Thank you!

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown ...

Minimal Design

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown ...

Download high quality wordpress themes at top-wordpress.net

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown ...

Easy to use theme admin panel

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown ...

Prev Next

Archive for March 2013

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , , , , , , , , , , ,


Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga (KBKR) - Double Decker Ride!




As a kid when I first experienced a ride on a double decker bus, I was strangely amused. Though it serves the same purpose as a normal bus, there’s always a wacky feeling about it! I felt the same way after watching KBKR which was aimed at the the masses. There was nothing special in the script nor in the treatment, but still the movie held its grip throughout its course only with the help of some refreshing moments from the lead pair and a solid supporting cast!

KBKR, as the name suggests, its a story about two useless youngsters (Sivakarthikeyan and Vimal) who like to lead a carefree and cool life and dream their way of making it big in politics. The first half was merely a rehash of so many ‘youth-subject’ movies that we have witnessed in the past and there was nothing novel with the roles either, yet director Pandiraj feels that there is still room to explore such characters and also meets with some success to ring in some genuinely funny moments, especially with the help of one-liners from ‘Parotta’ Soori, who has started making inroads into Kollywood with his subtle knack of satirical dialog delivery.

The girls - Bindhu Madhavi and Regina were casted merely to add to the funny moments; though their presence was not impactful, they added their own colors to the palette. The spine of the movie rested on the supporting cast. Delhi Ganesh, Sivakarthikeyan’s father (as a railway guard), Sujatha, Vimal’s mother and Muthuraman as a nagging father-in-law were there to rejuvenate the narrative whenever there seemed to be a dip.

Music by Yuvan was a surprising disappointment and not one song was impressive. Also the BGM had least scope and so YSR would have stretched his legs without much effort.

The camera had captured the ambiance of a small town like Trichy well and also traveled along the characters.

Director Pandiraj who has a great reputation of being a neat director has delivered a clean film that partially entertains, but one cannot but avoid the stale moments in the script that creeps in more often than not, thus allowing the movie to meet with limited success!

Verdict: One Time Watch, Not a Must Watch!

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , , , , , , ,


Chennaiyil Oru Naal (A day in Chennai) - ‘Roadies’ Drama!




Based on a real account, this movie was first made in Malayalam as ‘Traffic’ and went on to become a huge hit for its gripping screenplay. It’s Tamil remake had hit the screens with mounted expectations and a casting coup with almost a bokeh of celebrities peeking in and out at least in a scene or two.

Chennaiyil Oru Naal (CON), is the gripping account of an accident victim who is termed as brain dead by the doctors, whose heart is still needed by another person who is fighting for her life. So the victim’s parents had to be convinced for the transplant and then the heart has to be transported within a stipulated time frame from Chennai to Vellore via road.

The story started as a multi-layered narrative until it converged post interval at a single point wherein the focus was on the subject of heart transplant and the thrill ride that accompanied that. The main problem with the story was the screenplay and acting. Debutant director Shaheed Kader had a neatly carved out story on which he needed to add some sheen with his screenplay in order to make it glitter, but sadly he faltered in the process as he added some fake aggression to the narrative that stood out time and again underlining the fact that it was an amateur effort.

Acting per se was below par from almost all the actors - among the lot, those who stood out were Jayaprakash, Lakshmi Ramakrishnan and Prasanna to some extent. Many fine actors like Prasanna, Iniya, Mallika and Parvathi Menon were merely wasted in their roles and had literally very little scope. Especially Prasanna’s love and hate episode with Iniya was notoriously misplaced and gave a forcibly induced twist to the story making the proceedings stale.

Sarathkumar, Prakash Raj, Radhika and Cheran were supposed to be leading the brigade, but their characterization were stale and left very little room for improvisation. None of them delivered anything special. Also the movie ended with a special cameo from Surya, insisting on organ donation and as always Surya appeared as the one who represents ‘all things good’... phew.

Music by debutant Mejo Joseph was average and the movie had only 2 tracks, which was a bit of a relief.

Editor Mahesh Narayanan has done a good job at keeping the movie under hours and has made it look racy even though the acting and screenplay was a setback of sort.

Cinematography by Shehnad Jalal was not noteworthy but was sufficient for the narrative.

The movie would have been much better if only the director had done away with the fakely made up momentum and below par acting that hampered it from reaching the finishing line.

Rating: 2/5

Verdict: Watch it on SUN TV in a month or two!

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , , , , ,


DJANGO Unchained - Tarantino Unleashed!




Set in 1858, in the ever wild west, this 'cowboy' styled film reignites and rolls down the retro fireball into a sack of gunpowder... Kaboom!! That’s Django for you.


Django Unchained narrates the tale of Django (Jamie Foxx), a slave who is freed by Dr.Schultz (Christoph Waltz) after Django agrees to help him trace one of his bounties. In return, Schultz also trains Django in bounty hunting and agrees to free his wife, Broomhilda (Kerry Washington) from the clutches of a gruesome plantation owner in Mississippi, Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio). The ensuing events and the wild roller-coaster ride has been depicted in a typical Tarantino fashion.


The plot may sound naive and simple, but Tarantino had a gripping screenplay and ever engaging dialogs that were satirical and refreshing at the same time. The casting coup was first rate and the entire cast including the supporting cast were on their toes when it came to delivering in their own capacity.


If Jamie Foxx was belligerent as an ‘unchained’ slave, Christoph Waltz unleashed his blitzkrieg throughout the movie with his quick repartee and an effervescent dialog delivery which is his forte. However the tour de force of the second half was Leonardo who made for an arrogant and wicked villain with a sophisticated charm. To complete the casting coup there was Samuel L. Jackson as Stephen, the servile and loyal servant of Leonardo. Kerry Washington as the lead lady was okay for the role and did not have much dialogs nor screen presence.


The last 30 minutes was bloody to say the least and had Tarantino’s typical blood splashings and slashings with guns and detonators working at tandem, not to mention the haunting tunes that played in the background, elevated the mood and brought out the euphoria.


Overall, the movie was an engrossing watch even at 2:45 hours and is thoroughly recommended for action genre enthusiasts and a must watch for all Tarantino loyalists.


Verdict: Good

Rating: 3/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , , , , , , , , ,


Vathikuchi (Matchstick) - Non-Combustible!





Directed by debutant Kinslin, a former assistant of A.R.Murugadoss, the movie also marks the debut of its lead actor, Dhileban who happens to be the brother of A.R.Murugadoss. The movie that was pitched in as an urban thriller with a twisted plot, had everything going for it for the first 45 minutes until the director started exploiting cinematic liberties and making a mockery out of the plot that had the potential to churn out a runaway hit!


Sakthi (Dhileban) is a share auto driver who likes to go out of his way in order to help others from the clutches of misery due to his own bitter experience. In the process, he faces the wrath of his enemies whom he hardly even knows. Sakthi overcoming all odds and emerging victorious has been told in a way that defies convention and logic!


The plot unwound on a rather curious note giving a premise on what was about to happen. The curiosity mainly arises on how the lead character has worked himself into the quagmire and how he would get out of it. Post interval the movie loses its grip over the audience completely, entering into a melodramatic mode that teases our brains with its rather insipid logic by defying almost all popular conventions.


Dhileban has made a very disappointing debut! He being the brother of AR Murugadoss could have been the only eligibility for him to enter films. He rarely made any impact. He was lifeless with his acts and dialog delivery. He has to immediately go on an acting crash course and learn the nuances if he plans to prolong his stay in the film industry!


Anjali’s bubbly role as that of a middle class girl next-door has been largely rehashed from ‘Engeyum Eppothum’. The director had tried to spice her role with some comic moments but has faltered in the execution.


Jegan, Jayaprakash and Sampath were the baddies and were convincing in the own capacities.


Other setbacks for the movie were the ordinary dialogs and below par acting! The dialogs per se would have been more authentic if the characters had mouthed with a Chennai slang as the story was shown taking place in the lower middle class Chennai locales. The construction of scenes looked as if the director got convinced in the very first take of a scene. Even a seasoned actor like Saranya Ponvannan was not upto her mark.


Music by Ghibran was average and was nowhere near the music quality of his debut movie - ‘Vaagai Sooda Vaa’.


Cinematography had no scope, so no comments!


Editing by the duo of Pravin and Srikanth was pathetic. Certain scenes looked blatantly discontinued. Dubbing was bad and mouth sync was also awry at times.


Everything said and done, I would like to congratulate the director only for his noble intention to come up with a script that was different. Though he had his heart at the right place, he failed to strike a chord because of below par acting and screenplay.


Verdict: Below Average!


Rating: 2/5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , , , , , , , , ,


Paradesi (Nomad) - A ‘Bala’ Film!


If Ravichandran Ashwin is asked to spin the ball on a turning Chepauk wicket on the final day of a test match, its no surprise that he would be rubbing his hands with glee; it would have been same with director Bala as well while directing his latest flick, Paradesi!

Inspired from a novel, ‘Red Tea’, Paradesi paints an episode of the lives of innocent people who suffered as bonded laborers at the hands of the British bureaucrats who used to employ them in order to develop tea estates.

Set in pre-independent India, in the year of 1939, the movie takes a deep dive into the lives of such nomads who were treated like animals by their employers who were loyal to the British bureaucracy without paying much heed to any sort of human emotions. The story has been told in a dark and morbid way carrying the intensity throughout the course with an overdose of grief tinged with satire.

Shooting a period film would have always had its own set of challenges and on top of it Bala has employed numerous junior artists in order to recreate and bring forth that period to the viewers. Right from the hairstyle of all the artists, their costumes (however minimal it might be), the ornaments that they wear, the Tamil dialect (as spoken by the pre-independent populace living in and around the then Madrasapattinam) and casting in general was exceptional.

Before going into the artist’s performance, let me congratulate the make-up artist, costume designer and the art director for doing an amazing job and creating the ambience of a bye-gone era and people whom we did not even know had existed till now.

Adharva, after some faulty baby steps has learnt to walk tall. Like in most Bala movies, being the protagonist, he bore the wrath of being disfigured and has been made to live the role. Well done!

Vedhika has been given a rebirth with a brief but noteworthy role. She too has been soiled and tanned and was made to get into the skin of the character!

Like in Bala’s previous flicks, here too the villain is gruesome and has made his debut - Jerry! I think he would be a regular for such superbad roles in the coming days!

Dhansika, Ritwika and Udhay Karthik in supporting roles have been utilized well to bring out the gloom in the screenplay and to support the casting at large!

Music by GV Prakash was not upto the mark, except for ‘Avatha Paiya’ which was part of a breezy first half. The BGM was average as well!

Cinematography by Chezhiyan takes us on a walk through a nomad’s life! Throughout the movie he has maintained a sepia tone which adds an emotional backdrop to the happenings. He made a mark right from the beginning where the camera was made to seep through the narrow gap between thatched roofs and then among the folklore in order to depict the village ethos!

Editing by Kishore was good except that there was some vacuum in the second half where he has tried to blend in BGM and songs. Also the rapid shift in time period has been liberally used without paying much attention to details like the character’s looks!

The first half was a bit racy and had some funny moments as well before it turned out to be somewhat of a rhetoric (with some lewd comments) as comedy and Bala are as different as chalk and cheese! The second half was having some genuine satire, but also had a gruesome and disturbing tale to narrate!

Overall, Paradesi is for those who have appreciated Bala’s previous dark flicks. The ones who look forward to quality entertainment, please stay away, as this time Bala has made an even more poignant effort to paint the murals with blood!

Verdict: Recommended!

Rating: 3/5