Tamil Movie : Paiyya- Review

As is the norm with so-called youthful movies, ‘Paiyaa’ hero Shiva, played by Karthi, who is seen for the first time on screen with a costume that is not dirty, is jobless but couldn't care less.

He is full of fun and enjoys life. Shiva meets a beautiful girl Charulatha (Tamannaah) and instantly falls for her. Shiva's successive coincidental meetings with the girl, increases his passion for her.

Shiva finds out that Charulatha's life is in danger. He pledges to save her from the clutches of the goons hired by her stepmother.

The twist in the tale is that Shiva too is in danger. A Mumbai gang guns for him on account of previous enmity. Shiva, thanks to some tiring stunt sequences, finally manages to save the girl and himself.

For most part for the film, the script travels in cars and this is the only difference between 'Paiyaa' and other such movies. Otherwise it is predictable and hardly exciting. The hero saving a girl from the clutches of a villain gang with his muscle power is nothing new to Tamil cinema. In fact, we are witnessing such stories almost every week.

It is quite sad that a director like Linguswamy with proven record of making interesting commercial movies like 'Run' and 'Sandakozhi' has made such a damp squib.

The interesting aspect in the whole film is that Siva does not express his love to his girl believing that true love would express itself. Ironically, the girl doesn't understand his feeling throughout the movie.

Since the entire problem is solved with the power of muscles, there is no work left for the script writer indeed. Tamaanaah's generous skin show, especially in the rain song, and the joyful attitude of Shiva are there for the director to drag the film for 150 minutes.

In addition to this there is Yuvan's music and Madhi's excellent camera work that help the proceedings.

In his modern avatar Karthi looks smart and charming, but he does not get any scope to act and hence there is not much to write about his acting.

Tamannaah is given little scope to display her acting credentials. Linguswamy has wasted Milind Soman.

The highlights of the film are music, cinematography, and Antony's editing.

'Paiyaa' is a disappointing show, as Linguswamy has restored to cliched script rather than providing something new. The movie looks sleek, thanks to the high technical values but fares poor in substance with insipid story and script.

Source: IANS

Tamil Movie Kacheri Aarambam' Review

Jeeva delivers yet another commercial potboiler without bothering to worry about finesse. Debutant director Thiraivannan seems to be content with a clichéd story and, hence, takes no strain to tell us anything new or novel. The story is all about a youth coming to the city, falling in love and confronting the baddie.

The hero lands up in Chennai (like many other heroes have done in the past) and takes up the job of an assistant to Vadivelu, who runs a shop in the Burma Bazaar locality.

Enters Madhi (Poonam Bajwa), who accidentally saves Jeeva from a 'road accident' and steals his heart instantly. Our hero keeps following Poonam wherever she goes, but the girl tries hard to avoid him. She is not even ready to accept the customary thanks for saving his life.

The reason behind her mysterious silence is a local don Sivamani (J.D. Chakravarthy), who loves her madly. He threatens that he would kill her parents if she turns down his love. He had killed two boys who had proposed to Madhi.

Jeeva plans to handle the situation in a novel (!) way. He joins Sivamani's gang, wins his trust and then tries to tactically dismantle him from his position. The director wants us to believe that he plays the game smartly but the fact is that the whole drama looks immature and idiotic.

Expectedly, once Jeeva's hide-and-seek game comes out in the open, the baddie tries to kill him but gets killed in the hands of our powerful super hero. All is well that ends well, isn't it?

The initial scenes dealing with Jeeva moving out of his house are entertaining. So are the scenes involving Vadivelu in the first half. The film becomes boring in the second half. But for Vadivelu the movie would have been a real punishment for the viewers.

We have seen many films that show the hero befriending the villain to checkmate him. Moreover, the way our hero outsmarts the villain at every step hasn't been conceived and executed well.

The villain, touted to be a terror in the area, looks like a laughing stock in some scenes. To make things worse, the film drags in the second half and even a spirited Vadivelu cannot save it.

Jeeva, who has impressed as an actor in movies like 'E' and 'Kattradhu Thamizh', has a natural charm and flair but he needs to be more careful in choosing the scripts. J.D. Chakravarthy as the don has done what's expected of him.

After 'Thenavattu', this would be the second time Poonam gets to pair up opposite Jeeva. She does have a beautiful face but her appeal gets diluted as she is seen in a state of grief most of the time.

Nisha Kothari returns to Tamil cinema in a bold and new avatar in an item song, which is good.

Thiraivannan proves that he could make a commercial entertainer which doesn't bother to test anybody's brain. It'd help him if he creates meaningful stories and better scenes.

Music director D.Imman has given a couple of peppy numbers with 'Vaada Vaada', featuring Nisha, standing out. The song, shot in and around Agra in the backdrop of the Taj Mahal, is beautiful.

'Kacheri Aarambam' is for the diehard fans of masala flicks.

Source: IANS

Tamil Movie Mundhinam Partheney Review

One should admit both the film and filming comes as a pleasant surprise. When big films starring big stars can't guarantee success, it is not so easy to make a film that makes one sit up and take keen interest in the proceedings on the screen.

The attempt of debutant director Magizh Thirumaeni, a Gautam Vasudev Menon protégé, to narrate a love story between two typical upper middle-class youths in an almost realistic manner is commendable. The story and the treatment come as fresh air in the cliché ridden Tamil film industry.

Sanjay (Arvind), a software professional, starts narrating his nostalgic moments when he was in love. His expression is worth watching and even other characters force their way into our heart and a gripping first half is over even before you blink your eyes.

Sanjay finds himself madly in love with dance teacher Aarthi (Ektaa). Aarthi is shown as a brazenly arrogant woman because of her rich background. So, Sanjay is apprehensive expressing his love to her, fearing a negative reply.

Slowly he reveals his feelings to her. Aarthi, who has many unfulfilled dreams like pursuing dancing career in London and some untold family commitments, finally reciprocates. When things start getting smooth, Sanjay learns something shocking about Aarthi's personal life.

Shocked by the revelation, Sanjay starts drifting away from her. He even insults her by telling her secret to others. His behaviour angers Aarthi. She is not the kind of person who would go to someone to plead innocence. She moves away from Sanjay who starts dating his colleague.

Later, when Sanjay learns the 'actual' truth behind the secret of Aarthi's life, it's too late for him to go back to her. Then starts Sanjay's nostalgic journey. He moves like a wanderer, unsure of his destination.

The comic portions involving Thirumaeni is depicted in a realistic manner. Lifestyle of the upper middle class youths has also been shown without any artificial or filmy air.

The romance between Sanjay and Aarthi has been shown in a very, very interesting manner indeed. Their meetings, conversations and their dance in a song have been deftly handled. The song sequences, like in Menon's films, have been shot with some aesthetic sense. It's cinematography takes the film to a different level.

Arvind doesn't have a challenging role but manages to impress with his performance. Ektaa gets an interesting role. Her facial expressions and the way she has been choreographed by the director in song sequences tell many things. Lisna, who appears post interval, too has an interesting role.

The director has given a very good account of himself by making a film with newcomers and with a purpose. The screenplay, which falters at times, seems to be the only thing that might go against the makers. Taman's music is reasonably good with some hummable numbers.

The film is surely worth a visit to the nearest theatre!

Source: IANS

'Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya' Tamil Movie Review

Gautam Vasudev Menon's 'Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya' is a clean romantic story without any deviation or sub-plots. While he succeeds in telling the love story in a pleasing manner, he fails to present the lead pair's separation convincingly.

The film is about Karthik (Simbu), an engineering graduate, who yearns to become a director and falls for beautiful Jesse (Trisha), the daughter of his landlord. Karthik tails Jesse for days before revealing his love for her.

Though Jesse likes him, she tells him that her family is dead against love and advises him to treat her just as a friend. And Karthik agrees.

Then at one point of time Jesse realises that she too loves Karthik and tells him so. But at the same time, she is still apprehensive about her father and decides to bury her feelings for Karthik for her family's sake.

Jesse's father fixes her marriage to a person of his choice. Jesse, who accepts it initially, ends up calling off the wedding as she cannot forgo her love for Karthik. But she isn't ready to elope with Karthik either as she doesn't want to hurt her father.

The film drags on with the waiting game - nothing much happens except for the lovers meeting each other. Meanwhile, Karthik gets a chance to work as an assistant director and Jesse suddenly decides that their relationship won't work and she leaves Karthik.

What happens to the lovers and their love forms the rest of the story that culminates in an interesting but poorly executed twist.

Menon has presented the lead pair's relationship in a lovable manner. The dialogues are sharp and sensitive as well.

The way Simbu acts out his love for the heroine is charming and the ambiguous reactions from Trisha are nice.

The problem with the film is that it tries to bank heavily on style than substance. The reason and provocation for the separation are far from convincing. The screenplay falls flat when Jesse decides to put an end to the affair for almost no valid reason.

A.R. Rahman's music is a class apart. The title song and the 'Omanapennae' song are very good. The background score is top notch. Manoj's cinematography is spectacular and Nalini Sriram's costumes for Trisha are fabulous.

Trisha impresses with her mischievous looks and smile. For Simbu, the role is very different from his earlier roles. Menon has managed to bring out the mature actor in Simbu sans his gimmicks and clichéd heroism.

The movie is appealing in the first half but goes wayward in the second half due to a dragging script and unconvincing twists.

Source: IANS

'Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai' Tamil movie Review

'Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai' (TVP) is Vishal's attempt at a new genre - that of a light entertainer - after his actions flicks failed to evince much interest.

'TVP' could have been a sure-fire entertainer but the director (newcomer Thiru) fails to exploit the plot to make it a smart movie. He has chosen a storyline laced with romance, glamour and fun but has failed to present it in a convincing and interesting manner.

Karthik (Vishal), a carefree youth belonging to an upper middle class family, likes having many choices in whatever he does or buys. And he wants to apply the same approach to select his life partner. He wants to love three girls at a time and select the best after interacting with them and knowing them better...It does sound ridiculous.

Karthik identifies three girls, fools them, and finally wins their hearts. Tejaswini (Neetu Chandra), a millionaire, Jyothi (Tanushree Dutta), an athlete who hates guys, and Priya (Sarah Jane), a student who wants to avoid an arranged marriage are the girls that fall in Karthik's love trap.

The director makes it look so easy that these young woman fall for the guy without any strong reason. The film moves on with the love escapades of the protagonist. But he gets caught by Tejaswini. Agitated at being fooled, she wants revenge by exposing him and his plans. Karthik outsmarts her in every move but finally he learns a lesson the hard way.

Director Thiru disappoints in the first half as he fails to make the proceedings look convincing. He takes everything for granted in his pursuit to give Vishal a new image and make an entertaining movie.

The way Vishal cons the three girls leaves much to be desired. The dialogues on the ways of women and their integrity in love are highly immature.

The narrative gets somewhat interesting after Vishal is exposed but the movie's length in the second half mars the impact. The predictable climax and the silly twist that comes as anti-climax fail to make any impression.

Vishal manages to do justice to his role of a casanova. He emotes well in the funny scenes and also flexes his muscles in a couple of sequences. But many of his mannerisms resemble Vijay's acting in certain films.

The comedy trio of Santhanam, Mayilsami and Sathyan provide laughter throughout. In fact, the first half would have been rather dull but for these three actors.

Neetu stuns with her good looks and impresses with her acting skills. In fact she outsmarts Vishal in many sequences. And she certainly sizzles in the songs.

Tanushree Dutta looks cute and does try to act. Sarah looks a little fatigued. And veteran actor Prakash Raj has been wasted in this movie.

Yuvan Shankar Raja's music passes muster with the title number standing out. Arvind Krishna's cinematography is top class.

The unconvincing script and immature presentation have made the potential entertainer an ordinary fare.

Source: IANS

Kutty: Tamil Movie Review

'Kutty' is not the regular kind of entertainer Dhanush does.

With this film, Dhanush is also back with Jawahar, who had made him successfully tread the family sentiment path in 'Yaradee Nee Mohini'. 'Kutty' is essentially about how the hero handles a one-sided love affair and whether his faith ultimately pays off or not.

For once, Dhanush plays the regular college guy with average looks. Shriya, a stunner in the same college, is the centre of attention. While Kutty (Dhanush) falls for Geethanjali (Shriya Saran), she is dating a rich guy (Sameer Dattani).

Kutty's innocent, fun-loving and easy-going attitude makes him the most popular student in collage and this makes Sameer insecure.

And then other problems creep up. Samer's father, an MP, opposes his proposal to marry Geetha, as he has plans to use his son's marriage as a political weapon. Kutty takes up the task of uniting the lovers and he succeeds in the task. Slowly Geetha feels the depth of Kutty's selfless love and she finally makes her choice.

The love triangle involving Dhanush, Shriya and Semeer has been intricately woven and could be the biggest strength of the movie. The screenplay, however, lacks pace. The romance among the three fails to connect with the audience, thanks to a bland narration.

Dhanush has tried his best to inject life into the proceedings with his comic sense. He breathes life into his character Kutty, a simple, shy guy who yearns for love. He is the major factor that makes the film click and one just can't imagine anyone else in this role.

Shriya Saran has definitely got a welcome break from her glamorous image. She actually looks really cute and shows that she can act! Veteran Radha Ravi is his usual commanding self. Meghna Naidu is impressive in the item number.

Without being technically brilliant, the film fulfils the minimum criteria for an entertainer. It has a different storyline, fun-filled script and awesome performances by the lead actors. But the music is a big letdown.

The director has tried hard to make a Bollywood-like feel-good romantic flick and has almost succeeded. If he had managed to maintain the pace in the second half, the film would have been a far better experience.

Source: IANS

Tamil Movie ' Naan Avan Illai 2' - Movie Review

The original Naan Avan Illai (I'm Not Him), starring Gemini Ganesan, and the later version were both successes because of the storyline: a clever, conniving con-man who uses his powers of persuasion, seduction and slick talking to fool women into parting with their wealth.

This time around, Jhabak's Naan Avan Illai Version 2, directed by Selva attempts to re-create the magic of the previous films with the same dose of comedy, flirtation -- but they've added a dose of sentiment and moralising as well.

So does the mixture work? After a fashion.

Essentially, the Tamil movie follows the same pattern of its predecessor: Annamalai or whatever his name is (Jeevan, styling himself as Mirattal Nayagan) a considerably bulkier version arrives onscreen -- and the opening scene sets the tone for general hilarity. He's revered as god by newly transformed former mafia girl Maria (Rachna Maurya) who runs an ashram of sorts in some unspecified foreign country -- and being the retiring, publicity-shy person that he is, the only shot she can offer of him to the press is one of him sleeping, slack-jawed.

Naturally, his face appears in all the papers abroad (!) leading to much consternation in three stinking rich households; Saki (Shruthi), a rather plump rich brat who's always hankering after a subdued husband, Nisha (Swetha Menon), a con artist who makes a practice of swindling married men who cheat on their wives and Deepa (Lakshmi Rai) a doe-eyed actress who wants to become a realty heiress all over the world.

Its flashback time, as we're told the reason for their anger: our guy has seduced every single one of the aforementioned women, deducing their weak points and homing in for the kill. You have to hand it to Pattukkottai Prabhakar -- his dialogues have the right mixture of levity and scorn, and the way Jeevan sets the stage and plays up to each one of the women is just fun. Sure, there's plenty of skin and slapstick -- but sometimes, the setting is classy and you simply grin with the joy of watching a slick con-man go after each target in such a methodical fashion.

Of course, there's a sentimental side to this as well: Mahalakshmi (Sangeetha), injured in her efforts to help her Sri Lankan compatriots leads a lonely life, struggling to get custody of her child -- and these moments, if elaborate, do bring some depth to the proceedings.

But the storyline returns to hilarity soon enough and retains that spirit to the end. Director Selva has obviously set out to produce an entertainer, and he's fairly succeeded: despite the bikini shots, and mandatory item numbers, the screenplay chugs forwards swiftly, and the entire Vaali segment is productive of a few good laughs. D Imman's numbers, especially Naan Avan Illai and Thooyavaney, are hummable, and his back ground score matches the tone of the film. Balamurugan's cinematography shows us the best and most beautiful of foreign locales -- not to mention the actresses themselves.

As for the actors, Jeevan, once you get past his bulk, manages to re-fit effortlessly into the role that brought him accolades the first time around and you can see he's enjoyed himself every bit. Out of the girls, it's Shruti who doesn't quite deliver. Shwetha Menon brings a joi de vivre to her role; Lakshmi Rai is suitably gullible while Rachna Maurya has been given a rousing opportunity to show off her, er, skills. Which include shaking her hips a la Shakira so much you're afraid she'll suffer permanent displacement.

In the acting department, though, Sangeetha definitely scores. Mayilsami and Raj Kapoor provide the necessary back-up.

A little bit of sentiment and massive dollops of entertainment, that's Naan Avan Illai 2, for you. It lacks a bit of the first movie's originality but if its two-and-a half-hours of no holds barred fun is what you want then this is your best bet.

Source: Rediff Movies

Kanden Kadhalai No where Near Jab We Met.

You'd think re-making a movie might be an easy job: you've got everything on hand, after all. The script's written, the music's set and every nuance has already been finely polished.

But it's close to tight-rope walking when you're bringing a cult classic into Tamil, and the effort shows in Sun Pictures' and Moserbaer's Kanden Kadhalai, the painstakingly re-made Jab We Met [ Images ], directed by Jeyamkondaan-fame R Kannan. Naturally, expectations are sky-high and the director's done his best to match Imtiaz Ali's efforts.

In many ways, KK follows the Jab We Met formula in a near-perfect fashion. You have the opening shot of an intensely bland-looking Shakthi aka Shakthivel (Bharath), the MD of Rajaskar Group of Companies on the verge of a nervous breakdown: his mother's just walked out with her auditor, and he's in the middle of tough financial negotiations.

His complete failure at a love affair is the proverbial straw on a camel's back; he's just about ready to throw the towel, and gets onto a random train to Madurai when he runs into a little whirlwind called Anjali (Tamannaah), who could talk the hind leg off a donkey.

The girl is supposed to be from the land of sons of soil Theni (!), and makes sure you know it at every moment as she prattles on and on about everything under the sun, including her lover Gautham (Munna). His taciturn replies don't turn her off; she's intrigued more than ever.

The two run into situations fraught with hilarity and peril, sing songs (that simply don't fit in and hamper the pace) and finally end up at Theni, just in time to meet Anjali's impressively large family (Ratna, Nizhalgal Ravi, Azhagam Perumal and co), which doesn't seem to mind her revealing costumes at all, or the fact that she's suddenly brought a stranger to her home. The only one who seems to care is her morose grandfather (Ravichandran), who promptly does an about-turn and disappoints you.

Matters cruise along in this fashion: Sakthi settles slowly into Anjali's family (and no one at his office seems inclined to inquire the missing MD's whereabouts); she tries to set her cousin Roja [ Images ] (Sapan Saran) as his love interest and slam-bang in the middle of it all wades in Mokkai Rasu (Santhanam), Anjali's husband-to-be, and sets the scene for some hilarious moments, much appreciated by the audience which hoots with pleasure.

But paradise on earth can only last so long. Everything collapses on itself when Anjali's family decides to get her married to Mokkai Rasu and the ever-talkative girl hatches her next plan, in company of Shakthi, leading to a few interesting, and emotional situations.

So far so good. It would have been even better, if the second half had sustained the pace of the first.

You'd think, Tamannaah might be the incredibly odd one out in a Theni family but once you get past her North Indian looks, the girl actually manages to impress you with her acting. She's bright, bubbly, and despite some fits and starts, is pretty convincing as someone who always thinks positive, in the direst of situations. Chinmayi's voice suits her admirably. As for the emotional scenes, when she breaks down in Ooty; she genuinely packs a punch.

In contrast, it's Bharath who doesn't quite deliver with his usual panache. For a guy who's pulled of a few daring roles, he flounders except when he's the stoic, stern-faced MD. You suspect that this might be because of Pattukkottai Prabhakar's dialogues, which are all right when it comes to sentimental or even emotional scenes but fall short at bringing youthfulness and pep. And there's a faint North Indian flavour that takes a bit getting used to.

Barring Santhanam who delivers with his usual style, the rest of the cast doesn't have much to do.

P G Muthiah's camera is bright, colourful, and does its best to capture the romantic mood of the story, but Vidyasagar's music, both the background score and the songs are a big let-down. What happened to the guy who gave us such sensitive fare in Pirivom Sandhippom?

Thankfully, R Kannan's screenplay incorporates enough twists and turns that make you forget the flaws, and get you back on track whenever you're in danger of getting lost. This is the quintessential romantic story, and you haven't had many movies concentrating on love alone.

In comparison with Jab We Met, you might find the magic slightly wanting. On its own, though, Kanden Kadhalai has its unique moments. And for that, it's certainly worth a watch.

Source: Rediff Movies