KungumaPoovum KonjumPuraavum - lyrical story unfolding in Muttam

I guess Thamizh Cinema is going along the right path these days, what with the movies like debutante Suseendhran's Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu, made on shoe-string budgets, without any expensive star-casts but with strong screenplay reaping success at the box office.

The recent example will be debutante director Rajamohan's KungumaPoovum KonjumPuravum. The producers(S.P.B.Charan) needs to be appreciated to have the guts to produce a story of this kind.

After Bharathiraaja's Kadalora Kavidhaigal, Rajamohan takes us to Muttam, a beautiful little town with picturesque beach, where the story unfolds.

Thulasi(played by debutante Thananya) comes along with her paati(played by Nagammal, another new face) to Muttam town. Koochan belongs to Muttam and lives with his mother. His mother has great love for her only son.

Koochan's(played by debutante Ramakrishnan) mother supports Thulasi through her initial tough times. However, when she comes to know about the love between her son and Thulasi, she disgraces Thulasi infront of the entire town.

Thulasi moves out of town along with her paati(grandma), where she has no other option but to marry a guy called Dharman(played by another new face). Dharman is a drunkard and spends time in Mangaatha, Drinks, etc. In one instance, Dharman kills a guy in a clash and goes to jail.

Without any support, Thulasi now comes back to Muttam, where Koochan still lives in memory of Thulasi. [Seems guys are always like this - they lose their entire life all the while thinking about the gal]

Does Thulasi accept Koochan and what happens to both of them is the climax.

Heard the story before...? I guess so.

However, the way the director has portrayed the story is superb.

The (high school) love shown between Koochan & Tulasi is almost lyrical. The dialogues are powerful at many a places.

Couple of places where I enjoyed the dialogues the most are:
1) Where Koochan proposes to Tulasi. How she replies in the negative and how Koochan turns into positive(absolutely awesome - guys can learn a lesson from this)
2) Where Koochan vents his feelings out infront of Tulasi's house, after she returns to Muttam

Now to the characters:
1) Ramakrishnan as Koochan displays amazing acting skills. He is last seen as one of the friends' in April Maadhathil movie. Here he gets promotion as hero. Be it in the first half, where he comes as a school boy, and in the second half, as a matured guy longing for his lover(Tulasi), he excels.

2) Tananya as Tulasi has literally lived her role. Her eyes are so expressive, displaying a myriad of emotions. The screenplay offers ample scope for her to perform and she has used most of the opportunity. Be it love, joy, sadness, shyness, anger, frustration - the gal simply weaves magic with her expressions. As a high school girl in the first half, and as a struggling wife in the second half, she performs with role with effortless ease. A promising find by whoever did the casting.

3) Koochan's mother - I recall seeing her in the movie Sandakozhi(the scene where her husband kills in the road by villain Lal's gang). Here, she is offered the role of a mother who dotes on her soon, but with bitter tongue. The way she goes about defacing Tulasi in front of the entire town brings out fear/anger in the audience.

4) Nagammal as Tulasi's mother - wow, what a find.. this paati steals the show with her sympathetic role with all the wrinkles in her face. Paatti--- kalakeeteenga..

5) Dharman as Tulasi's husband - this guy too is a new face, who has given a neat performance. His height offering good support for him to perform as a villain.


Not in any of Yuvan's recent movies I felt Yuvan's songs so appropriately placed. Two of his numbers(Chinnan sirusuga & Kadaloram) are heart melting melodies and blend nicely with the movie. The lyrics, the music and the lead actors are in perfect sync making these two songs unforgettable. I got reminded of Ilayaraja in these two songs.

The BGM is top class, with Yuvan using the BGM of Chinnan Siruga aptly in many a places a-la IR style.

Siddharthan's camera captures the scenic exotic locales of Muttam town in all its splendor.

Thulasi, Koochan, Thulasi's paati all still remain in my heart even after 2 days of seeing the movie. Goes on to show the strong characterization behind each character.

Thulasi especially still does not go out of my eyes ;-)

I consider this movie to be a tribute to lovers who broke-up.

Winners:
Tulasi's spellbinding performance
Nagammal Paati
Yuvan's music & Re-recording
Siddharthan's camera
First-Half

Losers:
Second-Half(though the climax is on predictable lines, the director could have made it less melancholic)

Best Regards,
Dharma.

Ananda Thaandavam - You can give it a miss

Ananda Thaandavam - easily one of the bad movies I watched(comes in the league of Oru Naal Oru Kanavu, Dindigul Saarathi)

I went for Oru Naal Oru Kanavu, just because it is a Fazil's movie and was completely let down by the mediocrity of it.

Although warned by my friends, I still went in for this movie for the only reason that I may like it(I have a different taste to cinema ;-) and for Tamannah :-)

However, to my disappointment, my friends were right and I really got pissed off seeing this one.

Now, to the so-called story.. The story seems to be based on writer Sujatha's Pirivoem Sandhipoem.

I have not read the novel, however, I am sure that the director has done enough damage to it, if he has not done anything good for the novel.

Raghu(played by debutant Siddharth), a mechanical engineer, comes to his hometown, Thenkasi. He meets Madhumidha(played by Tamannah) and is bowled over by her innocence(?!), immediatly falls in love with her.

Her parents too are ready to get her married to Raghu, and things happen too fast. But, then, Radhakrishnan(good job done by the Villain) comes in the middle and her parents decide he is the best, since he says he will take her to America :-)[Gosh... these NRIs are always villains to the guys here :-)]

Heart-broken, Siddharth, attempts suicide, hospitalized, goes to America for higher studies. There he meets Madhumitha again and another girl Rukmini(remember the girl in Bommalaatam movie), who too is attrated to our hero.

Things go awry in the life of Madhumidha and if Siddharth gets married to Rukmini/Madhumidha forms the climax.

Not for the average Indian Audience-la.. :-)

In any case, blame it on the screenplay or the lead actor, nothing seems to have worked out for the movie.

I just could not believe this is the director who made Chellamae earlier, which had a wonderful screenplay and a superb cast.

Siddharth proves that he is new to Cinema in each and every frame - his mannerisms, smile, dance - everything is against for this debutant.

Madhumidha(Tamannah) loses sympathy of the audience the moment she says she loved Raghu just becoz her mother asked her to, and rejects Raghu the same way. Then on, even if Madhumidha suffers a lot, I could not feel any sort of sympathy for her.

Kittu as Raghu's father has done a neat job. Rukmini is the one who gives a good performance in this otherwise boring movie. The other notable character is that of Kittu's friend, who helps Raghu in America.

Go for the movie, only if
- you have no other movie to watch out and want to badly see a movie
- you have bought a new headache pill and want to test if it works or not
- you do not have A.C at home, and want to sleep in A.C for at least 3 hours


Ahh yes, at least a few positives from the movie
- G.V.Prakash's soulful music(especially, Poovinai, Kana Kangiraen)
- Camera work(especially the ones in Thenkasi)

Best Regards,
Dharma.
P.S:
Hope, I will save at least one of you from watching this movie.

Laadam - a movie you can give a shot at

Laadam is the third movie by Director Prabhu Solomon, who has proved his talent with this interesting screenplay/story in his earlier two films, Kokki & Lee, both of which are critically acclaimed.

Here, the portrays the rivalry between two gangs, that of Pavadai Samy & Vembuli.

Vembuli's gang kills Pavadasamy's son. As a result, Pavadasamy wants to seek revenge by killing Vembuli's son within 16 days.

Our hero(Kunjidapaadham), played by debutant Aravindhan, gets caught between the two gangs. Aravindhan has come up in life struggling a lot, and aspires to become Bill Gates, Ambani and the like.

Pavadasamy orders Aravindhan to execute Vembuli's son or get killed.

What follows is a thriller ride for Aravindhan, where he runs throughout, getting caught betwene the two rivals.

In the midst, he comes across Angel(played by Charmi), who takes life as it comes, puts a tag on each house in an apartment, and then enjoys one day in the house, in which the tag still remains(meaning no one is in the house)- quite interesting indeed.

Aravindhan & Charmi get along each other and get married.

Did Aravindhan gets to kill Vembuli's son and what happens to Pavadasamy & Vembuli forms the Climax.

Prabhu Solomon impresses a lot with his screenplay and dialogues. A string of humor runs throughtout the movie. The dialogues are a major plus.

The camera work by Sukumaran is realistic with awesome angles and is a major draw.

Dharan impresses a lot with his BGM than the songs. The BGM reminded me of IR in some sequences. Siru Thodudhalilae is a melodious number that is sure to be on everyone's lips.

What impressed me the most is the chemistry between the lead pair, Aravindhan & Charmi. For Charmi, it is a superb performance, and the actor has gained a lot in performance(as well as in weight;-) in all these years. She performs the role of Angel with effortless ease. She does mimicry of almost all the actors, especially Vadivelu, Kannamba(ably supported by Prabhu Solomon's dialogues/direction)

Aravindhan, a debutant, has done equally well. His voice sounding innocent, and the humor sprinkled dialogues is sure to make you to like this guy.

Watch the movie for a racy screenplay, and if you like bullets firing from all quarters.

Best Regards,
Dharma.

Ayan - watch it for Suriya

Ayan - watch it for Suriya

Ayan - it is an out-an-out Suriya movie. Of course, the credit has to go to the Director for a racy screenplay and taut script.

Suriya is a college-goer, who involves himself in diamond trafficking from Congo just for the sheer thrill involved. Prabhu, whom Suriya works for, controls this illegal market.

The rival gang wants to steal the number 1 place held by Prabhu. The movie is all about how these two rival gangs go about their job, trying to outsmart each other.

The theme in itself is not new. However, taking this illegal trafficking and making into a full-blown story is new to Thamizh Cinema and the Director(K.V.Anand) has come out triumphs in his second venture(his first is Kanaa Kandaen)

The director has obviously done enough homework in studying the ongoing scheme of things in Congo(African nation), which is the source of diamonds, Customs Operation, Ways of Smuggling things(some of them are really good ideas - at least new to Thamizh Cinema)

Nandu(I do not recall his original name), who comes as Suriya's friend has done a neat role. The friendship between the two have been portrayed really well.

Prabhu has done a neat role of Doss, with underplayed emotions. He better should watch his weight, for he occupies more than half of the 70mm screen :-)

Suriya is simply awesome - be it dance, cute facial expressions, romance, stunts, crying sequences - he seems to just enjoy it all. Superb Suriya...

Best thing with Suriya is that he does not fit into any kind of image, giving him the fearlessness to try out new things.

You can watch the movie once again for Suriya alone - Of course, Tamannah is there to provide some chillness for the soaring temperature in summer. Though she has not much scope to perform, she has made ample use of the opportunity given to her.

M.S. Prabhu's camera captures the scenic locations in Malaysia as well as the rustic locations in Congo, Africa in a stunning way. His Camera work is a big plus for the movie.

Few songs of Harris' are really hummable, and the picturization, costumes and choreography deserve special mention(especially for Pala Pala & Vizhi Moodi) Suriya is simply awesome. See it to believe it.

The chasing sequence which comes in the first 10 mins is brilliant and reminded one of Jackie Chan's movies. Suriya has taken enough risk on this, and he actually made it look very easy. Extraordinary - this kind of chasing sequence has not come in any recent Thamizh movie and looks so credible.

Kudos to the Director in providing a racy thriller movie(without a separate comedy sequence)


Plus:
Suriya, Suriya & Suriya
Racy First-Half
Camera
Harris's music
Stunt sequences
Dance Choreography
Prabhu's underplayed role
Villain(he seems to be new, but has done a decent job)
Tamannah(of course :-)

Minus:
Second half of the screen-play sags a little, but more than makes up for it towards the end.
I thought BGM was not quite up to the mark

In all, a neat racy-thriller for the summer. Can be watched at least once.

Best Regards,
Dharma.

Bala's Naan Kadavul - my opinion abt the movie

NAAN KADAVUL - By Bala

In one word, this movie is out of the world and I now believe in Ameer's words that Bala's world cannot be easily understood.

This movie is not for:

• people who are weak-hearted
• people who cannot digest the harsh realities of life
• people who think the world around them is full of happiness and only happiness
  

With this in mind, go through the movie.

The story goes thus...
A father believes in an astrologer's words that his son's jathagam is not good, and lot of trouble will happen if he is with him, and advises him to get
separated for 14 yrs.
The father leaves him in Kasi, where the boy is taken care of by the Sadhus there. He finds a spiritual guru who makes him believe that he is God(Naan Kadavul)

Thus begins the transformation of boy to God, who believes in his own principles.
வாழத் தகுதி இல்லாதவர்களுக்கு நான் தரும் வரம், மரணம்.
வாழ இயலாதவர்களுக்கு நான் தரும் மரணம், வரம.

Roughly translated "The Blessing I give to those that do not qualify to live is Capital Punishment . The Capital Punishment I give to those, who are not able to live is my Blessing"

After 14 yrs, the father goes in search of him and brings him(Arya) back to Malaikottai(ThamizhNadu). However, the boy, who now thinks he is God, is free from all emotions, relations. He refuses to gel with the family, and spends time in his own world(ganja helps him - how it helps is a different topic altogether :-)

And, then there is another world, most of us think that never existed. The world of beggars, how they are collected and how an organized crime is taking place. Here comes the ruthless Thandavan(remember the guy who gets beaten up by Vikram in the jail fight scene from the movie Pithamagam), who runs the business of collecting small children, handicapped and orphans, he deforms them and makes them to beg. I do not believe any other director could have taken this subject and made us realize the harsh realities of their lives.

There is a broker Murugan(who has appeared in quite a few movies along with Vadivelu - remember the guy who asks for Bin Laden's address). His is a powerful
role, who brings in people to be employed as beggars for his living and then cries after getting drunk for his mistakes. Typical Bala character, I suppose :-)

In comes Pooja, who is initially in some other small beggar group, who is a good singer, and now brought in to Thandavan's group by Murugan. I just can't forget the two songs sung by Pooja in the movie.
Few lines from Idho endhan Dheivam:
பாசமுள்ள பார்வையிலே கடவுள் வாழ்கிறான் - அவன்
கருணையுள்ள நெஞ்சினிலே கோவில் கொள்கிறான்

Roughly translated:
God lives in the eyes of those who radiate love. He makes the heart of kind hearted his residence.

I am realizing the real meaning of these lines, even though I have heard this song before.

The small beggar(I cannot think of another apt word) group's performance inside the police station is sure to bring smiles across. I just cannot believe, how time and again, Bala is able to pull out such performances from mentally/phsically challenged people(real-life incidents)

The world of beggars will come across as a shock to many of us. The bonding between them is really heart-warming and brings out a few tears. I could even remember each and every one in the gang of beggars. Only Bala can get such a performance from them.

Their day-to-day living, making fun of others(even if they are physically challenged), taking life easily - hmmm.. a big inspiration to all of us. Notable characters include Small boy, a Thirunangai, short lady, grandfather, a guy with wick.

And then, the world of beggars and the world of Arya meet, leading to a mind-sweeping climax running upto 10 mins(much like Pithamagan) - punishing the baddies.


Arya as Rudhran(the movie's protagonist) has performed extraordinarily well. The two+ years he spent patiently with Bala, taking risk on such a deglamorized role, has reaped success for him. His eyes, his body-language, the way he sits stylishly in the midst of a brutal fight(much like the eagle pose of Vikram from Pithamagan) - awesome. Arya has really tried hard to portray the character of a aghori Sadhu and has liven up to the expectations of Bala.

Pooja as Amsavalli, is a surprise packet. In the media, it was Arya who got to be much publicized. However, if you get to watch the movie, you are in for a complete surprise. Pooja has more scenes than Arya(:-) and steals the show as well as sympathy. The fact that two actresses have opted out of the movie after being booked, shows the heaviness expected out of this character, and Pooja has done with ease. This movie sure is going to be a milestone in her movie career.

Note:I feel that the movie might not even be liked by fans of Bala. In that, all of previous Bala's movies had a love angle so beautifully brought up. However, here in Naan Kadavul, the story does not offer any scope for Love, what with, Ruthran being a aghori Sadhu.

This movie will have to be watched at least twice, to understand it, the concepts that the director is trying to explain, etc.

The Credits:-

• Ilayaraja's songs(especially Pitchai Paathiram, which he has written the lyrics too, is haunting) and BGM are top-class and takes the movie to another plane
• Arthur Wilson's camera is ruthless and captures the rawness that Bala expects and has given in his previous movies
• Stunts by Super Subbarayan are unbelievable. Most of the time, I was wondering, if the people were getting really hit.
• Noted Thamizh writer Jeyamohan's dialogues offer both seriousness blended with humor(watch out for the dialogues spoken by a physically challenged kid). The movie is said to be based on Jeyamohan's novel Ezham Ulagam.

Movie's minus:

• The title of the movie is misleading. I was expecting Ruthran to do something more. However, Bala seems to have not given much thought over it, except for using him to punish the villains.
• Two of IR's songs amma un pillai naan and kannil paarvai have been left out. I still think that the movie definitely had scenes to have these songs.
• Some of the dialogues are in Hindi/Sanskrit making it difficult to understand. Even the Thamizh poem he says for his mother is not understandable(how ignorant I am - that is understandable, since the poems are Siddhars have such an in-depth meaning)

My take away's from the movie:-

• Feel privileged that you are staying in a good house, with good food, clothes and people around you to help
• Be good to people around you
• Try to contribute a bit to the society
  

I re-iterate,

• go to the movie with open and free-mind, to be emotionally affected, as is the case with all of Bala's movies
• do not go to the movie, if you are already emotionally drained and sad

Best Regards,
Dharma.