MANKATHA MOVIE REVIEW

MANKATHA MOVIE REVIEW Review by : Behindwoods Review Board Starring: Ajith Kumar, Trisha, Arjun, Andrea Jeremiah, Lakshmi Rai, Premji, Anjali, Vaibhav Direction: Venkat PrabhuMusic: Yuvan Shankar RajaProduction: Dayanidhi Azhagiri, (Cloud Nine Movies) Mankatha after having played ‘uLLe veLiye’ for quite a while, strikes finally, AND in style! For his golden jubilee flick, Ajith, the ‘golden hearted’ lad of Tamil cinema teams up with the uber cool Venkat Prabhu and his gang of boys and the effect is exciting to say the least. When you have the handsome Vinayak Mahadev (Ajith) team himself with a few boys on his ‘Money’ mission and when there is cop Prithviraj (Arjun) who is hot on their trail, what you get is a heady cocktail of events that suck you into the premise of Mankatha albeit a bit late. For Venkat Prabhu, it is a huge responsibility to fuse in his irreverent style of film making with the sensibilities of Ajith’s image and the director has not compromised one bit here and kudos to him for this. Mankatha unfolds languorously and takes its own sweet time to establish the premise when the major portion of the first half keep flitting in between many tracks with three romances. When you start wondering whether the movie is going anywhere at all, it shifts to third gear to be only brought down by a song or two. And when the director finally decides to cast everything else away and focus on the central plot, the story takes an interesting detour and mutates into a Grand Prix race all the way from the second half with Venkat Prabhu reserving all his aces for the climax. There is always no dearth of humor in Venkat Prabhu’s films but in Mankatha it is a bit muted when compared to his other works. Mostly the comic lines are at the expense of Premji and the best example is his analogy with Youtube sensation Sam Anderson. Dialogues like - “Light pottutu daan otta koodadhu, lightaa pottutu ottalam” bring cheers. And the typical Venkat Prabhu’s conceptualization of humor in a serious situation still finds place but they are few. The cat and the mouse game is exciting and the best part is you are never able to realize how many cats and mice are involved in the game. Even better is the fact that you cannot be quite sure of who is playing the double cross on whom and it is not until the final frame that you can put all the pieces together. Hats off to Venkat Prabhu for keeping the audience guessing all the way and scripting an absolute cracker of a climax! The chess board sequence just before the interval block is unique and intelligent.  The portions that looked unnecessary additions in the first half are all neatly explained in the context of things at the end, leaving no loose ends.  With an ensemble cast, there is every likelihood that at least a few would be relegated to the sidelines but all of them are there deservedly.   When we talk about performances, Ajith is unarguably the pièce de résistance of Mankatha and it is his uninhibited performance that captivates the audience. For him, it is a superb knock on the field well laid out by Venkat Prabhu. He simply sizzles in his action shots and his cute expressions in dance sequences are a revelation. The consistency in Ajith’s characterization is a major plus for the film. Next to Ajith, it is action king Arjun who has held on to his fort. Premji, Jaiprakash, Vaibhav, Mahat and Ashwin round out the supporting cast who blend in with ease with the story. As it is a men’s film, women have nothing to do in Mankatha. On the downside, the number of gun battles and their lengths may tire you a bit and the vital heist which should have been extremely powerful lacks the fizz. Songs are not a value addition to the film at all and are mostly road blocks sans ‘Machi open the bottle’. Success of a cinematographer and editor lies in their unobtrusive work in sync with the subject, and cinematographer Sakthi Saravanan and editors Praveen & Srikanth score in this department. “Unakku ide maadiri 500 pondaati kedappa daa.” - with this dialogue, Ajith completes his mission of breaking all the syntax of a Tamil hero and has gone on to prove that an actor should strictly treat the script as the hero. Take a bow Ajith! It is a memorable 50th film indeed. Verdict: Ajith's 'Golden' gamble with Venkat that has paid off !

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YUVAN YUVATHI MOVIE REVIEW

YUVAN YUVATHI MOVIE REVIEW Review by : Behindwoods Review Board Starring: Bharath, Reema Kallingal Direction: G.N.R. KumaravelMusic: Vijay AntonyProduction: Ram Pictures Having tackled a college premise in his debut directorial project Ninaithale Inikkum, G N R Kumaravelan shifts gears to a different plot in Yuvan Yuvathi with Bharath and debutant Rima Kallingal.  With a simple and an unambiguous title, the film is about Yuvan Bharath and Yuvathi Rima with Yuvan’s dad Sampath and friend Santhanam thrown in as embellishments to decorate the proceedings. Director has woven his tale around the young Indian’s American dream for a trouble free life, the conflict between a village based dad and his fashion conscious son, their communication gap and its fall out. Undoubtedly the film’s hero is cinematographer Gopi who has painted through his lens a picturesque canvas of Seychelles and its lovely beaches. The song picturization definitely deserves a special mention as it captivates the aesthetics with panache. Gopi’s work is a bolstering aspect of YY which helps the director to narrate his story interestingly. The fun moments of YY, expectedly, belong to Santhanam who with his comic timing steals the thunder from the other cast members. Mostly the humor is situational, well woven in the script. Sampath is as usual very comfortable in the role that is being assigned to him and dishes out the character of Sevaga Pandiyan with consummate ease. Bharath as someone from a rural background aspiring to make it big in America, has portrayed his role convincingly. Rima Kallingal who is making her debut in Tamil has a different kind of look that does not instantly please you but she comes across quite spontaneously in her character. However it is Sathyan who earns brownie points in just a small cameo as a gay.  And there is also a surprise couple in YY which if revealed would give away the suspense. Under Vijay Anthony’s musical baton, YY is like a musical with seven tracks. Oh My Angel and Mayakka Oosi create a mellifluous impact while Kolakuthu is unwarranted and forced. Despite the positive features, YY fails to make an impact hugely due to the epic gaffe in the climax which is the major let down for the film. The entire story collapses due to a very flippant portrayal of Sampath in climax that is completely the antithesis of his character through out the film. Kumaravelan should definitely have worked on this. The screenplay is doddering with ennui setting in quite often although the necessary buoy is being given by Santhanam and cameraman Gopi. Yuvan Yuvathi fails to create that lasting impact due to these features that go against it. Narration does slip into dull tones and monotony on and off as Kumaravelan finds it difficult to hold the attention of his audience. In all, a film that could have worked well with its positive features, goes south due to the week screenplay, narration and the badly conceived climax. Verdict: Could have made a bigger impact with better climax.

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AARANYA KAANDAM MOVIE REVIEW

AARANYA KAANDAM MOVIE REVIEW
Review by : Behindwoods Review Board

Starring: Jackie Shroff, Ravi Krishna, Sampath Raj, Yasmin Ponnappa, Somasundaram Direction: Thiagarajan KumararajaMusic: Yuvan Shankar RajaProduction: SPB Charan

After being in the crosshairs in the International circuit for its awards and in the National sector for the struggle with the censor board, Aaranya Kandam produced by SPB Charan and directed by newcomer Thyagarajan Kumararaja has finally hit the screens today.
Aaranya Kandam is a gangster flick that records the events that happen in the life of a few of them on a particular day. It is about normal people caught in unexpected situations and their transformations.
The expectations about the film have been on the high and the team has not disappointed their fans. It is hard to believe that AK is the maiden directorial venture of Kumararaja because the director has structured every frame and character in his film with brilliant dexterity. The manner of narration and screen play is commendable. The major players who help him deliver his aces are his pivot leads, music director, editor and cinematographer which goes on to reiterate the fact that cinema is only a team game.
AK does not follow the usual structure of First Half-Second Half, but sticks to the formula of Act 1, 2 and 3. This may look quite odd for our audiences for it takes more time for the conflict to pop up. And Kumararaja has not resorted to any unnecessary frills anywhere.
Well etched out characters mark AK. Jackie Shroff, the yesteryear dream hero from Bollywood makes his Tamil appearance with authoritative aplomb. His portrayal as the ageing gangster Annachi is commendable and his body language when he attempts to jive and remove his cloths with arrogance in his eyes but weakness in his body is just a sample. The opening scene where his anguish at not able to perform with Yasmin Ponnappa is a treat to watch. Wonder if such masculinity deficient protagonists were shown earlier in our films.
Sampath as the thinking Pasupathy sashays through his role effortlessly and his eyes speak for most parts. Somasundaram as the disgraced Zamindar in debt delivers a superior performance and so does Master Vasanth as his son. Though at times, we may feel that young boy is over-reacting it’s justified through the situations. We see him dominating his father, but at the same time, his childishness is also exhibited suggesting the paradox in such a character.
Wow, is it Ravi Krishna? The lad has lost oodles of weight and looks much younger and his essaying of the naïve Sappai is effective. Although Yasmin Ponnappa’s dialogue delivery creates an impression of a lower IQ girl, the debutant delivers what is needed for the role with ease.

Realistic and natural dialogues spice up the proceedings of AK. Sample this during the final touch-up between Sampath and the young boy when the former asks the latter ‘Unakku appava rumba pidikkuma?’ and the boy replies ‘Appadi yellam illa, aana Appa’. The profundity of this simple phrase is striking. And also Yasmin’s final statement “The best thing about being a woman is in man’s world’ is bound to be a hit with all women. Kumararaja makes amends with his women audience in this pithy expression for his statements of women in the earlier part of the film. The analogy of dhoti with rich and poor is noteworthy and so is the defining of a character by their preference for Rajni or a Kamal film.
The justification that comes through the example of ‘ecological web chain –worms, fish, man’ is appreciable. The flawed human nature is brought out when Somasundaram lamenting about his luck on losing the telephone number doing a complete volte face on receipt of the same.
Intelligent humor is sprinkled all over and is enjoyable. While the major story proceeds as a conflict between Jackie Shroff and Sampath, the ultimate twist during climax is something unpredicted and makes the proceeding all the more worthwhile.
Yuvan Shankar Raja is one of the major plusses for AK. His experiments with different pattern of BGM are brilliant. The solo violins, guitars and mild fill-ins (credits to sound engineer) enhances the visual feel. It is heartening to hear such pleasant sounds in place of the deafening notes that are generally found in such a premise.
Cinematography by Vinod is a treasure for the film. He has avoided using unwanted tones and his placement of angles is appreciable. Transition through editing is simple and neat. The picturization of the climax action sequence between Sampath and Gajendran is done in an interesting manner and deserves loud plaudits.
The only minus point if any, or in fact the movie's biggest plus point is that it is made keeping in mind experimental and true cinema lovers. Entertainment cinema lovers might find the proceeding a little slow at few instances. But at the end of the day, hope every cinema lover embrace such movies so that more filmmakers come forward to experiment with such products.
Verdict: Intelligently made gangster flick

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Mappillai Movie Review

Starring: Dhanush, Hansika Motwani, Vivek, Manisha Koirala Direction: Suraj 
Music: Mani Sharma 
Production: Sun Pictures

After a lull in Tamil silver screens owing to World Cup Cricket, the summer season begins with the Suraj-Dhanush combo Mappillai, whose last outing Padikkadhavan impressed quite a few. Expectations surrounding Mapillai are high primarily because it is the remake of Rajnikanth’s yester year hit of the same name and his real life son-in-law plays the role essayed by the superstar himself with consummate ease in the past. Secondly Dhanush, after establishing himself as a versatile actor in Aadukalam, is stepping onto a mainstream commercial venture once again and thirdly the humor quotient associated with Suraj and Dhanush concoction also aids in augmenting the anticipation levels.

Story wise, Mapillai adheres mostly to the original premise but Suraj has added a few and deleted some portions from the old to suit to the current times. An established and a proven template already lies in front of the director and all that is required from him was to retain the original magic and add pizzaz to the proceedings.

Having chosen to remake a hit and that too of a superstar film, Suraj has to bear the burden of comparison. It is only but natural. To sail through this, it is evident that he has relied heavily upon the caliber and capabilities of Dhanush and the talented actor has not let him down. In fact it is Dhanush’s nonchalant performance and screen presence that takes the audience through the happenings. The false compliance when he first meets Manisha, the look on his face when he checkmates her in the climax and the scene where he lectures Hansika in the mall are a few samples.

Vivek as the ardent Namitha fan with coiffured hair attempts at comedy but annoys for the most parts with his accent and logorrhoea. Thankfully, as JP, he makes up for his quirks and provides the necessary laughter that was intended.

Mapillai suffers from weak characterization especially of its lead character Manisha Koirala and this cannot be pardonable as the main premise itself is the confrontation between mother-in-law and son-in-law. There is no zing or fizz in the altercations between the duo which is where the epicenter of the film rests. One cannot but stop remembering the brilliant performance of late Srividhya and her body language.

Manisha as Rajeshwari provides a frail foil to the effervescent Dhanush and this evinces an indifferent reaction from the audience. It is like a lopsided match. To top it all, the lip sync of both Manisha and Hansika does not match making it difficult to relate with the characters. Rohini dubbing for Manisha has done a good job but Manisha mouthing the dialogue should have brought out more power emoting them. Hansika makes her debut and the girl looks plump and cute and excels in midriff exposition. The costume designer has done a good job and Manisha’s sarees and accessories are stylish reflective of her opulence.

Mapillai opens up with the comedy track of Vivek, Sathyan, Balaji and cell Murugan and its lengthiness tires. There are many logical loopholes. While Suraj can take umbrage under the mainstream cinematic lenience for few scenes, for some he cannot. An entire village unable to handle Dhanush because he is the son of a thasildar and Manisha very quickly accepting Dhanush meekly as her son-in-law are a few samples. There is no mention anywhere about Manisha’s husband. Mapillai is sprinkled with such foibles.

Some dialogues from Dhanush’s previous film have been used with a twist like ‘onnai parthale pidikkanum, paakka paakka pidikka kudadhu’.

The climax scene though illogical evokes humor especially with the gymboy Gemini Ganesan and the dialogues spoken by Asish Vidyarthi who is wasted in Mapillai.

Music by Mani Sharma is peppered with the aroma from Andhra and ‘ready readya’ number is passable but the remake ‘Ennaoda Rasi’ falls below expectations.

Suraj has attempted a remake of super star’s film but has only been half way successful in his task.

Verdict: This Mapillai entertains in parts

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