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Archive for 2011

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , ,


Rajapattai (King’s Path) – Filled with potholes and stumbling blocks all the way!



With master actors like Vikram and K.Viswanath, reputed technicians like music director Yuvan and cameraman Madhie and last but not the least, with a talented director like Suseendiran who made his mark with a movie like ‘Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu’, a natural thought is sure to creep in that we are all set for an extravaganza in the name of “Rajapattai”. The reality was somehow bleak and proves yet again that directors should play to their strengths. Let’s see why?

Story of Rajapattai was wafer thin and was all about land mafia. Vikram earns his living as a gym boy in movies who aspires to make it big in the silver screen by donning a villain’s role someday. He happens to criss-cross with the land mafia gang when K.Viswanath gets entangled into it because of his own son’s greed to achieve his political motives. The rest of the movie deals with the showdown between the good and the bad.

The intention of the entire team would have been to make the 2:45 hour long movie a fun and rollicking experience. Sadly, they missed the bus when it came to screen play and dialogs, which forms the essence of a commercial mass masala movie. There were hardly any scenes which garnered applause from the audiences. Some big time booing went on during the romance scenes between Deeksha Seth and Vikram, which was numb.

Vikram with his brawny look, freaky costumes and bizarre hairstyle had once again taken the responsibility of carrying the entire movie on his shoulders. No wonder he had a great screen presence which made the movie watchable. He had given 100% as always to the character he portrayed and sported an authentic ‘gym boy’ look. His age showed off many a times during the course of the movie, especially during the romantic interludes.

Deeksha Seth was pleasant to watch on screen, but her chemistry with Vikram sadly failed and fell flat. She had very little scope and sported the run-of-the-mill heroine’s hat.

K.Viswanath, though he brought in all his experience, was reduced to a caricature and had been wasted thoroughly. An actor like ‘Delhi’ Ganesh would have done justice to such a role as it demanded some comic elements to put in place.

Sana debuted as the antagonist, ‘akka’, fitted the role to a tee and oozed pride and hate through her eyes.
Others in the cast including ‘Thambi Ramaiah’ have tried their best to make us laugh, but the screenplay hardly provides any room for some genuine laughter.

Yuvan’s music failed to impress this time. There were no hummable numbers and I still cannot understand the reason of placing the double heroine number while the climax credit rolled on.

The action sequences were well choreographed and shot in a novel way.

Suseendiran’s strengths are his taut and slick way of presenting his story which made him successful in the past. This clearly goes to show that directors can easily fall into the traps of fantasy when it comes to making a mass masala commercial entertainer which requires meticulous planning and precise execution. Better luck next time!

Verdict: Disappointing!


Rating: 1.5/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in


Osthe – Adding nonsense to our senses!




Salman Khan’s Dabangg, which took the Bollywood box office by storm a while back, has been remade as ‘Osthe’ in Tamil with the help of a Kollywood director, Dharani, who has got a couple of mass masala hits under his belt and the ever enterprising ‘Simbhu’ donning the role of ‘Osthe Velan‘, the robin-hood like cop role that was made memorable by Salman in the Hindi version.

Story was as simple as ‘Jack and Jill, went up the hill…’ without any logic and some major flaws which was enough to pull the movie back.

A major blunder could have been avoided by not casting Sonu Sood as the antagonist in Tamil, who played the same role in the Hindi version too. The tall hunk he is, Sonu just dwarfed Simbhu physically during the confrontation scenes.

Although we have tolerated Simbhu beating a bunch of henchmen onscreen and donning the role of a mass masala hero in the past, this was the first time he donned the role of a cop and tried hard to fit in the skin of the role, but failed to impress. Though his attitude and body language got going, his physique let him down and we were reminded of a college kid wearing a cop uniform for the fancy dress competition. Especially during the climax where he was supposed to reveal his hardly built 6 packs, he got himself unconsciously pitched against Sonu Sood’s natural brawn and gets thoroughly spoofed in the process. Tough luck Simbhu!

Richa, had a cardboard look throughout the movie and a ‘Mayakkam Enna’ hangover and hardly managed to smile even during the song sequences. She looked much elder to Simbhu.

One of the major saving graces was Santhanam’s buffoonery and one-liners which made room for some genuine fun and laughter, even though crude at times.

‘Jithan’ Ramesh, Nasser and Revathi were there to add some melodrama at various stages during the mindless proceedings. For ‘Jithan’ Ramesh, considering his previous records, this is by far a role where he has tried to act.

Others in the cast like Vijayakumar, Vaiyapuri, Mayilsami and Thambi Ramaiah were lost in a wink and were used merely for heaping praises on ‘Osthe Velan’. Among the second string of actors, Ganesh as Richa’s drunkard father had delivered a decent performance.

Music by Thaman was a highlight. The numbers ‘Unnale’ and ‘Neduvali’ were hummable, while ‘Kalasala’ which was the ‘Munni’ equivalent in Tamil would be the favourite among the front benchers.

Osthe is for the ones who can appreciate Dhoni’s unconventional ‘helicopter shot’ and Dravid’s technically perfect ‘on-drive’ on par, though both might yield different results at different point in time.


Verdict: Mass Masala Torture!

Rating: 1/5 

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in


Poraali (Fighter) – A tough fight till the end!




The duo of Samudrakani and Sasikumar are back. This time the latter dons the protagonist’s hat and Samudrakani wields the direction. Poraali attempts to be an entertaining, fun filled and action packed emotional flick epitomizing optimistic traits throughout the movie.

Ilankumaran (Sasikumar) and Nallavan (Allari Naresh) are shown escaping from an asylum and are trying to lead a peaceful life in Chennai with the help of their friend Pullikutty (Kanja Karuppu). Soon they kick start a venture and with their acumen in place expand the same to establish themselves. A twist in the tale comes in the form of their haunting past and the rest of the movie post interval shows how the duo overcome the challenges and face the consequences.

Sasikumar, with his charismatic appeal pulls the strings together and delivers a matured performance. His sense of humour with intelligent one-liners stands out to showcase his ability to bring down the house and looked perilous during the action sequences as well. He radiates optimism throughout the movie which comes as a breath of fresh air down our shoulders, especially at times when the screenplay sags a bit. Overall, it’s a tidy and belligerent performance.

Allari Naresh, after ‘Kurumbu’ in 2003, this is his re-entry in Tamil. Has got little scope to showcase whatever he has to perform and looks apt for the character that he portrayed.

Swathi as Sasikumar’s love interest looked cute and brought out the cute emotions whenever needed, though she had hardly anything to do.

Nivetha, the debut actress looked pretty and conveyed the agony and helplessness through her eyes. But one cannot avoid the thought that she could have been done away with and was thrust into the story only to be paired with Allari Naresh.

Kanja Karuppu, this time had pulled a decent act. He was calm when he needed to be and hardly shouted and jumped in any of the scenes, which came out as a relief.

The other characters that were cast, especially the neighbours in the residential area, though dramatic at times, were cast thoughtfully. Off the lot, the boozy bachelor and the squeaky couple stood out.

The highlights in the second half were Vasundra’s extended cameo as the rusty village lass and Soori’s run of the mill comic punch line. Both managed to deliver in their own capacity.

Sundar C Babu’s music was a big let-down and not even a single number stood out as a hummable one. The BGM was worse and proved to be a setback for the proceedings.

Overall, the movie is well worth the effort from the successful combo yet again.

Verdict: Good

Rating: 3/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in


Mayakkam Enna (What is this Dizziness?) – Dizzy but without much ‘kick’:




How often have we seen some dark wild horses without any blinkers or a rein, going haywire and creating quite a mess in the racecourse? Well, Selvaraghavan belongs to the breed of such wild horses and does not believe in the conventional way of narrating a story! Mayakkam Enna is no different than his previous flicks and is told in a dark and depressing way.

Very few movie makers in Kollywood have the guts to traverse through the life and times of a loser all the way. Mayakkam Enna narrates the story of such a loser (well, almost a loser!) played by Dhanush (Karthik Swaminathan), who dons the role of a freelance photographer, struggling to establish his saleability and reputation to the world. He falls in love with Richa (Yamini), who is the girlfriend of his dearest friend. The rest of the movie is all about his struggle, post marital relationship and the success which eludes him till the climax.

I could not help get perplexed during the course of the movie as it kept me wondering whether it is an era of coming-of-age movies or is such a thing a reality in our current society. Selvaraghavan had always been quite liberal with the male-female relationship right from his ‘Thulluvadho Ilamai’ days, and his trend continues here too. A female friend getting abused when she is introduced to the gang of friends for the first time, a dear friend accepting his girlfriend to be married to another friend of his, a father who boozes along with the friends and encourages them to booze in order to sort out their differences – all can happen only in Selvaraghavan movies (at least as of now!).

Dhanush has given a riveting performance as the struggling photographer. His expressions, especially to portray a sense of emptiness and inability at times are simply top class. As a struggling carefree youth in the first half and an alcoholic husband with some mental disability and heavy mood swings during the latter has delivered an ace and might fetch him another national award. Apart from acting, Dhanush had also scored brownie points for the catchy lyrics that he had penned for someof the songs, be it the hunky ‘Voda Voda’ or the lilting melody ‘Pirai Thedum’. Hats off!

Richa Gangopadhyay is the luckiest few in the tinsel town to get such a meaty debut role. The manner in which she had managed to carry it on her shoulders was awesome. Especially her confrontation with Dhanush towards the climax, where she bursts into tears bringing out a sense of helplessness deserves applause. The character of that of a strong willed female was flamboyantly done by her and she is definitely here to stay.

Ravi Prasad, who plays the role of a veteran photographer, who oozes hatred on Dhanush and at the same time faking Dhanush’s work as his own has given his best shot.

The friends group including Sundar who plays the dearest friend of Dhanush were aptly cast and played their roles to perfection.

One of the pillars of the movie is Ramji’s camera. The photography has captured the essence of various scenes – especially the lush and green forest locales and other rural back drops.

G.V.P’s music and BGM is already a rage among the youth and the song picturization was nothing short of fantastic.
Kola Bhaskar’s editing saves us during the latter half, but the first half was slow paced, though they claim the film to be at only 2:25 hours.

One of the biggest setbacks of the movie was its inherent slowness, which majority of the times lulls us off, but at the same time it should also be conceded that such tales cannot be told at a rapid pace.

Overall, Selvaraghavan has managed to narrate a fresh tale, with a hint of optimism towards the climax and as always, straight from his heart.

PS: The movie is for matured audiences who can accept and digest the realities of coming-of-age movies and definitely not for the ones who fantasize run-of-the-mill commercial cinema.

Verdict: Worth a Watch!

Rating: 3/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in


Naan Sivanagiren (I have become Lord Siva) – May God Save Us!




I thought that keeping my expectations at an all-time low before watching this flick would be the ideal thing to do, but even that was not able to save the day for me. I still ended up watching a stale rehashed tale of a psychopath killer on the run.

The story is all about a psychopath taking on women involved in adultery due to his haunting and sour childhood days’ experience.

Understandably, to follow suit with the majority of the current crop of debut directors, VK Gnanasekar has chosen a story which has proved its mettle at the box office in the past. Unfortunately, he lost the battle even before fighting it with a flawed characterization and a rickety screenplay.

For a movie which was supposed to be an edge of the seat psycho-thriller, there should have been an element of suspense spiced up with a racy screenplay. The suspicion element was broken even before the story started to unfold while the screen play limped every now and then halting the proceedings.

The characterization of the male lead, Udhay Karthik shared much resemblance with that of Dhanush in ‘Kaadhal Konden’. Even the costumes and dialog delivery by the character were not original and were heavily ‘inspired’. So, unconsciously we tend to chart out a comparison chart between both the characters and that of Udhay Karthik gets smashed down in the process. Adding to the woes, he poses like Lord Shiva during a fight to justify the title of the movie and brought ample laughter in the theatre and compensated for the lack of a comedy track.

To cast a female lead like Varsha who had a liberal waist line is quite appreciative for that fact that the director believes in the role of a girl next door rather than a girl with a glamor quotient. Still, Varsha does not score enough in the acting department, especially with her inability to emote.

The only aspect which consoles a bit was the flash back which gave a solid a reason for the male lead’s transformation into a psycho followed by the series of murders which he commits.

The music is not worthy enough to mention and acted as hurdles.

Technically the movie was average.

Verdict: Stay Away!

Rating: 1/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in


Vithagan (With the Gun) – With Hardly Any Fun!




R. Parthipan is one of the most prominent names in Kollywood. He is known for his quick wit speech and repartee underlined with a skill to think out of the box. His fresh directorial venture, Vithagan had a story and screenplay which could have exploited this unique skill of his, but has only managed to fall in between the stools.

Vithagan narrates the story of an upright cop who uses his brain instead of brawn to bring down his opponents and detractors to cleanse the system.

The story by itself was not new as we have seen enough cop movies in the past with much better twists and turns. As the movie unfolded, one tends to yield to the temptation that there would be a special treatment given to the screen play as it was supposed to be curated by Parthipan. But I had only managed to end up with eggs on my face – a rotten screenplay with hardly any logic just lulled me to sleep towards the climax.

There was always a sense of urgency to quickly establish the characters with minimal effort and in the process we tend to forget about when and where a character got introduced. There was an inherent flaw in almost every scene where Parthipan manages to take on his opponents and that proves to be a major setback. 

Another major disaster was the chemistry between the lead pair – Poorna and Parthipan. It just did not work out and the romance between the two was nothing short of annoyance, as Parthipan looks too old to romance and he is not a romantic material to say the least.

The second half was devoid of any logic and had a free fall towards the climax where villains were reduced to a bunch of caricatures as does the screen play.

For Parthipan, after ‘Ulle Veliye’ and ‘Abhimanyu’, this is the third time that he is donning the role of a cop and manages to carry the role without much fuss, though his age shows off at times.

Poorna does the conventional heroine stuff of chasing behind an indifferent hero who tries to elude from her. She fails this time too as there is nothing spicy in her characterization and proves to be an irritant majority of the time with her presence.

There were a bunch of bad men, among them Milind Soman stood out and tried to deliver but succumbed to the flawed screen play. A handsome hunk like Milind was wasted thoroughly.

Songs by Joshua Sridhar were nothing special and picturization was very ordinary. Dancing with a gun (since movie tag line is ‘with the gun’) for a romantic song tends to bring in some laughter.

Editing by Anthony made the movie watchable to some extent as it was a bit pacy in the first half except for the romantic interludes. Kept the movie at 2 hours 15 minutes and made it look a bit tidy as much as possible.

On the whole the movie was another disaster from Parthipan – the less said the better!

Verdict: Avoidable

Rating: 1.5/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in


Velayutham – Delicious South Indian Masala!




If racy screen play, run of the mill wafer thin storyline, crude comedy, and mindless action scenes laced with some rocking numbers and punch dialogs are your cup of tea, then Velayutham is the best bet that you can ever have for this festive season.

Velayutham alias Velu is a simpleton living in a village, who is in awe of his sister. On the other side, in Chennai, there is a journalist (Genelia) who creates a fictitious character called Velayutham who is touted to be the super hero who fights against all odds to restore peace; this is to invoke awareness among the public and to keep the anti-social elements at bay. The rest of the movie is all about how one situation leads to another to make our village simpleton the super hero Velayutham.

The first half just zipped through and got over in a flash; the antiques showcased by Vijay and Saranya Mohan were enjoyable and was thoroughly lapped up by the family audiences.

The second half, though a bit lengthy, was saved largely because of Vijay’s action sequences laced with some sentiments which worked out big time with his huge fan base.

Vijay was the sole performer and was present in almost all the frames of the movie. He had a terrific screen presence and performed the high octane action scenes with zeal. He completely stole the show and walked away with the trophy as always.

Hansika Motwani as the bubbly village girl, who was touted to woo Vijay from the start till the end did her job with panache and obviously got rewarded at the end. There was ample space to showcase her glamor quotient and she made it fruitful to mark her territory in Kollywood.

Genelia, as the investigative journalist played the perfect second fiddle and was aptly cast. She delivered a seasoned performance and looked gorgeous on screen as the smart and happening contemporary lass.

Saranya Mohan was offered a plum role and this one was by far the best ever performance that she could have ever given. It was not special in any way, but it had a significant effect in taking the movie forward as far as the sentiment factor was concerned.

Santhaanam’s comedy, though crude at times, raises laughter and gelled perfectly well with Vijay’s body language and timing. I felt that he could have been given a much bigger canvas wherein he would have brought the house down big time.

There were around 3 villains including Vincent, who was killed as usual during the course of the movie. The other 2 survive till the end before falling prey to our super hero during the long drawn out climax.

Music by Vijay Antony was targeted at the masses and each and every song received a thunderous applause in the theatre. Another super hit music release from his stable.

On the down side, the movie had far too many clichés associated with Vijay movies like almost all characters were heaping praises for Velayutham, an unbelievable screen play, slow and predictable second half and tacky graphics.

Overall, I feel that ‘Jayam’ Raja has pulled it off this time with a formulaic story which balances the equation and satisfies the fans of Vijay and others alike.

It’s going to be Velayutham which is going to dictate terms at the box office for the next few weeks.

Verdict: A perfect family entertainer with hardly any logic!

Rating: 2.5/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , ,


7 aum Arivu (7th Sense): Our 6th sense goes for a toss!




‘Euphoria’ is the word of least magnitude that I can think of when it comes to the hype that had surrounded this flick. It is so obvious that on a Diwali day everyone wants to have a glimpse of their favourite star performing to their tunes on screen... but was it good enough to get the gallery sizzling?

7 aum Arivu unfolded flamboyantly briefing the life and times of Bodhidharman, who is considered to be the father of martial arts among the east Asian stock of Shaolin Monks. The rest of the movie dealt with the fascination of bringing him back to this modern world, to face the current challenges, with state of the art graphics and mindless action sequences.

A.R. Murugadoss has definitely taken the road less travelled and the plot seems to be fresh and out of the box. The focus and theme of the movie which deals with the unsung elegance of the Tamils is laudable; but I am afraid I cannot go on heaping praises only for this aspect as the movie had some unforgivable blunders during its course:

1. Screenplay – played spoilsport in a script which could have been a sure shot winner.
2. Songs looked pretty ordinary on screen with some run of the mill picturization.
3. Shruti Haasan – Fair skin and her last name is the only similarity that could be associated with her father.
4. Dialogues – though some powerful dialogues brushed the screen every now and then, the overall effort in penning the dialogs seemed to look dumb
5. Action sequences – absolutely mindless – the concept of ‘hypnotism’ was judiciously used such that during the midway one gets the feeling of watching a ‘zombie’ movie.

Coming to the Performances:

For Suriya it’s yet another rocking performance, though not really special in any way. Has managed to carry the role of Bodhidharman with grace and also convincingly performs that of the circus artist. Good show!

Johnny Tri Nguyen, sported a role that demanded extreme physical fitness and a suave personality to showcase his antiques – a sensational debut as a powerful antagonist.

Shruti Haasan – nothing much to talk about her acting skills, but I felt that she managed to get away with the role of a nerdy genetic scientist, which demanded bare minimal effort. But this girl was just not able to emote!

The rest of the cast had very little to offer and did not make any impression.

Harris Jeyaraj seems to have lost his form. ‘Mun Andhi’ is the only number which is hummable. The rest of the songs do not gel with the proceedings.

Cinematography by Ravi.K.Chandran was top class, especially the first 15 minutes was engaging.

Editing by Anthony was crisp in the first half but faltered during the latter. One could feel the pain and predictability in the proceedings as the movie neared the climax. As far as the predictability goes, Murugadoss should also share the responsibility for disengaging the audiences from the movie towards the climax.

No doubt there has been a lot of effort involved in collecting critical facts about the culture and times, but had the same effort gone into packing this movie with a punch with a much better screen play which was believable, laced with some savvy dialogues, it would have definitely elevated the movie watching experience.

Having heaped so many complaints, if I say that the movie is not even worth a watch, it would be harsh on my part, considering the budget and the effort involved, but can’t help it!

Verdict: Below Average

Rating: 2/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in


Vellore Maavattam (Vellore District) - A sober police story!



Honestly I had no expectations when I was about to watch this movie. After watching, I was rather not disappointed with it.

Cop stories are an old affair as far as Kollywood is concerned. This is yet another sober take on a cop's life. The story is all about ASP Muthukumar played by Nandha who had taken the hard route to the top and serves as an upright police officer in Vellore district. The rest is about how he manages to overcome the challenges posed by his foes.

Both the strength and weakness of the movie is its soberness. Also there is an inherent weakness in the way the scenes were shot. Every scene was as plain as a pikestaff with hardly any twists or turns. At times we feel that the movie moves with a steady pace and at times it lags big time. On the whole, we can feel the bewilderment in the script.

Nandha, who seriously wants to prove that he is an actor of substance with a hit has given his best shot. Though his performance cannot be called flamboyant, it is a neat and power packed one.

Poorna, as his love interest had very little to do on screen, but seemed to suffice the cause.

Azhagam Perumal, as the antagonist had a role which was cut to shape and fitted it to tee.

Santhanam's comedy was sadly below average, which raised hardly any laughter.

Editing had helped the movie to a large extent with a lighting fast first half, but sadly sagged during the latter.

Cinematography was tidy and there is nothing special which can be mentioned with regard to it.

Songs by Sundar C Babu was below average, but he has done a great job with the BGM. The subtle BGM augured well with the subtle narration.

On the whole this one neither fits into the genre of a time pass entertainment nor a serious cop flick, but it certainly does not disappoint.

Verdict: Worth a watch, but not a must watch!

Rating: 2/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in


Vedi (Bomb) - Absolutely Frivolous



Vishal, after a critically acclaimed performance in Bala's Avan Ivan has decided to re-visit his roots with Vedi (remade from 'Shouryam', a Telugu super hit). Claimed to be a 'mass masala' entertainer, it had all the cliches going for it:


1. A story line with revenge as the epicenter
2. A brainless heroine falling head over heals for the hero for no reason
3. A brassy villain with his bunch of long-haired henchmen
4. 3 duet songs with an item number
5. Some rehashed comedy
6. Action which will drain you off till the end.


If we mix all these in any proportion, we land up with Vedi. Obviously logic goes for a toss from the start till the end. By the time when the movie progresses towards the climax, one can easily get infuriated and nothing much can be done about it as every bit of energy is lost to tide over it.


Vivek's comedy, tried to raise a few laughter in the first half, but reminds me of his 'Dhool' days and is completely overshadowed with the mindless proceedings.


Sayaaji Shinde, who is portrayed as a powerful villain is reduced to a stature of a buffoon. All henchmen who were much heavier and better built than Vishal were beaten by him with a few kicks.


Music by Vijay Antony is a huge let down and BGM is completely cacophonous as a hen yard.


Technicalities for this flick have not reserved a place in this review.


Another mindless action movie from Prabhu Deva's stable.


Verdict: Avoidable - Its going to be 'Vedi' at the box office!

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in


Vaagai Sooda Vaa (Come and be crowned) - An ethnic painting on the big screen




'Kalavani' fame Sargunam directed Vaagai Sooda Vaa was a flamboyantly drawn ethnic painting on the big screen. The canvas on which the painting was drawn, that is the period and ethos in which the story takes place made the audience warp in time and transformed the movie watching experience, reaching new heights all together. 

Yes, right from the start of the movie, I was in awe with the narration. This is by far one of the most classy works to have hit the Indian cinema in recent times. 

I take a bow before Sargunam for the sheer audacity and determination to come up with such a movie at this point in time where meaningless commercial rehashes are ruling the roost.

The movie takes place in the year 1966 in a village (an oasis?!) in the vicinity of Pudukottai, where ignorant men, women and children work hard in a brick kiln to make ends meet. The rest of the story is all about how an erudite Vimal brings about a transformation in their lives. The audience were also given a peek into their lives and tribulation.

Every scene has been carefully researched and done. Be it the way in which the brick manufacturing was shown, the luxury of listening to a transistor, the usage of monetary terms like 'annas' and so on adds to the authenticity and strength of the script.

A poetic love between the lead pair of Vimal and Iniya was well etched out using the radio and immortal songs which were played in it.

Characterization and casting was perfect. The children, who were the anchor on which the movie traveled, were cast in a very unique and impressive way with each one having their own identity.

Vimal, as a helpless teacher among the ignorant breed has delivered a fantastic performance where he had to underplay for the most part of his role. He has a natural sense of humor and a great body language, which augurs well for his role.

Iniya, a surprise package. If Paruthiveeran has done any good to Priyamani, this role will do the same for Iniya without an iota of doubt. She has carried the role of a bubbly girl with grace. With multitude emotions, she adds charm to her role.

Bhagyaraj, as Vimal's father appears during the initial and final moments of the movie and adds the necessary spices to make the script delicious.

The other supporting cast including Kumaravel, 'Thambi' Ramaiyya, Ponvannan and others have helped the movie get its raw shape and authenticity and had contributed in their own capacity.

Music by debut music director Gibran was top class with 'Sara Saara Kaathu' and 'Porane' being the picks of the lot. The BGM was classy enough to bring in a feeling of nostalgia.

Om Praksh's cinematography captures the 1960's time line with elan and adds a classy feel to it. The picturization of songs were superb.

Editing could have been better to make the film a bit fast paced during the first half - one department which does not work in favor of the movie.

Will the movie ring in the cash registers? Does it have a mass appeal? Will it be a commercial success? These are debatable and difficult questions which will get answered in the days to come.

It might not be a commercially successful flick like 'Kalavani' but certainly has the potential to rake in some awards to its kitty.

Verdict: A must watch for parallel movie enthusiasts

Score: 3.5/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , ,


Muran (Conflict) - Slick and Suave Thriller!




Touted as a road thriller, Muran was promoted aggressively by UTV creating some good pre-release buzz through offline and online media. But, has the film lived up to its reputation? Lets see...

The movie unfolded with a clear focus, right from the introduction of the lead characters, their confluence, how one gets influenced with another's story and then a spicy twist which leads to the climax.

A toast to the debut director Rajan Madhav for taking the road less traveled. He has managed to create a thriller out of a wafer thin story-line with mere screen play and some twists which packs the punch.

Though one could feel a bit weary in the first half, the proceedings started to gain momentum just ahead of intermission and there was no stopping till the climax.

Another intelligent move was to utilize the songs to take the movie forward by interlacing some scenes with them. Though the music was below average, one cannot do away with the songs as it was essential to follow the flow. Otherwise, a very ordinary music debut by the director's sibling, Sajjan Madhav.

The biggest strength of the movie was Prasanna, who was menacing as the suave and stylish brat, who was spoilt till the last bit. He had an electric screen presence and certainly compensated for Cheran's below average performance. Post this, lets at least hope that Prasanna gets spotted by our industry heavy weights and will have a new lease of life in his career.

Haripriya as Cheran's 'best friend' turned lover was refreshing to watch and had a terrific screen presence. She could have been utilized even more.

Nikitha Tukral as Cheran's wife has managed to put up a decent show as an arrogant witch, though she had little scope to perform.

Jayaprakash as a business tycoon was aptly cast.

Technically the movie was groovy. Camera, by Padmesh, which traveled through the highway had captured the grandeur of the golden quadrilateral with panache. Editing by Arun Durairaj, had managed to grip the audiences to their seats and added a slickness to the story telling with elan.

After leaving the theater, one cannot help but question the believability of the script which has its own flaws which was the only weakness that I was able to spot. 

Overall, the movie was a neat thriller on a platter spiced up with some satirical humor and a brilliant performance from Prasanna, which makes the movie worth a watch.

Verdict: Worth a Watch!

Score: 2.5/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in


Aayiram Vilakku (1000 lights) - Not Glittery Enough!



If we put together a few cliched sentimental rehashes, a bunch of below average songs, a couple of fights and some not so funny characters who try to make us laugh, we land up watching Aayiram Vilakku.

Set against the most famous Madurai milieu, the film was touted to promote Shantanu as a saleable mass hero and also to allow him taste that elusive hit. A decent performance from him, but sadly the movie falls flat and well short of the end line.

The plot was above average, but the screenplay had far too many loop holes and loose ends to ignore, which proved to be the primary setback for the movie.

Apart from these negatives, we are constantly reminded of various scenes from various other movies being lifted off judiciously.

In fact, the character of Sathiyaraj as a dreaded don Lingam, wanting to turn into a new leaf was already shown years back in a movie called 'Adidhadi'. The only difference was that, then he wanted to have a girlfriend who was 25, now he is more realistic and wants to have an adopted son who is 25.

Also, Satiyaraj's mistaken identity as Kannayiram was similar to that of Asin and Suriya's resonance in Ghajini. But the only relief in the movie was the portrayal of this very relationship which was brought out well and Shantanu and Satyaraj strike an instant rapport as the father and son.

Sathyaraj, as Lingam, fits the bill. His performance was the only highlight of the movie. But, how far could he go bearing the movie on his own shoulders?

Sanakhan, as the glam doll, had ample scope to showcase her glamor quotient during the songs but had very little scope for performance.

 Nothing much to say about the music in general or any other technical aspects like the cinematography or editing, though one feels relieved of  the fact that the movie is only 2hours 20 minutes in length.

Verdict: Just another movie which will be knocking your doors soon through TV channels.

Score: 1.5/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in


Engeyum Eppothum (Everywhere Everytime) - Its Happening!




Paruthiveeran, Mahanadhi, Siraichaalai, Sethu..... Yes, my heart almost sank when I came out of the theater after watching these movies.


I experienced a similar mental agony after watching Engeyum Eppothum.


Hats off to the debut director Saravanan. He has made an audacious attempt at making an almost realistic movie with a valid message. 


The cast and characterization take the center stage where there was little room for a wafer thin story line. In fact, the movie by itself is a series of incidents which intersect during  the climax.


Amazing screen play with intelligent dialogues and dialogue delivery made the first half zip through like the volvo bus shown in the movie.


Coming to the lead cast - an infinite superlatives should be used to praise the performance of all four - Anjali, Jai, Ananya and Sharvanand. 


Among the 4, Anjali manages to steal the show as an arrogant tom boy. Clearly a performance which she should be proud of after Angaadi Theru.


Jai, more than him performing, one should say that he is cast in a role which exudes the optimal performance from him. Job well done.


Ananya, as the innocent cat from the small town has delivered a flamboyant performance with her subtle body language.

Sharvanand, a terrific performance in his debut role as the city guy. Cool and composed in the first half and bursting out his anguish emotions in the latter.

The chemistry is brought out well and works big time between the 2 lead pairs.

The supporting cast including the co-passengers in the bus were thoughtfully cast and add to the authenticity of the script.

The soul of the movie is the screen play which travels back and forth in time; and all through the narration, the director manages to add an element of angst in the minds of the audience.

During the climax, one gets a  feeling of emptiness within and we can feel our heart strings getting pulled.

There is no ample scope for technicalities, though the climax road accident scene demanded some heavy CG work. It could have been more realistic rather than a bit tacky. 

The camera traveling through the streets of Chennai and alleys of Trichy has captured the essence of the place with minimal fuss.

Music in general is above average, with 'Govinda Govinda' being the pick of the lot and the picturization for the same was hilarious.

Editing is another department which bags brownie points. It helps the narration to be smooth and devoid of confusions even for a common man.

All in all, such movies with some valid messages which is too critical to ignore should be welcomed with flower bouquet and that is what is happening.

Verdict: Go for it!

Rating: 3.5/5

PS: Lot of blood shed and disturbing scenes during the climax.

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , ,


Vandhaan Vendraan - 'Doosra' pitched in leg and going wide down the legside




How often have you seen Muralidharan's 'doosra' given as wide, after the ball is pitched in leg and holds its line? Vandhaan Vendraan is one of the many such deliveries with a deceptive plot which had the potential to be a winner at the box office, but failing to make an impression.

The story unfolds in a southern Tamil Nadu village as a rivalry between siblings in their tender years and ends in Mumbai with some blood splashed all over. One can breathe a sigh of relief in the sense that the Tamil Nadu sickle culture is not taken as part of the proceedings and the director has managed to move to a metro like Mumbai where henchmen are given guns and mouthful of Hindi dialog.

The weakest area of the movie is the screenplay and characterization. The character of Tapsee is so weak such that one feels that it is better off without her. Seriously, this female is a big let down as far as her ability to emote on screen and dialog delivery is poor. She lacks the screen presence and halts the proceedings big time.

The songs, even though Kanchana Mala and Anjana were foot tapping numbers, makes the story limp and hinders it from touching the finishing line.

All these weaknesses does not allow the movie to grow upon the audiences.

Jiiva as always is good to watch, but he is getting too much of such roles as a boy next door which certainly brings in a sense of sickness.

Nanda, as the antagonist is fresh on screen and suffices the cause.

Santhaanam, one of the few reliefs in the movie. Yet another rocking performance! The scene where he is told to steal the mobile phone is a scream to watch.

Music of Thaman is good. Background was surprisingly subtle and after a long time one can feel the right notes at the background, which gels with the proceedings.

Cinematography was fantastic. The camera angles and the song picturization  deserves a pat.

Editing, though slick, could have been better in terms of pace.

After sitting through some mindless and tedious proceedings, moving towards the climax, when the audiences try hard to persuade themselves of the fact that their wallets got looted, the director tries to save them with an element of twist. But the damage has been done already and it is too little too late. 

Verdict: Watch it when telecasted in your favorite channel during Diwali (hopefully!)

Rating: 2/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in


Kasethan Kadavulada (Money is God) - Yes, indeed!




Kasethan Kadavulada directed by Thirumalai is pitched as a full fledged comedy caper, targeted at the masses. It also marks the debut of Charan as hero and Kamna Jetmalani badly also wants a come back in Kollywood through this one.

Sadly the movie falls flat on the audiences and throughout the movie one can see grim faces in the theater with the fear of songs creeping in between the already tedious proceedings. Thirumalai had the inventory to make a great comedy script, but the problem was his screen play and dialog.

To make one laugh is an art and some fine crafting is required in the screenplay to attain it. A decent comic cast were in place with Karunas, 'Lollu Sabha' Jeeva, Delhi Ganesh to name a few. Also, a simple and straight forward plot with hardly any logic was in place, which could have augured well for a comedy caper, if only the screen play would have hit the right note.

While the proceedings were on, one gets confused whether the movie is a comedy caper or a spoof on so many other movies in the past. This also goes to show the director was running short of ideas while  he was writing the script and has been dubious on how to take forward the concept (if there is any).

Understandably, he also had the additional responsibility of showcasing the debutant Charan as an action-mass hero with some 'do gooder' scenes and an introductory song which stands out like a sore thumb in the already spoilt show.

Music by Karunas is cacophonic and gives ample recess for smokers.

Technically, no comments.

Verdict: Another turkey at the box office for the dumb weekend. Refrain from it!

Rating: 0.5/5