Kaththi - Vijay Mass, ARM Sharp

ARM proves his mettle. Vijay proves, yet again, he has substance. It is a given that Vijay is good with his dance and stunt sequences, and as Jeevanandham, he proves he can emote as well. As Kathiersan he excels in romance, dance, action and some superlative emotions.

ARM handles a very touchy subject to many with aplomb. Not many directors today would have the courage to pick 2 subjects that are close to every Indian's heart and marry them for a successful commercial flick. Hats off to ARM. The mass suicide scene is at once captivating and sends the message right home.

The starting sequence with Kathir (Vijay) trying to escape from prison and then taking a 30 min quick flashback  where he shown actually helping the prison guards apprehend another escaped convict and the use of the blue print with 3D imagery depicts ARM's sharp direction and technical capabilities. Vijay does escape at the end, after helping the prison guards apprehend the other.

The story then moves to Chennai and you have Kathir meeting Ankita (Samantha) and then saving Jeeva's (Vijay again) life. Coming to understand that the Kolkotta police are searching for him, takes Jeeva's place in the old age home and the story then develops quickly.

The plight of a farming village which struggles without water supply and Jeeva fighting their cause comes to Kathir's notice and he vows to himself to help them out. How he helps them. What happens to Jeeva, who is sent to Kolkotta prison as Kathir, forms the rest of the plot.

The action sequences by Anal Arasu definitely needs a mention, especially, the coins sequence. Brilliant. Yes it is over the top. But then, this is a Vijay film. You don't like over the top, you do not watch Vijay films. Anal also has to be applauded for not keeping the action sequences too long, which would have made it too much to view.

The climax is well thought out and the speech after that clearly depicts plight if farmers and their struggle.

Yaar Petra Magano, by KJ Yesudas & Anirudh, brilliant. Must mention.

Overall a must see for Vijay fans and a good film from ARM.

Jigarthada.. Cool customer!!!

 
It is indeed difficult to write a review without a spoiler and if I do it, it will take away the interest in the movie so I refrain from it, deliberately and hence, the review itself is short.
 
It has to be mentioned at the beginning that the first few minutes of this movie does not make good for what comes later. What comes later is just loveable.
 
It is old news that Bobby Simha has done a great job. He is a revelation in the movie. Be it the aggressive scenes, the lighter ones. He excels.
 
A wannabe director, Siddarth, is asked to make a gory gangster movie and he hits on the idea of making a movie of someone alive and not someone who has been. Digs out Assault Sethu as the candidate and goes in search of Sethu and his story to Madurai. What he does next to get his story makes for interesting watch.
 
He chooses 3 sources, one a drunkard, one a x-rated movie fan and one a shop owner who dishes out boring stories. How he gets his story forms part of the movie and what he ends up doing with the story, makes for even more interesting watching.
 
The twist, if we can call it that, comes from the lady lead in the movie. What could have been made sloppy is handled very well by the director. His ingenuity in making even the smallest of roles make a big impact is laudable. Acting teacher Moorthy makes a mark. The sequences are a laugh riot.
 
The movie in itself, which the wannabe director, makes and how it comes out should be watched on screen. Any spoilers will lessen the interest in the movie.
 
Change of heart of Sethu, which is not a spoiler, as you will understand when you watch the 
movie, is notable and how he uses "gibberish" is fantastic. Hats off to Karthik. And "Anbe Sivam", again in gibberish in the back ground? Or is it us the viewer, who is hallucinating there? Such is the impact of the movie.
 
Watch it to understand the last few lines.

Velai Illa Pattadhari - Review

Velai Illa Pattadhari - Review

VIP - A Personal take

Danush matures as a "mass" actor, moped makes a statement, heroine looks like a girl next door, cliche!!

What really transpires is that the director's casting is fab. Screenplay works wonders. Dialogues, under stated, but powerful where it needs to be, funny where it needs to be, carries emotions where it needs to. The underlying pain of an unemployed youth is caputred with grace and not the usual painful way of portraying. Even the comparison scenes are made to evoke a smile, rather than just disgust toward the perpetrator or empathy toward the receiver. The director has balanced them verywell and a kudos to him, else, the whole experience could have ended being a painful watch.

Coming to the performance. Danush underplays and wins. Saranya and Samuthrakani do a good job. Amala Paul, looks pretty, does what is expected, which is little. Amul baby, the villain, looks smart, delivers well. Others, including Vivek, do not deserve mention as they just come and go.

The story line is simple. An unemployed youth, who is focussed on getting an engineers job and nothing else. Uncompromising. An employed brother. Parents who just want their elder, unemployed son to win in life and nothing else, but in their own ways. A love interest. A tragedy. Employment. Challenges and how the youth overcomes those challenges. Sounds simple. The treatment is what matters, proves the director. Each stage of the movie is captivating. Be it the mother-son-father interactions, the romance between the unemployed and the employed heroine, the altercations between the villain and the hero, all have been made interesting. The lengthy dialogue that Danush delivers during one such face off with the villain is sure to capture the imagination of the youngsters. Traces of Rajini's style is very evident in Danush, but you can blame that on my ardent devotion to the Superstar. Even if that is true, it suits Danush and hence no complaints. The flick of the hair, the click of the fingers so to say.

Overall a good watch. Entertained. And yes, Danush proves that Raguvaran, can be a hero, and that too a mass hero!!

Veeram Jilla

adi thadi.. dishum dishum

Usually I write about one movie at a time, but this time and not just because I watched them both back to back, I am trying to move away from that norm and review two movies at the same time.

If Jilla can be classified as an adi thadi movie, then Veeram is dishum dishum. Both lack logic, not that we are expected to. These are commercial masala flicks.

Jilla sent me back to the times when we used to eagerly await a Rajinikanth movie release. Just for style and action, not much for substance. This is Jilla. Mohanlal does the role that would have typically be done by Prabu. And excels, as is usual. Vijay excels in the fight and dance sequence. Not much of emoting for both. Crisp quick climax. Must watch for Vijay fans and action lovers. No one else in the movie need mention.

As a much respected friend of mine recently emapthised, where will these fellows go for new stories to suit mass heroes. So, let us not bother about the story too much. It is all straight forward. Man kills man, watched by the son of the killed. Man dies for man, watched by the son of the dead. Both grow up for the man that is common in both the above. One with respect and other with vengance. The movie is about the growth of the boy with respect, his planned entry in to the police force to dance to his "fathers" tunes, his change of heart and attempts to set right the father while the other with vengeance in his heart trying to wipe out the whole family. Sampath as the man with vengeance filled in his heart is adequate. Mohanlal and Vijay fill their shoes well. Kaajal Agarwal as the heroine does well in the song sequences. Come to think of it, she does nothing else in the movie. The others in the movie either come in and disappear or come in and get beat by Viajy/Mohanlal.

As for Veeram. This is a more complex story, supposedly. 5 brothers. The eldest having raised them from their childhood has sacrificed everything for them. They are an unruly pack and all having immense respect for their eldest brother, who does not like the idea of marriage since it might break the bond they share. Eventually most of the other brothers fall in love and try to somehow kindle an affair between Ajith, the eldest and Tammanah. Ajith tries to dance and fight. During these action sequences, I seriously had a thought that this movie was written with Chiyan Vikram in mind and not Ajith. Without digressing, Ajith makes a few enemies and when he goes to Tamannah's house to ask her hand in marriage the enemies follow him. He trashes everyone, saves the family, job done, only to understand that Tamannah's father has his own flashback and set of enemies who want to eliminate the whole family. In the end, all is well. All the bad boys are beaten and the hero wins the heroine's family's heart.

Both time pass movies makkale. Watch for entertainment value alone.