AARUMUGAM

My Review: Aarumugam



When a wannabe superstar , wannabe glamour queen along with outdated music director & director join hands what we will get is a classic called “Aarumugam .” ( the one who invented the term “classic” please forgive me !)

During the times when many old tamil hits are being remade by all & sundry , here is a director who has tried to remake one of his hits “Annamalai” without any changes from the original , if one is ready to overlook certain serious changes like changing the gender of few characters like replacing Radharavi with Ramya Krishnan , Manorama by Ilavarasu ….!

Bharath after having got tired of reprising the “thalapathis ” has now turned towards the bid man himself who is the master guru of all these …one can expect a title change for Bharath in the next movie as “Chinna superstar ”. But one must congratulate the courage on the part of Barath in accepting movies like these one after another without any sense of repentance.

Coming to the next beauty queen of Tamil Cinema Priya Mani who once got a national award for acting……!!!! ( but if anyone happen to watch this movie will certainly question the credibility of such awards … ) Watch out her expressions in the initial reels of the movie where she teases Bharath. ( another award winning performance…!)

Ramya Krishnan tries her best to reprise her Neelambari act ….lesser said about the result the better for the family friendliness of this review.

There is a very long list of caricatures sorry actors – Mahadevan , Saranya Mohan , Abinay, Karunas , Sara , Ilavarasu…..

Technically movie is far better than “Annamalai ” . But comparing with the contemporary movies ….you all would have guessed it by now….!

Suresh Krishna tries his best to come back to mainstream but this one make his previous one “Parattai” looks way better in all aspects .

Even “Annamalai ” spoof in “Lollusabha ” was way better than this one .

Bottomline: Classic (with yet another unconditional apology to the inventor of the word….)

1 / 5

THIRU THIRU THURU THURU

My Review:THIRU THIRU THURU THURU




After a long time one get to feel a sense of satisfaction of having watched a really good comedy movie after watching “Thiru Thiru Thuru Thuru ” ( T4 ) written & directed by Nandhini . It is a credible debut for her like that of her mentor Priya.V who did so with equally breezy comedy “Kanda Naal Mudhal “ .

Nandhini has a really good flair for comedy which she has presented in a very natural & casual manner without any scope for disingenuousness or flippancy. There are umpteen laugh out loud (‘lol’) sequences with seamless confluence of the situations & the dialogues adding to the levity. Story is also not your routine “excuse- for-comedy” prosaic type but keeps one guessing right through the length of the movie.

Ajmal Ameer has tried his hands on comedy for the first time which is not easy by any stretch of imagination but he has come out of it credibly. Though in couple of sequences he goes overboard by and large he has dope a neat job of it .

Rupa Majari is the surprise package of the movie. She has acted very well . She is spontaneous & natural in her methods & surely has a lot to offer to the Tamil cinema .

Mouli is an enigma who in spite of his abundant talents is not being properly utilized by the people here in Tamil cinema. He has done well not only in comical portions with his inimitable timing but also in the serious parts as well.

Another one who deserves a special mention is the Baby Dharshan for all his cute expressions at such a tender age.

As in most of the comedy movies here too Manisharma’s music is nothing much to rave about. “Athiri puthiri ” is foot-taping .

Cinematography by Sudhir Chowdary in high-definition digital camera is credible without undue interference in the name of experimentation.

M.S. Suryah’s dieting, sorry, editing is glossy & modern .

Nandhini’s dialogues are as casual as it may get & very funny at numerous occasions. The torture sequence , Mouli’s forgetfulness of people names , the sequence where the lead pair get caught staying together , Rupa’s first attempt at lying to her parents , Rupa placing the mobile near an unknown pregnant lady to add credibility to her lies , …are few of many sequences that stays in one’s mind provoking laughs long after.

On the whole , T4 is a one hell of a fun filled ride .Just hop in without any second thoughts.

Bottomline: Thuru thuru thirullar.

3.5/5

UNNAI POL ORUVAN

My Review : Unnai Pol Oruvan



“Unnai Pol Oruvan ” , a remake of the hindi hit “A Wednesday ” is a well made movie that seeks to interpret how a south Indian “Common man ” & a south Indian Policeman will react in that given situation. In its own way it does justice to that effect. When one have power-packed performers like Kamalhassan & Mohanlal on board it is bound to be a delight for the connoisseurs. The exchanges between them are especially of high quality & heavy-duty.


While Kamalhassan is as subtle as he can get in the role of the common man which he does effortlessly with his characteristic witticism resurfacing now & then Mohanlal is an absolute delight in the role of a dynamic yet vulnerable policeman. One yearns for more from these two masters especially when the movie gets over in less than two hours itself.


Among the supporting cast Lakshmi does a adequate job while others like Ganesh Venkataraman , Poonam Kaur , Anuja Iyer look pleasant onscreen but bring about an aura of artificiality around their performances.


Shruthi Hassan’s re-recording is cool & modern with ample use of silence to elevate certain sequences.


Manoj Soni ‘s cinematography is excellent .


Chakri makes his debut as director with this movie.


Though the movie moves at a serious clip intelligent use of witticism adds spice to the proceedings. Though one expected more powerful dialogues from Kamalhassan’s pen he disappoints . Also unnecessary use of CM’s mimicry voice spoils the seriousness of the sequence.


One thing which is evident from seeing the movie is that the makers have made this movie in a hurried manner so as to release the movie to coincide with the celebrations of Kamalhassan completing 50 years of acting. In that hasty endeavor the quality of the end product has become the casualty.


Bottomline : Hassan & Lal fan’s delight .


3.5/5

EERAM

My Review: Eeram





“Eeram” is a promising attempt from a young team led by Arivazhagan ,who has it in him to become a very good filmmaker (he must certainly work on scripting aspect of it though ) , Mahesh Paramahamsa , yet another talented cinematographer gracing the Tamil Cinema Industry & Thaman.S who has given some excellent tunes & vindicates himself in re-recording too.

The movie is brilliant up to the half way mark with it’s stylish making , tautness of screenplay & chilling suspense maintained throughout the half , but sadly it takes a downward spiral in the second half which is dragging , contrived with no scope for suspense or thrill with some old fashioned screenplay playing the spoilsport .But it will not deny any plaudits the makers will be receiving from the connoisseurs for the attempt in itself in the first place & the high standards of making belying the naivety of the makers .

Aadhi looks dapper & suave as a police officer & has done his part pretty well .His is one of the better attempt at portrayal of a police officer. Nanda may have done better .There is some shallowness in his characterization & he fails to add coldness to his demeanor especially during those couple of important sequences.

Sindhu Menon comes back after a brief hiatus in a unidimensional role where all the scope she has is wailing all the time which she does adequately. Saranya Mohan impresses in a brief role.

Cinematography is excellent .Mahesh Parahamsa deserves all the credits he will receive . The colour tone in itself plays a role in the movie – the greenish blue hue representing the spirit throughout the movie.

Re-recording is important for any thriller , here too Thaman.S succeeds in that aspect but his re-recording in the romantic & sentimental scenes needs some improvement. Songs “Mazhaiye mazhaiye ” , ” Tharai Erangiya ” linger in one’s mind.

Arivazhagan comes across as a youngster with immense potential as a maker & if he brush-up his writing skills he will go a long way .

On the whole , movie is worthy of a watch .

Bottomline : OK.

3.5/5

NINAITHALE INIKUM

My Review: Ninaithale Inikum




“Ninaithale Inikum “ is must watch for all those aspiring film-makers & assistant directors to know :
1) How not to make a remake &
2) How not to make a movie in the first place.
All those who were ridiculing “Jayam ” Raja – Go to hell! Movies like these vindicate the talent Raja has in remaking movies without spoiling the original & successfully at that time & again.

The writing is very pathetic with some juvenile direction adding to the woes. The Malayalam original was as natural as a college campus story can get whereas this Tamil version is as artificial as it may get without even any iota of reality . College campus of “Ninaithale Inikum ” is a straight lift from those the likes of Karthik , Murali & co used to rule.

The screenplay is disjointed with irritatingly placed unwanted songs standing alienated from the proceedings though they are good to hear & beautifully shot . There is no semblance of thrill as the movie moves towards the climax which was very much evident in the Malayalam version . The student politics which was brilliantly portrayed in the original also looks very banal here.

All the actors have put in their sincere efforts while Cinematography & the colour tone used are top class though they are not enough to salvage this half backed attempt. Prithviraj is adequate while Priyamani looks plump .Karthik Kumar , Shakthi & Vishnu Priyan have done a neat job . Anuja Iyer overacts a bit while K.Baghyaraj , Jeeva & Ilavarasu have redundant characterization.

Vijay Anthony’s songs are good especially “Ahagai Pookuthey ” & “Piya Piya ” .He however draws a blank in the rerecording .

Balasubramanyam’s cinematography is the only USP of the movie which stands tall over anything else in the movie.

On the whole , give it a miss & those who have seen the original – Don’t even dare go anywhere near the theaters showing this movie!

Bottomline : Ninaithale Inikum – Parthale kasakum …!!

2/5

MADHURAI SAMBAVAM

My Review: Madhurai Sambavam



“ Madhurai Sambavam “ is one of those movies where we step in with zero expectation but the movie makes us sit back half way through sustaining the interest right until the end credits. Plot is nothing but a cat and mouse game between a “ Madhurai dada ” & a cop on special posting to eradicate all the anti-social elements of the city . Cop here is cute looking but mean encounter specialist, Caroline Thomas.


Unlike our regular movies here none is good or bad, every one has a dark secret to hide & have their own share of justifications for all their grayish activities. Unlike the regular Tamil movies here both the male lead as well as the female lead are equally strong characters & scope to perform equitably.


Eureka , the debutant director has done well in his screenplay , dialogues & direction . The movie moves very predictably until the entry of Anunya after which there are numerous unexpected twists & turns keeping one glued to the seat. All said and done but it is the central theme of the movie which is disturbing one’s mind – that encouraging “ goondaism ” while punishing the sincerity of the cops in their mission . Also there are severe doses of male chauvinism sprinkled throughout the movie. The manner in which a rowdy French-kisses a cop in the middle of the street & a senior cop getting burnt alive in the public while glorifying all those who does these atrocious acts , the director has gone too far . Why this fascination towards rowdism …?!


Among the actors Anunya scores more than anyone else .It is yet another strong character for her which she has done admirably .Though she evokes peels of laughter in her initial scenes when she comes in the cop uniform & mouths punch dialogues against the rogues , she comes to her own after a while . Here is one actress with all the potential to make it big as an “ actor ” rather than just yet another glamour doll.


Harikumar though needs a lot of effort to become a credible actor . I don’t know who advised him to delivery his dialogues the way he does in this movie. It gets under one’s nerve after a while . The manner in which he talks even the most casual of dialogues sounds artificial as if he is delivering a “punch dialogue ” .


Karthika doesn’t have much to do expect for a song sequence & couple of scenes . Radharavi’s is a dignified portrayal .


Tamil cinema has got yet another comedian (what is his name ) in the one who comes as Harikumar’s friend “Mandayan” .He excels in serious sequences too.


Sukumar’s cinematography is patchy & average to say the least while John Peter’s music has nothing to rave about .


On the whole , “Madhurai Sambavam ” is not a bad cinema , it merits at least a watch once.


Bottomline : Watchable.


2.5 / 5 (deserves a "3" but for the wrong theme ..!)