MATHIL MEL POONAI MOVIE REVIEW

Vijay Vasanth, is trying hard to have his big ticket to stardom with a solo hero role. In this intriguingly titled film, he gets a chance under newbie, Barani Jayapal and has Vibha Natarajan, who did a small role in 'Naan', as his pair. Touted to be a film based on real life events, how did this movie fare?

Vijay Vasanth, has some acting chops as a character artist, but as a lead hero, he is nowhere near the material of being a lead actor. He is too static with his expressions and emotion-displays. The sudden changeover of a demure, quiet boy into an action hero, is unfathomable. A word of advice, to him. Have more practice, before jumping onto the bandwagon ! Vibha Natarajan, has a pretty heavy physical role in this film. One should appreciate her for putting in strenuous efforts for all the physical activities, demanded by the script. Performance wise, she definitely has miles to go. Thambi Ramaiah, dons a small role in the film, and though he is in his elements, he fails to evoke laughter and the comedy track looks too cliched. The kids did a good job. Apart from them, the film has a good number of character artistes, such as Kaarthik, Gnanasambandhan, Neelima Rani, Prabha, Meera Krishnan, Balaji, Swaminathan and etc were sufficient enough for the script. But some of them really need acting classes, if they want to be recognized as actors in the future !

The technical department's work was adequate. A.R Ram's costume designing was not bad, keeping in mind, the various backgrounds the characters come from. 'Miracle' Michael's stunt choreography was decent. The second half fight sequence between the antagonists and an ascetic, was well choreographed. Michael shows some talents and better scripts, can bring even better work from him. M.G Sekar's art direction was neat, especially for the interiors of the old classrooms and school setting, and the contemporary middle-class homes. Praveen K.L and Srikanth N.B's editing acuteness is visible in the songs and stunt sequences, but its shocking to see National Award-winning editors to commit small, silly mistakes ! Hope more attention could have been given to the editing works ! L.K Vijay captures the fresh greenery of the undisturbed forests. The roving cinematography tries to add some pace to slow and mundane screenplay.

Ganesh Ragavendra's musical score was average. "Oru Poo Pookira" was shot on the lead pair, proposing to each other and has plenty of montages, with beaches, streets and shops as backdrops. The pick of the lot among the songs, was the "Vandhaarai Vaazha" track sung by Silambarasan. The Chennai-trumpeting song was also shot in montages, showcasing the young boys experiencing a day in Chennai. The song was obviously shot in landmark areas such as Spencer's Plaza, Mahabalipuram and the Marina beach as well. "Rathathil Nuraiya" is a situational song, picturized on the young boys on a chase and their journey to juvenile jail. "Manase Thirudiya" was picturized on the lead pair and showcase them getting married and their journey to the hometown, post-marriage. "Irulai Katti" is also a situational song appearing during the climax, shot on the lead pair, being chased by the antagonists, in the thick, green forest. The background score has nothing to shout about.

Barani Jayapal, has utilized a non-linear method for his screenplay. Though that's a clever way of narrating a script, the fault lines in the fundamental element of a film, which is, a solid script ! The purported comedy sequences using the kids, fell flat and fails to to even raise a chuckle from us ! But what's astonishing is the amount of violence thrust into the script and that too portraying kids as archetypal Tamizh cinema antagonists, with cruel and criminal mindsets ! The morale-lesson Barani tries to convey is understandable, but there is no justification nor conviction in portraying those kids, dabbling in such blood-soaked violence. What's worse is the insipid romance portions between Vijay and Vibha, which is lacking in any emotions nor feelings ! The director has failed to extract good performances from his artistes, as well.

'Mathil Mel Poonai' - a miserable film with no sense of continuity nor engagement !


Ratings: 1/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

NAAN MOVIE REVIEW

Vijay Antony made everyone sit up and notice, literally, when the announcement came that he is going to produce a film. But it was a bigger surprise, when he decided to cast himself as the protagonist. Many asked and wondered, why the necessity for him to plunge into production and acting when he is doing successful as a music director. Well, Vijay Antony is a brave man and a little sensible one, when he decided to collaborate with his ex-college mate Sankar, now known as Jeeva Sankar, a former associate of late cinematographer Jeeva. When friends come together, a good outcome is expected, especially when the friends are talented. So, does 'Naan' delivered the promises it made, of being a good film with interesting twists, during the promotions?

The cast is relatively small and simple. Vijay Antony takes the protagonist role, which suits him to T. But the problem is, he needs to improve drastically if he wants to continue acting. He has done an average job, but there was not much variations in expressions and dialogue delivery and most of the time, his performance was very monotonous. There are scenes which gives him good scope to perform, which Vijay Antony fails to capitalize. His look and physique, do match the character etched out, by the director, but you need solid performance, if you want to make a good film and that too, a thriller. Sidharth Venugopal, makes a comeback in this film, after his outing in 'Aanandha Thaandavam'. He is uber cool and composed with his performance. He too, suits the character very well and his presence makes the film to take a little colorful and cheery look. Rupa Manjari takes the best role among the girls in the film. She looks good, fresh and performs smoothly, especially with her dialogue delivery. Anuya Bhagvath and Vibha Natarajan, has nothing much to do, rather than appear in questionable roles. Vijay Victor, Krishnamurthy and others fills up the other characters in the film.

The film carries simple and neat technical work. Editing by Suriya was very neat, especially with the montage sequences in the songs. Vithiesh, the art director has minimal work, but excels in it. The interiors of the house setting is an example, be it the posh bungalow house or even a small cramped, middle-class house. Rajasekar's stunts were very natural, which involves struggles and pushing/shoving. Kudos to him ! Sound designing by R.Janarthanan and Sakthivel should be appreciated as well, especially for the climax scene. Jeeva Sankar takes care of the cinematography, and one look at some scenes, and you are instantly reminded of Jeeva. With bluish color palette and soft-lighting, the film carries a dark and subtle look throughout and nothing was too colorful or blaring, in nature. His well composed camera movements, needs to be appreciated too. Vijay Antony takes care of the music, and as usual, he has delivered some peppy numbers. The pick of the lot will definitely be "Makayala". The club number was well shot and edited with good dance movements by Shobi. The lighting and color tone, created the perfect ambiance for the song. The other three songs, "Ulaginil Miga", "Thappellam", "Dhinam Dhinam" are all montage sequences. The first being shot in juvenile home, showcasing the upbringing of the protagonist. The second song involves about the impersonation moves made by the protagonist and the final song involves about the predicaments of a few characters. His background score too, is pretty good, and follows the mood and flow of the script.

Jeeva Sankar has come up with an interesting and a good idea of an intelligent thriller script, which has some shades of popular Hollywood films such as, 'The Talented Mr.Ripley' and 'Taking Lives'. The story is interesting and suspense factor was really taken care of. Some intelligence is evident in the screenplay by Jeeva Sankar but the biggest drawback, is the loopholes left out unplugged and few questions which goes unanswered, leaving the audience with the question of, "Is there a sequel to this ?", hanging in the balance. As some intelligence is seen in the screenplay, so does some flaws and glitches in the narration. Also, the director has taken the liberty of finishing of few questions, abruptly without letting the script to end organically. A sequel is possible and within the same setting, but it is upon the directors' discretion to come up with one. Along with Neelan K. Sekar, Jeeva Sankar has come up with simple and crisp dialogues, which suits such thriller films.

'Naan' is a bold attempt by Vijay Antony and deserves a pat for backing a good project. But this could have been a much better affair if Vijay Antony had gone for some acting classes before and if Jeeva Sankar has had polished the script, by closing all the holes in it. 'Naan' - not so great, but not so bad, either.


Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL