Tamil Cinema

My thoughts on some of the recent Tamil movies I watched on screen.Tamil cinema has its own charisma and style.With many movies trying to be novel and unique in their own way,we have more experimental movies nowadays.And am prepared to check them all out....my humble opinion on some of those films.


MOVIE COUNT :: 9
Click on the Titles below to read the corresponding review directly(no scrolling hassles) in this page::
Tamizh M.A
Sivi
Sivaji
Karupusaamy Kuthagaitharar
Thamirabarani
Sachein
Paruthi Veeran
Chennai-600028
Mozhi




TAMIZH M.A(a.k.a KATTRADHU TAMIZH):
Note Of Caution: This particular 'review' of mine will be quite long,so be prepared.Long because I loved this movie.So here goes...

I would like to thank the following people>>
-Director Ram
-Actor Jeeva
-Cinematographer Kadhir/Ramji(???)
-Music Director Yuvan Shankar Raja

Why should I,you ask??The above mentioned four factors are the pillars of the film and had even one among them been weak,the film would not have come up trumps.All the above factors come together to give a thought-provoking,part art-part commercial masterpiece.I had my faith on Jeeva and the film's plot as well as the music had created enough hype within me..such that I persuaded two of my friends to accompany me for the First-Day-First-Show of 'kattradhu Tamizh'(or 'Tamizh M.A').And the word disappointment or excellent did not come up in my mind,when the end credits rolled on.The only thing on my mind was,"this is a film par excellence which deserves the best of honours available for Tamil films".And needless to say,I immediately checked out the online reviews of the movie and my joy knew no bounds when I found similar reviews by experienced film reviewers.And moreover,I am really happy my hunch about the film's outcome will be true.Which is,critical as well as commercial success in Tamilnadu as well in Film Festivals across the Globe.

The film begins with Prabhakar(Jeeva) who also plays the narrator's role,telling the audience that he is about to commit suicide.And from the present scene,we shift to the previous day where Prabhakar is writing a letter to his childhood love Ananthi(new-face Anjali).He believes that he must certainly tell Ananthi(and the audience of course),the reason for his suicide attempt.And here begins Prabhakar's pitiful and remarkably honest story of a Tamil Graduate.

We follow Prabhakar's slow slip into insanity caused by the Society(not a new angle is it??).'Tamizh M.A' steers away from this stereotype because the film attempts to portray the travail's of a Tamil Graduate and the portrayal is stark naked sans any attempts to cover up the truth.We move forwards and backwards into Prabhakar's life and the audience experience no confusion whatsoever.Prabhakar's frustration intially leads him to a few unintended murders and he is on the run from the Police.He strays for a period of time,mixing with sadhu's,growing a beard,learning to smoke ganja and eventually returns to Chennai.He then promises a camera man Yuvan Sivank(Karunaas) to video-tape his conversation(confession??) which is literally his past-life's story.We learn about Prabha's(as Ananthi calls him) childhood days and his subsequent loss of his family and Tamil Professor(Azhagam Perumal).

We also learn about his sufferings just because he chose to become a Tamil Graduate.The treatment meted out to Tamil graduates can't get more realistic than in 'Tamizh M.A'.His subsequent search for Ananthi leads him to Maharashtra and he returns to complete his grauation with a heavy heart.He manages to get a job as a Tamil Teacher in a school for a paltry salary of Rs.2000/- .Fate intervenes at this point and things go from bad to worse,eventually making him a psychopath.....and finally we come back to the present with a few shocking surprises,where the recording session with Sivank gets over.Does Prabha continue his killing ways???Or does he find his lady-love???Will the Police nab Prabhakar for his 22 murders???The climax answers all these questions with a suitable and unexpected ending.

Yuvan's background score add pace and sheen to the proceedings.Illayaraja's rendering of the song 'paravayin kootil' adds beauty to the brilliant camera-work of Kathir/Ramji(who ever it is).He captures the natural & stunning landscapes of Maharashtra and Kerala.And when it comes to Chennai,the camera-work is natural.The lighting for the serious scenes deserve credit simply due to the fact that,those scenes are given a eerie & natural setting.Jeeva has virtually lived his role..sleeping on pavements,wearing dentures,having grizzly wigs and of course,giving the best performance of his career till date.Most people would not disagree to the fact that,Jeeva has indeed managed to outdo his 'Raam' performance in this film.Not once in the film will the audience think of Jeeva as anyone but the Tamil Graduate Prabhakar.His is a sterling performance and it would be a big disappointment for me,if the Best Actor award goes to someone else.

New comer Anjali is an apt choice and manages to fit in.Karunaas's presence brings in some well-needed comic relief and his role is quite commendable.Director Azhagam Perumal as the Tamil Teacher is excellent and is a natural in his role.He fits to the 'T' and brings out his acting skills pretty well.

Director Ram deserves kudos and I take a bow for his realistic and gritty portrayal of a Tamil Graduate's life in today's World.Ram also manages to remind the audience the value of Tamil and how it is slowly slipping into oblivion.The dialogues are packed with punch and raw energy that will find the viewer's support.However the gore level is quite high and the murders thought utterly realistic,may cause uneasiness to those feeble-hearted.But the gore factor adds to the film's realism.Ram's use of multiple jumps in and out of Prabhakar's life is simple enough for the audience to follow.With the support of a good story and taut screenplay,coupled with the finest technical aspects one could crave for,Debutant Director Ram has given the Tamil audience a hart-hitting film that provides food for thought!!!

Plus-points(if you have read the review completely,you would understand):
Everything>>
Story - Screenplay - Dialogues - Music + Background Score - Camera - Acting... everything is par excellence.

Minus-points:
Nothing much,but still>>
1)The 2nd half could have been a bit shorter.
2)Jeeva's dialouges aren't audible in some scenes and Anjali's are totally incomprehensible(espc when she is crying).

A must-see film for every Tamilian on this Earth and every other film-goer who loves quality cinema.I could keep on raving about this film,but I control it for the reader's sake.I had intially thought of listing the best scenes in the film,but why spoil the surprise??Enjoy the film.I would literally jump at every chance I get to watch this film,will mostly watch it another 2-3 times in the coming weeks!!!

Ending note:My opinion on this film may vary widely with your's,I appreciate that and request you to do the same for mine as well.Thank You.

My rating: 8.5/10
Links: none
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SIVI:
With almost zero publicity,a movie promising to scare the wits out of us hits the screens.I was very curious to check this film out because the songs the film have come out really well.Dharan('Paarijatham' fame) has given hip-hop tracks for the young generation and this acted as a catalyst to my interest in the film.

I could'nt wait for my friends to accompany me and managed to download the film.A good attempt and it will scare people,to a certain extent at least.Debutant Director has the extra burden of having a Tamil audience for his horror flicks.It must be remainded that horror flicks are not the order of the day.Hence the songs as well as the comedy scenes are a road-block for what could have been a fast paced thriller.

Krishna(Yogi) is a photographer by profession and he is love with Sony,who too is in love with the former(we cant expect anything different!!!).While returning from a party hosted by Krishna's college friends,Sonu accidentally runs over a girl and they flee the scene.A few days later,a worried Krishna and Sonu search for that unknown girl worrying that she might have got killed.But surprisingly,no such death or accident comes up in their search.They heave a sigh of relief,but in the midst of all this,the two are haunted by strange occurences.Things get worse as Krishan slowly realises the truth behind the hauntings.When things look as if they had settled down,we get a final twist in the climax that is sure to take everyone by surprise!!!!

In the acting department,Yogi passes muster.The heroine looks out of place in most parts of the film.The background score builds up enough suspense and scares well enough.The songs which are good to listen alone,stay so.This is because the two songs in the film are badly picturised and they have been inserted just because someone wanted so.Barring a few other scenes at intended humour,the film passes muster and the climax takes the film a notch above average.

The Hotel scenes where Krishna 'runs around' the 5th floor is brillaint conceptualisation and so is the subsequent encounter with the Spirit on 'the ladder'.Brillaint direction,of course inspired from 'Shutter'.Krishna's neck pain takes on an entirely new meaning in the climax which ends with the Twist,which I loved.This film deserves a watch on T.V or if one is a die-hard 'Horror Movie' fan.A trip to the theatre may have one feeling sorry for having emptied his/her purse.

My rating: 7/10
Links: none
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SIVAJI:
All that hype for over one year and the movie is finally out....unlike some others,i was not totally disappointed with 'SIVJI'.It is a combination that come together only once in a decade(even more).

As far as a Rajni movie is concerned,'Sivaji' stands on par with Baasha and many other gems of his.But the style and cool factor is higher than Rajini's other movies.But an utter disappointment in terms of a Shankar movie...Coming for the Director of Soul-touching movies 'Gentleman','Indian','Mudhalvan','Anniyan' ,Shankar fans are in for total disappointment.The Rajni mania has been totally milked for the promotion of 'Sivaji'.

I do not want to into the story.The protagnist,Sivaji(Rajnikanth) returns to India from USA as a rich NRI.He wishes to do good to the poor and as ever,he comes to the streets due to corruption and vested interests.He fights back and how he takes his revenge is all the movie is about.

Though Shankar has described ills of Black Money,his solution for the problem comes too late in the movie.Coming from the Superstar himself,the message should have reached the audience quite well,but Shankar has made a mistake here.We have Rajni singing,dancing,fighting(even at this age,good show thale) and of course mouthing punch dialogues with some cool mannerisms.And the movie is over & half the audience is out of the theatre,Shankar shows the possible solution for the Black Money problem along with the credits,bad timing Shankar.Vivek as his uncle has everyone in splits and Suman as the villain stands up to the status of the Superstar.Shriya is quite ok in her role as Sivaji's love interest(???).

1st viewing: 17th June,07(Velan Theatre,Pazhavanthangal)
2nd Viewing: 4th July,07 (Sathyam Theatre-RDX,Chennai)
3rd Viewing: 11th July,07 (Albert Theatre,Egmore)
4th Viewing: Ca'nt recollect Date(Sathyam Theatre-RDX,Chennai)

An out & out Rajni film,go for pure entertainment value alone.If You want see Rajni at his best,you have got it bang on Target in 'Sivaji'!!! A.R.Rahman's background score is really too good(a major Plus-point).Another mouth-watering aspect for Rajni fans is the MOTTA BOSS. He is coooool...chuma ADHIRUDHLAAAA.....

My rating: 8/10(for Rajni!!!)
Links: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0479751/
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KARUPUSAAMY KUTHAGAITHAARAR:
oooof...that was quite long a title to type out. Henceforth i will refer to it simply as KK :) . Karan has come a long way(stated in the papers) and true to their words,he gives a commendable performance as Karupusaamy,who runs a two-wheeler parking stand on 'kuthagai' in Madurai.

A girl who is doing her MBBS falls in love with him and K'saamy, the good man that he is,requests the girl to wait till her education is complete before they could marry.Hurdles come to the couple in the form relatives who take this opportunity to make amends for an old family feud.Both overcome emotional as well as family hurdles before we have a happy ending...this movie deserves at least a single viewing.

The only drawback being the snail's pace of the screenplay!!!Karan gives a decent enough performance after his critically acclaimed 'Kokki'.

My rating: 7/10
Links: none
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THAMIRABARANI:
Hari is a well-known director of typical commerical movies...Thamirabarani is no exception.Two families are at war with each other and when their siblings fall in love,skeletons come tumbling out of the closet.Nothing much to write about.

It was a decent affair,but the movie would certainly have fared better without the utterly disgusting comedy tracks of 'Raam' fame Kanja Karuppu.I hated watching him try his hand at comedy in this film.Prabhu and Nadhiya give a decent performance,it is a walk in the park for Vishal. The heroine very much resembles Nayanthara and she could possibly be one in the future.Yuvan Shankar Raja's muscial score is quite okay and passes muster.

My rating: 4/10
Links: none
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SACHEIN:
A typical no-brainer similar to other Vijay movies. But all the scenes between Vijay and Vadivelu are rib-tickling.I enjoyed all the scenes they did together in the movie.

Quite similar to other Vijay movies there are the usual songs,fights,emotional scenes,blah blah blah.....Genelia's role is very very similar to 'Kushi-Jyothika'.And Bipasha Basu is present just for the oomph factor and of course to tell the heroine(Genelia) in this case,how good the hero(Vijay a.k.a Sachein) is and why she should not miss him.Basu compared to her counterpart Mumtaz(She was the oomph girl in 'Kushi') is 'used' more here.

Nothing more-nothing less.It was released as a summer entertainer and it lives up to that name. Popcorn entertainment,do NOT expect anything more.By the way,5 out of those 6 stars are for Vijay-Vadivelu combination and the left out star is for the masala dished out :-)

My rating: 6/10
Links: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0453201/
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PARUTHI VEERAN:
After the commercial success of both of his critical ventures- MOUNAM PESIYATHE & RAAM, i was sure PARUTHI VEERAN would be no different and that it would be a runaway success.I have been Director Ameer's fan ever since his Mounam Pesiyathe days (Trisha's first movie release,who by the way is my favurite actress).

I did not get a chance to watch 'paruthi Veeran' on the silver screen,but i was really happy at all the positive responses garnered by the film.When i finally got a chance to watch the movie courtesy my friend,i was more than happy to do so.It was a totally different experience.And i felt really feel bad for having missed it in the theatres!!!

Veeran(Karthi) and his uncle Chevvazhai(Saravanan in an excellent role) reside in Paruthi Oor (hope ive named it right).The two lead a totally care-free life and dont think twice before doing anything,wether good or bad.Muthazhagi(Priyamani) is head-over-heels in love with Veeran.But the latter keeps ignoring her,but when he decides to accept her love & tie the knot, an old feud between their families rises it hood.Muthazhagi elopes with Veeran and she is headed for a miserable fate,which is due to Veerans past mistake.What ensues is a riveting climax that none would have imagined.Gut-wrenching and reality shown stark naked,it needs a lot of guts to remain seated calm till the film is over.

None of the characters in this film are wasted and so are the scenes.Of course as almost every viewer suggested,the 'violent' scene in the climax could have been avoided.But without it,i dont think the movie would have had its 'shock' effect and neither could the idea that 'wrong begets wrong' be driven home.Am sure that people in todays era will be reminded that doing wrong will fetch them the punishment,maybe not immediately but definitely at some point of time later.

Karthi is excellent as the rough youth and the 'later-reformed' lover and so is Saravanan,who gets a meaty role after Nandha(2001).He evokes laughter when required and it is really funny when he makes sure 'Ganja' karupu does not stick to any job at all.Priyamani as the village belle in a toned down role,excels immensly.One cannot but marvel at her courage as well as self-determination in her love despite all the odds.Ponnavan makes a mark as Priyamani's father.Yuvan Shankar Raja proves yet again why he is one among the best,the tunes being rustic yet melodious.

'Paruthi Veeran' is a celluloid masterpiece that should not be missed.It should be watched in its entirity without missing any scenes.It would be sight to watch Director Ameer top his 'Paruthi Veeran',i hope he does!!!!!

My rating: 10/10
Links: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0458050/
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CHENNAI-600028:
Criteria required for liking Chennai-28 or so as it is called.
1)Are you a guy?
2)You like cricket?
3)You are not looking for a serious movie!!!

You fit the bill completely...people who do not meet this criteria need not hate this film though.That is the major plus point for this movie.This movie appeals to all sections of the cinema-going public.

You are in for a roller-coaster ride....this film will leave u completely energised after the ride is over.A brilliant movie in terms of the Cast,Music,Screenplay and of course natural-performances from the lead characters.Well,i think that almost covers everything required for a successful movie.Director Venkat Prabhu in his second film,has done a commendable job after his damp-squib debut 'Unnai Charanadainthen'.Premji,his brother is a great comedian in the making,his presence will make you laugh ur lungs out.His spoofed up dialogue "enna koduma sir idhu???" has become a rage among the youth.

The Sharks are a gully cricket team from the sunambu-kaava area,who lost the Gully Cup the earlier year to Rockers,a rival team from another area.Will they win the Cup this year around?Interspersed with the cricket line is parallel stories of friendship,love,trust and absolute mayhem in the form of music,comedy,fun!!!!

All the limelight focusses on Jai (Deva's younger son) and Premji Gangai Amaran (Gangai Amaran's son).They fit the roles to a T.The former resembles Vijay in and looks good on screen while the latter is successful in tickling the funny bone.Aravind, Prasanna, Cristine and a host of newcomers have lived the their onscreen-characters well enough in the movie.'Mirchi' Siva,Vijaylakshmi(director Agathiyan's daughter) and Nithin Sathya around whom most of the movie revolves have also performed well.

Do NOT Miss this movie....

My rating: 8/10
Links: none
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MOZHI:
There is only one thing on a viewers mind when he/she has finished watching Mozhi.Life is beautiful and that,not everything is as we believe things to be.This quite evident from the ending of the movie where Archana(Jyothika in a marvelous role) understands how wrong her some of her perceptions about life are.I do not know where to begin my thoughts on this movie as there are too many good things to talk about here.

Karthik(Prithiviraj) and Vijay Kumar(Prakash Raj) are successful musicians and they chance to meet Archana in the new appartment where they move in.Karthik is already in love with her as he was in awe over her courage at an earlier incident.He later realises that she is deaf and dumb,but this does not deter him from his love.He takes the help of Archana's friend Sheela(Swarnamalya) and learns Sign Language.All the four become good friends in time.Karthik proposes his love for Archana,but she rejects the same.She displays the reason as that no one in this world would be happy spending his life with her and that Karthik's love is out of pity!!!What happens next?Will Archana understand Karthik??Will karthik's love stand the test of time???

This film has got everything a winner movie needs.Good camera,Excellent music(Vidhyasagar),a taut script,healthy humour & dialouge and of course,fantastic performances.Jyothika as the deaf and dumb girl is simply mind-blowing in her underplayed performance.But the point to note is Archana's character brings out awe & appreciation for the fight the disabled give in this world and not pity for them.That is pretty difficult to bring out and Director Radha Mohan must be commended for portraying the disabled in the right way.They are no different from you,myself or everyone else in this World.

And in todays Tamil cinema,it is not possible to stay without wincing in one's seat because of all the violence and profanity present in all the movies released nowadays.Staying away from all that unneeded material and at the same time,not compromising on the quality as well as objective of the movie is a thing to be appreciated.And Prakash Raj should be appreciated for backing such a good project!!!Director Radha Mohan(Azhagiye Theeye,Poniyan Selvan) has given Tamil Cinema a classic that would be tough to beat.Hats off!!!

Jyothika's absence would be felt as Mozhi and Patchakili Muthucharam were her swan songs but am happy she left the field on an all time high.Prakasah Raj and Prithviraj provide enough clean humour to satisfy everyone watching the film.And when Brahmanandam as the menacing neighbour is present,there is no escape from laughing one's heart out.

MS Bhaskar, who had lost his memory due to the untimely loss of his son, lives in the same apartment as Archana and Karthik.But due to the shock he still relives that fateful day,day-after-day-after-day!!!His poignant portrayal and subtle performance definitely calls for appreciation.A scene to be definitely mentioned is the one where Karthik makes him understand that his son is dead.MS Bhaskar finally comes to his sense and cries for the first time since that day,a scene that is sure to touch the strings of our hearts!!!

Mozhi is one film that would stand the test of time and remain the classic that it is.I feel sorry that the maximum score for a movie is 10/10...alas!!!

Please stop reading this review and watch the movie...i want to tell more about this wonderful film,but that would definitely test your patience :)

My rating: 10/10
Links: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1034053/
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