GOLI SODA MOVIE REVIEW

'Goli Soda' made the right noises for the return of the 'Pasanga' boys in their early teenage years, but this time in a totally different world. S.D Vijay Milton, the popular cinematographer takes up the baton of director for the second time after 'Azhagai Irukirai Bayamai Irukiradhu', a film which got released in 2006. Produced by his brother Bharath Seeni, under the Rough Note Production company and distributed by N.Lingusamy's Tirrupathi Brothers, can 'Goli Soda' quench our thirst for good cinema ?

The 'Pasanga' boys consisting of Kishore, Sree Ram, Pandi, and Murugesh have equal screen presence and importance in the film and they have shown complete understanding of their characters and have shown good maturity. Each of them had their own unique personalities, and all of them have pulled it off, effectively. Promising talents ! The debuting girls, Chandhini and Seetha too were very adequate. The former, projecting the sweet and homely character, whereas the latter is the firecracker and actual scene stealer of the film ! Madhusudhan plays the main antagonist role and he is certainly someone to watch out for. Besides that, Samuthirakani's dubbing for Madhusudhan, was very apt and a good choice made by the director. Sujatha and Immanuel Annachi, had very likeable and natural roles, and both of them were good to watch. A.Manoharan, Meenal, Senthikumari, R.K Vijay Murugan and etc filled up the remaining roles, quite well.

R.K Vijay Murugan, who has acted as the second antagonist, is in charge of the art direction as well. Nearly every scene was shot in the actual locations of Koyambedu market and whatever props needed, especially for the "Aachi Mess" setting, was neatly and aptly done. 'Supreme' Sundar's action choreography was raw, gritty and superbly done. The first action sequence, though lengthy, was splendidly shot and executed by the boys and stunt artistes. The climax fight sequence too was edgy and fast-paced, but the first action block, simply takes the cake. This would definitely be one of 'Supreme' Sundar's best works. Adding more zing to these action sequences, is Anthony's editing. His fast-cuts and no-gimmicks approach worked very well for the movie's overall presentation and elevated the raw and gritty look. The film is also very racy and slickly packaged, with perfect running time of just over 2 hours. S.D Vijay Milton's cinematography brings the story forward and his guerrilla technique, with candid shots gives the film a natural and raw look. Nothing looked staged and purposely choreographed at all, and that's the biggest plus, when it comes to the cinematography aspect.

S.N Arunagiri's songs were all shot in montages. Though they don't stand out as brilliant tracks, they do gel well with the theme and mood of the script. "All Your Duty" is the opening first song and was shot on the boys, with their small fun in their limited world. "Killadi" depicted a shopping spree sequence, and "Silusilunu" is about the urge of the boys to earn extra. "Oyyale" was picturized on the boys, girls and Sujatha which showed the boys' next progress in business. "Aaru Adi" was shot as a night sequence, bit song in dim lights. "Jananam Jananam" had plenty of other locations such as Himachal Pradesh, Murudeshwara, Allepy and etc which was essential for the songs, in order to project the boys' separation. "Kadhal Panne" had the guest appearances of 'Powerstar' Dr S.Srinivasan and 'Dancing Sensation' Sam Anderson and had a cinema song-shoot theme, which was shot in and around Koyambedu. The background score meanwhile, is handled by Kannada musician, Anoop Seelin. Although it served the purpose, the score is quite archaic and uninspiring, especially when you have new talents doing great in Tamizh cinema.

S.D Vijay Milton has used Koyambedu, the biggest market in Asia as his base and the lost individuals, dwelling in this ultra-busy place, as his protagonists. The bone of contention of this script, is the non-existence of identities for his protagonists and their struggle and fight in developing and keeping one. S.D Vijay Milton has scripted the screenplay in a nice fashion, where the second half develops slowly and leads into an explosive second half, which holds our attention greatly. And most of the scenes are well crafted and genuinely staged and enacted by good artistes. The director should be applauded for developing characters of flesh and blood and giving most of his artistes, the ample screenplay time and apt scenes, in bringing out the nuances of their respective characters. Dialogues by Pandiraj is definitely a highlight, especially for the humor sequences, which give us the chuckles. What S.D Vijay Milton and Pandiraj, could have avoided though, is the preaching and over-emphasis on the question of identity, which gets repetitive after some time. Also, the director could have parted ways with some of the songs, which does not serve much purpose. Nevertheless, the makers can be proud of their product, which is a commercial entertainer, yet different in making and approach.

'Goli Soda' - Smashingly original and a brave attempt.


Ratings: 3.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

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

VAZHAKKU EN: 18/9 MOVIE REVIEW

Balaji Sakthivel was a trendsetter when he came up with "Kadhal", a movie which left a lump in the throat of all viewers. That story and his next, "Kalloori" were all based on true incidents. This time, he has came up with a script which is not based on an actual incident, but what one regularly reads in newspapers. His "Kalloori" didn't fare well and he had to face brickbats for the unpopular climax and ending of that film. Its been a long five years since that film released, and Tamizh cinema has seen different attempts of film-making. Balaji took a long time to script this film "Vazhakku En:18/9 and even took another few years to fine tune it. His cautious approach is understandable because the pressure is there to deliver and that too, when he has his friend, director Linguswamy producing it. The promos and trailers were impressive, and it promised another hard-hitting, realistic film from the director.

Half the battle is won for the director when it comes to making a hardcore realistic film, when he chooses the right face for the roles and making them to perform. Hats off to Balaji Sakthivel for painstakingly going through the arduous process of picking the right people for the roles. The film is based on four main characters and all the new artistes who took up the role was excellent. Sri, as the street vendor, has literally lived the role and hats off to him for taking strenuous approaches to perfect his body language and appearance necessary for the role. Urmila Mahanta as the maid too did a decent job, and she was very natural and convincing, although she's from Assam. Mithun Murali and Manisha Yadav as the school goers were perfect and they did their roles in an convincing manner as well. Muthuraman as the corrupt police officer is another revelation and it would be wonderful to have him in more films. Chinnasamy, the young boy and a street performer was a wisecrack with his mannerisms. All the others in the cast was very natural and life-like. Literally, all of them have lived the roles. A big applause to the whole acting cast!

All the technicians should be applauded for delivering a good product with detailed and minute inputs. The DI work by Nilesh Sawant and VFX by Sasi Kumar was very good as the film had cinematic feel to it, although it was shot digitally by the cinematographer. Sound recording by A.S Lakshmi Narayanan, the veteran and the dialogues recording by R.Ravichandran and T.Ramesh was in sync which highlights the natural look the film intended to be. All the dialogues were captured naturally at the given scenario, and it gives the impression of listening something live, to the audiences. A.Seenu's costumes was apt and kudos to him for being very minute in the costume details. L.V Raja's make-up was perfect as well. Silva's stunt work was just a struggling scene which was very natural and mild, and Mayil Krish's set work was spot on. Especially with the interiors of the apartment and the police stations, Mayil Krish has done a very decent job. Gopi Krishna's editing was flawless, though the second half could have been trimmed a little. R.Prasanna, a Carnatic electric guitar player, makes his debut as music composer. Known for his Carnatic music shows and also for composing the score of the Academy Award-winning documentary "Smile Pinki", he has given refreshing musical score, the style contrasting with the characters the music score associated with. Also, the decision of not using any instruments for the two songs worked out very well. Karthik's "Oru Kural" and Dhandapaani's "Vaanathaiye" plays throughout the movie, and enhances the feel and mood of the film, especially the latter, which gives a haunting feeling in the end. S.D Vijay Milton, did a fantastic job with his cinematography. Although the film was shot in digital format using the Canon EOS 7D, there look and feel had no difference than any other cinematic film. His camera work in the police station sequences was very well done, and the gloomy color tone together with natural lighting gives the film an excellent cinematography appeal. Job very, very well done by Vijay Milton.

Balaji Sakthivel, should be applauded for sketching his characters in a very minute and detailed manner. Every expressions, body language and movements was meticulous but yet natural. The characters were developed very well, keeping out any unwanted loopholes. The screenplay is gripping to quite an extent, but the back and forth method of showing flashbacks and present situation makes audience a little unsettled. But that's not an excuse to not appreciate for the sincere and realistic work by him. The climax was definitely hard-hitting which makes us to realise how bitter and unfathomable, the real world is. The film certainly carries a thumping message but at the same time, was very subtle and not preachy, which is a very tough thing to do for a film maker. Balaji Sakthivel definitely deserves a standing ovation for his in-depth study on the lives of Chennai citizens, stretching from the poor and downtrodden, to the desperate middle class and ending with the corrupted rich folks.


Once again, Balaji Sakthivel has proven that, he is no ordinary film maker but a sensitive and master craftsman. He deserves credit and appreciation for highlighting the subtle message of how cruel and harsh, humans can be. The issue of how corrupt middle class folks, take advantage of the poor's vulnerability and naivety, together with the desperateness and lackadaisical mentality of the rich, stands testimony to this.


Ratings: 4/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL