Ayudham Seivom (Tamil) - Review

Gandhian ideas have helped forge a box office hit in Bollywood, in the form of Lage Raho Munna Bhai. Now, Udhayan and Pyramid Saimira has tried to replicate this success, in the context of Kollywood.  It is to be seen, whether this success formula works out well in the southern part of our country.

Story line is pretty simple.  A Gandhian-turned-rogue, Satya played by Sundar. C, follows the path of ahimsa to punish a corrupt politician.  But the core of the story comes up only towards the last 45 minutes of the movie.  All time before that were spent (read as wasted) in some regular colorful pieces and trying hard to bring the audience to this point.

Vivek has fared well, when compared to a few of his earlier movies.  Music is below average and better avoid the songs.  Anjali has been included in the picture to add some glamor to the eyes; nothing more.  Napolean, Nasser and Vijayakumar have done well in their respective roles.

Sundar. C has worked a bit on his acting; but a lot to improve.  Noisy introduction does not suit him.  I would like him avoid these, in his next venture and concentrate more on his acting skills.

Barring a few hiccups, the movie has done pretty well, in my opinion.  Go watch it.  It’s a feel good one.  Satyameva Jeyathe!!

Dasavatharam

Happened to watch Dasavatharam last weekend! Went into the movie with lots of talk about Chaos Theory, Butterfly effect and blah-blah!! But I was just there to witness a definite masterpiece by an ace actor, in 10 (distinct) roles. Following are my positives on the movie.

Versatility of characters

None can deny the distinction and versatility in each of the characters. Kamal had perfected the language of ‘95-year-old-iyengar-paati’ Krishnaveni with the same ease as he had that of Chris Fletcher. Awesome! Balram Naidu with the typical Andhra accent is an icing on the cake. Not to forget Kalifullah Khan and Poovaraghan for their respective accents and characters. Overall the choice of characters and execution of them to perfection - only possible by Kamal!

Flow of Story

The story, naturally is a flowing one, starting from US and ending in Tamil Nadu. But nowhere I have found a slowdown in the movie. The pace was maintained and never gave a chance to relax, for the audience.

Occassional but strong hints of Chaos theory

As pointed out by Kamal in his opening speech, everything that happens in this world have some weird resemblance to something that happened in the past or something that might happen in the future. Following are my observations on this front:

• Govind trying to save the world from the virus, as Rangarajan Nambi was trying to save Vaishnavism
• Govind getting hurt right on his forehead resembling the ‘Vaishnava Namam’, same way as Nambi was injured
• The virus getting into the Perumal idol and Govind trying to save that - similar to Nambi trying to save the Perumal idol
• Govind and Aandal resolving to be together, near the same idol, which led to separation of Nambi and his wife and many more…

Makeup

The makeup clearly shows the hardwork - both Kamal and the makeup team has put in. Especially, the Zen master and Chris Fletcher, were my favorites.

So overall, the movie was nice mix of hard work and commercial stuff. I enjoyed watching it!!

Asin: … kadavul ilanu soladhingo…
Kamal: … kadavul ilanu naan eponga sonen. irundha nalla irukumenu than sonen …

Anbe Sivam

Just yesterday I was thinking about uploading a couple of my favorite scenes to Youtube.  But I was pleasantly surprised to find it already there

God reaches people through love.  Those who love and care for others, are direct messenger of God.   A very strong message!  I simply love this movie

12 Angry Men (1957)

Produced in 1957, this movie has a lot to say for the modern day movie makers. This movie is directed by Sidney Lumet, with Henry Fonda (Davis) playing the lead role.

The movie begins with the last part of a courtroom trial, which convicts a boy of 18 years with the murder of his own father. It was argued that he had a fight with his father that night, stabbed him with a newly bought knife and ran away. Sometime later, he came back, just to be caught by the cops. Probably, the defense argument was not very strong and it was considered an open-and-shut case.

A jury comprising of 12 men were given the responsibility of analyzing the case and to give the final verdict. 11 out of 12 men feel that the case is straight forward and consider the boy guilty. Henry Fonda decides to be different, not by premeditation but by an inner feeling that the other 11 might be wrong. “May be he is guilty. May be he is not. That’s what we are here to discuss and find out”, is what he says when asked for justification. Further, he feels that the trial missed out many trivial stuff and has strong doubts on the boy being convicted guilty.

Then it is all war of words. By common-sense thinking and detailed analysis, he starts convincing the others, one by one, that the boy ‘might not be’ guilty. Some very nice facts, which were missed in the trial, like the eye-sight problem of the eye-witness etc., slowly convinces others. Thus starting with a 11-1 vote in favor of the boy ‘Guilty’, finally turns out to be 12-0 vote in favor the boy ‘Not Guilty’.

A point clearly made in the whole of the film - no member of the jury must be prejudiced and must analyze the case only by facts, not by their own experience. This is excellently portrayed by the man, who considers the boy guilty, just because his own son had attacked him in a similar situation. Another point excellently made - the jury must not take any case lightly, especially when involving the life of a convict. Their duty is to discuss the facts, without prejudice and come to a unanimous conclusion.

Shot inside a Jury room for about 90 minutes, this movie provides you with enough suspense and excitement. (Present day movie directors who spend crores on the sets and locations, NOTE!). A must watch movie for all those who loves court trials and suspense.

Star Rating - 9 on 10

IMDB Link - 12 Angry Men

Rangasamy reports - Interview with Shankar

CHENNAI June 28 - Our chief reporter Rangasamy was very fortunate to get an appointment with ‘Sivaji fame’ director Shankar (pun intended). Shankar, who is very busy in the story for his next film, could spare only 15 minutes for the interview. Some excerpts from the interview.

Reporter Rangasamy: Hello Mr. Shankar. It is a great privilege that you have agreed to spare 15 minutes for us. Thanks for that. I would like to start with a question that is prevalent with the tamil fans. How was the Sivaji story born?

Shankar: I could not understand your question. Where is the story in Sivaji?

RR: But Sir, a movie is supposed to have a story…

Shankar: I know that. I always look forward to innovations. This is a first in the tamil industry, that a film is without a story. Isn’t it? The movie is all about Rajni Sir’s style, charm and humor. Nothing else.

RR: Great Sir. How did you choose Shreya for the role?

Shankar: I always feel heroines have no role to play in a film. They come, they dance, they smile and they cry. Their role ends there.

RR: Ok. How did the idea of ‘Fair’ Rajni strike you?

Shankar: I initially had a budget in mind. After everything was shot, still we had a huge amount left. We did not know how to spend that money. This gave rise to the idea of ‘Fair’ Rajni

RR: We had some good plots in your earlier movies like Gentleman or Indian. For instance, tracking down the suspect in Gentleman using the ‘mangalsutra’. Such plots are conspicuous by their absence in Sivaji

Shankar: Sivaji is a Rajni Sir film. Rajni sir compensates for everything else. Nobody goes to the movie for plots or story. They go only for Rajni sir. I understand the mind of a average movie goer, especially in Tamil Nadu. (Smiles)

RR: That is wonderful to hear. How did it struck you to paint Rajni’s face in the bellies of those dancing in the opening song?

Shankar: I always love painting. I have a tendency to paint in all places. If you look at my home there are paintings on the wall, on the floor, in the kitchen and also in the bathroom. In the opening song, there was a sequence where Nayanthara’s belly was painted like a pot. It was later removed by the censor (Grunts, don’t know for what reason)

RR: Sorry to hear that sir. After the movie, I had a feeling that I watched Gentleman and Indian movies together. Your comments on this…

Shankar: Ya, it has been a long time since Gentleman and Indian were released. So I thought I can remind people once again of that stories. That’s all.

RR: There is a talk in the town that Shankar’s films are grandiose but the story is wayward. Your comment on this…

Shankar: I am already late for my flight. Meet you later (runs away)

Sivaji rocks in UK!

• First tamil movie to feature in UK Top Ten
• Highest per-screen average for the last weekend in UK (http://www.imdb.com/boxoffice/?region=uk)

Surely Thalaivar rocks!

Saw Sivaji :)

Among the souls longing to catch a glimpse of the Super Star on the big screen, I got a bit lucky.  I happened to watch Sivaji some 3 days back, in Chennai.  Got a ticket for the night show in a nearby theatre.  But the tickets, usually sold for about 40 bucks, went soaring at 150…

As many reviews have already put it, the first half of the movie is dedicated to humor.  Vivek, in his maiden full time comedy with Rajni (exclude the tamil movie Veera), has done superbly well.  Some punch dialogues given by Vivek and timely comedy, has made this duo fare very well.  In the first half, Rajni’s hair style is so typical of his yesteryear movies like Murattu Kaalai… As ever, Rajni stands apart for his style, grace and sense of humor.

Second half is also very typical of Rajni movies - payback to the villian.  But I was expecting much more from Shankar in terms of the story.   There is no comparison of the story with the likes of Indian or Gentleman.  But Rajni’s mere presence eclipses all the drawbacks.  Finally, it was really good to see Rajni back in action.  Dont miss it guys, watch it soon!!

Mozhi (Tamil)

A pleasant movie in tamil after a long time!! Thanks to Prakash Raj and his entire team.

The whole movie is pictured like a poem.  Prithviraj’s casual acting, Jyothika’s charm-cum-enthusiasm and Prakashraj’s timely humor makes watching the movie, a treat.  Glamorous dances, double-meaning songs and unnecessary fights that are the order of tamil films in the recent times, are conspicuous by their absence.  Locations chosen for the songs are pleasing to the eye and overall cinematography is wonderful.

Jyothika alias Archana is deaf and mute by birth.  Prithviraj alias Karthik gets attracted by Archana’s boldness and courage.  He falls in love with her at first sight (this is synchronous with the other tamil films ).  But later he comes to know about her disability.  After this, his love for her grows even more.  Also, they both happen to live in the same apartment.  Archana’s friend Swarnamalya alias Shiela helps Karthik to get acquainted to Archana.  Prakashraj alias Viji helps Karthik in all his efforts.  Later, all these 4 become friends and life goes on this way, without Karthik revealing his love for Archana.  Finally when Karthik proposes to her, Archana feels that she is not fit to get married and rejects his proposal.  And the childhood experience with her parents creates a distaste for marriage.  What happens to Karthik and Archana takes us to the close of the story.

Story line seems to be simple, but the way the film is directed and shot, makes the entire difference.  Vidyasagar has done a decent job with the music.  Humor blends well with the story and I feel this is the direction which the comedians must take.  Overall, this movie is worth your money.  Watch the movie in a nice theater over the weekend and I am sure you would not be disappointed.