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Archive for September 2013

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


Raja Rani (King and Queen) - Love, Marriage, Relationship!



How many times have we seen romance being kindled or rekindled between the lead pair on screen. With a theme that says ‘There is Life/Love after Love Failure’, the story is as old as the hills, but yet again here comes another promising debutant (director Atlee) who is excited to tread on thin ice and has managed to tap the mass hysteria of 'Kollywood romance' with an impulsive screenplay and a casting coup that pulls the young cine-goers to the theaters like never before.

John (Arya) and Regina (Nayantara) get married, but share an indifferent relationship. Then it is revealed that both of them have had a sour past with love and hence they both are frustrated with their life. They get united at the end after understanding each other, thus justifying the theme of the movie.

It can also be considered as a modern day remake of ‘Mouna Raagam’, except that here in this movie there was love failure from both the sides. The film works to a large extent due to the lead cast - Arya, Jai, Nayantara and Nazriya, who have done extremely well. They were supported with a good supporting cast led by Sathyaraj and Santhanam. The screenplay somehow gave a feel of deja vu as this was a tried and tested subject. Among the love episodes I liked the one between Jai and Nayantara more than Arya and Nazriya, but when it came to performance, Jai and Nazriya took the cherry along with the cake. However, Arya and Nayantara though had their chemistry in place looked somewhat lost on screen.

Sathyaraj was there to support and he did just that without much qualms. Santhanam's antiques were a bit of a let down as he loses steam more often than not. Sathyan in a short role was refreshing as well.

Cinematography by George was above average. He has brought those lively colors on screen in order to usher in the romance and has indeed added an element of grandeur to the songs as well.

Editing by Anthony was disappointing as there were far too many songs and some scenes that were repetitive in nature which could have been avoided. Had his scissors been a bit shrewd, the film would have been much crisper.

Music by GV Prakash was above average and the much anticipated "Angnyaade" number sung by Shakthi was not there in the movie.

Director Atlee has taken a safe bet with such a script with so many commercial compromises that could have been used to smooth the rough edges, but instead it added to the pandemonium. However this movie can safely be passed off as a neat family entertainer as it engages an average viewer with the right mix of comedy, romance and sentiment.

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Verdict: Worth a Watch!

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


6 Mezhuguvathigal (6 Candles) - Dark and Disturbing, but Deep!




I think my own set of fingers would suffice to count the number of directors who remain true to their scripts. Director V.Z. Durai is one among them and he has a unique ‘hit and miss’ record right from the start of his career where he opened his account with the hit in the form of ‘Mugavari’ with Ajith. Then he made a forgettable one with Vikram in the name of ‘Kadhal Sadugudu’, then bounced back with ‘Thotti Jaya’, which was once again nothing exceptional but had a solid screenplay, but again fumbled with ‘Nepali’ with Bharath that had an interesting plot but a flawed narration and below par acting. So in the order of his ‘hits and misses’, his latest ‘6 Mezhuguvathigal’ should be a hit, but has the director lived up to his reputation to keep up with his record? Well, I would say that it is an astounding ‘Yes’ :) Immediately if you’re going to point a rifle on my head and question me whether it would collect 10 crores as it’s first week box-office collection, then I might as well submissively bow before you to blow my brains off, as that would be a better option than to justify the popular moronic ideal of box office collection. Having said that, I firmly believe that from a critic’s perspective a hit is counted as a movie which invokes the viewers' eidetic conscience even after exiting the auditorium!


6 Candles narrates the dark and disturbing tale of an anxious father’s (Shaam) journey in search of his abducted kid, the challenges he encounters, the sort of treatment he is meted out both by socially responsible and irresponsible elements, the trauma he is subjected to, his aggression and a largely talked about social stigma of child trafficking.


The movie had hardly any buzz when it started around 2 years back but for the image make-over of Shaam which caught my eyes, especially with his bulging eyelids and intentionally unkempt beard and hair, tried to convey something out of the ordinary but seemed quite stark. The cornerstones of the movie are casting, locations, script and cinematography - to seal it off! Everyone in the cast seemed to be carefully handpicked for the role and looked authentic. Also the locations were real and conveyed the dread - especially watch out for the slaughterhouse episode where one can feel the stench that prevails over the place. Script was unwavering and the director hardly compromised anywhere and finally the cinematography that helped elevate the tone and tenor of the narration.


By far this might be Shaam’s best role as he has carried the movie on his shoulders almost single handedly and his hard work paid off pretty handsomely. This especially demanded some very emotional depth and Shaam seems to have proved that he can also act. Well done!


Poonam Kaur was there to support Shaam and appeared time to time on screen whenever there was a grey area between emotional depth and melodrama in the script and slightly tilted the balance towards the melodramatic side, but Shaam pulled it back to keep the balance afloat.


The bad men in the movie were far too many and as far as Durai’s fascination for such characters seems to be never-ending, he has managed to cast men of different stature and languages right from a well dignified one to an uncouthly beggar who serves as an agent for trafficking. The good Samaritans in the form of a taxi driver and a man from the public were other noteworthy mentions.


Editing was another strength of the movie as the movie was well cut to keep pace with the proceedings and had the songs and fights in their respective portions. Also keeping the length under 130 minutes should be lauded.


Music by Srikanth Deva is not worthy enough to mention though, but the songs thankfully did not seem to hinder the pace.


On the downside, the movie depicted Shaam as a one-man army which was unbelievable and also the bad men revealing clues for Shaam before dying seem to be far-fetched.


I already read some reviews claiming that the movie is a lift-off from the Hollywood action thriller ‘Taken’. I can only pity such comments, as I feel that the subject of human trafficking is universal like romance (that falls on the other side of the spectrum). So comparing this movie with ‘Taken’ is absolutely unfair and credit has to be given to the entire cast and crew for pulling off a script that was authentic and made to look real with an engaging narrative and good acting.


Verdict: Good

Rating: 3 / 5

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


Moodar Koodam (Fools’ Gathering) - Superfluous and Foolish!



The movie was lying in the cans even after the completion due to lack of distributors as it was from a newbie director. The cast also had only small time actors. The very title of the movie created a sort of vibe and as predicted it was pitched as a black comedy. For those of us who have seen such things in ‘Soodhu Kavvum’ only recently where the bar was set really high, this movie appeared to be a superfluous attempt that aimed to make us tickle every scene but sadly the script was so hollow that there was no room for anything solid at all.

The plot is about a bunch of youngsters who are marginalized by the society due to their respective disabilities. They gather together due to coincidence and plan for a dacoity in order to settle down once for all. As predicted the plan goes awry and they end up with almost nothing at the end.

The movie promised a great plot at the start but soon drifted away to a very monotonous mode and with the director trying to infuse his intellect every now and then, it can purely be labeled as a different attempt that did not shape up the way the director might have wanted it to be. Every scene prepared the viewer for a comic moment, but the execution absolutely took the fizz out of the scene and made it look lifeless. Also a flashback for everyone in the movie (including a dog and a doll) was quite irritating after a while.

The casting was above average. Director Naveen himself has taken the onus to play the lead, but failed to lead the rest of the cast due to his aggressive attempt to grab the screen presence. The other notable character was that of ‘Sentrayan’, whom we have seen in some of the movies in the past as a mean villain, has been roped in this one to take on the comic route. He was again promising at the start and then seemed to feel the heaviness of the role, as comedy cannot be anyone’s cup of tea.

The others in the group, Raja and Kuberan were just spectators. The supporting cast of Oviya, Anupama Kumar and Jayaprakash were good in their respective roles but had no scope to perform.

The music was ok, cinematography was fine, but was testing the vision at times and the editing was a huge let down as the movie went on and on as the director got lost in his own plot.

I also remember reading the director’s interview in one of the tamil weeklies a few months back where he mentioned that he had pledged some of his properties in order to complete this movie. I can only feel sorry for that guy. Definitely these sort of attempts have to be done, but the directors should try to spin comedy around a solid script rather than doing it the other way.

Verdict: Boring

Rating: 1.5 / 5

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


Varuthapadaatha Vaalibar Sangam (Young Loafer’s Club) - Loafing without a Story!



As the name suggests, VVS had nothing great to offer but a bunch of funny scenes paired with some well-timed comic punches that was packed and delivered through Sivakarthikeyan and Soori, who are beginning to hog the limelight in Kollywood through feel-good movies that are light and entertaining.

Story of VVS is set in a village down south and is about a bunch of loafers headed by Bose Pandi (Sivakarthikeyan ) and Kodi (Soori ) who like cheap publicity and false admiration. They lock horns with the village headman Sivanandi (Satyaraj) over some trivial issues concerning the village festival, but end up bringing his daughter’s marriage to a halt. So sparks start flying between the two gangs and what results is a comedy riot that keeps you somewhat engaging for the rest of the movie.

VVS had a straight-forward agenda to make the audiences laugh and so debutant director Ponram has banked heavily on comic dialogues written by his mentor director Rajesh, who is known to deliver such stuff. A little thought on delivering a solid script would have made it a much more engaging affair. The film at large looks to be entertaining, but limps badly in the middle due to a hollow storyline that had no clue on where it was heading and lacked logic as well.

Sivakarthikeyan did his usual stuff in a usual role that can be labeled as ‘boy-next-door’ in every possible way. I get the feeling that he is too obsessed with this image that he is caught in a mini ‘image-shell’ right at the beginning of his career. This might appear to be an advantage for him now, but if he doesn't start experimenting, this might become a hackneyed one for him which he might find quite challenging to cast away.

The heroine, Sri Divya had a charming appeal, looked bubbly and looks promising for such small-town girl’s role in the future too. But I doubt whether she could play a variety of roles.

Satyaraj was amazing as Sivanandi. Though he appeared to be serious for the most part, the guys surrounding him as his sidekicks sparked the humor every now and then.

Soori was there to support the comedy department and he tries to bag those roles that spills away from Santhanam's already overflowing kitty.

Cinematography was nothing great but went with the flow and did not harm the vision at any point. Editing could have been better and a song could have been trimmed along with some unwanted scenes. At a little over 2:30 hours the film appeared to be quite dragging.

Music by Imman was above average. ‘Oodha colour ribbon’ has become a runaway hit, primarily due to its lyrics and catchy tune. BGM did not have a great role in this movie.

The movie has comedy, romance, some sentiment and some emotions - a masala on a plate with a weak story line which could have been much better.

Rating: 2/5

Verdict: Average