Tamil Movie Reviews

Gautham Menon, Trisha, Simbu and AR Rahman combine to deliver an unforgettable melodrama.

My rating ***/5 (3 out 5)

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angadi theru

A Must Watch!

My rating ***/5 (3 out 5)

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Aayirathil Oruvan Review

A bold initiative to bring a semi-historical (facts based) mystical adventure of epic proportions to the contemporary Tamil cinema succeeds to a certain level and leaves room for a better sequel to follow. Kudos to Selvaragavan as he has attempted what was perceived as unimaginable by other movie makers of his era, by daring to make a high budget epic with fantasy and adventure foremost in mind.  This is an effort that would even make a director like Shankar , gifted with the knack of making colossal movies with unerring direction and tons of patience, proud.

It is easy to criticize the movie in the many places it has faltered,  but the superlative effort in creating this extravagant epic of colossal undertaking and patience to Tamil cinema, more than compensates.  Glaring weaknesses are the special effects that proves amateurish at best, and the fantasy that goes beyond disbelief at times riddled with ideas and scenes that were extracted from Hollywood.  But nothing to be taken away as the movie excels in the manner it was able to reproduce the feeling of an era bygone by way of meticulously designed sets, succulent Tamil that is as pure as we have ever seen in contemporary Tamil cinema and matching music score by the talented GV Prakash.

The story keeps us engrossed and the intriguing plot revolves around the enmity between Chola and Pandya dynasties and how this rivalry is far from over, even centuries later. Its a case of vivid imagination meeting hard facts, and the movie takes us to an imaginary yet  captivating encounter and duel between the remnants of Chola dynasty against their arch rivals, and the consequences. Karthi impresses again, this time as part of a trio who embark on a once in a lifetime adventure.  Parthiban makes an impact as always does, albeit in a role that he is not accustomed to.

Considering the hardship one would face in making such a movie its not surprising that it  was delayed in production and was in the making for years. This is a testament to the director’s perseverance and his valour against odds, and it is no luck that this movie finally came out as a movie that is both intriguing and watchable. For those who may have failed to understand and appreciate the finer nuances in the historical facts that this is movie is vaguely based on, storyline and dialogue, its worth watching again if and when the original Bluray or DVD release is out.

Rating ***

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Director -   Selvaragavan

Producer -    R. Ravindran
Writer -    Selvaragavan
Cast –    Karthi, Reema Sen, Parthiban, Jeremiah
Music –    GV Prakash Kumar
Cinematography  -  Ramji
Editor – Khola Baskar

thamizh padam movie review

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

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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

Aadhavan Surya

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 – **

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Director –    K.S. Ravikumar

Producer –     U. Stalin

Writer –    Ramesh Khanna
Cast –    Surya, Nayantara, Vadivelu
Music –    Harris Jayaraj
Cinematography  -  R. Ganesh
Editor – Don Max

Kamal in Unnaipol Oruvan

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.

My rating ***/5 (3 out 5)

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Varanam Aayiram

Director –     Gautham Menon
Producer -    Oscar Ravichandran
Writers -  Gautham menon
Cast -  Surya, Simran, Divya, Sameera
Music – Harris Jayaraj
Cinematography -  R.Rathnavelu
Editor – Anthony Gonsalvez

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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.

My rating **   (2 out of 5)

Watch the Movie Trailer here