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 April 2014

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


Vaayai Moodi Pesavum (Shut Your Mouth and Speak) - Dumbfounded!




A refreshingly new genre has been inducted into Kollywood with VMP. A sitcom that cuts across a medical thriller genre with so many “what-ifs” is a brave and radical attempt from a director in only his second attempt - bravo Balaji Mohan!! A subject that was made possible only with Hollywood studios has been tweaked a lot to suit the Indian ethos with many comic elements!


The story of VMP unfolds in a fictional hill station called ‘Panimalai’ where a contagion spreads, the effect of which would result in a loss of speech. Under such a dark premise a comic multi-layered plot is developed wherein the main plot would be that of a gregarious and garrulous sales guy (Dulquer Salman) who is trying to woo a lady doctor (Nazriya Naseem), who is already engaged and some lighter subplots that was aimed to entertain us. To top it all, the director himself has donned the role of a news reader who appears time and again on screen to keep us updated on the scheme of things.


Even though the genre was afresh, the freshness could be felt only through the first half. The latter half that had people emote only through actions (due to a speech curfew) appeared to be painstakingly long. The audience do realize the value of speech at that juncture! Credit has to be given to the director for the first half which was breezy and entertaining - the pick of the lot was the gag pulled by a group of drunkards spearheaded by ‘Robo’ Shankar who protest against a celebrity’s movie for depicting drunkards in poor light. Also Arjunan’s track of finding a girlfriend after becoming dumb speaks volumes for itself besides tickling our nerves. Pandiarajan as a skanky politician was a run-of-the-mill selection but the role was well done. Also it was a pleasant surprise to see Madhubala in a warm role after a long time in Tamil cinema.


The performances from everyone was fine. Songs by Sean was a let down and were the downside for the second half which was already clamping to the first half’s ground work. The editing was fine, cinematography was good and the costumes by the leads were chosen with a sense of fashion.


Had the director maintained the same pace in the second half as he did in the first, this movie would have been a laugh riot, now that it manages to settle down like a comedy show with a bunch of stand-up comedians that was anchored by the director himself, announcing the exit and entry of the participants - kudos for the attempt but better luck for a tighter screenplay next time!!


Verdict: Above Average

Rating: 2.5 / 5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , , , ,


Tenaliraman - A Reticent Comeback!



Across many Tamil channels if there is an airing of a comedy show or a string of comedy clips, it won’t be without a single witty line of Vadivelu. Such was his clout in Kollywood until few years ago before he worked himself into exile due to a miscalculated political move in order to settle his personal scores. Every hero who wanted Vadivelu in their films during his hey days turned their back towards the comedian with the fear of getting sidelined. So it has been a turbulent time for the Kollywood clown who has made a comeback as a comic protagonist with Tenaliraman!

Tenaliraman, a historical personality who was a minister in the court of king Krishnadevaraya and who is also famous for his quick wit and repartee is a household name because of various fables that gets narrated to children that would invariably feature him as the protagonist. The plot of the movie is also based on a string of fables of his adventurous escapades in the king’s court and also a fictitious “good vs. bad” subplot was woven with some romance to make it a minimum guarantee family entertainer for this summer!

Donning a dual role (also as the king), Vadivelu was clearly the tour de force of this movie. He goes that extra mile to make us laugh and triumphs at certain junctures, but majority of the time it ends up as a stale joke that doesn't come across as the one that we would have expected and that was the movie’s biggest weakness. Also the movie tried to resemble the structure of ‘Imsai Arasan’ from head to toe since it was a tried and tested formula, but there the plot was way too deep and the script had some genuinely funny moments, whereas in Tenaliraman the script goes clueless at times and lingers with the glory of the comedian’s prowess with his modulation that doesn't weave the magic as it used to do a few years back.

Also the caste ensemble was quite good for the movie except the heroine, Meenakshi Dixit, who makes every effort to lip sync in Tamil only to flounder everytime. Also the songs were huge speed breakers for the narrative that was lagging already. And the climax - the reaction was like “has the movie ended”, as it was so atypical of a climax!

Nevertheless, this one should be treated as a warmup match for the comedy veteran who is all set to begin his second innings with vigor and conviction, hopefully!!

Verdict: Below Average!

Rating: 2 / 5

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


Naan Sigappu Manithan - The Sleeping Giant!



A literal Tamil translation of this title would be “I am a Red Man”, which figuratively would mean “I am an angry young man!”. Yes, this one is yet another typical “coming of age” Vishal movie directed by Thiru who collaborated with the star in 2 of his earlier movies - Theeradha Vilayattu Pillai and Samar. Vishal’s previous flick ‘Pandianadu’ directed by Suseenthiran turned out to be a sleeper hit and was sort of a shot in the arm for the actor whose career was in doldrums before that. So Vishal wanted his stars to be unchanged (pun intended), in order to keep his luck going! Let’s see if it has really worked out for him.

The basic plot of the movie is revenge. The movie opens with a group of thugs who mercilessly kill a cop in a train when he threatens to sue them for boozing in the compartment. Then the story cuts to the life of Indiran (Vishal) who along with his friends negotiates hard with another smuggler in order to purchase a pistol. Indiran’s actions are justified with a flashback. Indiran is a narcoleptic (a sleeping disorder) who wants to lead a normal life and prepares a simple bucket list for himself to be fulfilled but finds the going tough because of the unique disease that he has. Upon pursuing one of the items in the bucket list, he encounters Meera (Lakshmi Menon) and love blossoms between them. Inspite of stiff opposition from Meera’s father, she finds a way to get impregnated by Indiran. When everything seems to fall in place, their life is ruined by the group of thugs who were introduced in the train. The motive behind this attack and Indiran’s revenge forms the rest of the plot.

The movie’s selling point is narcolepsy. The first half heavily leans on this disability of the lead in order to establish his character. Like his previous flick, Pandianadu, in this one too Vishal doesn’t grind the axe until the climax and saves the best for the last! Lakshmi Menon unlike in any of her previous movies, in this one she is the daughter of a rich businessman and she has pulled off her role well but the cliche of a rich girl falling for a downtrodden guy sadly stays with the narrative.

A nice twist on the real culprit behind the lead’s mishaps was refreshing - Sundar and Iniya in key roles were a decent combo! Saranya, Jagan and Jayaprakash in the supporting cast were there to adore the screen with their experience.

There were some unwanted scenes that were inserted merely to bring out the dread - good examples would be the opening scene in the train and the scene in which Vishal visits an aged goon in a slum in search of his detractors - these scenes did not have the kind of linkage to the story as they were supposed to have. Also an unnecessary introduction song for Vishal (even though it was not the usual mass number) could have been chopped off from the narrative for a crisper feel. Also what is  the need for the scene underwater where Meera makes love with Indiran - because the tragedy strikes them almost the next scene.

Songs from GV Prakash were hummable and his BGM was fine too. Hope he continues for this fashion for sometime. Decent technicalities and conventional dialogs adds some strength for the movie from time to time.

So Thiru and Vishal’s combo has worked out to some extent in their third collaboration and also Vishal has realized his strength and has begun to choose scripts wisely!

Verdict: Average - worth a watch but not a must watch!

Rating: 2.5 / 5

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


Cidade de Deus (City of God)




Director : Fernando Meirelles
Co-director : Kátia Lund
Cast : Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Alice Braga, Phellipe Haagensen, Douglas Silva, Seu Jorge
Cinematography: César Charlone
Country: Brazil
Language: Portuguese
Release Year: 2002


Very often I’ve heard about this movie, especially when discussions were on the topic of critically acclaimed movies from around the globe other than from the Hollywood or British film stables. I've heard Tamil directors like Vetrimaran and Selvaraghavan referring to this movie in their interviews which made me inquisitive enough to watch it. Like many other world movies, this was also floating in the sea of torrents with good number of seeders who helped me to download the movie in less than 20 minutes, largely thanks to my broadband at home!


This Brazilian crime drama has been inspired from a novel which was also of the same name. The story is based on the organized crime syndicate in a suburb of Brazil that is widely known as City of God in the early 80s and was divided largely into two factions, one led by Li'l Zé and the other one by Knockout Ned. Both of them it seems were real life personalities who were dreaded as the most notorious gangsters of that period.


To put it in a nutshell, this movie forms a great example for a perfect non-linear narrative (another example would of-course be Memento). From the present we are suddenly taken to the past and from then on things progress swiftly crossing each timeline with panache and then we again revisit the present - all this is done without a wee bit of ambiguity or any confusion for the viewer. Obviously I watched it with subtitles as the movie’s language was Portuguese and at no point did I have that feel of watching a movie which was from another part of the world. This movie makes peace with the viewers instantaneously with its gripping and paced up narrative which was extremely binding to say the least!!


At so many junctures there were some unexpected twists - in fact the character of Li'l Zé as a kid was well disguised and was revealed at the latter half and him moving up the ranks was made absolutely believable. The greatest asset for the movie was that no where it attempted to be a movie made from Hollywood or any other factory which is labeled as a superior one where larger than life movies would be dished out. It stayed where it meant to be and that paved the success path for it. Riddled with dark humor, blood and violence, this one would easily give Tarantino flicks a run for their money.


Another highlight of the movie were the technicalities - cinematography in particular - one should remember that it was shot 12 years back and they might not have had the state of the art gears that filmmakers of today enjoy, but the frames were lively and the effects that were brought on screen made visually impactful statements with conviction.


Learnings:

1. Interesting screenplay
2. Impressive casting and acting
3. Authentic script kneaded with nativity
4. Wonderful cinematography
5. Intelligent Editing

Verdict: Highly recommended for any aspiring filmmaker.

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


Maan Karate - Stunt Fiasco!




Gone are the days when actors waited patiently for their films to flourish for over a decade by carefully handpicking each character they perform, dexterously building their charisma before they decide to take a dip into the big league with a branded introduction song and knitting some scenes which induce mass hysteria making the narrative to be driven by their characters rather than by a solid script. Now it seems the time for the young and vibrant heroes who seem to dictate terms at the box-office with a couple of hits under their belt and are not hesitant in throwing their hats to try their luck at establishing their brands - this is the age of 20-20 and fast food, where patience is a prized possession! ‘Maan Karate’ directed by debutante Thirukumaran who was an assistant to AR Murugadoss seems to resonate the above mentioned facts in every aspect! The story is written by Murugadoss and is positioned to cater to the mass audiences with lots of “feel-good” factors so much so that it leaves one numb at the end!


The story unfolds as a fantasy drama where a group of tech yuppies decide to hangout at a hill station. There they discover a saint who seem to possess some powers. One of them has his wish fulfilled from the saint by receiving a newspaper that would get published in the future - which is the day after the auspicious ‘Ayudha Pooja’ (practically impossible). Slowly they realize that the events in the newspaper take shape and so they decide to benefit from it. When they come across a particular news piece which reads that a person named Peter (Sivakarthikeyan) has won a boxing championship worthy of 2 crores and he has attributed his victory to the motivation that he received from the IT yuppies, they decide to cash in on the opportunity by finding Peter and making him a boxing champion. The funny twists and turns that follow forms the rest of ‘Maan Karate’.


The basic problem with this movie is that the screenplay has been designed to over-entertain the family audiences and so they tend to throw whatever seems to be convincing, tried and tested and above all fits Sivakarthikeyan’s agenda to blow his own trumpet! Of course the first half of the movie had it’s bouts of fun and frolic, but the second half tries to fiddle around with the screenplay that was weak and was bound to doom as there was hardly any rationale behind the crucial phase of the movie where Sivakarthikeyan who is a normal guy is made to turn into a boxer with the ‘Maan Karate’ tag (which was sort of wishful thinking), manages to beat all his opponents through the league rounds, semi-final and then reaches the final and beats the past champion who is considered to be a dreaded boxer (also named as Peter - a stereotypical role played by Vamshi).


An underdog’s triumph would always be considered a huge feat, especially in Kollywood - in fact the actor’s previous hit, ‘Ethir Neechal’ has also this sort of a thread - but here this technique has been exploited beyond its scope such that the logical loopholes seem to engulf the movie neck-deep by the time the climax arrives. The climax was all the more cliched to say the least as it was meant to be a ‘happily ever-after’ theme from the start till the finish.

Performances were consistent from all quarters - Hansika with her mannequin like features and skin tone acted the same way as she did in her previous movies, Soori's special appearance was not a special one in any way, Satish as Sandy was impressive and Sivakarthikeyan's sidekick was somewhat noteworthy.


Good music from Anirudh is sure to lure the young audiences and the 'Sivakarthikeyan' tag would bring the family audiences to the theaters as it is a strong contender to open up for the summer vacation. But has the content of the movie really worked out? Sadly the answer is debatable!


Verdict: Below Average


Rating: 2 / 5

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


Inam (Race) - From the red pages of history!




The bloodstains have hardly dried off the Lankan coast, the pathetic remains of the recently concluded civil war that is widely considered to be an ethnic cleansing still looms large in the greater parts of the country that was once the home for millions of Tamils who inhabited the land from the ancient times! Santosh Sivan has once again donned the director’s hat and decides to take us through the sad journey through the life of one of the refugees who was lucky enough to survive the brunt of war.


The story is about a young girl Rajini (Sugandha Nair) who is a Srilankan refugee, who happens to land up in one of the refugee camps in Tamil Nadu and she is being interrogated about her past. She reveals the horrid tales of the civil war, her past life at ‘Tsunami’ Akka’s (Saritha) orphanage, her marriage to Nandan (Karan) and her ultimate parting with her dear ones facing the wrath of war in an emotional drama that was poignantly captured through the exquisite lenses of Santosh Sivan!


A daring narrative from the ace cinematographer who did not have much qualms in establishing the lesser known fact of the war where the LTTE utilized children to fight the war has to be appreciated! No doubt he faces stiff opposition for depicting the fact, but it seldom shows any quarter of the LTTE in bad light as these sort of things are bound to happen during a war and above all a creator can always have a prerogative over his creations.


The characters were memorable, especially hats off to Karan, a boy who was stretched beyond his limits (he is affected by Down Syndrome in real life), Saritha as Tsunami Akka and Karunas as Stanley sir. The movie’s major drawback was the leisurely pace in which it was narrated even though it was just a little over two hours in length. The characters were allowed to emote candidly and were captured, but sometimes it gives a feeling that the editor was taking a short nap before cutting a scene. In some scenes, Santosh dips into his world of lights and shadows where logic takes a backseat and narrates the tale from his perspective which is hard to understand. There were far too many visual riddles to decode, nevertheless each frame promised to deliver an epic in its own sense.


Technically the film was top notch and largely satisfies a group of informed audience.


Verdict: Recommended for documentary enthusiasts


Rating: 2.5 / 5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , , , ,


Nedunchalai (Highway) - Rough patches throughout!



Eight years after directing his debut movie ‘Sillunu Oru Kaadhal’, director N.Krishna has come up with his second one, ‘Nedunchalai’ with little known faces in Kollywood. A hiatus has done a world of good for many in the film industry, especially the ones striving for a comeback, but Krishna seems to have cooled his heels off beyond a point where directors tend to lose their path and end up doing a film that looks far from what they really set out to do. This looks to be the case with Krishna’s ‘Nedunchalai’ as well!

The story follows a non-linear narrative going back and forth between the present and the 80’s. Set in the midst of nowhere on a national highway, the story’s protagonist ‘Tharpai’ Murugan (Aari) is a feared thief who leads a pack of four including his master who taught him the ‘trade’. He steals from the container trucks that crosses his territory and sells them to Sekhar (Salim Kumar) who is a petty businessman who makes a living out of it. On the highway, there is this dhaba which is run by a Malayali girl Manga (Shivada Nair) who finds it hard to meet ends meet due to lack of customers. Circumstances bring together Manga and Murugan, their relationship begins on a sour note as predicted and then love blossoms due to some tackily crafted sentimental scenes, largely thanks to the wicked inspector who is new to town, Masanamuthu (Prashant Narayanan). The things that proceed in a grim and dark way posts very many challenges not only for the lovebirds but for the audiences as well!

There are so many why’s to be asked…..
1. Why was the story told in a non-linear fashion?
2. Why do Kollywood directors stick to a ‘Paruthiveeran’ template whenever a grim rural romantic subject is handled?
3. Why was Thambhi Ramaiya unnecessarily thrown into the cast without hardly any scope?
4. Why do inspectors posted in the rural areas always have to be wicked?
5. Why does Salim Kumar’s character act in a very volatile way towards the end?
6. Why do we have to take such a tedious journey riddled with unwanted songs and that too one set in rain to lure in that sleaze?

If one is able to patiently answer these questions and make sense of the movie, then the movie can be watched with a pinch of salt, otherwise please drop it!!

Verdict: Not Worthy!

Rating: 1.5 / 5

Written by Hariharan Anbazhagan in , , , , , ,


Cuckoo - Vanilla Love!




The differently abled characters in Kollywood have always come across as fellow humans who are not normal but are willing to do normal things or even extraordinary things when given a chance. Given the scenario there exists a lot many opportunities for melodrama that squeezes every drop from our tear ducts - take for instance Bala’s ‘Naan Kadavul’ or Vikram’s ‘Kaasi’ - there exists a natural ploy that the director would exploit unintentionally at some point during the narration. The man who broke that jinx was director Radhamohan, giving a new color to such a theme with his ‘Mozhi’ where Jyothika was cast as a dumb and mute lass with an egoistic acumen. Debutante director Raju Murugan seems to have borrowed a few lessons from Radhamohan’s school of filmmaking and tried to blend melodrama with a bit of fun and flamboyance with his film ‘Cuckoo’.


Cuckoo is based on the love story of a real life blind couple whom the director claims to have met for an interview when he was working as a journalist. Thamizh (Dhinesh) and Sudhandhirakodi (Malavika Nair) are visually challenged. They meet each other, one thing leads to another and finally they fall in love. Predictably there is a stiff opposition for their romance in the form of Sudhandhirakodi’s sibling who wants to exploit his sister’s impairment to his advantage. Did the love birds unite at the end or is it another ‘Kaadhal’ sort of a climax - remains to be seen in theaters.


Choosing such a volatile subject as his debut movie is an audacious attempt from the newbie director. The opening scene where we are given a tour of the world of the blind with just a few simple but impactful conversations with an empty screen was thought provoking and made us realize what it takes to be without our vision. Also another scene where Sudhandhirakodi’s reader whom she has a crush on introduces her to his fiance and she clicks a picture of Sudhandirakodi and posts it in Facebook to get LIKEs - it brings out the stark contrast between the two worlds and also talks a lot about the attitude of the ones with the so called “service mentality” tag on them.


Though these people are marginalized, the narrative treats them like normal human beings with subtle nuances, like their ability to use the rest of their senses in order to make sense of what’s happening around them and the way in which those scenes have been translated on screen without much fuss has to be appreciated. But somewhere along the way the director seems to have lost his grip and has fallen into the “dangerous” melodramatic zone that pulls the story from pacing forward. That sort of a drag is retained until the climax where we feel almost restless (hopeless).


Songs and BGM by Santosh Narayanan were top class and my favorite ‘Manasula Soorakaathe’ was visually appealing thanks to Varma’s eye catching cinematography. Editing by Shanmugham Velusamy was taut but I should not be blaming him for the length as the director’s narrative was a shortcoming in this context.


This movie can be watched for the performances of all the characters including the supporting cast (hero’s side kick, Chandrababhu’s look alike, MGR’s look-alike, the one who tries to woo Sudhandhirakodi and ‘Aadukalam’ Murugadoss in a relatively polished role), narrative (first half), pleasing visuals and soothing music.


Verdict: Watchable


Rating: 2.5 / 5