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Archive for October 2013

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , , , ,


Vanakkam Chennai (Hello Chennai) - A Cosy Ride!

Much publicized only because of Kiruthiga Udhayanidhi’s directorial debut, ‘Vanakkam Chennai’ does not deviate an inch from the formulaic safe bet of a romantic comedy, that had cliches ridden all over it, but managed to somewhat pull it off due to a refreshing presentation and decent cinematography laced with peppy music.


Ajay (Shiva) lands up in Chennai to take up his new job as a software engineer and rents an apartment. After a few days he finds out that he was conned by the man who has rented him out the apartment as Anjali (Priya Anand), who is a passionate photographer from UK also moves into the same apartment by paying an advance. Soon they both find out that the house owner is a different person altogether and they have lost all their money. So both of them start with a clash on who is to stay in the house and then in the quest to find the real culprit who swindled their money, they end up falling in love with each other.

Shiva as the modern day youth, tickles the nerves every now and then with his quick wit and repartee. But his style of delivering the dialogue remains the same which is sort of becoming his trademark. Priya Anand had a typical NRI female’s role that did not demand anything new, but she managed to strike the all-important chemistry with Shiva.

Santhaanam as the conman, was not in his usual elements. We can sense the tiredness in him and the role as the hero’s sidekick is something that has been labeled on his forehead which he finds hard to do away with. The trick to survive is to do a bit of a variety in this limited space. Hope he would deliver what is expected of him in the coming days.

Cinematography by Richard was awesome. The songs were shot in realistic colors especially the ‘Osaka’ number was amazing. Other songs that were shot like music albums had a peppy feel.

Anirudh adds strength to the movie with his hummable numbers and this album is a shot in the arm for him as his recent movies have been hardly anything worthy enough to remember.

At 2:30 hours, the movie extended beyond a threshold point where we already knew what was in the offing. Had it been a bit slicker it could have been a much more engaging affair. Still this one can be given a try with low expectations and one would not be disappointed.

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Verdict: Not Bad!

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , , ,


Onaayum Aattukkuttiyum (The Wolf and the Lamb) - Gritty and Dark!



When it comes to narrating a tale in the dark with stark realities pinned up in each and every scene, hardly any director other than Mysskin would throw in their hat in the ‘Kollywood’ ring! He has emerged as a wounded tiger from the cave to deliver a gritty and gripping tale of a wolf which is on the run.

OA’s story revolves primarily around 2 characters - the wolf (Mysskin) and the lamb (Sree). ‘Wolf’ alias David is a dreaded criminal who has committed a series of murders and is on the run. The fact is that he is on a mission to save some lives and he coerces Chandru (Sree) to assist him. Whether ‘Wolf’ was able to save the lives that he intended to save was told in a gripping manner with some over-the-top dramatics in a typical ‘Mysskin Fashion’.

The noir in the narration was perennial as in all Mysskin movies. All the scenes have been shot during the dark in order to keep up with the theme of the movie. The script did not have substantial twists but the narrative style bound the script together from the start till the finish.

The performances were so typical of Mysskin with some ‘frozen acts’ that were remnant in almost all the characters at sometime or the other. Mysskin’s performance as the cold-blooded murderer was nothing special and his naturally heavy build has ably assisted him in establishing himself for the role. The scene where he narrates the flashback in a metaphorical rant was an impressive space where he tried to score and make a name for himself! Sri was conspicuous for this role and his actions were so similar to that which he performed in ‘Vazhakku Enn’. Among the supporting cast, Shaji as the CBCID was a natural performer with a ‘Mallu’ accent and an authoritative tone.

Other major highlights of the movie were the tautly orchestrated action blocks that looked so real yet super-heroic and Ilayaraja’s BGM, which added to the narrative’s appeal and elevated so many good scenes to super good ones. Majority of the times, silence played along, with the characters doing the rest!

The cinematography would have been challenging, especially with respect to the lighting aspects as it was shot during nights throughout. Balaji should be lauded for doing a neat job at it.

Editing could have been crisper, especially the run down towards the climax appeared to be a bit of a drag.

Director Mysskin is back to his own form as he plays to his strengths and stands like a tyrant, dictating terms on how a taut thriller has to be made by not even obliging a bow to commercial aspects like a fair-skinned heroine or some comedians to do the heavy-lifting or an item girl with an ‘oomph’ number. This one can be watched for Mysskin’s sheer belief that the soul for any movie is a well thought-out script that is logical and engaging!

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Verdict: Recommended!

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


Naiyaandi (Frolic) - Toy Train Derailed!



Time and again directors have miserably failed due to not playing to their strengths. Director Sargunam who has delivered a couple of aces in the past like ‘Kalvani’ and ‘Vaagai Sooda Vaa’ which were critically acclaimed even though not big in the box office, has come up with ‘Naiyaandi’ with a quest to claim his elusive box office success. With stars like Dhanush and Nasiriya and a controversy to brew some mileage for the movie, he had everything aligned for the movie’s success even before its release. But what was missing in the puzzle was the all-important piece - the content - screenplay!

 The story is set in a small town where the hero (Dhanush) who is a lamp merchant falls for the heroine (Nasiriya) who is a dental college student. There is a challenge that the hero has to face in the form of a rather naive villain (Vamsi Krishna) who makes an appearance at the start and end of movie only to get walloped by our slender hero. In between there were some family ‘kichdis’ that failed to register in our minds even during the proceedings.
Just wondering what makes directors who promise a great potential to deviate from their path that they have treaded in the past to a path that is so popular and naïve. The most disturbing fact is that in the film industry at large, the success of a director is determined only by the box-office collection that he/she is capable of raking in the first few weeks of the movie’s release. In order to make a name for themselves at the BO, even promising directors tend to take the commercial route failing miserably more often than not – Sargunam being the latest addition to a beeline of people who have done this mistake in the past [Suseendiran – Rajapattai; Bala – Avan Ivan; Ameer – Aadi Bhagavan, Susi Ganesan – Kandasaami, etc.]
The plot of the movie was so stale that the comic elements failed to even take off even with the likes of ‘Parotta’ Soori, Satyan and Sathish in the cast. No one seemed to be enthusiastic with their performance including the lead cast of Dhanush and Nasiriya who were just puppets and their chemistry appeared to be dumb. The supporting cast were far too many like the movie’s flaws.
Technically the movie was weak, with the editing department taking the brunt of stretching the movie for ages and placing songs now and then when the going was already tedious.
Ghibran’s music was sort of a silver lining but a flawed narration made sure to place that in the backburner.
The movie would be a tedious experience to be watched in theatres and can safely be avoided to save some bucks for some good ones to come (hopefully)!
Rating: 1.5 / 5
Verdict: Avoidable

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


Idharkuthaane Aasaipattai Balakumara (Isn’t this what you wished for Balakumara?) - Slouchy!




Director Gokul made a forgettable debut with ‘Rowthiram’ a couple of years back! Though the movie lacked anything solid, the comedy portions with Satyan was somewhat refreshing. It seems he has taken a cue from there and has made up his mind in order to blend with the current trend of potpourri that offers comedy at its helm. Though comedy is the hook, the real USP of the movie is Vijay Sethupathy, who is making merry at the box office with a string of hits.


The story is narrated in the form of an anthology that takes place within a day. Kumar who is officially labeled as ‘Sumar Moonji’ in his area weaves a one-sided love towards Kumudha (Nandita) who is his neighbor. On the other end there is a mutual love between Bala (Ashwin) and Renu (Swati). A murder happens in a wine shop and the murderers try to escape by using Kumar’s mobile. All these disparate events and scenarios converge and results in a deluge of events which produces some mild laughs with equally boring yawns as well!


The script was meant to be a black humor, but all it turned out to be was a bunch of guys trying to make us laugh in every frame and succeed in their attempt once in 4 times, so their remaining 3 trials could only be passed off as a tedious effort. Hence the movie lacked the appeal that it was meant to carry.


Vijay Sethupathy as an inebriate guy from the lower strata of the society was top notch. He was the shining star among the whole bunch of artists who managed to deliver only some insignificant to average performances. His chennai tamil accent was natural and that shows his flair for performing in a variety of roles.


Nandita as the indifferent love interest of Vijay Sethupathy was apt for the role. Her grim looks and controlled aggression helped in raking the chemistry between the pair.


Ashwin and Swati’s love story had little significance in the scheme of things, but the comic episodes involving MS Bhaskar was rejuvenating.


Others in the supporting cast including Pasupathy, Robo Shankar, Livingston, Raja, Rajendran and Soori were all pooled in to make one laugh but were a let down in their own capacity.


Music by Sidharth Vipin were targeted at the front benchers and did not muster in the support that it thought it should have garnered.


Technically the film was just about ok. Editing could have been better, since it was lengthy with an unwanted number and some dragging scenes towards the climax.


This movie can certainly be enjoyed on television for the forthcoming festive season.


Verdict: Average

Rating: 2.5 / 5