BIRIYANI MOVIE REVIEW

With expectations comes great responsibilities. For Venkat Prabhu though, those responsibilities are meant to be light at heart, no matter how huge the hype is. The fifth from the 'Venkat Prabhu Brotherhood', the expectation was generally high, due to Karthi being in the cast and also for Yuvan Shankar Raja's blockbuster music, which ironically is his 100th milestone film. Produced by Studio Green, can Venkat score another super-hit, following the blockbuster success of 'Mankatha' ?

Karthi, who has been facing a career crisis with continuous flops, bounces back with a refreshing and likable portrayal. Venkat has exploited the charm factor of Karthi's and turned him into a smooth-talking, girl-magnet playboy. He wins over his legion of girl-fans with his naughty smile and good looks. He has adopted an apt body language for the role, and his dialogue delivery was spotless. More brownie points for him in terms of dancing and fighting skills, as he has shown marked improvement from one film to another. A sigh of relief for Karthi, indeed ! His partner Premgi, was at his usual best and underplays his capabilities, by allowing himself to be ridiculed all the time and be the butt of jokes. It works well for the movie and his character is the perfect foil for the hero. But typecasting will catch up with him, sooner or later ! Hansika Motwani looks ravishing and seems to have a good hold of her character. There's a big contingent of supporting casts such as Nassar, Jayaprakash, Sampath, Prem, Ramki (a good comeback - the man still looks the same !), sizzling & hot Mandy Takhar, Madhumitha, Subbu Panchu, Uma Riyaz Khan, Shanmugasundaram, Nithin Sathya, Sam Anderson, Aadhavan, Badava Gopi, Tharika, Vijayalakshmi and etc. And there's even cameo appearances of Venkat's boys such as Jai, Aravind Akash, Vaibhav, Mahat, Ashwin, Vijay Vasanth and etc. That's some star-casting, atypical of Venkat Prabhu films !

The film carries excellent technical outputs from all the technicians involved. Vasuki Bhaskar's costume designing plays a big role, in projecting the characters in a very urbane manner, while not losing the essence of the each characters. Very good job ! Silva, who also scores his 100th assignment with this project, has handled some high-octane action sequences. The car chase sequences have been very well handled and executed, while the climax fight sequence, shot in an construction site, takes the cake among all the fight sequences. Production design by Videsh is at top-notch quality, with plenty of detailing for all of the set works. The interiors of posh hotels and also of different types of homes, were well set up. The outdoor sets such as the roadside biriyani stall and etc, were very real-like and natural. Fantastic output from Videsh ! The film would not be as good as it is without the editing duo of Praveen K.L and Srikanth N.B. They have experiment with different cutting patterns, and has done meticulous work in many sequences, especially with the opening title card and also for some song sequences. They keep the story tight and gripping but at the same time, did not lose the fun elements to their scissors. Venkat's regular, Sakthi Saravanan cinematography is a big plus-point for the film. The glossy look and rich colors, with perfect lighting, brings out the joy and fun factor of the script. His Steadicam usage is commendable and adds more zing, to the action sequences. 

Yuvan Shankar Raja reserves some of his best for his cousin Venkat and 'Biriyani' is no exception. The soundtrack is a big hit and complements the script, perfectly like hand in glove. "Biriyani" title track fits perfectly as the mood-setter and has clever editing works by Praveen and Srikanth, who presents the title credits by infusing some scenes of the film, in a graphic novel style. The pick of the album, "Naah Na Naah" was shot on a beach-house party atmosphere and involves most of the star casting. The setting was glittering in glitz and glamour and has some cheeky comedy portions, interspersed. "Pom Pom Penne" had elaborate set works, such as Moulin Rouge and Mary Poppins-like setting. The lighting by Sakthi Saravanan adds more glamour to the richly produced song, and Karthi proves his mettle in dancing. "Mississippi" is the sultry song shot on Karthi, Premgi and Mandy Takhar, who was simply irresistible with her sexily choreographed dance moves ! Some light-hearted moments are there too, thanks to Premgi. "Run For Your Life" comes as a situational song, where two drastic sequences were interspersed together. One is of a clubbing scenario featuring Malaysian artistes Psycho Unit and the other, the high-octane chase sequence. Brilliantly edited by Praveen and Srikanth ! "Edhirthu Nil" is the emotional climax song, shot on the hero and other important characters, making a daring, action plan. Yuvan nails it in the background score department as well, with complementary sound effects. 

Venkat Prabhu's USP is his screenplay, and with 'Biriyani' he has managed to maintain the suspense element until the very end, by keeping the cards close to his chest. He has a very clear picture of what he wants and how he wants it from his technicians and his artistes, and that delivers most of the final output wanted. As always with Venkat, he infuses humor in the most unwanted and gravest of situations, which sometimes results in a crackling, comedy portions. Venkat has given most of the important characters, a good detailing and depth, with their identities and mannerisms. The dialogues, though are not family-friendly and incorporated lots of double entendres, which would find reception among the youngsters. For those who was expecting a different attempt from Venkat, they might find it a little tad disappointing, because the run of events, featured in the screenplay will definitely remind us of Venkat's previous ventures like 'Mankatha' and 'Saroja'. Also, some of the proceedings are a wee-bit farcical and out-of-place, but as promoted, its a Venkat Prabhu 'diet' after all and why care of logic in the first place ! And as it is always, don't forget to watch the fun and funny bloopers in the end !

'Biriyani' - A hearty meal, for those with the correct expectations !


Ratings: 3.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

ALL IN ALL AZHAGU RAJA MOVIE REVIEW

This film had all the ingredients to be a 'killer' comedy flick. A catchy title, the successful combo of 'Comedy Superstar' and M.Rajesh and add in Karthi into the equation. Isn't this suppose to be an exciting combination and that too for a Deepavali season ? M.Rajesh has scored hat-trick of successes but can he and Santhanam utilize their prowess in comedy and score a nearly, unprecedented four strikes in a row ?

Karthi has the charming looks and cute expressions to win over the ladies. He certainly looks handsome and cute in the colorful attires and with his facial expressions. His voice modulation too can be appreciated but he does not seem to be entirely convincing in an out-and-out comedy role. He certainly seems to lack some confidence in certain sequences, but it can be overlooked due to his chemistry with Santhanam. The fabulous entertainer is in fine form, though 'All in All Azhagu Raja' is no where near his best. His myriad of expressions and body language must be appreciated and for pulling it off effervescently, as well. The 80's episode does look over-the-top, but its a good try from Karthi and Santhanam, who have put in personal efforts to mimic Prabhu and Suruli Rajan, respectively. Kajal Aggarwal has put in simple efforts and she's at complete ease in her role. There's conviction in her performance, though there are plenty of room for improvements. Additional plus point is her gorgeous attires and looks in songs. Prabhu does a simple role and looks like the perfect gentleman whereas Naren tries and out-and-out comedy for the first time. The biggest drawback is the wastage of talents such as Saranya Ponvannan, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Nassar, M.S Bhaskar, who are fantastic performers, but was made to do ill-written roles. Radhika Apte was cute in the flashback sequence. Sri Ranjani, Santhana Bharathi, V.S Raghavan, Senthil, Vetrivel Raja and etc make up the rest of the cast.

The technical crew of the film have delivered very decent output, in terms of production value. Priyanka Kochar and Rustam Chauhan's costume designing was very rich and vibrant in colors. Kajal Aggarwal was looking beautiful in half-sarees especially and the pair should be lauded for their work on Santhanam's look and dress code. Not to forget, the 80's episode was well worked as well. Om Prakash's action choreography was unnecessary for this script, though it was well executed. Vivek Harshan could have done a lot, lot better in terms of editing. The film is conspicuously slow paced and drags too much in the second half. Other than that, the 80's episode was well edited and presented, though the 35mm format could have been maintained for it. Jacki's production design was just adequate and perfect. The props used for songs were colorful and lively and the ambiance of small town ambiance has been well maintained throughout the film. Sakthi Saravanan's cinematography was very colorful and bright and its just a pity that the 80's sequence was reverted to stereoscopic format, instead of the originally intended 35mm format. Balasubramaniem also chips in with his contribution and on overall basis, the film's cinematography works were simple, neat and colorful.

S.S Thaman has scored decent numbers for this flick, which has the potential to be chart-busters. "All in All" is the opening introductory song and had few montages of comedy portions involving Karthi, Santhanam and Kota Srinivasa Rao, with apt production design by Jacki, who erected sets resembling jewelry commercial advertisements. "Ore Oru" is a situational bit-song and serves as Kajal's introductory song, and was shot in a wedding hall premise. "Yaarukkum Sollaame" is the pick of the lot and had colorful props by Jacki, resembling Pongal celebrations. Sakthi Saravanan has captured good shots of rural temples and small town ambiance very well. Kajal looked a million-bucks in the traditional half-sarees, she was wearing for this song. "Silu Silu" is another situational extra bit-song, and was shot on Karthi dancing in the streets, shot in the dark, middle of the night atmosphere. "Unnai Paartha Neram" is the visually best made song. Inspired by the "Oh Maane Maane" song from 'Vellai Roja', Karthi and Radhika Apte were made to resemble like Prabhu and Ambika, and the choreography and camera works were all in-tune with the 80's style and format. Good stuff ! "Yamma Yamma" was shot on Karthi and Kajal and had vibrantly colored, simple house-like set works and some sharp editing by Vivek Harshan. The background score too was neatly done, but whether the songs were well utilized or not is a different question all together.

When it comes to M.Rajesh's films, its all about contemporary funny dialogues and a comedy entertainer, pertaining to the tastes of youth audiences. One cannot expect a fully bounded, well-researched script from M.Rajesh, if you are familiar with his previous films. The light-hearted manner of his script was his trump card, though all of his films had very thin plot-line. The same applies to 'All in All Azhaguraja' as well, but this time the output is disappointingly, a big letdown. Santhanam has always been omnipresent throughout the length of his M.Rajesh's previous films', apart from a few scenes. But here, Santhanam only appears sporadically and most of the jokes fell flat. Literally ! There's no excitement or any rip-roaring comedy sequences in this flick, as how it was in 'Siva Manasula Sakthi, 'Boss Engira Baskaran' or 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi'. Although all of them were simple comedy films, they all had some semblance of true emotional content. But its conspicuously absent in 'All in All Azhagu Raja' and whatever we encounter just seems to be too farcical to be taken serious. The ending is the epitome of ludicrousness. Also, there are more silly and unpretentious gags throughout the film, which are pretty much not welcomed. The story appears to be heading no where, and it tests our patience, especially with the draggy second half. Although the 80's episode were well etched out, they hold not much importance to the script. As mentioned earlier, talented artistes have been wasted just like that, which is an unacceptable factor. 

'All in All Azhagu Raja' - The first blip for M.Rajesh and a hat-trick of flops for Karthi. For sure !

Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

MANKATHA MOVIE REVIEW

Venkat Prabhu is back with a not just a bang but a LOUD one with this biggie, Mankatha with none other than the "King of Openings" in Tamizh cinema, Ajith Kumar. Both of them needed a hit as Venkat's previous Goa was a non-performer and Ajith's previous two films Asal and Aegan were big drabs and huge disappointment for his fans. This combination was very much anticipated with interests since Venkat never worked with a major star before and moreover this turning out to be Ajith's Golden Jubilee 50th film. The promos and trailers were very impressive and the final product too was quite a puncher, just falling short of being truly exceptional.

Technicians of the film has worked wonders for it and all the hard work put in was evident on the screen. Vasugi Bhaskar's costumes were very apt for the characters and thanks to her suggestions of giving Ajith a salt-and-pepper look, "Thale" was looking smashing in the film with his blazers and suits. After Rajnikanth, none would have looked as suave as Ajith. Arjun's looks and costumes were stylish as well and Trisha's dresses made her look elegant and pretty. Silva's stunts were brilliant with the shooting scenes in the warehouse and the climax fight sequences were well executed. Venkat Prabhu should be applauded too for mixing in good car and bike stunt sequences for Ajith, since it is his forte. Art director Videsh did a commendable job as well by giving authentic looks to the sets, be it Ajith's stylishly made apartment home, the warehouse, the cinema theater and the "Leisure Bar" setup. Praveen K.L and N.B Srikanth, the editors work was neat and the "Chess Board" scene was the highlight of their editing prowess. Mankatha will be one of cinematographer Sakthi Saravanan's best works ever. Be it the movements made in the opening scene of Ajith and the angle's chosen for the fight sequences, it's clearly visible that he had a gala time shooting this film with his lenses. The car chase and heist scenes plus the "Chess Board" sequence, are some of his exemplary works. Job very well done by him.

Yuvan Shankar Raja delivered good numbers for the film with the "Vilaiyaadu Mankatha" number and the "Theme Track" being the best of the lot which were perfect build-ups for Ajith. His re-recording work was very well done, with various styles of music experimented in the background scores. The "Vilaiyadu Mankatha" number was the best picturised, being shot in a discotheque with brilliant ambience and foot-stepping moves by Kalyan, being perfect match for Yuvan's beats. "Vaada bin Laada" number was very well conceived with the constantly changing fittings and furnitures well done by the VFX team. "Machi Open the Bottle" was peppy and well shot with energetic dance movements and "Balle Lakka" being casual and lightweight with the added glamour of skimpily dressed dancers. "Nanbane" track was well conceived and wonderfully written by the legendary Vaali. "Nee Naan" song picturised on Vaibhav and Anjali was straightforward and the montage sequences worked well for the song.

Describing Ajith's performance in a word is impossible but he was a class apart from any other artiste in the film. He was in a league of his own and hats off to "Thale" for being daring enough to choose a character which was not only grey in shades, but a out-and-out bad***. His dialogue delivery was brilliant and he oozes charm, grace, style and awesome screen presence. It's a big gift for an actor or a hero especially to be adored in a totally antagonistic character and after MR Radha, Rajnikanth, Raghuvaran and Sathyaraj no other actor was able to hold the attention and interest of the audience by playing a bad & mean character, with a touch of class. It's not a exaggeration to say that after Rajnikanth, no one else had such strong aura and charisma in playing the lead role. "Thale" has ROCKED!! It's a good changeover for Arjun who was doing mediocre films on his own and he was well presented and needless to say of his action sequences, he was on top form. Premji with his cute and terrific comedy timing takes the cake among the sidekicks. Vaibhav and Ashwin were natural in their respective roles and Mahat had a decent entry. Jayaprakash and Aravind Akash was adequate without going overboard, though Subbu Panchu's acting was a little bit wooden and forced. The heroines had nothing much to do in this boy's flick, but they were needed to move the plot from one scene to another. Trisha was cute and it's a welcome to see her dub in her own voice. Anjali, Andrea and Lakshmi Rai did what was expected from them.

The director has always insisted that the script was written first but end of the day the question arises whether the racy script complemented Ajith's persona or whether it was Ajith's charisma and presence which complemented the script. It works both ways, though the second proposition has more weightage than the first one. Venkat Prabhu's screenplay was very racy especially in the second half, where he brought out all the big guns one after the another, with new twists and turns being churned out every few moments. This move by him made the audiences to be on their edge of the seat. His forte in his scripts are the comedy portions being infused in serious scenes and it was evident in this film as well but lesser in number compared to his previous scripts. He must be appreciated though for putting in cheeky comedy lines, involving the artistes themselves, be it Premji's parody of Rajnikanth and Silambarasan or even relating to the alter-ego's of the characters, with Ajith's dialogue of saying "Naanum Evvalavu Naalathaan Nallavanaaga Nadikkurathu" being the best (even Anjali had her previous popular dialogue "Nijamathaan Solriya" which was popular in her debut film "Kattradhu Tamizh"). The amalgamation of few creative and interesting ideas elevates the script. Though the film has plenty of plus points, the script has it's pitfalls in the form of loopholes which can arouse plenty of unanswered questions.

It takes great guts for an actor who's idolized by thousands and thousands of fans as hero, to play a totally mean and diabolic money-minded character and Ajith deserves a big round of applause for having the guts and gumption to pull it off and that too in such stylish manner. If at all the script had no loose ends, this would have been a classic commercial entertainer.


Ratings: 3/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL