Santosh Sivan’s cinematic oeuvre is an envious compilation
of movies and ad films that are breathtakingly pleasing on the eye.
Naturally, Sivan’s brilliance as a cinematographer comes to the fore
even when he’s a director. Such is the case with Urumi – a historical
fantasy written with wide-eyed imagination by Shankar Ramakrishnan and
brought to screen by Sivan magnificently. With pleasing visuals of
locations that are often rain-soaked - it seems a cinematographer can
never get enough of rains and given the fact that rains bring out the
best of nature’s colors, it is only natural after all – the
director-writer team of Sivan and Ramakrishnan weave a fairy tale drama
blending history and present meticulously.
When Prithviraj was
offered a handsome rate for his ancestral property in Kerala, he decides
to sell it. However, it’s not as easy as it seems and the issue opens
up a can of worms for the rather carefree youth. Urumi is told in
flashbacks and converges into a classic intersection where past meets
the present. Shankar Ramakrishnan has done some hands-on research with
his subject and what transpires on screen is a neatly thought out script
infused with adequate performance by the actors. A lot of credit goes
to Sivan’s casting of the lead roles of the film as they weave in and
out of the film with practiced ease convincingly.
Prithviraj – who has also coproduced the film with Sivan and Shaji Natesan – plays the lead role of a 16th
century warrior, Chirakkal Kelu Nayanar. Kelu is seeking revenge for
his father’s death and is braying for Vasco Da Gama’s blood since the
Portuguese sailor is responsible for the death of his beloved father.
Prithvi’s acting skills needs no elucidation and so he proves that he
can be equally impressive in the role of a waywardly young man of
present day and as a warrior prince who has a huge responsibility of
planning an uprising to oust the Portuguese from the Malabar Coast.
While he shines as an angry-young-man whose responsibilities set him
apart from the herd, he also does not forget to highlight the subtleties
of emotions he goes through when he is attracted to the brave Ayesha –
played by Genelia.
Genelia, as the valiant Princess of Arackal,
who takes on the responsibility of safeguarding her family’s modesty and
dignity plays her role to perfection. Her loathe for men - whom she
considers womanizers waiting for an opportunity to take advantage of
women - is rendered well and she scores in the fight scenes also.
Prabhu
Deva as Vawwali, Prithviraj’s best friend, pulls off comedy like it is
his second skin. His brief liaison with Nithya Menon, his tease at
Prithviraj when he is seemingly falling for Genelia and his
courageousness at arranging a coup – all these aspects make his
character endearing. Rest of the actors including Jagathy Sreekumar,
Arya, Alexx ONell, Robin Pratt and Amole Gupte are proofs of perfect
casting.
Vidya Balan and Tabu are crackling in their
few-minutes-long cameo appearances in songs. You almost long for Tabu’s
presence for a little longer and Vidya pushes the envelope of
raunchiness a little too farther. However, also as a nondescript ashram
owner, she is brilliant nevertheless.
Another aspect of the movie
worth mentioning is its painstakingly designed costumes that are rather
clinical. Genelia slips in and out of designer shawls and beautifully
created ensembles befitting a princess that she plays. However, you only
expect the princess to be muted in style when she is struggling for her
family’s dignity. The costumes, otherwise, are inspired, to say, and
are appropriate for a period film of Urumi’s stature.
S.
Sasikumaran’s dialogues are sharp and edgy for a period film that is
after all a revenge drama in its heart. Deepak Dev’s songs are hummable
and his background score is muted, suited for the setting of the film.
Sreekar Prasad’s able handed editing ensures that the movie is not
lagging as it winds along its course.
Starring:
Laguparan, Swathi
Direction:
ThangasamyMusic:
Manu RamesanProduction:
S Madhan
What is happening to Tamil films? Week after week
the audience has been treated with a variety platter that caters to and
satisfies different tastes of the movie going population. This week
Vendhar Movies Raattinam hits the screens which grabbed many an eyeball
when Gautham Menon averred that it is his Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya in
Tuticorin. Directed by newcomer Thangasamy, Raattinam is set in the port
city which forms the backdrop for his tale on love and its
ramifications.
Love could culminate in success or failure but behind every love,
there could be some kind of loss which may be a relationship or
something more than that. This is the central pivot of Raattinam around
which the entire film rolls. At a time when romances among the much younger populace is portrayed
justifiably, here comes Raattinam which talks about the implications of
‘love’ at young age and its repercussions and the long lasting effect it
has on the families involved. Thangasamy also throws light on the
impacting influence on infatuations that are normal during that period
of one’s life where the surge of hormones peak.
There are occasions when the film reminds the audience of Balaji
Sakthivel’s Kaadhal. But Thangasamy stands out different in his
simplistic narration, screen play and characterization. Raattinam’s
climax is its highlight and Thangasamy should be lauded for this.
The biggest asset of Raattinam is the casting and performance. Hero
Lagubaran who had worked as an assistant director makes a positive
impression with his debut on screen appearance. Director Thangasamy also
works in front of the camera as hero’s brother, makes a powerful impact
with his portrayal.
The realistic and natural progression of scenes and dialogues stand
testimony to the director’s caliber. The typical innocence of the girls
belonging to a town is clearly brought out when the heroine says, “miss
kitta sollalaamaa” when she receives a love letter. On the other hand,
Thangasamy angered by his brother’s behavior starts hitting him and
stops midway when his father enters, is a clear cut depiction of life in
such an ambience. Such natural scenes add value to the film.
Swathi fits perfectly in her character. The supporting cast that
includes Swati’s mom Elizabeth, Swati’s advocate uncle and Lagubaran’s
friend Ajay has all done their job quite convincingly.
Manu Ramesan’s music is soothing to the ears and his apt re-recording
sets the mood of the film in the right track. Yele ye pulle emerges
triumphant. Rajsundar’s camera travels to nook and corner of Tuticorin
and brings out the perfect mood.
Raattinam is sure to stay on for some time in the minds of those who
had struggled to make their love successful and it is never going to
leave those who had failed to make their love successful.
Verdict: Get into this Raattinam, you would not regret the ride
Sridhar, an intriguing title indeed! As per the crew, the
nomenclature points its reason to veteran film maker Sridhar and this is
the crew’s way of paying their tribute the legend. And of course, hero
Siddharth goes by the same name.
Sridhar, for those uninitiated,
is the dubbed version of the Telugu flick ‘Oh my friend’ and is directed
by Sriram with Siddharth, Shruthi Haasan and Hansika helming the lead
roles.
We have seen quite a few films that have sung paeans about
friendship, love and the thin line separating the two. Sridhar, also
talks about the same but in a quite endearing manner that is likely to
tug at a few heart’s strings. The director has ably demonstrated the
beautiful relationship that exists between a man and a woman and how it
is difficult for them to continue in the same level and their pangs of
having to choose one for the other.
This premise may not be
something new to Tamil cinema but Sriram lends a fresh touch and
contemporary feel and gives a ‘feel good’ experience.
There are
just about few characters and the director has spun his tale around
them in a fairly linear fashion, having the audience’s attention for
most parts. The performance of the lead artists especially Shruthi
Haasan and Siddharth helps the director achieve his objective.
Shruthi
Haasan is spontaneous and natural and her growth as a performer is
evident. It is an easy ride for Siddharth who had essayed such roles in
few of his earlier films, all the same, a neatly crafted portrayal
indeed.
There is not much scope for Hansika in Sridhar but as a
helpless lover, she delivers the goods. Navdeep who features after the
intermission gets his acts right. The supporting cast of Thanikala
Bharani and Lakshmi Ramakrishnan is apt. While M S Bhaskar’s voice
perfectly suits Bharani, the same cannot be said about Siva Karthikeyan
who has dubbed for Siddharth. In fact, this is the major drawback of the
film.
Having heard Siddharth’s voice, it is very difficult to
accept Siva Karthikeyan’s voice especially the English segments where
Karthikeyan's diction sounds very rustic and unrefined and does not
match Siddharth’s urban character.
Sharp and expressive dialogues
like “namakku mathila irukkara space yaaro occupy pannikittu irukkara
maadiri irukku”, “purushan pondaatti friends aaga mudiyalennaalum, best
friends purushan pondaatti aaga mudiyum” add significant value to the
film.
The scene where Shruthi instructs Hansika to take care of
Siddharth and Hansika’s reaction to the same is a good example of the
relationship that exists between Shruthi and Siddharth and how that can
be construed by others.
The Telugu feel in the few minutes in
the first half takes some time to wear off and showing minarets and
telling them to be at Chennai could have been avoided. Siddharth and
Hansika are shown as school mates who have lost touch but Siddharth’s
dialogues about Hansika losing in the college beauty contest cannot be
explained.
Music of Rahul Raj is functional and it is not
anything that you will hum the next day. Art direction is another minus
as the work is too obvious. Cinematography is unobtrusive, pleasant and
brings out the mood.
In all, Sridhar is a charming tale of
friendship that would appeal to all those who value this noble
relationship and would stand for it against all odds.
Verdict: Endearing and neat
Kamal Hassan Vishwaroopam, whose first look poster
along with a small audio teaser was released on the 1st of May 2012,
will release its audio by June.
The
film directed & produced by Kamla himself, stars Pooja Kumar,
Andrea Jeremiah, Rahul Bose, , Jaideep Ahlawat, Samrat Chakrabarti,
Zarina Wahab, Shekhar Kapur in a special appearance.
The film's music is scored by Shanakr-Ehssan-Loy. The film is expected to release on the 29th of June 2012.
Cinematographer - Sanu Varghese
Editor - Mahesh Narayan
Studio - PVP Cinema & Rajkamal International
Telugu film distributor, Natty Kumar who had complained that he had
sustained huge losses because 3 did not do well in Andhra Pradesh is
causing fresh problems for the producer of 3, Kasthoori Raja, Dhanush
and Aishwarya. He has filed a case against Dhanush and Aishwarya with
the Hyderabad police stating that the audio rights for 3 were sold to
two parties - his own NK theatres and Sony Music.
Kasthoori Raja
has denied these allegations saying that Natty Kumar knows that Sony had
bought the rights to the music and in fact Sony had arranged the audio
launch in Hyderabad. Kasthoori Raja has said that if he did not stop his
baseless allegations he will be forced to file a defamation case
against him for dragging Dhanush and Aishwarya into this.
Sarath Kumar’s penchant to do multi-starrers seems to have reached a
high, as the actor has been apparently non-stop signing interesting
projects with other heroes, in which he is expected to play important
roles.
The president of South Indian Film Artistes Association, who is doing
a crucial character in Superstar Rajinikanth’s ‘Kochadaiyaan’, is said
to be playing a meaty character in Vijay’s forthcoming film ‘Thupaki’,
directed by A R Murugadoss.
“There is an all-important character in Thupaki apart from the one
Vijay is doing. When Sarath was approached for the role, he listened to
the script and happily accepted the offer,” say sources.
Sarath, a bankable hero by himself, has been spearheading a change in
Tamil cinema. The MLA, who is the chief of All India Samathuva Makkal
Katchi, is creating a trend by being part of multi-starrers like
‘Pazhassi Raja’, ‘Kanchana’, ‘Mynaa’ (Kannada) and ‘Kochadaiyaan’.
“There is an all-important character in Thupaki apart from the one
Vijay is doing. When Sarath was approached for the role, he listened to
the script and happily accepted the offer,” say sources.
