PUGAIPADAM

My Review : PUGAIPADAM




“Pugaipadam ” is by newcomer Rajeshlingam in which he has tried to explore uncharted terrain – college friendship. The novelty of the theme is appreciable only that he must have understood the need for subtlety before execution. Over the top acting marred by some equally exaggerated sequences which transport the viewers to the cinematic colleges of 80’s .The redundant screenplay which becomes tiring after a point makes it a strenuous experience.

The debutant’s eye for emotions stand out in couple of sequences especially the English lecturers sermon to the student from Tamil medium school as well as the sequence where the friends separate along the gender lines. The major letdown is the climax which looks contrived . The manner in which the students behave with their H.O.D , the students getting away from copying in the exams & how suddenly people become friends & fall in love with one another are rather way too cinematic .

As far the actors goes only Priya , the one who plays Bala & senior girl passes muster. Rest of them ham it up . Special mention is must about that one who plays Krithika Rao who’s characterization is precariously placed on a thin thread dangling in between overtly zealous & insanity . It is sad too see experienced actor like Shanmugasundaram being caricaturized . Television actors Neelima & Venkat shine with their experience.

Gangai Amaran’s songs are way too noisy except for couple of melodies. Too many songs sprouting out from no where mars the proceeding very badly.

Vijay Armstrong’s camera captures Kodaikanal is all it’s glory .

Editing is haphazardly done .One doesn’t know whether B.Lenin , the movie’s editor or the theatre operator is to be blamed.

On the whole , Pugaipadam is great on ideas but pathetic in it’s execution.

Bottomline: Pugaipadam - old & outdated...

2/5

KANDEN KADHALAI

My Review: Kanden Kadhalai




Tamanna , Barath & Santhanam are the three pillars on whom the super-structure of “Kanden Kadhalai ” (KK) rests strongly on. Incidentally “KK” is the remake of “Jab We Met ” , one of the biggest hits in Hindi last year. Written by Imtiaz Ali , R.Kannan has adapted it well into Tamil faithfully following the original for most parts with added local flavours & spicy comedy to boost.

First half wiz past even before one gets a foothold of the proceedings .It is delightful with Tamanna & Santhanam having a field day .Barath plays second fiddle to both of them before he comes to his own in the latter half where he finds the fine balance between subtlety & exuberance .


On the downside 2nd half sags a bit & screenplay plays truant before the movie gets over all of a sudden. Why even after knowing that Barath is not Tamanna’s lover Nizhalgal Ravi , Azhagam Perumal & Sapan Saran readily accept him as the bridegroom or don’t try to clear the issue is baffling. Also the reasons why Tamanna finally falls for Barath lacks plausibility & profundity .These are few minor glitches in otherwise well made movie.


Barath is Sauvé & stylish , has proved all his detractors wrong who questioned his selection for this role essayed superbly by Shahid Kapoor in the original. He has worked on his body language with subtleness of expressions & underplay of emotions .The end result is superb. Way to go Barath.


Tamanna has also done a tremendous job as “Anjali ” & the manner in which she has managed to show the contrast between the vivacity of the first half & sobriety of the second is treat to watch. Her interlude with Barath in her hostel about how naïve she used to be particularly with reference to that lodge episode would bring a tear or two.She once again vindicates how talented she is provided she gets the right scripts.


Santhanam rules the roost in a original character added in the Tamil version. It is one of his best so far. Unlike in many of his movies , here he is given ample scope & he has lapped it up with glee. He plays a very important role in keeping the movie lively with his timely & witty remarks.

P.G.Muthiah’s cinematography is flawless but he must have shown some contrast in the hues in accordance to the emotional shades of the lead pair which worked out splendidly in the original.


Vidyasagar is back after a long time with some hum worthy tunes .”Suthuthu suthuthu ” & “Venpanju megam ” are treats.


On the whole , the movie is a treat for whole family . Forget the comparisons & go with an open mind & come out satisfied.

Bottomline : Kanden Kadhalai - Vellum Manadhai..!

3.5 / 5

AADHAVAN

My Review: Aadhavan



“Aadhavan ” from the combo of K.S.Ravikumar & Suriya , both riding on a successful upward tide has raised expectations right from its beginning. Whether the movie lives up to the expectations is partially in the affirmative. The movie is a routine K.S. Ravikumar formula of a family entertainer with heavy doses of action. What keeps the movie interested is Vadivelu & only him.

First half is racy with rib tickling comedy thanks mainly to Vadivelu & Suriya to some extent & gets over even before you realize . Sadly the second half peters out into a mundane affair without any ingenuity where the director has borrowed heavily from the movies of yesteryears .

Suriya is good in his role of an assassin with a past . But when each & every one time & again compares him with M.G.R., Shivaji , Rajini & Kamalhassan it becomes irritating.

Nayanthara don’t have much to do in a shake- a – leg –wet-the-eyes role.

Vadivelu is the real hero of the movie without whom the movie would have become very much boring. He revels in the role of Banner’ji & he is there onscreen almost throughout the movie. The manner in which he gets caught on camera time & again plotting to kill his boss is a scream.

SarojaDevi is more of a caricature than anything else. Sad to see a legend as she is reduced to such an insipid role.

Movie has a whole loads of supporting actors who do their jobs without any fuss.

In Harris Jayaraj’s music couple of songs are good.

Ra.Ganesh’s Cinematography is stylish.

Movie has K.S.Ravikumar stamp all over it but it gets redundant after a point. His dialogues are funny & lively which keeps the movie going.

On the whole , first half is good but second is tiring.

Bottomline: Vadivelu the saviour.

3/5

PERANMAI

My Review: Peranmai





“Peranmai ” lives up to the reputation of being a S.P.Jhananathan movie.He has once again taken up a topical issue & plotted it well into a story & screenplay (credited to Kalyanakrishnan )and presented in a palatable manner.The movie is high on intentions , adequate on the technology front & making wise .That the movie is devoid of any romantic interludes or duets despite having 5 heroines & a romantic hero is big relief .

Jayam Ravi shines in the role of a young forest officer who belongs to the tribal community.He is restrained in his portrayal & that elevates the impact of his characterization. It is such a surprise to see an action movie without even an iota of heroism , infact the hero is humiliated to the core right through the first half.Also the manner in which his superior officer gain all the accolades & awards bypassing the real person who did all the hard work is shown in a hard hitting manner & realistic to the day to day happenings.

Movie has 5 female leads, chosen more for their acting prowess rather than on their looks have done good jobs. Especially Saranya & Vasundhara shine in their roles.

Ponvannan & Urvashi give ample support while Vadivelu comes in more of a serious role than much comedy.

Much hyped Hollywood actor Roland Kickinger as the antagonist doesn’t live up to the hype in an underwritten role.

Vidhyasagar is the music director & it’s been ages since he gave music of any notice & he continues in that vein here too.

S.R.Sathiskumar’s cinematography is very good & thinking of how much toil he must have undergone in shooting in such inhospitable terrains is a great achievement .The movie is a visual splendour & celebration of nature.

All said & done , where the movie lacks or lags is in the dialogues – which are very crude & B-gradish [almost as crude patriotism as that in “Gadar – the prem katha ”] overdose of patriotism & racial profiling . Lewd dialogues from the mouth of the girls too adding to the hum din [censor have mercilessy butcherd almost 20% of the dialogues..!].

Also the manner in which Ravi takes a lecture before each & every step becomes irritating after a point of time which gives a feel of watching Discovery channel rather than a movie. Ponvannan’s uncalled-for action on the tribals is contrived .

If only Jhana has removed such irritants & reduced the length of the movie to 90 mins or so , “Peranmai ” would have become a “cult” movie of the south. But what we got is a movie high on ideas but dragged down the aisle by the routine commercial considerations or should we say the maker’s indulgence.

Bottomline : Peranmai = 40% Pudhumai + 60% Palamai

3/5

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