tamil cinema

Angadi Theru - Movie Review

2010-04-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

Movie Review: After his hard-hitting ‘Veyyil’, Vasanthabalan has dared to venture where no other director has until date. The raw and sometimes brutal side of the sweat shops of commerce, shopping malls, is showcased. Richard Nathan’s camera lays bare the innards of Senthil Murugan Stores on Ranganathan Street, adding power to Vasanthabalan’s bold script .

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The one-stop shop wonders that attract thousands of shoppers and spin the wheels of commerce are actually spun by the sweaty and sleep-deprived hungry youth of Tamil Nadu.While they have jobs that allow them to send home desperately-needed money, their working conditions are pathetic. But the young sweat it out, despite lacking fundamental rights, including the freedom to fall in love.

The story unfolds through the lives of Jothilingam (newcomer Mahesh), and his friend Marimuthu (Pandi) who are brought to Chennai from their humble homes in Ittamozhi of Tirunelveli district. Sent first to the underbelly, the godown, the two are thrilled when they go to the air conditioned third floor. And that is when the reality-check kicks in, fully.

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In the form of the abusive floor supervisor (director Venkatesh), who does not hesitate to slap a boy who gives him the lip or a girl who slackens on the job. When he finds a love letter written by a girl, he conducts an open inquiry which drives the girl to jump off the third floor in full view of all.

Jothilingam, who by now is in love with Kani (Anjali) worries over the fate of his romance, but all that is forgotten when actor Sneha arrives for an ad film shoot in the shop. While everyone is busy, the two lovers steal a few moments alone but end up getting locked when the shop closes at night. As they face the consequences, and choose to live a life on the streets of Chennai, tragedy strikes in the form of an accident. Will true love prevail?

While the first half races past, the second gets entangled in unnecessary sub-plots, like the one about Kani’s young sister employed as a housemaid, and meanders a bit. However, all the actors have pulled off convincing performances. Vijay Anthony and GV Prakash have teamed up for the music, and ‘Aval appadi onrum azhagillai’ is the pick of the lot.

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This not a pretty picture, but a searing comment. The next time you visit a shopping mall, vignettes from the film will pop up, like spam mail, in your memory. A hard, but must-see for those who care about cinema and society.

விண்ணைத் தாண்டி வருவாயா - விமர்சனம்

2010-03-08T14:11:00.000-08:00

விண்ணைத் தாண்டி வருவாயா!

- ஒரு இளைஞனின் முதல் காதலின் கதை!

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ஆஸ்கர் நாயகனின் இசை, கௌதம் மேனன் இயக்கம் கொஞ்சம் சிம்பு, கொஞ்சம் திரிஷா! - இது ஓன்று போதுமே! தியேட்டர் முழுவதும் ஒரே இளைஞர் கூட்டம் தான்! ஆண்களும் பெண்களுமாய் காதலால் நிரம்பி வழிகிறது!

எனக்கு கொஞ்சம் வெட்கமாகத்தான் இருந்தது! தனியாக படம் பார்க்க சென்றதை நினைத்து! ஏனென்றால் இது ஜோடியுடன் பார்க்க வேண்டிய படம்.

படம் முழுக்க காதல், காதல், காதல் மட்டும் தான்! படத்தின் ஒவ்வொரு காட்சியும் அவ்வளவு அழகாக இருக்கிறது! திரிஷா வைப் பார்த்ததும் ஏனோ நமக்கும் காதல் வந்துவிடுகிறது! சிம்பு - அவ்வளவு அழகு! எல்லா வயதினருக்கும் இவரை இந்தப் படத்தில் பிடிக்கும்!

சினிமாவில் சாதிக்க காத்திருக்கும் கார்த்திக், தன் வீட்டு மடியில் குடியிருக்கும் வீட்டு ஓனரின் பெண் ஜெஸ்ஸி யை காதலிக்கிறான்! அவனை விட ஒரு வயது மூத்தவள்! ஆனால் அவளோ, அப்பா, கிறிஸ்டியன் பையன் என்று அனைத்துப் பெண்களைப் போல காரணம் சொல்கிறாள்! விடாமல் அவளைத் துரத்தி துரத்திக் காதலிக்கிறான் நம் கார்த்திக்!

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ஜெஸ்ஸி யைத் தேடி கேரளா செல்வது, அவளின் வீட்டில் தங்கி இருப்பது, கேரளாவில் இருந்து அவளுடன் சேர்ந்து வரும் பயணம், என அனைத்துமே கவிதை போல இருக்கிறது! முத்தங்களுடன் முடிகிறது அந்தப் பயணம்.

இதுவரை காதலிக்காதவர்கள் கூட காதலிக்க ஆசைப் படுவார்கள், இவர்களின் காதலைப் பார்த்து!

ஒவ்வொரு வசனமும் ஒவ்வொரு அழகு! குழந்தையின் முதல் மழலைப் பேச்சு போல கேட்பதற்கு அவ்வளவு அருமை! உடைகள் அனைத்தும் அவ்வளவு அழகு! திரிஷா வைப் பார்த்ததும் சேலை கட்ட ஆசை வந்து விடும் இன்றைய சுடிதார் பெண்களுக்கு!

படத்தின் பின்பாதி ஏனோ கொஞ்சம் மெதுவாக செல்வது போல் தோணுகிறது! கார்த்திக் சினிமாவில் ஜெயிக்கிறான், காதலில் ஜெயிக்கிரானா? என்பதை தியேட்டரில் பொய் பாருங்களேன்! முடிந்தால் ஜோடியோடு!

என்றும் அன்புடன்

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Kanden Kadhalai movie review

2009-10-30T23:39:00.000-07:00

Remaking a film is not an easy task. Maintaining the heart and soul of the original and at the same time giving the viewers a fresh experience is by a challenge. So does Kanden Kadhalai, remake of the hugely successful Jab We Met manage to match up to the original? Let us take a look.

THE CHARACTERS
The story revolves around two complete opposites, Shaktivel (Bharath) and Anjali (Tamannaah).Of course there are other characters in the story, just like in the original. But the character of Mokkarasu (Santhanam) adds an interesting dimension to the story.

THE PLOT
Anjali is a young carefree girl who is in love with the idea of being in love. She is on her way to her hometown Theni and on the train she meets Shaktivel. Shaktivel is a businessman who is depressed with his life as his lover is getting married to someone else. He sees no purpose to his exsitence, He is quiet and keeps a low profile. Anjali is this talkative girl who has an opinion about everything. By a freak accident Anjali misses her train and forces Shaktivel to come with her to her hometown as she has missed the train because of him. Thus begins the hourney of friendship. Once they reach thei hometown, everyone in Anjali's family is happy with Shaktivel. Circumstances make these two diverse individuals good friends. Shaktivel decides to travel with Anjali to her hometown. This is where the movie takes a turn from the original with the character of Mokkarasu, Anjali's mother's brother and first in line to be her groom. Anjali has no intentions of marrying him and one night she decides to runaway from home to Ooty to be with her lover Gautham (Munna). She tells her idea to Shaktivel and he too leaves with her. This leads to Anjali's folks to believe that she has eloped with Shaktivel. Influenced by Anjali's love for life, Shaktivel is now prepared to face all his problems. He leaves Anjali in Ooty and decides to return home. But when after a few months Anjali's family tracks him down asn ask about her, Shakthi realises that something has gone wrong and he decided to go to look for her. What happens next? Does he find her? What happened to Anjali? All that forms the rest of the story.

THE TECHNIQUE

Performances
Just like Kareena, Tamannaah manages to steal the limelight in this film. She brings Anjali to life. Her mannerisms, her effortlessness in performing, her bubbly character and the transformation in the second half, all make it one of her finest performances. Bharath looks suave and stylish as Shaktivel. Movin away from his rural image, he impresses as the sophisticated businessman. Santhanam is a laugh riot. Though a new track, at no point does the comedy hinder the narration. Santhanam excels in his comedy with able support from rest of the cast.

Camera: P.G. Muthiah
Every frame of Kanden Kadhalai is beautiful, a painting on celluloid. He has captured the countryside of South India so beautifully. For those who have seen the original, the cinematography is reason enough to watch the film again.

Music: Vidyasagar
Known for his melodious tunes, Vidyasagar has once again given music that matches with the mood of the movie. Every emotion of the lead actors is well depicted in them music.

Direction: Kannan has done a wonderful job with Imtiaz Ali's story.He has adapted the plot to suit the tastes of Tamil audiences without compromising on the feel ir essence of the original. A job well done.

VERDICT: If you haven't yet seen the Hindi version, then go and catch Kanden Kadhalai. It is a feel good romantic movie with the heart at its right place. And if you have seen the movie, you can still go at see it; it is worth a watch!

Surya flying to moon-hilarious

2009-10-25T23:16:00.000-07:00

In an amazing news to TamilNadu, Indian Space and Research Organization has planned to send actor Surya to moon without any space launchers. This was decided after cheif Scientist Madhavan Nair watched the movie Adhavan in which the actor managed to jump from the ground to catch a helicopter. Cheif Scientist Madhavan Nair was quoted as “We think it will be wise solution as it reduces all the cost involved due to fuel and construction of space craft. It will also mark India as the first country to produce three living super heros if the mission is successful one. The main mission will be to bring water to Chennai from the moon”.

Surya was very excited about the prospect of flying till the moon. “I dedicate this trip to my daughter Diya” said Surya who is still recovering from his award winning syndrome. Jyothika was also excited.”I thought only I can overact but my husband has proved that he can overact even more than me. This over action by flying till helicopter has won him a trip to moon without space craft which is exciting”.

Kingfisher has decided to sponsor the event. Dr Vijay Mallya was quoted as “I am really excited about this thing. Kingfisher feels immensely proud to sponsor a trip to moon by a man. Surya will be wearing a dress sponsored by Kingfisher. It is same as the Banglore Royal Challengers dress. He will get water from the moon using the Kingfisher mineral water bottle which we provide him”.

Director K.S.Ravikumar was equally excited about the trip. K.S Ravikumar said that “I am pleased ISRO has seen my film when whole TamilNadu including my family are not willing to see the film. It shows the credibility of the movie. I am excited that Surya is travelling to moon without any space shuttle based on a scene from my movie. I would also recommend scientist all over the world to watch my other movies like Padayappa in which I tell the concept of differentiating granite hill from normal hill and Minsara Khanna in which I proved birds react on hearing cycle bell sound”.

Sarath Kumar, the head of Tamil film association said “It is a proud moment for Tamil Film Industry. K.S.Ravikumar should be given noble prize for identifying the talents in Surya. No scientist can find a suitable error free shuttle to moon. A Tamilian has solved all those problem. I am proud to be a Tamilian”.

Vijay TV has acquired the rights to telecast the event live on TV. The show will be hosted by Divyadharshini and judged by fellow super heros Vijayakanth and Arjun who have equally excelled in saving our country from foreign intervention. Marks will be given after Surya returns back to earth and based on amount of water he fetches from the moon. If the amount of water that Surya brings is less than the expected level he will not be given the super hero status which both the judges hold currently. Meanwhile Lalit Modi has told that IPL will share the profit with Surya, as Surya will be wearing the dress worn by Banglore Royal Challengers.

Meanwhile S.A. Chandrashekar was of his own idea to send his son Vijay to Mars without any sponsor. When asked for the reason he was quoted as “ISRO was totally unfair to my son. He has shown his flying ability in the movie Kuruvi. But they have totally ignored that. It is our turn to prove ISRO that my son also deserve the super hero status. We will take this mission on our own without any sponsors”.

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Peranmai - Brave NCC Girls from India

2009-10-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

Film: “Peranmai”; Cast: Jayam Ravi, Ponvannan, Vadivelu, Oorvasi; Director: Jananthan; Rating: ***

Director Jananthan, who impressed everyone with his earlier outings “E” and “Iyarkai”, has attempted to make an adventurous venture laced with some social message.

At the outset one must applaud Jananathan for trying out different things without resorting to the routine masala formula. He has tried to provide a clean adventurous experience without bothering about love, duet, and comedy.

Peranmai might remind you some Hollywood flicks like “Predator”, “Rambo” and “Apocalypto”. But Jananthan tries to present it with a social message focussed on a tribal community. He has also attempted to take on the attitude of upper caste people towards others and the fight between have and have-nots.

The filmmaker talks too much about casteist attitude and insensitive approach of the higher officers and girls belonging to upper classes. Some of the dialogues should are so volatile that they are muted by the censor board members.

Coming to the story (thankfully we have a story to tell after a long time), Dhuruvan (Jayam Ravi) is a first generation graduate from a tribal family. He works as a forest ranger who trains NCC cadets. His superior Ganapathy Ram (Ponvannan) often insults him as he hails from a tribal community. Dhuruvan takes five girls of a college (Dhansika, Maha, Liasri, Saranya and Vasundhara) on a trek to the forest. The girls who hate Dhuruvan hatch a conspiracy to get him punished by his superiors. They are made to feel for their deed, as they come to know of his outstanding personality inside the jungle.

Dhuruvan and his group accidentally come across 16 foreign terrorists who plan to foil Indian Space Research Organisation’ bid to launch a rocket, by sneaking through the forest. The terrorists led by Anderson (Roland Kickenger) take on Dhuruvan and the girls.

Meanwhile, Ganapathy Ram, suspecting Dhruvan, starts an operation to find him and ‘rescue’ the girls. He starts believing that Dhuruvan might have raped and killed a girl, and issues a shoot-at-sight order against him. The rest of the movie deals with how Dhuruvan completes the mission to foil the plan of ultras.

Jeyam Ravi, hitherto considered a romantic young hero, takes a new dimension in “Peranmai”. He is at his action-best. He is quite impressive as a masculine hero. However, his dialogue delivery leaves much to be desired.

All the five girls play their part. Special mention should be made of Vasundhara and Dhanishka. Ponvannan fits the bill well while Hollywood actor Roland Kikenger does well too.

Vidyasagar’s background score is appealing and Sathish Kumar’s cinematography captures the dense jungle at its pristine glory.

Read more: http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/entertainment/peranmai-adventure-with-social-message-tamil-film-review_100261893.html#ixzz0V15xCeYo

Unnai Pol Oruvan is a must-watch

2009-09-30T03:52:00.000-07:00

Unnai Pol Oruvan is a must-watch

Oh, and there's the chief minister himself. The real one. Only a voice, but his presence is pretty imposing, and that makes the situation even more genuine.

But what really makes Unnai Pol Oruvan a great movie are these things: the lack of songs (or unnecessary fight sequences) anywhere in the narrative except for soaring background bits; the way secondary characters, especially Sethuraman, Natasha and Arif Khan are handled; showing various aspects of the very real battle the police force faces on a day to day basis, instead of having one hero demolish all ...

And somewhere along the line is Arvind, the superstar (Sriman) whose mannerisms are so obviously that of the Ilaya Thalapathi that there are several knowing smirks in the theatre.

Era Murugan's (and Kamal's) dialogues are brilliant (even if they get wordy at some places). The duo does keep in mind the common man's perspectives, and the little nuggets of humour are a definite delight.

What really makes this movie watchable are the performances. Mohanlal is a delight -- the man's calm assurance, betraying only slightly what he's going through, his ability to think in ten different directions, and to empathise with his subordinates (witness his interactions with Arif, Sethuraman and Natasha) and his affinity to being more a comrade than a superior (the beer dialogue with Arif is classic) -- and his final thoughts are appropriate.

By contrast, Kamal Haasan has himself taken a backseat, coming into his own only in the second half, which is when he stops being a furious middle-aged man driven by an inner force and shows some vulnerability.

The surprise package (in more ways than one) is Ganesh Venkatram.

Fortunately, its random hilarious moments and human perspective save it from becoming a documentary. And just for that, it merits a must-watch.

Poo Movie Review

2008-11-29T17:45:00.000-08:00

The innate determination of women has been written about extensively across many cultures…. 'Hell hath no fury like that of a woman's scorn' is one of them. 'Poo' also weaves a tale of a woman with tremendous determination….caught up with the fragrance of love in all its innocence and benevolence.

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A cinematic adaptation of Tamilchelvan's short story 'Veyyilodu Poi', 'Poo' successfully carries over the literary flavor to celluloid. Hats off to director Sasi for the transition! However, the real star of the film has been actress Parvathy who has debuted in Tamil filmdom with 'Poo'. Having literally lived the character of Mari that she has played, the actress leaves a mighty stamp in the hearts of audiences with a performance that will be remembered for years to come.

'Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs' wrote Shakespeare. When a woman is in love the smoke intensifies so much that it engulfs her very self to an extent that it dictates every move of hers …. 'Poo' stands testimony to these thoughts….and yet there is something about 'Poo' that is so very pristine….true love above all else….

A slice of rural Tamilnadu comes alive right from the onset. The film follows the life of Mari, a rural girl with an incredible affinity to her cousin (Thangarasu). Both, as children share a world that is filled with laughter, pranks and even embarrassing moments. But as time the weary traveler plods on, the golden gates of childhood close behind them forever. Even as many a cherished moment fades into distant memory the affinity that has blossomed into love stays true.

Thangarasu is off to Chennai to pursue a course in Mechanical Engineering and Mari finds herself working in a cracker factory chirping away all the time about the man-of-her-life to her dear friend and colleague.

Scores of questions are raised as the film unfolds. Would an engineer want to marry a simpleton like Mari? Is Mari's love such an overdose that it'll destroy even her? etc…. Societal pattern plays a huge part all through the film.

Thangarasu's father, a hard working man uses his bullock cart to transport wares and is extremely happy to be referred to as 'Pennakaarar' (courtesy, he owns a pen and knows how to write too….). The man is ecstatic at the fact that his son would soon be an engineer earning huge sums of money. Thangarasu becomes the toast of the village thanks to his studies.

Would Mari's desire, societal norms and wavelength of thoughts converge? The crux of the film deals with all this.

All relationships in the film have been made with an abundance of realism and that is a major strength. Music by debutant S. S. Kumaran is refreshing and one gets the feeling he would be a musician to watch out for. The cinematography has been apt and one gets the feeling of being scorched by the hot sun through the lens of Sakthi Saravanan.

Kudos to Srikanth for having accepted to play the character of Thangarasu. Though he knew very well that Parvathy would be the actually star of the film and not him, he has ventured to be part of this good story. Not many heroes in Tamil filmdom would do that. If Parvathy can back this performance in her forthcoming films one can jump onto the roof and shout - a star is born.

On the whole the film is such a refreshing change from the regular hullabaloo of so-called commercial masala entertainment. 'Poo' would definitely join the ranks of 'Kadhal', 'Azhagi', 'Subramaniapuram' and the like which went on to rake in big money.

Varanam Aayiram - Life Story of Father and Son

2008-11-25T16:08:00.000-08:00

The film designed as a tribute to Gautham Vasudev Menon's father comes across as emotions spelt out in a reserved manner and thereby proves to be a tame affair. One can understand the director's angst at losing a parent, and trying to make a film about the loss, but then the man's (father) enigma never takes center stage throughout the film. Probably the biggest drawback of the film.

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The narration of the film has been designed to follow a 'classic approach'. Unfortunately, all the ingredients that go into the making of a classic are missing thereby making the screenplay stagnate at times to irritable proportions. All films that have been successful in being called classics portray enduring human emotions that can be related with instantaneously. Gautham has most definitely missed the plot with 'Varanam Aayiram' giving more emphasis to incidents rather than connecting them well. The story follows the lead characters (the protagonist and his father) through decades. Much effort has been taken to bring out authenticity to the 'period' effect which is praiseworthy.

The story starts off with a senior citizen Krishna (Suriya) getting his hair trimmed in a saloon only to die after reaching home. The news is conveyed to his son, Major Suriya (Suriya) who is part of a rescue mission. With gritty determination, the young man declares he wants to go ahead with the mission. But the son in him overwhelms the Major that he is and events of his life unfold as flashes in his mind.

What a fantastic dad he had had! The story is narrated through montage sequences – the time his father had met his mother in college (as told to him by his mother) and the innovative way he had made known his love for her – his birth and the way he had always looked up to his dad as a real hero – his sister's birth and the happy little family that they were – his peek at adolescence – his misadventures and the moment he was engulfed by the electric sensation of love etc.

Suriya's adolescent days come across as a breath of fresh air. The antiques he indulges in once he sees Megna (Sameera Reddy) on a night train and his train of thought that goes on in his mind to woo her, gets across to the audience very well.

After the interesting introduction, the determined Suriya goes to her house to see her. Megna is surprised but then is not convinced that his love for her is true. She reveals her plans to study in America and her preparations to leave in a week's time.

The happy-go-lucky Suriya does some business and using the gift of being a good guitarist makes money. And then he is off to America, not for a career, not for studies but to win his girl's heart and marry her. They do meet in America and the interesting character that he is wins Megna's heart. An unfortunate incident happens and Megna dies.

A reckless Suriya then starts smoking, drinking and becomes a horrible drug addict. His parents take care of him through these torrid times. His parents even want him to go away somewhere to find himself and come back as the person that he really is.

Suriya walks the streets of Kashmir and Delhi and even indulges in daring endeavors like rescuing a kidnapped child. Then the military bug bites him and he joins the armed forces. It is about this time that the director has made maximum usage of his good looks and the famous six-pack ab. After six years in the armed forces, he becomes a major and also has loving thoughts of a girl (Priya played by Divya Spandana) he had known for a long time but had really not given any kind of attention to. Does time wither away the association they had had?

The flashes of reminiscence stops and reality dawns….he is part of the rescue mission now, fighting terrorists….

The earthly presence of his father might have gone away forever….but will always have a home in his heart….probably thoughts that Gautham Vasudev Menon has….

Suriya the actor rocks throughout. The variety of emotions he has portrayed is very good and a strong mention has to be made about his good looks and charm. He looks unbelievably like a person in his early twenties in some sequences that require him to be so. Something very few actors can really do.

Harris Jayaraj has rendered a beautiful set of songs with this film. The Background score is good in patches and compliments the brilliant cinematography by Rathnavelu. The cinematographer needs special mention for a refreshing tone which he has infused especially in the youthful sequences.

Sameera Reddy has been casual and fits the role aptly. Simran has garnered all her experience and does justice. Divya Spandana with her girl-next-door looks performs a role that lightens up a depressed protagonist with good effect.

One gets the feeling Gautham could have used all of Suriya's efforts with a better narration AND with all-round emotions to connect all the incidents in the script which would have made it more interesting.

Satyam - Audio Review

2008-08-13T02:50:00.000-07:00

Satyam - Yet another stunner from Harris Jayaraj!

Harris Jayaraj is proving to be a rare gem in Tamil Cinema. He speaks less and his songs do the rest. Right from his first film 'Minnale' till 'Sathyam', Harris has never compromised on quality and has successfully belted out chartbusters one after another.

'Sathyam', the 25th film from his stable, is indeed very special. It has right mix of hip-hop, melody and kuthu songs. He has experimented with new sounds and new voices. A shrewd thinker, Harris has intelligently used the voices of Premji Gangaiamaran and Rahul Nambiyar.

The additional rhythm and the Chinese interludes in a couple of songs display his mastery in Tamil film music.

‘Chellame Chellamae’ (Balaram, Bombay Jayashree, Sunitha Sarathy)

This is a song to watch out for in the album. A typical Harris number, 'Chellamae Chellamae' has Harris' favorite singer Bombay Jayashree at her best. A melodious number, the song has a lot of sheen thanks to Jayashree's classical touch. Naveen joins the party later and excels at what he does best. A soothing melody, which has become a rarity these days, 'Chellamae' is a song that's like a fresh evening breeze on a sunny day. Chinese preludes and interludes work well with this song.

Ennanbe (Sadhana Sargam, Beney Deyal)

Seemingly an extension of the 'Chellamae' song, this number has catchy lyrics that dwells a lot on romance. Harris comes up with new sounds that stick to heart immediately. Sadhana Sargam is the perfect choice to render the song as she has given her heart and soul to the number, which is appealing.

Paal Pappali (Naveen, Mahathi)

A kuthu number from Harris is a rarity. However, having proved his mastery in coming up with melody and western acoustics, Harris has got an opportunity to show his skills at a pacy kuthu number. Hats off to him as he manages to render a song that is mind-boggling. Rahul Nambiyar is a bundle of energy and his style is with a lot of enthusiasm.

Aaradi Kaatre (Hariharan)

Harris has proved once again with ease his mettle in coming up with songs on catchy instrumentation using only drums and guitars. Hariharan's melodious voice coupled with Harris's mastery on creating soft numbers provides a fresh feel. This is a song that will woo music-buffs big time.

Ada Gada Gada (Premji Gangaiamaran)

Premji Gangaiamaran has proved his mettle as an actor. Born in a family of musicians, Premji Gangaiamaran has proved that he is an equally good singer. This is a trendy number with hip-hop music and rap interludes and is sure to become the anthem among youngsters. Premji's vocals blend well with the music. With catchy lyrics and racy beats, Harris Jayaraj oozes with energy in this song.

'Sathyam' comes across as a catchy album and Harris has given his heart out to package it with the right mix of songs. With good vocals and perfect rhythms, 'Sathyam' songs would be remembered by music-lovers for a long time to come.

'Sathyam' is one more jewel in Harris's crown.

Subramaniapuram - Realism in all its splendor

2008-08-11T02:54:00.000-07:00

Can a movie be made in an interesting and crisp format in spite of a boasting of a huge star cast?

Director Sasikumar, who had his tutelage under Bala and Ameer, has proved that a quality entertainer can be made with less-known faces provided the movie has interesting storyline with the right amount of twists.

Designed in a retro classic style, Sasikumar portrays Madurai in a different color and with a new perspective. As the title suggests, the entire movie is set in Subramaniapuram, a hamlet in Madurai.The story, set in the 80s, takes place in Madurai Subramaniapuram, a suburb of the city. Movies like Palaivana Cholai dwelt around four friends. Perhaps Sasikumar impressed by such classics, has made an attempt of chronicling the life of a group of friends.

They are fun-loving and carefree, who spend most of their time together. Jai, Kanja Karuppu and Sasikumar (the director himself), are typical youths, who do not miss an opportunity to fight when they come across a brawl on the streets. Often arrested, they come out of jail with the help of a neighbor, played by Samudhirakani. The neighbor's elder brother happens to be a former Councilor.

The irony is that Jai falls in love with the Councilor's daughter. When the councilor is ditched by a member of an opposite gang, the trio step in and bump off the man. Unfortunately Samudhirakani doesn't help them this time and the three are remanded for murder. However, they manage to come out themselves.

They then vow to settle scores with Samudhirakani and the Councilor. The revenge plot has enough twists and turns.A movie is loaded with fun and suspense all through and is pleasant to watch coming across as a whiff of fresh air amidst commercial clichés. Sasikumar and Jai impress. Their body language and diction of the Madurai Tamil are noteworthy.

Due credit should be given to music composer James Vasanthan, a television anchor-turned-music director. He has reminded everyone of Ilayaraja during his heydays, James Vasanthan's background score is scintillating.Sasikumar is a welcome addition to the list of talented directors taking centre stage in Tamil cinema in recent days.

’Subramaniapuram’ is a must-watch movie for those who love realism in Tamil Cinema.

Kuselan - Movie Review

2008-08-08T02:44:00.000-07:00

How many times have you walked out of a theatre emotionally choked up after watching a Rajinikanth film? How many times have you seen Rajinikanth not uttering a punch dialogue in his films? How many times have you not seen Rajinikanth flexing his muscles and bashing the baddies in his movie?

Watch ‘Kuselan’, where one can find a completely different Rajinikanth – the real Rajinikanth, the human being. The movie is perhaps an answer to his critics who have been criticizing the actor for doing routine 'commercial masalas'. Thanks to P Vasu, Rajinikanth reinvents himself bringing out the actor within him through this film. One thing is very clear. He has not acted to commercial compulsions.

The movie throws light on the real Rajinikanth, who has been quite a puzzle with millions of his fans. And the star himself answers questions that have been plaguing the minds of millions of his fans. Want to know the answers to why Rajini has not entered politics? Why the superstar often goes to the Himalayas? Why the actor still prefers to work in run-of-the-mill stuff?

‘Kuselan’ has got all the answers. With Rajinikanth by his side, P Vasu has come out with a message that is quite though provoking. The usual adage is 'Matha Pitha Guru Deivam'. With ‘Kuselan’ the adage gets an addition - 'Matha Pitha Guru Nanban Deivam'.

He plays the 'Super Star' himself and does not at any time impose himself on screen. Watching Rajinikanth play the role with consummate ease is like watching Sachin Tendulkar on song at the middle of the crease. It's like listening to Beethoven's symphony sitting under the moonlight. Though the story doesn't revolve around Rajinikanth, he manages to leave his indelible presence on screen. Especially towards the climax, an emotional Rajinikanth identifies his friend recalling their good old innocent days. These are sequences that evoke tears to our eyes bring the human side of each of us to the forefront.

It is a tough task for an actor like Pasupathy to carry the entire burden on his shoulders acting alongside a scene stealer like Rajinikanth. As a poor barber, fighting for survival, he evokes all the sympathy. Seemingly an extension of his role in ‘Veyyil’, Pasupathy passes out with flying colors. Hats off to him!

Meena as his caring wife is more of a realistic portrayal. She understands the emotional struggles of her husband and gives him the much needed solace and comfort. She sure manages to get under the skin of her character and has done an extremely good job.

Nayanthara plays herself in the film and executes the job entrusted to her quite well. She plays a heroine in films, who shoots for a movie alongside Rajinikanth. She fulfills the glamour quotient and serves the purpose indeed well. Vadivelu's comedy compliments the script well. His trick to get an audition with Rajinikanth, who is shooting in the village brings down the roof with laughter.

The movie boasts of a huge star cast including Livingston, M S Baskar, Sona, Geetha, Fathima Babu, Brahmanandham, Chinni Jayanth. All have significant parts to play in the film.

Prabhu plays a cameo while a host of stars including Sneha, Soundarya Rajinikanth, Suriya among others appear for the ‘Cinema Cinema’ song.

Kuselan is about two childhood friends, with one becoming the Numero Uno in the film industry, while the other lands up as a barber in a hamlet.

Balakrishnan alias Bala (Pasupathy) is a poor barber in a village. He leads a happy life with his wife Sreedevi (Meena) and his children, until a film crew lands in their village to shoot for a movie. Coming to know that Super Star Ashok Kumar (Rajinikanth) has come for shooting in the village, and also with the understanding that he is Bala's childhood friend, villagers flock to Bala's house with favors. A man with tremendous self dignity, Bala fears to meet Ashok Kumar thinking that he may not identify him. But, when the two meet after a long gap, the emotional drama between the pals, sets up an emotional 20-minute climax.

Complimenting Vasu's hard work are Arvindh Krishna's excellent cinematography and the brilliant musical score by G V Prakash Kumar. The catchy numbers ‘Om zarerare’ and ‘Cinema Cinema’ have especially been captured in an attractive manner by Aravindh Krishna. The background score towards the climax sets up the momentum.

Hats off to director P Vasu! The film-maker, who knows the knack of remaking a Malayalam hit in Tamil, has rendered a movie that has the right packaging of emotions. He has intelligently packaged the movie with commercial elements that a hardcore Rajinikanth fan would love without spoiling the crux.

Produced by Pushpa Kandaswamy and Vijayakumar, ‘Kuselan’ is a movie that would go down well with Rajinikanth fans and this is a great opportunity to see the real side of this spectacular actor though on celluloid.

'Kuselan' gets a clean 'U'

2008-07-28T04:40:00.000-07:00

Only five days are left for d-day. Come 1st August, Rajinikanth's 'Kuselan' will storm theatres across the globe.The good news for Rajini fans is that officials of the Regional Censor Board in Chennai who viewed 'Kuselan' on Saturday gave a clean 'U' certificate to the film sans any cuts.

With just three days left for the release, those who had a chance to see the film praised it as a decent family entertainer with a magnificent message.

Set for a worldwide release by Pyramid Saimira, 'Kuselan' is opening in a record number of theatres all over the world. The film is simultaneously being released in the neighbouring Andhra Pradesh as 'Kathanayakudu'.

With Pasupathy and Jagapathi Babu acting in the role of Rajini's friend in Tamil and Telugu respectively, 'Kuselan' is based on Malayalam cult hit 'Kadha Parayumbol'.irected by P Vasu, the Tamil version has Nayantara, Meena, Prabhu, Vadivelu and Vijayakumar in pivotal characters.

Kuselan audio to be launched today

2008-06-30T06:48:00.000-07:00

Producers Kavithalayaa and Seven Arts Films and Big Music the audio company are going to have a very big audio launch of Rajnikanth's Kuselan. The function would take place at a five-star hotel in Chennai on Monday (June 30) evening.

The entire star cast of the film- Rajnikanth, Nayanthara, Meena, Pasupathi and Vadivel are expected to attend the function, along with P.Vasu the director and other technicians. The film's music director G.V Prakash Kumar will be honoured as his uncle the legend A.R Rahman, will be the chief guest of the evening.

Kuselan audio has been grabbed by Big Music, after a bidding war. The grapevine has it that the price paid is a whopping Rs 2.25 crore, the highest ever price paid for an audio in Tamil.

Big Music is opening the audio sales with a record 2 lakhs CD's and Cassettes, priced at Rs 99 and 45 respectively. They have already got an order for 1.15 units from dealers across the world.

The music downloads too have been snapped by UTV, for a never before price. The songs from the film will also be premiered simultaneously across all the FM stations in Tamilnadu and other Tamil stations across the world on Tuesday morning.

There are five songs in the film. "Cinema, Cinema…" written by Vaali and sung by Shankar Mahadevan and chorus is Rajini's introduction song in the film. The song is said to have been picturised to celebrate 75 years of south Indian cinema, with more than a dozen Kollywood stars taking part in it.

The other major highlight is the Daler Mehndi song along with Chitra and Sadhana Sargam, "Om Zaarare…" written by Vaali. It is a seven – minute song where Rajini and Nayanthara appear as Egyptian King and Queen (for a film within a film), and shot lavishly on a studio set done by Thotta Tharani. It has all the potential to be a chartbuster.

If the audio of the film clicks, G.V Prakash the prince in waiting will be anointed as the King of Kollywood. Prakash is in a position to piggy back ride on Rajinikanth's popularity across the globe.

Kuselan

2008-06-20T03:45:00.000-07:00

Kuselan is a forthcoming bilingual drama being directed by P. Vasu, who with Kuselan, will direct his fifth feature film featuring Rajnikanth. Rajnikanth, playing a guest role, is the one of the few common actors in the bi-lingual, the others including Nayantara and Meena, which is to be made into Tamil as Kuselan and Telugu as Kathanayukudu respectively. Various other regional actors have been signed up for the film, with Pasupathy, Meena, Prabhu Ganesan, Vadivelu, Santhanam and Livingston playing roles in the Tamil version, whilst, Jagapati Babu, Sunil and Brahmanandam portray roles in the Telugu version. Whilst, G. V. Prakash Kumar and Arvind Krishna have confirmed their parts as members of the technical crew. The film which is expected to be released in September 2008, will be produced by prominent director, K. Balachandar for the Tamil version and Ashwini Dutt for its Telugu version. The film is a remake of the Malayalam classic, Kadha Parayumbhol.

Production

Development

Following P. Vasu and Rajnikanth's blockbuster, Chandramukhi in 2005, Vasu had been keen to re-cast Rajnikanth in another role and prior to signing Kuselan, he had narrated a story entitled Vettaiyan, which would have been a sequel of a character featured in Chandramukhi.

Early in 2008, Rajnikanth signed up for S. Shankar's Robot, making it highly unlikely he would sign up to another film for a couple of years, due to Shankar's tendency to take two years shooting his films. However, in a sudden turn of events, Kuselan was launched at the Taj Coromandel in Chennai on January 14, 2008 coinciding with Pongal. The director, P. Vasu signed up Rajnikanth and Pasupathy to portray the lead roles, while noted director K. Balachandar agreed to produce the Tamil version of the film along with G.P. Vijayakumar's Seven Arts Productions, while Aswani Dutt agreed to produce the film in Telugu with Rajnikanth and Jagapati Babu in the lead roles. The film was announced to be remake of Malayalam film, Katha Parayumbol which was written and starred in by Sreenivasan, whilst Mammooty essayed a guest role in the film.

Vasu made it clear that Rajnikanth would not be doing an honorary role in the movie which Mammooty had portrayed, but will play a full role, describing that the "The whole story revolves around him [Rajnikanth]". The film's launch was helted on March 7, 2008 at the AVM Studios in Chennai with the leading artistes present. P. Vasu, while talking to the media mentioned that the shooting lasted 82 days with the versions being shot simultaneously and that most of the movie was shot inside the Ramoji Rao film city, with other destinations inclusing Kerala and Pollachi.

Casting

Despite from the role of Rajnikanth, Vasu intended to use entirely different casts in either version of the bilingual film. Upon announcement, actor Livingston, Manobala and Santhana Bharathi were added to the cast of the Tamil version, along with Vadivelu who pipped Vivek, Santhanam and Goundamani to land the role, eventhough Santhanam managed another role in the film. Furthermore, yesteryear director S. P. Muthuraman agreed to play a guest role in the film.However the selection of the heroines was far more time consuming. Despite Trisha Krishnan's request to appear opposite Rajnikanth, Nayantara accepted the role however finding a female lead opposite Pasupathy was more difficult for the director, with Simran Bagg Tabu and Sneha all being considered for the role in the Tamil version However, Meena who played the role in the original, was offered the role in early February 2008 and accepted it. Throughout the production stages, it had been indicated that several prominent film personalities will appear in cameo appearances throughout the film, however no leading actors were approached. Indications later revealed that five actresses would appear opposite Rajnikanth in a song with the selected being: Nayantara, Mamta Mohandas, Kushboo, Suja and Sneha all of whom apart from Nayantara, play minor roles.

In the Telugu version, comedian actors Sunil, Brahmanandam, Tanikella Bharani and Venu Madhav all signed up to play the roles of Jagapati Babu's fellow villagers.[ Ileana D'Cruz recently turned down an offer to act in the film, citing date problems. Like the Tamil version, it has also been indicated that several prominent Telugu actors have been approached to be a part of a song in the project, but none were selected. Technicians confirmed in the two films are G. V. Prakash Kumar who will operate as the music composer, whilst Arvind Krishna will be the cinematographer for the bilingual

Dasavatharam - Tamil Movie Review

2008-06-17T04:27:00.001-07:00

One striking feature that hits you in the face once you have watched ‘Dasavatharam’ is Kamal Haasan's passion for filmmaking. All the ten roles he has essayed have been meticulously planned right from the body language to dialogue delivery. Be it the American president George Bush, the Vaishnavite priest of the 12th century or Fletcher, the American baddie.

The eyes are considered the most effective tools in creating the right kind of attitude for any actor and Kamal Haasan is a master at that. There are many a time in the film when the audience would have to force themselves to believe that it is the same actor who is the good guy as well as the bad guy.

The expressive and determined eyes of the priest, the mushy and yet funny countenance of Balaram Naidu, the hilarious CBI officer and the peaceful martial artist eyes of the Japanese character have all shaped up to fit into any acting text book. Hats off to Kamal Haasan on the acting front!!

Based loosely on Chaos theory, the narration of the film promises a lot of excitement and as the story unfolds, somewhere down the line there are a few missing links that have been forcefully stitched together. Govind, the bio-scientist in the United States of America has been wronged by his boss who has intentions of selling his invention to wrong hands. The determined scientist doesn't give up. He sneaks it away and after a few accidents the invention lands in India. The hunt and race against time especially with Fletcher, the ex-CIA baddie sniffing at his neck with murderous intent culminates into Govind meeting an irrationally sentimental and at times sweet Andal (Asin). The baddie with sizzling Mallika Sherawat for company proceeds along the vulnerable Indian security system and shows up at the right places at the right time.

The narration then makes sure most of the characters played by Kamal get into close proximity in terms of geography. The stunt sequences are quite professional with its share of thrilling moments, but then there are too many coincidences consistently. The protagonist and his slowly, but surely falling-in-love lady companion seem to be jumping off just about everything. Soft landing seems to be a predictable option at most times.

When it comes to action and stunt scenes, ‘Dasavatharam’ is head and shoulders above most Indian films. The music element in the film is passable with some breathtaking re-recording bits in patches.

Cinematography has been simply awesome. The heavy compositing and trick shots have not dampened Ravi Varman's innate talent at creating the right kind of mood the film depicts.

‘Dasavatharam's’ review can never be complete without talking about the makeup part. Apart from the desired result one can guess the kind of effort and hard work Kamal Haasan would have had to go through just to get them on and that too on a daily basis. Makeup has been good overall except for a few shots that show off a kind of plastic look.

Computer Generated Imagery plays a huge role in the film. When the same actor plays seven feet plus youth and an old woman who is barely five feet, one can imagine the kind of intensive scaling and image manipulation by the CG team. Recreation of the 2004 Tsunami is impressive and the action part weaves the intensity of the story.

The direction has been apt sticking to the script in the true sense of the term. K. S. Ravikumar known for his simple style of narration has not been himself with ‘Dasavatharam’, but has shown sparks of ingenuity.

Kamal Haasan has stuck to his favorite subject of the 'no God' debate in this film too and has glorified himself probably for the first time on screen with a dialogue directed at him as being the 'Ulaga Nayagan'.

With Kamal Haasan playing ten roles, all other actors have been completely overshadowed.

This is a movie that has highlighted a highly talented and passionate actor in his entire splendor. At the end of the film one tends to ask….has Kamal Haasan been so spectacular that he has overshadowed the script and story this time?

Thasavatharam - June 13 Release World Wide

2008-06-11T05:20:00.000-07:00

Finally Dasavatharam Release on June 13th World Wide!

Dasavathaaram audio release, Police & fans clash ! :
As per sources, nearly dozens of people were injured during a police lathi charge to control the crowds attended the Dasavathaaram audio launch function. Thousands of "Passes" were distributed to Kamal fans, Kollywood film personalities, ruling DMK Persons and top brass of Sony BMG music company. Police officials feel that they are doing a thankless job and they admitted that they tighten the security as top VVIPs attending the function. But the fans saying that they have been cheated by not allowing them to enter the premise even though they bought tickets for the function.

Dasavatharam music release on April 25th !
It is almost confirmed that the audio of Magnum Opus Dasavatharam going to release on 25th of this month, just 3 days left. The special attraction of the function would be Hollywood super actor Jackie Chan. The audio release function going to take place at Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai on April 25th. Tamilnadu CM Mr. Karunandihi would attend the function as Chief guest. Film producer Oscar Ravichandran is busy inviting the top peoples of film industry, politics and other arena. Bollywood Big B Amitabh, Malayalam mega star Mammootty, Tamil ilayathalapathy Vijay would attend the function as special guests. Jackie Chan would release the Audio CD of Dasavatharam. The function might be telecast directly on Kalaignar TV.

Dasavatharam' in USA

2008-06-10T02:19:00.000-07:00

Dasavatharam' in USA - special screening for UN delegates :

Narmadha Travels, distributor for the movie in the United states territory has arranged a special screening of Padmashree Kamal Haasan's 'Dasavatharam' for the first time in New York's time square theater for Special delegates.

The special delegates include UN diplomats , US leading mainstream journalists, Political personalities etc.

'Dasavatharam' has created so much of interest in the US from the mainstream audience and from all the different Indian communities in the country" says a distributor.

'Dasavatharam' is scheduled for release in the US from June 12 and premier shows have been organized in all cities coast to coast.

Silanthi Movie Review

2008-06-09T05:39:00.000-07:00

In today's booming IT culture, for every woman, character is more important than her career. Journalist-turned-director Aathirajan has taken this serious theme and churned out ‘Silandhi’.

Monica, hitherto playing conservative girl in movies like ‘Azhagi’, has taken to glamour with ‘Silandhi’. She plays a newly-married girl, who runs for her life. Munna is cast as her lovable husband, who helps her overcome her troubles.

Though the first half lags as it simply revolves around two characters ( Munna and Monica), Aathirajan has made the second half more crispy and racy. The background score is yop-notch and it sets up the momentum. The dialogues in the latter part of the film deserve appreciation.

Fowzia's cinematography and Sathish Kurasowa's editing lends solidity to the film. Fowzia's lens captures the runs and chases well and is equally complimented by the music composer's thrilling background music.

Watch out for debutant Chandru, who plays a youth on revenge mode. He has carried himself well on the screen.

Munna and Monica visit a resort soon after their marriage. Monica encounters strange things and finds out a man is on her trail. A flashback reveals that three of her friends, who work for high salary in an IT firm, take to posh life style. They drink and booze and go for dates. They rag a LIC policy agent (Chandru).

In the melee, he suffers head injuries and dies. Monica, who stays away from the incidents, helps them clear the body. One after another the girls get killed. Did Monica escape form the climax.

Monica has acted well. But at many places, she oozes glamour aimed at enthralling youngsters. Munna has performed with calm and ease.

Though the movie could be enjoyed only in parts, congrats Aathirajan for dealing with an issue which is relevant to the society.

Kathavarayan - Movie Review

2008-06-06T06:46:00.000-07:00

If student politics was the crux of Karan's earlier venture 'Thee Nagar', the actor is back with a strong message in 'Kathavarayan'.

Stay away from liquor and drugs. You will lead a happy and healthy life. This forms the crux of Karan's 'Kathavarayan'. Debutant director Salangai Durai has dished out a commercial entertainer which laced with this strong message.

It's Karan all the way as he strikes the right chord playing a illicit liquor vendor in the first half, who reforms to save a girl from the hands of a drug-pedler. Unfortunately at many a places, the movie goes on a preaching mode and there are less drama elements to sustain the interest of the audience.

The movie revolves around Kathavarayan (Karan), who sells illicit arrack in Hogenakkal. Though he is involved in arrack trade, he is a man with golden heart. Malathy (Vidisha), a student, comes to the village as part of her NSS project. She vows to end the arrack menace in the village and takes efforts to arrest Kathavarayan. Thanks to her efforts, Kathavarayan gets arrested and lodged in prison in Chennai.

Call it fate, Malathy is arrested for no fault of her in Chennai. Her efforts to expose drug-pedlers in Chennai backfires. They hatch a conspiracy and Malathy falls a prey to it. She gets arrested for possessing drugs and lands in prison.

Kathavarayan comes out of jail to avenge Malathy. But comes to know her real intentions and the trouble she is facing. He masterminds a plan and joins the gang selling drugs and eventually exposes them only to save Malathy.

Karan has come up with a matured performance. He is good in dance and stunt sequence. His diction of the Kovai Tamil also deserve a special mention. Debutant Vidisha does a decent job. She plays her part well. Vadivelu plays a money-lender who lands in trouble for no fault of his.

The cast also includes Sundara Travels Radha, Kadhal Dhandapani, Alex among others. Dheena has scored the music which are very loud.

Salangai Durai deserve a pat for coming out with a strong message. But had he cut down on preaching, the movie would have been different.

Pandi - Movie Review

2008-06-05T02:16:00.000-07:00

A commercial entertainer targetting front-bencher is ‘Pandi’. It has comedy, action and romance to lure the B and C audience. With Larencce oozing the right energy and Sneha and Namitha filling up the glamour quotient, ‘Pandi’ turns out to be an entertainer that is worth a watch.

However the story line is wafer thin. It is a cliched and oft-repeated in Tamil cinema. A youth, who is ridiculed by his family for being callous and not caring, eventually turns out to be a responsible son taking care of the entire family.

Director Rasu Madhuravan (who directed ‘Poomagal Oorvalam’ before) deserves a pat for not making a serious film though he has tried to showcase on mother-son sentiment towards the second half.

Pandi (Larencce) does menial jobs in Dubai and saves every penny he earns and sends it to his family in Usilampatti. A flashback reveals that he was a carefree youth, who is often chided by his father (Nasser). His elder brother (Sreeman) is the blue-eyed boy of his father. However Pandi's mother (Saranya) showers all her love and affection on him. Pandi comes across Sneha, a cop’s daughter in the village and after a sequence of events romance blossoms between them. Meanwhile his family receives a shock as just a couple of days before Pandi's sister's wedding, Sriman runs away from the house with the money kept for the wedding.

A dejected father is consoled by Pandi, who borrows money from a private money-lender and completes the wedding. Meanwhile, Sneha walks out of the house to enter wedlock with Pandi.

Determined to payback the loan and help his family overcomes their financial constraint, Pandi decides to go abroad and work as conservancy staff. He manages to stabilize his family with his earnings. However on his return he is shocked to find his mother dead. Coming to know that it was no natural death, he decides to avenge the killers. Did he succeed in his mission forms the climax.

Interestingly Tamil cinema has seen such storyline in the early 1980s itself. Madhuravan has taken one such and treated it with a swift screenplay. Larencce carries the entire burden in his shoulders and deliver his best. He dances, romances and does comedy with style.

Sneha surprises everyone oozing glamour. Known for playing homely roles, she has decided to go for a skin show. It's a typical Namitha in ‘Pandi’ who appears in skimpy costumes for a couple of songs and disappears. Nasser and Saranya impress in their roles. Ganja Karuppu, Sriman and Illavarasu are adequate.

Srikanth Deva's songs are loud and the remix Masimasam Alanna....is picturised in a glamorous way on Sneha and Larencce.All said, ‘Pandi’ is a masala entertainer that keeps the audience engaged.

Kuruvi - Movie Review

2008-06-04T05:28:00.000-07:00

After the much-awaited release of the Dharani-Vijay-Trisha trio, Kuruvi has turned out to be a big disappointment for Vijay fans. Following the trails of previous blockbusters like Ghilli and Dhool, Kuruvi could have done much better in terms of acting, storyline and music. The movie marks Udhaynidhi Stalin’s maiden production venture as well. The star cast includes Manivannan, Suman, Malavika, Vivek and Ashish Vidhyarthi with music score by Vidyasagar.

Though there is not much of a story to be narrated, the gist of the movie forms what you can expect in between the stunts and the song-and-dance sequences. The movie begins with Manivannan and his fellow workers who are slaves of the villains Ashish Vidyarthi and Suman, who are mining diamonds illegally in Andhra Pradesh with the help of these laborers. Vetrivel (Vijay) is Manivannan’s son who is into car racing. He flies to Malaysia due to financial issues and gets to know the mysteries about the villains. How he saves his father and the other poor people from the villains forms the climax of the story.

The first half of the movie is saved by occasional laughs, thanks to Vivek. Other than scenic locales, lavish sets, colourful junior artists and graphics, the only other enjoyable part of the movie is Vijay’s dance which is as good as it has always been, though the songs could have been better. Trisha’s role is that of Suman’s sister whose acting, unfortunately, along with her dancing, costumes and make up, has not moved above average. Even Ashish Vidyarthi seems to have overdone his part making everything about the movie completely artificial.

For those who are expecting a big show out of this movie, it’s wise to stay off, unless you are an ardent Vijay fan!

Dasavatharam - Audio Release Function

2008-04-28T04:27:00.000-07:00

Jackie Chan, the Superstar of Hollywood, became the real hero at the Dasavatharam audio launch held at Nehru Indoor Stadium in Chennai. Right from his entry into the dais along with superb looked Mallika Sherawat, the super actor became the center of attraction in the event. Chief Minister M Karunanidhi launched the audio of Dasavatharam along with Jackie, V Shridhar, elder brother of producer Ravichandran and Kamal Hassan the hero of the film.

Oscar Ravichandran's decision to invite the Hollywood action hero Jackie Chan as the Chief Guest served the purpose meaningfully. He made the entire function enjoyable like his fabulous films. The audience loved his simplicity, innocence, smile, meaningful speech and mannerisms.

Mallika Sherawat was clinging onto Chan throughout the evening and was his biggest moral support in translating things to his convenience. There was tremendous chemistry between Jackie and Mallika. She helped him in his pronunciation of difficult words and Indian names during his speech.

Amithab: After KS Ravikumar's lengthy welcome speech, the mike was handed over to Amitabh Bachchan. He said, "Chennai is very special to me as I got my first National Award here for Saath Hindustani from none other than Shri M Karunanidhiji, who was the then Chief Minister. And now years later, I am here again sharing the dais with him. It is my immense pleasure to see my friend Kamal as a center figure in such a grand event. Every time his name is mentioned, I notice the excitement of the audience. So I end my speech saying 'Kamal Hassan… Kamal Hassan…Kamal Hassan… (the claps sound rocked the auditorium.)."

Vijay: Normally Vijay ends his speech in very few words. But yesterday, he delivered an unusual speech. He praised Chan for his extra-ordinary onscreen performance and how he became an ardent fan of him. On Kamal, Vijay said, "Here, I'm not going to praise or congratulate Kamal sir. He is the Guru for people like me. Acting in films like Dasavatharam is his duty. Then only it is possible to actors like me to learn more on acting." Vijay also thanked Oscar Ravi for inviting him with veteran actors Kamal, Big B and Mammootty.

Kamal: Kamal Hassan spoke in Tamil to the audiences about Dasavatharam and later in English so that Jackie could follow it. He said, "I always feel jealous of you and I have 32 fractures in my career trying to emulate your stunts. I am meeting you for the first time and your simplicity is amazing. I have started a new friendship with you from today."

Jackie Chan: Jackie took the help of Mallika while he spoke about Oscar Ravichandran and his association with him. He also said that he will do a film with Kamal in future.
Jackie says that Dasavatharam is simply amazing and unbelievable effort of Kamal. He also said that Amitabh is the real Superstar of Asia and in future he would like to play in a romantic role while Amitabh plays an action block in a film.

Rama Narayanan, Jayaprada, Hema Malini, Asin, and Mallika Sherawat also delivered speeches on this most memorable occasion.As usual, Oscar Ravichandran did not attend this function. As a policy does not attend his own functions nor does he get photographed, he simply stayed in his office and watching the events through a specially arranged live screen!

Dasavatharam

2008-04-25T12:41:00.000-07:00

Dasavatharam is a forthcoming Tamil feature film currently being directed by K. S. Ravikumar, who with Dasavatharam, pairs up with Kamal Haasan for the fourth time. Haasan acts in ten different roles, breaking the record for an actor's portrayal of the most different characters whilst Asin Thottumkal in a dual role and Mallika Sherawat also play lead roles in the film. The film, which has been under production since mid-2005, has Himesh Reshammiya as the music composer and Oscar Ravichandran as the main producer. The film, made with a budget of 80 crore Indian rupees, is set to be released in the summer of 2008.

Development

Kamal Haasan was keen to break the record for an actor appearing in the most roles, so he came up with an original storyline and approached prominent directors, to direct it, when K. S. Ravikumar accepted the offer. Dasavatharam began soon after the announcement of another magnum opus, Sivaji: The Boss starring, the other major star of South India, Rajnikanth; the films, despite being released nearly a year apart, were built up to be rival projects. K. S. Ravikumar and Kamal Haasan came together for the fourth time following their three previous successful ventures, Avvai Shanmughi, Thenali and Panchathantiram. Haasan announced he was set to play different roles in the film, making it the first time that an actor has appeared in so many roles in world cinema. Oscar Ravichandran, who had a profitable 2006, signed up to produce the venture securing distribution rights in the process. Following nearly a year of post-production, deciding the cast and the locations, the film began its first schedule on September 11, 2006.

Casting

Between the announcement of the project and prior to the launch a year later, several heroines were signed up and then either removed or opted out from the project. The first being Vidya Balan, who was signed up and set to make her debut in the Tamil filmss, however due to the long inactivity of the film, Balan opted out citing date clashes with her Bollywood project. Following the removal of Balan, it was reported that each of the ten characters portrayed by Kamal Haasan in the movie, would have a female lead opposite them. Heroines who were reported to be a part of the film but failed to make the final shortlist were: Jyothika, Mumtaj, Kiran Rathod, Meena, Bhumika Chawla, Sameera Reddy, Nadhiya Moidu, Kamalinee Mukerji, Nithya Das, Meera Jasmine, Simran Bagga and Vasundhara Das. Moreover, few heroines, who were selected, opted out due to date clashes like Balan, Trisha Krishnan and Nayantara. Furthermore, Shriya Saran was forced to opt out of the project by the producers of her other Sivaji: The Boss, a film built up as the rival to Dasavatharam at the box-office. Finally, the major female lead role was given to Asin Thottumkal, who was later assigned two distinct roles in the project. The second lead female role in the film, went to Mallika Sherawat, for whom Dasavatharam is her first Tamil language film. Over the course, of the production more supporting actors were added to the film, the first being Napolean, who was signed up to portray a king in the film. Other veteran actors, Jayaprada, Nagesh, P. Vasu, K. R. Vijaya and M. S. Baskar were roped into essay other small roles in the film, as well as a bevy of American supporting actors. Actors, Jayaram and Vadivelu opted out of the film during the production of the project, citing date problems. The film was originally announced with A. R. Rahman as the music director of the film, however like Shriya Saran was removed from the project as per the request of the producers of Sivaji: The Boss. He was replaced by Himesh Reshammiya, for whom Dasavatharam becomes his first Tamil venture as a music composer. Due to inconsistency of dates for Reshmaiyya, Devi Sri Prasad was roped into record the background music despite indications that Rahman would re-join the project to do so. Ashmith Kunder was signed up to edit the film, despite early indications that A. Sreekar Prasad would have landed the offer. The director, K. S. Ravikumar also wrote the script for the film following negotiations with the late Sujatha, who died before the release of the movie and Crazy Mohan. Another technician who died during the process of the movie was Jeeva, who was posthumously replaced by Ravi Varman.

Filming

The filming of Dasavatharam began on August 3, 2006 at Mahabalipuram in Chennai, where a song was picturised on a set created by Sameer Chandra, an art director. The set resembled the Airavatheeswarar temple at Darasuram in Kumbakonam and scenes with Kamal Haasan in an Iyengar get-up and accompanied by over 750 extras were recorded. Asin Thottumkal joined the team on September 11, 2006 for a shoot in Uthandi. However in late September 2006, Sameer Chanda was sacked from the project due to his tendency to employ only workers from Mumbai and not Tamilians, prompting Haasan and Ravikumar to remove him from the project, with his role being entrusted to Prabhakar of Virumaandi fame. Shootings were held at Chennai Airport in November 2006, which cost the producer two crores. Another team member was sacked in Chengelpet, when a stunt sequence was being captured by the camera, stunt master Kanal Kannan was reported to have used unparliamentary words at the workers and that too over the public address system. Angered and humiliated by such remarks, the workers walked out of the sets refusing to work any more. Finally they all resumed duty only after the elimination of Kanal Kannan. A new stunt master, Thyagarajan was given the opportunity to take over following the controversy caused by Kannan, who had a similar problem whilst shooting for Sivaji. Major portions of the films were shot extensively in overseas locations which included America, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. A role of a foreigner, played by Haasan, was shot for in casinos in and around Las Vegas and Orlando. A song involving Kamal Haasan and Mallika Sherawat that was to be shot in US was moved to Malaysia due to problems with Sherawat's visa deeming she could not join the crew. So the crew instead decided to shift the shooting to another destination in Malaysia and the song was shot in posh night clubs; furthermore scenes were shot at a lobby of a prominent Malaysian airport. A humongous was has been erected at the Taramani Film City in India which was a Replica of the White House, with Haasan’s makeup for the role lasting six whole hours to obtain the desired outcome. For the climax scenes of the film, a tsunami effect was created in Mahabalipuram. The scene was shot recently at a 50,000 sq. ft. area land in which a 100-ft. wall was created near Muttukadu. Six machines, which generated 20 ft. high waves, had imported from the US, for a total cost of 3.5 crore rupees. For the climax, another scene was shot dramatically above the Nehru Stadium with the permission of the chief minister, Karunanidhi. The film’s final shoot occurred on October 8, 2007 at Uthandi at a coastal village.

Billa - Crosses 100 Days

2008-04-24T06:43:00.000-07:00

With Ajith kick-started with great flicks on his way, the ultimate star seems to be leaping with more and more elated moments. Recently, he celebrated his daughter’s naming ceremony. Now Thala is fleeting over the globe, with his Billa successful crossing 100 Days. Not just in one or two theatres, it is still running successfully in many theatres in Chennai and other parts of the country.

Ajith Kumar is in over-joy with his longtime success and now what? He has started working his forthcoming movie Aegan. We wish him the very best for his other projects too and let it bring more joy than now…

Arai En 305il Kadavul - Movie Review

2008-04-23T06:30:00.000-07:00

Director Simbhudevan has pulled it off. Expectations would be normally high on directors on their next when they render a blockbuster in their first. Many had faltered before. Only a handful has made it. Simbhudevan has managed to render a movie that is convincing and appealing.

‘Arai En 305il Kadavul’, produced by Shankar's S Pictures, is totally a different one from Simbhudevan's maiden venture (Imsai Arasan). While Imsai...was loaded with comedy and one-liner, Arai En is sentimental, emotional and conveys a strong message.
Simbhudevan has taken a complex theme and tried his best to make it crisper and easily understood by the common man. He has partially managed to win the battle.

The movie revolves around two Rasu (Santhanam) and Mokka (Ganja Karuppu), both unemployed and living in a mansion. Irked by their rent arrears, mansion manager (M S Bhaskar) throws them out.When they blame the God for their fate, the Almighty (Prakash Raj) himself appears to their surprise and assures that he would help them. He stays with them for a week however with a condition that Rasu and Mokka should not reveal his identity.

The good-for-nothing friends come to know that it is all due to a 'Galaxy box' the God is able to control the whole world. They steal it and make him an ordinary human being. However, as days go on, the Almighty teaches them a lesson or two.

Santhanam and Ganja Karuppu, both graduates from playing comical roles to the hero. Having understood the complexity of their character, they deliver the output well. They both manage to leave their screen presence well. Simbhudevan deserves pat for etching out their characters well.Prakash Raj as God is terrific. He is the scene stealer in the movie whose performance deserves an appreciation in every scene. Jyothirmayi and Madhumitha are adequate.

Love thy fellow beings preach the God. In today's strife-torn world, the much needy message is thoroughly conveyed by the director. Vidyasagar's music and re-recording add strength to there film.Three cheers to Shankar for taking courage to produce a film with a complex film. Treading a difficult path, Simbhudevan has walked with courage and comes out in flying colours.

Pollathavan - Movie Review

2008-04-17T02:37:00.000-07:00

Very rarely we come across realistic portrayals in Tamil cinema. Some filmmakers do deal with various shades of life but more often than not they indulge in diluting the reality in their pursuit to ensure commercial success. Some directors, however, achieved the rare combination of undiluted reality meeting with commercial success. Debutant director Vettrimaran’s ‘Polladhavan’ has all potential to become one such attempt.

The movie opens with a gruesome fight involving Dhanush. The movie revolves around a clash between a person belonging to mafia and an innocent lower middle class boy. The narrative moves on in a non linier manner with the two narrating the story from their respective angles. No, please don’t get it wrong. It is not Akira Kurosawa’s Roshoman like narrative where in you get different perceptions on a single event. In ‘Polladhavan’, the narration is shared by two characters.

Prabhu (Dhanush) who has just now brutally attacked three thugs with a sword comes out of the building and rests his wounded body on his beloved bike. He is now heading towards meeting his praise catch that is Ravi (Danial Balaji), the younger brother of all powerful mafia leader of North Chennai Selvam (Kishor Kumar). He recalls, for a moment, what that bike has brought to him before moving ahead for his hunt.

The flash back shows the happy-go-lucky boy longing for a Pulsar bike. It goes to show the life in a North Chennai street where life is quite difference from that of South Chennai. The boys are playing carom board on the street. Prabhu is sharing the pain of his failure to get what he loves most - a bike and a girl.

The narration shows the status of Prabhu’s family. The father is the breadwinner of the lower middle class family and the boy, a jobless graduate, is roaming around without responsibility. When caught red-handed for stealing pittance from his father for booze with his friends, Dhanush questions his father’s responsibility towards his upbringing.
The father feels humiliated and reacts sharply by arranging 70,000 rupees through his hard earned savings. He gives the money to his son and asks him to do something on his own.

The boy immediately gets one of wishes fulfilled. He gets a bike. His family is stunned. But Prabhu is determined to get a job, and fortunately he gets one with the help of his bike. He joins as a loan officer in a bank.His other passion – to woo a girl (Divya Spandana) he meets in the bus stand for more than two years – too gets fulfilled. Prabhu is the happiest person on the earth. He has got a bike, got a girlfriend, and a decent job.

Everything gets terribly disturbed when everything seems to be well. There is another world beneath the surface. There is a mafia gang that deals with drug trafficking and various other anti social activities. Selvam is the leader of the all powerful gang.
The gang has its own complications. The younger brother Ravi of the leader is not happy with the way he is treated. He is full of jealous and anger on a gangster named ‘Out’ (Bhavan), who is the trusted lieutenant of Selvam. The leader is not supporting his brother doubting his talent. Ravi’s grudge against his brother and out grows stronger day by day.

Prabhu has a tryst with underworld when his bike gets stolen in a spot where a brutal murder takes place. Dhanush is shattered. He wants his bike back at any cost. Unfortunately, he gets to lock horns with the underworld criminals in his pursuit to find his bike. He gets into dangerous zone but his blind passion towards his bike pushes him forward. This put his and his family’s life in danger. His love is in danger. The inner conflict within the underworld makes his condition worse. He is in for trouble. Big trouble indeed.

Does he get back his bike and love? Could he save is family from the brutal gang?

Director Vettrimaran has come out with an engrossing and realistic experience on celluloid. Making films based on the lives of underworld is not new but making it with amazing reality is. Though the movie resembles Selvaraghavan’s ‘Puduppettai’, it maintains its individuality by sticking to a well crafted script and stylish execution.

Director and his team have done their home work neatly. They have captured the dialects, mannerisms, and life style of the underworld mafia group with precision. The film has also unearthed some hitherto unexplored areas like bike theft network. He has also illustrated the functions of a modern banking network well.

The characterization too is worth mentioning. Especially the character of Selvam. The nuances of father-son relationship too have been portrayed well. Well done Vettrimaran!
R. Velraj, the cameraman, deserves special mention. He has worked wonders in capturing the gruesome reality of the underworld. The lighting in various time spaces is wonderful. The picturisation of climax fight is outstanding.

As far as the script is concerned, the compactness is marred by two songs. One is the marriage song and another one is the item song. The love track too is weak.
Portraying an innocent, turning into a warrior is a cakewalk for Dhanush. He has done it in the past and does it here with amazing ease. He has credibly depicted the transformation within the character.

Daniel Balaji, Bhavan, and Kishor Kumar have brought the underworld with all its colors and shades with astonishing perfection. They all have lived up to the expectations of the director and have added credibility to the reality of the movie.
Though Divya doesn’t get any scope to act, she looks pretty and adds glamour to the fare. Her pleasant looks serve as balancing factor to the otherwise gruesome movie.

Karunas has rendered a commendable performance as an auto rickshaw driver, who helps Dhanush in his endeavors. His dialogue delivery and expressions are amazing. Santhanam, as usual, plays the friend of the hero and gives comical relief.Murali and Bhanupriya as Dhanush’s parents have done their parts well. They together flawlessly portray a lower middle class family.

Young music director G.V. Prakash has done wonders. The songs, which are already rocking, are well picturised. The remix version of ‘Engeyum Eppothum’ stands out. One wonders how SPB has maintained the sweetness of his voice for so many years. Yogi B, the sensational Malaysian singer is a revelation. ‘Minnalgaley’ sung by Karthik and Bombay Jayashree is a soothing melody. The background score adds value to the entire proceedings.

The bottomline: ‘Polladavan’ is a clear winner with its reality, style, and performances. Though the violence, in some places, does make it a gruesome experience, the brutality reflected in the narrative has been justified by the script, as it attempts to show the life of ruthless underworld. Here the rules are different and so is the reality. The A certified film is strongly recommended for those who have stomach to digest some hard reality and gore violence. After all, we have seen more violence on some U certified movies as well.

Nepali - Movie Review

2008-04-15T06:09:00.000-07:00

Much was expected from director V Z Durai in ‘Nepali’. Featuring Bharath in triple role, hype and hoopla surrounding the movie was high. However the movie fails to live up to all expectations as it provides a deja vu.Though the theme and storyline may sound new, the execution is very familiar. A vigilante movie which Tamil audience got accustomed watching for the past several decades.

Durai has tried to weave three different stories together. Though it begins on a positive note, it stutters as it proceeds eventually reaching the climax after much gasping and panting.The movie has enough doses of romance, action and bloodshed. Unfortunately Durai has missed out on blending them properly.

Bharath lends credibility to the role. A matured performance indeed. After a mass commercial hero in ‘Pazhani’, he has gone miles ahead to prove that he can play serious hero in the lines of one played by Suriya in ‘Ghajini’. Though Meera Jasmine looks a bit matured for the role, she gracefully performs the task. However the real scene stealer is ‘Kannamma’ fame Prem. As a tough cop Goutham he plays to the gallery and looks typically suited for the role.

The movie revolves around Karthik ( Bharath), a software engineer. He comes across Priya (Meera Jasmine) in a hill station. After formal acquaintance, love blossoms between them.As usual, the girl family protests their affair. Eventually the couple walk out of the house and get married. They face trouble in the form of a greedy and sexual maniac police officer. He lusts on Priya. When he tries to molest her, she gets killed. The blame falls on Karthik.

He kills the police officer and goes to jail, where he meets a Nepali social worker (Govind Namdeo), who voices for women harassed in workplace. Inspired by the Nepali, Karthik comes out of the prison to punish those who misbehave with women at workplace. He bumps off a computer engineer, a professor and a doctor dressed as a Nepali youth.
DCP Gautham (Prem) takes up the task of cracking the serial murders. Does he manage to pin down Karthik forms the crux?

The movie is filled with bloodshed, violence and gore in the second half.The Nepali make-up sits well on Bharath though at places looks a mismatch.Cinematographer Madhi has captured the mood really well. The lightings and background shades used by him are eye-catching and set the mood for each scene.However the movie at many places reminds one of films like ‘Sigappu Rojakkal’, ‘Manmadhan’ and ‘Ghajini’.

Had Durai concentrated more on the slick narration in the second half, the ‘Nepali’ could have come out strong, healthy and trim.

Santhosh Subramaniyam - Movie Review

2008-04-14T05:16:00.000-07:00

Cast: Jeyam Ravi, Genelia, Prakash Raj, Santhanam, Shayaji Shinde, Geetha, Premji

Music: Devi Sri Prasad

Direction: Raja

Hats off director Raja and Jeyam Ravi for hitting the bull's eye for the fourth time in a row. The duo continues from where they left in Unakum Enakum to provide a feel-good light-hearted family entertainer sure to be enjoyed with the family.

It is a whiff of fresh air amidst the nauseating action-packed flicks where men run around wielding guns aimlessly and the hero mouthing punch dialogues. The movie probes deep in to the psyche of parents and their grown up children to analyse where and how conflict between them starts. It also presents a solution.

Prakashraj plays a dotting father while Jayam Ravi his callous son. Both have handled their roles with ease and elegance. Both are natural and render justice to their characters. Ravi is bubbling with energy and is enthusiastic on screen. He is charming and elegant. Genelia is the perfect foil for the female lead.

In the role of a innocent and fun-loving girl, she has managed to deliver one of her best performance so far. She is spontaneous as an happy-go-lucky-girl and expressions come out quite comfortably from her. Hitherto she was looked as a glamour doll in Kollywood. Thanks to director Raja, she has managed to prove everyone that she too can sparkle in performance-oriented roles.

Santhanam in the company of Premji Gangai Amaran evokes laughter. His slapstick comedy evokes laughter at several places in the theatre.

The movie has a huge star cast which includes Kousalya, Geetha, Shayaji Shinde, Sathyan and former Indian cricketer Sadagoppan Ramesh. All have a contribution to make in the movie.

Devi Sri Prasad's pulsating musical score is a major highlight of the movie. The racy numbers linger in our hearts, while his background score sets up the momentum.

Santosh (Jayam Ravi) has everything in life, but in excess amounts. His father, Subramaniam (Prakash Raj), decides on what is good for Santosh and gives him more than what he asks for. But never he gives a chance to his son to express his opinion.

He selects the girl of his choice to Santosh. That is when Santosh meet a bubbly beauty Hasini (Genelia), whom he has waited all his life for. Now he has a complex situation. First he need to propose and win her over. Then convince his over-obsessive father. Then make his ladylove's father accept him. Then break the engagement. How he successfully comes across all these is Santosh Subramaniam.

Raja now joins the big league of directors delivering a movie that will satisfy all sections of the audience. Producer kalpathi Agoram should be equally complemented for churning out the venture.

Santosh Subramaniam is no doubt a film that is sure to spread santhosam (happiness) to one and all.

Yaradi Nee Mohini - Review

2008-04-09T07:22:00.000-07:00

Movie : Yaradi Nee Mohini

Director : Javahar

Casts : Dhanush, Nayan, Raguvaran, Karthick, Karunas

Music : Yuvan Shankar Raja

If you like feel-good love stories mixed with a lot of comedy and sentiments then, Yaaradi Nee Mohini is an ideal treat for the entire family. All credits go to debutant director Jawahar, Selvaraghavan’s long time associate for remaking his guru’s Telugu super-hit Adavari Matalaku Ardhalu Verule into Tamil. It is a well packaged film that will appeal to a broad spectrum of audiences.

The film works big time due to perfect casting. Dhanush is an unemployed lower middle class guy, hankering after good things in life and trying to improve his English to impress his girlfriend. Clearly Dhanush is at home doing this kind of role as some of his earlier hits were based on a similar image that he has among the masses.

It is an omnibus entertainer where all the nine “Rasas” to make us laugh, cry, enjoy our favourites dancing to hit music, and the underdog triumphing in the end. The public wants to be entertained and want to forget all their worries and have a nice time.

Vasu (Dhanush) is an irresponsible son of a disciplined school master (Raghuvaran) who lives off his father till he sees a girl Keerthi (Nayanthara). He is smitten by her beauty and soon manages to get a job in the same software company that she works. He joins as her trainee and after a couple of episodes in India and Australia, he proposes to her. But he is shocked to hear that she is already engaged to her cousin and her marriage will happen soon.

Vasu is heartbroken and his dad who meets Keerthi gets humiliated by her. The old man dies due to a heart-attack and a depressed Vasu decides to go with his friend (Karthik) to his village where he is getting married. The big twist in the story is when Vasu discovers that his best friend’s bride-to-be is none other than Keerthi! Now it is our hero’s turn to win over everyone in the huge household and the bride.

The first half is totally city based and tickles your funny bone especially the conflict between the father and son, their slow bonding and then the tragedy. The first half belongs to the late Raghuvaran, he is brilliant as the strict father who secretly loves his son. Did he have any kind of premonition about his real life death? Aspiring and current actors may please dip into this particular performance for future references on Raghuvaran- it is one of his best. Be it his break down scene after his son cries for the first time, or the scene where he walks away offended after his son tell him to take retirement.

The film also belongs to Dhanush and Nayanthara, who strike a good on-screen chemistry, which makes the love story tick. Dhanush’s ability to bring a character vibrantly to life, with all the nuances of anger, frustration, humour and tenderness is reason enough to see this film. Nayanthara looks sensational and has done a great job in perhaps the meatiest role she has done so far where she has equal footing as the hero, while the same cannot be said about Karthik who has an insipid role, while Karnas comedy makes you laugh. Yuvan Shankar Raja’s background score and music is pleasing especially the melodious Yengeyo Partha.... and Oh Baby.. which is beautifully picturised by Jawahar as a music video with Rahasiya. Camera of Siddharth is another highlight of the film

On the downside, the film is too long especially the second half. The basic plot of the film is inspired from Aditya Chopra’s classic Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and a few other Bollywood feel-good films. On the whole, the likeable leads and Raghuvaran’s performance make it enjoyable. It’s well packaged and great fun.

Verdict: Enjoy

Inba - Review

2008-04-01T05:49:00.000-07:00

Cast : Shaam, Sneha, Arun Pandian, Ganja Karuppu, Aravind Akash

Director : S.T.Vendhan

Be warned that you cannot expect anything new from the movie. It is just yet another film showing a rich and arrogant girl falling for a poor guy. The teaming up of Shaam and Sneha after a long gap doesn’t make any magic, as the love between them lacks genuine emotions.

The premise has potential to be an engaging film. It shows a guy, who has a bitter experience with love during his teen age. The experience makes him cynical about girls and love. But the movie doesn’t move ahead based on this aversion. Instead it relies on a clichéd track of love and action.

'Inba', directed by S.T Vendan, revolves around the love between Inba (Shaam) and Priya (Sneha), which is vehemently opposed by Priya’s ‘dada’ brother Mala Ganesan (Arun Pandian). Priya’s collage mate Rupan (Aravind) and his brother SP (Aadithya) add another dimension to the tale.

'Inba' has just come out from a juvenile jail for accidentally killing his classmate Jyothi (Purnitha), a girl in school who cruelly cheats him. He gets a ‘Job’ as a body guard to a rich girl Priya, who is harassed by her collage mate Rupan.

Initially Priya hates the arrangement and tries to get rid of Inba in crude ways. But she instantly starts loving him, after he saves her life from a ploy by Rupen. Though Inba discourages her love initially, because of his disturbed past, he slowly falls in love.

But Priya’s dada brother, the local don Mala Ganesan, is ready to even kill Inba to separate them. But Rupan, who is mad about Priya, interrupts through his brother, the SP of the area. He tries to eliminate Inba and Ganesan to get Priya for his brother. The climax settles everything with a happy end after a lot of stunts and blood shed.

Dullness is the word that strikes your mind when you think of the script filled with predictable proceedings. The love between Shaam and Sneha fails to attract our attention. The characterisation of the main players is but clichéd. The only thing the director has done well is the execution of the flash back scenes involving the juvenile home and the high school.

Shaam is competent in a role that doesn’t provide any challenge. He has portrayed the guy with a disturbed part well. But he looks monotonous, as his expressions cease to change through out the film.
Sneha looks good and smiles beautiful. There is no much to write about her character and her portrayal.

Arun Pandiyan, Sulakshana, Rekha, Adithya, Arvind and Poornitha have done their respective parts well. Ganja Karuppu comes out with a routine comedy track that fails to pass muster.

P.B Balaji’s music leaves much to be desired. The background score is too loud to be enjoyable.

Inba suffers by a predictable script and a dull treatment. The film would have been better had the director developed the story based on the past of the protagonist. Instead he uses it as just a backdrop to tell you a routine love – action drama.

Veda - Movie Review

2008-03-28T01:53:00.000-07:00

Movie : Veda

Director : Nityakumar

Cast : Arun Vijay , Jerovardhan, Sheela

What in the name of entertainment has Arun Vijay and his director Nityakumar dished out? Veda is an old fashioned corny tale full of mush and melodrama one associates with a 60’s film and is predictable and boring.

A rich widow (Seetha) has two loving sons Vijay (Arun Vijay) a devoted businessman whose world revolves around his younger brother Vadhan ( Jerovardhan), studying in a college. Vijay would do anything for his brother, including making him college union chairman after beating to pulp local don Sathya (Sathyaprakash) who wanted the post for his younger brother! Vijay falls in love with Veda (Sheela) and after a few songs and a ‘mushroom omelet’, they make love in rain!

However Vadhan falls in love with the same girl at first look without realizing she is Anna’s girl and threatens to commit suicide! Conveniently Vadhan has some mysterious heart ailment and Anna and Amma take pity on Thambi and Vijay makes supreme sacrifice of giving his girl in marriage to his younger girl!

The marriage takes place but on her first night Veda spills out the beans to her ex-lover that on the day “they had mushroom omelet and made love”, she got pregnant! The younger brother overhears this and walks out of the house, with the elder brother running after to console him. Meanwhile Sathya seeking revenge kidnaps Vijay who is chained, tortured and drugged! Want to hear more about this insufferable movie of the millennium?

ANJATHE - Movie Review

2008-03-27T06:11:00.000-07:00

Cast: Narain, Prasanna, Vijayalakshmi,

Direction: Mysskin

Music: Sundar C Babu

Production: V. Hitesh Jhaba

Mysskin’s eagerly awaited follow up to Chitiram Pesuthadi does not disappoint. Anjathe, a tale of two friends Sathya & Kiruba played by Narain and Ajmal (debut), defies plot synopsis with its many twists and turns. The lives of these friends take turns they least expect - at times by destiny and at other times by desperation. They take paths so different from each other that when their paths cross accidentally; it results in a big loss for one of them.

Narain and Ajmal are sons of two police constables living in the same colony. They are the best of friends-but the similarities end there. While Ajmal nurses a sub inspector dream by day and night, Narain is a guy with a conscience but with no aim in life.

In an interesting turn of events, a bit of luck, ‘under the table’ dealings and ‘influence’ leads Narain rather than Ajmal to bag the SI post. A naturally disappointed Ajmal is further hurt by the change of attitude towards him at home. A brooding Ajmal slowly loses his grip on life and slips away into the dark lanes of intoxication in spite of Narain’s efforts. Crime comes as a natural consequence of events, with money being the motivation. These are the sequence of events that have been set forth in Anjathe. How well has this been narrated?

At the outset, the story is pretty interesting with enough events to keep you hooked for over three hours. The high point of the movie is definitely the casting. The crew must be lauded for showing the courage to think beyond the Daniel Balajis’ and other typical bad guys and casting Prasanna (the chocolate boy) as the lead baddie with comedy veteran Pandiarajan keeping him company. How Prasanna fares as a ‘no holds barred’ criminal is interesting to watch. Prasanna is the one who woos Ajmal into the world of crime by throwing easy and fast money and convincing him that life on the wrong side of the law is possible.

The kidnapping racket that they run in the city and the ensuing events have been niftily narrated. The police investigation that has a tough time tracking them down also forms an interesting part of the narrative. All this builds up to the climatic sequences where the two old friends have to face each other once again.

The highlight of Anjathe is definitely the performances. Prasanna, Narain and Ajmal carry off the main roles very convincingly, with Prasanna finally looking like he has managed to pull out of his ‘chocolate boy’ image trap. The way Vijayalakshmi settles scores at the end with Prasanna is also worth a mention. However, it has to be pointed out that the characters, particularly that played by Narain contain contradictions. In one scene Narain shirks from confronting violence, in another he’s fighting with all his heart. Pandiarajan’s character also disappoints a little. After being introduced as a hardcore criminal, the element of toughness in his character has been sacrificed for some customary Pandiarajan brand of comedy that fails to work; a waste of what could have been an interesting character.

The rest of the cast -Ponvannan (as the investigating officer), Livingston and M.S. Bhaskar, have all played their roles neatly. The script is a good piece of work; keeping an

audience interested for more than three hours is not an easy task, but the film pulls it off rather neatly. However, there are certain issues that could have been polished and rounded off before the climax. These loose knots remain untied till the end of the movie. The other pitfall is the seeming nonchalance with which Prasanna and Ajmal dupe the entire police force while kidnapping sons, daughters and others related to big shots of the city. This bit is a little hard to swallow, especially since you know that they don’t have much of a criminal network within the city.

Anjathe looks and feels good. The tempo rarely slackens, remaining consistently interesting and seldom boring. This, and the good performances in Anjathe, makes it more than just watchable fair.

Not a bad follow up to Chitiram at all.

Surya

2008-03-21T04:39:00.000-07:00

Saravanan Sivakumar popularly known as Surya (born on 23 July, 1975), is an Indian actor in the Tamil film industry. He is the son of Tamil actor Sivakumar and is married to Jyothika, a popular Tamil actress. He is well-known for trying out off-beat roles in different films.

Personal life

His father is the Tamil actor Sivakumar.He is the eldest son in the family with one younger brother actor Karthi and younger sister Brindha.His Mother Tongue is Tamil. He married actress Jyothika on September 11,2006. They were blessed with a baby girl on August 10, 2007 whose birth star is Punartha.Their daughter was named Diya which means light, Surya and Jyothika also derive their names from light. Surya takes part in many charity activities;supports the Tanker foundation and also furthers his father's help to the needy with agram foundation. He is part of the actor Surya's fanclub in yahoo groups where he is more than happy to receive comments and suggestions from fans. He also has the biggest community in Orkut for a Tamil actor with more than 57 000 members. Interestingly he is good friends with actor Vijay with whom he studied.

Career

His debut film, Nerrukku Ner (1997) with Vijay was a big hit but all his succeeding films did not do well. His first reasonable success was in the movie Pppvellam Kettuppar(1999). His next movie with Vijay, Friends was another big hit. But he did not get any big breaks and his career seemed to be stalled until director Bala approached him for a role in his next venture titled Nandha. This was one of Surya's best films. The film grossed Rs.50 lakhs at the box office. Surya won his first filmfare award for best actor for this movie. Surya’s next venture was with Vikraman in the movie Unnai Ninathu and the movie was able to record good collections. This was followed by Mounam Pesiyade which also did decently well. Surya’s second blockbuster was Kaaka Kaaka, a movie about the life of a police officer. The film grossed almost Rs.100 million at the box office. Also Pithamagan alongside Vikram was a big hit, Surya was appreciated for being a very different character.

In the movie Perazhagan, Surya acted in two roles, one as a boxer and the other as a handicapped but a confident phone booth keeper. His role as the handicapped was praised by critics, and he received a Filmfare Award for Best Actor for his performance. His role in Aayitha Ezhuthu as a student leader was also favoured by the critics. His movie Chennaiyil Oru Mazhaikkalam was dropped due to financial problems.

In 2005, Surya delivered more successful films in the form of Aari and Ghajini - afterwards he set up a production company called Studio Green which distributed the movie in the Chennai district. Ghajini was one of the most sensational hits of 2005, with Surya playing a short term memory loss patient, for which he even tonsured his head. The film was his third blockbuster and grossed over Rs.200 million at the box office. By then, trade began comparing him with long established actors like, Vikram, Vijay and Ajith.

Surya's 2006 release is N. Krishna's Silluni Oru Kaadhal. He acted opposite his real-life partner Jyothika in the film, however the film failed to become a hit. In 2007, Surya's solitary release was Vel, where he was paired with Asin Thottumkal, the film became a hit at the box-office.

Surya has signed up to Vaaranam Aayiram by Gautham Menon opposite Divya Spandana and Sameera Reddy. The film is set for an April 2008 release.

Chiyaan Vikram

2008-03-20T04:26:00.001-07:00

VIKRAM (birth name John Kennedy) is an Indian actor, who starred in a number of top-grossing Tamil films and is currently one of the reigning heroes of Tamil Film Industry (aka Kollywood). With numerous blockbusters to his credit, Vikram has carefully niched a place for himself on the silver screen. Noted films that gave him the star status include Dhruvam, Sethu, Dhill, Kasi, Dhool, Saamy, Gemini, Pithamagan, Anniyan and Bheema.

Personal life

Vikram (birth name John Kennedy), was born on April 17, 1966, Paramakudi, Ramnad district, Tamil Nadu. His Mother Tongue is Tamil.

He did his high schooling at Montfort Boys Anglo-Indian higher secondary school at Yercaud, Salem. Bollywood actress Rekha also studied in a neighbouring girls school in Monford.

He went to Loyola College in Chennai, India.

Vikram's father is also a supporting actor, acting in many films. His father acted in Ghilli, the mega hit movie, as Trisha's father.

Acting Career

Sethu, which was released in 1999, was Vikram's first blockbuster though he made his debut almost a decade earlier. The film grossed over Rs.50 million at the box office.

Vikram's second blockbuster Dhill came in 2001. The film grossed over Rs.100 million at the box office.

Vikram's third blockbuster Gemini came the very next year in 2002. It grossed over Rs.200 million at the box office.

Vikram's fourth blockbuster Dhool and fifth blockbuster Saamy both came in 2003. The film prompted director Shankar to notice his rising graph and booked him for his mega project Anniyan.

Vikram being prominent in Tamil and Telugu film industries had made his first appearance in Bollywood in 2005 in the film Aparichit, the dubbed version of Vikram's Tamil hit Anniyan. Anniyan was also dubbed in French, the first Tamil film to be done so.

Awards

Vikram won the National Film Award for Best Actor for his outstanding performance in Pithamagan, 2003.
He has also won the 52nd Filmfare South Award for Best Actor for his good performance in Anniyan, 2005.

Ilaya Thalapathi Vijay

2008-03-19T05:23:00.000-07:00

Vijay, (born as Joseph Vijay Chandrasekhar on June 22,1974) is an Indian film actor. His mother tongue is Tamil. He began his career doing minor roles as a child artist in the Tamil Cinema industry.

Personal Background

Joseph Vijay was born on June 22 to S.A. Chandrasekhar and Shoba Chandrasekhar. He had a sister named Vidhya who died when she was just two. Vijay studied Visual Communications at Loyola College, but dropped out to pursue an acting career.He is interestingly also classmates with other prominent personalities Surya Sivakumar, Yuvan Shankar Raja, Karthik Raja, Jeevan and Vishnuvardhan.

He married Sangeetha on 25th August 1999. They have two children, Jason Sanjay, born on August 26,2000 in London. and Divya Saasha born on September 9,2005 in Chennaii.

Now Ilaya Thalapathy Vijay has been sponsoring such events for the past few years. He organizes such marriages as charity act through his fan clubs.

Vijay has also decided to build marriage halls in each district. The halls will also function as district headquarters of his fan clubs. If you start guessing as to what all these activities imply, just wait. He has also decided to design a flag for his fan club. A group of his close friends is working on designing the flag.

Vijay to do three roles!

It seems that the triple action mania has gripped Kollywood. After Ajith, Vadivelu and Vivek, the latest to join the list is Vijay. Vijay is to act in a film in which he will be doing three different roles. The film is to be directed by Gautham Menon. Though Gautham Menon is busy shooting ‘Vaaranam Aayiram’, the director is also getting ready for the mega movie in which he would join with Vijay for the first time. Sources close to the director say that Vijay will be donning the role of a police officer after ‘Pokkiri’.

Awards

Tamil Nadu state's Best Actor award for Kadhalukku Maruyadhai in 1997.
Tamil Nadu state's Kalaimamani award in 1998.
Dinakaran Best Actor Award in 2004 for Ghilli.
Film Today Best Actor Award in 2005 for Ghilli.
Madras Corporate Club Best Actor Award for Ghilli
The recipient of M.G.R Award in 2000
Tamil Nadu State Best Actor Award for Thirupaachi in 2007.
Mathrubhumi's " Best Actor Award" for Pokkiri.

Ultimate Star Ajith Kumar

2008-03-18T04:51:00.000-07:00

Ajith Kumar (born May1, 1971) is an Indian film actor who has appeared in Tamil,Telugu and Hindi movies. Starting his career as a mechanic, Ajith made his acting debut in his only Telugu-language film-to-date, Prema Pustagam in 1992, which was followed by Amaravathi in the following year, his first lead role. After acting in a series of smaller budget films, Ajith was later recognized for his performance an anonymous lover in the award-winning movie Kadhal Kottai. He went on to demonstrate his versatility as an actor by portraying a variety of unique characters.

Ajith received his first Filmfare Best Actor Award for his performance in Vaali in 1999, portraying a double-role. He went on to win two consecutive Filmfare Best Actor Awards — in the 2001 film Citizen, in which he appeared in nine different appearances, and in the 2002 film, Villain, playing twins, one of which had a disability. He was later recognized for his triple role in Varalaru, his biggest grosser to date and for his more sensitive character portrayal in Kireedam. Ajith thus established himself as a leading actor of contemporary Tamil cinema.

In addition to being an actor, Ajith is a race driver, having driven in Formula Three for a season and an active ambassador for the Green Revolution. He is known in the Indian media for publicly speaking his mind and openly expressing his opinions, occasionally surrounding himself with controversy.

Early life and education

Ajith Kumar was born in Hyderabad, India. Ajith is the middle son of three children others being Anil Kumar and Anup Kumar, both being software engineers. Ajith is an ethnic Saurashtrian who derives his roots from around Tanjore (or) Thanjavur of Tamil Nadu. In his childhood he was brought up in Chennai, TamilNadu. Schooling days were numbered for Ajith as he dropped out of Asan Memorial Senior Secondary School in 1986 to become a part-time two-four wheeler mechanic and a full-time garment exporter based in Erode till 1990. Business agencies pushed him into modelling for adverts in print media. He also took it on realising an income in the job, it eventually paved his way into Tollywood otherwise nown as the Telugu film industry and later into Kollywood.

Early career

(Ajith) started his film career at the age of 21 as an actor Telugu Movie Prema Pustagam in 1992. His next film was in Tamil entitled Amaravathi for which he was paid a token salary of Rs.390. His second Tamil film Pavithra was delayed for 17 months because of a racing injury that left him bed-ridden. Both films received appreciation from the Tamil audience. was his third Tamil film that released 10 months later in 1995, Aasai, directed by Vasanthan and produced by Mani Rathnam which helped to establish his career as a teen icon in Kollywood. Ajith's first big budget venture Aasai but only after Agathiyan's Vaanmathi and particularly the National Award winning Kadhal Kottai established him as an accomplished actor in Kollywood. Ajith played in Amitabh Bachchan's debut Tamil production in Ullasam. This venture paid him a salary of over Rs.1 million for the first time ever.

A string of successful movies followed, most notably Kahal Mannan and Aval Varuvala and the multiple award winning Vaali which cast him alongside Simran. Vaali saw a new peak in Ajith's career. He played a dual role in the film as a deaf-and-dumb twin who lusts after his naive brother's wife.After Amarkalam with his fiancee Shalini, Ajith set up his own distribution company AK International with office located within the premises of NIC Arts which was run by his friend-producer-distributor S.S.Chakravarthi. This office was shifted in 2006.In 2000, Ajith was cast alongside Mammooty, Abbas,Tabu and Aishwarya Rai in Kandukondain Kandukondain. The film's audio rights were sold for a record Rs.22 million, which still stands.Mugavari followed as Ajith acted in alongside Jyothika.

Varalaru and the future

By contrast, in 2006,Ajith acted 3 projects, Paramasivan directed P.Vasu, Thirupathi directed by Perarasu. Both were Moderate Hits. Later he released his 3 years project Varalaru directed by K.S.Ravikumar. Varalaru emerged as a successful film. He donned a triple role playing a father and two sons. The role got him a Filmfare award for best actor 2007.

Ajith's first film in 2007 was with the newcomer director Chella entitled Aalwar. Both Varalaru and Aalwar were opposite Asin. Aalwar did not live up the expectations created by the success of Varalaru, as a result it was another major let down for Ajith. After [Aalwar], Ajith acted ina remake of a 1989 National Award winning Mohanlal classic, entitled Kireedam opposite Trisha. The film was produced by Anil Ambani's conglomerate Adlabs Films and will mark their entry into Kollywood. Ajith sustained a recurring spinal injury on the sets of the film. Kireedam, though a critically acclaimed film it didn't do well at box office. However Ajith was well appreciated for acting in such an emotional and different film. On 14th Dec 2007,Ajit's Magnus Opus BILLA released Breaking all records.The film got an opening equal to that of Sivaji's.In kerala it is the highest collecting movie of all times breaking records set by mohanlal and mamooty and also recently released Sivaji.this info was published in THE HINDu news paper. The film is a remake of Rajinikanth's 1980 Tamil film Billa which itself was a remake of Amitabh Bachan's 1978 Hindi film Don which in turn was remade by Shah Rukh Khan in 2006 as Don again.The film is directed by Vishnuvardhan and the expectations are high on this film with Nayanthara, Namitha and Rose Dawn paired with Ajith for the first time. After Billa, Ajith is currently filming for Aegan directed by Raju Sundaram. Ajiht is filming for the film from January 2008, possibly for a June 2008 release.

Personal life

Family

In early 1999, he began dating his Amarkalam co-star Shalini. Ajith's involvement with Shalini also made him a regular subject of tabloid gossip then, a role to which he was unaccustomed. They got married in 2000 in Chennai where they invited many other Kollywood actors and actresses including Rajnikanth,Kamal Hasan,Viyay,Surya and R.Madhavan. As both were of different religions Ajith being a Hindu and Shalini being a Christian, together they were married in the customs of both religions. After their marriage in the year 2000, Shalini retired as an actress and became a full time homewife. However she did accompany Ajith at the sets of his films as moral support. On January 3rd,2008, the couple were blessed with a baby girl, Anoushka.

Relationships

Since the start of his career in Tollywood and Kollywood, Ajith was well known for being outspoken and genuine about his life and projects. He was also outspoken about his affair with a particular actress. In 1997 Ajith was romantically linked to fellow actress Heera. Both first met in sets and so acted three films together before becoming romantically linked. Ajith and Heera split up in 1999 due to unknown causes. That same year Ajith met his future wife Shalini the sets of Amarkalam in 1999. They only waited one year before they got married.

Car racing and other interests

Professional car racer

Ajith is a professional car racer who drove in circuits around India in places such as Mumbai, Chennai and Delhi. He had also been abroad in his various races including Germany and Malaysia. He drove in the Formula 3 for the team Mango Racing. Ajith has taken part in many races but he was unsuccessful in all his attempts. So he had to discontinue his car racing career and he returned to acting in Kollywood.

Ambassador For The Green Revolution

Ajith is an ambassador for the Green Revolution, an awareness campaign and effort to clean up the Chennai environment. He uses his films for subtle marketing of his ideas, and planted 101 saplings in his locality in Adyar, Chennai in 2005. This was make an awareness for the environment and to increase oxygen levels in Channai, due to the pollution caused by everyday motorists. This action was welcomed by the public. Since then the Green Revolution themselves have went on to plant many saplings in other parts of Tamil Nadu.

Mohini-Mani Foundation

Ajith created this non-profit organisation named after his parents in order to promote self-hygiene and civic consciousness, and helping to ease the problems of urban sprawl. The Mohini-Mani Foundation became important to Ajith from 2003 onwards and he now continues to fund the non-profit organisation to make sure to keeps helping to ease the problems of urban sprawl.

Awards

Ajith over the years in the has won multiple awards for his acting. He won the Best New Face Award from Bharatmuni Art Academy for his debut film Prema Pustagam in Telugu. After this award he won three more , a Filmfare Award, a Cinema Express Award and a Dinakaran Cinema Award for the film Vaali in 1999. He then won another Cinema Express - Best Artist Award for the film Mugavari in 2000.

In 2001 he won the Special Actor - State Award for the film Poovellam Un Vasam. He then won another Filmfare Award and another Dinakaran Cinema Award for the film Villain in 2002. Ajith Kumar has also won the Filmfare Best Actor Award South on two occasions and Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award(Tamil) for the Movie Kandukondain Kandukondain. On one occasion J.ayalalitha presented him with a State Award. In 2007 he won his 4th Filmfare Best Actor Award South for the film Varalaru.

Padma Shri Kamal Haasan

2008-03-17T04:39:00.000-07:00

Kamal Haasan (born November 7, 1954 in Paramakudi, India) is an Indian film actor and director, considered among the leading method actors of Indian cinema. Hassan is known for winning several Indian film awards, including National Film Awards and Filmfare Awards, and has the distinction of being the actor with the most number of films submitted by India in contest for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In addition to acting and directing, he is a screenwriter, lyricist, playback singer and choreographer. His film production company, Rajkamal International, has produced several of his films.

Kamal Haasan's breakthrough into lead acting came with his role in the 1975 drama, Apoorva Raagangal, in which he played a rebellious youth in love with an older woman. He secured his first Indian National Film Award for his portrayal of a guileless school teacher who tends a child-like amnesiac in 1982's Moondram Pirai. He was particularly noted for his performance in Mani Ratnam's GodfatheresqeNayagan (1987), which was ranked by Time magazine as one of the best films of all-time.

Hey Ram and onwards

Following a two year hiatus in Indian cinema, Haasan opted against reviving his magnum opus, Marudhanayagam and filmed his second directorial venture, Hey Ram, a period drama told in flashback with a semi-fictional plot centering around India's Partition and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Haasan also donned technical roles as the writer, the lyricist and the choreogrpaher as well as producing the film under his home banner. The bilingual venture, starring himself in the lead role alongside Shahrukh Khan and Rani Mukerji failed to become successful commercially but became critically acclaimed. Haasan was praised for his "technical wizardry" and acting, but critics called the film "hard to categorize" and "too controversial". His following film, the much-hyped Aalavandhan, where he portrayed two distinct roles; of one, he had his head tonsured and gained ten kilograms for also failed to live up to expectations at the box-office.

Following a series of successful comedies in Thenali, Panchathantiram and Pammal K.Sambantham and a couple of guest appearances, Haasan directed his third feature film in Virumaandi. Virumandi, became the first Tamil film to feature different sides of the story, surrounding the controversy of the death penalty. Haasan's directorial work earned reviews that claimed it was "technical excellence in every sphere", however the film only broke even at the box-office, failing to capitalize on its publicity. Haasan also appeared in Anbe Sivam alongside close friend, Madhavan, in a film he was claimed to have ghost-directed. Priyadarshan, who started the film departed allowing commercial director Sundar C make a film unknown to his usual genre; furthermore the film also preached views of atheism, which Haasan is renowned for following. Anbe Sivam told the story of Nallasivam, enacted by Haasan as an idealist, social activist and communist, whose past is poignant and present moving. Kamal Haasan's performance was highly lauded by critics with The Hindu stating that Haasan "has once again done Tamil cinema proud", however in contrast, the film failed to become a success, with Haasan later lashing out at award judges, claiming he deserved credit for his script writing and acting.

Haasan's long delayed project, Vettaiyaadu VilaiyaaduHaasan appeared in the remake film, Vasool Raja alongside Sneha, which triumphed at the box-office, whilst his following film, Mumbai Express, which he had written for flopped at the box-office, as it opened with the record-breaking Rajnikanth starrer, Chandramukhi. In 2006, became a blockbuster at the box office. Gautham Menon's Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu was Haasan's first cop film in adecade since Kuruthipunal, earning his portrayal as the New York detective rave reviews. The forthcoming production, Dasavatharam is the longest film taken for Kamal Haasan to complete. Pairing opposite Asin Thottumkal, Haasan reprises ten roles in the film, a couple of which are claimed to have taken nearly four hours to apply the correct make-up on. The film, which Haasan had to go to court to sort out story legalities, is set for release in April 2008 and is set to become the most expensive Indian film to date, passing the mark of Sivaji: The Boss, which Dasavatharam was initially to release against simultaneously.

Following the completion of Dasavatharam, Haasan is set to direct his fourth directorial venture under the production of Walt Disney Pictures, who by backing Haasan, make their debut in Indian cinema.The film tentiatively titled Marmayogi, is believed to be set in the 7th century and feature several leading stars in the lead roles alongside Haasan. The film was announced with a higher budget than Dasavatharam and the upcoming science-fiction Rajnikanth starrer, Robot, which Marmayogi has been dubbed to compete against. Haasan has still expressed desire in completing his magnum opus, Marudhanayagam if producers will to help him out, however the film if released will be spanned at a duration of over nearly fifteen years, failing to maintain consistency in technology.

Awards

Kamal is the only actor to receive four National Film Awards in India. He won his National awards for the films Nayagan,Moondram Pirai and Indian. He also won the national award for Best Child Actor for his performance in Kalathur Kannamma^. He has also received the best actor award at the Asian Film festivals held in 1983 and 1985 for Saagara Sangamam and Swathi Muthyam respectively. Seven of his movies have been sent as India's official entry to the Oscars. Kamal has won the Filmfare awards 18 times.

He was awarded the fourth highest recognition given to Indian civilians - the Padmashri in 1990. He was conferred an honorary doctorate by Sathyabama University, Chennai in 2005.

Kamal was also conferred with a unique honour this year(2007) as "Living Legend" in the film business by FICCI,India.

The all awards presented to him were for his artistic talent. He got the first Abrahan Koovar National Award for his Humanist Activities and Secular Life.

Kamal Hassan also was conferred the Nandi Award 20 times in his lifetime.

Super Star Rajinikanth

2008-03-14T04:28:00.000-07:00

Rajinikanth (born Shivaji Rao Gaekwad, December12, 1949) is one of the most influential and bankable movie stars in the Indian film Industry, a superstar in the Tamil and Telugu films. He received India's third highest honour, the Padma Bhushan, for his contribution to Indian cinema in 2000. He was reportedly paid Rs. 16 crores for his latest blockbuster Sivaji.

Early life

Rajinikanth was born to a Marathi family in Karnataka He was the fourth child of his parents, Jijabai and Ramojirao Gaekwad. He was named Shivajirao Gaekwad. Gaekwad is a family name among the Marathas. He lost his mother at the age of five. He did his schooling at the Acharya Paatashala in Bangalore and then at the Vivekananda Balaka Sangha, a unit of the Ramakrishna Mission. Rajnikanth struggled a lot during his early age because of poverty. Although his mother-tongue is Marathi, he has not acted in any Marathi movies yet.

He began his career doing various jobs in Bangalore. He also attended a theatre for stage plays. Before starting his career in the film industry, he worked as a bus conductor for the Bangalore Transport Service in Bangalore It was during this time that he nurtured his acting interests by performing in various stage plays.

Personal

He married Latha on February 26, 1981, at the age of 31 in Tirumala - Tirupati and they have two children: Aishwarya and Soundarya. Latha currently runs a school named - The Ashram.
His daughter Aishwarya married actor Dhanush on November 18, 2004 and they have one son, Yathra.

Most of his movies during the nineties were also successful, like Mannan, Muthu Baashha and Padayappa. Rajinikanth wrote his first screenplay for the film Valli(1993). His film Muthu was the first Tamil film to be dubbed into Jappanese as Muthu: The Dancing Maharajah and became very popular in Jspan. When he was 53, Baba released amidst much fanfare. Although the film grossed enough to cover its budget, it was viewed as one of the miserable movies in his career. It fell short of market expectations and high bids reportedly accumulating to heavy losses for the distributors. It is also rumoured that Rajinikanth repaid the losses incurred by the distributors who laid immense faith in him. His latest film, Sivaji the Boss, directed by S.Shankar released on June 15,2007, has become the first Tamil movie to make the UK and South Africa Top 10. Rajnikanth will now be lending his voice to the lead character (based on himself) in an animation film for Adlabs titled Sultan:The Warrior to be directed by his daughter Soundarya Rajinikanth. The movie is scheduled for a 2008 release. Rajnikanth's next movie with Kavithalaya Productions and produced by his mentor director K.Balachander.This movie is named as "Kuselan". Rajnikanth is going to make another film with Shankar. Robot will be produce by Ayngaran International and EROS. He is one actor who has one of the largest fan following in India

Awards and honours

Rajinikanth was named as one of the influential persons in South Asia by Asiaweek He has won the Filmfare Best Actor award and many other awards during his acting career.

Between 1977 and 2005 Rajinikanth received awards from several organizations, like Tamil Nadu State Government Award, Cinema Express, Filmfans Association, Filmfare etc., for his on-screen performances and off-screen contributions in writing and producing. He has received awards in the Best Actor category for his performance in the films

Sivaji, Chandramukhi, Padayappa, Peddarayudu, Basha, Muthu, Annamalai, Thalapathy,Valaikaran, Sri Raghavendra, Nallavanuku Nallavan, Moondru Mugam, Engeyo Ketta Kural, Aarilirunthu Arubathu Varai, Mullum Malarum and 16 Vayathinile. He received an award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Bhavana Oru Kelvi Kuri . He has also received awards in Best Story Writer and Best Producer categories for Valli.

He has also received other honours such as Raj Kapoor Award (2007) from the Government of Maharastra, Padma Bhushan (2000) from Government of India, Kalaichelvam Award (1995) from the Nadigar Sangam, Oshobismit Award (1995) for Spirituality from Rajinish , MGR Award (1989) and Kalaimamani Award (1984) from the Government of

Recently (September 2007) Rajinikanth won the Best Actor award, given by the Government of Tamil Nadu for his role in the film Chandramukhi(2005). Recently, he has been selected as best movie entertainer in India for the year 2007 by NDTV

His fans all over the world are gathering support to place a life size wax statue in the Madame Tussauds Wax Museum New York , New York City. The fans are excepting that this highest paid and a huge fan admiration actor should be given this high honour as like Amitabh, Shah rukh khan and Aishwarya rai whose statues are also present in this museum.

Puratchi Thalaivar M.G.R

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Maruthur Gopala Ramachandran Menon (January 17, 1917 - December 24, 1987), popularly known as MGR, or Puratchi Thalaivar (English : Revolutionary Leader), was a leading actor in Tamil Films and Chief Minister of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu from 1977 until his death.

Early life

He was born at Nawalapitiya near Kandy, Sri Lanka, to Maruthur Gopala Menon and Satyabhama. He was originally from Palakkad, Kerala. But his grandfather had migrated with his family to Sri Lanka

After his father's death, he could not pursue his studies beyond the primary stage due to poverty and joined a drama troupe called Original Boys. Gaining considerable experience on stage, he entered the world of cinema, and gradually rose to enviable positions by persistent efforts and endurance. He became an actor, with a huge mass appeal. He was also a very good director and producer, and was also known to be an expert movie editor. MGR married Bargavi also known as Thangamani who died early due to illness. He later married Sathanandavathi who also died soon due to Tuberculosis. His third wife was V.N.Janaki, a former actress she divorced her husband Ganapati Bhat, to marry him. He did not have any children.

Tamil cinema

Making his film debut in 1935, in the film Sati Leelavathi, directed by Ellis Dungan, an American born film director, MGR did not attain great popularity until he got his big breakthrough in the 1947 film Rajakumari which was a super hit making him a top hero in Kollywood and one of the most successful in Indian Cinema history, the script for Rajakumari was written by Karunanithi. He rose to stardom by playing characters that portrayed him as the saviour of the poor. His movies were the medium of communication for the Dravidian movement. For the next twenty-five years he remained one of the biggest celebrity in Tamil cinema and one of the most famous and worshiped man in Tamil nadu. Movies like Madurai Veeran, a champion of the Tamil Devars. His star power did not diminish even after he was shot by fellow actor M. R. Radha, affecting his ability to speak clearly. Even then he undauntedly carried on only to give box-office hit after hits, later paving way for his entry into politics. He won the national award in the best actor category for the film Rickshakaran His Movie "Nadodi Mannan" (produced & directed by MGR and first released in 1956) released in 2006 ran house full shows in Tamil Nadu for 14 weeks.

Nadigar Thilagam Sivaji Ganesan

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Sivaji Ganesan ( born Villupuram Chinnaiahpillai Ganesan, (October 1, 1927 - July21, 2001) was a legendary Indian actor. Active during the latter half of the 20th century, he was famed for his versatility and expressive prowess, particularly in the South Indian (Tamil) film industry.

At the age of 9, Ganesan was so interested in stage plays that he ran away from home to pursue a career in theatre. His mother helped him get into a famous drama troupe.

Ganesan's first film was Paraasakthi in the year 1952 opposite noted actress Pandari Bai. The script for the movie was written by Karunanidhi. He has acted in about 300 movies, including nine Telugu movies,one Kannada movie, two Malayalam movies and two Hindi movies.

The name 'Sivaji' was given to him after his excellent stage performance as Emperor Shivaji Sivaji Ganesan-Given by great Rationlist,Thanthai Periyar E.V.R.Ramasamy. He made his reputation as an actor in C.N. Annadurai's Sivaji Kanda Indhu Rajyam, a historical on the Maratha Emperor Shivaji. He was asked to play the role at the last moment when the lead actor (an unknown MGR!) backed out. It is said he memorized the entire 95 pages of dialogues in a day! Such was his impact that the play also gave him his screen name. He is also known as Nadigar Thilagam and Nadippu Chakravarthy (translated "King of Kings" of acting). He was a major actor of his period in South Indian cinema. He has been awarded the title of Chevalier, the Order of Arts and Literature by the Ministry of Culture, Government of France. This is one of the main decorations of the French Republic which is conferred to honour the most original and talented personalities, for their remarkable contributions in the field of Arts and Literature in France and all over the world.On 22nd April 1995, at a glittering ceremony held at the MCA stadium, Madras,Dr.Sivaji Ganesan was presented the Chevalier Title and Medallion by the French Ambassador to India Mr.Philip Petit. Ms.Jayalalitha, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest of the function.The entire Tamil film industry and representatives of all other Regional and National film industries were present at this function

At the function Dr.Sivaji Ganesan presented a cheque for Rs.100,000/- to the Tamilnadu Chief Minister's Relief Fund, and another Rupees One Hundred Thousands to the Film Employees Federation of South India.The balance of money after all expenses (which was collected from the film industry) was used to form the Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan Educational Trust. The money accruing from these Trust funds are being given towards education of children of poor film artistes.

In Hollywood, when he met Marlon Brando, Brando said - "Sivaji Ganesan, You can act like me but I cannot act like you" - considered the greatest tribute to Indian cinema.

Political career

Until 1955, Ganesan was a staunch sympathiser of the D.M.K. party. He was expelled from the party because of his visit to Tirupati temple which was not permitted by the rationalistic DMK. In 1961, he become a strong supporter of Indian National Congress and particularly the veteran leader K.Kamaraj. When the congress split in 1969 he remained loyal to K Kamaraj and the Congress (O). Only after the death of Kamaraj in 1975, he switched his allegiance to Indra Gandhi. In 1982, Indira Gandhi made him a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. After 1987, he left Congress and floated his own political party (Thamizhaga Munnetra Munnani). He became the president of the Tamil Nadu faction of the Janata Dal in 1989. His political career, was never as successful as his acting career by any stretch of imagination.

Death

Suffering from respiratory problems, Ganesan was admitted to the Apollo Hospital in Madras on July 12, 2001. He also had been suffering from a prolonged heart ailment for about 10 years.

He died at Apollo Hospital at 7:45pm (IST) on July 21, 2001 at the age of 74.

In 2001, a function called "Parasakthi Muthal Padayappa" (English Language: From Parasakthi to Padayappa meaning from his first film being Parasakthi to his last starred film Padayappa) to commemorate Sivaji Ganesan's bravery.

Awards

Best Actor Award, Afro-Asian Film Festival, Cairo, Egypt 1960
Padma Shri Title, 1966
Padma Bhushan Title, 1984
Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres(France).
Kn Dadasaheb Phalke Award, 1996
Kalaimamani.