NAVEENA SARASWATHI SABATHAM MOVIE REVIEW

Comedy genre is not something new or fresh for Tamizh cinema audience, but infusing fantasy element into it, is a rarity. AGS Entertainment produced, 'Naveena Saraswathi Sabatham', is the debut directorial venture of K.Chandru, who has co-written the script of 'Tamizh Padam' along with C.S Amudhan. With a fresh and experimental combination of next-gen comedy artistes, K.Chandru has attempted to entertain us with comedy, albeit with a clear message. How did this 'modernized vow' of Saraswathi turn out to be?

Jai, after his pleasant performance in 'Raja Rani', had pretty much nothing to do. He was in his utmost comfort zone and has aptly used his shrill voice, for the right moments. Debutante heroine, Niveda Thomas looks sweet and performs well, with good dialogue delivery, which was perfectly dubbed by her dubbing artiste ! Alas, she has an extremely short screen timing, hence the limited acting scope for her. Sathyan and C.Rajkumar of 'Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom' were at ease with their roles, particularly Sathyan, who did a great work with his expressions and body language, especially for a photo-shoot sequence in the first half. The one with the 'meatiest' role is none other than 'VTV' Ganesh, who rocks in some sequences, with his trademark dialogue delivery and antics, especially in the second half. On the other side, Subbu Panchu, Devadarshini and Manobala, donned the roles of religious deities Shiva, Parvathi and Naradar, respectively. They were apt choices for their roles and gave good dialogue deliveries, and Subbu Panchu should be appreciated for his funny expressions and voice modulations. Venkat Prabhu and Sam Anderson make fleeting cameo appearances. The rest of the cast such as R.S Sivaji, Chitra Lakshmanan, Swaminathan, Badava Gopi, Vishal Venkat, Rekha Suresh, Ramya Ramakrishnan and etc were apt for their respective roles.

M.P Vanitha Srinivasan's costume designing was okay, though the shoe-string budget is a little evident, especially with the GOD characters. The conventional real-life characters too, were well presented, in terms of costumes. Dhilip Subbarayan's action choreography sufficed the needs of the script, quite well. M.G Murugan's production design is vital, and he has done a good work with the Mount Kailash abode, with touches of contemporary. An unique idea, indeed and kudos to him, for pulling it off. The private abode of Shiva, is the highlight, with modern art paintings adorning the walls ! T.S Suresh's editing was not flawless, as the film moves at a snail's pace in the second half, and the some sequences dragged the length of the film. The transition from GOD's world to the episodes taking place in Earth, could have been smoother. J.Anand's cinematography was average, apart from the beautiful shots of the island for a song sequence, late second-half. 

Music has been handled by newcomer Prem Kumar, and the melodies are worth listening. "Kaathirundhai Anbe" was shot on Jai and Niveda, in montages, with the quirky element of the heroine holding a microphone and singing from it, all the time ! "Saturday Fever" is a clubbing song, and was shot on the gang of four, comprising Jai, C.Rajkumar, Sathyan and 'VTV' Ganesh. The typical color lighting and scantily-dressed Asian girls, are there in the song. "Vaazhkai Oru" is also shot on the four buddies stranded alone in an uninhabited island, with montages of them spending time by doing what they can afford to do. "Nenjankuzhi" is the pick of album, shot on the lead pair, and had some beautiful shots of the island, against the backdrop of dark clouds and blue ocean. R.Kannan, handles the background score and he gives his input with some unique, modern sounds.

The trailer and teasers suggested a touch of 'Hangover', but the director has dismissed the idea, through a dialogue uttered by the protagonist. K.Chandru's script has a good and timely message to the viewers, but the message presentation was corny and ends up being dull. However, K.Chandru should be applauded for his unique ideas (Lord Ganesha on treadmill, Lord Murugan and his Temple Run game on the iPad, Naradhar with a guitar and Lord Shiva with his iMac and etc) along with creative and cheeky dialogues (especially for the 'heavenly' episodes, with the right amount of English and Tamizh mixture, giving those episodes a contemporary feel). The first half was interesting, especially the GOD sequences, which were cutely conceptualized and well executed. The introduction of the human being characters were okay to some extent. But the second half becomes quite tedious with long drawn sequences and K.Chandru tries to cover it up, by spoofing some of the popular Tamizh films. The script is pretty obviously wafer-thin, so K.Chandru should have trimmed the second half, quite considerably. Also, why are Tamizh cinema directors still trying to do cover up with the foreign locations ? Kuala Lumpur has been passed out as Bangkok in this film, and its about time for directors to realize that, its not easy to fool any audience, anymore !

'Naveena Saraswathi Sabatham' - A fantasy comedy, with preachy messages.


Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

NAIYAANDI MOVIE REVIEW

'Naiyaandi' made its news due to the unwarranted "body-double" accusation pointed at the makers by the upcoming "next-big-heroine" of Tamizh cinema, Nazriya Nazim. In her first big-hero project, Nazriya's claim to fame suddenly became infamy. All's well that ends well and the movie got released smoothly. A.Sarkunam's first big hero project with Dhanush, promised a good family entertainer, on the lines of the director's 'Kalavaani'. Was all the hype and hoopla, justified in the end-product ?

For Dhanush, its back to the light-material scripts, and 'Naiyaandi' turns out to be too light for him. He simply waltzes through his role. The National Award-winning actor did not strain a bit, acting capability wise and shares good rapport with his supporting cast members. When expectations are sky-high when this man comes out with a film, and its tad disappointing that 'Naiyaandi' does not meet that expectations. After her claim to fame with 'Raja Rani', Nazriya gets a solo heroine role and she looks pretty much in her comfort zone. Looking cute and bright, she displays her acting skills convincingly. Among the glut of comedy actors, Sriman and Sathyan were an amusing pair in the second half, with their comedic antics. Soori vibes well with Dhanush whereas Vamsi Krishna was resorted to a farcically written antagonist character. Meera Krishnan, Pyramid Natarajan, Sathish, Immanuel Annachi, Singampuli, Ashvin Raja, Naren, Sachu, Manobala, Prof Gnanasambandhan and etc were adequate fits for the supporting roles. 

K.Natraj's costume designing was apt for the rural-based characters and Nazriya looked cute in the songs, especially. R.K Vijay Murugan's production design sufficed the needs of the scripts. Be it the elobarate village festival setting, or the for the songs, the sets were neatly erected, with good detailing. The lamps and bells stacked in the protagonist's house is one such clear example. Dhilip Subbarayan's stunt choreography suited Dhanush's personality and the final climax sequence reminds us of the 'Sandaikozhi' climax action sequence. Raja Mohammed's editing was a letdown, and some sort of connectivity is missing in the transition from one sequence to another. R.Velraj's cinematography work is a big plus to the film. The visuals are crystal clear and the rural landscape is a pleasant sight for the eyes. Also, R.Velraj's lighting was commendable for the sequences featuring the lead pair, surrounded by lamps and bells.

M.Ghibran's work just passes muster, though he is a creative person with unique sounds infused in his song arrangements. "Marriage Marketil" was uniquely done, with a full animation concept, featuring the debacles faced by Sriman and Sathyan, in finding brides, respectively. "Ae Le Le" was shot on the lead pair, and has some majestic and beautiful Swiss localities in the background, such as lakes and mountains. "Yendi Paathagathi" is a bit-song shot on Dhanush and featured some good framing by R.Velraj. "Munnadi Porapulle" is a duet shot on the lead pair and accompanied by foreign dancers. The song featured more urban landscapes such as rivers and harbors. The much publicized "Teddy Bear" song was picturized keeping kinds in mind, with vibrantly colored sets with a gaming arcade backdrop and costumes for the dancers. "Inikka Inikka" is a sensous number, which was shot cleverly by R.Velraj with plenty of close-ups of the lead pair. Nazriya was looking very good in her sarees. Though the background score had plenty of unique ideas, they don't linger in our minds.

A.Sarkunam, known for his nuanced handling of his scripts, fails to entertain us this time. An inspiration from the 1993-Malayalam super hit film 'Meleparambil Aanveedu', starring Jayaram and Shobaran, the script is almost farcical in entirety and turns out to be a quintessential damp squib ! The entire comedy portions in the first half is a big letdown and only with the presence of Sriman and Sathyan, funny elements serve its purpose. The performances of some supporting artistes are too casual. The script has no purpose at all, and there seems to be no serious element at all, apart from the climax, which is rarely palpable. The screenplay is a letdown and there seems to be no smooth progress from one scene to another nor any logic or continuity. Some sequences stood out like a sore thumb and has no purpose in the film. Dialogues were insipid and boring. It really boggles our mind, thinking what convinced Dhanush to accept this film. A.Sarkunam's script has a time immemorial formula written all over, if you view it with a hindsight. Throw in some exaggerated sequences and characters, and all you get is a complete mess and wastage of good artistes and technicians' capabilities. 

'Naiyaandi' - An appalling product from A.Sarkunam ! Its shocking to see it coming from the director who gave us 'Kalavaani' and 'Vaagai Sooda Vaa'.


Ratings: 2/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

RAJA RANI MOVIE REVIEW

'Raja Rani' has been making quite some buzz since its inception due to all the big names associated with it. Produced by none other than A.R Murugadoss, who collaborates with Fox Star Studios (the Indian subsidiary of 20th Century Fox) for this rom-com. Directed by a newbie Atlee, who has assisted Shankar in 'Endhiran' and 'Nanban' and also known for his YouTube-hit short-film 'Mugaputhagam', it has the best of casting with good-looking artistes and best of upcoming technicians, behind-the-scenes. Hence, does 'Raja Rani' justify all the hype and buzz it bombarded in the medias ?

First, things first. Let's start off with the lead pair Arya and Nayanthara. Arya oozes charm and wits in his role. He is at total ease with the character he plays, but the actual plus point is his performance and matured handling of the emotional scenes. And the ladies' guy, shares great rapport with both heroines featured in the film. This film would have been a piece of cake for Arya ! Nayanthara made a perfect comeback to Tamizh cinema, after a three-year hiatus. A very composed and heartfelt performance from her. She definitely has the advantage of enacting the best-written role in the film, but still credits to her for pulling it off easily. Definitely, one of her career-best performance, thus far. And its an undeniable fact that she is the actual fulcrum of the movie.

Jai, makes a splendid appearance as the naive, innocent, timid Surya. His antics were good relief in the first-half, and his voice modulation as well as dialogue delivery complements the nature of his character. The latest sweetheart of Tamizh cinema, Nazriya Nazim has one of the 'cutest' heroine introductory scenes in Tamizh cinema ! The girl personifies cuteness and proves her mettle in dishing out typical bubbly-crazy Tamizh cinema heroines, perfectly. Sathyaraj plays the uber-cool urban dad, many teenagers and youths would die to have one for themselves. His stylish make-over looks very refreshing on-screen. Santhanam, has his right balance of emotional scenes as well, and he delivers it finely. But nonetheless, his comic is brilliant as usual, especially in the flashback sequences, featuring him in an odd-wig, with a Rajni-type mannerism. Sathyan was terrific with his comic timing and complemented Jai, very well. Rajendran's suave avatar was a crackling surprise and the other characters such as Manobala, Singamuthu, Dhanyaa Balakrishnan, Wang, Arun Raja, Misha Ghoshal and etc did their parts well.

Atlee has appointed four various costume designers for the film and each of them, Deepali Noor, Chaitanya Rao, Sathya N.J and Kavisa Rebello, should be congratulated for their excellent work in the costume department. All the artistes were looking at their best, be it in any scenes. The heroines were stunningly pretty, especially ! Dhilip Subbarayan's action choreography was simple and neatly executed. T.Muthuraj's production design was of A-grade ! The setting, be it for ordinary or for the songs, everything looked colorful, fresh and sparkling. The posh apartment setting, or even the middle-class home setting was very minutely done, in detailing. A swanky environment is what you get and feel for most of the film's duration. Very good job, T.Muthuraj ! Ruben's editing could have been better, especially with the lengthy climax portions, though his edits are fine for the songs. The real hero of the film is definitely the cinematographer. A sure-hot, next hot-property of Tamizh cinema, George C.Williams captures the sunlight beautifully and his color-palette usage were just terrific ! Brilliant visuals and deft camera-handling. The next big cinematographer has just arrived !

G.V Prakash Kumar's songs were complementary for the setting and mood of the script. "A Love for Life" theme music plays in the opening sequences, which had the church wedding scene. The framing and photographic-shots were just too good ! "Hey Baby" has good montages between Arya and Nayanthara and then transcends into a drunkard-song type, with even Gaana Bala making a sneaking cameo appearance. The second part of the song was shot in dark, dead-night streets of Chennai. "Chillena" was shot on Jai and Nayanthara, and had plenty of sequences, shown in montages. The usage of sun light and color by George C.Williams, in the opening portion of this song was catchy. "Unnale" is a bit-song, also shot on Nayanthara and Jai, with different backdrops of each character, shown interspersing. "Oday Oday" was shot on a lavishly decorated Binny Mills and was picturized on Arya and Nazriya. The colorful sets and costumes, complemented the mood of the song well. "Imaye Imaye" was shot on Arya and Nayanthara, and was used as a situational song, with a couple of montages, edited well. G.V Prakash Kumar handles the background score very well too and definitely 'Raja Rani' would be one of his best works, collectively. 

Now, the theme of life after love is not something unique nor novel. This same theme has been handled by greats such as Mahendran and Mani Ratnam in their films, 'Nenjathai Killathey' and 'Mouna Ragam' respectively. The only difference is that, such a themed film was missing all the while for the current generation of social network-crazed youngsters. Atlee shows maturity in the way he handles his artistes and getting the best from them. But the hallmarks of a good director-in-making, does not stop with that alone. The actual crux, which is the script, has plenty of flaws and weaknesses, in terms of logic and organic, emotional development. The foundations are there, but Atlee fails to establish a strong reason for the lead pair to overcome their past relationships and to accept their new life-partner. If you are to watch this film in hindsight, you could actually realize the amateurish writing and the kiddishness of the theme's presentation. The film has its own good moments and sequences and a couple of well written dialogues, but it just ends there. The flick fails to actually satisfy the rom-com genre its supposed to be and its only a rom-com in partitions. The long-drawn out climax is a turn-off as well, and there are some discrepancies in the character development aspect. As for Arya and Nayanthara, though this film did not do any sort of damage to their respective careers, such films can be avoided, as they have progressed ahead with more challenging and varied roles.

'Raja Rani' - A misguided, supposedly rom-com, with fantastic production outputs. A fairly good rating, only because of the technical outputs artistes' contribution.


Ratings: 3/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

THILLU MULLU MOVIE REVIEW

'Thillu Mullu' is a legendary film, directed by K.Balachander and ably performed by Superstar Rajinikanth and Thengai Seenivasan, who made their roles memorable ! And when one is to remake one of the classiest comedy films of Tamizh cinema, it takes a bucket load of guts and dare to do it, and to have Shiva to reprise the role of Rajini's, the stakes just shoot several notches higher. Badri has taken the extremely daunting challenge, by remaking the cult hit. Did he succeed in making any sort of justifications for his actions ?

Shiva, does what Ajith did when the latter donned the role of 'Billa', another role made memorable by Rajinikanth. He made the role as his own, without any imitations of the Superstar. His stoic expressions, with a poker face, is his USP and he plays to the gallery with them. He pulls of his comic portions with consummate ease ! The naughty and quirky smile adds more sheen to both character(s) he portrays in the film. Prakash Raj, dons the role of Thengai Seenivasan's, and he too follows Shiva's way by not imitating the legendary actor, and utilizing his own creativity to the hilt. It must have definitely been a cake walk to the veteran performer. Isha Talwar makes her debut in Tamizh cinema, and is lucky enough to have an easy role to do. A big bunch of comedians such as Kovai Sarala (in her usual loud self), Soori, Sathyan, Manobala, Ilavarasu, Sachu, Monisha, Devadarshini, Ajay Rathnam, Swaminathan, Ashwin Raja and George contribute to the fun quotient of the film. As for cameos, there are Venkat Prabhu, cinematographer Sakthi Saravanan, rapper Blaaze, Bosskey, Valeri Nobbe, and Shivashankar but the grandest of it, goes to the one and only Santhanam, who was in his usual wise-cracking elements ! He takes center-stage in an extended cameo, and happily entertains us, with his one-liners !

The technical department of the film was functional with their contributions, and there's pretty much nothing to rave about in particular. 'Thalapathy' Dinesh and 'Dragon' Prakash's stunt choreography was quite overboard, though it fitted the style and presentation of the overall film. R.K Vijay Murugan's production design was okay, especially with the interior props of the protagonist's middle-class home and the posh bungalow and office premises of Prakash Raj's character. Praveen K.L and Srikanth N.B have done their best, to keep the film racy and not languorous in its pace, though two songs in the second half were absolute speed breakers. J.Lakshmanan's cinematography was adequate, though his song picturization was quite ordinary, considering the brilliant works being showcased in contemporary Tamizh cinema by fellow cinematographers.

M.S Viswanathan and Yuvan Shankar Raja join hands for the first time in composing songs for a film. The legendary latter's two songs have been retained for this film, while Yuvan has composed another set of two fresh songs. The cult opening title song, "Thillu Mullu" had both the composers making a cool cameo, along with Canadian singer Tha Prophecy, in a video song mixed with funny montage clips. "Kai Pesi" was shot on the lead pair, in nice locations with simple building landmarks, and interspersed with funny montage sequences of Shiva day-dreaming of his heroine. "Aaja Aaja" was shot in a Dubai club, and also had scenic views of Dubai, with a glamorous Isha Talwar. "Raagangal Padhinaaru" was also shot in more picturesque locations in Dubai, especially in the desert landscape. The background score was just functional, along with some nice touches of melody, sprinkled in few moments.

Badri has taken the basic thread of Sachin Bhowmick's story and Hrishikesh Mukherjee's screenplay and made a more contemporary slapstick mould of the original comedy film. The film is enjoyable, especially with the funny and wacky one-liners of T.Balaji and Ramesh Vaidhya's. But for those who have watched the original, the unchanged storyline might bore you, since one is familiar with all the twists and turns. Badri has made use of his artistes USP to good use for the film and incorporated all of their pluses into his style of presentation of 'Thillu Mullu'. As mentioned earlier, the crisp film could be even better, if the songs did not play as mere speed-breakers, especially in the second half. Some sequences have been especially inserted into the screenplay, just for the sake of making use of the artistes' performance style and ability. The eccentricity and zany attitude of the original is not present in this, loud and clumsy film, which might be a turn-off for the fans of the original.

'Thillu Mullu' - Badri comes unscathed in his remake attempt but still some classics can be just left untouched.


Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

ONBADHULA GURU MOVIE REVIEW

P.T Selvakumar, the manager of 'Ilaiyathalapathy' Vijay for nearly 30 years, turns director with 'Onbadhula Guru'. With an interesting ensemble cast of youngsters, P.T Selvakumar promised a good comedy film, which will make us forget our worries, and enjoy the comedy, unabashedly. Did he deliver, as he promised ? Did the years of experience, being a manager of a very popular star, help Selva in his tryst ?

We were reminded that the movie is about 4 Idiots, but then it should have been captioned as 4+1 Idiots. Vinay Rai, makes his mini-comeback in this film, and he has more of the screen space among all the 'Idiots'. He tries his best to deliver his dialogues well and maintain a good timing in his comedy. Though far from being perfect, he is passable and with more experience, he can improve his acting capabilities. Sathyan's dialogue delivery was good, as he is always funny with his voice modulation and not far behind him was Chaams, though he had limited screen timing. Arvind Akash, was okay and the additional 'Idiot', Premji makes his presence felt by mocking Tamizh cinema heroes and Tamizh cinema's landmark films and scenes from those films. Lakshmi Rai, makes an entry late into the second half, and was adequate, though it must be noted that she is a little out of shape. The film has a host of artistes doing minor roles such as Manobala, Manthra, Sona Heiden, Geetha Singh, Karthika Shetty, Roopa Shree, Yogi Devaraj, Chitra Lakshmanan and etc. All of them were sincere to their roles, though whether did it leave any impact, is a different question all together. Besides them, we do have 'Powerstar' Dr S.Srinivasan and director K.S Ravikumar, doing cameo roles !

The technical department's job were ordinary and nothing to rave about. N.J Sathya's costumes were too colorful and loud. R.Janaa's art work was simple, especially for the outdoor sequences, though his detailing could have been much better. Silva's one stunt sequence choreography was sufficient enough for the scene. P. Sai Suresh's editing and P.Chelladurai's cinematography were just okay. Music director, K's songs are not even hum-worthy, and is immediately forgettable. "Alayaadhe Summa" is the song which is played during the opening credits and has 'Powerstar' Dr S.Srinivasan doing his funny dancing jigs. He is accompanied by Sathyan and Arvind Akash, and the song is shot mostly in the outdoors, such as parks. "Theera Theera" was picturized in a college setting, and has plenty of merry and dancers, regularly associated with such type of songs. "Vaa Machi" is a song which pokes fun at marriage and the tune is eerily similar to K's previous "Bar Anthem" in 'Mugamoodi'. The picturization is not much different from the earlier mentioned, two songs. "Maidha Maidhaanam" is a club song, which has Lakshmi Rai shaking her legs. It has some creative editing, but with minimal impact. The song had cheesy lighting, and costumes of the artistes, should have been better.

First things, first. Mr. P.T Selvakumar, what genre does your film belong to ? Is it a regular comedy movie, or is it an out-and-out spoof movie ? We have no clue on what were Selva's intentions, and all we can see is just an onslaught of spoof scenes, from the start, till the end ! A majority of the film's scenes were irrelevant and has no purpose. Tamizh cinema stars were made fun of repeatedly and apparently, Suriya was the most targeted, conspicuously. As the spoofing goes on tirelessly, the audience starts to get tired fast and lose interest in the proceedings. What's even more pathetic ? Most of the jokes or spoofs, fall flat and fails to evoke even, the slightest of chuckles, barring one or two, here and there. And the credits can go to the co-dialogue writer M.Ashok Kumar. What's really shameful, are the crude and crass jokes made out of women, which is unacceptable at all ! There is no connectivity between the scenes and a coherent screenplay, as well. Slapstick comedy is a tricky tread, and one can only pull it off, if there's an excellent writing and an equally excellent casting. 'Onbadhula Guru' fails badly, in pulling off such an attempt.

'Onbadhula Guru' - Its even more shocking to see the film ending with a note that there's a sequel to it, with 'Powerstar' as the main lead ! P.T Selvakumar, should seriously consider not going ahead with a sequel, unless it changes hands, to another director !


Ratings: 1.25/5 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

NANBAN MOVIE REVIEW

Nanban, is a much awaited film by all circles for a few reasons. First, its the coming together of Vijay and director S.Shankar for a film. Second, its the remake of 3 Idiots which is one of the biggest blockbusters in Indian cinema history and considered a classic. Third, its a multi-starrer film and the final reason is for having the top technicians of the industry involved in this film. Many film enthusiasts were eager to catch this film in theaters to see how the remake was done and that too by S.Shankar, who is handling a remake subject for the first time in his career. Did the movie live up to its original or falter in the heavy expectations?

The best aspect of Nanban is the near-perfect casting. Vijay as Panchavan Parivendhan, was a throwback to his earlier cinema career. His commitment to the character is unquestionable and he delivers exactly what was expected of him. He didn't imitate what Aamir Khan did in the original and kept his own style of dialogue delivery and expressions. Its been ages since he did such a role of the quiet, charming guy who can win hearts with his mellow and restrained performance. Srikanth is a revelation and this movie is a proof that he has indeed matured into a fine actor. As the narrator of the plot, his dialogue delivery and dubbing was essential in capturing the attention of the audiences, and he did it neatly without copying any mannerisms of R.Madhavan. Besides that, he scored in the emotional scene which takes place between his character and the father. Jiiva shows his great acting capabilities with very good comedy timing and dialogue delivery and also for scoring in emotional scenes. He pulled it off with ease and his confidence in enacting the roll is obvious throughout the film and is on par as Sharman Joshi. Veteran Sathyaraj had a once-in-a-lifetime kind of role here as the dictatorial and ruthless principal shows that experience does matter in pulling of great roles. Its a welcome relief to see him not to imitate the fantastic Boman Irani but could have avoided following the same type of dialogue delivery style as Boman's and incorporated his own style, which could have given a new dimension to that character. Sathyan delivered a comical role very well and his interpretation of the character was different from Omi Vaidya as his was more loud and full of expressions. The best of his was definitely the speech giving scene, which was a scream! All the other male artistes like Manobala, SJ Suryah, Vijay Vasanth, Shanmugasundaram, Indrans, Ajay Rathnam and etc were apt for their roles. As for the female roles, its wonderful to see Ileana D'Cruz back in Tamizh cinema after 6 long years! The experience of appearing in multiple Telugu films is evident in her confident manner of acting and she got her pronunciations nearly perfect with the dubbing of Andrea Jeremiah for her. Not only performance, she does sizzle in song sequences as well. Anuya Bhagat was neat as the pregnant sister of Ileana and Deepa Venkat's dubbing for her was very much in sync.

Technically the film is rich with top class technicians involved. Pritam and Resul Pookutty's audiography was creative with various sound sequences used, especially in songs and climax portions. Kunal, Deepali Noor and Sai's costumes were colorful especially for Ileana in the "Asku Laska" & "Irukaana" numbers, though they could have experimented more with Vijay's costumes and look, which was rather plain and simple compared to the stylish and cute Aamir Khan in 3 Idiots. Anthony's editing was fine, though he could have trimmed few minutes of certain sequences to shorten the duration of the film and his work in "Asku Laska" song was high in quality. T.Muthuraj's art work was apt as all the props used in the film was natural especially for the university sequences and also for the detailing done in the house interiors of each character was very good. Besides that, its applaudable to erect detailed sets in a very small area for the "Irukaana" number. Manoj Paramahamsa once again proves why he is one of the best in the industry among cinematographers. His shots were a pleasant sight for the eyes especially in the "En Friend eh Pola" and "Asku Laska" numbers and also for the soft, natural lighting he used in the university sequences. Besides that Gemini Industries & Imaging's work done on the uncompressed 4k real-time on Quantel Pablo DI (Digital Intermediate) system gives the film a fantastic picture clarity with 4K digital resolution.

Harris Jeyaraj's music was melodious all through and there were no racy numbers in the album with the whole album complementing the mood and feel of the film. "En Friend Pola" number was picturized in montages with a road-concept as similar to the opening song in 3 Idiots. The picturesque hill stations were wonderfully captured by Manoj with long shots and post-card style frames. "Heartiley Battery" number is the equivalent of the extremely popular "Aal Izz Well" number of 3 Idiots. Though its less peppy and energetic as the original song, it still enthuses mild energy and was well picturized with good choreography by Shobi and cute ideas such as the 'Vadai' element and etc with the whole song taking place in cool university surroundings. "Asku Laska" had a cute sequences in between where the camera panned from the production crew and straight into the song which was a surprise for the viewers. The top angle and close up shots in the song helped the song look rich, especially in the glass set. "Nalla Nanban" is a situational song which was shot with montages which had a mishmash of cute and emotional scenes. "Irukaana" is a song dedicated to the svelte physique of Ileana and is a typical S.Shankar film song with elaborate and intricate and colorful set works which also has dozens of dancers. The camerawork is commendable as it involves a tight space and Manoj has captured the splendor and grandeur of the set work for this song, well. Besides that, the choreography of Farah Khan was catchy, too. "Endhan Kann Munnae" is the pathos song which was picturized on the sadness of Vijay Vasanth's character. It had good lighting work to show the night effect feel. Though Harris' work was neat in the songs department, his background score could have been much better as the re-recording was too melodious which gives a sentimental feel for certain scenes which could have been avoided. The usage of silence in certain scenes would have elevated the feel and intensity of those scenes.

For film enthusiasts, this movie might be a little disappointment because it was just a scene-by-scene remake and there were not much differences in the screenplay of the original 3 Idiots written by Rajkumar Hirani, Abhijat Joshi and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, which was based on Chetan Bhagat's novel "Five Point Someone - What not to do at IIT". As a grand filmmaker himself, S.Shankar could have tried to infuse new and fresh elements into the film instead of remaking all scenes one by one but he can be excused since the original screenplay and script is a classic and it can be very risky to experiment with. Dialogues by S.Shankar and Madhan Karky was fantastic and very quirky and intelligent but at the same time, heart-warming. The speech dialogue spoken by Sathyan was absolutely hilarious and kudos to both Shankar and Karky for giving extra intuitive attention for comedy portions as well. The whole film carries breeziness, intelligence and emotions all into the right proportions which is a winning factor for the film crew.

Nanban did live up to its original and the remake was done in a very neat and proper manner with no mistakes or blunder made. Whether the original was much better, or the remake is a finer product, is something which should be left to each individuals as it is a matter of personal preferences. Final verdict: Nanban - All is Well, indeed.


Ratings: 3.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

YUVAN YUVATHI MOVIE REVIEW

It's been a very long time since Bharath had a decent hit in his career based on a original script by a director. The last was way back in 2006, that is the critically acclaimed Veyil by Vasanthabalan. He has been dishing out meaningless films and had a decent result with Kanden Kadhalai which was a remake of Jab We Met from Hindi and the recent multi-starrer Vaanam, another remake this time from Vedam, the Telugu film. Looks like the trend of delivering bad movies continues for Bharath as Yuvan Yuvathi didn't entertain the audiences at all, apart from Santhanam's comedy portions.

Bharath, does the usual antics of a cinema hero, by dancing, fighting and romancing the heroine but other than that there's nothing commendable from him. It applies to newcomer Rima Kallingal as well. A pleasant looking dusky girl, she didn't overact in her character and was natural, thanks to the experience of doing few films in Malayalam. Sampath was apt for the role and he scored in expressions and body language though it was a little bit loud. Sathyan made a small cameo and surprised as with a gay character. He's been improving from one film to another. Krishna and Divyadarshini played their parts appropriately and there's a cute cameo scene involving Sakthi and Anuja Iyer. The only character delivering good entertainment was Santhanam and as usual he was on top form, delivering sarcastic dialogues with brilliant timing and expressions, especially in his 'dream song'.

The film delivers average on technical front too. Vasugi Bhaskar and Santhiyasri dressed up the characters appropriately. Super Subbarayan's final stunt scene was normal, Ilaiyaraja's art direction was normal and G.K Prabakaran's editing was normal too. Gopi Jegadeeswaran did a decent job in the cinematography department especially in capturing the scenic locales of Seychelles in the "Oh My Angel" song. Vijay Anthony's delivery was average too with the "24 Mani Neram" song being the pick of the lot but the "Kolaikuthu" song was too loud and unwanted. Writer Ramakrishnan might had a decent story to tell but GNR Kumaravelan's screenplay was shoddy and boring. The proceedings in the film was not properly justified and the climax was abruptly done.

Yuvan Yuvathi was boring and Bharath should stop picking poor scripts, if he wants to survive in the heavily competitive Tamizh film industry.


Ratings: 1.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL