THEGIDI MOVIE REVIEW

In the new wave of Tamizh cinema's next-gen directors, here comes another entrant from the 'Naalaiya Iyakkunar' stable. P.Ramesh, winner of the reality show's Season 2, makes his debut with 'Thegidi', an intriguingly titled thriller. Produced by C.Senthil Kumar on behalf of Vel Mediaa, the brother of C.V Kumar of Thirukumaran Entertainments, this small-budget flick made good promises with its theme and slick trailer, involving the world of private detective agencies. With a talented technical team backing him, can P.Ramesh pull it off in feature films too ?

Ashok Selvan, who previously did the lead role in Pizza II - Villa, plays the protagonist here. He has done a fairly good job with his performance, but he can definitely work out on his expressions and emoting capabilities. Though subtle expressions worked out well for the role in this film, more would be needed for films of other styles and variations. He tries to balance the equation of being slick & smart and the man in trouble, quite well. But he certainly shares a good vibe and chemistry with Janani Iyer. Janani, looks sweet & pretty and has good scope to perform, though her character has its limitations, in terms of contributing to the screenplay's importance. Jayaprakash proves yet again that he is soon becoming a master in doing any sort of character roles with finesse and ease. Kaali, was particularly impressive in the short and cute role of the protagonist's confidant. The rest of the cast such as Jeyakumar, 'Kavithalaya' Krishnan, Sounderajan, Venkatesh, Rajan Iyer, Rekha Suresh, Shalu, Asritha and etc meted out decent performances, within their scope. A small but befitting cast !

What's great about the technical department of this film, is the fact that they are not only young and talented, but can work in sync, with one another ! 'Billa' Jagan's action choreography was neat and well executed, especially with the posh bungalow house fight sequence between Ashok Selvan and Jeyakumar. The non-fight sequences, could have been handled and presented in an more realistic manner. S.S Murthy handles the art designing and his work complements' the story and director's presentation and vision of the script. The interiors of the detective agency setup, the protagonist's home, the heroine's simple middle-class colony and etc were very propped and presented well for the audience. Leo John Paul's editing is smooth and almost spotless, ensuring that the movie follows a steady pace in the second half, but at the same time, ensuring the movie is crisp. Dinesh Krishnan.B, who made name with 'Soodhu Kavvum', scores yet again in the cinematography department. His visuals are clean, fresh, and pleasing for the eyes. There's not much gimmicky acts from him, but his work sufficed the need of the script.

Debutante Nivas K.Prasanna, makes a very promising debut with 'Thegidi. The songs are very soothing and melodious. "Neeyum Dhinam" is the opening song, played during the opening credits sequence, which had the film's scenes, portrayed in a cartoon/comic strip style. "Needhane" is a haunting tune, which was shot on Ashok Selvan, who was portrayed to be in the middle of his assignments of "shadowing & surveillance", shows in montages with some clever editing pattern. The pick of the album, "Yaar Ezhudhiyadho" was shot on the lead pair, depicting the protagonist, following the heroine as part of his assignment. The indoor shots were very impressive, particularly the lighting, especially with the library scenes. "Vinmeen Vidhaiyil" is a love duet, shot on the lead pair again. The song had montages of the lead pair developing their relationship. The shots of the urbane park and lake was impressive, especially with the color tone and hue, used by Dinesh Krishnan.B. "Kangalai Oru" is a situational, pathos song, highlighting the issues of trust between the lead pair. Nivas K.Prasanna, impresses in the background score as well, especially in the climax and pre-climax sequences, with engaging sounds and implementing silence at the appropriate moments. 

P.Ramesh must be appreciated for not exaggerating anything beyond the means and needs of his script, just because of his transition from short-films to the silver screen. The premise of private detective agencies and the theme of "hunter becoming the hunted" is interesting. P.Ramesh kept the cards close to his heart, and slowly started piling up the suspense elements before the interval. Though the film is a thriller, the romance angle was very tastefully written, with brilliant dialogues and apt direction, which makes us to root for the lead pair. The research and detailing work was apt for the script, but more in-depth details could have given a more complex mood to the script. The thriller and suspense track is quite simple, to be frank, and for those who are thriller/suspense aficionados, this film's plot would be a piece of cake, when it comes to cracking the answers. The minor loopholes and gaps in the story-line and some screenplay continuity issues, can help the active-thinkers to easily connect the dots, especially when half the suspense is revealed quite early in the second half. The motive given by the antagonist characters for their actions, is quite new and refreshing to notice. Though the climax was supposed to be the sucker punch, the writing could have been better, especially with the antagonist's reasons and justifications for "its" actions. The ending though was open-ended and reminded us of a tiny element which some audience could have overlooked. A 'Thegidi - Part 2' ? Maybe. 

'Thegidi' - A simple and interesting thriller, executed neatly !


Ratings: 3/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

VALLINAM MOVIE REVIEW

Director Arivazhagan, who made name with the well-made thriller 'Eeram', is back after a hiatus with 'Vallinam'. Being in the making for about 3 years, this sports based flick has Nakulan aka Nakul making a comeback of sort. Produced by Aascar V.Ravichandran, can Arivazhagan deliver another well-packaged film and make a firm mark in Tamizh cinema ?

Nakulan takes it serious this time and has delivered an earnest performance. His enthusiasm and physical atheleticism fits the role of an amateur basketball player. The vigor and energy he posessed helped him to adapt quite naturally as a sportsman and its very much commendable of his effort to undertake basketball training as a preparation for the film. He has experimented with his dialogue delivery, which is more subtle and mellow compared to his earlier films, but its not convincing overall, especially in the climax. Nevertheless, its a very decent performance and hoping he delivers more. Debutante Mrudhula Basker carries herself comfortably as the heroine, though she has not much scope as a character in the film's overall plot. A standard performance, standardly dubbed by Savitha. Siddharth Jonnalagadda plays the antagonist and his body language and facial expressions fits the character well, and aptly voiced by Aravind Krishna but his character loses steam as the film progresses. Jagan provided the comic relief and his satirical comments and one-liners are fun to listen to. Jayaprakash scores in his brief but important character role with a gray shade but Atul Kulkarni's true potential was not utilized at all though his character carries some weight in importance to the story. The rest such as Amzad Khan, Anumapa Kumar, Chandru, Mathivanan Rajendran, Santhana Bharathi were adequate with good cameos from Krishna and Aadhi, as well as RJ Balaji.

Shanmugha Priya handles the costume designing and her works sufficed the need of the script, since its a college based script, which has not much of an extensive research and execution. Sibu Joseph J.V's editing pattern fits the style and story presentation of Arivazhagan's script, though many a few sequences could have been edited out to make it a little racier. Silva's action choreography was good, especially in the pre-climax fight scene as well as the much spoken about train sequence in the very early stages of the film. T.Suresh's production design must be commended, especially for the climax basketball court set, which really imbibed a basketball tournament feel to it. Also, the props used for interiors such as the swanky and posh heroine's home, or the boys hostel rooms were very apt and realistic. Bhaskaran K.M's cinematography is a real asset to the film. The basketball game theme provided a good platform for him to showcase his expertise in coming up with creative shots and angles. The credits should be shared with Arivazhagan who handled each basketball matches' game and action set pieces, alongside with specialist game choreographer, Mime Gopi. Besides the games', Bhaskaran K.M's color tone and the light hue approach for some scenes, are eye-pleasing. But he could have avoided the overusage of shadows, particularly in the beginning sequences. 

S.S Thaman's previous collaboration with Arivazhagan in 'Eeram' was splendid and it looks like Thaman has found a partner who extracts the best from him. 'Vallinam' has very good scores and background music as well, which fits the mood and nature of the script and proves to be very effective in conveying the director's vision. "Maaman Macha" is a typical college-buddy song, with plenty of montages and dance scenes interspersed in betweem. Bhaskaran K.M's cinematography in this particular song was good, especially with the light tone. The pick of the lot "Uyiril Uyir" is a letdown, in terms of picturization. The song had montages of the hero finding himself falling for the heroine, as well as dance sequences against a cowboy and hip-hop theme bacgrounds. "Nakula" is a romantic number shot on the lead pair, on the beaches, during the high-tide moments. "Vallinam" is a situational song, highlighting the progress of the hero's basketball team in the tournament, which had good lighting for the basketball matches. "Uyiril (Reprise)" is a bit-song showing the separation of the lead pair and had good framing from the director and cinematographer. Thaman's background score works very well for the film, especially with a special 'Vallinam' theme track which plays during the opening credits scene.

Arivazhagan has chosen basketball as a tool to highlight the actual theme of his script, which is the discrimination and marginalization of sports in the society and the over-trumpeting of cricket. Its interesting to note that the director has chosen cricket as an 'antagonist' for his film. Arivazhagan's subtle story presentation and sharp dialogues, goes hand in hand, pretty well and proves to be his forte and USP. But the film has its own shares of flaws. There's no depth in the writing, where more intensity could have really revved up the proceedings of the screenplay. The romance and friendship portions are shallow in terms of writing, and the dramas fail to make a serious mark. The detailing in narration is missing, which is essential for these sort of story presentation, which has a slow and steady pace screenplay. A more organic development could have helped the film to achieve better output and its annoying to notice Arivazhagan's attempt in adhering to standard Tamizh cinema "masala" commercialization. But Arivazhagan should be appreciated for showing the basketball game as a proper game and his artistes as proper basketball players. The authenticity and detailing in those aspects are applaudable. Also, one can note that Arivazhagan has a a good sense of setting up frames, which shows his distinct touch of quality. In conclusion, Arivazhagan deserves kudos for choosing a sports-based theme for his script and highlighting the plight and discrimination of other sports in the state, but its definitely not on par with his 'Eeram'.

'Vallinam' - A not-so hard consonant ! Expected more.


Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

AAHA KALYANAM MOVIE REVIEW

Yash Raj Films, established by the legendary big daddy of Hindi-cinema romance, Yash Chopra is venturing into Tamizh cinema for the first time, under the baton of Aditya Chopra. Yash Raj has remade their own super hit rom-com 'Band Baaja Baaraat', which catapulted 2-film old Anushka Sharma and debutante Ranveer Singh, into the A-list of Hindi cinema. With a proven subject and a production house renowned for their larger-than-life productions, can debutante director A.Gokul Krishna pull it off, successfully ?

The entire film is about the relationship between the lead pair, hence a pair with great vibes and chemistry is essential for this script. Though he is well known in the Telugu industry, this is only Nani's third straight Tamizh film. Its good to see Nani enacting a role made memorable by Ranveer, without aping him ! Nani's interpretation of the hero's character is evident in his own unique style, body language and dialogue delivery. His command of Tamizh is good, though there's a heavy Telugu accent to it (which was even made fun of in the film). His expressions are cute and lovable, though he plays a youth of uncouth mannerisms. He could have definitely do much better with his performance, and improvisations in voice modulation can elevate the range of his dialogue deliveries. Debutante Vaani Kapoor, who made her debut in Hindi with 'Shuddh Desi Romance' and won a Filmfare Award for it, makes her Tamizh innings with 'Aaha Kalyanam'. She definitely has the talent and capability to deliver greater performances and is a very graceful dancer as well. Alas, her looks plays the spoilsport. Make no mistake, she is indeed a very beautiful lady but her facial features makes it look impossible to accept her as a Tamizhian. And with a dubbing artiste giving her the vocal backing, it feels almost as if you are watching a dubbing film, for the entire duration. But Chinmayi Sripada unquestionably, deserves half the credit of Vaani's good performance, for her impeccable dialogue deliveries and voice modulation, which perfectly matched the personality of the Vaani's character. Badava Gopi, M.J Sriram, Karthik Nagarajan, Krishnakumar, Saikrishna and etc makes up for the supporting cast, whom unfortunately had poorly developed characters, except for Simran's cameo.

The film has high production value, thanks to the 'Yash Raj' effect. Jules Idi Amin Varghese, Kaushik Velendra and Sandeep Roy handles the costume department, and they did a great work, not only with the lead pair, but with a host of extras and dancers, as well. And sharing equal, or even more accolades is the production designer R.C Velu who has done a phenomenal job with the limited budget. The sheer number of uncountable, various sets must have taken a toll on him, but he deserves applause for the rich and colorful look he gave, even-though each wedding sets were different from each other. Great job from both the production and costume designing teams ! Loganathan Srinivasan has given a bright tone for the film, with his cinematography work. The rich art detailing were well captured, but the glossy element was somewhat conspicuously missing. Bavan Sreekumar's editing was spot-on, with the neat flow of the screenplay and an acceptable running time.

Dharan Kumar's music, is passable, which for Yash Raj's standards, is a big letdown ! The "Aaha Kalyanam" theme track appears occasionally, throughout the film. "Koottali Koottali" is the opening song played during the credits and featured the lead pair, living their individual lives, in montage sequences. "Kadha Kadha" is the first wedding song, and had excellent dancing by Vaani, choreographed by Brinda master. "Bon Bon" is the first wedding song, picturized on Nani and Vaani, after the culmination of their partnership "Getti Melam". The song had good camera movements and colorful art design by R.C Velu. Both versions of "Honeyae Honeyae" was combined into one song, and was the best conceptualized song. It featured various wedding styles of different cultures, shot in beautiful montages, which were apparently designed by the lead pair ! "Mazhaiyin Saaralil" is the only duet song of the film, showcasing the falling in love motions of Vaani on Nani. It had a nice street set-up, filled with yellow flowers and also a scenic green landscape, interspersed by some montages. "Padhiye Padhiye" is a pathos song, also shot in montages, and featured the separated period of the lead pair, with their own wedding planning companies. "The Punch Song" or "Thala Song" is the most lavishly shot number in the film. It had great lighting, a big platform and a big crowd, which made the song look opulent in aspect. Dharan's background score was okay, but certainly not his best.

Since this is the official remake of 'Band Baaja Baaraat', debutante director A.Gokul Krishna, a former associate of Vishnuvardhan, has taken the safe route by being faithful to the original and is simple a scene-by-scene replica. The original story by Maneesh Sharma and screenplay by Habib Faisal, is left unruffled nor experimented. What makes the film livelier and easy to connect with, is the brilliant dialogues written by Rajiv Rajaraman. The cute and hilarious banter and repartee of the lead pair was only achievable thanks to Rajiv's funny dialogues. The conversational dialogues between Nani and Vaani, is the real highlight of the film, which keeps us engaged. Though A.Gokul Krishna has not done anything wrong with this film, there is an omnipresent niggling feel of watching a dubbing film throughout the running time, and the absence of more authentic local nativity, compounds that feeling even more. Habib Faisal's screenplay is not dull, though the pace drops a little in the second half. 

'Aaha Kalyanam' - Fun, cute and feel-good ! Minus the wow factor.


Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

BRAMMAN MOVIE REVIEW

The creator of the now cult-classic, path-breaking, trend-setting 'Subramaniapuram' M.Sasikumar plays "the creator" in Bramman, in a metaphorical sense. M.Sasikumar, who is on a stroll of acting and producing, has done a film for an outside production, this time under the baton of debutante Socrates, a former associate of Kamal Haasan. The trailer and promotions very evidently showcased this film as on out-and-out commercial entertainer. How entertaining was this 'Bramman' ?

Sasikumar, who is synonymous with rural-based films, goes for a changeover here with a city-based lead character. He has tried to adapt himself into the quintessential Tamizh cinema male leads, by wearing designer clothes, executing over-the-top action sequences and of course romancing his heroine in beautiful foreign locations. Basically, there's nothing to talk about in regards to his performance. The same can be applied to Lavanya Tripathi, a former Miss Uttarakhand who has done two Telugu films and making her bow in Tamizh. She's comfortable in her role, but she's not convincing with her acting performance and basically appears for the sake of having a heroine for songs and romance portions. Santhanam provides the laughter in the first half, and though his one-liners are good, they do not invoke much laughter. Soori takes the helm in the second half, and as usual delivers what is expected. Naveen Chandra has an important role, but lacks the screen presence to solidify his position in the film. The rest of the cast such as Malavika Menon, Lateef Omar, Jayaprakash, Vanitha Krishnachandran, Chams, Prof.Gnanasambandhan, Surekha, Ajay Rathnam and etc sufficed the needs of the script, whereas there were cameo roles done by Jai, Vaibhav and Madhu Shalini.

Sathya N.J's costume work was spot on, especially for M.Sasikumar, who goes for a changeover here. The modern outfits looks apt for him and so does the Lavanya Tripathi, who looked chic. Silva's action choreography was average and a little over-the-top, though the intention of choreographing it in such a manner, can only be known to him and the director. R.K Umesh has handle the art direction and his works sufficed the needs of the script. The props used for the old, dilapidated theaters and the celebratory-like atmosphere all had believability factors. Nice work ! Raja Mohammed's editing was neat and crisp, though the first half could have been better-handled, especially when it is loaded with plenty of unwanted scenes. Cinematography has been handled by Jomon T.John and Faizal Ali, with additional photography by Satish Kurup. The framing, lighting and angles, all had an average-stamp throughout the film. A pedestrian outcome, in short. 

Devi Sri Prasad's tunes has his mark all over, and its pretty average, this time too. "Voda Voda" is a situational song, used as a background score during the opening first few scenes. It had a small cycle chase and some light action choreography work done by Silva. "Vaanathil" has M.Sasikumar doing the dance number, aided by back-up dancers, after experiencing love for the very first time. The song had plenty of props, resembling a typical city street-setup, which had realistic work done by R.K Umesh. "Un Kannai Penne" is the first shot on the lead pair, in foreign locations. The Swiss Alps, becomes the backdrop yet again, with greeny pastures and snowy mountains as the main landscapes. The best tune from the lot is, "En Uyirin Uyiraaga" which was shot in Venice, Italy on the lead pair. The song mostly covered the city landscape, with the backing of a couple of dancers. "Vaada Vaada" had Padmapriya doing an item number, and though its a welcome to see her doing glamorous dance sequences, the song was poorly shot, with dull picturization. Background score by Devi Sri Prasad, is passable.

The most alarming aspect of Socrates' handling of the screenplay, is the non-present element of any serious issue or focal point, in bringing forward the story. Each issue which we encounter seems to peter out in the following scenes, and we had to wait till the entry of Naveen Chandra, to actually have any sort of attention on the story. The first half is just aimless and clueless, with comedy and romance sequences being belted out, alongside unnecessary speed-breakers, in the form of songs. The second half has a decent output, especially when Socrates highlights the lesser-talked about issues in Tamizh cinema and its film productions. The characterizations are weak, very weak in fact and no one has any sort of strong impact with their screen presence, except for Jayaprakash. What's very obvious with film is that, the commercial elements are simply thrust into the film, for the sake of having them, instead of incorporating them into the script, organically. End of the day, we can realize that Socrates had an interesting idea, which could have been developed into a nice commercial film, but the screenplay goes haywire and the direction is equally poor.

'Bramman' - What happened to the creator of 'Subramaniapuram' ?


Ratings: 2/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

ITHU KATHIRVELAN KADHAL MOVIE REVIEW

'Ithu Kathirvelan Kadhal' made the right noises for the production value, thanks to the producer and protagonist of the script, Udhayanidhi Stalin. After the super-hit 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi', he is back on the silver-screen with his "other-half" Santhanam, but this time under the baton of S.R Prabhakaran, who delivered the sleeper-hit 'Sundarapandian'. How does this equation fare, especially when you have good artistes and technicians as support ?

Udhayanidhi Stalin shows lots of progress in his acting repertoire. His dancing, emoting, dialogue delivery and the timing, as well confidence is way better than his debut. But, he has plenty of space for more improvements. Especially, when it comes to romance sequences, which brings us to Nayanthara. Being an experienced and able performer, she easily overshadows Udhayanidhi with her acting skills, is more convincing and has better screen presence than the Udhayanidhi. Nonetheless, they look like a good match, but Udhayanidhi has to buck up, if he's to attain more acting credentials ! Santhanam does his regular routine of being the hero's sidekick cum love-guru and as expected, delivers what he can. Not rip-roaring but still amusing enough, especially with his popular one-liners. Sunder Ramu has the only negative role of the film, and has not much of scope to score with his performances. Not to blame him, but his shallow characterization, that is. Chaya Singh makes a very pleasant comeback as a character artiste and the rest of the cast such as Naren, Murugadass, Saranya Ponvannan, Jayaprakash, Vanitha Krishnachandran, Dr. Bharath Reddy, Mayilsamy, Swaminathan, Kala Kalyani and etc, though underused, were befitting of their respective characters.

Rajini Vishal's costumes were chic and elegant, especially for Nayanthara, who looks gorgeous, especially in the chudithars and suits ! Dhilip Subbarayan has been credited for action choreography, but there's nothing substantial nor apparent, except for any functional purposes. Don Bosco's editing is crisp and neat, but he could have definitely handled the first half better, which drags unnecessarily with unimportant scenes. V.Selvakumar's production design was spotless, especially with the props used in the farm house and also of the other real locations. Balasubramaniem does not need foreign locations to showcase his expertise in cinematography, yet he does make use of his opportunities well. His lighting and angles for the indoor locations, especially of the rural farm house, looks pleasant for the eyes. He has tried to project a colorful tone overall for the movie, keeping in mind of 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi's template.

Udhayanidhi's favorite, Harris Jeyaraj scores the music for this film. Though the songs have the stamp of his, its a below-par album actually, and the songs are not really exciting nor fun. "Pallakku Devathai" looks like another rehash of "Venam Machan", but a lesser sprightly version. It serves as Santhanam's introductory song and has a college backdrop with back-up dancers and minimal artwork by V.Selvakumar. "Vizhiyae Vizhiyae" is a soft-number picturized on the lead pair, against the picturesque Swiss mountains. The lush-green landscape looks very cool and pleasant with colorful costumes for the lead pair. Nothing extraordinary with the camerawork but good locations by the unit. "Melae Melae" is a peppy number shot on the lead pair, this time in urbane Spain. Modern architectures acts as the background and Udhayanidhi proves his dancing improvements in this song. The best song of the album, "Anbe Anbe" has plenty of montages shot on the lead pair. Though the picturization was functional, it fails to do justice to the sweet composition of Harris Jeyaraj. The final song, "Sara Sara" is the typical rural-based dance number, shot in green villages and barren fields, with village-based set properties and appropriately dressed back-up dancers. The background score is a letdown, though Harris impresses in one or two occasions.

The makers have insisted during the promotions that they have tried to strike a balance between 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi' and 'Sundarapandian', and precisely that's what the film looks like. Unfortunately, this concoction does not mix up well, thanks to the disconcerting screenplay. The film does not fall properly into neither the rom-com nor the family drama genre, though the latter based sequences, has better writing. There is no cohesion nor a smooth flowing continuity in the screenplay, which creates space for unnecessary gaps. The emotional sequences portrayed has no organic element in it, and looks staged. The screenplay has a very orthodox arrangements, pertaining to the regular Tamizh cinema format of fun-and-frolic in the first half, and seriousness and crisis in the second half. Some sequences are archaic in the handling and some sentimental scenes are as good as the sensibility-degrading mega-serials shown in Tamizh satellite channels. Heck, even the conceptualization bears the same manner ! The characterizations is equally weak as well, with no depth in purpose for changeover of behaviors, which leaves us having no empathy for any characters. S.R Prabhakaran had a good material for a neat commercial entertainer, but his execution fell flat !

'Ithu Kathirvelan Kadhal' - An "Inbetweener" attempt of rom-com and family-drama, ends up being insipid !


Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL 

PANNAIYARUM PADMINIYUM MOVIE REVIEW

Vijay Sethupathi is back immediately after his 'Rummy' with 'Pannaiyarum Padminiyum', the debut venture of S.U Arun Kumar of 'Naalaiya Iyakkunar' fame. Made as a YouTube short film originally, the debutante director has developed it into a full-length feature film, which narrates man's affection with his first vehicle. The short film gained lots of recognition, but can S.U Arun Kumar replicate the same success on a bigger scale, with the same material ?

Vijay Sethupathi, naturally blends into the script and has delivered an earnest performance. He definitely reminds us of 'Super Star' Rajinikanth's image in the 80's period. Vijay makes use of the right scenes, which he can score and score, he did ! He's just too comfortable as Murugesan, the lovable driver chap. Also, he shares a fantastic chemistry with Jayaprakash, which is evident in some of the second half sequences. Iyshwarya Rajesh pairs up with Vijay Sethupathi once again, and if she goes on to choose the right scripts, she's definitely a talent to watch out for. Iyshwarya is breathe of fresh air indeed, among the glut of nonnative actresses. Balasaravanan rocks as Peedai, and he seems to be a natural talent in comedy. His timing and expressions are just perfect enough for the scenes, and he does not over-do his lines, even by an iota ! The next big thing comedy artiste ? Hope so ! The film definitely belongs to the lovely senior pair of Jayaprakash and veteran Thulasi. The cute relationship of an old couple, was so beautifully enacted by both artistes, its definitely not an exaggeration to say that, they must have lived their roles ! Portrayal of mature romance is too few in Tamizh cinema, but this undoubtedly stays as one of the best, so far. Neelima Rani, Mahadevan and etc make up the rest of the cast with decent cameos by 'Attakathi' Dinesh and Sneha.

Moithen handles the costume designing and he has done a nice work, especially with the main lead characters, who resembled their social status and demographic class. Also, it has to pertain to the era of the early 90's, which Moithen did not fail to realize. C.S Balachandar's production design was very apt for the script, because of the nativity the script demanded. The props of a rural village head's home, were the highlights which shows the good background work done by the art director, in correlation with the late 80's and early 90's era. Sreekar Prasad, scores brownie points for his editing pattern, which holds our attention of the characters. But the editor should have dealt with the unnecessarily over-stretched running time, which further slows down the already, slow pace of the screenplay. For a multiple National Award winning editor, his vast experience could have come in handy. Debutante cinematographer Gokul Benoy makes a very promising entry with 'Pannaiyarum Padminiyum'. The way he presented the lovely Fiat Premier Padmini, as a character itself, speaks volume of his talent. Also, the interior shots and the meticulously handled, lighting and top-angle shots used for those shots, were just class ! 

Music is handled by another debutante, a very young Justin Prabhakaran. His compositions are full of melodies, and he definitely has a good future in Tamizh cinema ! "Enga Ooru Vandi" was sung by kids and has plenty of montages and has the Padmini as the main protagonist and her relationship with the villagers. Gokul Benoy's lens captures the barren landscape, very beautifully. "Pesuren Pesuren" is one of the most well conceived song picturization in recent times. It was shot on Vijay Sethupathi and Iyshwarya, with a funeral backdrop. The setting is of somber mood, we can feel the joy and love of Vijay Sethupathi, captured well by Gokul with plenty of close-ups. "Kadhal Vandhucho" is another song shot on this young pair and has a few montages, with good camera movements. The pick of the lot is definitely, "Unakaaga Poranthene" shot on Jayaprakash and Thulasi. The lovely song had even lovelier montages showing the beautiful relationship between the senior couple. Most of the shots were taken indoors, yet Gokul's camera work does not evoke any repetition. A similar track, "Enakaaga Poranthiye" features as a bit song and was shot on Vijay Sethupathi and Iyshwarya. "Aaraaro" is a pathos song, which highlights the separation of the vehicle from the family. Though Justin did a great work with the songs, he could still improve with the background score. Though melodious, some portions could have had a more mellow touch to it. He's obviously inspired by Raja sir, and he sure can learn a lot from the maestro's rerecording as well.

It is good to see that a young chap such as S.U Arun Kumar has the ability to handle the subject of a mature couple's love for each other, in a splendid manner. Also, he must be appreciated for scripting a subject which has no antagonist or any characters with negative shadows. S.U Arun Kumar handles the intricacies of relationship very well and he definitely extracts the best from his artistes, with his clear vision. The humor quotient is not forced and grows organically, along with the screenplay. Besides that, its nice to see that S.U Arun Kumar is a lover of old-fashion, which has its own poetic charm and essence, which was evident in the way he staged some sequences. But the film is not without its pitfalls. The depth of the film's script, is definitely very shallow and it is an arduous task to turn a 10-minute video into a full-length feature film. Added to that, the film has a slow narration and though it works well for the script, it might bore some audiences, who are lovers of fast screenplay. Also, S.U Arun Kumar could have avoided inserting unnecessary melodramatic and sentimental scenes, which looks forced and acts as mere speed-breakers. A more concise screenplay, would have done more good than harm to the film. But despite all these minor drawbacks, 'Pannaiyarum Padminiyum' is a welcome relief for us and has a feel-good, lovey-dovey element throughout the film.

'Pannaiyarum Padminiyum' - Charmingly and sweetly, old-fashioned.


Ratings: 3/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

PULIVAAL MOVIE REVIEW

'Pulivaal' started making noise once the promotions kicked-in, and features a double-hero subject as its story. Vemal and Prasanna team up in a film produced by R.Radikaa Sarathkumar and Listin Stephen. G.Marimuthu, who previously did Prasanna's 'Kannum Kannum' makes a comeback as a director. The trailer promised a hodgepodge of elements such as comedy and thriller and etc. Was it worth our time ?

The two male leads play diametrically opposing characters, where Vemal is from the lower-class society, whereas Prasanna belongs to the rich and suave section. As for Vemal, its the umpteenth time he's playing such a character, so there's nothing much extraordinary with his performance. He did what he was expected to do and what he can do. But the changeover from a naive chap to a manipulating impostor is less convincing. Prasanna, scores in his role with a decent performance, especially from the sequences building up to the climax, onward. He's pretty much confident with his role, probably due to his experience, enacting something similar to what he did in 'Muran'. Among the three female leads, its Oviya who has the most impact upon the script. She has upped her ante in the glamour quotient but rarely passes muster in the performance department, though she tried her best to be confident enough in difficult sequences, such as the intimate scenes. Ananya, plays Vemal's pair and is adequate for her role and has her fair share of screen presence. Iniya, plays a less substantial role. Soori and Thambi Ramaiah's comedy portions evoke some chuckles in the beginning, but the humor starts to get tedious as the movie proceeds further, especially with Soori's SMS jokes. Prem Kumar, Swarnamalya and etc dons the peripheral characters needed here and there.

Perumal Selvam has done a neat work with the costumes department, though better work could have been focused on Oviya, since she has glamour quotient in her character. G.C Ananthan's production design sufficed the need of the script, especially with the swanky and posh bungalow of Prasanna's character, along with the office scenarios. Rajasekhar, takes care of the action choreography, and the final climax fight sequence, had very natural and realistic touch in the choreography. The tight angles of the toilet cubicles setting, has been well exploited. Kishore T.E handles the editing department, and his work was just average with his techniques. He could have trimmed the first half to some good extent, due to the excessively unwanted comedy and romance tracks. Bhojan K.Dinesh's cinematography is pretty ordinary as well, and the climax fight was the best shot scene. Better lighting in the some sequences could have elevated the mood of the scenes, further.

N.R Raghunanthan's songs are hummable but acts as mere speed breakers in the film, unfortunately. "Netrum Party" appears as a situational bit song, shot on Prasanna and Prem, in a nightclub setting. "Neelangaraiyil" was shot on Vemal and Ananya and had quite a few locations such as the Athirapally waterfalls, beaches, temples and etc, aided with minimalist props done by G.C Ananthan. "Kichu Kichu" was shot on Prasanna and Oviya, with the usual backup dancers, with some ancient temple setting, as its backdrop. "Naadu Naadu" is a situational song, which appears just before the climax and was shot on Prasanna, with montages of several supermarkets. "Vaazhkai Unnai" appears right during the end credits. The background score is scored by Gopi Sundar and he has utilized N.R Raghunanthan's tunes as the basis of his score. He has tried his best to elevate the intensity of the climax sequence, with his music.

Before dwelling on G.Marimuthu's direction, it is to be noted that 'Pulivaal' is a direct remake of Sameer Thahir's 2011 Malayalam film, 'Chaappa Kurish' starring Vineeth Sreenivasan and Fahadh Faasil. Though Sameer has been credited for the story, the original Malayalam film raised some controversies in reference to the originality of the script. Some of the scripts elements has been lifted from the 2003 Hollywood film, '21 Grams' starring Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Benicio del Toro, which was written by Guillermo Arriaga and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu. The trailer of 'Chaappa Kurish' was almost a direct copy of '21 Grams'. Meanwhile, the script has a striking resemblance to the 2009 Korean crime thriller 'Handphone', written by Kim Mi-hyeon and directed by Kim Han-min. Coming to G.Marimuthu's handling of the film, there are quite a few flaws. The director has failed to properly establish the two male leads, which ultimately led to the audience failing to root for, neither of them. We don't sympathize nor empathize with the male leads. The story wanders into no-man's land for the most of the first half and has too much of unnecessary scenes. As mentioned earlier, the director failed to convincingly portray the changeover of characters and the driving force behind such a changeover. What could have been an intense script, turned out to be a damp squib, due to the poor direction.

'Pulivaal' - Below average due to poor handling of the script.


Ratings: 2/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

RUMMY MOVIE REVIEW

'Rummy' enticed the viewers for its throwback to the 1980's era and for the slick trailer, with great background score by D.Imman. The current hot-shot of Tamizh cinema, Vijay Sethupathi joins hands Inigo Prabhakaran after 'Sundarapandian' for this debut film of Balakrishnan.K, a former associate of Lingusamy. 

The biggest surprise one would get while watching the film, is the fact that its Inigo Prabhakaran who is the actual protagonist and hero of the script, and Vijay is just relegated to second-hero status. Nevertheless, Inigo Prabhakaran has delivered a very earnest performance, and one should appreciate his dedication in improving his acting nuances. But does he possess the necessary screen presence to pass off as a main hero, is a debatable question. Meanwhile, Vijay Sethupathi comes out with a realistic performance and better screen presence. Having lesser screen timing for him, is definitely a sore point. Iyshwarya Rajesh has the meatier role among the female leads, and she strikes up a good chemistry with Vijay Sethupathi. Her big and expressive eyes is an asset for her, and she was made to use it for the climax. Gayathrie Shankar fits her role well, though she can try to be more expressive and confident with her dialogue deliveries. Soori provides the laugh and this man is slowly creating a special place for himself, with good dialogue deliveries and comic timing. The rest of the cast such as Sentrayan, Sujatha, Sivakumar, Munnar Ramesh, Joe Malloori, Vignesh Vijayakumar and etc did what was expected from their characters.

G.Veeramani handles the art direction department, and he has done a fairly decent job, with the 80's era properties such as phones, cars, movie posters and etc. He managed to recreate the ambiance of the 80's era, with present locations. Raja Mohammed's editing could have slicker since, the second half drags and the first half has poor cohesion in screenplay, which gives the film a ponderous pace.  Director's demands, perhaps ? Dhilip Subbarayan's action choreography was adequate, with some heavy doses of violence, due to the demands of the script. C.Premkumar's cinematography was okay, with plenty of low-angle and tight close-ups and the usage of trolley shots, added better effects to the sequences. Some of his framing, highlighted the old-school feel of the plot settings.

D.Imman's songs and background score is the real highlight of the film. His melodies are getting better and better and he is definitely having a rocking time, currently. "Adiye Enna Raagam" was shot on Inigo Prabhakaran and Gayathrie Shankar and had the ancient rock and cave temples of rural Tamil Nadu as its backdrop. Such landscape is a treat to the eyes, for sure. The pick of the lot is definitely the melodious "Kooda Mele" song, shot on Vijay Sethupathi and Iyshwarya. The song too had plenty of beautiful rural landscape, shown in montages. "Yethukaaga Enna" is shot once again on Inigo Prabhakaran and Gayathrie Shankar and had a similar setting as their earlier duet, but this time in an ancient temple bakground. "Oru Nodi" is a situational, bit-song shot on Vijay Sethupathi and Iyshwarya, late in the second half. D.Imman's background score adds more emotions to the sequences, and he has definitely established himself as one of the leading music director's of Tamizh cinema. 

Balakrishnan.K handles the story, screenplay and direction and Mona Palanisamy takes care of the dialogues. When it comes to the dialogues, there's nothing much outstanding. Most of them were just pretty, ordinary dialogues, which suited the needs of the script. The story and screenplay has more drawbacks, though. The pace is too slow and there's no coherence in how the story develops. There are plenty of unnecessary sequences, which does not add any value to the film, nor any importance to the story. At the same time, Balakrishnan.K's screenplay has plenty of gaps and loopholes, with plenty of unanswered questions and some proceedings insipidly tied-up for the sake of story-telling. Some of the characters are there for no reasons and make an entry and exit, aimlessly. There's not much novelty in the attempt, and its basically an aping act to replicate the 'Subramaniapuram' success, or to be more modest, could be the 'Sundarapandian' success, too. The climax has a sort-of shocking ending, but its not too entirely unpredictable or stunning enough to make one go "wow".

'Rummy' - Why did the director titled the film as such ? Clueless. 


Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

INGA ENNA SOLLUDHU MOVIE REVIEW

Basking in the success and popularity of his dialogue in 'Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa', 'VTV' Ganesh has almost single-handedly "created" this film, right from the production to scripting and acting. The cameos of Silambarasan and Santhanam added more commercial assets to the film, but was this film worth the wait and watch ?

Make no mistakes about it, the whole film is about 'VTV' Ganesh and more importantly, it is only about 'VTV' Ganesh ! He does what can be expected from him but a tiny surprise in the film, is his tackling of a serious role and some emotional sequences. How much impact his acting had on the film, though ? Zero ! And its just insane to think that a very talented actress of Meera Jasmine's caliber was just wasted for no reason at all ! Silambarasan and Santhanam had extended cameo roles in the film. The former played the cool dude role with a touch of arrogance whereas the latter failed in a big way to make any sort of impact on the film ! Besides them Andrea, editor Anthony, art director Rajeevan, singer Ujjaini, Mayilsamy, K.S Ravikumar, R.Pandiarajan and Swarnamalya had meaningless cameos and roles, in the film.

The biggest shock of the film, is the inclusion of some of the best technicians of the industry. Rafiq and Nithya handled the costume department and sufficed the need of the film. Rajeevan's art direction was simple and neat. Nothing extraordinary or significant enough to hold our attention. Anthony has tried his best in making the film racy, but alas, the screenplay is so poor, his editing seems to be non-existent ! Cinematographer R.D Rajashekar has tried his best to score in his department wherever he can, but the insipid direction did not inspire him in anyways and most of his shots are just pretty lukewarm for his high standards.

Dharan Kumar's scores are quite average, to be honest. "Appa Tucker" was shot on 'VTV' Ganesh and Santhanam, in a music video style, with plenty of lighting and a group of sexily-clad dancers. "Avan Ivan" is a bit song of 'VTV' Ganesh working as a bartender in a swanky pub. "Cute Aana" is a montage song shot on 'VTV' Ganesh and Swarnamalya, which was picturized in Singapore. "Kutty Payale" was sung by Silambarasan and was shot on him, 'VTV' Ganesh and Meera Jasmine in London, which had locations of brown color palette. "Shuklam Baratham" is a situational bit song shot on Meera Jasmine. "Pattampoochi" sung by 'VTV' Ganesh himself, was shot on him and is a pathos song. Dharan's background score was a little better than his songs, and if it was to be a better film, his score would have been more appreciated.

'VTV' Ganesh takes the credits for story, screenplay and dialogues whereas Vincent Selva dons the role of director. What Vincent Selva did, is truly a puzzling question because, apparently there seems to be no need of a director for such a script ! It's astonishing to note of 'VTV' Ganesh's bravery to invest money, by producing a film on his own, without even the basic knowledge of scripting and writing ! In the opening credits, he gives a note saying the film is a partial inspiration of his own life, but nothing seems to be interesting at all ! There's no cohesion in screenplay, no synergy among the artistes, there's no continuity in the flow of proceedings, nor any logic/sense in the script ! 

'Inga Enna Solludhu' - Ludicrousness, "movified" !

Ratings: 1.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL

MALINI 22 PALAYAMKOTTAI MOVIE REVIEW

Veteran actress Sripriya makes her debut as a director with this flick, which is a remake of the well-received Malayalam film, '22 Female Kottayam' starring Rima Kallingal and Fahadh Faasil and directed by new-age director Aashiq Abu. A women-centric film, the original created some stir for its boldness in story telling and for its urbane approach. Can Sripriya recreate the same effect with Malini ?

Nithya Menen is a talented actress, but unfortunately she seems to be the wrong pick for this role. She is hardly convincing in this role of Malini's and struggles to shoulder the entire film, which is to be expected since she is the protagonist. Her changeover in the second half is not convincingly portrayed and she lacks the power and vigor to pull off the emotional climax sequence. Newcomer Krish J.Sathaar is equally less convincing as the sweet-talking Casanova and his pairing with Nithya Menen fails to sparkle, which is a crucial element of the script. Naresh is a total letdown, in the role done wonderfully by Prathap Pothen in the original. Naresh is certainly no match for Prathap. The rest of the cast such as the overbearingly loud Kovai Sarala, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Vidyullekha Raman, Anjali Rao, Janagi, AC Murali, Mohan V.Ram and etc had miniscule roles and has no effect over the script, pretty much.

Anu Parthasarathy could have done better with Nithya's costumes. Though she looked like a modern city girl, some excitement needed for the role was missing. And it applies for the rest of the cast as well. Prem Navas handled the art direction and his works with the posh bungalow setting and its properties was okay. The hospital set though could have been better propped. Bavan Sreekumar's editing was functional and he has kept the duration of the film crisp. But his scene transition is not smooth and is very abrupt, especially in the first half. Manoj Pillai handles the cinematography and his work sufficed the needs of the script. Better visuals could have done more wonders for the script.

Aravind-Shankar duo handles the music department. Their score is pretty much lukewarm and unexciting. "Vinmeengal" is the opening song of the protagonist and shot alongside her housemates, with montages of them and the hospital surroundings. "Kanneer Thuliye" is a pathos song, also shot with montages involving the lead pair. "Madharthammai" is the final song, which highlights feminism and appears towards the end. A remix version of the song, with music video style format was shot for promotional intentions and is available on Youtube.

First things, first. Its a welcome to see a woman director making her mark in Tamizh cinema. But sadly, Sripriya's direction is a major letdown. The film failed to elevate itself into a thrilling revenge-drama, though the script had potential. Sripriya has made some minor changes to Abhilash Kumar and Shyam Pushkaran's original storyline, but the overall effect of the film is a major minus-point. The first half is a very boring proceeding with lacklustre romance episodes, insipid drama, and irritating comedy sequences. Its a big disappointment that Sripriya has overlooked the most important elements of the script and has put her attention more into the dialogues element alone. Her dialogues are full of anger and feministic views and its sort of pretty obvious that this anger looks to be an extension of the memorable character she played in the 1978-released, C.Rudhraiya classic 'Aval Appadithaan'. The connectivity between the character played by Sripriya and the intensity of the dialogues mouthed by Nithya in the climax, is very apparent. Besides that, Sripriya's handling of the characterizations is weak as well, especially of the protagonists'. All the characters are half-baked and has no depth in the artistes' portrayal. The transformation of Nithya from the a naive, sweet girl to the revenge-seeking hardened woman, was badly presented.

'Malini 22 Palayamkottai' - Climax is the only sequence to check out !


Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL