Director Perarasu, or comically called as 'Oorarasu' for titling his movies based on names of towns and cities, is back with a film which has been long in the making. After his back to back successes with 'Thirupachi' and 'Sivakasi', none of Perarasu's following films made bucks at the box office. Yet, it still amazes to see him churning out movies, and that too without deviating from his usual formulas ! Here, he teams up with Bharath, who himself badly in need of a hit film, in order to survive in Tamizh cinema.
Bharath, appears as a gym instructor in this film, and does what was required by the director. He aptly mouthed all the 'punch' and fiery dialogues written by the director. In order to to be realistic, he has buffed up his physique a little. He dances, fights, emotes and 'wins' the approval of the audience An archetypal 'commercial cinema hero' ! Sunaina looks okay but she stutters a little with her dialogue delivery, which looks out of sync with the dubbed voice. Rajkiran as an ex-military, was at his usual self. Pandiarajan, Ashish Vidyarthi, M.S Bhaskar, Chitti Babu, Appukutty, Kottachi and etc all were just there for apparently no reasons, except for Ashish who is the antagonist of the film. Its bewildering for us to watch him essaying the same role again and again and again, and yet he still continues to do the beaten-to-death roles without any remorse !
A.Seenu, the costumer of the film did not do his homework well, because the lead pair were dressed in designer clothes, though they were portrayed as ones from the middle-class segment. 'Theepori' Nithya's action choreography was awful G.K's art work, Jaysankar's editing and Bala's cinematography were all pedestrian. Perarasu decides to take the mantle of music director as well and churns out unnecessarily 7 songs in the film and none of them were interesting ! "Vaana Vedikkai" is a typical Perarasu's hero-intro song, with plenty of dancers and shot around packed streets. "Nee Enakku" was shot in European cities against established landmarks. "Yemma Yemma" was shot in a village-festival environment, with minimal set-work "Saamikku" and 'Evano Oruvan" were situational numbers, one of a sad situation and the other of an uprising situation. "Adi Vaanavil" a melodious number is also shot on European cities and finally "Vannarapettai" was shot in Binny Mills which resembles like a garage set work and also around some mining areas.
Perarasu's script is poor in quality and taste, very old-fashioned, formulaic, bland and ridiculous. Perarasu sticks to his pattern of screenplay and sketches compilation of scenes containing plethora of emotions. This film makes us skeptical of Perarasu's knowledge of contemporary films, and the latest trends of Tamizh cinema. Is he still trapped in some 'inescapable' time warp ? The tidbits appearing in the film, reminding us of Vijay and Ajith's films with Perarasu gives credence to that doubt.
'Thiruthani' - a shame for the actual Thiruthanigan !!
Ratings: 1/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'Maattrraan' was hugely expected because of the return of the super-successful 'Ayan' combination of Suriya, K.V Anand and writers duo D.Suresh and A.N Balakrishnan (Subha, for short). Plus, K.V Anand and Subha is on a back-to-back blockbuster ventures, after the mega success of 'Ko'. Financed heavily by AGS Entertainments, this film boasts of spectacular locations and heavy visual effects and graphics portion, thanks to the conjoined-twins portion of the script, good music and a good-looking cast. With an A-class cast and technical crew, the trailers and promos suggested a good and exciting, fun ride for the viewers. Worth the wait ?
The current showman and entertainer of Tamizh cinema and the darling of the press and girls, Suriya rocks in his performance as Agilan and Vimalan, the conjoined-twins. He has put in tremendous hard-work in getting the emotions, body language, dialogue delivery method for the two characters right. He has to differentiate the major and also subtle differences between both the twins and his sincerity and honesty shines throughout the film. Be it dance, fight, emotions, he pulls it off with ease and its no mean feat, since he has to repeat the acts on a facial/performance capture devices, without any cues ! He deserves a round of applause, but in order to enhance himself as an actor, he should venture out of the city-boy, metro-sexual look and characterizations, and do more sophisticated and matured roles. Anyways, job very,very,very well done ! Kajal Aggarwal, looks much better and sexier, compared to her previous films and she's a breathe of fresh hair. She looks bubbly and cheerful but the problem was, she maintained that for the whole film, (even in emotional sequences) which should have been avoided. Chinmayi's dubbing for her, enhanced the character's intelligent and smart personality, even more. Sachin Khedekar has a big and meaty role to play and he too did a very good job with fine and composed performance. The rest of the cast were pedestrian such as Ravi Prakash, Tara Anooradha, Ajay Ratnam, Irina Maleva, Julia Bliss and etc.
'Maattrraan' has a very, very high technical standards, thanks to the those who are involved. Make-up artist Bhanu's prosthetic make-up for the conjoined-flesh was very authentic with all the nerves and flesh color, with tinges of blood veins. Great work ! Lakshmi Narayanan, the veteran audiographer did a good job, with all the sounds checked in place correctly, but he should experiment and venture out to use more variety of sounds, to knock off the heard-before feel to the movie. Nalini Sriram's costume designing was lavish and perfect, be it the dichotomous fashion sense of the conjoined-twins or even the beautiful Kajal Aggarwal. V.Srinivas Mohan, in charge of the visual effects portion, has done a tremendous job in the VFX department. His correct composition and lighting for the conjoined-twins portion was very evident and only a minute observation will help us to notice the the effects work. His usage of facial/performance capture, and 3D effects techniques, were a big, big boost to the film and without such a technician, it would have been impossible for the crew to do this film. Kudos to him !! Not to forget, Anthony's fast editing especially in the songs and stunts sequences involving the conjoined-twins portion, were crucial contributions for the film, which brought out the effects of the VFX properly to the screen. Peter Hein must have had a tough job in composing the stunt sequences. The conjoined-twins stunt scene in the first half, was thrilling and superbly choreographed, which captured the mood and emotions of the script very,very well. The latter half of stunts in the foreign locations, were very well done too, though it was a bit lengthy. Another feather in the cap for Peter Hein. Rajeevan's set-work was stylish and classy, be it the homes of the protagonist, the cow farm, the entertainment club, the Russian palace and etc. Fantastic job by him ! Soundar Rajan's contribution as a cinematographer was immense, because his homework was extensive in each and every minute detail due to the necessity of the script. His lens captured the beauty of the plethora of locations involved in the film, including the Balkan region in countries like Croatia, Serbia, Albania, Macedonia and especially a large chunk in Russia, Gujarat, Pakistan border and also the cool Norway. His angles and lighting too were very smart and innovative, which further enhanced the look and feel of the film. 'Maattrraan' is a milestone in Soundar Rajan's career !
Harris Jeyaraj's music was not bad but a sense of deja-vu kicks when you listen to the songs. "Rettai Kadhire" is the introduction song of the protagonists and captures their growth and progress in life, through montages. It serves as a platform for the audience to know the difference between both the twins. "Naani Koni" was shot in spectacularly, beautiful locations of Norway. The hills, lakeside and motorway, all looked elegant and classy, plus the lead pair of Suriya and Kajal Aggarwal looked splendid. "Theeye Theeye" was shot in a club atmosphere. The set work was good from Rajeevan, though it had very small space for a club sequence. The lighting was fantastic and Soundar Rajan, Anthony and V.Srinivas Mohan would have toiled for the song, in order to portray the conjoined-twins dancing and romancing the heroine, together ! The 3D composition on Suriya's body was good, and near flawless. "Yaaro Yaaro" is a melodramatic, situational song which features the characters recuperating from a loss, and was presented in montage sequences. "Kaal Mulaitha" is a refreshingly different song from Harris. Rajeevan's Russian palace set was the quintessential grandeur set. It had good choreography involving many Russian dance artistes. The background score was good, but Harris really needs to diversify and do more innovative scoring, if he wants to maintain his fan base and reputation, as a good music composer.
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K.V Anand must be applauded for his tremendous hard-work in putting meticulous efforts to pull of the foreign sequences. Together with Subha, the trio has been scripting the next-gen of commercial entertainers, with smart themes and intelligent packaging. Here, they have handled a myriad of unique themes such as genetic engineering, baby designing, drug enhancement research works, political motivations and etc, all into one single script. Though its a brilliant effort, it takes the toll on the audience because, they're good intentions of laying out all the justifications for the proceedings of the movie, stretches or drags the duration of the film, which makes the viewers a little uneasy. Plus, the stunts and songs are to be factored in as well by the audiences ! The story has racy and fiery elements in it, but the dragginess factor, takes out the racy effects. Their writing, be it dialogues of humorous scenes, are charming, intelligent, and naughty, too ! The intentions of pushing in a social message in a uniquely-themed commercial entertainer film, is praiseworthy. Though the trio presented a smart and interesting story with the correct commercial packages, few questions are left unanswered, which leaves some logical loopholes in the film. The USP of the film was the conjoined-twins factor, but that was just a gimmick, in order to pull in the audiences. Also, the trio could have avoided revealing the surprise or major twist of the film much earlier in the film, which actually gives away the excitement factor.
'Maattrraan' is definitely worth the watch. Its an interesting commercial entertainer and also has good social messages intertwined in the script. Hope, K.V Anand, D.Suresh and A.N Balakrishnan continue their quest in coming out with intelligent next-gen commercial entertainers.
Ratings: 3.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
After a sabbatical of 14 years, the evergreen beauty and charmer, Sridevi makes a fantastic comeback through 'English Vinglish'. A family entertainer, this flick is directed by newcomer Gauri Shinde and produced by her husband, R.Balki, the critically-acclaimed director of 'Cheeni Kum' and 'Paa'. Though its a direct Hindi film, it has been dubbed for the Tamizh audience due to the extreme popularity of Sridevi and makes it technically her next release in Tamizh after 26 years ! So, what is it all about? This film deals with a simple premise of a housewife, who is made fun because of her low-proficiency in English and because of that, strives to learn English by enrolling herself in an English course!
Its an out-and-out Sridevi show, and she has made a stunning comeback ! The veteran just shows why she's one of the best when it comes to acting. The myriad of expressions on her face, her composed dialogue delivery and sensitive performance, makes her too charming and cute to resist. Be it a happy, suspense, emotional or even humorous scenes, she pulls it off all with such ease, she was just mesmerizing on screen. Though her age is evident in her face and shaky voice, she's still a stunning beauty and she made it even more memorable by living the character and enabling us to connect or empathize with her ! Sridevi was sorely missed and hope people would bring her more wonderful and better scripts, to keep her acting chops, active. Welcome back, Sridevi !! She's ably assisted by just nice and fitting characters performed by Adil Hussain, Mehdi Nebbou, Priya Anand, Sulabha Deshpande, Sujata Kumar, Shivansh Kotia, Navika Kotia, Rajeev Ravindranathan, Sumeet Vyas, Ruth Aguilar, Damien Thomson, Cory Hibbs, Maria Pendolino and etc. The icing on the cake was the cool and casual guest appearance of Ajith Kumar ! He makes his presence count with an important advice and left a mark with his subtle, charming and enjoyable cameo.
Sabyasachi's designer sarees were elegant and beautiful, which further highlights the beautiness of Sridevi. The rest of the cast too had very apt and fitting costumes done by Vera Chow, Aarti Patkar and Nikita Raheja. Resul Pookutty, along with Amrit Pritam takes care of the sound designing, and their class work was evident in those minute and subtle, tingling sounds. Mustafa Stationwala's artwork was minimal and efficient. Be it the home in the Manhattan and the classroom environment, or even the wedding set for the climax, all looked natural and not over-the-top. Hemanti Sarkar's editing, was crisp and neat and his work in the beginning credits sequence was, noteworthy. Laxman Utekar's cinematography was simple, yet pretty and highlights the mood and beauty of Manhattan and New York, which were captured very well.
Amit Trivedi's music fits the mood and style of the script. All the songs were shot in montage sequences, since this is not an ordinary commercial film and also the script doesn't require any. "Dhak Dhak" was shot in a slow motion and highlights the emotional roller-coaster ride Sridevi encounters before leaving to the States. "Manhattan" as the title suggests, was shot in and around the beautiful parks and city landscape of Manhattan. "English Vinglish" captures the light-hearted moments of the English lessons taught in the centre which Sridevi attends, involving the plethora of ethnically-different based characters. "Alai Payuthey" is an emotional song, picturized on Sridevi who encounters and unwanted problem. "Ummachchi Ummachchi" is the final song, picturized against a typical Indian-American wedding ceremony with all the characters involved in the final dance and with minimal set work.
Gauri Shinde has crafted a very simple and honest script with just nicely paced screenplay and brought the best out of Sridevi. Special kudos to her, especially for this ! The film is replete with plenty of heartwarming, humorous and emotional sequences, which makes the film to have a natural and humanly feel to it. The main success of the screenplay is the entire focus on the protagonist and Gauri Shinde successfully, keeps the momentum going and did not dilute or deviate the story towards unnecessary sequences. She has etched out natural and colorful characters, given good dialogues to them, above all, made us empathize with the protagonist, for the whole duration of the film ! Hariharan should be appreciated too for his assistance in the Tamizh dialogues. The only minus point of the film, is that its a dubbed version, which means, no lip-sync and the Maharashtrian lifestyle portrayed in the film, is alien to the Tamizh natives. These small issues, may make the viewers to feel a little disconnected with the film.
Overall, 'English Vinglish' is a heartwarming, cute, beautiful and a family-friendly film, which can and will connect with every viewers who watches it. Take a bow Sridevi, take a bow !!!
Ratings: 3.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
The entire team behind the successful, 'Deiva Thirumagal' is back yet again, with some changes to the cast list. A.L Vijay, has penned an action script this time and he looks to be smitten by a real life personality, Daniel Kish who is an expert in echolocation and President of World Access for the Blind, a non-profit founded in 2000 to facilitate "the self-directed achievement of people with all forms of blindness" and increase public awareness about their strengths and capabilities (Wikipedia). A.L Vijay has sketched protagonist Vikram's character, using Daniel Kish as an inspiration, which is a unique presentation in Tamizh cinema. So, how did A.L Vijay and Vikram combine this time, amid a heavy marketing spree by the producer, UTV Motion Pictures.
As, with any A.L Vijay film, 'Thaandavam' too has a big cast and that too, a star cast ! Vikram, whose last release, 'Raajapaattai' was a washout at the box-office, comes up with a sincere and excellent performance as the intelligent and brilliant RAW officer. He has less dialogues to mouth, this lack of dialogue delivery is covered with fantastic expressions through his eyes and body language. He enacts his scenes in a very subtle and refined manner. His character looked very real and convincing and also credits to A.L Vijay for incorporating the inputs of Daniel Kish to enhance the look and attitude of the character Vikram, enacts. As usual, Vikram rocks ! Jagapathi Babu, the veteran Telugu artiste, makes his debut appearance in Tamizh cinema through 'Thaandavam' and he too notches a very composed and neat performance, though he appears sporadically during the duration of the film. Anushka, was a revelation here, with a calm and beautiful performance. A.L Vijay taps in the other side of Anushka, that is the soft and beautiful side of her acting. She shares a crackling and wonderful, matured chemistry with Vikram, though her height makes it a little obvious, that she towers above Vikram ! Plus, Deepa Venkat's dubbing for her blends in perfectly for the character played by Anushka. Amy Jackson, comes in for the 'pretty-doll' role and has done what can be expected from such roles. She should be appreciated for her near-perfect synchronization with the dubbed voice, done by Savitha, which has plenty of Tamizh dialogues, since her character has a mixed parentage of Tamizh and English. Nassar and Santhanam takes much of the remaining screen time among the big lot of character artistes, with the former in his best elements as usual, with an astute performance and the latter with his rocking comedy sense and dialogue delivery. There's a big army of supporting cast which gives the film plenty of dramas and events and nearly all of them are experienced and fantastic performers, such as Saranya Ponvannan, Lakshmi Rai, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Sayaji Shinde, M.S Bhaskar, Thambi Ramaiah, Delhi Ganesh, Sujitha and etc.
'Thaandavam' is one of the technically-better made movies, which has released in Tamizh cinema this year. The usual suspects, which are associated with A.L Vijay are here again and all of them have given very good outputs. Falguni Thakore and Devyani Kapoor scores full marks for their costume designing. Vikram, Anushka, Amy Jackson and Jagapathi Babu were looking uber-cool and stylish throughout the film. Manohar Verma handles the action scenes very well. He has done good homework in incorporating the echolocation factor in composing the stunt sequences and Vikram adjusted his body language very well. The park scene was the best of the lot. R.K Naguraj's artwork was extensive. Lots of props would have been used for the London shoots and during the New Delhi portions. Nothing extraordinary from him, but neat and nice work. Anthony's editing was flawless but he could have trimmed the movie more because of the sluggish pace of the screenplay. Nirav Shah does a splendid job in capturing the beauty of London's city landscape. His lighting comes into much appreciation for following the mood of the script and screenplay. The superb cinematographer was at his best form, as usual ! Great work by Nirav Shah in utilizing the RED Pro 5.0 camera for his cinematography !
G.V Prakash Kumar, who's combination with A.L Vijay has always been a success delivers a neat work here, though not all songs are catchy. "Yaaradi Mohini" is the introduction song of Amy Jackson and was shot in soft lighting amidst beautiful locations of London such as Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus, Big Ben, the Westminster Parliament and etc. Amy looked pretty and hot in her lovely costumes, but she struggles a little in the dancing category. "Adhigala Pookal" is a short number, mostly shot in montage sequences in New Delhi, depicting the early life of marriage-hood between Vikram and Anushka's characters and a piano theme piece of the song, appears mostly in the first half, with Vikram playing the tune in a church. "Will You Be There", is a dream song for Amy Jackson, who starts to fall for the hero, Vikram. It was shot mostly in slow-motion montage sequences, with song establishing shots on Amy Jackson. "Anicham Poovazhagi", is a colorful song with a marriage backdrop and has plethora of character artistes involved. This song is a semi-dream song, ending with the marriage between Vikram and Anushka. "Uyirin Uyire" was beautifully shot in the Dover hills under sunset and Nirav Shah used the chopper to capture the beauty of the hills and also the sand artwork utilized for the song. Anushka and Vikram were adorned with simple but beautiful costumes. The pick of the lot among all the songs is the duet, "Oru Paadhi Kadhavu". This was shot in montage sequences, showing the blossoming of love between Vikram and Anushka and is replete with scenes of sweetness and cutesiness, throughout the song which ends at the Taj Mahal. Beautiful cinematography by Nirav Shah in this song. G.V Prakash is improving in his background score and the "Shiva Thaandavam" theme is a complement for the script.
A.L Vijay's marketing technique of emphasizing echolocation as the USP of the film, was a clever move but that factor was just a gimmick, as once the film ends, viewers will realize that its after all, an average revenge flick. The plus-points in A.L Vijay's films are the sensitiveness and maturity in handling the script. But what pulls down the film is its lethargic and slow narration. For an action film, this level of pace, is unacceptable because boredom will start kicking in as the film progress into the later stages, but the director tries to salvage the attention of his audience, by including a major twist in the second half of the film. Though the twist is welcomed, the justification for the twist falls flat and is not entirely convincing. Also, there are some obvious logical flaws in the script, which are very much questionable and not thoroughly convincing. The dialogues though, are very well written and articulative.
'Thaandavam' is a film with high in standards, when it comes to technical quality and also with good performance from the lead artistes but is hampered by a slow screenplay and weak story-line A.L Vijay must work harder and smarter, if he wants to be noticed in the coming years.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Artiste Priyamani makes a comeback to Tamizh cinema with a different and peculiarly-themed film. The actress has bagged the role of a conjoined-pair of twin sisters, which can help her to exploit her acting chops even more and the fact that Suriya's big-budgeted 'Maattrraan' also dealing with such a concept, it is favorable for her to handle a hot-for-this-season. Director Ponkumaran, a former assistant of K.S Ravikumar and K.Bhagyaraj, makes his debut in Tamizh cinema through this film. 'Chaarulatha' is the official remake version of the successful Thai-horror film 'Alone' starring popular Thai artist, Marsha Wattanapanich, which was released in 2007. A typical horror genre is not a favored or successful genre in Tamizh cinema and Ponkumaran decided to test his skills with this genre, though its his first release in Tamizh.
As it is, the whole film is based on Priyamani's conjoined-twins role and she carries the whole film on her shoulder. She appears in nearly all the frames and proves that she is an actress with substance and her acting capability should be utilized fully, by directors. Its not only her looks which differentiates between the two sisters, but its the expression, body language and also her excellent voice modulation, which gives color to the characters. Plaudits to her as well, for taking the strain to perform in a difficult and hassle-full role of a conjoined-twins. The rest of the cast such as Saranya Ponvannan, Seetha, Skanda, Ravi Shankar, Aarthi and Master Manjunath are just there to accompany Priyamani and to serve their respective purposes.
There's nothing much to shout about the film's technical crew. Roshini Dindar and Madhu Sharma did their job as costume designers , Sethu's sound designing was not so exceptional, Don Max should be appreciated for keeping the flow of the film smooth and keeping the film short, in the editing department. 'Different' Danny as stunt master would have just helped the team to cope with some minor beating sequences or portions. Jupiter Animation Studio takes care of the graphics work and, though its admirable that they managed to show Priyamani as conjoined-twin with minimal budget, the climax portion was very amateurish and looks fake. Don Max did justice to his work by editing the film short and crisp. Mahen B.Kere's artwork was simple but the house set was not so convincing and looked obviously like a set-work. Maybe no fault of his due to budget constraints, but Mahen could have been better with the designing. M.V Panneerselvan was the man who should be credited for bringing out the conjoined-twins portion well and to make it look authentic and believable. His lighting and angles were good enough to bring out the necessary dark look for the film. Sundar C.Babu's music score was below average. None of the songs were hummable except for the violin theme track. "Ottikitte Azhagu" plays during the opening credits sequence. "Ondraga Mulaithom" shows the growth and upbringing of the conjoined-twins and also serves as a platform to show the differences between their characters. "Idaiyilla Kadavul" is a duet song picturized on the lead couple, dancing and romancing with a couple of dancers backing them up. It has some good shots of picturesque Srinagar. The background score was good in certain portions but as the film travels, it was less interesting and invigorating for the film.
Director Ponkumaran, who makes his debut in Tamizh cinema, gave credits to the original Thai writers of the script, Banjang Pisathanakun and Parkpoom Wangpoom. Sadly, his screenplay writing and direction skills are a little questionable because, the end product was very bland and most importantly, failed to contain the essential factors associated with a horror film - thrills and fear factors ! He thrusted the script with unwanted comedy sequences, song sequences and some romance sequences too, which lacked any sizzle due to the non-existent chemistry between the lead pair. There's no synergy among the sequences and there are obvious plot holes and gaps in the script, which the director fails to correct. The suspense element in the film falls flat and does not shock the viewers as it should do. G.Sabarimuthu's dialogues too were just pedestrian and nothing to note about. Even an average film maker can come up with such script or dialogues !
'Chaarulatha', a bland and non-spooky horror movie. Wonder what the original writers would say after watching this below average product.
Ratings: 2/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
A film based on schools and children is not new, but its been quite some time since we saw a good one, notably after 'Pasanga'. M.Anbazhagan, a former associate of Prabhu Solomon has come up with one and this time, the attention is on a dilapidated, old rural school. Produced by his mentor, M.Anbazhagan has chosen a towering presence, in the form of Samuthirakani, in order to play the revolutionary and visionary teacher, who is hell bent in making a change to the fate and life of the schoolchildren.
The biggest strength of the film is the role of Dayalan, played by Samuthirakani. His powerful, yet subtle performance comes in for big praises, because he raises above the mediocre and less substantial other characters involved in the film. He fits in to the role, beautifully and his dialogue delivery is superb. Eager to see more of him in acting roles ! Thambi Ramaiah as the antagonist was sadly an irritation, with his over-acting and high pitched dialogue delivery, and also with a ridiculous wig ! 'Junior' Balaiah makes a comeback through this film, and has portrayed a neat role. 'Black' Paandi does what he can do best, with his funny and loud comedy sequences. Yuvan, Mahima, Swasika and the rest of the cast fills up the big casting list, essential for such a script.
For a small budget film, this movie has some decent technical outputs. P.R Ganesh, has done well with his costume work, especially in highlighting Samuthirakani differently, to make his character standout from the rest of the cast. M.K Leen's stunt was good enough for the script. Vairabalan has done quite well with the art direction department. His props and setting of a very poorly managed school. Be it the old and creaky props or the more decent and presentable cultural show and felicitation ceremonies, his art work was very natural and fulfills the requirement. R.Nirmal was okay with his editing, but he could have done better with in the climax and pre-climax build-up, which was a little jerky. M.Jeevan's cinematography work, brought out the true mood and color of the rural-school setting, and also good close-ups to capture the emotions and expressions of the characters. D.Imman, who has a good combination with Prabhu Solomon, does a decent job for Prabhu's associate as well. "Adi Raangi" is a good emotional number, with most of the song shot in montages and based on Yuvan's character yearning for the heroine's attention. There were many close-ups, good angles with good sceneries as the backdrop, which captures the mood of the song well. "Nanba Vaa, Nanba" is a montage song featuring the character played by Samuthirakani, in his reformation process, in educating the school kids. The song has plenty of locations and sequences, which highlights the life and times of rural school students. "Andhurundai" is situational song, shot on the backdrop of a cultural event, taking place in the rural school portrayed in the film, with many students performing amateur dances. "Sahayane" is the pick of the lot, a soothing, melodious song sung by Shreya Ghoshal. It was picturized in a montage sequences, from the point of view of the heroine's infatuation with the hero. "Jada Jada" is the situational climax song, with montages featuring the school students preparing to face the examinations.
M.Anbazhagan, should be appreciated for bringing up such a theme, which highlights the downfalls of today's society, in relation to the education sector, in precisely, rural-schools. His dialogues are big plus because without substantial and powerful dialogues, no actor can bring out a good performance and M.Anbazhagan has placed Samuthirakani on a very good platform, to perform. Some of the scenes, where well brought out but was definitely a little overdone. The message M.Anbazhagan intended to convey through this film, is noble but it goes very preachy at times and gives a more sentimental and melodramatic moment rather than a thought-provoking touch. The director could have worked out better with his characterizations because, in order to glorify the role of Samuthirakani, the rest of the cast were subjected to lesser importance or of substance and depth to their character. It would have been more compelling if the others were given proper roles to play.
'Saattai' is a decent film with a decent message for the viewers, when it comes to the education quotient of current school-going kids, especially in the rural side. Not bad for a time-pass.
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
M.Sasikumar is back after the lacklustre performance of his previous film 'Porali' at the box-office. This time he is back into his own territory, that is the Madurai-based script with friendship at its base intertwined with a simple love story. He has given his assistant S.R Prabhakaran a chance to direct a film for his own, Company Productions. Also, Sasikumar dons the mantle of hero in this film as well but this time, with some little difference from his previous angry, sickle-carrying, violent roles. So will this 'Sundarapandian' seduce the audience, successfully ?
Sasikumar, with his usual thick beard, is a good performer here but what is different from his previous films is that, here he gets to romance a girl and also carry less emotional dialogues and expressions. He gets to perform more comedy portions and his adeptness in doing such sequences is a big plus for the film because it helps us to get off the image of his previous films, from our minds, while watching this film. He appears nearly throughout the film and his subtle dialogue delivery gives a touch of class for his acting chops. Debutante Lakshmi Menon, looks very cute and homely and with her big eyes, manages to show emotions appropriately and her subtle performances makes her to be the next good performing heroine in Tamizh cinema. Kudos to her ! Soori is a revelation in this film, with a more subtle and relaxed dialogue delivery and body language which works very well for the scenes and his character is a complement for Sasikumar's protagonist role. He underplays his comedy sequences and is impressive throughout the film. The core strength of the film is the good characterizations and each artistes performing their roles, had done justice to their work and nearly everyone comes out a big winner, performance-wise. National Award-winner Appukutty, Vijay Sethupathi, Inigo Prabakaran, Naren, Thennavan, Sujatha, Sounthara Raja, Thulasi and even minor artistes have the depth and screen presence to make their mark. The director has won half the battle with his excellent casting !
K.Natraj's costumes were very apt and befitting for the characters, especially for Sasikumar, in order to bring out the naughtier side of his and also for the rest of the cast, which gives them the authentic rural look. Dhilip Subbarayan's stunt choreography is good, with the orchard fight scene, being the highlight, where the artistes uses the starches and coconuts as weapons. The stunts looked realistic, which was fitting for the size and physique of Sasikumar. Debuting art director, A.K Muthu gets it right with appropriate props to fill the houses of the township homes, shown in the film. V.Donbosco has done a neat job in the editing department, especially in the climax fight sequence. C.Premkumar of 'Pasanga' fame dons the mantle of cinematographer and he has done a neat job as well. He has captured the rustic and rural look very well, especially in the barren, dry lands in the climax. The bus portions too were well shot, though it involves tight spaces and crowded areas. N.R Raghunanthan's music is hummable with only four songs in the film. "Kondaadum Manasu", the introductory song of the hero, was picturized with many dancers, with a good mix of old and young folks, with plenty of close-ups and wide shots against temple and paddy field backdrop. "Kadhal Vandhu", is a situational song, with many montages involved, mostly inside the bus and along the journey of the bus route, with funny scenes, overall. "Rekkai Mulaithen", was shot on the lead couple, also on a montage method, showing them happily being in love with each other in many locations such as bus, hills, roads and college areas. The final song, "Nenjukkule" is another situational song, this time involving more dramas between the lead pair and the other characters surrounding them. The background score too gels very well with the look and mood of the film, which complements very well for the sequences in the screenplay.
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S.R Prabhakaran, gets his inspiration from his mentor's films, because there is a heavy feel of 'Nadodigal', 'Porali' and 'Subramaniapuram' evident in the film (also thanks to Samuthirakani's voice-over for the introduction scenes) . But the strength of the film is the rather fair screenplay and good humor scenes infused throughout the script. The first half serves as good build-up for all the serious dramas in the second half, with light and funny comedy scenes. But the sucker punch is at the climax, where a couple of surprising twists and turns are revealed, though some cinematic liberties were taken. Also, the director should be lauded for sketching strong and colorful characters. His dialogues too are a big help for the script, as the right words brings out the emotion quotient of the scenes, appropriately and spontaneously. The screenplay is rather neat and direction looks promising. Overall, S.R Prabhakaran has done a decent job, indeed !
'Sundarapandian' is engaging and entertaining but Sasikumar should venture out from his comfort zone and do different themes besides, the usual love, revenge and friendship because, stereotyping will be a bane for his cinematic career, be it for any role (actor, director or producer).
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Srikanth, makes a comeback through 'Paagan' under the directorial debut of Mohammed Aslam, a former associate of Ameer. This is indeed a crucial project for him, as it can salvage his career as a hero in Tamizh cinema. Along with a relatively small cast, this film promised us a decent comedy with some sentimentalism attached, to make itself appealing for the mass audiences. Will 'Paagan' save Srikanth, who had a decent outing in 'Nanban' ?
Srikanth, is a good performer but he needs solid script and acting scope, if at all he wants to make it bigger. Sadly, in 'Paagan' he has nothing much to offer, other than being comical throughout the film and being emotional in certain scenes. He is a total miscast in the film because and this proves to be one of the biggest drawbacks of the film. He looks too polished and refined for a character who hails from the village and is an out-and-out rural folk. Also, his costumes did not help to counter-balance the effect, because it is illogical to see him wearing neat and tidy attires, which contradicts with the character he plays. Other than that, there is nothing much to speak about his performance. Janani Iyer makes her second appearance on screen after 'Avan Ivan' and this is a proper heroine role for her, though it was strictly just a Tamizh-cinema conventional heroine. Looking pretty and petite, it is refreshing to hear her dub in her own voice and adds authenticity to her character. Soori and 'Black' Paandi appears as sidekicks for nearly throughout the film, with each of them performing in styles which they are popular for. Some sequences do evoke laughter but majority of them fell flat and was boring. Kovai Sarala was in her essence but it was a little too loud and over-the-top. George, Anu Mohan, director A.Venkatesh makes small appearances in the film, though they have nothing much to contribute to the flow of the film.
The technical team of the film was just functional and none of the department was outstanding in their work. 'Supreme' Sundar's stunts were a little innovative since it involves bicycle chase sequences and the usage of the bicycle as part of the stunt choreography. N.K Rahul's artwork was simple and natural, with the village house props and bungalow house props noticeable Kevin's editing could have been better since the movie moves at a very slow pace and also the climax portion should have been better. J.Laxman has captured the essence of Pollachi and Tirupur quite well with his camera, utilizing the lush greenery of the former and the industrial backdrop of the latter. Also, many shots were taken with the camera mounted on the bicycle, to get the feel of the ride of the protagonist. James Vasanthan's music was melodious and soft but it was boring ! None of the songs were hummable or interest-evoking. "Thatti Thavi" is a sequential song, featuring the 'bonding' of the protagonist with his bicycle and featuring many bicycle shots, obviously against picturesque Pollachi. "Poonthendral" is a typical heroine introduction song, featuring Janani Iyer prancing around with a couple of dancers and this too was shot against a lush and green Pollachi. "Simba Simba" was shot on a market set featuring the main casts of the film, minus the heroine and featured few cut-shots. "Ennai Mannipaya" a sad song shot on the lead couple, uses the Jimmy Jib quite well along the high terrains and hill-side areas. "Ippadi Oar" a typical dream song, was shot along temple lakes, with soft and breezy color tone and ample usage of the Jimmy Jib. The background score of the film was just functional and hearing all these poor scores, makes us wonder what happened to the man who gave beautiful scores in 'Subramaniapuram'.
Mohammed Aslam, who is in charge of the writing and direction department. As a viewer, one has no idea who Aslam wanted to project as the protagonist of the film, is it Srikanth or himself (since he gave the voice-over for the bicycle). The direction was poor because none of the character were believable and the direction of the script is also confusing because the viewers have no idea whether is this a full-length comedy film with little sentiments or the other way around. None of the events in the film looks serious and there are big gaps in the screenplay with many questions left unanswered. The climax too was a perplexing because, the viewers have no clue, why the sudden turn of events are taking place and it has nothing to contribute to the story as well !
'Paagan' is a poor product from Aslam, as there's no good direction, proper characterization or even story to tell in the movie.
Ratings: 1.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
'Etho Seithai Ennai' came out without any fanfare or publicity at all, which makes us to brush of this film outright, just before noticing the cast of the film ! It has some veteran artistes who are making their odd return to the film industry and also the hero Shakkthi, son of veteran director P.Vasu. Does this film deserves any sort of publicity ? Definitely not at all !
Shakkthi makes his comeback after a small guest role in 'Yuvan Yuvathi'. He has established himself as a proper actor, who can emote and deliver dialogues confidently, with some little bit of charm in his previous films. What's not watchable here, is the ridiculously etched out sequences in which he has to perform the acts of heroes done in the 80's and early 90's. He has just performed what the director wanted, and there's nothing special here, which is worthy enough for a comeback. Liya, who did a role in 'Peraanmai' makes her comeback as well, which is not worthy off. She struggles in her role and there's no chemistry at all between her character and that of Shakkthi's which makes their love portion sequences like a sore thumb ! Anand Babu and Anandh makes their comebacks too, through this film and together with John Vijay, all three of them look like the cinematic, and over-the-top villains whom we are used to seeing, time immemorial. Bhanuchander, Ilavarasan, Sai Prashanth, Devi Priya makes their presence in small roles and Srinath makes us chuckle a bit in his sequences, with his funny dialogues and body language.
On the technical front, this film has nothing to offer us. 'Rock' Prabhu's stunts were okay, though some portions look overtly-done. K.R Shree, has very less budget to afford, I guess, so his art work is very minimal, with some props here and there. Muthulakshmi Varadhan's editing was poor with the continuity of the story getting hit badly. Ezhil Arasan's lighting was poor which makes his cinematography of the film look like the work of an amateur, befitting for a short film. Ganesh B.Kumar's tunes are not hummable at all. "Muzhu Nilavu" was shot within a bus setting with the lead pair, with some narrow angles. "Pogamal Oru Naal" was shot within a campus setting, shot at night mostly, with some few background dancers thrown into the frame. "Kadhil Mattum" was shot in foreign locales, Venice to be precise, which gives the film a different look but the song composition was bad, with poor angles, which does not bring out the beauty of the place being focused upon. 'Falling in Love" is a montage-filled song, showing the flashbacks of the lead pair and their encounters with each other.
J.Elvin Bosser, the director tries to weave a story of rivalries, love and back-stabbing in the story, but the events stands out mutually exclusive of each other and though the director tries to weave all the subplots together, it did not gel well, making us to wonder, why so and so proceedings are taking place in the script. The rivalry portion was poorly executed, leaving us not hooked to it and worse, not able to comprehend, why the rivalry is there in the first place and what makes the characters to bay out for each other's blood. The love sequences too did not look thoroughly convincing nor interesting.
'Etho Seithaai Ennai' - No idea, what the director wanted to convey as a film !
Ratings: 1/5 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
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