One of the most eagerly expected movies of the year, 'Kaaviyathalaivan' brings G.Vasanta Balan back to the forefront after the average 'Aravaan' released in 2012. A period film, based in the 1930's and depicting the golden age of Madurai's theater companies and its artistes' lifestyle, is certainly a fantastic premise and supposedly a treat for connoisseurs of Tamizh cinema. Produced by industrialist Varun Manian and YNot Studios' S.Sashikanth, can G.Vasanta Balan strike gold, with the backing of A-list performers and technicians ?
The film certainly belongs to the two male leads and both Siddharth and Prithviraj Sukumaran compete fiercely with each other to deliver good performances. The film is seen from Prithviraj's point of view and being the antagonist himself Prithviraj, making a comeback to Tamizh cinema after 4-year absence, has delivered a very professional performance and his expressions were top-notch. The "tamasic" nature of his character was very well brought out by him. The only drawback one could find with his performance, is his dialogue deliveries, which are laced with Malayalam-accent, which is surely a no-no for this type of film. Siddharth however steals the show, with arguably one of his best performances of his career. His body language, facial expression, eye-movements were terrific and his earnestness is so apparent on screen. Both male leads rocked the stage show sequences and kudos to them once again ! Vedhicka looked like a million bucks and has performed well, in a character with limited screen timing. Her dancing talents were put to good use and hope to see this beautiful damsel, doing more good roles in Tamizh cinema. Anaika Soti makes her Tamizh debut and is okay, though she clearly doesn't fit into the script. Veteran Nassar was majestic as Sivadass Swamigal and the ace performer delivered a near flawless performance. Thambi Ramaiah and Singampuli provide the comic relief and the rest of the cast includes Babu Antony, Mansoor Ali Khan, Ponvannan, Kuyili, Karikalan, V.K.T Balan, George, T.P Gajendran, Anjali Devi, Gayathri, Ponnammah and etc.
With a big budget and top-class technicians, 'Kaaviyathalaivan' has fantastic technical outputs and is a treat for the audience. Perumal Selvam and Niranjani Agathiyan are in charge of the costume designing and kudos for their homework on the attires of the artistes, which resembled the drama troupe folks of 1930s. Also, the detailing in costume designing for the stage show sequences, deserves mention for the designers. Very good work ! Action choreography is by B.Thyagarajan and his work fits the script's nature and is effective. T.Santhanam takes care of the art direction and he deserves a round of applause for the set work he created for the entire film. The sets for stage plays, the drama troupe's home, the palace bedroom and various other sets, as well as the properties pertaining to those period, were all rich and intricate in details. T.Santhanam's art work adds plenty of color to the film and becomes the basis for the film's screenplay. Fantastic output ! Praveen K.L's editing was clean and he keeps the tempo of the film stable throughout, but the length of the film is an issue. But the way he edited the stage play sequences, deserves a special mention. The film wouldn't have attracted attention, if not for Nirav Shah's cinematography. A splendid work of art from Nirav Shah ! He brings out the right look and feel of that era, with apt lighting and color tone. The stage play sequences, especially the "Mahabharatham" episode was a brilliant piece of work by Nirav Shah.
Music by Academy Award-winner, A.R Rahman was classy and mesmerizing but they sound very contemporary in composition. And the style adapted in instrumentation, reflected more of M.S Vishwanathan's era, rather than the 1930's & 1940's era of Thyagaraja Bhagavathar and P.U Chinnappa. The opening "Vaanga Makka Vaanga" is one of the best of the lot and was shot on the male leads and their drama troupe. The song has many shots of various stage plays and some scenic locales of the Karaikudi and the surrounding Chettinadu area, becomes the backdrop of the song. The extended "Alli Arjuna" song appears in bits and pieces and is a stage act, plucked from the 'Mahabharatham' episodes. "Thirrupugazh" sung by the legendary Vani Jeyaram, is the introductory song of Vedhicka and was shot on her, performing intricate dance movements, with style and elan. "Sandi Kuthirai" was shot on Siddharth and Anaika Soti and is a complete dance number, which was shot like a stage act. Siddharth's character was portrayed teasing Anaika Soti, with the help of Singampuli. "Sollividu" is a another melodramatic song, shot on the two male leads, enacting the epic 'Karnan' episode from "Mahabharatham". The cinematorgraphy and the rich detailing in art work for this song deserves special mention ! "Aye, Mr.Minor" was shot on Siddharth and Anaika Soti and it acts like a night rendezvous between the love-struck couple. The art work, depicting a Madurai palace bedroom and the courtyard scene was very beautifully shot and lighted by Nirav Shah. "Yaarumilla" is a dream song shot on Siddharth and Vedhicka, interspersed with some montages of scenes between the lead artistes. The oil lamp-lit sequence, which was completely shot indoors, was very romantic and Vedhicka looked absolutely gorgeous in her saree. A.R Rahman's background score had plenty of styles and shades to it, and supplemented the screenplay very well. The background score added more tension wherever the screenplay necessitates, and elevates the mood of the scenes.
G.Vasanta Balan has scripted this story and its screenplay based on the autobiography, "Enadhu Naadaga Vaazhkai", written by Avvai Shanmughan, which was last printed in 1972. Also, the life and times of Sankaradas Swamigal, who was one of the founding fathers of Tamizh Theatre movement in the early 20th century, was an inspiration for this film. In fact, Nassar's character is an ode to Sankaradas Swamigal. The film's premise is a magical one and the scope is there for a rock-solid drama film, but 'Kaaviyathalaivan' becomes overtly melodramatic, in many places and has not much depth in its script. The film's basic core is the enmity between Prithviraj and Siddharth, where the former feel overshadowed by the latter, whereas the latter considers the former as his dear brother. The script leaves us with many unanswered questions and there's no organic development in the screenplay. Everything happens just for the sake of story-telling and no explanation is given. For instance, the film takes a turn from relationship issues into a patriotic theme but why such an event happens, is not properly explained. Siddharth's patriotism feel comes out of nowhere and we are expected to just accept things as it is. Writer Jeyamohan handles the dialogue writing, and though the ace writer's dialogues sufficed the needs of the script, the more colloquial-style doesn't really fit the era the film depicts. Was it a conscious decision by G.Vasanta Balan, is a question only he can answer. Films with such themes, should have very strong characterizations, but most of the artistes in 'Kaaviyathalaivan' merely scratched the surface of their characters, rather than delve into them. The film becomes predictable after a stage but nevertheless, it is a wonderful attempt from the makers, to deliver a good film for the Tamizh audience.
'Kaaviyathalaivan' - No where near being an epic, but a very good attempt indeed !
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
After the unexpected disastrous result of 'Anjaan', UTV Motion Pictures has immediately released their next South Indian offering and its Vikram Prabhu's 'Sigaram Thodu'. Directed by Gaurav Narayanan, who previously did 'Thoonga Nagaram', it is a crucial film for all the key stakeholders. A film touted to be based on real-life incidents of ATM robberies and credit/debit card scams, will 'Sigaram Thodu' make it big ?
After the moderate 'Arima Nambi', Vikram Prabhu has nailed another suitable script for him. He has done justice to his role, which has its fair share of boisterous nature together with subtle emotions. His physique lends credence to his role. Also, his dancing skills has improved by some good measure and he is convincing in the action sequences. Nothing memorable but a clean and neat performance from him. Veteran Sathyaraj shows his class and experience in his acting, which suits him well. His role is pivotal since he is the driving force behind the protagonist and the realistic portrayal of his character adds little substance to the film. Debutante Monal Gajjar looks pretty and natural in front of the camera, but there's nothing much else to discuss about her. Gaurav himself plays the main antagonist and the character suits him well and he carried off his role well. Sathish's comedic timing was on the dot as usual and evokes some laughter but the relevance of his character is another question. Others in the cast are 'Erode' Mahesh, Singampuli, Kovai Sarala, Vijay Raj, Charan Deep, Paandu, Krishnamoorthy, Kamalakrishnan, Swaminathan, Manohar and etc, and we also have a cameo appearance from K.S Ravikumar, whom happens to be the mentor of Gaurav.
Costume designing by Niranjani Agathiyan sufficed the needs of the script, and the characters' urban looks were, well achieved. Videsh is in charge of art direction and his work gave the film, a perfect look for the script. The police station, bank premises, office interiors and etc have been well put up and justified the moderate budget provided by the producers. Dhilip Subbarayan and 'Billa' Jagan have taken responsibility for action choreography and kudos to the duo for composing realistic action sequences. The one-to-one fight situations have been done in keeping reality in mind and the choreography is based on proper martial arts moves. Simple, but it was powerful and effective ! Editing by Praveen K.L, especially in the second half keeps the proceedings racy and intact but the first half was just a waste of time, with unwarranted romance & comedy sequences, as well as songs. The investigation portions are the highlights of Praveen K.L's editing work. Cinematograhy by Vijay Ulaganath is a little quirky with plenty of gimmicks in camera angles and movement. Some camera movements were a little unusual but it shows the creative spark of Vijay Ulaganath. Besides that, the beautiful sceneries of the far northern regions of Haridwar, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, Yamunotri, Rudrapur, Gangotri and etc were well captured and is pleasing on the eyes.
D.Imman delivers some neat compositions but they were not as catchy as some of his previous works. Nevertheless, some might still fancy a number or two in 'Sigaram Thodu's track-list. "Takku Takku" has plenty of simple animation and bright, K-Pop like CG-works, and serves as an introductory song for Vikram Prabhu. The song's visual idea was unique and it might appeal to the kids, which was well edited by Praveen K.L. "Pidikkudhe" is a typical D.Imman melody and is apparently shot on the lead pair. Vijay Ulaganath's top angle shots are the highlights of the song, which has pleasing visuals of the Rishikesh and Uttarakhand's mountainous landscape. The usage of the bird-wing like costume for Monal Gajjar was eye-catching. "Scenenu Scenenu" is a dance number and is again shot on the lead pair, but this time the locations are just the usual urban, upmarket locations such as malls, parks and apartment colonies. "Anbulla Appa" sung by the legendary K.J Yesudas, is focused on the father-son relationship portrayed by Sathyaraj and Vikram Prabhu. The song is full of montages, which is sort of like a sentimental pathos song. D.Imman's background score was a little less impressive this time because there are many moments in which the music director adds too much of melodramatic scores, unnecessary 'elevating' the sentimental quotient of the scenes. Hope D.Imman fixes this issue for his other projects !
Gaurav Narayanan's intention of trying to come up with the "perfect" screenplay of an contemporary Tamizh cinema commercial film, is understandable. But that's what precisely pulls down all the hardwork put in by the director, for his research part of the script. The comedy and romantic portions did not work out well and is a big hindrance to the main plot of the film. Apart from Sathish's one-liners, none of the comedy sequences really gel well with the script and the romantic portions are just too insipid. But still, Gaurav deserves credit for his great effort in compiling details on ATM robberies, and scams involving the financial/banking sector, especially with the debit/credit card services. He also deserves plaudits for structuring those issues in his screenplay in such a manner, wherein a common man can understand the processes involved in such robberies and scams. Gaurav should thank his cinematographer and editor for coming up with visuals and edits, which helped him to convey his research in an convincing manner. The investigation sequences in the final stretch of the film was well conceived and written, as well. Gaurav's character designing was neat as well and never goes overboard with unnecessary "masala" elements. If at all Gaurav took the bold decision of not succumbing to conventional pressures, he could have come up with a much better screenplay.
'Sigaram Thodu' - It doesn't reach the peaks, but it did ascend higher than the usual norm !
Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Bharath's 25th film, 'Aintham Thalaimurai Siddha Vaidhya Sigamani' is produced by Pushpa Kandaswamy on behalf of Kavithalaya Productions. Directed by debutante L.G Ravichandar, this flick is touted to be an out-and-out sit-com, and has a bandwagon of comedy artistes in the cast. Bharath needs a hit to sustain in Tamizh cinema and can he be saved by L.G Ravichandar ?
For Bharath, this film does not provide any platform for him to explore his acting histrionics. The character is way too one dimensional and has been portrayed as the quintessential Tamizh cinema hero, celebrated a few decades back. His dance does not need any mention and he has proved himself to be apt in performing action sequences. He is improving his comic timing and more variations in dialogue delivery and style can yield better results. Nandita has an even smaller scope to act and is just there to complement the hero. Thambi Ramaiah holds the majority screen timing among the other artistes but unfortunately, his characterization was poor and he goes too loud and overboard. The are a plethora of other artistes such as Karunakaran, Immanuel Annachi, Renuka, M.S Bhaskar, Singampuli, Manobala, Chaams, Bose Venkat, Kottachi, Mayilsamy, Badava Gopi, Dr.Sharmila, M.J Shriram, Komal Kumar, 'Kadhal' Dhandapani, Paandu, Madan Bob, 'Nellai' Siva, 'Scissor' Manohar and etc, but none had a purpose in their roles and were literally wasted.
The film's technical output was just pedestrian and has nothing to boast about. Action choreography is handled by Haridhinesh and it should be commended that the stunt sequences did not go overboard and was kept believable. The stunt sequence shot in the coconut farm was the pick of the lot. Art direction is by M.R Karthickrajkumar and he has put in some decent efforts from his side. The Siddha Vaidhya ambiance was well created, especially with all the herbs and set properties associated with that traditional medicine scenario. Also, the grand village home shown in the film was well adorned with set properties, and it goes for the small medical centres portrayed in the film. V.Vijay's editing seems to be like a stroll in the park and sufficed the needs of the director. The basic film editing is there but V.Vijay could have trimmed the film's duration because two hours and thirty minutes is just too much to bear. Cinematography is by P.G Muthiah and the talented cameraman's touches are missing here and apart from the action sequences and for the songs, there's nothing particularly impressive with his work.
Simon's musical score is frankly speaking, below average. None of the tunes is worth listening to and Simon better be prepared the face the music, if his music is not up to the mark. "Kandagi Selai" is the first song and is picturized on the lead pair. A village festive backdrop is used for the song, with all the colorful 'kavadis' and flowers strewn in the song. "The Elarai" has cameo appearances from Gaana Bala and Yobama JO, and was picturized on Bharath and Badava Gopi. Its a typical 'item song' without much focus on the 'item' girl. The beach side setting was the backdrop for this song. "Onnuna Rendu" was sung by Vijay Antony and was picturized on the lead pair, backed up by plenty of group dancers. A beach resort, popular among current Tamizh cinema directors, is used as the backdrop and P.G Muthiah's some good camera movements added a little zing to the song. "Madurai Trichy" is the theme song of the film, and is played during the end credits. The background score is just functional and has nothing remarkable.
Let's get straight to the point. L.G Ravichandar's idea for this film is to design it as a no-brainer comedy riot, which were popular during the late 80's and early 90's. Sundar.C's films must have been an exemplary template for L.G Ravichandar. But what worked in those days, will definitely not work now, due to the HUGE change in audience's taste and moreover, those flicks had genuinely funny and wacky comedy portions ! 'Aintham Thalaimurai Siddha Vaidhya Sigamani' is just so pre-historic in its making and the scripting and presentation values are just as old as the hills. It does make us wonder, if L.G Ravichandar has seen any Tamizh films in recent years. The comedy portions and jokes fall flat, the artistes are simply wasted, there's no coherence in the screenplay and there's no logic at all in the story-line. The lesser said, (sorry, nothing said !) the better it is.
'Aintham Thalaimurai Siddha Vaidhya Sigamani' - The joke is on us. This humor is definitely not good for our health or for us !
Ratings: 1.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'Jannal Oram' marks the comeback of Karu Palaniappan after his below average performance in 'Mandhira Punnagai'. Karu is known for his sensitive portrayal and family friendly milieu, apart from his last project. Backed by some of his favorite artistes, can 'Jannal Oram' bring back the success to Karu Palaniappan, a once-promising script and dialogue writer in Tamizh cinema ?
The film has a big cast of artistes, and everyone has some screen timing to stamp their marks. But unfortunately, the high number of artistes does not add value to the script. That's due to the average performances and lack of emotional content for each artistes to register their capabilities in the minds and hearts of viewers. R.Parthiban, as the rural, middle-aged Casanova, mouths his dialogues fluently in a different accent. Vemal, is pretty much in his comfort zone and gets to romance the heroine in songs and pull off some action sequences. Vidharth leaves a better impression on us, although his characterization was just a mere extension from the protagonist role he did in 'Mynaa', albeit with a twist. Among the ladies, both Poorna and Manisha Yadav have limited acting scope, though the latter had more screen timing. A gang of character artistes such as Ramana, Rajesh, Yuvarani, Ilavarasu, Santhana Bharathi, Sanjay Bharathi, Bala Singh, Sri Ranjani, Singampuli, Krishnamurthy and etc get to do their usual stuffs.
Dhilip Subbarayan's action choreography was apt for Vemal, Vidharth and Parthiban. It was not over the top, but not fiery, as well. Rajeevan's production design complemented the script very much. The rural house setup was apt for the milieu of the script, with relevant props. The village setup too looks very much believable. Simple, but neat work from one of the best ! Saravanaa, could have done better with the editing department. The proceedings in the second half moves at a snail's pace, and some trimming could have increased the tempo of the script. Arbhindu Saaraa, definitely owns the film, through his good cinematography works. The hill stations have been very aptly captured from his lenses and at the same time, Arbhindu maintained a natural look for the whole film, which is very much the style template of Karu Palaniappan's films. His experimentation with different angles or view-points of the bus, is commendable.
Vidyasagar, the trusted aide of Karu Palaniappan, disappoints us with below average song compositions. Though melodious, they don't capture your attention nor the interest, pretty much. "Athili Pathili" is the opening credits song, shot on the lead characters' bus' journey it makes in a day. The hilly terrains and lush greenery is a cool sight for the eyes. "Ennadi Ennadi" also has the bus as the backdrop, but the focus is on the characters this time and Vemal gets to woo Manisha in this song, shot with montages. "Unnai Paarkkama" was shot on Vemal and Manisha Yadav, against the backdrop of Athirappilly waterfalls and its surrounding lush and green forests. "Aasa Vacha" had a village festival backdrop, with apt props by Rajeevan for the production design side. The song also had separate shots of Vemal-Manisha and Sanjay-Poorna, interspersed into it. "Ela Malathoppu" is a situational song, and covered most of the lead characters' dark moments they were facing through. "Aatho Appatho" is a promotional song which was not used in the film. The song had the puppet play shot, as its backdrop. The background score was quite ordinary, for Vidyasagar's standards.
Though Karu Palaniappan has made this film, the script and screenplay does not belong to him, and its the first time Karu has attempted a remake film. 'Jannal Oram' is the official remake of the 2012 Malayalam film, 'Ordinary' which turned out to be a super-hit. The story was written by Sugeeth and screenplay by Nishad K.Koya and Manu Prasad, the makers of the original film. The problem with the film, is that it moves at a leisurely pace and the viewers could not muster what to expect from this film, even from half-way into it ! Karu, slowly introduces us to each characters one by one, and that proceeding had nothing novel in the methodology perspective. The first half was insipid, and the only thing which kept us watching were the dialogues, written by Sugunakumar K.E. There are a few sharp dialogues, atypical of Karu's film dialogues, but they are few and far between. There is an unexpected twist just before the climax, but it was far too late to save the film and was overtly stretched, as well. Karu Palaniappan, should have done more homework in fine tuning the original script, to suit the tastes and pace of a typical, 'good' Tamizh-film. Nevertheless, kudos to Karu for delivering a very clean film, which can be watched by anyone.
'Jannal Oram' - Below average showing from Karu Palaniappan. Where's the guy who made 'Parthiban Kanavu' ?!
Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'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
S.Ezhil, who made a mini comeback of sorts with the decent comedy-drama 'Manam Kothi Paravai', is back with another film which has abundance of comedy portions written throughout the script and aided by nearly the same band of artistes, who were present in his last endeavor. Will S.Ezhil strike it back-to-back ?
Vemal, takes up the male lead role and there's nothing contemporary with his portrayal. He has played the village lad role, relentless of times and he repeats it here as well. There are rooms for improvement as always, and he can at least strive to do something different with his dialogue delivery, with these conventional roles. Bindhu Madhavi looks ravishing in her pretty half-sarees, but is a little out-of-place, if you one is to consider her role's as a village belle. She has potential to be deliver better performances, and hopefully, may better scripts knock her doors. Soori has started to come out on his own and has established himself as a lead comedian. His dialogue rendition reminds us of Vadivelu's, especially with the English words. Nevertheless, he still manages to raise some chuckles, albeit in a non-sterling manner. Singampuli is a riot, with his lively antics and spotless dialogue delivery and well accompanied by Chams, as well. The rest of the cast such as Vinu Chakravarthy, Gnanavel, Ravi Maria, Naren, Singamuthu, Vanitha and etc were befitting of the needs of the script.
Vasugi Bhaskar has done a good job, especially with Bindhu's costumes and her sarees and also for Vemal, who looked much presentable. Dhilip Subbarayan's action choreography is just functional, as per demands of the "masala" elements of the script and is well suited for Vemal's image. Sivaraj's production design was neat, especially with the props used for showcasing the interiors of rural homes, as well as for village festival sets. Gopikrishna's editing sufficed the basic needs of the film. Nothing spectacular about it. Sooraj Nallusami's cinematography complements the wants and needs of the director and he has pretty much, achieved the objective of bringing out the essence of a typical Tamizh cinema rural, commercial film.
D.Imman's score uplifts the mood of the film, with above average scores. The pick of the lot is the opening number, "Oru Ore Ore". Picturized on the lead pair on a temple festival backdrop, the song has good props and set work done by Sivaraj. "Ammadi Ammadi" is a sensuous number shot on the lead pair, in various sets of a small, fruit warehouse. Bindhu looked good in the song and the lighting complemented the feel and mood of the song. Sivaraj, once again does a neat and simple job, with the correct placement of fruits and other props, in the song picturization. "Nilavattam" is another village-festival song, but has been shot in a night sequence. The song has been shot with bright lights and feature a more lively ambiance. Muktha Bhanu makes a guest appearance for this song, and the damsel looks much better in a trimmer physique. "Pom Pom" appears in the end credits, with song picturization done on top of a moving bus. The lead pair was featured along with dancers and the visuals were interspersed with some blooper moments of the film. The background score was done well, but does not stand out as outstanding. Nonetheless, a decent output from D.Imman !
After the decent success of 'Manam Kothi Paravai', S.Ezhil has take a short-cut of sorts in making quick bucks, by aping the same format and template he has used for that film, in 'Desingu Raja' as well. There is no originality in the storyline nor are there any serious attempt in making a decent emotional plot-line for the film. Only S.Ezhil should answer if this film is meant to be an out-and-out comedy entertainer or an average drama, laced with comedy. Though S.Ezhil has projected it as the latter, the former proposition looks likely to be the actual case. In 'Manam Kothi Paravai', there was a serious element or undertone in the film, which formed the actual crux of the storyline and it was wrapped with good comedy portions. But in 'Desingu Raja', there seems to be no inclinations at all, to even attempt a properly structured, emotional content. S.Ezhil gave sole priority to comedy sequences and has laced the whole film, with plenty of them ! The climax is what you call the archetypal, lazy & farcical writing, notoriously prevalent in Tamizh cinema. N.Rajasekar's dialogues, is a big advantage for the comical portions of the film. S.Ezhil can be at least appreciated for keeping the duration of the film, bearable.
'Desingu Raja' - Slapstick comedy, at its average.
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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Rasu Madhuravan, known for his village-type, old tearjerkers, is back with another offering in 'Paandi Oli Perukki Nilaiyam' but sadly there's no deviation from his previous track. He has Sabarish and Sunaina as the lead pair this time, with a bevy of known and unknown artistes playing unimportant characters in the film, and appear just for the sake of sentimentality.
Sabarish, son of popular stunt director 'FEFSI' Vijayan makes another splash, or should say tried to make another effort to prove his mark as an actor. He has an interesting get-up, which reminds us of Vikram's image in 'Pithamagan'. He has clarity in his dialogue delivery but there's no variations in it nor in his body language, which makes his performance look very caricature-like. His expressions are very standard and normal, which does not make him look outstanding from the overcrowded hero circle of Tamizh cinema. Being a son of stunt artiste, he delivers good action skills but his dancing capability seems to be limited. Sunaina looks okay, with decent face and physique and she has some acting capabilities which is not exploited here properly. The only thing which was used properly was her physical features in short, skimpy clothing. Karunas, 'Thambi' Ramaih, Soori and Singam Puli provides some comic relief here and there with their trademark buffoonery antics, and Singam Puli especially continues with his silly and amusing dialogue deliveries. Raj Kapoor, Vaiyapuri, K.Selvabharathi and etc makes up the big cast of the film and all of them delivered what was expected from them by the director.
The film has nothing to shout about technical wise. 'Supreme' Sundar's stunt scenes are okay and bearable but oddly, it looks very similar to the ones composed in 'Pithamagan' ! Veera Samar's art work is minimal, with the microphone and sound service shops, as well as the interiors of village houses looking natural. Suresh Urs keeps the film's pace watchable without much lag but he could not save much, thanks to the poor quality of the script. U.K Senthil Kumar, a veteran cinematographer captures the village portions, properly but other than that, there's nothing much to shout about in his work, apart from one or two good shots in the stunt scenes. Kavi Periathambi's music work is lame and boring. "Azhagu" is the introductory song of the protagonist with boring picturization, based on film festival setting and bad looking 'glamor' girl. "Mudhan Mudhalai" is a song shot in paddy fields and slowly transforms to the scenic localities of the Langkawi Islands in Malaysia, and also featuring Sunaina in revealing outfits. "Kettukodi" is a poorly remixed song of the old Sivaji Ganesan's 'Pattikaada Pattanama' film. This song was shot in the Bukit Bintang and KLCC areas of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, with mostly streets being shot with Sunaina, in short and body-hugging clothes. "Azhagana" song is shot in village setting with background dancers and is a slow-paced melody with more scenes from the Malaysian streets being covered with the lead pair dancing in a silly manner. "Dandanakra" is another festival song, but this one shot at night with again a badly looking 'glamor' girl as the lead dancer !
Rasu Madhuravan should either stop making films or should try to change his direction in cinema, if at all he wants to survive ! The story is out-dated and would have worked out in the 70's or 80's. The dialogues by him are mediocre, the romance portion between the lead pair looked very theatrical, the presence of many village folks as artistes making it look like another tearjerker. When even new, upcoming directors are experimenting with novel ideas, Rasu Madhuravan has stuck with a typical revenge story, which is boring and least interesting. Also, his characterizations were poorly etched out, leaving many looking like cartoons.
'Paandi Oli Perukki Nilayam' is a poor, poor product and its baffling to think what made Sunaina to accept such a film !
Ratings: 0.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Siva Karthikeyan, the television superstar has donned the the mantle of a proper protagonist role for the first time in this S.Ezhil directed film. Hot on the heels of a successful run in 'Marina' and a welcomed acclaim from the masses for his performance in '3', 'Manam Kothi Paravai' will be his proper launch pad into the league of Tamizh cinema protagonists. S.Ezhil is back from a sabbatical, after doing the mediocre 'Deepavali' with 'Jeyam' Ravi and Bhavana way back in 2007. Trumpeting to be a feel-good comedy film, this venture is targeted at the family audience and with a big cast of comedy artistes, it promises to be a nice time-pass film.
Siva Karthikeyan, makes a decent performance in the film and he is known for his superb comedy sense and timing but in this film, it was less exploited as the director wanted his protagonist to have shades of seriousness to the role as well. Hence we can see Siva Karthikeyan doing emotional scenes, and he underplays it well. If Siva is to reap more success as an actor, he has to try out different roles, though this type of boy-next-door kind of roles suits him to the T. Debutant heroine Aathmiya has to improve her expressions and body language if she wants to survive in this heavily competitive world, though she was suitable for the homely, coy girl role and looks like Meera Jasmine. The film has a big cast like Naren, Ilavarasu, Ravi Maria, Sampathram, Jay Kumaar and etc who did their roles as it was expected from them, the comedy roles carried by Soori, Kishore and led by Singampuli keeps our attention. Singampuli was at his usual form with his funny one-liners and his expressive dialogue delivery with a peculiar diction. Adding more fun to this trio is the introduction of Srinath and Chams as well as 'Venniraadai' Moorthy in the latter stages of the film, which brings more funny moments. The episodes after the marriage breakdown are the highlight scenes.
Technical wise, this film carries very average work. Logu's stunt was for a particular scene which doesn't involve excessive punches and kicks which was adequate for the scene. Sivaraj's artwork was kept simple with the interiors of the small town homes, and office premises being the highlight but he could have done better with the set work of the riot scenes. Costumes by Sai Siva was appropriate but Gopi Krishna could have dealt a little better with his editing. Sooraj Nallusami's cinematography was kept simple and no gimmicks were used. D.Imman, who is still basking in the success of 'Mynaa' has given decent songs in this film. "Jal Jal Oosai" shot in the backdrops of a riot and the travel was ok but the choreography could have been better. "Po Po Po", a typical pathos song was shot in a typical manner, with the protagonist sulking in lonely places. "Dang Dang" tries to replicate the big success of "Jingu Chikka" from 'Mynaa' but its not as peppy as the latter. The dance choreography by Dhina on the backdrop of a construction site was lively involving the other artistes as well. "Yenna Solla" is a romantic number shot in the plush, green hill-stations with very minimal choreography and finally "Ooraana Oorukku" shot with many dancers is the song for the frontbenchers with fast dancing and a sizeable crowd.
S.Ezhil who has given decent and sensitive hits in the past like 'Thullatha Manamum Thullum' and 'Poovellam Un Vaasam' wants to cash in on the popularity of Siva Karthikeyan, decided to come up with a film laced with comedy scenes mostly with a couple of necessary sentimental scenes. What makes the audience a little unsettle is the unpredictable arrangement of scenes and the plot. When one thinks that the next scene should be a serious one, the director turns it into comedy and vice versa. Though comedy keeps the audiences entertained, the overall mood and story of the film is important and comedy alone is not going to be sufficient unless the film is an out-and-out comedy flick. S.Ezhil should have concentrated more in perfecting the screenplay. This is because he wanted to give a right balance of good comedy and heart warming sentimental scenes but both elements did not gel together which makes 'Manam Kothi Paravai', a bumpy ride. Also the way the film ends, reminds us of the love movies made in the 1990's and especially 'Kadhalukku Mariyadhai' comes to the fore.
'Manam Kothi Paravai' does entertain us in some sequences but the overall presentation of the screenplay could have been much better. Siva Karthikeyan makes a decent mark but he needs better films if he intends to really make it out as a hero in Tamizh cinema.
Ratings: 2/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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