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kirumi - excellent characterizations!

When I watched the movie, I was not much thrilled about the climax (end scene)...however, interestingly, that scene was lingering in my mind hours after watching the movie.

I would say fantastic scene - Actually, it added a lot of complexity to the already well-crafted characters! 

And, added phenomenal amount of realism too!

Kudos to the team for providing such complex characters & realism!

Papanasam on Sun TV. After watching Drishyam (malayalam), expectations were sky high with Kamal in it. Wonderfully done, never felt like a remake. Nellai dialect was a huge plus. Movies biggest hiccup was music. Thoroughly clueless on how and when to do background score. Score's volume was more than the volume of the dialogues. I had to rewind many times to hear the dialogues as dialogues were submerged by over-sounding score. Climax and end scene dialogues were hardly audible due to the score. I was surprised how Kamal didn't notice it. For many scenes silence would have been more than good, but Ghibran scored even when he got small opportunities which more or less spoiled the film for me.

Being a huge fan of love subject films and drama, my top most favorite films obviously are Saagara Sangamam & Muthal Mariyaathai. I know Saagara Sangam is much more than a love story, but all tied to that. I still not see another Balu or Madhavi or a Malaichchaami or Kuyilu. Not sure how it started, but it started with Johnny, Nenjaththai KiLLaathE & AlaigaL Oiyvathillai when I didn’t even have an idea of what those films are about, till I watched PayanangaL Mudivathillai and Moondram Pirai and it struck me like a bolt, during my adolescent age . Then I escaped to theatres to watch films like Idhaya kOyil, VaidhEgi KaathirunthaaL, Kaadhal Oviyam KadalOra KavithaigaL, Geethanjali, Punnagai Mannan, Idhayam, Guna, Sethu till NEPV and the list continues. I might have missed only a few that time, that too when the music is not by Maestro.

Yes of course there are tons of other films like KiLinjaLgal, VaazvE Maayam to AlaipaayuthEy, 7G Rainbow Colony, Autograph, VTV and much more. I even liked these films, but somehow I felt the subtle and poignant poetry of communication between the lovers and for the ambience was missing because of the music. May be I am prejudiced and biased, but I feel for these kind of films, music has to be spontaneous, so that the flow is undeterred and undistracted. If there is any conscious effort, the innocence in music will be completely lost. While in older films I can feel the flow in couple of songs, not every one of them were captivating and background score is a big big minus in all those films. I also feel the music has to communicate strongly despite the below par acting and screenplay issues, so that those are masked effectively.

Leaving the music aside, these films overall gives me a sense of satisfaction and also takes me back to my school and college days when watched again and again and also helps me keeping young The small, tiny and careless moments in those films adds more interest in me. Some films I watch again only for such scenes as I may not like the entire film or the ending. The amount of impact these films has in me can’t be explained. It continues weeks after I watch these films as I keep on recall and rewind virtually the scenes I liked.

*****For those who didn’t watch, spoiler ahead, please skip if you intend to watch it********

I am not a movie reviewer. These are just my thoughts as an average movie watcher.

Recently I happened to watch the much talked about film; Premam, as this film fell under the above category. Good film! I already read some reviews about it and some said it was similar to Autograph which was another film I liked which kindled interest in me to watch this film. As usual Malayalam films and their way of presenting are way different than Thamizh films. Yes, there are similarities in the plot but it was presented differently and even more subtly. When we see a Mallu girl in Autograph, here we see a Thamizh girl. A kind of swap. The best part I liked about the film is how the male protagonist moves on positively without adding burden on him. The film does not hurry and is at its own pace, but it does not feel boring, it feels like a gentle breeze caressing us in every frame.

The initial Aluva scenes are breath-taking for the eyes.The bridge and the river adds so much beauty. The carefree nature of the teens and the humor behind it was well narrated by Alphonse Puthren.  Nivin (George)and Anupama (Mary) were at ease and brought the infatuation aspect well. Nivin’s friends add to the drama. The song where all the boys roam around her house and sing is kind of funny. Aluva puzhayude is a good song, but I heard some controversy in picuturizing this song.

The film belongs to the middle portion where George meets Malar (Sai Pallavi) in college. What a debut for her! She acted like an experienced actress. Full of life and energy in her in every frame. Girl next door looks. Her every bit of acting and nuances captured me completely. The way she corrects herself from ‘shirt to kurtha’ with those sweet expressions, or the way she looks at George and responds, when she tells that she gave the last number (of her mobile) wrong to her colleague, their last meet when she leaves for kodai, all are visual poetry. Same way when Nivin (when drunk) expresses that she is looking beautiful and also further emphasizes that he is not saying this, because he is drunk, are some of the scenes I loved. Nivin’s beard adds so much charisma to the character he portrays.  I think he is maturing as an actor and star in every outing.

Malare by Vijay Yesudas is a great song, but somehow the song did not provide me a grip even after multiple viewing and listening. The reason behind is, the visuals are overpowering the music. There is so much going on visually that we could hardly concentrate on the music/song. May be separate listening is necessary.

What I didn’t like about this portion of the film is how suddenly everything happens which contradicts the whole film and its flow. Surprisingly Malar reciprocates to George almost instantly with no concerns. May be love at first sight. Same way, later when George realizes her abysmal situation, he moves on. If it was a true love, how did he make up his mind to leave her at that stage was still puzzling to me. May be he could not communicate to her or her mother about their relationship because first they are not of same mother tongue. That ease is lost I understand. Even their relationship is known only to him and her. But leaving her at that situation made me little bit disappointed. These are the loose ends which could have been addressed convincingly by the director.

Immediately in the next scene George tells his friends that she is getting married (to her cousin) and next week is her pre-wedding reception. They even attend the function, but somehow I felt he made up his mind so soon.

Madonna Sebastian (Celine), George's next girl, even though she appears in only couple of scenes, she really mesmerizes with her smile, looks and gentle/sober acting. So gorgeous, especially her expressions and exchanges when dessert caption was being made at the café, and the close-up shots of she eating the ice-cream; so artistically done. The cafe portions are mesmerizing. When George asks her about who (Appu) is while nervously puts a question mark on the cake itself, is a great little touch. The whole shot when he writes "Happy Birthday Appu" and the way she stares at him speaks a lot about how she already understood her. She even knows who George is at that point of time. But that was not told explicitly.

Same way, the closeup shot of her eyes while eating the cake and George's look at her, is very artistically done by the director. Portion of the frame was blurred (shallow depth of field) with George's head while other portion focussed sharply on her eyes. I keep rewinding that scene again and again.

But this last ending and climax portion also has issues. Even though the director links the protagonist’s 14-year journey with the beautiful twist at the end, but that was also not convincingly told. How come a person just casually, yet abruptly proposes to her? Is it just because she is a sister of her first love (and that too they are seeing each other after 14 years) and they know each other before (but she was eight old kid then, right)? I felt that was too much of an advantage taken more than the love (or the desire to live a life with her). In fact, there was no love between them and even it was there, it was not well established. Still when that scene and frame ends (taking us to another scene) with George walking away as she tells him that she is getting engaged, Celine asks George's friend a pen. Wonderful editing there.

The movie ends is a very clichéd cinematic and abrupt climax, which again tells something that the movie was already long, and we have to end it now.

The open-ended ending was quite good with Malar (with her cousin) visiting him at his wedding. Malar's husband asks her; 'சொல்லிருக்கலாமே' (implying she should have told George that she regained her lost memory back), but she replies back 'எதுக்கு அவன் சந்தோஷமாதான் இருக்கான்'. That’s where the director cleverly did that part. It was a beautiful ending either way. 

Other things I liked about the film were the way all the lead characters’ families/background are kept under-carpet without complicating the story further. There is couple of scenes where George’s father steps in the college for his son’s misbehavior (hilarious scene), George's sister was seen once at their house, Malar’s mother was shown at her residence (after the accident), Mary’s father was shown in couple of scenes, but that’s that. Even Mary (and no families) were seen at her sister’s wedding. So much abstraction. Even Malar comes and goes in few minutes without having wedding feast

The movie had too much smoking, alcohol and drinking scenes, which kind of distracts the seriousness of the subject taken. I was surprised to see the students drinking inside the campus and the class. Is it the way now?   Definitely some scenes could have been removed which could have reduced the length of the film, (quite a long movie). The best part is the music director remained silent for most part without intruding or distracting unnecessarily with (loud) background score. Couples of songs are good.

I will keep on recalling some beautiful scenes in this movie. Three gorgeous ladies with wonderful performances by them, especially Sai Pallavi. Nivin has definitely emerged as a star from this film by his captivating performance. It definitely took me back to school and college days. The movie is titled ‘Premam’ (love) but what I found was, most of the film was just about infatuation and romance more than the love, as the aspect of love was not well developed or expressed, or is this in trend with today’s love and lovers? But ‘Move on’ is the attitude which director wants to convey more than ‘Premam’? Even the other characters revolving around the main characters; his father, principal, the other lecturer (some scenes, especially where they request George and his friends to praise him in front of Malar was nicely done. Same way when he sings ennavaLE), PT master, cousin etc didn't add much to the film. His friends kind of gave strength and confidence to George whenever he is down. Despite all these odds, overall it is a breezy, light-hearted romantic comedy, and a lovable film mainly because of the way the plot was narrated in a casual manner (dialogues) with no hurry, with excellent editing, cinematography and great screenplay, but most of all those small yet memorable moments in Aluva, college and in the cafe.

Watched Visaaranai on tentkotta. What a fantastic film with absorbing narration!

***If anyone wants to watch, please don't read it, it has some spoilers***

I was munching about the film whole night and still doing it. Every character is carved so perfectly with utmost integrity to the film's narration.
It is a bruta,l dark film but at the same time, but told in a nicer, subtler way. Few examples below:
- Lady police officer leaving her cell phone.
- Police officer distributing laddu, but a terror in work. Ajay Gosh was fantastic!
- Releasing them to eat food, only to recapture them, Wow! Hilarious, but very true.
- The sweet and caring language of some police officials, yet cunning! E Ramadoss really stole the show for me.
- The last final shoot sequences.
- The way they discuss to close the case while the end credits was on is a top notch touch from Vetrimaran.
- Some classic metaphors with the way the movie starts and ends leaving us lot to analyze.
- lot more...

The setting and characters definitely will leave you spellbound on what's going to happen next. I still don't want to spoil the game if anyone wants to watch. I really liked how a small thread of connection between Andra police victims and TN police leads to the ultimate finish! So brutal! The dilemma of a good police officer to save himself is beautifully told.

Editing and cinematography was top class! GVP's music (and silence) wasn't distracting which is a nice thing unlike Papanasam where Gibran spoiled the move with his horrendous and loud score.

Samuthrakani, Dinesh, Murugadass, Kishore all lived their role, but it is still hard to convince me Samuthrakani getting NA for best supporting Actor. May be
there was none better in this category? I could even see many in this film deserves one. Such is the performance.

Definitely a brave film for displaying the true characters of police station and helpless victims. Kudos and Hats off to Vetrimaran!! Much deserving film for capturing NA for best picture, not just in regional. I will be watching again and again to get more insights.

Love to see Nerd's and others review of this film. Nerd, waiting to read your take on this.

V_Sji super review. An important film for sure.

 I saw it much before the theatrical release [without the BGM and with the profanity  ] There are 2-3 scene differences between the theatrical and the film festival version. I did post about the film festival version in twitter.

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1snf0o0 [But sorry to disappoint you, if I did]

Thanks a lot Nerd As usual excellent take on the film. That's why I wanted to read your thoughts Great to hear that you got to see it uncensored. Some nice observations on lengthy Telugu region episode, A Kashyap's inspiration, minimizing the character involvement with KK episode, Samuthrakani's under-developed character etc. Definitely one day will have to watch a film with you Yes, the end credits was too brutal that I can't stop laughing how bravely they come up with an idea like that. Hats off to Vetri!

Nerd wrote:V_Sji super review. An important film for sure.

 I saw it much before the theatrical release [without the BGM and with the profanity  ] There are 2-3 scene differences between the theatrical and the film festival version. I did post about the film festival version in twitter.

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1snf0o0 [But sorry to disappoint you, if I did]

In TN part or AP? I actually enjoyed TN part which was lot more organic, makes the audience feel the unease the characters are going through
and be forever in look out for the shit to hit the fan whilst the AP one looked like a bad edit
trying to guilt trip the audience at every instance. Its amazing how little we know about Kishore's character on whom Vetri yarns that crucial knot, props to Vetri for this leap of faith.

Thanks V_Sji.

Wizz - The let-them-go-eat-biriyani-come-back-to-get-beaten-again scene wasn't there in the festival version for one. That was a really good filler scene. Also the torture scenes in the first half were a little toned down in terms of length. IIRC the Chennai portions didn't change at all except muting all the profanity.

Tharai Thappattai - Such a haunting film for me.

***Spoiler ahead. Please postpone reading if you wish to watch***
I think after Sethu, this is the second love subject film from Bala. Other films has that touch, but in these two films love is the main subject over which everything revolves. We have seen soft and silken love stories and subjects, and we have seen little bold and raw love subjects. All Bala films are raw,rustic and dark, but when it comes to portraying love, only Bala can come up with brutal, sincere and an unconditional surrendering aspect of love.

Some dialogues display that true sense of surrender. Ex: என் மாமா சாப்பிடனும்னா நான் அம்மணமா ஆடவும் தயார் (after she hurt her feet and still danced for her love, since Sannasi expresses that he is very hungry). I could not control my tears, when Sooravalli expresses that line and Maestro promptly plays (the prelude of) paaruruvaaya. Have we ever heard such an unconditional/brutal way of expressing love in any films? I have read such unconditional love only in some Russian books of Leo Tolstoy and others. It might even sound so embarrassing and unpleasant especially for women, but it tells the tale of pure unadulterated love and poetry not told by anyone else. I was even pleasantly surprised how Maestro chose such a divine composition for this situation, setting and characters. One might easily dismiss the composition (like IR's brother already did) quoting the song placement in the film. Even then how would one dismiss a composition by quoting placement rather than evaluating the composition itself? Why such a composition should not be placed there? Does it make the composition impure? Manikkavasagar wrote this poetry to surrender himself of the Lord, which is what happening here. Sooravalli even though she loves Sannasi brutally, she also worships him thoroughly as her God.

I was even wondering why Maestro chose a women to sing (half of) that composition, when an ascetic and a saint Manikkavasagar who only wants to abode the feet of Lord Shiva, wrote it. By employing a women sing the composition, Maestro slaps our face to thoroughly understand the composition (rather than superficially dismissing it) that content of song which really matters and not who wrote it. Again the second half of the song is sung by a male which also implies how Sannasi falls for her and he also treats her as his love and God, but never reciprocates. Both the situations talks about unconditional surrender.

This scene alone is enough for me. The film has many such minute moments which worked big time for me, one is idarinum scene, the witty humor (between samipulavar and sooravalli), the last 30 minutes of dark phases of the film. The side characters were not impressive and for such a powerful film, they didn't add much value to the film. Varalakshmi has acted as if this is her last film, so exceptional. The story is age-old and has its weak moments too, but the overall impact is something I have not experienced in a love subject film. Missed aattakkaari maaman ponnu on the screen. Again, the 20 minutes youtube upload of background score by think music does not do any justice to Maestro. There is much more going on. Having said that, I have to put this soundtrack up at the top ahead of Rudhramadevi from last year.

Well said V_Sji.

இதுல காமெடி என்னன்னா - திருவாசகத்தை [பிறப்பற வேண்டும்] திரையில் பயன்படுத்துறதுக்கு பாலாவை விட பொருத்தமாக வேற ஆட்கள் இருக்காங்களா என்ன? மனிதப்பிறவி எவ்வளவு மோசமானது, மனிதர்கள் எல்லாரும் என்ன மாதிரி, டிசைன் டிசைனா கஷ்டப்படுறாங்கன்றத பாலாவை விட வேற யாராவது திரும்பத் திரும்ப இவ்வளவு சிறப்பா வலியுறுத்திருக்காங்களா என்ன? கிட்டத்தட்ட எல்லா பாலா படத்துலயும் தொடர்ச்சியா வர்ற தீம் இது.

Anyway here's my take http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1soamj2

Wonderful review and excellent points Nerd   Truly enlightening reading your views. பாத்தா பாரு பாக்காட்டி போ.  

Nerd wrote:As for Raaja - what shall I say. That 'selection' scene in particular, I mean one of those can-never-watch-that-scene-again scenes which were actually plenty in the film, but what does Raaja do - the emotions the score trigger inside us for such a brief scene - inexplicably weird and undeniably apt to the proceedings. But wait he is not done yet, the pinnacle is him playing a variation of பார் உரு ஆய when Varu appears. Devastating, I tell you.

Exactly,nailed it!!

It amuses me when one dismisses such a composition with some irrelevant சப்பைக்கட்டு.

Visiting sis family and as usual 2 movies this weekend...

வேலைன்னு வந்துட்டா வெள்ளக்காரன் - there are some fun moments

மனிதன் - definite one-time-watch, with not much FF! 

Though Udhayanithi does not no anything special, for that char he fits (it needed someone without any big baggage / prior performances etc. And that way, he is a fit. Of course, any newcomer would have done the job as well).

Prakash Raj in a "typical" role and thus boring. (That he does effortlessly is a different matter).

I could not believe that I watched quite a number of films in the last couple of weeks. Manam, Oopiri, 24, KO2, theri, Kaadhalum kadanthu pOgum, Airlift, Ki & Ka, Iraivi.
Kaadhalum kadanthu pOgum is the best of the lot and Iraivi being the worst. I loved KKP, every bit of it. Nalan at his best again after Soodhu Kavvum.
Ki & Ka is another fine film, Balki's return back film after much horrible Shamitabh. Background score was phenomenal. Still I could not understand/digest why Balki went for a different music director for other songs. A gentle tale of human relationship with a very interesting touch. I will have to write about it in detail little later.
Manam and Oopri was a nice watch despite many annoying and tiring scenes.
KO2 was OK, not much to talk about, but a harmless film.
Airlift is a beautiful heart-warming film, excellent effort for putting together a big film like this, but I often question myself on how real events like these could be made into an 'INTERESTING' film. In that way, to me the film was not interesting.
24 is another patchy film, that's all. I could not stop laughing on how the aaraaro song was picturized in the film.
Theri - Less talked about it, the better.

Having said that, I was hugely disturbed and upset about Iraivi. Oh man! How did Karthik Subbaraj conceived such a plot/story is itself a big question to me. The film did not have any focus, going haywire all the time. An ugly film. And who gave UA certification for the film? Leave alone watching with kids, my wife almost fainted when Vijay Sethupathi hit that producer with that big hammer, not once, not twice, he was hitting on and on. Same way with Bobby Simha. என்ன ஒரு காட்டுமிராண்டித்தனம்!! The harsh and brutal violence steadily increased in film;, Nayagan, Devar Magan I think were the first ones to show such a raw violent scenes, but it slowly and steadily absorbed every thamizh cinema brutally, heartlessly. Ghajini was another  example when that villain hits Asin with a hammer. Subramaniyapuram, eesan, pattiyal, pollathavan and list goes on and on. Vijay, Ajith films too share too much space here. எப்பப்பார் ஒரு பழி வாங்குற கதை இதை விட்டா ஒரு மண்ணும் தெரியாது. அதை பாக்கறதுக்கு ஒரு கும்பல் வேற. Even in Thaarai Thappattai we have many scenes like this. How many such films we have seen recently ? Is this amount of violence required in films? What are they achieving out of it, by showing such scenes? Is that for real? At the cost of? If not violent films, the other part is to show the sadistic aspect; 7GR, Kaadhal kondEn, 3, paruththi veeran,kaadhal, Ranjhana etc. These are the films which spoils many, getting their nerves tightened always hungry to attack someone. Setting such a dangerous precedence! This needs to stop. I still can't believe these are our films. So ashamed.

வேலைன்னு வந்துட்டா வெள்ளக்காரன் - there are some fun moments [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

horrendous watch, never knew Ezhil is still active.

Spoilers ahead...

கபாலி பார்த்தாச்சு. I don't know where to start. Right from the day we came about to know about this film, there were tremendous expectations and obviously the highest hype created in Indian cinema I ever knew. Especially it went beyond limits days before the release. We were also constantly bombarded with news and interviews about this film, that even if we want to escape, it was not possible at all. When the director Ranjith talked about how he approached the script pushing Superstar (image) out of the script as much as possible, it evoked more and more interest to watch the film, with the desire and hope to see Rajinikanth more than a Superstar.

Yet, I am not a big fan of Don movies. I guess Godfather trilogy (the first two parts) is the one to blame as it sowed the seeds for so many such films, but many films didn't have a clue on how to pay tribute to that legendary series.  When I left the theater after watching the film, I was totally blank. Did I like it or not? I don't know. There was a pin drop silence when the audience left the theater along with me (even with the kids) which is very rare for a Rajini movie.

When I reminisce I thought it was due to not much wow! factor in the movie. There were many scenes which would start interesting, but it would vanish suddenly which require sustenance. I would like cite couple of examples. When Rajini returns to his home and he sees his wife in every room he goes. At last he sits at the dining table (to reminsce his good old days) asking his men to leave him alone. The next shot is completely incoherent that as a an audience I also started living that moment, but you are taken out from that scene harshly. Same way, when he walks down to the lawn and breaks down Rajini (knowing about his wife) was shown from behind, what a cruel way to take that scene. When the camera pans in front of him, he is already done with the shot. Another important the reunion scene. He waits 25 years to see his wife, but when they see each other, he just hugs her, wipes the tears, and rushes to introduce  their daughter to her. Is it that simple? Why so much hurry? As an audience these are the scenes one would want to savor and relish, but the connect is harshly and abrubtly taken away. It was like giving a ounce of water when a person is in deep thirst. But on the other hand, there are some elaborate scenes even up to a funeral procession of one gang person.

Even the whole rehabilation center scene was too lengthy with outdated flashback scenes. Film introduces lot of characters from Nasser, Kishore, Kalaiyarasan, Dhansika, Dinesh, Riythvika, John Vijay, Sangili Murugan, Hari, Durai (do not know his name), Velu (do not know his name), Chales Vinod, Rama, but hardly I could feel their presence (except for one or two scenes), which gets me a feeling that he was trying too many ideas in a single movie. To be honest, I saw the life/love/chemistry between Rajini and Radhika was contrived and was never moving. The dialogues like 'un karuppu poora naan en mela poosikkanum' kind only made things worst.

Not to mention about the uninspiring villain and those tiring fights and gunshots. I had to close my kids eyes, thanks to the U certification.

With all this, I could sense that Ranjith was caught up under tremendous pressure given Superstar as his cast, a big producer like Dhanu and the publicity it creates. Not in his wild dream he would have thought that he would direct Superstar (atleast this soon). Definitely the film was an honest attempt, but as an upcoming director trying to impress Superstar (and his family), producer, audience caught up in a mess fearing which one to present and which one to avoid, ended up writing something which with the help of promos and clever marketing, did atleast made the producers happy. But I am doubtful, if apart from SS fans if others whole-heartedly liked the movies and are ready to see it second time, that's where I believe the movie's real success lies.

I always thought that it is the director (who is the brain child of a film) who first writes the script, goes to the producer, producer like/dislikes the script. Then they chose the cast. Why it has become the other way? Like an actor (especially who is already established himself in the industry), selects a director, invites him, asks him to write a script to his favor, putting tremendous pressure on him. I don't like this trend mainly because it kills the freedom of expression and also he need to compromise on certain things. May be that's where lies the (fundamental) crux of the problem of this movie? 

Having said that, on the other hand, is it becoming difficult to direct a legend and a brand like Rajinikanth (as we have seen previous two instances as well)? I am curious about Rajinikanth's next steps and his next films (leaving Enthiran 2.0) on whom he would choose his next director. Let me wait, but will end with this:

There are Ilaiyaraaja's songs and there are others. The former's music catches us instantly, but holds on till our life, while others music after having constantly bombarded us through promotions and marketing, we tend to like it, but as soon as the initial hype dies out, the music also die out. The main reason being the songs having catchy starting hooks (the brand), but could not sustain that for the whole duration (every ordinary middle phrases), yet the same starting catchy phrase occurs thousand times in a song, that one would feel that is the complete song by itself. The middle phrases are totally incoherent with each other that they fight with each other for a place, but they hardly know they never existed there. While in Maestro's songs each phrase complement another, continues seamlessly to another line giving a life to the melody and melody giving life to the song.

In the same way, may be I would get enamored by the film once I read the reviews/analysis, all the interviews by the director, team, actors, might influence me the film better, but without all these, I guess it should impress me, which the film only did in parts. But may be this the right first step in the direction for Rajinikanth for us to see him as an actor.

I am really surprised how Ranjith is single handedly, patiently handling all the interviews while all others who are associated in the movie already disappeared from the scene. Dhanu is flying high after he received more than he wanted/expected out of this movie. Everyone received more than what they wanted/expected, but this poor guy is stuck with this horrible media people and their relentless questions. Almost daily he is facing one or other interview and he had to answer the same questions. Now it has gone so miserable that they started questioning the film's attitude (including caste) and many things. I really feel sorry for him. Since he could not say 'No' to SuperStar/Soundarya, he was pulled into this movie (may be even without his wish). Even when he made a movie of the decade; Madras, he didn't have to answer all these stupid questions. Now he honestly made another one, satisfied everyone, but now everyone's attention is on him. I really appreciate his coolness, but boldly facing these interviews and answering in a matured and thought provoking way. Even though I am keen to listen to him, still I wish everyone to leave him alone.

liked the first half and the movie quickly turned south in the second and that awfully staged climax 
donno why Ranjith did a whack-a-mole with 'Madras' cast in this movie, whenever a new character is introduced
your mind tries to map it to 'Madras'. 

Director Ranjith completely let down his writer part, many 'thirumba thirumba solra nee' scenes
where in the characters would narrate what had taken place immediately followed by a elaborate scene depicting the same :nooby mistake:
(compared that to 'Madras' where he was on top of the game)
though the voice over narration which he used exceedingly well in Madras also came good this time.
Also, Kabali's gang being squeaky clean just doesn't sit right given the environment the gang seems to operate.

Even the whole rehabilation center scene was too lengthy with outdated flashback scenes.

thought it was nicely done, more like a confession of sorts.

Film introduces lot of characters from Nasser, Kishore, Kalaiyarasan, Dhansika, Dinesh, Riythvika, John Vijay, Sangili Murugan, Hari, Durai (do not know his name), Velu (do not know his name), Chales Vinod, Rama, but hardly I could feel their presence (except for one or two scenes), which gets me a feeling that he was trying too many ideas in a single movie

concur, movie could do with some pruning even if you completely edit out 'Attakathi' Dinesh part don't think it would be a amiss.
he had no effect on the plot nor on the characters. 

All said and done I have to go back pretty long time to find a Rajini movie this engaging and these many things to talk about.
hope he quits Cements 2.0 and does another movie with Ranjith as bad ass Antagonist.

Wizzy wrote:All said and done I have to go back pretty long time to find a Rajini movie this engaging and these many things to talk about.

Agree. Because of this film, we got to know so many things about the plight of Malaysian Tamils, got to read so many in-depth analysis linking this film to their lives etc. When was the last Rajini film which delves with so much information? I don't remember any. It could have been a great film if Ranjith presented cleanly and nicely.

Nil Battey Sannata/Amma KaNakku

One of the best movies I saw this year, if not the best this year. A heart-warming movie. It is difficult to say which version was better, but I would go for the original, even though there is not much difference in terms of the story, acting etc, of course except for the music and cinematography. Both Swara Bhaskar and Amala Paul lived their role and their best in their career. Even though they look much younger as a mother of 14 year old kid, the good part is Amala Paul looks almost perfect in school dress compared to Swara Bhaskar which makes it even more seamless casting (in thamizh version). Both Ria Shukla and Yuvashree acted extremely well especially in showing aversion to studies and also in ill-behaving.

Even though the idea of a mother in 30s going to school again sounds amusing and illogical, the ultimate value it brings to the movie and to the audience is well worth it. I watched the movie with my kids. They really like it too. Very inspiring movie both for parents and kids. It beautifully describes the hardships of a mother (here a widower) and how she sacrifices her every moment for her daughter. 

The supporting cast especially all the kids were awesome. Acting comes so natural to them. Especially that Math expert guy, his backdrop and his maturity all beautifully done.

Ratna Pathak/Revathi were good too (but quite boring). Pankaj Tripathi/Samuthrakani’s acting was unnatural, I don’t know why it has to be that way. May be director thought to get some lighter moments of otherwise a serious movie?

Cinematography was excellent, especially the natural lighting. Even though it was the same cinematographer, hindi version was beautifully shot compared to thamizh version. Same way the school setting was beautifully done.

I really loved the lunch scenes where one of their classmate tastes the food of both Shanti and Abhi and feels they are same. Next day, she remembers that incident and changes her lunch. So many such subtle scenes nicely done. Same way, when they were talking in the school corridor (after their exams), the (taking) noise of the school is heard as the backdrop, which really got me so nostalgic and reminded me of my school days.

Couple of scenes could have been thought about better. One thamizh teacher asks the students to speak about ‘en kanavu’ (my dream) in the next class. He shouts at Abhi for not having a dream which does not work well. When he asks her mother about the same question and she could not tell her dream for various reasons, again the thamizh teacher gets offended and asks her to leave the class Even after her daughter explains the teacher about her mother and her dream, he was not impressed and hesitatingly asks her to come inside. This scene was little shabbily done.

Same way, when her daughter questions her mother suspecting her behavior (after seeing someone dropping her in the night after work) is so cheaply done. This scene could have been avoided or taken in a different perspective, especially to avoid any embarrassment.

Coming to music, there was too much western guitar in hindi version background score (and the songs were too western) for such a rural/town/slum setting. It might work if you listen separately, but it didn’t go well with the movie. It got better during the climax portions (with strings). Maestro did a beautiful job in background score and goes well to the context. The Maths tough song came out really well compared to the Hindi version (except for the rap portion). Same way intha vaazhkkai song was beautifully weaved to the context unlike the Hindi version. Other songs were ok.

Dialogues were good but can be better. Especially, the way director associates Math problems to real world problems in a simple way was too good. "The answer to any question is hidden inside the question itself" dialogue is a very important one for every one, not just for Math and kids. 


Overall, I really enjoyed the film. A very simple, heart-warming, beautiful, yet powerful film with so much nuance in story-telling and brings forth the value of education in a defining way. It is not only inspiring, a very responsible movie. A must watch with kids. This coming from a female director,  hats off!

Kabali fails to fit in with either a ruthless gangster film or a heart warming family entertainer. Worse, there are far too many supporting cast and not even a single character stays in your mind.
Santhosh Narayanan redeems himself with the sole melody "mAya nadhiyilE", sung superbly with jaw dropping improvisation by Ananthu and Shwetha Mohan. The other songs are just rap intended for Rajini mass fans. What annoyed me most were those guitars and other gadgets wailing at hyper decibels each time Rajini swung into action, all in the name of BGEEMaamaam
Rajini seems a bit too mellowed to play a cold , sprightly don role.
I would have loved more of a family oriented fare , may be with gansterism just relegated to the background.
My relatives commented that Kabali is much better than Linga. Well, does it make it any good?

mythila.

Please check this out - sweet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlbmBlwvbWs&t=2257s

(mAya nadhi male singer doing that song in "MSV-style")

Watched Appa this weekend. Nice film, but lot of overஆ பேசுற நீ moments. Some sentiments worked nicely while others annoyed equally. Overall, I felt the film and the scenes didn't flow naturally, it was quite contrived, that I keep hearing Samuthrakani often asking to "watch to this scene, watch that scene..." as he understands that we could be distracted everytime Kid absconding scene was shabbily done. It came from nowhere and ended without a clue on how/why it happened (may be just as an excuse/escape for huband/wife separation). All the kids acted very well, especially the room-mate. Climax was quite heavy and I predicted what was going to come already. Thambi Ramaiah's acting was mostly irritating. Nice message at the end without concluding anything is well done by the director. Without Maestro's music, this film could have easily gone into a serial/documentary category. Maestro converted this uninteresting plot and scenes into a solid film with his phenomenal score, even better than Amma kaNakku (which was a much better film). Watchable once mainly for kids performances and the score.

app_engine wrote:mythila.

Please check this out - sweet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlbmBlwvbWs&t=2257s

(mAya nadhi male singer doing that song in "MSV-style")

Thanks for the share app sir. When I was playing the YT link, my "nAthanAr" who only heard the audio was screaming with excitement how come MSv was singing this number.

For Ananthu, such was the effect of imbibing MSV's musical values after spending so many years with him

Vijay Sethupathi in an old-man make-up dancing like a youth.

For 'adiyE manam nillunnA nikkAdhadi' (original version, of course)...

Movie - Orange mittAi

I liked the movie and completed it, despite irritation / complaints from others (at home). Absolutely no FF 

Watched "appA" (Samudhrakkani). 

OK movie - except for a few scenes, not boring. 

Somebody compared this to "pasanga", a movie I could not watch beyond say 15-20 minutes because it was very irritating and boring. 

There was nothing irritating in appA for the most part, despite the advice mazhai. 

Predictable but the performances of kids kept my interest  (some scenes were thoyvu of course, e.g. the "boy-missing-from-bus" scene but such ones were made "tolerable" by BGM).

IR's score definitely enhances the movie watching experience. 
(This score I've heard earlier from Navin Mozart youtube and as a standalone, felt nothing extraordinary).