ANJAAN MOVIE REVIEW

Thirrupathi Brothers has finally released their biggie of the season, and its none other than the very, very highly anticipated Suriya-N.Lingusamy project, 'Anjaan' ! Both Suriya and N.Lingusamy is back after personal highs with the 'Singam II's success for the former, whereas the latter enjoyed his run of success in distributing some medium-budget films. In collaborating with UTV Motion Pictures, which released it in record number of cinemas, the project has created a huge anticipation among fans of Suriya across the globe. Can they hit the bull's eye and rake in the moolah ?

For the powerhouse performer in Suriya, 'Anjaan' seems to be a pedestrian affair for his caliber. The stylish makeover, makes him look fantabulous on screen, and he has good screen presence, throughout the film. He carries the entire film on his shoulders and its an out-and-out Suriya flick, indeed. Samantha Ruth Prabhu is at her most glamorous avatar thus far in Tamizh cinema and that's about it. Nothing more, nothing less for a quintessential Tamizh cinema heroine ! The buff and manly Vidyut Jamwal has a role of equal importance as with Suriya's but the dubbing and light-hearted manner of his character leaves no impact on screen. But still kudos to this guy, for pulling off his elaborate stunt sequence all by himself ! The most unforgivable inclusion in the casting is of Manoj Bajpai's, as the antagonist. Its a sheer waste of talent for casting him in this poorly-written role, which is a disgrace to the brilliant performer's acting histrionics ! Soori and Brahmanandam (obviously as an attraction for the Telugu folks !) are there for the unwanted comedy portions and the others in the cast were Dalip Tahil, Murali Sharma, Asif Basra, Joe Malloori, Chetan Hansraj, Manobala, Sanjana Singh and etc and most of them looked so out of place, due to the bad lip-syncing and dubbing !

Deepali Noor, one of the most sought after costume designer of the industry, takes care of the costume designing in 'Anjaan'. Her warm and dark colored attires for Suriya, gives him a smashing makeover and it suits this specific hair/facial hair style, used for this film. Samantha looked gorgeous, be it in the conservative attires or even the skimpy clothes, worn for the songs. Better handling and focus could be given for Vidyut Jamwal, whom lacked style and Manoj, who looked unnecessarily too colorful. The action choreography is handled by Silva and his work needs special mention. The action blocks looked fantastic, yet powerful and realistic at the same time. Suriya's aptitude in pulling of such action blocks, adds more zing to the sequences and Vidyut Jamwal too has his own action block, in the second half. Excellent work by Silva ! Hot-shot editor, Anthony's cuts were brilliant as usual, and there's a very good smooth transition between each shots, but he should have definitely trimmed a bulk of unwanted scenes, due to the excessive running time of nearly 3 hours ! Rajeevan handles the art department and his work have the film a rich and glossy look, especially with the bar and hotel sequences and the set properties for the song sequences. Ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan ASC, ISC rocks with the Red Dragon Camera, fitted with 'Angenieux Lens'. His cinematography work and the bright yellow and warm color ambiance, adds more sheen and glossiness to the film. His angle placements, framing and camera movements for the action sequences, are the real highlights of the film, especially for the pre-interval stunt scene ! 

Yuvan Shankar Raja has delivered chart-busters, with his previous N.Lingusamy collaborations. But with 'Anjaan' the songs are just pretty passable and sounds ordinary, without the touch of magic and charm in them. "Bang Bang Bang !" is the opening introductory-sort of song for Suriya's mobster role. There are plenty of action montages interspersed in this song, which had a rich in color, upmarket bar setup, done by Rajeevan. Also, do check out the song for the special appearance of the hot Swedish-Iranian model/actress/choreographer Maryam Zakaria ! "Kaadhal Aasai" is a love song, shot on the lead pair, with plenty of montages and some dialogues, beautifully framed by Santosh Sivan, though the Sufi-styled song did not suit the proceeding. "Oru Kan Jaadai" is a fast number shot on the lead pair, and has the popular Miramar beach in Goa, as its backdrop. Fans of Samantha, don't miss out this song ! The pick of the album, is the peppy dance number, "Ek Do Theen", sung by Suriya himself. The song was shot in the picturesque location of Morjim, Goa. The cinematography and dance choreography complemented the feel and nature of the song's mood. "Sirippu En" is an item number and the final song of the film. Bollywood actress Chitrangada Singh, dons the item girl role and the lighting of Santosh gives the song the right mood, though the final output lacked the oomph factor. Yuvan Shankar Raja's background score was a letdown in many places and some of the film's signature hook-lines sounds insipid and unintentionally funny. Least expected from Yuvan Shankar Raja !

Let's get straight to the point. 'Anjaan' is possible the worst product to come from N.Lingusamy's directorial stable ! Its not because he is a bad filmmaker, but he has set high standards for how a contemporary commercial/'masala' Tamizh film should be and its time he has a retrospective view of his own past films, to amend his mistakes. The film is so lifeless, dull, uninspiring and has gaping loopholes, with no attempt in coming up with an organic development of emotional contents ! Brinda Sarathi's dialogues may sound powerful, but it all fell flat, due to the below average staging and execution of the sequences by N.Lingusamy. Giving a stylish makeover for the lead protagonist and having a maverick cinematographer will not hold the audience's attention for much longer than 15 minutes. What's inexcusable is the languorous approach with the screenplay, which takes its own sweet time in unraveling and delivering the guns. How is it possible for N.Lingusamy to overlook such fundamental aspects, especially when his previous films such as 'Run' and 'Sandakozhi', had brilliantly fast-paced screenplays, with the right amount of 'masala' elements ? Because of this, even the atypical, N.Lingusamy's trademark surprises and twists in the plot, which always ooze wonderful zing and power, goes kaput ! There's no character delineation in the film, which leaves us with half-baked characters and as mentioned earlier, its totally unforgivable, especially when you have talented artistes such as Suriya, Manoj Bajpai, Samantha and etc as your cast ! Like it or not, Suriya & N.Lingusamy has 'Anjaan' as a very ugly mark in their repertoire of films. D-I-S-A-P-P-O-I-N-T-M-E-N-T ! Big time !

'Anjaan' - Reportedly, Suriya & N.Lingusamy have discarded 3-4 scripts before zeroing on this. Now, that sounds scarily worrying !


Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

THUPPAAKKI MOVIE REVIEW

An eagerly awaited film, especially by the fans of 'Ilaiyathalapathy' Vijay, 'Thuppaakki' ticks all the boxes of a potential box-office hit must-haves. A big hero, a big director, a legendary cinematographer, decent music director, good action, drama, comedy, songs and etc. Every ingredient is there, so did 'Thuppaakki' fire on all cylinders ? Pretty much, yes !!

The film obviously belongs to the hero, Vijay. He oozes confidence and style throughout the film. He carries the film for most period of the screenplay duration. His experience in dancing and fighting skills are very well written and watched, so there's no need of more elaboration on it. Its the actual acting performance which must be scrutinized and Vijay comes out unscathed. There is nothing to complain about his performance. He had a field day throughout this project and it must have been a walk-in-the-park for him. His comfortableness with Hindi and English gives his character more realistic touch and ingenuity  Vidyut Jamwal, plays a perfect foil to Vijay's lead role and he was menacing in his role. Brooding, full of machismo and debonair looks, Vidyut underplayed his character, which elevates the intensity and tension of the battle between the protagonist and him. Kudos to him ! Kajal Aggarwal though has nothing to perform and was there just as an eye-candy during comedy and song sequences. Though Ragini Sri's dubbing matched the tomboyish character which Kajal Aggarwal played, sadly it did not fit for her image and looks awkward. Sathyan makes a commendable presence throughout the film, and he too underplayed his character, which was heartening. Jayaram, was a scream, especially in the coffee-house sequence, and was a pleasant comedy relief. The rest of cast such as Manobala, Zakir Hussain, Anupama Kumar, Deepthi Nambiar were adequate with Meenakshi and Akshara Gowda making cameo appearances. 

A.S Lakshmi Narayanan's sound recording was apt and neat, especially during the encounter sequences. Kamal Shahani and S.Rajendran's costume designing was simple yet stylish for Vijay and also pretty for Kajal. Sunil Babu's art designing was adequate and apt for the movie with minimal touches, especially for the song sequences and props for some sequences involving the antagonist, which made things look natural and realistic. Kecha Khamphakdee of the Jaika Stunt team, has choreographed some stunning action sequences, especially in the warehouse, during the kidnapping sequence though, the climax fight sequence could have been better. Sreekar Prasad's editing was a big boost for the film, because it kept the pace of the film from not slowing down and his fast-cuts for the action sequences were flawless. India's most popular and celebrated cinematographer Santosh Sivan delivers his flawless work as well and this time, his work is more gritty and captures the raw and urbanized mood of Mumbai very well. Die-hard fans of Santosh might be disappointed because of the lack of scenes, which has his trademark establishment-shots. Overall, it was a flawless work indeed from Santosh Sivan. The usage of ARRI camera lends more authenticity to the look and feel of the film and it must have been a proud issue for A.R Murugadoss to have his film as the first to bear Santosh Sivan's name with the honorary ASC-status. 

Harris Jeyaraj's numbers were hummable and listen-worthy, though nothing was excellent or extraordinary. The opening song "Kutti Puli Koottam" was a refreshing one, for a Vijay film. It has some of Santosh Sivan's trademark misty shots, captured in lush, green fields and at a riverbed, with military men having fun, fooling around and dancing with the protagonist. "Antartica" is a peppy song, shot within a stadium and gym complex surrounding, with the hero trying to woo the heroine, who is an active sportsperson. "Alaikka" is a typical dance number which captures Vijay's wonderful dancing skills. The lighting and set properties were grand, yet looked simple and perfect with gold-themed set work. The chart-buster song, "Google Google" was shot in a Bangkok club, with dazzling lighting and funky dance movements with Santosh Sivan and A.R Murugadoss making cameo appearances. "Vennilave" was shot in Geneva around snow-capped mountains and green fields. Interestingly this song was shot by Natraj, the popular Bollywood cinematographer and has his trademark Bollywood-style glossy cinematography. "Poi Varavaa" is the situational finale song, depicting the leaving of military men to their camps after their holidays, which was shot in the railway station, capturing the poignant moments of the military men and their family members. The theme track, "Jagdish on Mission" plays throughout the film, which sizzles during the crucial moments. Harris's background score was better compared to his recent releases and he has tried some unique scores, keeping the Mumbai milieu in mind. 

A.R Murugadoss, did what he can do best - to come up with a racy and taut screenplay, with some interesting action sequences. The highlight of it was the encounter scene of 12 sleeper cell members, which was brilliantly conceived and shot. The cat-and-mouse chase between the protagonist and antagonist, keeps the audiences hooked to the film. The film was packaged very well and works out big time due to the engrossing screenplay which has some sensibilities in it. Though the majority of the script was well conceived and executed, some minor blips are here and there, with plenty of questions going unanswered and the director taking some liberty by infusing typical commercial dramatic elements or sequences into the screenplay, adhering to elevate and propagate the mass image of lead hero Vijay. Additional brownie points to the director for some intelligent dialogues here and there and for not overdoing the commercial formula of Tamizh cinema. After an unfavoured reception for '7am Arivu', A.R Murugadoss has bounced back strongly, with a tautly written script, which is his specialty and reminds us of his previous works such as 'Dheena' and 'Ghajini', which were all good commercial films. 

'Thuppaakki' is a sure-shot winner for the makers and an engrossing entertainer for the audiences. Party time for Vijay and A.R Murugadoss !

Ratings: 3.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

URUMI MOVIE REVIEW

Santosh Sivan, the only personality from Asia Pacific to be awarded a membership in the prestigious American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), is known for his visual masterpiece. As a director, he has directed a few films and his 'The Terrorist' is a critically acclaimed film and even included in Roger Ebert's best films ever list. For the first time, Santosh Sivan has tried his hands in directing a commercially entertaining film meant for the masses. Though its for commercial purpose, the novelty factor is still there in the shape of historical fantasy. Originally made in Malayalam, the film was altered for Tamizh cinema yet it attracts audience because of its subject matter and also for the impressive star-casting. Its even impressive to know that the film was shot in a record 65-70 days with a big cast and that too a historical subject.

Prithviraj, who co-produced the film, gave out a good performance. As the brave Chirakkal Kelu Nayanar, he handled the stunt sequences very well, especially with the usage of the urumi. Though he was portrayed as an angry young man throughout, his minute expressions and emotions in love portions was good. Prabhu Deva as Vawwali was the funnyman in the film. His body language and comedy timing was flawless. His episode with Nithya Menon was naughty and cute and his dialogue delivery was perfect. Arya, was menacing as Chirakkal Kothuwal and carried good body language though he should have improved more for the tribal leader Thangappan role, especially with the dialogue delivery. Genelia D'Souza was a revelation as Arackal Ayesha. We get to see some stunt performances from her and she rendered a reasonably good performance as the young angry woman. Nithya Menon was cute and subtled as Chirakkal Bala, the princess. Her naughty behaviour and expressions was well brought out. Vidya Balan makes a cameo as a sorceress and as an NGO representative. The National Award-winning girl plays both roles very well and the former was the better one. Amole Gupte was efficient as Chirakkal Thampuram and his character's voice was well dubbed by Naran. Jagathy Sreekumar was excellent as the minister, who was cunning and at the same time carried effeminate qualities in him. M.S Bhaskar pulled off a good job in dubbing for Jagathy. Tabu makes a short cameo appearance in a song.

The biggest asset and USP of the film is the technical aspects of the film. For a average budget, this film carries fantastic work. Ranjith Ambady's make-up should be appreciated for his work on the artistes, especially on Jagathy and Amole. Eka Lakhani's costume was brilliant though it did not represent the era portrayed in the film, accurately. Yet, all characters were dressed accordingly and their costumes made them look apart from each other and helped the artistes to have their own identity. Genelia and Prithviraj's costumes are the testimony. 'Anal' Arasu' action choreography was splendid and he should be applauded for his unique choreography for each characters which suits their body language respectively. Though Prithviraj and Prabhu Deva plays the roles of friends, they have their own styles of self-defense which enhances their characters more. Anand Babu and Rajakrishnan's sound designing was good, especially the final battle sequences where each weapon's sounds, especially Prithviraj's urumi, was well utilized. Sreekar Prasad made the film look racy though it runs for nearly 2 hours and 20 minutes and the battle scenes were edited well with no gimmicks. Art director Sunil Babu did a fantastic job with simple, elegant yet detailed art work and that too in a limited budget. The abode of Chirakkal Thampuram and the props were well used and also the village sets were believable. The battle ground episode too was well portrayed and kudos to Sunil for pulling off a wonderful job. The man, Santosh Sivan weaves his magic as usual and the film is a visual opulence. The choice of locations and the usage of mist and rain throughout, gave the film a beautiful look. Nearly each and every scene looks like a portrait and it just shows the wizardry of Santosh. Kudos to his assistance Anjuli Shukla as well.

Music by Deepak Dev is soothing and very much apt for the script. "Vadakka Vadakka" was used situationally with not much emphasis given. "Yaaro" is the pick of the lot and the slow-motion shots, together with mist and cool color, picturized on Prithviraj and Genelia was beautifully and aesthetically shot. "Chinna Chinna" shot on Nithya Menon and Prabhu Deva, had good utilization of the glow of oil lamps and tight close-ups on the artistes. The naughty Nithya and naive Prabhu Deva brought-out the mood of the song very well. "Kondaadu Kondaadu" brought out the brilliance of Santosh Sivan in making use of rain drops and mist. Picturized on Prabhu Deva and Prithviraj, with a cameo from Tabu, the song had minimal art work which was a effective move. "Aararo" was also used as a situational song and weaves into the story smoothly. "Chalanam Chalanam" had Vidya Balan performing her 'sorcery' and her costumes complemented her look and the character she portrayed in that song. Santosh made excellent use of mist in this song.

What's pleasing of the script is that, its pretty much straight-forward and there were no big build-ups nor overtly-dramatic sequences. The narration was pretty simple and the script has scope for further exploitation. Its applaudable that Santosh and writer Shankar Ramakrisnan, made good research on the subject and infusing realistic fictional elements into the script, efficiently and smoothly. The movie pretty much did not deviate from its core focus point, apart from the songs and some small love scenes. Sasikumaran, the Tamizh dialogue writer deserves a pat for his sharp and hard dialogues.

'Urumi' is a simple and neat historical fantasy. Honestly written and technically well-made, it made the producers proud and might serve as an inspiration for upcoming directors to come up with similar ventures.
 

Ratings: 3/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL