin Oram" was picturized in a montage manner, with many cut-shots and depicted the teenage lives of the lead pair, falling in love with each other. "Kannazhaga" was picturized in a small, and middle-class type apartment in a night sequences, against the lead pair. R.Velraj's close-ups on the lead pair, helps to elevate the mood of the song. "Come on Girls" was shot in a club sequence, with plenty of dancers in a party mood, celebrating the marriage of the lead pair. "Nee Partha" is another song shot in a montage style, depicting the happy and romantic post-marriage period of the lead characters, shot mostly in a posh, apartment setting. "Po Nee Po", is a soul-stirring, emotional and situational song, which is also shot in montages, featuring the emotional travails of the lead pair, late in the second half. The smash-hit song of the album, "Why This Kolaiveri" was surprisingly, disappointingly-shot. The protagonist was shown dancing with dancers in a beach-side hawker vendors' stalls setting. The zing of the audio was not visible in the video, and it's a big letdown from the team, considering the fact, that it was shot only during the ending period of the film's production process ! Anyway's, Anirudh made sure that his background score too gets noticed, and he did not fail in his endeavor. The background score was simple, yet melodious and beautiful. A fantastic work by the young musician. Welcome to Tamizh cinema, Anirudh !

Aishwarya R.Dhanush makes her debut as a director, after assisting her brother-in-law, Selvaraghavan. Not surprisingly, her script and screenplay have the remnants of her mentor's touches. She has good writing skills, which is evident in sensitive, poignant and subtle sequences she has penned in the screenplay. The humor portions and the songs, were well inserted into the screenplay. The dialogues were simple and pretty straight-forward. What pulls down the quality output of the film, is the slow screenplay and also Aishwarya R.Dhanush's decision in depicting her script in a non-chronological order, which takes the impact of the suspense element out from the film, in the beginning moments, itself ! Also, few questions can be raised, regarding the proceedings of the screenplay, which are quite implausible and inadvertently, leaves some loopholes in the script. However, she should be appreciated for sketching strong and in-depth characters, whom looks original and believable. 

'3' actually did not live up exactly, to the expectations it evoked, but this is a very good effort from Aishwarya R.Dhanush on behalf of her husband's home production team. If the flaws are overlooked, this film is a good-watch.

Ratings: 3/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL