Sakkarakatti

My review : Sakkarakatti

In one of the earlier scenes friends of the hero takes pot shot at one of the cliches of Tamil cinema - loving an unknown girl & friends enquiring about her ....the scenes gets cut abrubtly & the same scene appears in a different manner --> making one to sit up in the seat in the anticipation of something different out of ordinary to happen .But in the very next frame the same girl entering the same class of the hero puts off any excitement one has gathered at the moment ..

Plot: from the time of colleges made appearance in Tamil cinema , we have each & every film having same plot that have been beaten to bushes ...

Santhannu : He has a good screen presence & definitly a hero material but here he is let down by a very poorly written role . Sadly he doesn't seem to have the capacity to rise above the pedestrian role that he has been offered .

Ishitha : Looks pleasing to the eyes but as far as acting goes trash course on it is needed urgently if she is serious about a career in films .

Vedhika : Only relief in the casting department who emotes to the best of her ability but sadly the script demands her to be meloncholic throughout the movie .

Among those who appear as friends , one or two of them succeeed in evoking a few laughs here & there .

Music by A.R.Rahman is very good especially Taxi Taxi & Marudhani .

Andrew & Raasamathi have done a good job capturing the movie in a trendy & cool manner . But the CG department of the movie goes over-board in their needless spoofy imagery in the song sequences which tests one's patience after a while .

Editor seem to have tried his best to save us from being exasperated too much by limiting the lenght of the movie to just 2 Hrs but sadly this too seem to go on & on for ever .

Mr.Kalaprabhu - Enna koduma sir idhu . Even Master Nithin Ramakrishnan (Aged 16 who has recently made debut in Malayalam ) & Kishen (aged 10 who is the youngest director record holder) seem to be more imaginative with their scripts & assertive in their direction than you .You have redefined the word cliche in Tamil cinema .

Heard that Oxford dictionary people are seriously trying to change the meaning for cliche as " Sakkarakatti " .

Bottomline: Sakkarakatti - a bitter pill to swallow .

1.5/5

Kadhalil Vizhunthaen

My review : Kadhalil Vizhunthaen

The super duper number "Naka muka " will act positively as well as negatively regarding the movie's prospects .On the positive side it has ensured a very grand opening which only a few big stars in Tamil Cinema can vouch for but ironically the same song brings in people in a mindset to enjoy & celebrate leaving them unprepared for such a heavy subject like this .

The top draw of the movie , other than the songs which are now a rage , are the acting of Nakul as well as others .

Plot: A routine love story of a poor boy falling in love with a rich girl .......but with a surprising twist in the tale .

Nakul : The movie belongs to this man who has put in his heart & soul in a very difficult character that he plays & he comes out with flying colours . He has lost a lot of puppy fat & improved his Tamil diction very well . He dances like a dream .

Kudos for him to do such a challenging character at an early phase of his career . Scenes in the hospitals as well as the climax deserves special mention .

Sunaina : looks non-glamorous but has performed well though she has practically no role to play in the second half.

Others in the cast like Sampath , Livingstone & Hariraj have supported the movie very well .

Vijay Milton's cinematography is mixed bag in this movie .Some scenes are excellently shot while some others which follow them are stictly ok .

Vijay Anthony stikes gold with this movie . All songs are already chartbusters . Apart from "Naka muka ", others like "Unakena naan " & "Thozhiya en kadhaliya" are also mesmerising . He has done a good job in BGM as well .

Debutant director P.V.Prasad must be first congratulated for taking such a heavy subject first up . His touches are seen all over the second half .Infact the second half seem to be on totally different plane when compared to the ordinary first half . One thought that he must have portrayed first half love story more convincingly & strongly .Than it would have brought a even stronger impact in the second half.

Also he has made use of the story of a gorilla & it's kid very cleverly

On the whole the first half is superficial & half-backed while the second half is a stunner .

Bottomline : Go to enjoy Naka Muka but be prepared for unexpected shocks .

3.5/5

Mudhal Mudhal Mudhal VaraiI

My Review : Mudhal Mudhal Mudhal Varai

Even before the credits appear clips of the first motion picture of the world & that of India are shown with credits of their creaters . This gives a clue about what the movie is all about --> a first time director trying to make his frist movie based on several first's that happen in his life & that of others whom he comes in contact with --> Hence the title of the movie. Actually movie has an autobiographical tinge in it which the director reveals in the end .

The first metro movie in Tamil , a genre which is as familiar to tamil audience as Pizza Hut is to Usilampatti . Question arises whether tamil audience are ready for this kind of movies & answer is a big NO(which is clearly evident in the theatre ).But that does not take away any credit from the debutant director Krishna Shesadri Komadan who must be applauded for the risk that he took in his very first movie experimenting with a new genre .

Plot : Movie peeks at a life of an aspiring movie director & his various first's like frist love , first kiss , first pregnancy , first copying in exams ....etc which forms the script of his movie that he is to direct .

Acting : one of the strength of the movie is its cast . Whether it is Sathyajit as the protogonist , Anuja iyer as his date or Charan , Kumarave as his assisstants or others , every one is aptly cast & acts very casually with no artficiality whatsoever . Also every one seem to dub in their own voice whic further enhances their performances.

Music : only one song which is a hindi erotic number which is ok . Aslam Mustafa has done a neat job in BGM .

Fowsia Fathima has captured the movie with almost 70 % of the movie as close up shots in various angles & there is feel of the movie being filmed in a handy cam (to add authenticity to the plot of herofilming his movie in a handy cam ) & visuals are mostly grainy ( done deliberatly ??)

B.Lenin has done some innovative cuttings to enhance the youthfullness of the movie.

The movie is not a regular movie with a story , screenplay & climax . It does not proceed as a normal movie would . It is wound around the various first expereinces of various individuals around the protogonist in a light hearted manner .

Dialogues are real to life & " KOOL " .Though there is ample dose of english in it .

It is quiet similar to " Hydrabad Blues " in the way casting , performances & the making of the movie is concerned but not as lucid or linear as it. Movie gives a feel of watching a documentary now & then .

Bottomline : Trendsetter in Tamil .

3.5/5

Raman Thediya Seethai

My Review : Raman Thediya Seethai

This movie can't be categorised as a family drama or romantic drama & it is neither a commercial masala movie nor an artistic & realistic movie .But it is an impressive movie with some very good acting by all the actors as well a fresh story & screenplay added with some intelligent dialogues. Jagannaath who missed a hit with his previous two movies will reap success with this one.

Plot : It is a story about the hero trying to get himself a life partner & people whom he comes into contact in the process.

Cheran: Proves why he is called "Yathartha nayagan " though his acting seem to get repetitive whether it is Autugraph or Thavamai Thavamirundhu or Pirivom Sandhipom or here .

Pasupathy : It is a very good performance from him & suits to the role of a blind RJ to the hilt. His body language , facial expressions & dialogue delivery presents before us an authentic blind person .It is one of his memorable performance .

Nitin Sathya : He also impresses with a role of a reformed thief for love . He has an expressive eyes & used it well .

Vimala Raman : As Ranjitha ,first girl who say no to Cheran but eventually falls for his good manners has done a neat job . Again another actor with an expresive eyes in this movie.

Gazala : As Tamilisai , who loves & ties the knot with Pasupathy looks radiant on screen . Should have taken care of the dialogue delivary .

Ramya Nambeesan : As estranged daughter of Manivannan gives a flawless performance .

Kaarthiga : She is also impressive in the role of the girl behind the reformation of the theif -Nitin Sathya.

Others in the supporting cast like Manivannan , NAvya NAir & KArunas have also done thier jobs well though the later two have a very little part to play .

VidhyaSagar 's BgM is more impressive than the songs . Couple of songs are humworthy.

RajeshYadhav 's cinematography captures the natural splendour of Nagarkoil very pleasantly . The lush green rainy locales of Nagercoil are very soothing to the eyes.

Janganath has given a very neat movie sans violence or vulgarity .Movie moves at good pace in the first half though the last 30mins. seem to drag a bit . Also most of the characters just come & go .Director may have taken efforts to establish those characters more .For example , Karunas & Navya NAir are wasted in the movie .

Though the movie is not without drawbacks it is a decent movie to be watched with entire family pleasantly .

Bottomline: Fresh as a pre-monsoon rain .

4/5

Poi Solla Porom

My Review: Poi Solla Porom

Here it is . At last we have a full lenght comedy in tamil after a long wait . Vijay ,inspired from JAideep Shahni's " Koshla ka Ghosla" , has managed to give us a clean comedy movie which is totally natural - both in acting as well as the settings.

Plot : A middle class family is all out to get back their property from a dreaded real estate shark who has illegally encroched upon it .

Karthikkumar : It is the best from him so far . He is so natural & effortless as a techie who is detatched from his family as well as his love who later tries his heart out to get back his family land. (But how long will directors show him as one who has to do someting with US ).

Piya : the new comer heroine , whom we are familiar in umpteen adds that we see on TV, has done a OK job but should have taken care as far as the lip sink is concerned . Suchithra's dubbing portrays more emotions than the face of her !

Mouli : among other supporting actors he stands tall. It is yet another knock-out performance from the veteran. It is hard to imagine any other in that role.

Nasser: Another one who impresses with his looks as well as body language . Special mention the scenes when he confronts the village girls in the land - whole theatre was laughing aloud .

Nedumudy Venu : Ably portrays myriad of emotion right from buying the land , loosing it , going through lot of hardships & finally achieving his dream.

Laksmi as the house-wife/mom makes us take notice of her right in the opening scenes itself in which she talks about missing the serial right in front of his husband's dead body.

Balaji's a impressive debut esp. the scene in which he confronts the fisheries dept. officers is a laugh riot.

Bosky & others support aptly.

Sree Kumar's songs & Gopi Sunder's re-recording adds spice to the proceedings.

Arvind Krishna scores & proves that he can make the visuals rich even if the movies is a comedy caper.

Vijay - who has written & directed the movie has done a very good job in making us laugh , which is not that easy. Also the movie is technically sound & never looses on the reality aspects also . Since the plot is also a topical issue thw movie is bound to get good responses from all .

Bottomlone: A sweet lie .

4/5

Saroja

My review: Saroja

At the outset a hearty congratulations & thanks to Venkat Prabhu for reviving a very interesting genre which is very rare in Tamil Cinema - " the comical thriller ". He showed us what he is made up of in " Chennai 600028 " & now he proves that it what not a flash in the pan.

Plot: How 4 ordinary men react when confronted with an extra-ordinary situation & come up triumphant.

Venkat Prabhu: the hero of the movie , has managed to bring out laughter even in the most serious of situations naturally & his success lies in this aspect.Also supported by an intelligent screenplay , it is field day for the director Venkat Prabhu .Also technically he has given a very advanced movie.

Yuvan Sankar Raja: He is the next hero , who has elevated the movie with his stupendous BGM. All songs are chartbusters already-which adds up to the success.

Sakthi Saravanan: Last but certainy not the least of the 3 real heroes of the movie is a revealation. Binny mills never looked so differnt before (kudos for art director also ) & darkness was never portrayed in such a poetic manner before.His use of colours further enhances the visual majesty.

Praveen and Srikanth: the editor duo attracts our attention even during the titles , makes us take notice during the "cheeky cheeky " song , captivates us during the "Dosth bada dosth " song & leave us enthralled during the rest of the movie with their innovative cuttings.

Among actors Prakashraj takes the top honours with a very matured, underplayed role of a father in trauma . Special mention to the scene in which he breaks down.

Next comes Premji , his best performance till date .Esp. the love scenes centred around him are a laugh riot.

Shiva - another scene stealer in the movie esp.with his unique dialougue delivery bordering melodrama keeping in mind that he is a TV serial actor .

S.P.Charan is the actual master brain of the gang has done his role with maturity.

Sampath in another sound role but should take care to come out his typecast as rowdy/dada.

Jayaram - role very similar to that in Dham Dhoom and acting also seem to be ditto .

Vaibav- has a goos future as a action hero esp. with his eyes which portrays anger very effortlessly.

Nikitha- the scene stealer among the females in the movie .She sizzles in "Kodana kodi" .Wonder why very few opportunities for this beauty.

Vedha and Kajal Agarwal - look pretty on screen and that's about them.

Bottomline : Sure shot

4/5

Alibaba

My Review: Alibaba

After a slew of expected movies turning out to be damn-squibs , here comes a movie that is least talked about --ALIBABA-- turning out to be another surprise packet this year. The debut team can be proud of their product.

Plot: A petty thief finds out that his bank acoount gets deposited with lakhs of money. Who are behind it & Is he cornerned in a bigger conspiracy forms the rest of the plot.

Krishna: Debutant hero, who resembles S.J.Suryah in his looks, has made a good debut in a role which is central to the proceedings. He can emote well, Dance as well as do comedy.

Janani: another debutant is refreshing to the eyes & her role not only blends well withe narrative but also contributing to it , not there for provinding romantic relief alone.

Prakashraj: As the father of the hero he steals the show in the 1st half .Look out for his introduction screen in particular. Some of Tyagarajan's best dialogues are reserved for him.

Jeeva: His dialogue delivary & sarcastic comedy are similar to Santhanam.

Thilagan, Radharavi,Bijumaenon and Alagamperumal --all have a significant part in the movie & it is heartening to see the director has used all of them well in the culmiation of the plot.

Vidhyasagar comes back with some good numbers but the song picturisation would have been better. BGM is also very good contributing to the suspense.

Dineshkumar's camera has faithfully stood beside the director in fulfilling his vision.

Neelan K Sekar--credited with story,scrennplay & direction , has made a credible debut.He has taken a very intersting plot , spiced it up with a non-linear screenplay tto build up the suspence & keep us hooked onto the proceedings right through the 2:10mins , which is by no means an easy task to achieve.

The movie comes as a special surprise & another debut team had made a good beggining this year.

Bottomline: Don't worry about the 40 theifs (other flops this year) that we have seen this year, Alibaba is here to provide the worth for your money.

4/5

Dhanam

My Review: Dhanam

Here comes a pretentious movie --wannabe classic but the makers have ended with eggs on their face. Both the groups at the opposite end of the spectrum --1) those who come to see it for sleaze that is advertised in the posters as well as 2)those who would have believed it to be a class movie--would have come out of the theatres disappointed.There is nothing for both of these set of people. Pity that Raja sir's wonderful music have got wasted in this pretty sorry movie.

Plot: A bizarre plot. Danam , a CSW gets married to an orthodox Brahman family since their astrologer predicts better luck . Later the same family kills her daughter when she is predicted to bring ill-luck to the family.Rest of the plot deals with how she avenges the death of her daughter.

Sangeetha: has performed well but certainly not her best .

Prem: As the lover & later the husband of Danam has very little to do.

Girish Karnad: A cliched character of a pious Brahmin patriarch which we have seen umpteen times.

Kota Srinivasa Rao: As a scheming astrologer has performed his usual villanous role.

Karunas , M.s.Baskar & co have struggled hard to evoke some laughter.

Jeeva's cinematography is easy on the eyes . It is evident that there is another cinematographer who have finished the movie after his demise.

Therre is certainly no novelty in the story , screenplay , dialogues & direction by Shiva.

Movie is absolutely cliche ridden, cinematic to the core & totally unreal . Climax is the most bizzare one to the already painful movie.

Only redeeming aspect of the movie is Raja sir's songs . 6/7 songs are very good esp. "Kannanukku enna", "unakulle irukiraen " & "ilamai Kanavugal ". But however raja sir has disapointed in the BGM.

Bottomline : Pretentious .

2/5