Naan Rajavaga Pogiren – Tamil Movie Review

Naan Rajavaga Pogiren is a 2013 Tamil action film co-written and directed by Prithvi Rajkumar.

The film features Nakul, Chandni and newcomer Avani Modi in the lead roles.

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Movie: Naan Rajavaaga Pogiren
Director: Prithvi Rajkumar
Producer: Vetrimaaran
Written: Prithvi Rajkumar, Vetrimaaran (dialogues)
Star Cast: Nakul as Raja/Jeeva, Chandini as Valli, Avani Modi as Reema, Manivannan as Kamaraj, A. Venkatesh as Isakkimuthu Annachi, Raaghav, Delhi Ganesh, Mayilsamy, Zarine Khan (Item number), Vetrimaaran, GV Prakash Kumar, Velraj
Music: GV Prakash Kumar
Cinematography: Velraj
Editing: Kishore Te.
Studio: Udhayam VLS Cine Media

Content is King and Tamil cinema has been electrified with brand new conceptualizations that has been happening over the period of the past few months. A lot of brilliant ideas and a scintillating screenplay have engrossed the audience and in all likelihood, director Prithviraj Kumar should have come up with similar ideas. Apparently, he succeeds to a good extent and that’s due to an effective narration. Before a couple of months, Vishal’s ‘Samar’ had broken the usual paradigm (the film didn’t perform well in box office, but eventually spelt a different note on the dual role concept). Much alike, Prithviraj Kumar draws himself closer to such a concept of handling a simple story, but with a difference.

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The film opens with Raja (Nakul) seen locking horns with few baddies and is hit by a lorry. It’s a few months later, we are commuted to Himachal Pradesh, where we find Jeeva (again played by Nakul), a lookalike of Raja leads a peaceful life with his mother (Seetha). On an incident, when an army personnel misinterpret him to be his college friend Raja, Jeeva turns inquisitive over finding the whereabouts of his identical personality and on the journey comes across Raja’s close friend Reema (Avani Modi). What unfolds next is a wild search of Raja? Will Jeeva find and meet him? You’ll have to watch the rest over the screens.

Perhaps, after you are through a vivid analysis of the film post – show, you might find it to be a little hackneyed in its basic theme, but the narration would keep you intact and unobstructed through the film. The suspense element crafted by the filmmaker and a good writing stands out as the major attraction of this film. Regardless of some weak traits, these very factors attribute to the pacy momentum in screenplay.

On the performance level, Nakul has showcased a lot of mature performance than his previous films. Perhaps, the long hiatus should have offered a lot of learning phase to the actor. The actor embellishes the characters of Raja and Jeeva with a decent approach, but the caricature of the latter one seems to be too artificial as Nakul’s childish acts doesn’t favour anywhere in the film. Chandni doesn’t get much to score, but keeps herself visible with a good performance. Be it to the glamorous appeal or challenging sequence, she tries to win praise and this girl succeeds well too. Avani Modi as a girl stuck between her emotions of love and friendship for Nakul does justice to her role. Filmmaker Venkatesh in negative role is good in places and hits the bull’s eyes.

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On the technical front, GV Prakash’s musical score enhances the visual elements to a decent degree. This might be a new genre of music for the music director, but excels with a panache. Cinematography serves up to the good with a commendable visual composition and editing is sleek in places.

Overall, Naan Rajavaga Pogiren incisively travels with gripping moments that keeps us engaged.

Verdict: Can watch it once…

Yaaruda Mahesh – Tamil Movie Review

Yaaruda Mahesh is a 2013 Tamil romantic comedy film directed by R. Madhan Kumar, starring Sundeep Kishan and Dimple Chopade. It also has the likes of Jagan, Srinath, Livingston, Uma Padmanaban, Swaminathan, Singamuthu and Nellai Siva supporting the lead.

The film has been shot around Chennai and Kerala. The film produced by Red Studios and Colour Frames. The film’s soundtrack and background score were composed by Gopi Sunder, while Raana handled the cinematography

Movie: Yaaruda Mahesh
Directed by R. Madhan Kumar
Produced by Antony Nawaz, Sathya Narayanan, R. Madhan Kumar
Written: R. Madhan Kumar
Star Cast: Sundeep Kishan as Shiva, Dimple Chopade as Sindhya, Jagan as Vasanth, Srinath as Randy, Livingston, Uma Padmanabhan, Swaminathan, Singamuthu, Nellai Siva, Venkat Sundar as Military, Sana Oberoi
Music: Gopi Sunder
Cinematography Raana
Studio: Colour Frames, Red Studios
Distributed by Anbu Pictures

Sudden release of heavy flood on newfangled themes conquered the theatres from last year and definitely, this should have propelled filmmaker Madhan Kumar to craft a unique tale that would surely keep its foot on winning square. A feel-good entertainer might not be an exact adjective to delineate this flick with every scene loaded with double entendre slangs that will let you wriggle your heads, especially if you’re watching this film with your family.

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Shiva (Sundeep) is a happy-go-lucky youngsters, who spends his time boozing with his friend Vasanth (Jagan). On his first sight, he falls in love with a beautiful girl Sindhya (Dimple Chopade) and she becomes pregnant much prior to her marriage. A single scene of conflict between two families followed by a short note – After few years shows them happily married with a beautiful baby boy. On an unexpected turn, Shiva clandestinely listens to the telephonic conversation between Sindhya and a person named ‘Mahesh’ only to get blown out of waters that he isn’t the father of their kid.

What unfolds next is Shiva’s vigorous hunt to find who this Mahesh is? Will he able to accomplish and reveal the true colours of his wife? Or is there something else that he doesn’t know what is actually happening?

Mature themes can be received well if it carrries a substantial element of narration or else a film like ‘Vicky Donor’ would have not fetched so many National awards. Madhan Kumar has picked a right script, but the illogical quotients just break down the entire work. First of all, an entire film laced with double entendres would obviously cause an annoyance. Secondly, what goes wrong with the script is it takes a long time for the film to reveal the conflict. The suspense element laced with humour is quite okay, but a series of flashbacks from few people hampers the momentum. Nevertheless, a big question arises during climax that would any woman have such a thought in reality. Well, revealing more than this will be a spoiler and you’ll watch for it over the screens.

On the performance level, Sundeep makes a casual appearance and having won incredible praises for his performance in Telugu and Hindi movies, this isn’t the kind of movie he should have opted his debut for. His tremendous work in ‘Shor in the City’ was so complimenting and this one is actually half the way down. Dimple Chopade looks beautiful with her makeover and costumes, but doesn’t find a right scope to perform. Jagan in the name of tickling your funny bones leaves you irked after a certain extent. Livingstone, Uma Padmanabhan, Swaminathan, Srinath and others have done a good job.

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Cinematography by Raana deserves appreciations for he offers the best visual treat in both talkie and song sequences and Gopi Sunder gives a mediocre effort over his songs and background.

On the whole, ‘Yaaruda Mahesh‘ doesn’t exceed your expectations for its onionskin elements in screenplay and if presented in a crisp manner sans the double entendre it would have been at least an average fare.

Verdict: A spoilsport with too many double entendres & illogical elements.

Vathikuchi Movie Review

Rating: 3.0/5

A little bit of romance, action, comedy, suspense and few heroic moments make a good entertaining film of standards that can attract audiences from all categories. Debutant Kinslin’s slick crime-thriller Vathikuchi with ignorable cliches passes with distinction in becoming a truly commercial entertainer for the masses. What works in the favour of the film, despite stiff criticism from the elite class audiences, is the offbeat presentation of a simple story. Sakthi (Dhileban), a share auto driver, likes to go out of his way to help strangers without any hidden agenda. Over the course of time, his helping tendency only grows stronger to the level where he confronts injustice and in turn earns the ire of three baddies.

Cut to his routine life – he is madly in love with Leena (Anjali), who likes to receive all attention, but wouldn’t reciprocate. As he tries desperately like any sane lover would do to impress her, the film shifts gears and introduces a series of events that would propel Sakthi into combat and self-protection mode. Who looks sexy in bikini/swimsuit – Nayantara, Namitha, Anushka, Priyamani…? Cast Your Vote With three baddies after his life, how does Sakthi save himself from the clutches of death? This forms the rest of the story.

The film kicks off convincingly with a pinch of suspense quite early on in the narrative. Three characters expressing their misfortune and pointing fingers at the same person, who they aspire to kill. What I really loved in this film is the fact that the script is not written keeping in mind a hero and three villains. The director very intelligently allows a series of events to let the character pit against each other allowing a revenge sort of story to develop. Also Read Paradesi Review One of the common criticisms was that the story needed a familiar face instead of Dhileban. I beg to differ by saying that it’s a story about a common man rising against anti-social activities. We can’t expect a common man to be Shahrukh Khan or Aamir Khan, can we?

Paradesi Movie Review

Speechless!!! Remarkable!!! Lump in our throats!!

Mark our words… You wouldn’t walk out of theatres without uttering these words after watching Bala’s Paradesi. It’s not an easy deal for any filmmaker to easily travel back to an era of 1939 for making a film based on this crucial concept. We’re sure, it’s only Bala, who can take us back to a journey into a different world through his movies and this one isn’t an exception.

Paradesi is a clamorous drama of joy, desolation and vain in the lives of labourors, who worked under the cruel landlords of Tea Estate in Ooty.

 

First things first, it’s a brilliant concept by Bala and no one can beat him over this context of making such an intriguing film. Decades back, it was his mentor Balu Mahendra set new trends with a stunning climax (he broke the stereotypical conceptualization of hero and heroine joining hands together in a climax with ‘Moondraam Pirai’). Now, don’t expect this to be an usual kind of Bala film, where tragedy can be awaited at any time. Yes, there are more heart-wrenching drama, but the climax is so shockingly repellant that you wouldn’t able to judge – is it a boon or bane to the protagonist. The climax is more than enough for you to remain stuck to the seats for the next few minutes even after the final credits.

On the dot, we aren’t able to cherry-pick the special highlights of this film for each and every element here are fantabulous. Maybe, it’s time for Oscars to knock the Indian doors. “When a Lincoln and Argo can, why not a Paradesi?’ you would boast with puffed vanity with this statement and feel excessively imperious to the world for a Tamil film delivered with an excellence.

You would remain as one of those desolated characters in the film witnessing the roughshod lives of the innocent souls. There are certain hard things, but quite a reality on landlords bowing their heads to British and even turn up as a pimp to save their status. Oops! It’s more than a lump in our throats.
Atharva, you’re beyond brilliance and the performance etched in every frame is a chromatic illustration of how a performer should be. Vedhika doesn’t get much scope, but manages to keep herself under spotlights. More than all, Dhansika’s overpowering emoting skill holds us spellbound from beginning till end. Not to miss the granny of Atharva, who leaves us in splits with her witty lines.

On the technical front, GV Prakash almost reaches the status of Maestro Ilayaraja at such a young age. His re-recording spell keeps us enchanted letting us emote with the same reactions as with accordance to the onscreen drama. Finally, it’s Chezhian pushing us straight into the world of 1939 with his Sepia-toned cinematography. Every shot cranked in the handheld and Crane is brilliantly placed.

On the whole, ‘Paradesi’ should be listed in the one of the 10 world cinema and it is a tangible symbol of excellence for Indian audiences to have such a masterpiece delivered from the native soil…

Watch ‘Paradesi’ and for the next couple of months you would never want to go to any other film just because it would get you of this feel.

Mathil Mel Poonai review

Movie: Mathil Mel Poonai
Director: Bharani Jayapal
Producer: Kannan Sri
Music Director: Ganesh Raghavendra
Cast: Vijay Vasanth, Vibha

A taut thriller was the impact gained through the film’s teasers and the title ‘Madhil Mel Poonai‘ boarded us on with more anticipations to expect an unusual one .

The film is produced by GV. Kannan of Peenics Creations with Sri Vishali Film releasing it. Barani Jayapal has handled direction with Vijay Vasanth and Vibha playing the lead roles.

Certain things have to be taken into consideration before analyzing the film that stands out as the unique quotients. First and foremost, it’s Vijay Vasanth makes a good choice of script. He was almost seen in minor roles (a cameo perhaps in Vijay‘s Nanban and Ajith‘s Mankatha) and was a part of multi-starrer movies. For the first time, he makes a solo performance in the lead role through ‘Madhil Mel Poonai‘.

The makers have indeed fetched the title of the famous Hollywood flick of Bruce Willis – LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD.

The film is split into two parallel tracks of a school children with a series of bizarre incidents and the other one revolving around a young couple in love.

It’s all about seeking vengeance for a smart guy and a girl called Divya, who are toppers in their class. On the parallel track, we notice that Vijay Vasanth has been thrown out of a company due to recession and takes up a tutor job in driving school, where he comes across a beautiful girl Priya (Vibha) and they fall in love. Apparently, her father (Gnanasambhandam) gives a nod to their marriage and it’s an intermission point, where an unexpected knot of two parallel tracks is conjoined.

While the newlywed couple along with their family take upon a journey to Priya’s native land for a temple visits, they are bound to an appalling situation. How they manage to fight against the situation and make their headway forms crux of the story.

Vijay Vasanth showcases a matured performance with a neat spell of emoting skills. He distinctly understood the need of a break in his career and has done it accordingly. Vibha is cute and beautiful – it’s not the only compliment, but scores brownie points in her performance as well. Rest of the star-casts including Karthik has done a fabulous job.

The screenplay in the first hour is a little sluggish as the establishment of the plot takes a long way for audience to settle down. However, the momentum picks up by the time of intermission following the edge-of-seat moments during the second half that is completely shot in the forest region. One of the highlighting attribute is an Aghori fighting for the girl and finally giving up his life.

Technically, the songs are middling and Ganesh Raghavendra has managed to give a powerful impact with background score during the chase and action sequences in the second hour. If cinematography and editing were done on par with excellence, it would have been an extraordinary visual treat and made the film a complete thriller.

On the whole, ‘Madhil Mel Poonai’ deserves a watch for its new styled narration and promising performance by the actors. Quite a lengthy one with 2hrs40mins and if trimmed with few portions, the narration would have been sleek and quite engrossing as well.

‘Kai Po Che’ – Tamil Movie Review

Starring: Sushant Singh Rajput,Raj Kumar Yadav,Amit Sadh,Amrita Puri

Director: Abhishek Kapoor

Producer: Ronnie Screwvala,Siddharth Roy Kapur

Banner: UTV Spot Boy

Music: Amit Trivedi

“Kai Po Che” is one of the finest movies made to whoo the audience.Directed by Abhishek Kapoor, the movie cast include Sushant Singh Rajput, Raj Kumar Yadav and Amit Sadh playing the lead roles while Amrita Puri plays the female lead role. “Kai Po Che” which does mean “I have cut the Kite” is not about kite-flying. In fact there is only a single scene in which the characters fly kites.

The story is based on Chetan Bhagar’s “The 3 Mistakes of My Life” revolves around friendship of three totally different youth trying to excel in life in Gujarat; the story dates back to a period in and around 2000. The story begins with the three -Ishaan played by Sushant Singh Rajput, Govind played by Raj Kumar Yadav and Omi, played by Amit Sadh – embarking on their first business venture, a sports shop with coaching facilities. Ishaan was an aspiring cricketer but like thousands of boys in India, his talent was lost in the maze of selectors and politics. He morphs into a hot-tempered but unusually generous coach. Govind, the cautious and brainy one, keeps a strict eye on the finances – the other two call him baniya. And the loutish but unquestioningly loyal Omi, serves as the financer. He manages to routinely extract money from his uncle who is a political leader in a right-wing Hindu party. Ishaan’s star pupil is a scrawny Muslim boy.

The three, joined by a fourth – a girl who happens to be the sister of one of the heroes secretly involved with the hero’s best friend – bring to life a world where the accidents of existence collide gently but powerfully with man-made and natural calamities that shake the very existence of an Indian middle class, living on an edge where toppling over the abyss is a real possibility. By the end of the movie, one of the three Omi falls into the trap of prejudice; he is given an chance to reform himself which is not utilized. The director brings in a socio-political perspective in the characters which is a rare phenomenon in Hindi cinema. In “Kai Po Che”, the characters and situations created to bring out the personality conflicts emerge from the two crises points in Gujarat’s history – the 2001 earthquake and the post-Godhra carnage in 2002. Though the team had done an incredible performance, both on-screen and off-screen, some portions of the movie is too slow making the audience restless.

Songs by Amit Trivedi and background by Hitesh Sonik bring out the essence of the movie. The actors have lived their characters which is why the movie is a dashing success. The director had tried to bring-out the essence without deviating from Chetan Bhagat’s novel. A must-see for the audience yearning for good Hindi movies.

Onbathula Guru – Tamil Movie Review

Onbathula Guru is the directorial debut of PS Selvakumar, a good friend and former associate of Ilayathalapathy Vijay and Jeeva. This stars’ connection was enough for people to look forward for his first movie. Especially, the online fans of the Velayudham star promoted the film and when it was revealed that Vijay was doing a cameo, their joy knew no bounds.

So, the film got a good promotion through star connection. In the next phase, through social networking sites, stars like Lakshmi Rai and Premji Amaren promoted Onbathula Guru. Last but not least, Lakshmi’s alleged interview to a magazine where it has published a story, which talked about her relationship with Vinay Rai, garnered good attention that again gave the film a free publicity.

Onbathula Guru stars Vinay Rai, Lakshmi Rai, Premji Amaren, Sathyan and not to forget Power Star Srinivasan. Well, the inspiration for the movie seems to have come from Hollywood superhit movie Hangover. It is not a frame-to-frame copied flick but the main subject is more or less the same.Read on for the movie review to know what the film has to offer…

On the day of his marriage, Guru goes missing and his family, would-be wife and friends are shocked to hear about it. His friends goes in search of him and brings back him to the wedding hall. Immediately, a flashback takes us back to their past lives.

Well, the film does not offer you a good story but entertains you if you are a fan of cheap jokes. Their adventures and miseries could be a fun for first-benchers. Even the one-liners are of bad taste. Adding to that the spoof of scenes from popular Tamil films are irritating after some time in PT Selvakumar’s prestigious project Onbathula Guru.

 

Settai Music Review – Hilarious Album

Film: Settai Music Director: SS Thaman Singers: Megha, Vijay Prakash, Gaana Bala, Karthik, Suchithra, Andrea Jeremiah, Chinmayi, Sricharan, Anbu Raju and Dhevan. The soundtrack of forthcoming Tamil film Settai, the Tamil remake of the Hindi adult comedy Delhi Belly, doesn’t have the cuss words and expletives of the original. The songs are catchy, hilarious and, most importantly, short. Each song is less than four minutes, and therefore holds the attention of the listener. The opening track ‘Agalardhey agalardhey…’ by Megha and Vijay Prakash is one of the most popular songs of the album.

Effervescent voices of the singers are strongly backed by extended bass beats played throughout the song, while the mellow tune of the synthesiser adds a nice ring to the song. ‘Edhathaan kanduttey nee pudhusa…’ by Gaana Bala is one of the songs with lines that could easily be misinterpreted for double meaning words. However, Bala’s lyrics, written with deftness, lean more towards being hilarious than sounding lewd. This is a typical Bala song crooned in his inimitable style, making it catchier than anticipated.