Nagaram Movie Review

Starring: Sundar C, Vadivelu, Anuya
Direction: Sundar C
Music: Thaman
Production: Kushboo Sundar

Sundar C must have missed direction during his hiatus that he put to use to carve a niche for himself in masala movies as a lead man. What with the gap (in direction), Sundar also seems to have drifted away from his comedy-action entertainer franchisee to get experimental with Nagaram.
Nagaram

As a result, Nagaram is a gritty tale of a man whose frightful past as a henchman wrecks his intention to lead a normal life inordinately. It’s also a tale of betrayal in friendship, greedy and corrupt cops, how ugly rivalry in illegal business could get and how ghosts from the past are capable of wreaking havoc in a man’s life despite his willingness to lead a normal life.

The movie opens with Sundar C being stabbed in the Chennai Central Station whilst trying to flee from the city with his fiancée Anuya and their baby. It opens up in flashes as Sundar, the protagonist, recounts his experiences in the city and what pushes him to take the decision to quit trying to lead a normal life and run away from it.

Sundar C and Bose Venkat are best friends. Like good old best friends in Tamil movies, one ends up in jail as a petty criminal while the other lands up in a cop-job. Turns out the petty criminal (Sundar) has the heart of gold and the cop (Bose) is crooked as hell. In effect, after Sundar’s release from the prison, Bose, the cop, uses him for his heinous and unlawful activities including drug trafficking. Sundar loves his friend and is naïve enough to fulfill those deeds for the sake of friendship, mainly because he thinks his friend would not bring him any harm.

But soon enough, all is not well in the drug trafficking business. One of the business dealings go awry and Bose crosses paths with another dreadful criminal and makes do with his crores-worth narcotics. He doesn’t have the nerve to part with the booty that is worth crores of rupees and tricks Sundar C into believing that what he did was right. Things take an ugly turn with another cop double crossing Bose and making Sundar realize that he was being used. The betrayed Sundar is dejected and decides to leave the city with his girlfriend but the ghost of his past follows him.

Characteristically, Sundar is unpretentious in his intentions. While choosing a story of a wronged man wanting to lead a normal life, he hasn’t compromised on the commercial aspects of the movie. No matter how serious the narrative gets, there is Vadivelu with his howler antics to lighten up the proceedings with his often lewd dialogues delivering it with funny intonations. Of course his fans are going to love it. After all, it’s been a while since Vadivelu has had a field day and this might just be one.

That apart, Sundar, Bose Venkat and the other characters of the movie form layers of the narrative blending with its flow. Other than their neat performances, the takeaway is the unassuming and pretty Anuya who seems to have decided to shed a few layers of her costume for the benefit of her career (or her fans as the case may be). Taman’s music reminds us of the prodigy he is, in a couple of songs (one of which has Anuya soaked wet in rain).

Sundar has managed to pack a punch with the narrative style of the movie and the climax tugs at your heart. Besides, he has also diversified from his style of movie making to take up a serious subject of friendship and betrayal. On the whole, but for a few glitches here and there, Nagaram is not bad a watch.

Verdict: This city is gritty!

Magizhchi Movie Review

Starring: Gowthaman, Seeman, Prakash Raj, Anjali, Karthika
Direction: V Gowthaman
Music: Vidyasagar
Production: D Manivannan

Adapting novels into movies has been quite a frequent (not as much as we would like) practice in the film industry. But, the most common complaint that we come across with all such efforts is that the soul of the book was ultimately lost while translating it onto screen. But, Magizhchi is one effort that cannot be accused of
Magizhchi
tampering with the original feel of the book that it has adapted. A screen version of acclaimed author Neelapathmanabhan’s Thalaimuraikal, Magizhchi is set in the rural folds of Tamil Nadu and tells the story of a family, focusing primarily on the brother-sister relationship while also spreading the attention of the viewer onto a variety of socio-economic issues of villages.

Two siblings; the sister being the elder, share an almost ideal relationship. Each other’s happiness means the world to the other and it is shown in many instances in the film that either of them would go to any lengths to keep the other happy. They grow up and soon the sister is wedded off with great hopes of having a good and happy life. But, what happens is quite on the contrary. She is subject to intense domestic drudgery; both physical and mental torture. At first we don’t understand the reason behind her husband’s behavior towards her; is it sheer male chauvinism or is there a more serious rift between them. That is what her brother tries to find out. Not much to our surprise; he finds out that his brother-in-law is being cruel and unreasonable towards his sister and there is something that he wants to be hidden from the society on the whole. But, the brother is not ready to sit around and watch his sister getting tortured and decides to put an end to this marriage which is causing only grief to everyone. But, his brother-n-law is not ready to give in all that easily and the ugly caste issue threatens to raise its head when a solution to all this seems in sight.

The first thing that we notice about Magizhchi is the simplicity and natural charm that it possesses. There has been absolutely no attempt to try and infuse anything artificial or extraneous into the script with the excuse of making it more ‘cinema friendly’. It is an honest adaptation of the book. It is definitely a throwback to the 80s kind of family drama with overbearing husbands and brother-sister sentiment all playing a part. But, if willing with an open mind; contemporary appeal can be found in this movie. It shows that male dominance and domestic violence are still a part of the social fabric; especially in rural India. The movie also highlights the economic backwardness of the villages; especially in portions where the bride’s father has to sell the land that he has tilled for years to get his daughter married. His grief and helplessness have been well portrayed. Also the fact that caste is still a major issue in the minds of the rural population is depicted in the movie; especially during the final portions. One of the portions of the movie that attracts most due to its novel and extremely simple narrative styles is the one where the grandmother is narrating an old fable to her grandchildren. The story is shown to us on screen in the form of sketches (by Trotsky Marudhu) with the grandmother’s (Sukumari) voice in the background; it is quite interesting to watch.

The director has managed to extract good performances out of almost everybody in the cast. The experienced hands like Prakash Raj and Sukumari walk through their roles with consummate ease and expertise. The actress who really impresses with her performance is Anjali; as the girl who loves the younger brother. She is almost perfect as the young , a bit mischievous, village girl. Karthika, as the elder sister, is also very good, especially in portions where she gets tortured by her husband. Seeman delivers a dignified and typically sober performance while Sampath Raj makes an impact as the man who is trying to assert himself on his wife, but is in fact afraid deep inside that a truth about him might surface if he gives her too much freedom. The director Gauthaman, after focusing on everyone, seems to have overlooked himself just a little bit. One gets the feeling that he could have given himself a bit more attention.

Technically, Magizhchi is not a movie that demands much. But, the locations, bordering on Theni are a treat to watch and have been captured well on camera. Music by Vidhyasagar reiterates the fact that he is rightfully called melody king.

Magizhchi is a well made film about family relationships and social issues. However, it has its innate limitations in terms of being an entertainer. To the team’s credit, the movie has never aspired to be an entertainer that is out of the scope, the story permits. If you are the sentimental type whose idea of a village based film is not just ‘sickles and sevals’, then Magizhchi will make you happy.

Verdict: Faithful adaptation of a good literary work

Naan Mahan Alla Movie Review

Banner: Studio Green
Cast: Karthi, Kajal Agarwal
Direction: Suseendran
Production: K E Gnanavel Raja
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Expectations were literally bigger than before as Susindran and Karthi joined hands together. These personalities share a common history of success in film industry and together they have outmatched their previous films now. ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’ top notches on every arenas as it holds a powerful theme and technicians glistering at their best. The film creates a lump in your throats with its serious subject and you’ll walk out of theatres with an intense emotion.

What starts as a passable entertainer turns into a gripping crime-thriller during second half. Hats off to entire team as they deserve praises for their earnest efforts and brilliancies.

The film focalizes on the increasing crimes in Chennai and how it disturbs the lives of innocuous people leading a peaceful life.

Jeeva (Karthi) has a picture perfect life with caring parents (Jayaprakash, ‘Eeram’ fame Lakshmi), affectionate sister (Priya of ‘Singam’ fame) and supportive friends. His life is filled with absolute happiness when Priya (Kajal Agarwal) comes across his life. Marked by abrupt transitions, Jeeva’s life undergoes a wild change as the dark-crude side of Chennai has other plans for him. The emotions and perplexities are now on hi s playing cards. Jeeva is now forced to handle the situations, in a way he never expected. On the pragmatic contexts, the film touches the increasing crime rates in Metropolitan City of Chennai.

Karthi showcases ne plus ultra performance and gets under the skin of his characterization. It’s a relief for those, who felt his role was incisively exaggerated in ‘Paiyya’. What is sure to surprise you is the fact that it doesn’t boast of any stunts till the climax. For the first 100minutes, the film strides with spanking narration of fun, frolic and romance. However, Susindran makes sure that audiences are provided with a clue right on the prologue about what this film is all about. The point of conjunction by involving Karthi’s character has been well designed by the filmmaker.

The most highlighting attribute of this film is the crisp and crystal-clear narration. Susindran makes sure the audiences are not dragged back and forth with fluctuating tempos. The 130mins of drama keeps you adhered to screens.

Karthi excels with his charismatic appeal and deserves special mention for his stunning performance in action sequences. Even his hilarious mannerisms during first half are enjoyable. Kajal Agarwal looks bubbly, cherubic and shares a great chemistry with Karthi. Jayaprakash continues striking gold at his performance level while Lakshmi deserves same praises for her acting. 4 youngsters (one of them looks identical as younger boy, who played Suriya’s role in ‘Nandha’) are excellent on their part.

Technically, Yuvan Shankar Raja’s musical score is the biggest asset as his Midas touch on background score enhances the visuals canned by Mathi. The cinematographer has completely changed his pattern from ‘Paiyya’ and emblazons the screens with different touch. Kasi Viswanathan’s editing is sleek and neat.

Stunts choreographed by Anal Arasu are far beyond excellence. The action sequences moves you to the edge of seats. It’s nice and realistic to see the baddies being more dominant than an ordinary guy in these stunts.

As on whole, ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’ isn’t just an entertaining film, but a hardcore reality that has been prevailing amongst the people in contemporaneous city of Chennai.

We wish Susindran to keep his thumbs up and producers are sure to take a cake walk. It’s yet another precious stud in Karthi’s career.

What works: Almost everything, the plot and screenplay, performances, technical panoramas

What doesn’t work: Missing a duet song ‘Oru Maalai Neram’ from Yuvan’s bank

Verdict: Just outstanding. Must watch it

Banner: Studio Green Films, Cloud Nine Productions

Production: K.E. Gnanavel Raja, Dayanidhi Azhagiri

Direction: Susindran

Actors: Karthi, Kajal Agarwal, Jaya Prakash and others

Dialogues: Bhaskar Sakthi

Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Camera: Mathi

Editing: Kasi Viswanathan

Lyrics: Na. Muthukumar, Yuga Bharathy, Francis

Stunt: Anal Arasu

Art: Rajeevan

Choreography: Sabeena Khan, Baba Bhaskar

INIDHU INIDHU MOVIE PREVIEW

Sekhar Kammula is one of the gifted directors of our times and most of his movies have gone on to become super hits. Inidhu Inidhu is a remake of his 2007 blockbuster hit Happy Days which was shot with lesser known debutant actors and in a shoe string budget. The movie went on to rake in money and rewrite box office history of Telugu films reiterating Kammula’s stature.

Inidhu Inidhu, produced by Prakash Raj’s Duet Movies, is a feel-good flick that revolves around the lives of a group of college friends. K V Guhan wields the baton and tries to replicate the directorial prowess of Kammula in Inidhu Inidhu. This is Guhan’s first movie as a director, who had earlier associated with Prakash Raj as a cinematographer in his Mozhi. So impressed was Prakash with his work, he invited Guhan to direct Inidhu Inidhu, for which he seemed to have obliged.

The way Prakash Raj acquired the Tamil rights of
Inidhu Inidhu

Happy Days is interesting as well. After getting besotted by the songs of the then-unreleased Happy Days played by his driver in his car, Prakash inquired about the movie. During his next trip to Hyderabad, he met with the producers, saw the movie and struck a deal and later acquired the Tamil rights even before it was released in Telugu. After the movie became a runaway success, Prakash was approached many times by Tamil producers asking for the rights and willing to pay astronomical sums. Prakash never parted with the rights and here we have Inidhu Inidhu.

According to the scope of the movie, it’s supposed to have been shot almost entirely in a college. Kammula shot Happy Days in his own college (Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology). However, the college location Guhan selected for Inidhu Inidhu is as yet unknown.

Mickey G Meyer, who scored music for Happy Days is retained for the Tamil version too. His famously popular numbers should give the movie the required push.

Happy Days also starred Tamannah but sadly Prakash seems to have done away with her and opted for a debutant instead. The movie was also earlier dubbed and released in Kerala owing to the huge popularity Telugu films enjoy in Mallu land on par with Tamil movies.

The movie rides so much on all these positive aspects and the fact that it comes from the Prakash Raj’s Duet Movies stable, known for producing sensible movies scales up the expectation levels. It’s also widely expected that Prakash will get his business right this time too.

Starring: Adith Narayan, Vimal Saran, Reshmi, Bennas, Sonia, Gia Umar.
Direction: K.V. Guhan
Music: Mickey. J. Meyer
Production: Prakash Raj

Vamsam Movie Review

Starring: Arulnidhi, Sunaina, Ganja Karuppu
Direction: Pandiraj
Music: Taj Noor
Production: M K Thamizharasu

The brouhaha associated with Vamsam has been on the high for two reasons. Primarily, it is due to director Pandiraj who had earned well deserved recognition in his very first venture Pasanga and hence his audiences are eagerly looking forward to his second project. Secondarily, the scion of the first family of Tamil Nadu, M K Arulnidhi enters the world of glitterati as hero and naturally the curiosity levels are at an all time high to assess the young man. Besides these two factors, the voluble promos in the media have also spiced up the proceedings.
Vamsam

At the outset, in Vamsam, Pandiraj has attempted to record the life styles, the culture, traditions of a community called Devar in the interior Tamil Nadu. There are 11 sects belonging to this community who are well known for a particular trait; one for rendering unequivocal justice, one for revenge, one for adventure sports etc.

Kishore belongs to the tribe which excels in rekla, silambam and other such games and always comes up trumps in any activity that he is involved in. Jayaprakash on the other hand belongs to the sect which avenges any form of humiliation. Not withstanding Kishore’s triumphs, he kills him mixing poison in his liquor. Jayaprakash’s intentions are to completely erase the clan of Kishore. However Kishore’s wife, who was pregnant during the time of her husband’s death, decides to raise her offspring away from the habits of her husband which brought him his untimely end. Fortunately for her, Jayaprakash spares her son.

Arulnidhi, son of Kishore is a very timid boy, a post graduate in Botany who minds his business. Unable to manage a cow (Asin), he sells it to Sunaina’s family but Asin runs back to Arulnidhi’s house. This leads to interesting interactions between the couple which ultimately blossom into love. Asin plays the messenger of love between the couple and the reason for their frequent meetings.

Meanwhile, Sunaina’s father who belongs to the clan of giving out justices, hands out a verdict in favor of Jayaprakash’s servant who was ill treated by him. Irked by the disgrace Jayaprakash kills him. Upset by this, Sunaina throws a pail of dung over Jayaprakash’s face in open street which is the pinnacle of ignominy for a person in the community. This triggers the series of revenge episodes in a relay fashion and where it all leads and ends form the rest of Vamsam.

In the department of performances, a deglamorized Sunaina takes the cake revealing that she can deliver any type of role. Although Arulnidhi fits the role of a docile, educated boy, he has a long way to go. The sequences where the couple in love talk in botanical terms is something new to Tamil cinema in recent times and would be enjoyable for Botany students. Ganja Karuppu and Arulnidhi take care of comedy department which are enjoyable. Kishore delivers a neatly crafted performance and so is Jayaprakash.

The screen play does tend to get wobbly at times and meanders here and there making it to difficult to connect with the film. Although there are incidents of killing, they have not been depicted grotesquely. The Thiruvizha scenes stand out in their native grandeur and the camerawork by Mahesh Muthusamy is laudable. The explanation about killing during Thiruvizha times is something new.

Music director Taj Noor; an erstwhile assistant of A R Rahman, shows potential especially in the pada pada pattampoochi number. He is efficient and sure to go places with the right kind of opportunity.

Pandiraj is successful in showcasing the life of a community in its various facets which could be interesting to some. He has fused realism and cinematic elements in the right proportion and has sliced his way through the path less trodden with considerable aplomb this time also.

Verdict – Illustrious lineage!

THILLALANGADI MOVIE REVIEW

To start off with, it’s yet another remake from the duo Raja-Ravi as their previous films of the same kind proved to be black horses at box office. Obviously, their previous films’ original versions were top-class entertainers while ‘Kick’ was just a passable show and doubtlessly its replication reproduces the same results.

Let’s not get along with comparisons and hitting straight onto the point of verdict, ‘Thillalangadi’ is an average entertainer that is 170mins of show time. However, the narrative aspects with enjoyable and gripping moments make it worth watching.

Jeyam Ravi’s experimental role in ‘Peranmai’ won him incredible laurels and this imitation job does land him on appreciative grounds. Raja’s ethical traits continue in this film as every shot goes the same way on narration and technical aspects.

The film opens in Malaysia with Nisha (Thamannah) unwillingly accepts to meet Krishna Kumar (Shaam), whom their parents want to them married. What starts as a conversation turns into unexpected twist as they share a commonality with the same person. Uh! The story shifts to flashback as Nisha shares about acerbate past life with her ex-boyfriend Krishna (Ravi). His very nature of being rigidly unique of wanting ‘Kick’ and ‘Risk’ in very acts makes her annoyed. Krishna’s attribute of hop-skipping jobs very often splits them up. When it’s his turn to uncover about a person, who has been making him restless, Krishna Kumar reveals that his mission is about hunting down a vicious thief in Chennai, who has flown down to Malaysia now. For a greater surprise, the smartest thief is none other than the same Krishna.

Guess what’s gonna happen next? The second half is all about the hide-and-seek games laced with humor, romance and unconditional sentiments with reasons behind Krishna’s new avatar.

Ravi as a cool chap-later- a challenging man attempts to score bigger over screen space. Of course, at few parts, he entertains the audiences with his funny liners and mannerisms. But he has to change his dancing style. Thamannah looks cherubic at places, but her overactive mannerisms make it quite odder. The prototyped costumes turn comical after certain extent. Vadivelu with his comedy oriented parts keeps the first half going with right momentum while Santhanam has been wasted. Prabhu’s performance is at his best while Suhasini doesn’t appear for more than 3 scenes. She has to choose some good roles as she deserves yet more challenging roles. Mansoor Ali Khan as a risible cop often troubled by Vadivelu tickles funny bones. Shaam need special mention for his astounding performance and it’s really appreciable if he chooses for certain roles to get himself over the top.

The songs aren’t really convincing as Yuvan Shankar Raja loses his best standards. Even the background score doesn’t enhances the visual quality and raciness in screenplay. Thanks to Thaman’s original background score as it has been reestablished finely over here. Cinematography is average and so is editing.

If there could be few reasons to mention about Raja – it is his casting of actors and dialogues. Of course, the basic plot, screenplay has its credits for Surendar Reddy. If Raja had trimmed the duration in second half, the film would have been yet more entertaining.

What works: Shaam, last 30mins and climax, Vadivelu

What doesn’t work: Longer duration, Music, Camera, performances…

Verdict: Passable show

Banner: Sun Pictures, Jeyam Company
Production: Editor Mohan, Kalanidhi Maaran
Direction: Jeyam Raja

Star-casts: Jeyam Ravi, Thamannah, Shyam, Vadivelu, Santhanam, Mansoor Ali Khan, Prabhu, Livingstone, Thyagu, Sathyan, Mayilsamy, Deepu, Suhasini, Nalini, Lakshmi, Latha Rao, Chandra Lakshman, John Vijay, Balaji, Jayaprakash and Raja
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Lyrics: Vaali, Na.Muthukumar, Vivega
Cinematography: Rajashekar
Art: Milan
Action: Rocky Rajesh

Velayudham Movie Preview

Remakes have always been safe bets for Vijay and director M Raja. With the former having a track record of films like ‘Kadhalukku Mariyadhai’, ‘Ninaithen Vandhai’, ‘Priyamanavale’ and ‘Pokkiri’, the latter has carved a niche for himself doing remakes from ‘Jayam’ to ‘Santosh Subramaniam’.
And now, both have come together for ‘Velayudham’, which too is said to be a remake of a Telugu hit, titled ‘Aazad’. Produced by Aascar V Ravichandran, the film that was launched amidst much fanfare has two heroines- Genelia and Hansika Motwani.
Says Raja, “This is my first film with a big actor like Vijay. He suits to the role well. The movie is about an ordinary youngster who transforms as a catalyst to reform the society. I am hopeful ‘Velayudham’ will work big time with the audience.”
“Vijay plays an enterprising youngster while Genelia is doing the role of a journalist,” the director says and adds: “Hansika Motwani and Saranya Mohan are also doing crucial characters. Comedy will be taken care of by Santhanam and Sathyan.”
The plot is interesting. Genelia reports that a superhero is saving the city and circumstances lead Vijay to accidentally save the city from the impostors, making him the accidental superhero!
Vijay’s costumes in the movie seem to be inspired from a popular game title. Though nothing is known how long he’d be wearing the costumes, the first look given by the makers suggest Vijay’s up to something big!
Saying Priyan’s cinematography will be a highlight and Vijay Antony has come out with catchy songs, Raja continues: “On the whole, ‘Velayudham’ will be a wholesome treat to not just Vijay fans, but for every movie-goer.”
On his part, Vijay says, “Working for a big banner like Aascar gives me immense proud. Raja is known for his knack to deliver blockbusters without a break. ‘Velayudham’ is a nice story. Hopefully our combination should rock.”
Cast: Vijay, Genelia, Hansika Motwani, Saranya MohanDirection: ‘Jayam’ RajaProduction: Aascar RavichandranMusic: Vijay Antony

Ananthapurathu Veedu - Movie Review

Ananthapurathu Veedu - An extraordinary showpiece by NagaRating: 3.5/5Banner: S PicturesProduction: ShankarDirection: NagaStar-casts: Nandha, Chaya Singh, Master Aryan and othersMusic: Ramesh KrishnaJuly 10, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): Creepy crawls, ghostly figures with long-loosened commercial like shampooed hairs, objects breaking down, dark gloomy camera shots and vengeance sought. Supernatural thrillers have always been restrained with such boundaries. But for the very first time, we tend to witness a film with out-of-box thinking. Family relationships, emotions, sentiments and what else? Ananthapurathu Veedu stands out as a best family drama with ghosts playing lead roles for the first time.Spinning money with his leather business, Balu (Nandha) is making his trip down to his ancestral home along his wife Revathy (Chaya Singh) and kid Anand (Aryan). On their arrival into the house, they witness some unusual happenings besieging them. But sooner, the family encounters a different problem as strangers keep them confined into their house. With the backdrop of suspense the complete show is an admixture of mystery, fun, emotions and is more of a family entertainer.The little chap Aryan produces a mind-boggling act. Undoubtedly, he’s the only child artist who has performed so well after Shamili in Anjali. Just watch out for his minutest gestures of taking every shot with realms of reality. Nandha as a bewildered and confused guy is quite impressive. Of course, his unusual characterization in Eeram has helped him meet the high expectations of the audience. While Nandha mesmerizes viewers with his act, Chaya Singh breathes life into the character of a claustrophobic wife, who later succumbs to the house and its entities. Kishore as Nandha’s friend gives a naturalistic performance.Naga’s brilliant plot that goes beyond time-tested conceptualization stands out as the first and foremost reason why you must see this film. The film doesn’t carry any of the clichéd traits of usual horror flicks. The stunning screenplay keeps audience glued to the screen right from the beginning till the end.The sequence where the mobile automatically shoots out a SMS wins the abrupt applause in theatres and a father punishing son for his cruel gesture towards his wife is again an extraordinary shot. Naga has exactly depicted what a real family means and the role of elders in supporting their children.Ramesh’s songs are average while the background score is stunning. At places, where horrible sounds freak out in other movies of this genre, he has underplayed his part. The whole film is spotted with yellowish-green tones, which is again unusual. Editing could have been better in some parts while the art work of the house is fantabulous. The beautiful ambience of the house makes you feel it as one of the important characters just as Naga lists “Veedu’ as an actor during final credits.Naga has achieved excellence though his unique approach to filmmaking and we request him to continue making such films. Finally, this film is sure to add one more feather in Shankar’s cap, whose previous production Rettaisuzhi was a box-office disaster.The film is really extraordinary and deserves a repeated viewing. Ananthapurathu Veedu is a groundbreaking flick with lots of entertainment.

Thittakudi Movie Review

Starring: Ravi & Asvatha
Direction: Suntharan
Music: Selva Nambi
Production: Dr.R.Siva Kogul Raj
At one side, we have movies that take Tamil cinema to the next league with world class potential and at the other, there are such movies that even describing them would make one cringe. Director Suntharan’s Thittakudi is one of those B graders simply made to add credit points to the director’s profile and to make the producer Siva Kogul Raj’s finances dwindle.
Set in the Thittakudi town, the movie follows the life of a waywardly young man (played by Ravi) who decides to take life in his hands in the absence of proper guidance. He makes merry, sleeps with every single willing woman, drinks and gambles and falls in love - or pretends to. And the poor girl (Asvatha) who falls for him loses her virginity, after which she is abandoned by him.
The villagers’ attempt to bring the two together fails miserably and the girl gets married to another hopeless bloke. Now Ravi becomes destitute and seeks penance for having deserted the love of his life.
It’s not only that the director has included many obnoxious scenes in the movie; in the name of twists he has packed it with malicious content.Although there was no justification for those scenes, the fact that he used such scenes makes a huge difference to the movie’s social standing.
You don’t tend to remember any of the performances by the end of the movie, no matter how emotionally dramatic the scenes were. Mainlybecause Thittakudi has no heart in its right place and comes across as rather hollow.
Director Suntharan probably wanted to give some sort of social message with his movie but the way he scripted the screenplay, the movie sounds more like a wannabe sensationalist. If loose morals that make people lose their minds and do pretty awful things do not count for sensationalism, what else will?

Naan Mahaan Alla Preview

Naan Mahaan Alla - Will be stylish as well as realistic

Karthi is one of the hottest stars of this year with three consecutive hit films. This year he had the first super hit ‘Paiyaa’ publicising his ability. ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’ is his fourth film. The title has reused taken an old Rajinikanth film released in 1984. That had Rajini and Radha and this new film has Karthi and Kajal Agarwal. The similarities end there. The story of Karthi’s ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’ has no resemblance to the super star film. While that was a story of lawyer who becomes the nemesis of the villains, the new film is all about a wishful romantic.
‘Naan Mahaan Alla’ directed by Suseendran of ‘Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu’ fame. This is a different film for the director as his first film was set in a village backdrop and ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’ is a city-centric flick. This film is produced by K.E Gnanavel Rajan of Studio Green Films in collaboration with S.R. Prakash Babu and S.R. Prabhu. Studio Green is the banner which gave riveting films like ‘Sillunu Oru Kadhal’ and ‘Paruthi Veeran’.
The heart of the film is about the bonding of a serious father and a romantic son, laced with the criminal backdrops of Chennai. Karthi plays the role of Jeeva, a typical middle-class Chennai youngster with a devil-may-care attitude, who is drawn into the world of crime and criminals after a particular incident changes his life. Jayaprakash after his superb performances in ‘Pasanga’ and ‘Naadodigal’, plays the role of Karthi’s father.
The hottie in Telugu after the blockbuster ‘Magadheera’, Kajal Agarwal is the heroine of the film. In Tamil, she was last seen in Saran’s ‘Modhi Vilayadu’. Her character in ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’ is cute and bubbly, something on the lines of what Asin played in ‘Ghajini’, says the director.
This film will be an extension of Karthi’s image in ‘Paiyaa’. According to the director Suseendran Karthi’s role in this film is almost the same as senior Karthik’s role in Mani Ratnam's ‘Mouna Raagam’. This film will showcase another romantic side of Karthi ala Paiyaa, sources say.
A combination that made ‘Paiyaa’ a success, music director Yuvan Shankar Raja and cinematographer Mathi are back together in this film. Songwriters are Na. Muthukumar, Yugabharathy and Francis while Bhaskar Sakthi has penned dialogues. Rajeevan is in charge of the art department.
Director Suseendran assures that ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’ contains 100% entertainment factors with the right mix of comedy, romance, action and sentiments. Karthi had said,” When director Suseendran was narrating the first half of the story I was laughing. I asked him whether I would be suitable for the role of an ordinary middle income youth. He said I will fit the role. For the first time I rehearsed for this film. I rehearsed for one week.”
Now that the film is taken over by Dhayanidhi Alagiri’s Cloud Nine Movies, it will leave no stone unturned to reach the masses in every nook and corner.
‘Naan Mahaan Alla’ will be stylish as well as realistic. The film which started in September 2009 has been scheduled for release in August 2010.

Raavanan Movie Review

Mani Ratnam returns to spread magic (or a blunder, as this review progresses) with his ‘Raavanan’ after a splendid show in the form of ‘Guru’. Well lets be positive to some extent now, his team is world class, with Santosh Sivan behind the lens, Srikar Prasad on the editor’s table and A R Rahman handling the music and besides that the stellar star cast! The movie looked like a bouquet of flowers but only the fragrance seemed to fade!
Now moral of the story – Never go by hype! Wondering why we started with the moral so soon, well that is what ‘Raavanan’ is all about! It is a celluloid adaptation of ‘Ramayana’ written by sage Valmiki (and interestingly, no name is displayed for ‘the story’ when the titles are showed.) with modern publicity techniques that will attract the audience. Let’s get to the analysis part and wrap this review up as soon as possible, because the movie is just above 2 hours. And about wrapping it soon, anyone among the audience will tell you to get out of the hall as soon as possible once the movie is over!
Mani Ratnam, the master of creating art on celluloid has possibly over worked to make a disappointment! He is class apart no doubt but his class on screen is visible only in parts. He has delicately portrayed bits and pieces of modern day Ramayana. Well nothing offending here but Ramayana is a story that is imbibed in to our lives from childhood, seems like this movie was shot to associate every scene with the happenings in the holy epic.
Characterisation and Performances
Suhasini Maniratnam pens the dialogues of the movie. Her dialogues are intelligent, credible and most importantly, conveying information. Characters and their strengths are informed through these wonderful dialogues. The homework seems to have been done well. Mani Ratnam has sketched his characters amazingly. Every character has a purpose and every actor behind the character has been rightly cast. . Leave alone the fact he was inspired from Ramayana but here in this, the Raavanan is the hero. The title role is played by Vikram (like you didn’t know). He is Veera alias Veeraiah. A tribal leader who’s fighting for their rights. He is strong, genuine and loyal to his tribe. Even other characteristics of his are mentioned through an enquiry scene where the police talk to the tribals to find out what kind of a person this Veera is. Vikram’s performance is simply electric.
The next in line is Prithvi Raj, who’s the dynamic Superintendent of Police. He is oozing with confidence as an actor and his chemistry with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is good enough on screen. He makes it quite obvious as being the Rama in this story. So you know the strings attached.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s characterization is simple. She is a loving wife who has been abducted (did we leak the story now?) and her expressions from thereon are simply amazing. She is beautiful on screen (sure is) and has come out with a noticeably extraordinary performance. Only a certain part of the credit goes to her, the rest goes to Mani for getting the best out of her.
The other supporting characters like Karthik( apparently Hanuman) as a forest officer, Prabhu as Vikram’s older brother, Munna as Vikram’s younger brother and others are impressively handled characters. The director has made sure all the characters receive the deserved importance. Mani Ratnam is the master unarguably; he has made sure the actors have their presence felt on screen.
At this predicament of the review, Priya Mani as Vikram’s step sister has done a commendable job. Her character as a bold sister to the strong brother is much appreciable. Her performance will definitely be applauded and as she’s playing the same role in the Hindi version, she has made an excellent start in her Bollywood journey.
Technicalysis
Technically speaking, Editor Srikar Prasad has sharp scissors. The screenplay in the first half, though nothing has been conveyed and is an utter waste of film reels, his editing is near precision. Stunts and bomb work by Peter Heines and Shyam Kaushal deserve appreciation and so is art director Sameer’s work, given the fact that most of the movie was shot in and around water. The tribal village, the police camp, a bridge and a marriage set were simply amazing and he would be one technician to make note of. The fight on the bridge just before the climax is an edge-of-the-seat scene that has been well shot and well directed.
But there is one man who will be applauded for his work (perhaps the only respite in the movie) is Santosh Sivan and his camera work! Mani’s movies always have natural lighting and Santosh has used it to good effect. Green pastures, water falls, rivers, trees, and all that nature can offer in a forest are radiantly shown. Hats off Santosh, you’ve done a splendid job!
Winding up this section, A R Rahman’s music is classy. His tribal beats merge with the movie’s theme. His rerecording could have been better but nevertheless, a great show! Hard work from cast and crew is evident in the movie, given that the movie was shot under incessant rain, blood sucking leeches etc, but what does it count for?
The Minuses
The list of minuses is being reduced with a lot of deliberation. Mani Ratnam has pictured beautiful movies in the past. ‘Raavanan’ was termed his magnum opus, etc but sorry it didn’t seem like one. The screenplay was a let down with only few scenes showing his directing supremacy. He has done another ‘Roja’ with only Aishwarya replacing Arvind Swamy and a few minor alterations. The movie was lost somewhere. May be because the first half was a major let down and the second half carried a lot to show (or burden) the audience.