Thadayra thaakka - review

You could say I was waiting for this one. I wanted to see how Magizh Thirumeni graduates in his second venture after Mundhinam Paartheney. And kudos to him for choosing to try his hand at a different genre rather than another romantic comedy. It takes guts to shred one's own feathers and emerge new. Having said that, he's still not able to shred off his mentor's influences on him - a lot of muted words in the dialogues even after a "A" certification by the censor.

Thadaiyara thaakka is not your everyday action flick. What makes it different from the average hero/heroine caught in the wrong place at wrong time with villain movie is the "treatment". Though there were some hits and misses with the narration and screenplay, the treatment of the story is very fresh to Tamil cinema. For instance, my friend felt the movie is very violent whereas there is not a single instance of drop of blood splatting on the screen. That is the "impact" that leaves in your mind letting you fill the gaps rather than showing things explicitly. There are many puzzles for us to solve even in the hero's characterisation...sometimes we even wonder if he is actually in love with the heroine.

Every actor barring Rakul Preet Singh, the newcomer leaves an impact. Arun vijay has waited quite along time for this one and let us hop his underplay works. Vamsi Krishna, for sure, is gonna make some rounds in the coming years. Mamta couldn't have done more justice to a story like this. The Gayathri character would have worked if played by some veteran known face in Tamil....you just can't shove in a new face after 3/4th of the film is over and expect miracles.

Thaman's background has filled in whatever is needed to scare and thrill you. Kelaamale is good but badly shot, I wonder what happend to the melody Kaalangal ? And I won't complain for a needless Poondamalli song at the beginning of the movie - there are many non-creative reasons in Tamil film making that makes this mandatory. Action by Anal Arasu and Cinematorgraphy by  N. Sukumar are "effective" (pun intended). I don't know if it is editing or the dialogues, once the plot is set and the goose chase begins the movie reduces itself to a average goonda film. The too many twists and turns in the second half don't actually work because the screenplay lacks a rhythm for you to follow.

There is a thaakkam (impact) for sure but not thadaiyara (hurdle free) !

Vazhakku Enn 18/9 - review

A lot has been said and written about this movie. It is touted as a major milestone in Tamil cinema history like a Sethu or Subramaniyapuram. Unfortunately, I was not very impressed ! No doubt, it is a neat presentation without any cliches or skin-show for the chosen issue, but it was not a very gripping narration for the genre chosen. The two legs of the narrative does overlap each other but for no reason or impact. For instance, why should the protagonist help the rich boy by pushing his car to start ? What difference would it make if it was some other passerby who pushed the car there ? Nothing. How does showing the guy's past in North-India help this investigation which is the crux of the story ? No way ! The plot is also not completely devoid of holes. There are movies in the same investigative movies (with a dash of romance) in the recent past (read RAAM) which managed to hold the attention of the audience throughout.

Balaji Sakthivel shocked me as an audience with the final quarter of his previous movies whereas the surprise element in this climax is not very effective. There were many incomplete characters which might represent various elements in the society but they do not help the story in any way. Excellent cinematography for sure with a digital still camera. An Ok background score by Prasanna. The "Vaanathaiye" song was good but got annoying when it was repeated so many times ! Karthik's Solo Oru kural was soothing. Very good performances by all the new comers, they did what was told and fit their characters. Editing and art department have done a good job. Not a great case made, but made with a good heart.

2011 Tamil Film Music countdown

IMHO, the countdown for Tamil Film Music

New entrants this year to watch out for in 2012....

8)Saajan Madhav(Murann)
7) Anirudh (3- BGM yet to be released)
6)Sathya (Engeyum eppothum)
5)Prakash Nikki (Rowthiram)
4)Gibran (Vaagai sooda Vaa)

3)K -(yuththam sei)
2) Singer Karthik (Aravaan)
1)Sharreth (180)

in the race....

7)Sundar C Babu (Poraali,Thoonga nagaram..)
6)Vijay Antony (Vedi,Yuvan yuvathi,...)
5)Harris Jeyaraj (Ko,Engeyum kaathal...)
4)Yuvan Shankar Raaja(Aaranya Kaandam,Mankaaththa..)
3)GV Prakash kumar(Mayakkam enna,Deivathiraumagal,...)
2)Joshua Sridhar (Veppam, Viththagan)
1)Thaman S(Vandhaan vendraan,Mounaguru...)

and the heavy weight / marathon league...

A R Rahman( )
Vidyasagar(Thambi Vettothi Sundaram)
RESERVED (Azhagarsamiyin Kuthirai,Mayilu,...)

Porali - movie review

"...because success is a menace. It fools smart people into thinking they can't lose." - Bill Gates explains in the movie "Pirates of Silcon valley" why a giant IBM would buy anything from a nobody like Microsoft. Perhaps that is what has transpired in the case of Samuthirakani (Nadodigal fame) and M. Sasikumar (Subramaniapuram fame) to make Porali and Eesan respectively. As expected they have cast each other as protagonist in their projects.

Porali starts off with a promising note and a very interesting pan shot of the top viewing camera to capture the typical Chennai housing complex and its residents. The initial comedy tracks are cleverly used to make the audience travel with the main characters Sasi, Ganja karuppu and Allari Naresh (A very commendable comeback to the tamil industry) The first one hour does engage you with interesting developments. The script loosens when Swathi starts falling for Sasikumar. Like many other tamil movies the unemployed youth miraculously finds a way to make a living and succeeds in his life in just one song. Now, it keeps you wondering what the "struggle" is all about.

I really liked the subtle nuances of the director like the Vinayagar coming throughout the film or the prices going up every time he shows the petrol bunk etc. But I couldn't stand the repetitions (one folk song and one song by Shankar Mahadevan) from his previous project and loads of unwanted violence hoping these would save the day. Music director Sundar C babu shines more in re-recording than in the songs. There is a strong contrast between the city and village portions in that give a feeling that these are two different movies !
 
Porali takes too many twists and turns in the treatment that one wonders what exactly the director wants to convey? It was a real struggle for me to figure what Samuthirakani wants to convey? Is this a movie about how gifted children are ill treated, or about Chennai's suburb and its residents or family feuds or a youth struggling to achieve in life or....about Uranium.

Ko- movie review

This was one film I was following during the making itself and was waiting for a long time, because I have to admit I really liked Ayan and Kana Kandein. K.V. Anand, (the ace cinematographer turned director) has the guts to really get to the bottom of any theme around which he winds his projects. Ko is no exception, he has dared to bare some of the well kept secrets of politics and media ( he was a media photographer erstwhile). So it was home ground and he looks like has really sent the balls to box office boundaries. I wasn't able to get tickets till today !

Okay, first things first - the story is NOT a rip from The State of Play. This is much localized political and media drama. The narration bears much similarities to Ayan. I hope the much deserving Jeeva gets into the big league for his portrayal of Ashwin. Ajmal has yet again proved that second roles are nothing second. Pia needs much meaty characters than just 'meat'. Karthika seriously needs to learn Tamil, I can imagine how tough it must've been for Chinmayi to do the dubbing. Kota and Prakash raj are at their usual best. Camera is good (duh !) Harris has to improve a lot both in songs and RR. Songs are shot in Norway and around the world but the chemistry between the leading pair is missing !

Now, the issue with a racy screenplay or fast paced editing or both is not the potholes it leaves on the way, but the absence of beats and pauses. You feel the momentum of an action sequence only when there is a rather slow dull moment before that. If you keep running right from frame 1 you get tired midway. There is a  great main story line which has beautifully woven suspense and knots to untie, but the supporting cast (the editor in chief, Jeeva's parents, friends of Ajmal) do not make an impact. These characters are not etched completely and they utter boring "supporting" dialogues. This in turn makes the main characters look either too noble and unbelievable. So at some point of time in the first half you just start watching the film feel no connection, the way we watch election news !

Kudos to K.V. Anand for saying out loud that media can make or break personalities.

Payanam - Movie review

I consider Radhamohan as Rajkumar Hirani of the south. As Prakashraj describes very often, Radha looks at the world through a different lens. He has a very subtle and simple way of dealing even emotional and sensitive subjects. Who could forget Mozhi ? He takes the same approach to this hijack subject. But the re is a bit of overdose of humor in payanam that you wonder whats happened to the main story.

As usual the dialogues make you roll on the floor laughing. The passengers are seated as pairs of opposite poles - an atheist and an astrologer, an upcoming movie star and his fan and so on. These present situations for a laugh riot and Radha doesn't miss a beat. The director - actor combo that appear post interval takes the cake off the others for sure. The film also has some emotional points thrown here and there, which makes you feel sorry even for the terrorists. Kudos to Prakashraj for producing a neat and decent movie yet again !

Nagarjuna's underplay and heroism would be the crowd puller for the Telugu version. Prakashraj, M.S. Baskar, Manobala, Brahmanandham, Thalaivaasal Vijay and the other support cast fit like T to their roles.  The special effects department and the set direction could have been better. You could spot  pathetic glitches in these in some frames. A Frontech headphones for the cockpit?? This movies has no songs, but the background score is good. Lighting and camera must have been easy since there were only a few locations.

The film takes off with a great promise and sails the smooth skies till the hijackers take over the plane. (Don't worry about spoilers in this review, there aren't any, because there is no suspense in the movie anyway) Radha has told in his interviews that he wanted to present hijack through the eyes of the passengers, news reporters, terrorists and the commandos. But I'm afraid the  different views shown  here are far from anything real. There was a huge lack of background research. The single emotion  - fear - that  must dominate  the  victims and hence the audience was missing. You have bits and pieces of all emotions.

We are a nation who are "used" to so many forms of terrorist acts and so would expect something more gripping than a laugh riot in a subject like this.

Yuththam Sei - movie review

Mysskin, always insists that he is only a writer and is yet to graduate to a movie director. Well, you do  get a feeling of reading a tamil crime novel (read Rajeshkumar, Subha etc )when you watch his latest flick Yuththam sei. A couple of departments that lift the drama from that level to a celluloid movie are the camera and background score. Only problem here is what works at a crime novel level may not work as a movie. There are more loose ends to tighten in the latter. 

Mysskin joins the now growing bunch of directors ( Gautam Menon, Sasikumar) whose latest offerings depict the horrible crimes against young women. (I'm scared of this becoming the next trend in Tamil cinema after movies based on Madurai, 3m). But I'm sure this would be the one that has tried to limit obscenity as less as possible (Nadunisi naigal is yet to release). As in any typical Mysskin movie there are many strange angled shots, legs of the actors get more importance than their faces, slow panned shots to reveal carton boxes etc. I have to admit these techniques have worked well for this genre than a Nandhalaala. The first thing that hits you about the movie is the background score for sure. Kudos to the new kid around the block K

The reason this movie did not work for me is the fact that there are too many clues and characters that I gave up trying to solve the mystery in an hour. Also, the string connecting these clues - the protagonist CBI officer - is too confused and weak to concentrate on solving the plot for us to follow. The truth that unfolds later in the second half is neither believable or interesting enough. Finally, there are too many unanswered questions which end up as loop holes in the plot when you regurgitate the movie in your mind on the way back home. 

Cheran has done his best to underplay as the disturbed CBI officer. I have no idea why he needs the 2 assistants ( Dipa Shah and the other guy) Chelva has comeback to mainstream cinema with this movie. Jayaprakash, YG Mahendra steal the show. Again, I don't know what would difference it would make to the movie if Yugendran and a couple of guys in his gang are not there. Mysskin has to seriously change the way he visualises action scenes in his movies. Even though dramatic at the moment, the fights are repetitive, boring and not practically believable. Needless to say, Kannitheevu ponna is already a chart buster, but this is exactly where he looses his grip on the audience and everything that follows becomes predictable.

I did like the director's satire in a couple of scenes like - a cop stealing a watermelon. There was little emphasize on the explanation for the title Yuththam sei- which means 'wage a war'. A very few of the audience might wait till the last scene in the beach where Cheran talks to the boy over the phone about purpose of his parent's and his war.

Yeah, for once I do agree with Mysskin's on his ability as a director - this might have worked for me as a novel than a movie

Eesan - movie review

Eesan is your typical M Sasikumar movie. It starts on a slow and steady pace and you come to know what the movie is about only a few minutes before interval ! Then the movie picks up pace and ends in a gory, blood shedding climax. Only in the case of Eesan, everything turns out to be a cliche and little is left to our imagination. Once you watch a couple of scenes post interval, you know how things are going to turn out.

If Subramaniapuram - M.Sasikumar's directorial debut which made him an overnight star - brought out the dangerous shades of south Indian village in which the rural youth is misled, Eesan talks about perils of GenY city dwelling youth. It doesn't spare anything from night life to Internet to mobile phones to fashion to drugs and more. I liked the way the director has made some subtle but bold observations about the health care and law and order situations in the city.

Other than the few pivotal characters who appear only during the later half of the movie, others have not been sketched properly, so leave little scope for performance. The dialogues could have been more interesting rather than making the villain cry out loud repeatedly that nothing will happen in the state without his will. Also, it is a big screenplay blunder that such a powerful man could come up with plot changing actions in couple of scenes only after being advised by his side kick. The scenes were also not powerful and looked liked ripped from Sarkar Raj made by the master of underworld movies RGV. Can't Sasi think of some better lead than a suicide attempt to make a father agree to marry his daughter to her lover? And why on earth is the Karnataka guy cast like Mr.Mallaya look alike?? Samuthirakkani and Abhinaya have given their best. Vaibhav and others have no scope for acting. The new kid on the block who plays Eesan has come up with a good performance. A couple of songs by James Vasanthan were good but don't expect anything like Kangal Irandaal. MS Baskar makes a mark with his voice over. There are many loose ends in the plot which show enough research has not been done. For instance, why would a typical mute village girl want to join Fashion designing? How would geek clever enough to a hacker a mail server get caught by just IP trace? 

This is a rape - revenge story which you might not want to watch with your kids.

Manmadhan Ambu - movie review

I kept wondering what ever happened to the Kamal-Mysskin movie that was planned to go on floors after Unnaippol Oruvan. Kamal started Manmadhan Ambu and Mysskin, Yuththam Sei. Looks like Kamal needed a well deserved vacation in a cruise in Europe and thats exactly what he got !

MA is a typical Kamal movie. Kamalism overshadows in every bit of the movie so much that you even forget the character he is supposed to play - Major Mannar. Agreed, that is partly because he has taken the responsibility of story, screenplay, dialogue (with who else? crazy mohan) and even lyrics. But, the problem is I had to put up with so much of Kamal's own life in every aspect of the movie. Look at the characters for instance - a movie actress who is suspected to have an affair with a co-star, a cancer patient and a divorcee with two kids. Agreed, that in any movie, the protagonist usually voices the opinion of the writer who creates the character. In this case, Major mannar expresses Kamal's ideas of non-violence, ahimsa and political views but only at the wrong time when he is expected to feel sad and angry over the culprits who killed his beloved wife. His idea about "Veeram" has also been heard before in Virumandi ( Manninkka therinjavan....)

Even though the screenplay is just above average and characters had no graph, the performances should be applauded. Very natural and neat acting from Maddy and Trisha. Sangeeetha, Ramesh Arvind and Urvashi were good too. The surprise packages were Usha uthup and the kids. Camera and editing were excellent, felt like a nice Eurotrip. I liked the rendering of poems. It also proves to be a neat entertainer without skin shows, bloodsport and dappanguththu songs.

The best of the movie was of course Neelavanam and the way it has been shot and edited. Kudos to the team for that.

Uh...yeah BTW the director is KS Ravikumar, one of my favorite directors. But since I was not able to give him credit to anything about this movie, I added his picture in this review at least.

Drohi - movie review

Drohi (or Betrayer in English)  is one of the movies in Tamil which shoots high but fails to reach anywhere even close to the target. Yet another Maniratnam student Sudha K Prasad has debuted as director in this movie.

There are many interesting twists and turns in the movie and that probably is the only good thing about it. There is a huge lack of sewing these interesting sequences into a good screenplay. Sreekanth and Viishnu have done a commendable job. Pooja does an impressive cameo, wonder why we don't see her more often in screen. But hey Laila was also MIA after Pithaamagan.

In spite of a couple of my friends advise that the movie is full of violence, blood I went ahead and watched Drohi. This movie is definitely not for kids or family viewing. I mean, I can ignore a bit of violence and bloodshed, but Sudha has seriously disappointed and betrayed me for the following reasons.

As mentioned earlier, this has a bad screenplay in spite of the falshbacks being a threaded by a very fresh and interesting sequence. I mean, it defies the basics of screenplay - the narrator cannot narrate incidents of  which he is not part of or he doesn't know ! There is complete lack of continuity in execution. When Viishnu gets on the train to Hyderabad for Police selection, he sports a beard, in the selection room he is clean shaven, the next day, back in Chennai, he is again full bearded ! And what a mean and cheap portrayal of women (except Pooja's Roja) in the movie. One of the heroines is all over a ruffian Srikanth who hates her. So forces him into an intercourse and then asks - "How will you escape now?" Seriously, is she so dumb to understand the regard this baddy might have for her chastity ? In a public market, she catwalks to a totally stranger (Viishnu) kisses him and asks - "Oru kiss thaana, so what? Karpa poidum?" meaning "its just a kiss am I going to loose my chastity in it?" Now, how many Chennai Brahmin girls would do that even if they are around the worst slums? Narayanan's character ( played by Thiyagarajan) is a joke ! He would take revenge at anybody who even dares to hurt his family a bit even if it is a genuine mistake, but forgives his henchman Srikanth who plots and kills his son ( is this not betrayal ? ) He keeps claiming he knows Srikanth's friendship with Viishnu more than anybody else but could not see through the plot by both to kill him.

All said, it is a cat and mouse chase between unworthy ruffians and we have seen a very better version by the guru himself, so you can afford to miss this.

Endhiran - the robot - music review

I took a blogging break since there was a huge pileup of backlog in my to-do list. But I could not resist coming back to write about the Endhiran - The robot album.

Shankar has proved yet again that he is THE 'clever' filmmaker in the Indian movie industry. Just listen to this album and you would know how the person who extracts music out of a creator makes the difference in how the album comes out. Rahman as usual, is at his usual best churning out chart busters. I just can't believe he made these tracks back in 2008 and it sounds so fresh.

I try to do a guessing game of the storyline of the movie when I listen to the songs from the clues in the lyrics. So the following views are my own guesses and nothing more.

Puthiya Manitha: This song is either during the making or when Chitti is done finally and ready. Dr Vasigaran talks about his robot in this. An SPB-Rahman-Rajni number with the typical punch lines, but very very different from Ballelakka or Oruvan Oruvan muthalaali due to the techno accompaniments. And Khatija Rahman sounds good - a mini Rahman in making.

Kadhal Annukkal: A melodious duet number trying to reproduce the magic of Sahaana. Looks like Vijay prakash is making rounds after Hosaana. Shreya's chirpy voice is cool and the Oh babby chorus is the highlight of the song.

Irumbile oru irudhayam: This is the first taste of love for Chitti, the robot. Now, you get one more clue about appearance of Chitti and my guess is it has something to do with how an INSECT looks. And possibly, it falls in love with Aish?? I don't know ! The song is rendered by Rahman himself and he sounds very much similar to Yakkai Thiri.

Chitti Dance: Now, this is gonna be a visual treat. Chitti is doing a Bharatnatyam dance in this sequence. Well, Shankar sir if you can use motion capture all the way back in  1998 for Jeans, I won't be surprised if your Chitti does everything including my morning coffee. And what a fast Jathi rendition in this number?

Arima Arima: Okay, this is where things get serious. This song must probably be placed in the second half of the movie like a Adhiradi of Shivaji or Mudhalvane or Mudhalvan. This must be a struggle between Chitti Rajni and Vasigaran Rajni to win Aish's love? Hariharan rocks !  and what a fanfare and March of the percussions. This undoubtedly is my favorite number of the album if I'm forced to choose one. Silicon Singam..ha ha !

Kilimanjaro: Another duet in the album with a folk and tribal theme. You recognize it is Chinmayi only in the first Ghamaga. Looks like she has made a point to sound different in each song. Ash is described as Pulichcha keera, Aatuchedi, Pasumpull etc in this song. Yeah, this is the one shot in Mohanjedaro, Machupichu etc.

Boom Boom Roboda: This is the last and final song of the album and hopefully in the movie as well, remember the dance sequence at the end of Jeans after all ends well? And yeah, the lyrics goes on to bully Issac Asimov, Issac Newton, Albert Eienstien and what not? Chitti Chitti robo does remind me of Rahman's previous Thala Thala Thala from A..AAAh.

Well, Rahman has not reached new heights with this album but nay, who expected that in this album anyway. Endhiran album blasts the hell out of you ! I love it.

Kola Kolaya Munthirikka - review

KKMK is an attempt to make a laughter riot like Panchathanthiram. Edward de Bono suggests that the mind is a pattern-matching machine, and that it works by recognizing stories and behavior and putting them into familiar patterns. When a familiar connection is disrupted and an alternative unexpected new link is made in the brain via a different route than expected, then laughter occurs as the new connection is made. So essentially, you need a conflict for laughter to occur. The only group in KKMK which is fwith situatgoes through situations that have this kind of funny conflicts is a smart Veerappan and his dumb gang. Every other situation has characters with no conflicts or conflicts which are not really making new connections. That is why this movie fails to evoke laughter.

I felt Karthik has been made to overdo a bit in his portrayal of Krish. His strength  lies in naturally underplaying and being realistic in his roles. I don't know why he sounded loud in certain places ! Shika is a great dancer. Her effort to pronounce Tamil dialogues shows (though Suchi has done her dubbing) Anand raj is awesome, he should market himself for different roles like this. Jeyaram has been wasted, trying to do a Pink Panther. So are Pandiarajan  and Delhi ganesh who are known for their talent as comedians. I felt like crying out loud  - "Leave the professionals alone !" Radharavi is at his usual best, I liked his careless take on a dhadha. I don't know why the team tried so hard to keep Sarath Kumar's role under wraps. It would have been a good marketing if it was the other way.

Music by Selvaganesh was good, but the songs were terribly misplaced. I enjoyed the "Oru varam" by S.P.B and Chitra. There must have been a mandatory disclaimer at the beginning of the movie warning viewers to remove their brains. Point is, if I want just Crazy Mohan's dialogs for my laughs then I would go for his famous theater dramas. Movie, is a different beast altogether. Director Madhumita's arrow misses its target by a fairly long distance.

Mundhinam Paatheney ! - review

Five minutes of watching Mundhinam paartheyney I was like, "Oh my god, Another story about a guy desperately looking for the perfect girl !". Must have been the effect of Vinnaithaandi Varuvaya, Theeratha Villayaatu Pillai and numerous other recent Tamil releases I watched. But then very quickly, I realized this is going to be fun and different. The movie is fresh and entertaining. I felt like watching numerous episodes of a wonderfully written sitcom. And I missed watching this along with my friends, that would have been a blast. Music is refreshing though the songs slowed the pace of the movie. Special kudos to Thaman and team for the very creative re-recording and background effects. Good performances by almost everybody in the cast except a very few of Sanjay's friends. Sai Ganesh and the girl who played Priya have a promising future.

Magizh Thirumeni, the director, dares to walk along dangerous borders in a couple of scenes like the 12th grade student commenting about a condom in her brother's wallet and so on. He has chosen the narrative style for the movie, but there is too much of narration. Sometimes I wonder if he has forgotten the first rule of screenplay - "Show, don't tell". For instance, when the narration is through the hero's point of view, suddenly emerges a very short sequence of the dancer girl narrating her dreams of buying a house. This jump confuses the viewer. 

No doubts the dialogues are spontaneous and funny. A trick writers use during the "initial setup" phase of a  story is to start the scene in the middle of an event that is happening. For instance, a scene opens up in a staircase with Sai Ganesh refusing something. During the next dialogues we come to know that Sanjay had asked Sai to accompany him for Salsa  class and that is what he is refusing. This makes the audience more attentive and eventually follow the movie more carefully. But this usually this is not followed in the second and third acts of story telling since it would give a feeling of  the audience being left out  of the happenings. Unfortunately, Magizh follows this in-the-middle-of-the-event in almost 80 % of the movie. Something has already happened and you see one character narrating or explaining it to another character. And also, I don't see any need for the whole thing to be a flashback from London if the hero decides not to meet her again.

Nevertheless, I did enjoy a few interesting twists like the train scene and the way the truth behind gossips about a girl are revealed in the story. With a typical feel good movie, Magizh thirumeni shows the promise to be a Sekhar Kammula for Tamil

Porkkalam

Porkkalam is one of its kind Tamil movie, no doubt about it. Ever since I saw the teaser where Kishore blows away a Ford Endeavour with his punch, I knew I wanted to watch this movie.

A couple of years ago, Hindi cinema industry witnessed a paradigm shift where a bunch of fresh directors and story writers emerged bridging the gap between commercial cinema and art cinema. This resulted in the first copies of what is called as Multiplex movies (Mithya, Bheja Fry, Khoshla ka Ghosla, Manorama 6 Feet under and more...) which were good in content, made at shoestring budgets and targetted at a specific group of audience rather than the masses. Porkkalam probably confirms the arrival of a similar trend  in Tamil cinema. Bandi Saroj Kumar, the director of the movie excels in extracting the best from almost all the departments. You are bound to get surprised when you learn the 21 year old has not gained any prior experience as assistant director. When he had gone to join the factory, RGV had apparently sent him back saying "if you have a good story go ahead and make it yourself"

From the point of time-line I felt the suspense (though a good one) in the first half is a bit lengthy since you are not given enough clues that there is in fact a suspense in the movie. Only thing the viewer keeps wondering is the reason or motive behind the disconnected subplots and action blocks. If the reveal would have been a bit more earlier and the sequences connected to one another it would have been even better. Nevertheless the canvas of the movie and the action sequences do stand out. Kudos to Super Subburayan team for a having meaningful single-blow actions. Music is good and even though misplaced a couple of songs are good to hear. The sparingly used of special FX is also appreciable. The very short dialogues and absence of it in some places have to be appreciated. The flash back could have been a bit more crisp. The second half of the movie takes the normal B and C center tracks.

Kishore is just too good with his performance and so is Sathyan. While the character of the protagonist is etched very well, the same is not the case with others except probably Sathyan. For instance, "a corrupt police officer with ethics" alone does not make the character interesting and believable ! And what a waste of Sampath, a highly capable actor ! I felt Tinu Anand and Biju Menon were not needed at all for the movie. Remove their portions, the movie would still look good. In spite of making a visually striking and different this movie would still fall under the category where the heroine's role is under developed. I mean, with all her problems back home why would she fall in love ? Is it because love is Blind?

Why were there so many English sentences in the dialogue?
Why were there so many Fade-to-Black and Slow motion?
Why was there only one gun in whole Lanka and that too with the hero?
How come the villain's brother was not able to realise a crucial fact about the hero when he was in the hero's custody for almost a week, but finds out the very next day in an action sequence?

and of course..."Why two orders?" - the "A-few-good-men" question. - If the hero is not ashamed , if he is so intelligent, capable and confident to overcome his weakness, why does he have to hide his it from the world ?

I would love to see what Saroj has in store next.

Paiyya

"Make a film like RUN" - Karthie had apparently asked Lingusamy when they decided to do "Paiyya". While Lingusamy has tried to achieve the goal, he has  consciously chosen to ignore the vital element of a movie  - the story. And he does not fail to tell you so in the first few scenes through the careless attitude of the protagonist. A director I met recently told me the value of 'screenplay' is increasing day by day in the Tamil film industry than that of the 'story'. Very true with movies like Payya. Having said that, I wouldn't bother listing it as a "Road movie" since all the action happens off the road and but for some comedy sequences and a few songs, it is just travel on the road with long monologues. And when are our action-directors gonna understand that the scope of "action" is  more than just "fight sequences".

You've to give it to Karthie for making us believe the "will-cross-the-river-when-it-comes" attitude of the protagonist and bother less about how he happened to be so. He has performed effortlessly after an Aayrathil Oruvan. A commendable third step in his acting career. He is good in action sequences too. Among the supporting cast Jegan stands out with his comic performances. A capable Sonia Deepti could have been used better I felt (having seen her in Happy days). Milind Soman does provide a fresh air to a Tamil cinema villain but I'm afraid he is gonna be type-casted if he repeats a Paiyya again.

"Adada Mazhai da" and "En kaathal solla" are good numbers. Now we know Lingusamy had opted to remove the soulful melody "Panikaatre" in the final released version of RUN to ensure the pace of the movie. I wonder why there we so many songs in this one which is supposed to be a fast paced movie.

Thama..

Among the many things you have to assume in the story, you should also take it for granted that none of the Andhra or Mumbai gangsters are aware of a thing called firearm.

Go for it if you wanna mid-day no-brainer comic ride !

Angadi Theru - movie review

A couple of months ago while this movie was still in production I was wondering about the title, why "Angadi Theru"? why not "Kadai veedhi" which is the more common way of referring any shopping street be it the "Town hall" road of Madurai or the Orchard road of Singapore. Has Mr. Vasantha Balan tried to have a poetic title and stopped half way ? I feel that is what he has done with the movie as well. He has perfected the technical departments including production but not the story and screenplay.

The soul and concept of Angadi theru has the capability of becoming a Lagaan of Tamil, but nay, at one point of time you wonder if this just another tragic teenage love story. Yes, the movie has some scenes which leave you with a disturbed mind. But that’s all; overall the movie does not impact you with any resolve. Some questions that come to the mind of a keen observer

- WHAT exactly is the problem if a salesboy and saleswoman fall in love? Of course you would end up in trouble if you get caught for calling your supervisor "karungaali" in your love letter.

- How come Pandi tries to end his friend's romance to save his job and just 10 mins later he gives a "Savuri mudi" his crush Sophy.

- There are a just a couple of instances where the salesperson is beaten up or manhandled in a private dark room, every other ill-treatment and violence is shown to be happening in the shop floor itself. Where were the customers?

- A few auto-drivers chase the couple to get the girl but why not in their AUTO ?? !!

- The employer ties the pair for romancing in the store and then gets the hero arrested on a false complaint. Hero gets squashed in the police station. He cries that he knows all the illegal ways in which the owner does business. The inspector promptly calls the owner and tells him "the boy knows too much, let us release him" Hero goes back to the shop, makes a big scene in front of the customers and gets the girl released who was tied up in the godown till then - realistic movie anybody ? Oh yeah, on his way back the hero promptly challenges the supervisor that he will survive in the same "Angadi Theru"

As mentioned there are a few cute and intelligent moments as well - I did enjoy the scale, strawberry, "savuri mudi" cues to romance and of course the sister act chasing the shopping bag. Also noteworthy are the quick sequences like the restroomwala, the shirt vendor etc. But if these supporting cast were given more screen space it would have been a complete picture.

The thing I don't like with capable Tamil directors like Bala, Selvaraghavan is that they believe they will be considered critically acclaimed and famous only if they make dark and heavy movies. Yet to see what Sasikumar and Ameer have in store. VB is no different, why make an Angadi Theru when you've done a Veyil as your first ?

Angadi Threu is much of Angadi and less of theru !