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| performers like Vimal (Kalavani fame), Bharani (Nadodigal fame), Nishanth (Renigunta fame), Anjali (Angadi Theru fame) who have proved their mettle. With the popular brand of the producer and a young cast, Thoonganagaram aroused everyone’s curiosity and expectations. As the title suggests, the film is set in Madurai. This film too has the basic premise of friendship like some of its predecessors. Kanna (Vimal), Aiyavu (Bharani), Maari (Nishanth) and Rajamani (Gaurav) are youngsters who get acquainted one night at the bar, become drinking buddies and before we know, they are swearing their lives for each other. Kanna finds love in his childhood sweetheart Kalaivani (played by Anjali) who is a local TV artist. Trouble begins when Kanna locks horns with two miscreants who are up to some very despicable things. What starts off as a scuffle, develops into a major issue with more people and power getting involved. How does the foursome face up to this? The movie has a plot which can claim novelty but it is a bit tiresome to see yet another film based on Madurai and four friends who are thick as thieves. Despite being set in Madurai, the film steers clear of excessive violence and is a mix of comedy, romance and action. Gaurav proves himself a good director by bringing out decent performances from the lead cast as well as the supporting cast which largely consists of the local people. Coming to the performances, Vimal, Bharani, Gaurav and Anjali have done well and are apt for their roles. Nishanth, who has played the role of the speech-impaired Maari manages to convey his emotions perfectly just with his eyes and facial expressions. Though characters reminds us of those in Nadodigal and other Madurai films, the cast of Thoonganagaram has brought about freshness through their portrayal. What plays spoilsport in this potential entertainer is the addition of excessive sub plots and songs. The first half has about three songs and the main plot unravels only in the second half. There is a flashback of Kanna and Kalaivani’s childhood which is totally unnecessary and hinders the flow of the already slow paced film. Cinematography by Vijay Ulaganathan is good and brings out the essence of Madurai. There is a particular long shot of a mountain captured in the mild showers of the night, which showcases the cinematographer’s talent. Music by Sundar.C.Babu is good but does not linger on with the exception of the song Kalyanam Kalyanam which is very peppy. On the whole, this film is engaging in certain parts and has good performances from all the actors. The film would have been crisper and better if the focus was more on the main plot. | |||||||||
Thursday, April 7, 2011
THOONGA NAGARAM MOVIE REVIEW
PAYANAM MOVIE REVIEW
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| of Radha Mohan stand out is that he has laced the action/thriller with humor. A passenger flight which includes an actor, a doctor, a politician, a priest among others is being kidnapped by a group of terrorists who force the plane to be taken to Rawalpindi but as fate would have it, the plane lands in Tirupathi due to engine failure. Negotiations begin between the government and the terrorists who demand the release of Yousf Khan, a dreaded terrorist in jail. Vishwanath (Prakash Raj), the bureaucrat negotiating on behalf of the government and Major Ravindra (Nagarjuna) the commando for rescue operations land in the fray along with other senior bureaucrats. Meanwhile the government decides to release the terrorist and he is being brought to Tirupathi. Rest of Payanam is about how this hijack and rescue drama is brought to an end with interesting events dotting its path. Payanam unfolds rather slowly and takes its time to garner momentum. However from the moment, Nagarjuna takes control of the affairs, it picks up pace with an impressive last 20 minutes that elevates the suspense quotient. Through various sequences Radha Mohan brings out the typical bureaucratic procrastinations, the irresponsibility of the press to go to any length to sensationalize an issue and the loopholes in the system. On the emotional side, he showcases the latent and impotent anger in common citizen and the diverse mindsets of people caught in such a situation in a realistic manner. Radha Mohan takes digs at the film world wherever he gets a chance and they are indeed hilarious. Gnanavel’s dialogues lean more on levity which earns applause in places. Nagarjuna after a long gap in Tamil films, appears as the National Security Guard and brings out a neat portrayal along with Bharath Reddy. Prakash Raj as the helpless bureaucrat Vishwanath fits his role. Among the various passengers, the ones who stand out in performance is Thalaivasal Vijay followed by Kumaravel and Chaams. Bhramanandam as the film director impresses with his small cameo and the artist who doubles up as Yusuf Khan is amazing. Chaams as the ardent fan of actor Chandrakanth (Prithviraj) brings the roof down with his adulation and expectations of the star and the way he mouths his hero’s punch dialogues. Later on the scorn on his face on realizing his matinee idol is after all a worthless normal man is brilliant. There are no songs in the film and Praveen Mani’s RR brings out the desired mood. Art director Kathir needs a special mention to have recreated Tirupathi airport and the authentic interiors of the plane. Cinematographer Guhan’s camera works in tandem with the mood of the film with his right kind of angles and lighting. It is strange to note that, few passengers seem to enjoy the hijack drama and do not show any kind of anxiety towards what is happening. One may also wonder whether the hijackers would be lenient enough to allow a mimicry session on board in the midst of an event of such a serious proportion. Although humor shares equal space with action and suspense, a slight swaying on the lighter side dilutes the serious effect a wee bit which could have been taken care of. | |||||||||
NANDHI MOVIE REVIEW
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| have a part to play, but nothing of great significance, just an excuse for the director to make the hero and heroine cross paths for love to eventually blossom. Set, in rural Tamil Nadu (which no longer remains a novelty), Nandhi traces the love story of a typical village couple as it goes through all the ups and downs that one associates with falling in love. The ups and downs that the couple faces are not the routine parent-society-wealth-status-caste issues that occur and recur so often in Tamil cinema. For a change, the parents are happy and willingly consent the couple’s love and there is no ‘nattamai’ to stand in the way of smooth progress. Trouble comes in the form of another person who just can’t stand the thought of a girl from his village being married to a boy from the neighbouring village. Does he succeed in throwing a spanner in the works? Understanding the evergreen appeal of the emotion love, a film based on that always stands a chance with the audience and the team of Nandhi seems to have banked on this while making their film. While it is a good thing that a lot of the predictability is removed director Thamizhvaanan should have taken enough care to ensure that the alternate hurdle that he had envisaged for the love story had enough credibility to carry the film on its shoulders. It is in this aspect that he has failed big time. There is neither proper reason nor explanation given to the antagonists fuming anger towards the couple in love. Further, it is illogical as to how just one person is able to stand up so strongly against the couple (who have the whole village backing them) and not be spoken against. All this lands a big blow to the central plot and weakens the movie. The love story does not captivate you; it looks just like one of many village-side romances we have seen over the past couple of years. The director has also tried to infuse a bit of comedy here and there through Singampuli, but that too leaves a feeble impact. Performances always depend on the scope offered by the script and so there is nothing great to write home about. Akhil is still looking for an opportunity that will do justice to the potential that was unearthed by Balaji Shakthivel in Kalloori. Sanusha is starting to look more like a heroine than a child artiste, but still has a long way to go. There are very few other faces in the cast that stay in your mind. The technical aspects too do not go far above the standards of the central plot. Bharadwaj’s music tries to salvage some points for the movie, but overall gives you a feeling of déjà vu. Camera strictly captures the images and does nothing more impressive. Only the stunts translate some energy onto the screen. Nandhi is just another village love story that does not stand out for any of its aspects. Overall, there is a feel of shoddy treatment and lackadaisical handling of the entire film making process, without an eye for detail. The end product is one that will not stay in your minds for any length of time. | |||||||||
THAMBIKOTTAI MOVIE REVIEW
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| necessary ingredients of a mainstream commercial flick which are not devoid of innumerable predecessors in the industry. Meena, a college professor, is the doting elder sister of Naren who is still a college student. Just like any other siblings of such films, they mean the world to each other and are the epitome of love and affection. There are enough maudlin moments in the film to emphasize their affection. Naren desires to go to a place called Thambikottai on an NSS trip but a shocked Meena is not in favor of this. However Naren leaves for the village and spots Poonam Bajwa and you guessed it right, it is love at first sight. Again, on a very very predictable track, Poonam is the daughter of the villain ‘Nan Kadavul’ Rajendran. As it is the syntax of every such masala fare, Rajendran plays spoilsport to Naren-Poonam’s love, thrashes Naren and sends him back to Chennai where his sister Meena reveals in the flashback mode about Thambikottai and Rajendran. The answers to what happens in Thambikottai and whether Poonam and Naren’s love succeeds are narrated in the rest of Thambikottai. Naren after Anjaadhe makes his appearance in a Tamil film and this time around, his monumental exercise in hero building comes to the fore with a power packed intro scene. Poonam Bajwa, after having tried ‘homely’ looks, sheds that for a more glamorous image. Prabhu does his usual antics and there is nothing to write home about. If there is someone whose performance stands out, it is Sangeetha who does a ‘sornakkaa’ act, mouthing punch dialogues and law quotes with élan. Santhanam and M S Bhaskar take charge of comedy department where a few scenes evoke the desired effect. It is in fact the trio of Sangeetha, Santhanam and Bhaskar make the audience stay in theatres a bearable one. In Imman’s music ‘Vaa pillai, naan un maapillai’ is humworthy. There is nothing voluble about the rest of the technical department. Many scenes in the film give you a ‘déjà vu’ feel and the director, travelling on a beaten track, does not give you any anxious moments to rack your brains to wonder what is going to happen next. Ramesh tries to pack most of the ‘must have’s of a masala film resulting in an unexciting product. | |||||||||
NADUNISI NAAYGAL REVIEW
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| Having said that, NN is the story of a boy, who has been a victim of child abuse, and the havoc he causes to women. Samar, an eight-year-old motherless boy lives with his father in Mumbai who leads a colorful life indulging in orgy. Samar gets subjected to sexual abuse by his father and is rescued by his neighbor, a middle aged single woman Meenakshi Amma who names him Veera, takes him under her wings and protects him. Daunted and chased by the ghosts of his painful past, what Veera does becomes the trigger of all things to follow in the rest of the film. Although the issue of child abuse has been dealt in Kaadal Kondein, Achchamundu Achchamundu etc., Gautham has managed to tread this subject in a subtle but at the same time, in a dignified fashion. The way he has picturized the scene where Veera comes to Meenakshi Amma for an emotional succor which takes on a different shape later is highly balanced and even a slight slip could have completely disfigured the vision. He has brought in the pain, shock, confusion, vulnerability, helplessness and succumbing to the inevitable in brilliant manner through the artistes. Swapna as Meenakshi Amma, looking like a combination of Konkana Sen Sharma and yesteryear actress Shoba, scores heavily in this sequence. Newcomer Veerabahu as Veera dishes out a neat performance as someone suffering from delusion. Although there are occasions where he tends to overdo, his overall act deserves plaudits. His voice adds to his character which is docile at times and menacing sometimes. Sameera Reddy makes her appearance just before the interval and brings out the right emotions trying to escape from the psychopath and the Rottweilers. Deva as the ACP looks too young, fresh from college but passes muster. It is normal to amplify the effects in such a psychological thriller through music but Gautham has done away with that and the absence of music is never felt anywhere at all. Manoj Paramahamsa’s camera angles and his lighting sensibilities enhance the feel of NN. The shot where the 8-year-old Samar emerges from the gate as 13-year boy is noteworthy. Manoj’s camera conveys more than words in crucial sequences. Anthony, as usual, has used his scissors well to bring out a crisp but coherent product. Despite the subject being heavy and difficult to stomach, Gautham has the perfect grip on his screenplay as well as on his audience. The film is engaging right through and the desire of wanting to know ‘what next’ propels it in a uniform pace. The director should also be applauded for not bowing down to any cinematic syntax. Perhaps, being a producer has helped him in this domain. The fact that there's no music or soundtrack is never felt during the course of the movie, thanks to the tight screenplay. There are times when NN reminds you of Balu Mahendra’s Azhiyaada Kolangal and Moodupani when the young man feels extremely possessive about the older woman. Gautham has also rendered a social message and has cautioned women through a dialogue of Veera which says that women are generally intelligent but they can easily be taken for a ride through social networking sites. Let's get the facts right. Nadunisi Naaygal is a dark movie and there's no point fretting about the movie's nature since the genre demands certain gloominess, that is well presented by Gautham. Congrats Gautham for the brave attempt to drive home a socially relevant point in a dignified manner. You have done the tightrope walking quite efficiently! | |||||||||
AADU PULI REVIEW
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| expect. The movie is of the kind that has occurred and recurred in Tamil Cinema- a complete masala film. But does it manage to keep you engaged? Idhayakanni (Aadhi) is a carefree youth with a huge and happy family consisting of his Father (Prabhu), Grandfather (Ravichandran), Mother, Grandmother (K.R.Vijaya) and a sister. He falls in love with Anjali (Poorna) and yes, you guessed it right, her father is the villain (Suresh). After that, it is the fight between the protagonist and the antagonist and needless to say who emerges victorious. The film manages to mildly engage due to the difference in the way the plot unravels. Aadhi looks good, acts, fights and dances with considerable ease. He gets the usual superhero introduction and a man with brain and brawn with loads of love for his family but he definitely requires good scripts to get noticed. Poorna is adequate and she is lucky to have got a little more importance and footage for her character when compared to other masala flicks where heroines have nothing to do but dance and look pretty. Prabhu, Ravichandran and K.R.Vijaya do the needful but it is yesteryear lover boy Suresh who takes the cake. As an ambitious politician and a hypocrite who changes according to the situation, Suresh underplays the villain role. It is his characterization and acting that stands as the only unique factor in this film. The director lifts the mood by showcasing the happy family having uninhibited fun and we get to see fully grown men and women playing and riding on the wooden toy horse (yes, everyone does) and an entire song where they all keep twitching their shoulders to the rhythm of the song. Cinematography is usual and nothing to write home about. Songs by Sundar C Babu is surprisingly plain and loud. The back ground music does its job and it passes muster. The director has made a bad move by characterizing one of the villain’s thugs as an unpleasant transgender and it seriously undermines and degrades the community who are already trying to win the mercy of the society. On the whole, this film that is salvaged by Suresh and Aadhi’s performance, might work for extremely patient people who like clichéd masala flicks. | |||||||||
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