A parody that makes mockery of some of the memorable scenes from Tamil Cinema turns out to be a watchable entertainment, even if it is not as good as some of the movies satirized! Formula based movie making, masala scenes and Tamil sentiment are part and parcel of Tamil cinema, and poking fun at them is acceptable as long as the movie can cleverly exploit this and make the audience have a few hearty laughs. Thamizh Padam does this and the manner in which scenes have been picked and stitched together and the witty dialogues pass the muster and keep audience entertained till end. Low budget and with no major names, the movie proves worthy of watching by striking at the heart of Tamil cinema, with wit and humour to bring a refreshing movie going experience.
Rating **1/2
Watch the Movie Trailer here
Director - C.S. Amudhan
Producer - Dhayanithi Alagiri
Writer - C.S. Amudhan, Chandru
Cast -- Shiva, Disha Pandey, Vennira adai Murthy, M.S. Baskar, Manobala, Paravai Muniamma
Music -- Kannan
Cinematography - Nirav Shah
Editor -- T.S. Suresh
How a storyline that we are already tired of having seen time and again has been transformed into an enthralling thriller with a low profile cast and a matching low budget is quite remarkable. The strength of the film is the well assorted fresh young cast with limited acting skills adequate for this low budget flick. This team reminds one of that was seen in the movie Vennila Kabadi Kulu, yet another that boasted of an assortment of odd characters who prove to be effective in their role. No doubt that in Renigunta we see an immature team but they do complement well, and the one that proves far ahead in all abilities is the shortest and funniest character. This character (Duppa, in the movie), provides much needed humour and excitment through his indomitable style and steals the show. The mastery of telling story based on a saturated plot, by adding elements of surprise and well created characters saves the film from becoming another third grade movie.
As the story unfolds we see an innocent person’s life is shattered with the cold blooded murder of his parents, and then slowly destroyed even though he teams up with a gang of good hearted criminals (!), fighting his own battle in the meantime against the non-violent nature of self before he acquiries some of the blood thirsty qualities of a mafia. There is something eerie about the movie as the hero narrates parts of the film, and when this drama eventually reaches a tragic climax, we cannot help the feeling having seen an inevitable ending. The title of the movie, which raised my eyebrows till I saw the movie, Renigunda being the name of the place in Andra where the gang seeks to seek new lease of life in their own ‘business’, and where the tragedies shatter them slowly, eventually destroying one by one, is a masterstroke of a title. Just proves how well the film revolves around events where Renigunta is the centerstage. The downside is that the film is that hinges on violence and one could get sick of the traumatic nature of the movie with excessive violence, at times, and parts of the plot being dramatised in the same old fashion. The romantic interludes impress mainly beacuse of the pleasant looking girl who can only speak via signs, who does her role very well.
Despite its shortcomings, the film is able to captivate the audience for most of its duration and Panneerselvam who has written and directed the film deserves credit.
Vadivelu overshadows Surya in this comedy hit. To be put more factually, comedy is the only saving grace, but on the positive side the comedy was prevalent for most of the movie. This may well become a trendsetter where comedians playing a pivotal role to leave the protagonist second, bringing back memories of yesteryear where the legendary Nagesh outshone many of his contemporaries. No doubt, this is a masala movie with a nonsense storyline, but KS Ravikumar, who has a penchant for delivering entertainment to masses, doesn’t disappoint this time either. Worth watching simply for some of the most brilliant comedy scenes of recent times. Ramesh Khanna who deserves credit as the writer also plays a minor role. The surprise package is Saroja Devi , who doesn’t seem to weaken nor go out of shape like of other stalwarts of the MGR and Sivaji era. Surya and Nayanthara play their part well, but the one who leaves us with a lasting impression is the Vagai Puyal.
Rating -- **
Watch the official trailer here
Director -- K.S. Ravikumar
Producer -- U. Stalin
Writer -- Ramesh Khanna
Cast -- Surya, Nayantara, Vadivelu
Music -- Harris Jayaraj
Cinematography - R. Ganesh
Editor -- Don Max
Effortless, Nonchalant and classy.. Its hard to describe the manner in which Kamal has portrayed a common man with a mission. Arguably the best film of the year, with the most intriguing star cast combination in the recent times. Seeing Kamal and Mohanlal faceoff could not have come in a better movie. It is debatable whether the Tamil version is better than the hindi original, A Wednesday. However it is less controversial to say that no one else could have done it better than Kamal.
The film is a real time narration of events as they unfold on a day in the life of Mohanlal,the police commisioner , where he meets his match, Kamal the common man. At the end of the day Mohanlal is a transformed man and lessons learned, while Kamal earns our respect. This is in sharp contrast what initially seemed a terror mastermind toying with the lives of people and the pride of the police commisioner. Thus the script needs to be appreciated for its originality (A Wednesday) and the remake applauded for the manner it matches the quality of the original.
The script and the star cast keep us on the edge of the seats, and us heavily involved with the events as they unfold. There are no songs nor romance, but we are left with is a lasting impression of a well made movie, that made best use of an acting genius. What more, the daughter (shruti) delivers a stunning background score that belies her age. All in a all a movie that we needed badly, to show the direction for future of Tamil cinema.
Director Radha Mohan delivers another family entertainer after his successful ‘Mozhi’. Like ‘Mozhi’, this film too could have ended up as a top grade movie if the director had avoided unnecessary scenes and comical situations that has no impact on the storyline. Prakashraj has been flawless despite being tested by Director in some seemingly inappropriate and poorly inserted scenes. Aishwarya plays her character perfectly and with Trisha in the cast, one has to say that Radha Mohan has the knack of forming good teams, just like in ‘Mozhi’. Despite drawbacks, this is clean family entertainment with emotions, humour and lessons to be learned. Vidyasagar doesn’t live upto his reputation, although most songs go well with the storyline.
Parvathy (aka Parvathi) has put the rest,including Srikanth, to shame by her impressive debut which is well worthy of an award. Although directed by Sasi, this movie has shades of Seran. Tamil cinema has not seen better demonstration of a deep rooted and utterly selfless love, than one that Mari (Parvathy) shows for her cousin Thangarasu (Srikanth). The extreme nature of this affection becomes fanatical at times, but yet beautifully controlled and enacted by Parvathy.
One of the better movies of the year, worth watching for the simplicity and the beauty.
Dasavatharam (Variations in spelling! Dasavathaaram, Thasavatharam, Thasavathaaram)
Director -- K. S. Ravikumar
Producer - Venu Ravichandran
Writers - Kamal Haasan,K. S. Ravikumar, Sujatha, Crazy Mohan
Cast - Kamal Haasan, Asin, Mallika Sherawat, Jayaprada, Napolean
Music -- Himesh Reshammiya, Devi Sri Prasad
Cinematography - Ravi Varman
Editor -- Ashmith Kunder
Running time 166 mins
This is some movie! One that some critics will call crap whereas others may claim it as an epic of smaller proportions. Believe me or not, this is not the movie where you expect to see jaw dropping action, special effects nor makeups. The movie is a far cry from what I was made to believe from the media hype that preceded the screening. Special effects,sets and make ups, are all above par as far as Kollywood cinema is concerned, but they pale in comparison against Hollywood blockbusters. What Kamal has achieved though is that he has single handedly carried the movie on his shoulders. In the process he has has yet again, for the umpteenth time, proved his abilities to portray different characters and his unmatched and gifted acting reportoire. But is there a need for Kamal to prove the point in a manner that goes beyond the threshold of a movie being made for public and one made for him! It is time that Kamal realises that movies are made for audience and what they want, not what may fullfil hios personal quests. This is a typical ignorance of the common mass by Kamal, and I believe that most geniuses do this!. When some is as gifted as Kamal it is no surprise that all his efforts are directed at achieving excellence not seen before in contemporary Cinema. But Dasavatharam will be known as a movie that made waves and one that borders on being an extravaganza where Kamal with the help of Ravikumar, got carried away to the extent of not making a movie that the public wants. Despite this, the movie had good following and reasonable success is a testimony to Kamal’s dedication and versality, and he can at least take pride from the fact that as an actor he has given not just his best, but his heart and soul too.
Many who saw this movie may have missed the plot thanks to Kamal! When someone as intellectual as Kamal is involved, it is left to the common mass to interpret the hidden core around which the story revolves. The Butterfly effect and Chaos theory has been an exciting theme for some of the creative movie makers, especially those in hollywood. The notion that a flap of a butterfly in one part of the world can cause a tornadoe at another, is a typical example used when discussing the Butterfly effect and chaos theory. For starters, chaos theory has three basic features - the propensity to be extremely sensitive to the initial conditions, non linearity and non-proportional cause and effect. I am sure I have confused you here.. This is what the film Dasavatharam may have done to some, especially those who cannot comprehend the Chaos theory and butterfly effect.
What makes the movie intriguing is the fact that random incidents weave together to form a clever story. The end justifies the beginning and it can be seen that the the intial event triggered a series of subtle movements that culminated in the tsunami, an act of god seen to save the world from a man made disater. This looks like a fairy tale, but when you have chaos theory in hand, you are only limited by the imagination.
There is not much to add to the acting nor rest of the cast, as Kamal steals the show. Asin is not used in a role that fits her, and her sterotyping causes irritaton at times Rest of the cast just become mere pedestrians.
The song “Mukuntha, Mukuntha” makes pleasant listening and is well pictured. “Kallai Mattum” comes as second best. “Ulaga Nayagan” song carries a good beat but is lost as a song sung in praise of a living person .
Rating
My rating is 2.5 out of 5 stars which is a good score because I consider anything above 2 out 5 as worth watching! All the stars should go to Kamal as he has been the single big difference in making this movie watchable.
Director -- P. Vasu
Producers - K. Balachandar, Ashwini Dutt, G.P. Vijayakumar
Writers - Sreenivasan
Cast - Rajinikanth, Nayanthara, Meena, Pasupathy, Livingston, Vadivelu
Music -- G.V. Prakashkumar
Cinematography - Arvind Krishna
Editor -- Ashmith Kunder
Despite being a poorer remake of the Malayalam original, this is film that every Rajini fan should watch. It is pure irony that the film lacks any and all masala aspects seen fromhis past hits, but brings Shivaji Rao the common man to silver screen in a minor yet a stellar role. This is a far cry from the larger than life hero image and dialogues that were integral in his top grossing ‘masala’ movies. To his credit, Rajini has played one of his best supporting roles and acted admirably in this movie. This brought back memories of his early days where he acted as a protagonist alongside Kamal, before fame and inimtable style took over transforming him to a level not seen before in Tamil cinema.
The story revolves around the friendship and ends on a beautiful and moving note. If Rajini’s role is refreshingly good, the same cannot not be said of the rest. Pasupathi, Nayanthara and Meena have all ‘partcipated’ well partially due to their own limitations but more so by the way the roles were poorly slotted to them. Pasupathi is a far better actor than he is made to look, and it would be quite unfortunate if he does not get a hero role again.
Script hasn’t been great and what carries the film though is the ‘human’ bondage portrayed vetween two childhood friends, and how they take different paths and meet up on a climax that is worthy of going to the theatre to see.
