After the rather lukewarm 'Settai', R.Kannan, a former associate of Mani Ratnam is back with his own script and judging from the cast, he has given more importance to comedy, this time. 'Oru Oorula Rendu Raja' has the potential to be a safe bet, especially with D.Imman's music and a good cast, but can R.Kannan nail it after continuous flops ?
What's refreshing with this film is that the hero and heroine alone doesn't hog all the limelight. The script gives equal amount of space, time and importance to all three main leads, which are Vemal, Soori and Priya Anand. For Vemal and Soori, this script does not provide much challenge for their acting capabilities and both of them breezed through their roles. Vemal looks continually the same for most of his films and its Soori who actually shoulders the film, among the two "kings". His dialogue delivery and witty sense of humor, together with a good timing sense provides some laughter, though the comedy tracks are below average. Priya Anand is the refreshing element of the film, and she gets a meatier role than what conventional Tamizh heroines get to do. She's at her glam best thus far in the songs and looks sweet during the remaining. Nassar and Anupama Kumar were cast as the antagonists in which, the former was completely wasted and the latter was a total miscast. Thambi Ramaiah, Singamuthu, Narendhra Khatari, Bala Singh, E.Ramdas, Kalairani, Kamala Krishnasamy, Sasha and etc make up the rest of the cast, with a special appearance from Vishakha Singh, who did an important role.
Costume designing by Chaitanya Rao sufficed the needs of the script, especially when the bulk of the story is set in a single day. Particular importance was given to Priya Anand, who looked gorgeous in the songs. Action choreography by Silva, who also played a minor role in the film, was decent and was more situational, rather than purposeful. His choreography matched the physical attributes of Vemal and Soori. N.Subbu's art direction was neat and the set properties for all the live locations matched the scenario. The rundown godown featuring in the climax scene, was the best of his work. Suriya's editing was crisp and he made sure the film doesn't drag for more than 2 hours plus. Other than that, there's no gimmicks in the editing pattern of Suriya's. Cinematography by P.G Muthiah adds more color to the script and there's plenty of aerial shots, using the helicam, but the necessity of it is a different question. The picturization of songs were particularly good and pleasing to the eyes.
D.Imman adds strength to the film with his musical score. The songs are good and provides some entertainment to us. "Oru Oorula Rendu Raja" is the opening song shot on Vemal and Soori. It has the typical rural locations such as the village streets, paddy fields and etc and we get to see Soori doing some serious dancing for the first time ! "Odum Rayile" was picturized on Vemal and Priya Anand and was entirely shot in a railway station. It has a mixture of situational moments, as well as some dream sequence, but the entire song has the railway station and the train as the main setting. "Sundari Penne" is the best picturized song, which was shot on Priya Anand and Vishakha Singh. The rain soaked atmosphere reminds us of Mani Ratnam's heroine intro songs and Shreya Ghoshal's voice is just so wonderful to listen to ! "Kukkuru Kukkuru", a song sung by actress Lakshmi Menon was shot as a highway song and featured Iniya in a special appearance. The girl dances well and provides little bit of glamour effect of her own and is ably supported by Vemal and Soori. "Mazhakaathe" is a typical dream song shot on Vemal and Priya Anand, in picturesque hill stations. Priya Anand appears in glamorous costumes, probably for the first time in Tamizh films and she is definitely an eye-candy ! D.Imman's background score adds more depth to the emotional scenes and certainly lifts up many moments in the film.
R.Kannan handles the story, screenplay, dialogues and direction for 'Oru Oorula Rendu Raja' and he has taken up the issue of noise pollution and the malpractice acts of big manufacturers and how the laborers are victims of circumstances of such acts. The script has been given a road-movie like treatment with plenty of travelling and constant location changes. Though the film was promoted as a comedy film with some social messages in it, the humor quotient is low in substance and its pretty much lukewarm. And some of them are crude in taste, which is not so family & kid friendly ! Soori does make you smile, but those scenes are far and few in between, whereas the social messages were not smoothly infused into the screenplay. The post-climax scenes were jarring and looks forcefully thrust into the story, just to give the film an happy-ending. End of the day, this film is just a basic commercial fare and is primarily targeted at the B & C audiences.
'Oru Oorula Rendu Raja' - Two kings, one queen and the audience ends up as the Jokers !
Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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
Director Arivazhagan, who made name with the well-made thriller 'Eeram', is back after a hiatus with 'Vallinam'. Being in the making for about 3 years, this sports based flick has Nakulan aka Nakul making a comeback of sort. Produced by Aascar V.Ravichandran, can Arivazhagan deliver another well-packaged film and make a firm mark in Tamizh cinema ?
Nakulan takes it serious this time and has delivered an earnest performance. His enthusiasm and physical atheleticism fits the role of an amateur basketball player. The vigor and energy he posessed helped him to adapt quite naturally as a sportsman and its very much commendable of his effort to undertake basketball training as a preparation for the film. He has experimented with his dialogue delivery, which is more subtle and mellow compared to his earlier films, but its not convincing overall, especially in the climax. Nevertheless, its a very decent performance and hoping he delivers more. Debutante Mrudhula Basker carries herself comfortably as the heroine, though she has not much scope as a character in the film's overall plot. A standard performance, standardly dubbed by Savitha. Siddharth Jonnalagadda plays the antagonist and his body language and facial expressions fits the character well, and aptly voiced by Aravind Krishna but his character loses steam as the film progresses. Jagan provided the comic relief and his satirical comments and one-liners are fun to listen to. Jayaprakash scores in his brief but important character role with a gray shade but Atul Kulkarni's true potential was not utilized at all though his character carries some weight in importance to the story. The rest such as Amzad Khan, Anumapa Kumar, Chandru, Mathivanan Rajendran, Santhana Bharathi were adequate with good cameos from Krishna and Aadhi, as well as RJ Balaji.
Shanmugha Priya handles the costume designing and her works sufficed the need of the script, since its a college based script, which has not much of an extensive research and execution. Sibu Joseph J.V's editing pattern fits the style and story presentation of Arivazhagan's script, though many a few sequences could have been edited out to make it a little racier. Silva's action choreography was good, especially in the pre-climax fight scene as well as the much spoken about train sequence in the very early stages of the film. T.Suresh's production design must be commended, especially for the climax basketball court set, which really imbibed a basketball tournament feel to it. Also, the props used for interiors such as the swanky and posh heroine's home, or the boys hostel rooms were very apt and realistic. Bhaskaran K.M's cinematography is a real asset to the film. The basketball game theme provided a good platform for him to showcase his expertise in coming up with creative shots and angles. The credits should be shared with Arivazhagan who handled each basketball matches' game and action set pieces, alongside with specialist game choreographer, Mime Gopi. Besides the games', Bhaskaran K.M's color tone and the light hue approach for some scenes, are eye-pleasing. But he could have avoided the overusage of shadows, particularly in the beginning sequences.
S.S Thaman's previous collaboration with Arivazhagan in 'Eeram' was splendid and it looks like Thaman has found a partner who extracts the best from him. 'Vallinam' has very good scores and background music as well, which fits the mood and nature of the script and proves to be very effective in conveying the director's vision. "Maaman Macha" is a typical college-buddy song, with plenty of montages and dance scenes interspersed in betweem. Bhaskaran K.M's cinematography in this particular song was good, especially with the light tone. The pick of the lot "Uyiril Uyir" is a letdown, in terms of picturization. The song had montages of the hero finding himself falling for the heroine, as well as dance sequences against a cowboy and hip-hop theme bacgrounds. "Nakula" is a romantic number shot on the lead pair, on the beaches, during the high-tide moments. "Vallinam" is a situational song, highlighting the progress of the hero's basketball team in the tournament, which had good lighting for the basketball matches. "Uyiril (Reprise)" is a bit-song showing the separation of the lead pair and had good framing from the director and cinematographer. Thaman's background score works very well for the film, especially with a special 'Vallinam' theme track which plays during the opening credits scene.
Arivazhagan has chosen basketball as a tool to highlight the actual theme of his script, which is the discrimination and marginalization of sports in the society and the over-trumpeting of cricket. Its interesting to note that the director has chosen cricket as an 'antagonist' for his film. Arivazhagan's subtle story presentation and sharp dialogues, goes hand in hand, pretty well and proves to be his forte and USP. But the film has its own shares of flaws. There's no depth in the writing, where more intensity could have really revved up the proceedings of the screenplay. The romance and friendship portions are shallow in terms of writing, and the dramas fail to make a serious mark. The detailing in narration is missing, which is essential for these sort of story presentation, which has a slow and steady pace screenplay. A more organic development could have helped the film to achieve better output and its annoying to notice Arivazhagan's attempt in adhering to standard Tamizh cinema "masala" commercialization. But Arivazhagan should be appreciated for showing the basketball game as a proper game and his artistes as proper basketball players. The authenticity and detailing in those aspects are applaudable. Also, one can note that Arivazhagan has a a good sense of setting up frames, which shows his distinct touch of quality. In conclusion, Arivazhagan deserves kudos for choosing a sports-based theme for his script and highlighting the plight and discrimination of other sports in the state, but its definitely not on par with his 'Eeram'.
'Vallinam' - A not-so hard consonant ! Expected more.
Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
The creator of the now cult-classic, path-breaking, trend-setting 'Subramaniapuram' M.Sasikumar plays "the creator" in Bramman, in a metaphorical sense. M.Sasikumar, who is on a stroll of acting and producing, has done a film for an outside production, this time under the baton of debutante Socrates, a former associate of Kamal Haasan. The trailer and promotions very evidently showcased this film as on out-and-out commercial entertainer. How entertaining was this 'Bramman' ?
Sasikumar, who is synonymous with rural-based films, goes for a changeover here with a city-based lead character. He has tried to adapt himself into the quintessential Tamizh cinema male leads, by wearing designer clothes, executing over-the-top action sequences and of course romancing his heroine in beautiful foreign locations. Basically, there's nothing to talk about in regards to his performance. The same can be applied to Lavanya Tripathi, a former Miss Uttarakhand who has done two Telugu films and making her bow in Tamizh. She's comfortable in her role, but she's not convincing with her acting performance and basically appears for the sake of having a heroine for songs and romance portions. Santhanam provides the laughter in the first half, and though his one-liners are good, they do not invoke much laughter. Soori takes the helm in the second half, and as usual delivers what is expected. Naveen Chandra has an important role, but lacks the screen presence to solidify his position in the film. The rest of the cast such as Malavika Menon, Lateef Omar, Jayaprakash, Vanitha Krishnachandran, Chams, Prof.Gnanasambandhan, Surekha, Ajay Rathnam and etc sufficed the needs of the script, whereas there were cameo roles done by Jai, Vaibhav and Madhu Shalini.
Sathya N.J's costume work was spot on, especially for M.Sasikumar, who goes for a changeover here. The modern outfits looks apt for him and so does the Lavanya Tripathi, who looked chic. Silva's action choreography was average and a little over-the-top, though the intention of choreographing it in such a manner, can only be known to him and the director. R.K Umesh has handle the art direction and his works sufficed the needs of the script. The props used for the old, dilapidated theaters and the celebratory-like atmosphere all had believability factors. Nice work ! Raja Mohammed's editing was neat and crisp, though the first half could have been better-handled, especially when it is loaded with plenty of unwanted scenes. Cinematography has been handled by Jomon T.John and Faizal Ali, with additional photography by Satish Kurup. The framing, lighting and angles, all had an average-stamp throughout the film. A pedestrian outcome, in short.
Devi Sri Prasad's tunes has his mark all over, and its pretty average, this time too. "Voda Voda" is a situational song, used as a background score during the opening first few scenes. It had a small cycle chase and some light action choreography work done by Silva. "Vaanathil" has M.Sasikumar doing the dance number, aided by back-up dancers, after experiencing love for the very first time. The song had plenty of props, resembling a typical city street-setup, which had realistic work done by R.K Umesh. "Un Kannai Penne" is the first shot on the lead pair, in foreign locations. The Swiss Alps, becomes the backdrop yet again, with greeny pastures and snowy mountains as the main landscapes. The best tune from the lot is, "En Uyirin Uyiraaga" which was shot in Venice, Italy on the lead pair. The song mostly covered the city landscape, with the backing of a couple of dancers. "Vaada Vaada" had Padmapriya doing an item number, and though its a welcome to see her doing glamorous dance sequences, the song was poorly shot, with dull picturization. Background score by Devi Sri Prasad, is passable.
The most alarming aspect of Socrates' handling of the screenplay, is the non-present element of any serious issue or focal point, in bringing forward the story. Each issue which we encounter seems to peter out in the following scenes, and we had to wait till the entry of Naveen Chandra, to actually have any sort of attention on the story. The first half is just aimless and clueless, with comedy and romance sequences being belted out, alongside unnecessary speed-breakers, in the form of songs. The second half has a decent output, especially when Socrates highlights the lesser-talked about issues in Tamizh cinema and its film productions. The characterizations are weak, very weak in fact and no one has any sort of strong impact with their screen presence, except for Jayaprakash. What's very obvious with film is that, the commercial elements are simply thrust into the film, for the sake of having them, instead of incorporating them into the script, organically. End of the day, we can realize that Socrates had an interesting idea, which could have been developed into a nice commercial film, but the screenplay goes haywire and the direction is equally poor.
'Bramman' - What happened to the creator of 'Subramaniapuram' ?
Ratings: 2/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay coming back to do his 6th film for 'Super Good Films' is quite a news, because it was this production house which produced most of his selected, few hits at the beginning stages of his career. Throw in one of the finest actors India ever produced, Mohanlal into the frame and the the expectations just ballooned sky-high. R.T Neason's 'Jilla' made all the noises for its commercial entertainment value. Did the director justify the presence of two larger-than-life heroes ?
As for Vijay, there's literally nothing new, when it comes to differentiating 'Jilla' from his previous flicks. He has firmly cemented himself in his comfort zone, and he had a gala time enacting the lead role of this film. Dance, comic timing, punch-dialogues, action sequence performance, a couple of sentimental scenes and that's about it. The man's definitely going to pull it off with aplomb, when he is doing it for the umpteenth time. Mohanlal comes out with a very dignified performance, befitting his age and repertoire. Even his facial muscles, can pull of the toughest of scenes ! A true legend, but sadly this movie does nothing much to accentuate that statement. Kajal Aggarwal looked pretty. Sufficed the need of the script. Soori dons the role of the main comedian for the first time in a big-hero flick and he comes out clean, though there's nothing much of scope for him. A battalion of character artistes are there in the film such as Mahat Raghavendra, Niveda Thomas, Sampath Raj, Pradeep Rawat, R.K, Thambi Ramaiah, 'Black' Pandi, Ravi Mariya, Poornima Bhagyaraj, Gautam Kurup, Vidyullekha Raman, Madhumitha, Jayabalan and etc, where most of them have been thrust with inconsequential roles and making a presence, for no apparent reasons.
Komal Shahani and S.Rajendran have done neat work with their costume designing, especially for Vijay and Mohanlal. Could have been better for Kajal's, though. The stunt department of the film, must have worked over-time, plenty of times for this film, with so many action blocks ! Silva's action choreography was very apt for Vijay's body language and one can say Silva had a big role in further elevating Vijay's heroism aspect. The first, the one in the middle (right before interval) and the climax fight sequences, were the best among the lot. Rajeevan's production design was rich and its quite obvious that no expense was spared, in terms of production, with so many props and set-work, especially for the songs. Editor Don Max, must have gone on snooze mode while editing, because the nearly 3 hour duration, has no single justification at all ! To be frank, the first one hour was just a total waste of time (and Money !). Ganesh Rajavelu's cinematography complemented the need of the script. Kudos for him for presenting Vijay and Mohanlal, in the right angles and frames, which gives their characters, the larger-than-life look and feel. Action sequences, are the highlights of Ganesh's work.
D.Imman continues his fine form, with some nice tracks in the film. The "Jilla Theme" track is present throughout the film, in important scenes. "Paattu Onnu" is the opening song which featured both Vijay and Mohanlal together, in a grand village festival kind of atmosphere, which was looked rich and mass ! The bonhomie shared between the two male leads, was cute. "Verasa Pogayile" was shot on a purpose-built set of streets, with colorful Tamil Nadu traditional folk dancers and their respective, elaborate costumes. The entire song was shot in a slow-motion effect, in tune with the song's feel. "Jingunamani" is an item song, which featured Scarlett Mellish Wilson in a special appearance. The set work by Rajeevan imbibed the mood of the song well, and Ganesh's lighting is a highlight. The pick of the lot from the album, "Kandaangi" sung by Shreya Goshal and Vijay himself, was shot on the lead pair, in the cool climates of Osaka and Kobe. The beautiful temple backdrop and colorful landscape is a treat for fans of such visuals. "Yeppa Mama" is the last song, which is atypical of commercial films, with back-up dancers, colorful sets and crazy dance movements. D.Imman is slowly becoming an acute composer, when it comes to background scoring, and he has proved his mettle with 'Jilla' as well.
R.T Neason, who previously directed the low-budget 2007 film 'Muruga', has the sole intention of making a mass, 'masala' film with two high-profile male actors. There's clearly no intention of writing a decent and engaging screenplay (apart from the climax), proper characterizations for the artistes, continuity and logic sense in the script. The writing is just simply farcical, and he has placed his bet only on Vijay & Mohanlal's pairing, coupled with some twists in the story-line. But apart from that, 'Jilla' is just a over-the-top film and its certainly a few steps backwards, when it comes to improving Tamizh cinema's quality. Most of the comedy sequences fell flat, completely and looks silly to the core ! The sole purpose of projecting Vijay as a mass, action star was the only thing R.T Neason has and could achieve with such a below-average script.
'Jilla' - Watch it if you don't mind adjusting your sensibilities and tastes for good cinema. The rating below is purely for the R.B Choudhary's production values and for the combo of Vijay & Mohanlal.
Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Its the season of Thai Pongal and what better way is there to unwind the festival day, other than watching the brand new film releases ? And kick-starting 2014 with a bang is Ajith Kumar, in the elegant shirt-dhoti combo, living up to the spirits of Pongal ! After a string of urbane roles, Ajith Kumar has reverted to the traditional, rural look (remember 'Attagasam' ?) and teamed up with Siva of 'Siruthai' fame. Can "Thala" start the year with a bang and a back-to-back hit-ratio ?
As the main lead, Ajith Kumar helms the entire film on his shoulder and the film would not have sustained even a single bit, without his sheer presence. The man is majestic and charming, suave yet rural and as always it has been, performs all the action sequences by himself ! His mild changeover in the second half, in terms of facial hair, suits him still and he carried the role with aplomb. "Thala" had a field-day with this project and he has flexed his acting and fighting muscles, in every sense. And the train fight sequence ? Bravo to this gutsy hero ! Tamannaah, is there and that's about it. DOT ! The next person to take the cake is definitely Santhanam, with his wacky one-liners in the first half, who is in sizzling form whereas Thambi Ramaiah takes up the second half, and makes a buffoon out of himself. A National Award and still willing to take up such ludicrous roles ? Time for assessment ! Bala and Vidharth has the meatier roles among the band of younger brothers and they did what they are allowed to do by the character. Suhail Chandok and Munish are the remaining ones. As for the protagonist, Atul Kulkarni did what he was told and Pradeep Rawat was made to look like a fool, in the end. So much so for being a villain ! There is a huge group of peripheral character artistes in the film such as Nassar, Ramesh Khanna, Avinash, Appukutty, Abinaya, Suza Kumar, Mayilsamy, Vidyullekha Raman, Devadarshini, Ilavarasu, 'Crane' Manohar, Sujatha, R.N.R Manohar, Kalairani, Manochitra, Pawan and etc, who were simply there in the frame for no reasons. Waste of budget !
T.Rajan's costumes were okay, the characters looked their parts, just like what a commercial film, would demand. Milan has done a very detailed and labouring work in the production design department. The were just plenty of set work and numerous set properties, which gave the film a resplendently, rural look. Most of the film was done on artificial sets, and Milan and his team must have been on-the-run, all the time. A very well designed production, indeed ! Mu.Kasi Vishwanathan, could have done more trimming because the second half was just simply lagging in pace, but the stunt sequences were very well presented. Silva, K.Ganesh, Pammal Ravi and Vicky have handled the action choreography, and they sure did have a gallery of time, composing the shots ! Silva handled the train fight sequence, which had very dangerous moves, especially with Ajith hanging in the balance from the train, with 300 feet of depth below him. K.Ganesh handled the climax fight sequence, which was a little over-the-top. And the same applies to the works of the other two. Demands from director ? Perhaps, so. Vetri must have studied Ajith Kumar's body language a lot, and its pretty obvious that he has projected "Thala" in a very manly manner ! The rain shots are the best shot sequences of the film !
Devi Sri Prasad aka DSP, or whatsoever has tuned way, below-average compositions for the film ! None of the songs were really catchy nor did they linger in our minds. "Nallavanu Solvaanga" is the introductory song of Ajith and his band of brothers. There are plenty of montages in the song, with some action sequences as well. The set work by Milan, was of top-notch quality, though. The market set-up had all the little, intricate details needed to bring out the authentic look. "Thangame" and "Ival Dhana" were shot in the picturesque Switzerland (where else can they go !). The former had the usual foreign back-up dancers, and was shot in the city landscape. Whereas the latter had the best shots, with beautiful images of snowy mountains, lush & green landscape and etc. "Jingu Chikkan" is the customary temple festival song, with most of the character artistes, being involved. Once again, neat work Milan ! The pick of the lot among the songs, will definitely be the "Ratha Gaja" theme track, which was played out during the high-octane action sequences. Suits "Thala" to a T ! The background score was passable. Complement's the script.
The story was developed by Siva and Bhupathi Raja, and its pretty obvious that their reference were the corny village movies of the late 80's and 90's. A very, very, very old wine in a not-so-new, bottle ! Siva has teamed up with Bharathan for the dialogues, and some of them packs some punches, especially when delivered flawlessly by "Thala" himself. Tailor-made dialogues, aren't they ? Siva has single-handedly managed the screenplay and direction department. The first element was just a mess, second half, especially. Direction ? He nailed it. How difficult can it be to simply direct a film, which can be easily slotted into the films belonging to previous decades ? Its pretty obvious that some elements of the script has been simply thrust, just for the sake of a grandiose effect, and to extract the "larger-than-life" star power of Ajith Kumar. One must switch of their brains and leave the logical thinking at work, if you are to watch flicks, such as these. Siva should be appreciated for smartly incorporating Santhanam into nearly all the scenes of the first half, because if it wasn't for him, the screenplay would have been absurdness played for the entire duration ! Siva has certainly brought Tamizh cinema backwards by a few steps with 'Veeram'.
'Veeram' - The rating below is purely for the "Thala" Ajith Kumar factor, alone. Santhanam can take some credits, too.
Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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
'Ponmaalai Pozhudhu' has been in the making for quite sometime. Featuring the debuting Aadhav Kannadhasan, the grandson of the legendary lyricist/writer Kannadhasan, A.C Durai makes his debut as well as a director in this flick. Love seems to be the primary theme here, though the powerful performer, Kishore's participation gives some hope for us, for a different angle as well. How did this flick fare ?
Aadhav Kannadhasan fits the role of the protagonist of this film. He is confident in front of screen and has a good sense of dialogue delivery methods. He seems to be in comfort zone, even with heavy-duty emotional scenes, with tight close-ups, but nevertheless the young lad has plenty of things to look upon and to contemplate improving. Gayathri, looks very realistic and natural as the young and chirpy lass. A perfect lead pair for this particular subject ! Kishore, in his limited role was a scene stealer, with very nuanced and composed performance. His expression and usage of his eyes and body language to bring out the feel and mood of his character, was just a cut above the rest in the cast. Anupama Kumar, had a cool act as Kishore's wife in the film. She just breezes into her role and its about time for Tamizh cinema, to fully utilize her talents. Aruldass, scores in his realistic portrayal as the rude and suspecting father of the heroine while Sri Ranjani was apt for her less-impressively written role.
Sarala Vijayakumar has worked well in the costume designing, as the characters looked their part, pertaining to their backgrounds and social demography. Silva's stunt choreography was in tune with the need of the script and what the characters can demand. Sanjey Karan's production design was simple and functional. The props for the middle-class homes setting was well done, though the up-market posh bungalow could have been dealt better. Ramsudharsan's editing was sufficed the need of the script, as the length of the film was crisp, though the transition from one sequence to another was jerky. Rajavel Olhiveeran's cinematography was average.
C.Sathya's musical score was neat and sounds pleasant. "Vaarkodhume" was the opening number, which was shot on the hero and his bunch of friends partying in an up-market bungalow. The club setting worked out well for the song, though the detailing could have been better. Rajavel's roving camera movements over the glamorous dancers, were apparent. "Masala Chicks" has few cut-shots and was picturized on the lead pair and dancers, with few backdrops such as the school compound, shopping complexes and the outdoors. "Nee Indri" is a situational song and had montages of the lead pair, picturized going through a separation. "Adikkadi" is the pick of the lot among the songs. Shot on the lead pair, who looked good, the song was picturized in Calcutta, with some of its landmarks utilized. "Iravugalil" also had montages interspersed with song picturization using famous landmarks as backdrop-sets. The background score of the film, was disappointing, as it is too loud and uninspiring.
A.C Durai, handles the universal theme of love for this flick, and his focus of attention is the juvenile gang. The 'puppy love' theme is something which has been handled by some legendary directors, to upcoming newbies, so there's nothing novel about it. What matters is the treatment and execution, which A.C Durai falters. The direction and writing falls completely flat. The minute saving grace would be Kishore's episodes and sequences, where some good lines and points are made. But other than that, the making is very insipid and sort of amateurish, though that might be complementary for the theme. A.C Durai wanders between the love-episodes and the father-son duo relationship and the film suffers, due to this needless wandering between themes. The faulty making does not commensurate with the good intentions of highlighting a sound social message, relevant to parents and teenagers, as well.
'Ponmaalai Pozhudhu' - Insipid and amateurish.
Ratings: 1.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
The coming together of the two Vijays of Tamizh cinema, 'Ilayathalapathy' Vijay and director A.L Vijay, has piqued the interests of Tamizh cinema followers. The intriguing combination, brings two, distinctively different people of styles and cinema, into a single film. The former, for his 'mass' masala entertainer, whereas the latter for his sensitive and slow-moving style of film-making. With a good production crew and a big star cast and top-class technicians, did 'Thalaivaa' really strike a fine balancing-act, en-route to winning the prospective thumbs-up from the general audience?
Its a waste of time, writing and eulogizing the dancing and comedy prowess of Vijay as a star. He has done it plenty of times in his 20 years of cinematic life as a leading hero. Its the actor and performer in him which we would really want to watch on the silver screen and in 'Thalaivaa', our wishes are granted, in commensurate proportions, in terms of space and scope. The first half is the usual act of the charming, lovable and sweet-natured persona, with the perfect comic-timing, smooth dance movements, and cute romantic approaches. The second half is a total transformation all-together, where its dark, gritty and has a serious undertaking in his acting approach. It is quiet refreshing to see him enact a role, which was a fairly well-written one. Though we have seen him in roles which oozes authoritarianism and style, plenty of times, in 'Thalaivaa' he strikes a fine-balancing of doing a fair bit of acting, yet at the same time pull of his distinctive style and entertainer act, with panache. His action and dancing sequences were neatly done, as well. Kudos to A.L Vijay for presenting a refreshing and energized Vijay to us !
Veteran, Sathyaraj was brilliant in his short screen-time. His powerful, yet pensive mood suits him very aptly, and for an actor of his stature, it would have been a piece of cake ! Amala Paul pulls of a decent job with her limited role and enhanced the credibility of the character's natural persona by dubbing in her own voice, fluently. Santhanam, as usual pulls of his witty one-liners, with the perfect timing and evokes laughter from us. Its amazing to see this guy pull it off in each and every film he is involved ! The antagonist, Abhimanyu Singh should have done better in his role as his portrayal lacks the intensity, the character demanded. A powerful star cast in Rajiv Pillai, Ragini Nandwani, Nassar, Udhay, Ponvannan, Y.Gee Mahendran, Suresh, Manobala, Subbu Panchu, Kishore, Ravi Prakash and guest roles from Rekha and Sam Anderson, gives the film a solid base, in terms of performances. Good casting from A.L Vijay !
Deepali Noor and Pallavi Singh's costume designing was in sync with the mood change-overs of the film. The lead pair looked very presentable and charming in their stylish costumes, and extra brownie points for the special change-over for Vijay in the second half. 'Stunt' Silva's action choreography was very believable and stylishly done, especially the night fight sequence. Very realistically and subtly handled by Silva. R.K Naguraj's production design, gave the film a very rich and clean look. His props and set work for the second half as well as the cool interiors for the first half, based in Australia was artistically handled and followed a particular color-tone in the change-overs. Anthony's editing is flawless, though the length of the film is rather questionable. The major strength of the film besides the casting is the cinematography and Nirav Shah proves his a wizard once again. Nirav has captured the beauty of Sydney and also the raw and rustic nature of the other side of Mumbai, perfectly ! His color-tones usage for the respective halves in the film, blends well with the mood of the screenplay. His top-angle and tight close-up techniques were well used. Another top-notch work from Nirav !
G.V Prakash usually reserves some of his best for A.L Vijay and he continues it here as well. There is a bit song like a hum, which goes "Thaalealo" in some important sequences in the film. "Tamizh Pasanga" was shot in Sydney and is a good platform for Vijay to prove his good dancing skills. The set-up was well done for the song, and Sydney's mild weather and clean rive-side environment were well used, as well as able aid from the group dancers. "Sol Sol" was only used as a short bit-song when Vijay casts his eyes on Amala Paul for the first time. "Yaar Indha Saalai" is a sweet song shot in montages, with the splendor and beauty of Sydney in the evening, captured very aesthetically by Nirav. The song has some additional great lines from Santhanam mixed together with the montages. "The Ecstasy of Dance" was the best picturized track in the film. The mellow lighting and the warehouse set, blends surreally with the tune and kudos to Amala Paul for keeping in pace with Vijay for this short soundtrack, with her dance movements. "Thalapathy" is a sort of coming-age song, eulogizing the heroism and savior-nature of the hero, and has good props and detailing and few scenes thrown into the song duration to spice up mood. "Vaangana" is a cute, dance number and was colorfully set-up by R.K Naguraj, with intricate props . G.V Prakash also features in a surprising cameo role in this song. The background score is better in the second half, and G.V Prakash is showing marked improvements from film to film.
A.L Vijay, as mentioned earlier, is someone who churns slow and melodramatic films, with some sort of astuteness. He has experimented this time by imbibing his style into an action story, atypical of Vijay's choice. The experiment is unique and interesting but the doesn't keep us glued to our seats as the film languorously takes it's time to unravel. The first half, though light-hearted, does not serve any strong pertinence to the overall script and theme line of the story. But some shocking turn of events in the late first-half suddenly jolts us out of slumber and again catches our attention for a while. There is nothing new or daringly creative in terms of storyline and script as A.L Vijay has been heavily inspired from particular films done by Mani Ratnam and Ram Gopal Varma, and has also rehashed some of Vijay's earlier films' story-lines ! But what might work for some section of audience, is the treatment and presentation of A.L Vijay, who handles his characters and scrip quite well. His directorial skills is of no question. Only the ability of in-depth and strong script-writing which is a cause of concern. Dialogues are particularly "old-fashioned" and the climax is not so engaging, though it has been well executed and shot by Nirav.
'Thalaivaa' - A decent watch with very less logic-defying "masala" elements, though it is an average commercial entertainer. A fairly higher rating, just for the production values.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
After a year's absence, Radha Mohan makes his return with a bilingual, which has been produced by none other than his best buddy, Prakash Raj. The director is known for his sensitive and clean scripts such as 'Azhagiya Theeye' and 'Mozhi'. This time though, he has chosen a rather controversial but topical theme of honor killing, as his base, for his story. Working with debutantes, can Radha Mohan deliver another winner, without any hitches ?
Allu Sirish, the younger brother of Telugu star Allu Arjun, makes his debut as a hero, through 'Gouravam'. Though its not fair enough to compare him with his more illustrious older brother, Allu Sirish, is miles behind from being recognized as an actor ! He tries earnestly to perform, but sadly his expressions, body language and dance & stunt performances were contrived, rather than natural. He looks too stiff and rigid and the sense of awareness of the camera, is clearly visible for the audience. Yami Gautham, who made a splash in Bollywood with 'Vicky Donor' makes her debut in Tamizh. She looks good and performs neatly, but she does look out of place and is a miscast, sort of. Also, her role was pretty weak and was way too stereotypical. Elango Kumaravael and Sricharan were the better of the supporting casts and there's a big group of artistes, including seasoned-veterans and newcomers such as Prakash Raj, Nassar (who was completely wasted), L.B Sriram, Harish, Anupama Kumar, Brahmaji, Lakshmi Priya Chandramouli, Swaminathan, Muthukaalai, Pavithraa Lokesh and etc, who were adequate. But kudos to the acting crew, for getting their lip-sync spot on, especially by the lead pair, who's dubbing was taken care off by Vasu and Mahalakshmi.
The technical crew has put in an average work, into the film. S.S Vasu's costume designing was spot on, especially for differentiating the various classes of castes in a village and also for the pretty dresses of Yami Gautham. Silva's stunt choreography was just nice, especially the one done in an orchard. K.Kadhirr's art direction was simple but neat, especially the tightly erected village houses, and the aftermath of a riot set-up in the village. The interiors of the houses, were well done, in detailing. I.J Alen's editing was not bad, though he could have spotted some obvious mistakes in the film, and trim them out of the narrative. Preetha's cinematography was quite ordinary, but appreciation for her work on the stunt sequence, shot in an orchard.
S.S Thaman's musical score, goes along with the script, and complements the story and style of presentation of the film. "Oru Graamam" is a situational song, used twice in the film, which has montages of flashbacks, presented in quick-cuts. "Mannadhachu Panthu" is a well written song by Madhan Karky, which was shot on dancers and the lead characters, with the backdrops of villages, hill-top, lakeside and etc. "Ondraai Ondraai" is an 'youth-anthem' sort of, with the dancers and extras, along with the lead artistes, dressed in denims and khakis. The locations were mostly within the village surroundings, with barren lands, and plantations, as well as quarry locations. "Maname Maname" song was only used as a background score in the film. As the same with the song, Thaman's background score too, was complementing the script, quite well.
Radha Mohan, who is aided by his close associate Viji, in the dialogues department, is known for his cute and charming story narration and sequences, interwoven into the script. 'Gouravam', is an antithesis of that elements though, where the film is just full of melodrama and outdated scenarios. Viji sparkles intermittently, especially for the humor-laced dialogues which were cheeky, but sadly the rest of them is too mundane and boring. There's no freshness in the presentation, with plenty of outdated shot compositions, being implemented ! There were unwarranted lecturing and explanations, throughout the film, which makes the proceeding to bore, for the audience. The story development was very cliched as well, and its appalling to notice Radha Mohan's film to have many silly mistakes and loop-holes littered, here and there. The film moves in a very casual-pace and only picks up some kind of momentum, late in the second half.
'Gouravam' is a decent film, with low engagement factors ! It is certainly nowhere near the league of 'Mozhi'.
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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
