MURAN

My review : Muran



“Muran ” is a thriller that lacks pace , screenplay is the culprit but enamours the viewers with some good acting , slick making & fine direction. Rajjan Madhav making his debut has fine visual sense & has directed the movie pretty well. As the bane with most of the young film-makers these days, he shows some slackness as far as screenplay is concerned. Hence what might have been an edge-of-the-seat thriller lacks that adrenaline which might have done wonders.

The movie starts at a very promising premise with the lead actors who are of diametrically opposite personality embarking on a journey from Bangalore to Chennai. 15 minutes into the narration, the first instance of cliché strikes you bad with a sales-girl (Haripriya) who sells “washing powder” comes into Cheran’s house & demonstrating how to remove stain from the white shirt.....!!! From here on movie nose-dives with its share of unbearable cliches.

Muran is the movie where women are either angelic or devilish with no scope for any greyness. Spoilt rich brat , angelic orphan girl , innocent poor musician who settles for a marriage of convenience , alcoholic – adulterous- techie wife , Anglo-Indian girl born of illicit relationship are the characterisation of the lead actors of the movie which one must have seen umpteen number of times.

First half is slow, poor with couple of irritating flash-backs. Movie becomes interesting in the second half with its share of twists & turns though most of them are predictable including the final one at the climax. Pace also picks up in the second half but revelation happening pretty earlier mars the impact. The ensuing cat & mouse game does sustain the interest to certain degree, the movie ends abruptly.

The two major plus points of the movie are the acting of the lead actors Prasanna & Cheran and the slick cinematography. Prasanna rocks in his role of a conniving stranger who after a point of time starts dictating term with a hapless Cheran. His role grows on the viewers as the narration progresses & in the end blooms into a hard-core villain. Cheran is again typecast as a hapless, innocent & goody-goody person torn between his conscience & the blackmail.

Among the ladies Haripriya has a substantial role & she has utilised her opportunity well. Nikitha comes in a very miniscule role while the new find Suma struggles in finding right expressions.

Padmesh is the cinematographer and boy he deserves accolade..! Movie is shot in a stylish manner befitting a thriller. The visuals are rich & glossy. Director Rajjan Madhav seems to have a good visual sense & he is amply supported by Padmesh in this regard in translating his vision onto the screen.

In Sajjan Madhav’s music couple of songs are humworthy & he supports the movie with his good background score though there is some jarring here & there.

Rajjan Madhav seems to have good potential in him to be a good movie maker. He need to brush up his script writing & must move away from all these clichés that he has used liberally in this movie.

On the whole, “Muran ” is a nice attempt but difficult for the viewers to sustain interest throughout.

Bottomline : iffy-iffy

3 / 5

Engeyum Eppothum

My review : Engeyum Eppothum




When we read or hear about road traffic accidents, it is just a news for us. But the real people behind that & their stories are largely unknown & uncared for. “Engeyum Eppodhum” tries to explore exactly into this area which is gut wrenching. It leaves you with a heavy heart & makes us ponder over those who has & is losing their loved & dear ones in these accidents daily.

M. Saravanan shows a lot of promise in his first movie. He has amazingly illustrated that for a movie to be a thriller it doesn’t always need to be on crime , underworld , heist , so on. He has also remarkably managed to swell the viewer’s eyes almost throughout the movie at the most pleasant of sequences too. For example when a father who is returning home from Dubai having never had the opportunity of seeing his daughter in person getting call from her or the newly married person who again & again getting off the bus and coming back to it to be with his wife or that cute love between two college students. These sequences would normally bring a warm smile to the viewers but here one can’t help but shed a tear or two . And therein lies the stupendous success of M.Saravanan’s as a script-writer & director.

Movie is not bereft of clichés but they fade into the background in comparison with the freshness of the concept & the characterization of the cast especially that of both the lead ladies. Movie has about 4 love stories each different from the other & equally interesting and endearing. There are many moments in the movie which makes you blissful & certain other which makes you laugh . There are others which make you gloomy & shed tears. It is an emotional roller-coaster but leaves you contended in the end.

Acting in the movie is first class. Anjali , Jai , Ananya & Sharvanand have done excellent jobs in that order. Special mention about Jai, his character is the most lovable one we have seen after a long time. As a gullible & innocent lover he steals the show & manages to stand up to the power packed performer in Anjali (when one has movies of such calibre in hand why would one act in such an inane character like in “Mankatha” )

Music is another strong point of the movie. “Govinda Govinda” is already ruling the charts while “Sotta Sotta” & “Un paer theriyadhe” are couple of delectable melodies. “Maasama aaru maasama” is a lovely folk number. Music director Sathya has a bright future in front of him.

Velraj’s camera work is supportive to the narration . Special mention of the accident scene which he has captured neatly supported by efficient CG work.

I came across certain reviews which mention that the movie is slow & boring. But in contrast the movie is so engaging that I didn’t even realise that it’s 2 hour & 15 minutes length. Though the narration is non-linear, the script is so well written that the story travels in a lucid manner with no scope for confusion what so ever.

On the whole, “Engeyum Eppodhum” is a simple, neat & engaging movie with a hard-hitting message.

Bottomline : Classy.

4/5

Vanthaan Vendraan

My Review : "Vanthaan Vendraan"



R.Kannan showed some potential in his debut feature “Jayam Kondaan” & even in his second one “Kandaen Kadhalai” though it was a remake he spiced it up well to make it an interesting watch. But sadly in his third one “Vanthaan Vendran” his screenplay spoils an interesting storyline.

The story of the movie is quiet interesting one which explores brother sentiment in a different angle but the manner in which the director has gone about it is hugely disappointing. Movie though has numerous twists & turns with an interesting twist towards the end poor screenplay & uninteresting first half makes it undone in the final analysis. By the time the movies gets exciting one is already tired of the average fare so far that its difficult for one to sustain the interest.

Second half is way better than the first half & its racy though replete with lots of clichéd scenes of cat & mouse. First half is dismal, nothing happens & the love story is a total crap. With the songs coming at regular intervals more like a ritual than anything else irritates (though the songs are too good)

Jiiva needs to concentrate on choosing his movies henceforth if he has to sustain the momentum he gained after “Ko”. This role is a cake walk for him & he has done his part adequately. Nandha has also performed well . It only reinforces the angst that he is such a nice talent getting wasted in such kind of iffy movies.

For Tapsee acting appears to be as alien as the language itself which is evident on screen. Though she has a significant role to do, her dismal acting & pitiable lip-sync make the already pathetic first half worse.

Santhanam’s magic is missing in this movie or has he become repetitive. The bottomline is he doesn’t tickle the funny bones this time around.

The USP of the movie is its songs , music by Thaman. "Anjana Anjana", "Kanchana Mala","Thirandhen Thirandhen" , "Nagarudhe Nagarudhe" , all are chartbusters. The songs are also shot well.

Cinematography of P.G.Muthaiah is excellent , reaffirming his talent.

Pattukottai Prabhakar’s dialogues are mostly routine with flashes of brilliance here & there.

On the whole , “Vandaan Vendran” is a curious case of wasted opportunity.

Bottomline : Not enough to garner victory.

2/5

Mankatha

My Review : Mankatha




There are only few men like Rajnikanth , Vijay or Ajithkumar who can carry a movie with an ordinary script on their shoulder . “Mankatha” is one such where the versatile actor in Ajithkumar tries his level best to keep the boat from sinking for the “captain of the ship” Venkat Prabhu flounders. USP of the movie is Ajithkumar & he lives up to the hype & expectations. In a role with loads of greyness in it , Ajithkumar has had a field day. All our congratulations to him for choosing such a role which not many of his peers would readily might have accepted.

He is suave & stylish, at the same time menacing leaving one wanting for more. His footwork both in action sequences as well as the dance sequences has improved considerably. Couple instances he also tries his proficiency at comedy & comes out unscathed .All said & done, if only the script was a bit tighter & engrossing , the end result might have been a real treat.

Venkat Prabhu seems to be losing out his magic with every movie. His screenplay meanders aimlessly in the first half, with songs placed haphazardly adding up to the annoyance. The pace is shockingly slow considering the subject taken. One gets restless at many places. While one expects the pace to get picked up & some riveting moments to emerge , movie further meanders with ridiculous song featuring Premji Amaran , Laxmi rai & Makath . Where is that engrossing screenplay of “Saroja” or innocent exuberance of “Chennai 600028” gone Mr Venkat Prabhu ?!

The movie packs a punch right at the end just before the end credits when the revelation happens but by that time most of the harm has already been done. It is like watching a 50 over cricket match where the match meanders aimlessly but all of a sudden in the last 5 overs the match becomes interesting with fall of couple of wickets & the team needing to score more than a run a ball. There are flashes of brilliance here& there like that pre interval scene or that sequence of robbery (though it might have been heavily inspired from “Italian Job” ) or that in the interrogation room when Arjun is caught between the lives of his wife & the man in his custody & Ajithkumar interaction with Arjun in the same sequence.

Arjun’s is an extended guest role but he breaths fire whenever he is onscreen. One can’t but marvel at the man who looks as energetic & agile as he was 20 years back. Premji Amaran fails to tickle us like as he did in his earlier movies while others in the lead cast like Vibhav , Mahat & Ashwin have done a decent job. Trisha comes in a brief role, is there in couple of songs as does Laxmi Rai who atleast has some chance to showcase her prowess. Andrea’s is “blink and you miss” kinda role as does is Anjali’s.

Technically movie is good but lighting is couple of sequences is bad. Sakthi Sarvanan should have looked into it.

In Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music the songs are good to hear but when it comes in inopportune moments in the movie one gets tired of the same. Background music by Yuvan Shankar Raja , Karthik Raja & Premji Amaran combo is good in parts and below average in certain others especially in the first half.

On the whole , “Mankatha” is entertaining in parts , ends up with a bang with adrenaline rush & has power packed performance from Ajithkumar in his 50th movie.

Bottomline : One man show...!

3/5