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Film: Sonna Puriyadhu
Starring: Mirchi Siva, Vasunthara, Manobala, Meera Krishnan
Director: Krishnan Jayaraj
Producer: Saandika Amarnath
Banner: 360 degree film corp
Music: Yathish Mahadev

Cast: Vishal, Aishwarya Arjun, Santhanam
Movie: Pattathu Yaanai (U)
Direction: Boopathy Pandian
Producer: S. Michael Rayappan
Banner: Global Infotainment Pvt Ltd
Music: Thaman
Genre: Comedy, Romance

Release Date : 26 Jul 2013

Movie Review
After kicking off the year with Samar, Vishal is here for the second time in 2013 with Pattathu Yaanai. After the success of Malaikottai, director Boopathy Pandian and action star Vishal are joining hands on a “fun, action, romantic” movie, Pattathu Yaanai. Produced by Michael Rayyapan and directed by G.BoopathyPandian, Pattathu Yaanai has Aishwariya Arjun, Santhanam, Jegan, John Vijay etc alongside Vishal. Music is by Thaman Sai while the camera is handled by S.Vaithy.

There are two other box office drivers for the movie: Santhanam and Santhanam. Yes, for those who haven’t had enough of the comic takes of the most happening star in Tamil cinema now, Pattathu Yaanai has the actor playing a double role.

Also adding novelty value to the movie is the launch of Aishwarya, the daughter of ‘action king’ Arjun. Incidentally, Vishal had started his film career assisting Arjun in his heydays on his directorial ventures Vedham and Ezhumalai.

Story:
Pattathu Yaanai is the story of a common man who rises up to the challenge thrown against him.

The movie starts off with Santhanam being introduced as Gouravam, a caterer. Vishal and his friends arrive at the scene to aid Santhanam in his cookery chores. The premise moves to Trichy, where Vishal, Santhanam and his group plan to set up a hotel. Comic scenes entangled, we have the incidents with Aishwariya Arjun too stitched in. A series of events leads to Vishal locking horns with one of the dons in the city. A story is revealed at the interval block, from where the movie progresses on.

Into the second half, and we have more of the so-called story and less of comedy. Lots of new characters are introduced with John Vijay propelling himself as the comic villain. A cat and mouse game follows, and how Vishal pulls himself out of these troubles is what Pattathu Yaanai is all about.

Performance:
Vishal is fine in his acts, but one puts up the question as to when he will come back with a thumping film, just like his Thimiru. The lead actress Aishwariya Arjun is bland, just a walking doll. She needs to learn a lot, especially to dance and a ‘debut’ is all that can be said about her. The supporting artists are okay, but the villains are damp squibs, especially the guy who flexes his abs at the end.

If there is one man who might save this movie from a dump, it is Santhanam. Even though the much talked about dual role is nowhere to be seen, Santhanam keeps us smiling whenever he appears onscreen. Some of his jokes in the first half do crack pick you up.

Technical Analysis:
Nothing new in the musical department from Thaman, and the BGM which is done by Sabesh Murali is mediocre too. There are just three fight scenes in the movie, but they are well choreographed by Anal Arasu. Technically, Pattathu Yaanai is satisfying, but I would have loved to say something nice here.

We have seen tons of commercial entertainers in the past, and Pattathu Yaanai is yet another one in the list. Boopathy Pandian has a fine outing here, but it just isn’t enough with the current trend of movies passing on. Pattathu Yaanai fails to deliver something out of the bag, so watch it if you have nothing else to do over the weekend. An average film in all aspects.

Cast:  Dhanush, Parvathi Menon, Appu Kutty, Salim Kumar
Genre: Action, Romance
Released on: Jul 19, 2013
Director: Bharat Bala
Music Director: A. R. Rahman
Censor Rate: U/A

Bharath Bala's Mariyan is getting a huge response all over. As we all know, Dhanush is an excellent actor, and he has again proved this with Mariyan. The movie has benefited Dhanush and Bharath Bala. After smashing B-Town audience with Raanjhanaa, Dhanush is all set to impress his native audience again. Mariyan deals with the story of construction fishermen (Dhanush) who will be having a close bond towards sea, as it is the place where he earns his livelihood. He calls himself a 'Prince of Ocean'. The way he earns his livelihood is shown in more adventurous way. More than Dhanush's love interest, Panimalar (Parvathi Menon) has played the role of a model wife, who forces Dhanush to change his job and asks him to go to Sudan. The movie takes a turn at this movement. In some point of the time, the movie reminds us the recent releases, Mani Ratnam's Kadal and Neeraparavai. The camera work of the international fame, Marc Koninckx is remarkable, the music by AR Rahaman will keep the audience humming even after they are out of theatre.
 
Dhanush's Performance Dhanush has given extraordinary performance especially in the second half, where he has to go through physical struggle.

Story The plot deals with the emotional journey of the hostage, who will be kept in an unknown place. He will be kidnapped by Sudan Mercenaries. The plot is adapted from the real life incident, in 2008, few oil workers were kidnapped from India and kept as hostage.


Parvathi Menon's Performance Parvathi Menon plays a love interest role of Dhanush, who will force him to join as a construction worker in Sudan. She has got a typical native look with her costumes and has maintained a good chemistry with Dhanush.

AR Rahman  The tracks 'Enga ponna raasa' and 'Kadal raasa naan' have been is used as a background score in the whole movie. AR Rahman's score will make the audience to keep humming even after they are out of theatre.

Cast:   Suriya, Anushka Shetty, Danny Sapani, Hansika Motwani, 

Vivek, Santhanam
Direction:    Hari
Production:    S. Lakshman Kumar
Music:    Devi Sri Prasad

Singam 2 Movie Review
When Aarusamy was in town, there was only one goonda, and that had to be the Deputy commissioner of Police himself, the town went clean with joy. So as Duraisingam from the locals arrived, it was nothing but kick-ass to the rowdies of the town and city. Now these are Hari's tailor made Police Officers who respect the Khaki Clad uniform and the people of the city, nothing else... Mind you! Duraisingam is everything you can ask for, aggression unlimited, versatile, lover boy, a respectful citizen and so on, making us want more from him. So eventually Hari & Co bring out a sequel to Singam 2, and the Lion which wandered into the wilderness is now prowling for more. A Prince Pictures presentation and a 2D distribution, with a whale of cast and abundance of technicians who need no introduction, Hari's belief on Duraisingam unveils today.
The Sequel:

Hari is a director known to indulge in some pot boiling commercial film making, and nothing less. The movie shoots off right from where Singam was left off, the die hard Duraisingam avenging his pride, only to be delegated as an Undercover agent to unearth the venal events that take place on the coastline. He moonlights his secret mission by posing as an NCC officer of a school, and yet Hari makes him look powerful.

And as you may have predicted, Hansika is the beautiful damsel whose one sided love story shoots off, and elsewhere is Anushka aka Kavya still waiting for Duraisingam. Trying to squeeze too much in the box, Hari then introduces three antagonists who are armed to kill anyone who interrupts their smuggling. Santhanam is the office boy who plays Pakki giving us jolts of giggles also playing as the sidekick for a while. If Singam had Erimalai's comedy sending us in guffaws, well this time Erimalai's tenure is more of a character role than comic.

Now with all the fiasco in the first half, second half is about Duraisingam's antics in bringing the baddies down to justice including the International smuggler Danny. So what leads up is quite predictable, yet to watch and find out.
Ups & Downs:

Singam 2 is everything you would look for, love, masala, sentiment, raw Action and so on, however adding a slight overdose to every single element mentioned, as a whole it almost topples over. Hari's justification to Duraisingam's character deserves a special mention as yet again this will also be a tribute to the cops, such is the power the role delivers. Suriya carries the octane energy from the first part intact and if the intro scene was viola unleashed, then the scene when he resumes DSP command is MASS undoubtedly.

The movie is all about Duraisingam "The one man army" who is the usual loud and honest. Unlike the first part where Prakash Raj's character had some justice, three villains and none really make a mark according to the script. Hari could've given some more power to the antagonists, to make it look evenly matched. Given the space for baddies, it just adds to the endless list of outwitting and action sequences. Priyan's camera work is pretty laudable for the scenes in South Africa, however back here it's a lot of tilts and zooms.

Another mismatch in the movie comes in the form of the heroines, both loosely fit into the story. Hansika, though is always a treat to watch is abruptly cut short in the second half without proper justice and Anushka's role is not meaty either, making her presence as an extended cameo with songs. Santhanam steals the show with his USP of one liners and witty jokes, however Vivek's character has been sized down. Yet another big crater size hole in this movie is DSP's BGM and music, which does not offer anything new and is monotonous.

Ergo, exiting Singam 2 will send you mixed reactions as the problem with the movie is its overdose of everything stuffed in a bag that overflows. However the intentions of the director are pretty clear, a mass pot boiling commercial cinema that will surely entertain you, if not for its arguable length. Singam 2 will run to packed house for the dude Suriya and Hari's commercial outburst.
Verdict : An overdose of everything, yet watch it for Suriya!

 Cast: Karthika, Lakshman, Manoj K Bharathi, Manoj Kumar
Direction: Bharathirajaa
Genre: Romance
Duration: 2 hours 25 minutes

Cast: Yuvaraaj, Bharani, Soori, Prakash Raj, Jayaprakash, Deepthi Nambiar
Direction: Vincent Selva
Genre: Drama
Duration: 2 hours 20 minutes

Synopsis: Three friends - an aspiring businessman, a wannabe actor and a small-time politician - are trying their best to get a break that can change their lives for the better. In a windfall, they get Rs18 crore which belongs to politician Saamy Malai (Jayaprakash). Malai seeks thug Singamuthu's (Prakash Raj) help to trace the money.

Review: Movies dealing with crime and humour have been the flavour of the season. 'Thulli Vilaiyadu' is one such attempt, which later takes the shape of a road movie. Although it sounds like a delectable combination, director-writer Vincent Selva ends up making a mess because of the poor script and screenplay.

Characters keep moving in and out of the screen, testing the audience's patience, and the largely slapstick humour tortures more than it entertains. The movie starts off with the pitiful stories of the three friends who try their hand at everything to make it big. Things take a turn for the good when Raghu (Yuvaraaj) gets Rs 18 crore belonging to Saamy Malai. The friends take off to Rajasthan, with Singamuthu close on their heels. Here, the trio meets Yamuna (Deepthi Nambiar), who has run away from home. The change in the ambience from the narrow streets of Tirunelveli to the golden sands of Rajasthan does offer a little relief, though logic is thrown into the air.

A few laughs that the movie produces are thanks to the comic timing of Prakash Raj and Soori. While Soori plays a butcher-turned-politician, Prakash Raj is a gun-totting thug who likes old Hindi songs. They light up things in this otherwise dark cloud of a movie.

Bharani as an aspiring actor goes over-the-top in most scenes, while Yuvaraaj does little as a wannabe entrepreneur. Jayaprakash does a decent job as a cut-throat politician. Deepthi Nambiar does a good job as a chirpy Yamuna, who gets lost in Rajasthan after setting out in search of Asin (the actor), referred to as her sister. But the largely shallow characters, sloppy editing and unimaginative writing make 'Thulli Vilaiyadu' far from enjoyable.

Cast: Siddharth, Hansika Motwani, Santhanam,

 Ganesh Venkataraman, RJ Balaji, Vidyullekha Raman
Direction: Sundar C
Genre: Comedy

Synopsis: Kumar (Siddharth) falls in love with Sanjana (Hansika), a new recruit in the IT company he works in. Unable to express his love, he seeks guidance from 'love guru' Mokia (Santhanam). Matters queer when Mokia finds out Kumar is in love with his sister.

Review: Sundar C is on a roll. After tasting success with 'Kalakalappu' last year, he comes up with another winner in 'Theeya Velai Seyyanum Kumaru' (You have to work hard, Kumar!). Another reason for him to stick to direction and refrain from acting in senseless and unwatchable movies.

Right from the word go, you know that Kumar will succeed in wooing Sanjana, but it is to Sundar's credit that he is able to maintain interest till the very end. Just when you feel that the movie is sagging a bit, he comes up with a twist or a funny scene to pep up the proceedings. Editors Praveen K L and Srikanth N B also do their bit to maintain audience involvement by keeping the movie racy.

Siddharth sort of reprises his role from last year's 'Kaadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi', adding just a little bit of geekiness to fit in as an employee of an IT company. He displays a flair for comedy, and the dumb fashion in which he takes part in the exercises given to him by Mokia are good fun. Hansika as Sanjana does her job of looking pretty very well and is a treat to watch. But it is Vidyullekha who comes up with a howlarious performance as Sanjana's friend. Her screen time may be limited, but watch out for the scene in which she bemoans how she has been cheated by her lover Satish alias Mokia.
Santhanam goes hep for his role as a 'love guru' (much like Will Smith in 'Hitch'), and the makeover is not limited to his dress alone; the dialogues too are thankfully clean. His scene with Manobala, who plays a pimp at a brothel, is among the best scenes in the movie, the other being his confrontation with Chitra Lakshmanan, who plays his father.
The dialogues are uniformly funny, and the touch of 'Soodhu Kavvum' director Nalan Kumarasamy is clearly felt. The description of Ganesh Venkataraman, who plays the role of a casanova project manager George in the IT company, as "gym ku pona Gemini Ganesan" is an absolute gem.

Composer C Sathya comes up with two good numbers in 'Azhagendral' and 'Lovukku yes', though the song placements leave a lot to be desired.

If the movie works despite its predictable storyline, it is because of the terrific effort put in by the supporting cast comprising Bosskey, RJ Balaji, Devadarshini, Jennifer and the employees at the IT company, though one would give an arm and a leg to work in an organization that is more bothered about party dress codes than software codes.

Cast: Satya, Sriramya, Vinodini, E V Ganeshbabu
Direction: E V Ganeshbabu
Genre: Drama

Story: It is love-at-first-sight for college student Bhaskar (Satya) when he sees Yamuna (Sriramya). Although Yamuna initially rejects his love, she later reciprocates Bhaskar's love. One day, she goes missing and when she comes back she refuses to talk to Bhaskar.

Review: It doesn't take a minute for Bhaskar to decide that Yamuna is the love of his life. Despite Yamuna's protests, he is persistent and goes to the verge of attempting suicide after she rejects him. The movie begins as a casual campus story before it changes course suddenly and takes up the issue of human trafficking.

The characters haven't been given much depth and director Ganeshbabu doesn't appear to have given much thought to the narration and flow of the movie. The unrequited love story of Bhaskar troubles the audience more than Yamuna's trials and tribulations.

The character of Yamuna's guardian Chandrika (Vinodini) comes out best as a calm yet menacing woman who traps unsuspecting girls. Vinodini does a decent job and makes her character look convincing. Satya and Sriramya do an okay job in their roles, although the former needs to work on making the emotional scenes more convincing.

Cast: Shiva, Isha Talwar, Prakash Raj, Kovai Sarala, 

Soori, Monisha, Ilavarasu, Santhanam

Direction: Badri

Genre: Comedy

Synopsis: Caught skipping work by his boss Sivagurunathan (Prakash Raj), Pasupathy (Shiva) gets out of his predicament by lying that he has a look-alike twin Ganguly Kandhan. How long can this farce be maintained, especially with Janani, Sivagurunathan's daughter, falling for Kandhan?

Movie Review: The original Thillu Mullu (1981), directed by K Balachander and starring Rajinikanth, was itself a remake of Golmaal and has grown in stature over the years, chiefly due to the quirky narration of its director (filled with typical Balachander touches) and the wickedly funny performances of Rajinikanth and Thengai Srinivasan. Badri's remake takes the basic plot of that film — the hilarities that ensue after a young man is forced to lie about a twin brother, after being caught skipping work by his intimidating boss — but makes it tonally very different. Surprisingly, the dread that sets in during the first scene when Shiva does an Apoorva Sagotharargal Kamal in a sequence right out of Kadhala Kadhala is dispelled once the plot is set in motion.

Much of the credit for this should go to director Badri, whose script clearly suggests that some amount of thought has gone into reworking a cult classic for present-day audiences. Instead of going for a scene by scene remake, he manages to spin newer situations that make it very much a film of our times. The film inhabits a world where IPL, mobile phones, credit cards, contact lenses and packaged water are part of everyday conversations. Sivagurunathan actually makes a video of Pasupathy's antics at the after party of the cricket match with his mobile phone and later employs a detective to verify his employee's claims of a younger brother. Agreed, the comedy here is loud and far removed from the genteel humour of Balachander's film but once you get calibrated to this tone in the first few scenes, you will hardly mind the over-the-top farce.

Part of the credit also belongs to Shiva, who takes a role made iconic by Rajinikanth and makes it his own. You can hardly think of another contemporary actor who might have pulled it off this convincingly. He puts his deadpan delivery to superb effect and you can't help but laugh for his lines. If there is a false note, it is just that Rajinikanth projected a nervousness which made his perils very real, while Shiva's cool attitude never really conveys the fear of being caught red-handed at any time. Meanwhile, Prakash Raj, despite trying hard never finds that respectability which Thengai Srinivasan brought to a role that becomes the butt of all jokes. Given that he has been ubiquitous in Tamil cinema over the past decade, his tics are very familiar to us and remind us of his previous roles (notably, the one in Vasool Raja MBBS).

Where Badri goes wrong is in trying to prolong the humour. There are far more characters here than in the original and comedy segments play out much longer than they should. So, we get an additional fight sequence, an additional duet, a detour to Dubai and supporting characters who get a scene to showcase their comic skills (the Manobala episode with Kovai Sarala, for instance). Even Santhanam's cameo in the climax, which definitely adds to the laughs, feels stretched after a point.

Will we remember Thillu Mullu version 2.0 years later, like how we still quote dialogues from the 1981 film? Probably not, but there is no denying the fact that it is entertaining while it lasts.

Cast: Sharran Kumar, Aashrita, Yogiram
Direction: M Ganesan
Genre: Drama
Duration: 2 hours 16 minutes

Cast: M Sasikumar, Lakshmi Menon, Saranya Ponvannan, Rama Prabha, Lal

Direction: M Muthaiah

Genre: Action

Duration: 2 hours 32 minutes

 

Synopsis: An angry young man manages to put off his mother's attempts to reform him. Until, the new girl in his neighbourhood gets attracted to him... But, can his violent past leave him in peace?

Movie Review: Kutti Puli (Sasikumar) is a do-gooder with a roguish streak and his attitude often lands him in trouble. His mother (Saranya) wants him to mend his ways and get married but Puli thwarts all her plans. Enter Bharathi ( Lakshmi Menon), who falls in love with Puli seeing his ever-helpful nature. Meanwhile, Moorthy, a local gangster is humiliated by Puli and now, he wants revenge.

M Muthaiah's Kutti Puli has everything we have seen in Sasikumar's films so far. A story set somewhere in Madurai. A brash but benevolent hero. A comely heroine. Romance in the bylanes. Montages with yesteryear songs. Preachy punch dialogues. And, most importantly, the aruva (sickle) which has come to define his films. But, unlike in his previous films, these elements don't come together as a whole. Those films used all these Sasikumar-isms but still managed to keep us engaged. Here, they stick out as the director is unable to weave a plot that brings them together in a satisfying manner. So, one moment you have a scene between Kutti Puli and his mom, the next with Bharathi followed by a scene with Moorthy. And, this pattern goes on a loop until the very end.

The film begins with a back story involving Kutti Puli's dad and the plot is actually about how his death influences the mother, her son and their relationship. But the diversions this story takes never lets us to engage with this angle. It should have been quite easy given that the director has two actors who are typecast in roles that should have endeared them instantly to us. You sense a laziness in scripting that is shocking because this is the debut film for Muthaiah.

There are a few moments that do work like the effortless companionship of Saranya and her neighbour Rama Prabha and their trip to the town to give a makeover to Kutti Puli is genuinely funny. The same cannot be said of the comedy track involving Pappu and his gang, who are the educated youth in the place and vie for Bharathi, which goes on and on in the second half. Muthiah also goes overboard with the melodrama and in his use of older songs to evoke a lighter mood and all these unnecessary padding, especially towards the end, make this Kutti Puli as fierce as a stuffed tiger.

Cast: Nivin Pauly, Nazriya Nazim, Bobby Simha, John Vijay, 

Thambi Ramaiah, Nasser, RJ Ramesh Thilak
Direction: Alphonse Putharen
Duration: 1 hour 57 minutes

Synopsis: Jobless Vetri (Nivin Pauly) has to pay up ruthless moneylender Vatti Raja (Bobby Simha), but the money is snatched by a petty thief Lighthouse (Ramesh Thilak). His girlfriend Veni (Nazriya Nazim) has left home for good, her father has filed a complaint and now sub-inspector Katta Kunju (John Vijay) is also behind him. Vetri is running out of time to find a solution to his problems.

Review: It is a good portent that films like 'Soodhu Kavvum' and 'Neram' are being made at a time when cinema is celebrating its centenary in India. For, directors like Nalan Kumarasamy and Alphonse Putharen (and also others like Thiagarajan Kumararaja, Balaji Mohan, Karthik Subbaraj and Balaji Tharaneetharan) are those who will take Tamil cinema into the future.

The ads for 'Neram' cheekily claimed it was "the first movie in the history of Tamil cinema to have nothing new". Well, the story is nothing out of the ordinary, what is different is the treatment and the humour and irreverence the director brings to the table. A police SI has set up an office inside a cell because the station is being painted, a doctor checks the pulse of a patient outside the mortuary and pronounces him dead, the moneylender can't believe that a phone costs Rs 10,000 and doesn't have buttons on it - the movie has such gems sprinkled throughout that you are left laughing when not following Vetri's travails on the screen.

The perfect casting works as a big positive for the movie. Nivin and Nazriya look natural as a couple in love. Nivin impresses in the chase and action sequences. Thambi Ramaiah is good as Saravanan, the father of Veni. His exchanges with SI Katta Kunju are sure to bring the roof down, with John Vijay too in fine form. Vijay's story-telling scene is another laugh riot, as are his scenes with veteran Nasser. He comes on the screen late in the second half, but dominates right from the word go. It is sad that few roles are being written that can utilize his full potential.

But it is Bobby Simha whose work comes as a revelation. From the innocent look he carried with charm in 'Soodhu Kavvum' to the cut-throat 'Vatti Raja' in 'Neram', he comes out as an actor to watch out for.

The eclectic background score by Rajesh Murugesan adds pep to the movie, as does the use of 'Pistah' in the action sequences. Anend C Chandran's work behind the camera gives a gritty look to Chennai and the chase scene through narrow streets and slums is definitely worth a watch.

Alphonse Putharen is a welcome addition to the new wave of Tamil film directors, and is a sign of the good times ahead for Indian cinema.