Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal - Tamil Movie Review

Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal - Movie Review

Crew

Directed by     S. R. Prabhakaran
Produced by     Udhayanidhi Stalin
Screenplay by     S. R. Prabhakaran
Story by     S. R. Prabhakaran
Music by     Harris Jayaraj
Cinematography     Balasubramaniem
Studio     Red Giant Movies
Release dates     February 14, 2014

Running time     156 mins
Country     India
Language     Tamil

Cast

    Udhayanidhi Stalin as Kathirvelan
    Nayantara as Pavithra
    Santhanam as Mayilvaganam
    Chaya Singh
    Saranya Ponvannan
    Sunder Ramu as Gautham
    Vanitha Krishnachandran
    Aadukalam Naren
    Mayilsamy

 Kathirvelan is a big devotee of Lord Hanuman and want's to be an eternal bachelor, that's until he meets Pavithra. It was love at first sight and his mission in life changed to marrying Pavithra. But Pavithra has feelings for Gautham, who sees her as a use and throw. Even though Kathir reveals Gautham's true nature to Pavithra she doesn't think of his childhood friend in that way. So what will happen to the love story, how the families get tangled up in all these forms the rest of the story.

 IKK is the 2nd venture for both director S. R. Prabhakaran and Male lead Udhay Stalin. Its some what in the lines of 'Oru Kal Oru Kannadi', but different from Sundarapandian. Promoted as Romantic Comedy the film has a more drama in it than romance or comedy. Santhanam once again comes to the rescue and prevents the movie from falling to a disappointing affair. Infact Udhay had better chemistry with Santhanam than the heroines in the 2 films that he did so far.

The initial half is quite watchable with enough fun and frolics and small dosage of romance. But the plots and sub plots and unnecessary deviations make it tiresome in the later half, eventhough the supporting actors appearing in those sequences gave the film's notable performances.

Udhay has improved a lot compared to his mediocre debut in OKOK, but still has a long way to go if he takes acting career seriously. Nayanthara, as always was looking great, but the role was a cake walk for her. Santhanam playing for the umpteenth time as hero's side kick [who actually ends up making the movie watchable, entertaining & a box office success] was good as always.

Prabhakaran had an average outing this time with IKK. Music by Harris Jayaraj was average, could have done with lesser song count. Background score was good though. The film drags at places and feels lengthy, editing could have been better. Cinematography was good, especially in songs, thanks to the locales. 

So in all IKK is another time pass rom-com that is woth watching thanks to, one again, Santhanam.

Rating 2.5./5

Verdict: Average

Last Word: Watch it if you have nothing else to do this Valentines day weekend

Jilla vs Veeram - Kerala Box Office Update

Jilla vs Veeram - Kerala Box Office Update

Veeram

 Sree Kaleeshwary initially signed for Veeram Kerala distribution rights @ 1.30 crore. But once Jillla was confirmed on the very same date, after much negotiations the rate came down to 78-80 lakhs. Including Print & Publicity of about 15 lakhs the total investment by the distributor is about 95 lakhs. Even though the film had better WOM the release time was bad [as per Kerala business was concerned], it got squeezed between Jilla and Drishyam and couldn't really get going. The film will be a losing venture for Sree Kaleeshwary with final distributor share coming in the range of 75 lakhs, costing them about 20 lakhs. After the release the 'in-ground' promotion was lukewarm from the distributor side too. The Kerala theatrical run is about to be terminated with film still playing only in a handful of theaters.

Jilla

Two of the biggest Crowwd pullers in the state uniting for the first time helped the film to take the biggest ever first day and opening weekend in the history of Kerala Box Office. But the WOM was mixed, plus the Drishyam phenomenon affected the films longer prospects too. The film when reports last came in had grossed between 8.5-9cr with distributor share of about 3.5 crore plus. 

The confusing fact about Jilla is regarding the distribution rights, the figures quoted is 3.5 crore [extra 15 lakhs for print & publicity], but there is no clarity regarding whether its a separate deal or instead (or a part) of Mohanlal's acting fees [Since its distributed Mohanlal's own Max Lab/Aashirvad]. If the former case is true, Jillla will also cost the distributor a few lakhs in the final tally. The film will be Vijay's 2nd biggest grosser in the state, falling well short of Thupppakki.The film is running in more theaters compared to Veeram, But will also terminate within a week or two.

So while 'Gross' wise Jilla is miles ahead of Veeram, but based on 'Returns on Investment' there's nothing much to separate both films.

Salala Mobiles - Exclusive Malayalam Movie Review

  

Salala Mobiles - Exclusive Malayalam Movie Review

Crew

 Directed by     Sharath A. Haridaasan
Produced by     Anto Joseph

Banner Anto Joseph Film Company

 Written by     Sharath A. Haridaasan
Music by     Gopi Sunder
Cinematography     Satheesh M Kurup
Distributed by  Aan Mega Media  
Release dates   23 January 2014
Country     India
Language     Malayalam

Cast

    Dulquer Salmaan as Afsal
    Nazriya Nazim as Shahana
    Santhanam as Alakarsami
    Jacob Gregory as Benoy
    Siddique
    Geetha
    Narayanankutty
    Janardanan
    Mamukkoya
    Jose
    Tini Tom
    Raveendran

Salala Mobiles tells the love story of Afsal & Sahaana coming from families who are at the extreme ends, economically. Afsal runs a mobile shop named 'Salala Mobiles' setup with the help of his uncle & Shahana visits the shop regularly to recharge her mobile. At the very first sight of Shahana, Afsal fell head over heels in Love . The story gets a small twist with the entry of Alakarsamy, a tech freak who develops a special kind of app which change the course of their lives.

Salala Mobiles is your usual rich girl poor boy Rom-Com + Family drama. But had it sticked to that genre the film would have atleast been passed as a breezy time pass entertainer. Instead the writer (who is also the director) added plots and sub plots which are not only confusing but irritating at many parts. Even though promoted as Rom-Com the film has very few of both, or at least the viewer feels that way thanks to the inconsistent writing and shoddy narration.

The first half is comparatively watchable, the second half completely goes down the barrel and the movie ends suddenly with an unconvincing climax.

Dulquer Salmaan was okay as Afsal but we have seen quite a few of similar roles from the actor and it is high time that he chose something different, these kind of roles have become sort of cake walk for him. Imagine the horror of heroine getting sidelined in a ROm-Com, thats the fate of Nazriya in Salala. Even in the few scenes got, she just had to look good. Being a Santhanam fan, really felt this houldn't have been his debut film/role in Mollywood, even though he was good. Gregory provided the comic relief, writer tried to cash in on the ABCD duo and it worked, one of the quite few reliefs the film offered. Rest of the 'too many' cast did what they just had to do, nothing significant.

Sharath's debut as a director could gave us only a half baked product, thanks to the script written by himself (His previous script was Jayaraj's 'Rain Rain Come Again', which ended up a disaster)

Except the title song other tracks didn't quite live upto the expectations, Gopi Sundar disappointed in that aspect but did okay job with background score. Cinematography was good, specially the songs. Editing was decent.

Salala Mobiles offers nothing much, except may be for the die hard fans. The combo of Dulquer-Nazriya will help the film to take a huge opening but after that matters looks tough for the film.

Rating: A very generous 2.5/5

Verdict: 'Average'

Last Word: This Number won't be reachable for long, so fans better rush to theaters before it goes out of coverage area.

Veeram - Movie Review

 

Veeram - Exclusive Movie Review

Directed by     Siva
Produced by     Bharathi Reddy
Written by     Bharathan (dialogues)
Story by     Bhoopati Raja
Music by     Devi Sri Prasad
Cinematography     Vetri
Editing by     Kasi Viswanathan
Studio     Vijaya Productions
Release dates   January 10, 2014
Running time     161 minutes
Country     India
Language     Tamil

   

Cast

    Ajith Kumar as Vinayagam
    Tamannaah as Kopperundevi
    Vidharth as Shanmugam
    Bala
    Munish as Siva
    Suhail Chandhok as Kumaran
    Nassar
    Pradeep Rawat
    Santhanam as Pichai Muniyandi
    Ramesh Khanna
    Avinash
    Appukutty
    Thambi Ramaiya
    Abhinaya
    Manochitra
    Vidyullekha Raman
    Suza Kumar
    Ilavarasu
    Mayilsamy
    Devadarshini
    R. N. R. Manohar
    Paruthiveeran Sujatha
    Amit Kumar Tiwari
    Kalairani

Ajith in a 'Vetti Chattai' doing a village based mass role after a long time was the main USP of Veeram and Siva delivered a perfect entertainer meeting the expectations.

Veeram is the story of Vinayagam, a one man army with heart of gold, darling of masses, his brothers and his love interest Goppurendevi (Gopu). The first half deals with the brothers with the help of Santhanam trying to make Gopu & Vinayagan fall in love, so that they themselves can introduce their love interests before their brother and marry them. While the second half story shifts to Gopu's house and native village where Vinayagan not only has to earn the love & respect of her family members but also deal with another enemy who is trying to eliminate Gopu's family

Story is nothing new or unique but its the Presence of Thala as the towering personality and Siva's smart packaging that makes it work. Its an out an out Ajith show, he oozes charisma even while simply standing. The screen presence he had in Veeram is impeccable which was sort of missing in his last 2 films.

Siva packaged an average script with perfection. The dialogues were very powerful and had punch, especially the one liners mouthed by Ajith. Camera, Editing jobs are well done. The locations are apt and beautiful and even @ 160+ mins it doesn't drag much. Santhanam's comedy in 1st half worked out very well.
The Interval action bloack in train was good, but nothing like it was hyped thanks to shoddy VFX. BG was terrific.

The biggest negative is the age old script and uneven script. The 1st & 2nd half are like 2 different movies. Tamannaah got a comparatively meatier role, but a holy mess of it, especially in emotional scenes. Her chemistry with Ajith didn't work out and their romantic duet songs were plain bad. Even though DSP scored in BG score the songs were average, so was its choreography. Action choreography apart from interval block was average. Santhanam's character got lost some where in the second half. The 4 brothers apart from Vidarth did average job only.The movie also lacks a powerful villain.

Siva using the image of Thala Ajith perfectly, mixing all the right ingredients in the perfect combination has given a good entertainer. Even though its no where near to being perfect, watch it for Thala, if for nothing else.

Rating: 3/5

The Mighty 'Head' Rules !!!

Veeram - Kerala Distribution Latest Updates

Sree Kaleeshwary who bought Kerala distribution rights for 'Veeram' has been in great dilemma for the past few months, reason their 'Veeram' clashing a film which is most probably going to get the biggest release Kerala has ever seen, Jilla.

 They bought the rights thinking that Jilla will be postponed to April. But after Jan 10 has been fixed as the release date for Jilla they are caught in a soup, because they also have Trivandrum area rights for Jilla. Now clashing with a film featuring 2 of the most popular stars of the state is a very bad idea for any other movie. So SK is now trying to resell Veeram as backing out was not an option for them. They have been looking for & making talks with interested buyers, but the price quoted by them will cost SK badly. Finally after much talks they have got better offers for Ernakulam & Malabar area  which they might end up selling soon . But they might hang on to Trivandrum area where they will have to distribute it along with Jilla.

If there are no other releases on same date and the X-mas releases hit Holdover Veeram could get 60-70+ theaters, and if there is 2+ days gap with Jilla the numbers could cross 100 as well, provided Verram hits the screen first.

Thalaivaa - Exclusive Movie Review

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Thalaivaa : Exclusive Movie Review
                                        

Direction by A. L. Vijay

Produced by Chandra Prakash Jain/C.P. Sunil/C.P. Dinesh

Music by G. V. Prakash Kumar

Stars: Vijay, Sathyaraj, Amala Paul, Santhanam, Ragini Nandwani, Abhimanyu Singh & Rajiv Pillai

Movie Review by Sree Prasad Nair
Theater – Grand Cinemas, Sharjah, UAE
08/08/2013 – 4.45pm
Occupancy – 100%  Sold Out

A Vijay film is always special. Be it Velayudham or Thuppakki, Vijay films always worked big at the box office. Thalaivaa is the first Vijay film in 2013! Just like Velayudham & Thuppakki (released during Diwali 2011 & 2012) Thalaivaa is also releasing on a festive season, Eid 2013! Thalaivaa is directed by A.L Vijay who had remarkable hits under his belt in the form of Deiva Thirumagal & Madrasapattinam. However his last film Thandavam was a washout at the box office. Thalaivaa stars Vijay and Amala Paul in the lead roles. Sathyaraj, Santhanam, Ragini Nandwani, Abhimanyu Singh & Rajiv Pillai are also acting in Thalaivaa.

Story

Thalaivaa, is the story of comman man who rises to a leader. Vijay is a professional dancer in Australia. He is in love with Amala Paul. Both plan to get married. Vijay comes to India to meet his father (Sathyaraj) with Amala Paul & her father. Sathyaraj is Thalaivaa, leader of social workers in Mumbai. The local enemies murder Sathyaraj. To take the revenge Vijay turns into a leader. What happens next?

Positives

A. L. Vijay's story may sound predictable, but film is filled with many twists and turns. Two great suspense, one just before the interval and one just at the right time, climax! Direction is first rate. The run time of the film is almost 3hours. But you will never get bored in those long duration. First half is fast paced with romance, dance, funny scenes and second half is just brilliant, infact better than first half.

Vijay’s character in the film goes through two phases, one as typical lover & other as leader. He is good as lover with his usual charm, dance & romance. But he is brilliant as leader. Unlike his previous films Thalaivaa don't have much action scenes. Less action & more acting... That's Vijay's Thalaivaa. A performance like this comes once in a while and can compete with the best actors this year. The ease with which Vijay slips into the character is amazing and the outcome is spellbinding. If he is lovable as the lover boy dancer, he is outstanding as the leader.

It's Amala Paul who gives Thalaivaa that extra sheen. She gets a role to prove her talent and she more than lives up to the expectations. She is super confident and registered a strong impact. Her dancing skills and expressions are her added benefits. However her role is limited in the second half.

 Santhanam once again proved that he is unbeatable when it comes to comedy. He contributes enormously to some of the best moments of the film. Satyaraj is truly outstanding in a pivotal character. Ragini Nandwani is goregeous and makes her presence felt in a small but significant role. Abhimanyu Singh is ok. Rajiv Pillai may not have many lines to deliver, but his presence and expressions register a strong impact.

Negatives

Music of Thalaivaa is a letdown. And the placement of two songs are wrong. Veteran actor Nassar is wasted. Not much action scenes in this Vijay film except the climax. That’s about it. These factors won’t harm to a film like Thalaivaa.

Overall Thalaivaa is a perfect Eid gift from VIJAY'S! Director Vijay & Actor Vijay. A Good First Half, Great Second Half With A Brilliant Climax! The film is all set to take a bumper opening at the box office.

P:S: Third Festival Superhit From Vijay In A Row

Verdict - Thalaivaa Is A Great Leader!!!

Rating - 4/5!  Super Hit!!!

This Reviewer can be contacted on Twitter : @i_spn : https://twitter.com/i_spn

'Pattathu Yaanai' Movie Review

 Directed by     Boopathy Pandian
Produced by     S. Michael Rayappan
Music by     Thaman
Cinematography     S. Vaithy
Editing by     A. L. Ramesh
Studio     Global Infotainment Pvt Ltd
Release date(s)    26 July 2013
Country     India
Language     Tamil

  

Cast

    Vishal as Saravanan
    Aishwarya Arjun as Aishwarya
    Santhanam as Poongavanam / Gouravam
    Jagan
    Vada Poche Sarithiran
    Karthik Sabesh
    John Vijay
    Ajay
    Murali Sharma
    Seetha
    Mayilsamy
    Pattimandram Raja

Movie Review by Sree Prasad Nair
Theater – Eldorado Cinemas, Abu Dhabi, UAE 2
5/07/2013 – 10.30 pm
Occupancy – 60%



Director Boopathy Pandian is known for his successful films like Devathayai Kanden, Thiruvilaiyaadal Aarambam & Malaikottai. But his last film Kaadhal Solla Vandhen was a blig flop at the box office. Pattathu Yaanai is the second film of Hit Jodi Boopahy Pandian-Vishal after the successful Malaikottai in 2007. Pattathu Yaanai is the debut film of Aishwarya Arjun, daughter of action superstar Arjun. Pattathu Yaanai also stars Santhanam & Murali Sharma

Story

Pattathu Yaanai story is about the catering service group held in the name of Punkavanam managed by Santhanam. Santhanam and Vishal used to go for catering service to different places. Vishal says an idea to Santhanam that instead of moving to different places & they can open a grand hotel and can become a rich business man. The idea holds Santhanam and they start to moving towards Karaikudi to Trichy. There they faces some problems and how they solve those problems???

Pattathu Yaanai has its share of plusses and minuses

Positives

The main positive of Pattathu Yaanai is One & Only Santhanam. The film belongs to Santhanam from Scene A to Z. The actor is at his best yet again and delivers a towering performance. If Santhanam stole the thunder in recently released Singham 2, he walks away with accolades yet again in Pattathu Yaanai. No two opinions on that. Such a terrific actor with unbeatable comic timing!
Vishal's acting is good although he goes over-the-top in the first half & at action sequences. But his acting in the second half is quite good. Debutant Aishwarya Arjun is photogenic, acts very well and most importantly looks the character of a plus two girl.
Karthik Sabesh & Jagan as Vishal's friends are good. Karthik Sabesh's comic timing with Santhanam provides maximum laughs. John Vijay is ok. Direction of Boopahy Pandian is good, still not at par with his work in Malaikottai.

Negatives

Like I mentioned above, Pattathu Yaanai has its share of plusses and minuses. And the main minus is it's poor music by Thaman. All the songs are very ordinary and the situation placement of the songs are horribly wrong. The film starts off well, but the story comes to an ordinary stuff in the second half. The flashback portions of Vishal were ordinary. Murali Sharma is overacted. Some comedy scenes just after emotional scenes were unwanted.
Overall a good first half and an average second half, That's Pattathu Yaanai for you ! At the box office, film can be a decent success all thanks to Santhanam's comedy, Vishal's acting and film's masala theme.



P:S: One Time Watchable!

Verdict - Pattathu Yaanai is Santhanam's!!!

Rating - 2.75/5! Average !!! This Reviewer can be contacted on Twitter : @i_spn : https://twitter.com/i_spn

Thalaivaa Story Synopsis - Naduvazhikal remake ???

 

Thalaivaa Story Synopsis - Naduvazhikal remake ???

The trailer of much awaited 'Thalaivaa' was released online few days back and as expected it broke many records in YouTube. According to the makers it tells the story of a common guy becoming a leader of/for masses. [The following might be movie plot spoilers, so be careful before you proceed].


The detailed story/synopsis of the movie is kept under wraps. There has been news spreading in social medias that the film is a remake of 1989 Mohanlal Super Hit 'Naaduvazhikal'. All of A.L Vijay's previous films were either remakes or drew inspirations from other language movies. So there is a chance for this being an inspired work or official remake.

Naduvazhikal tells the story of a common man who is forced to leave his leisurely life & comeback to native place to fight for his father and the people that believed in him. From information available from various sources Thalaivaa also follows similar path.

Vijay's character who is [supposedly] a dance teacher in Australia forced to comeback to India when something happens to his father, played by Sathyaraj, who is like a leader to many. Vijay meets his enemy's here, they have many confrontations. In one of the leaked stills we can see Sathyaraj's garland ridden photo on the wall, which might indicate his character getting killed by enemies and Vijay taking his revenge on those who are responsible - just like Naaduvazhikal climax.

Even if these predictions/guess work proves to be true  lets hope  AL Vijay  can bring something new to the table

Naaduvazhikal itself is inspired from the cult classic Hollywood Mafia movie 'The Godfather' which has inspired many movies like Sarkar (2005), Rajneeti (2010) & Simhaasanam (2012)

Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru - Movie Review from Kerala

Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru - Movie Review  

 Directed by     Sundar C.
Produced by     Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Khushboo Sundar
Written by     Sundar C. (Screenplay)
Venkat (Dialogues)
Story by     Sundar C.
Music by     C. Sathya
Cinematography     Gopi Amarnath
Editing by     Praveen K. L.
N. B. Srikanth
Studio     UTV Motion Pictures, Avni Cinemax
Release date(s)    June 14, 2013
Country     India
Language     Tamil

CAST

    Siddharth as Kumar
    Hansika Motwani as Sanjana
    Ganesh Venkatraman as George
    Santhanam as Mokia
    Vidyullekha Raman
    RJ Balaji as Karna
    Devadarshini
    Bosskey
    Aishwarya Menon
    Vishal Krishna as himself (Cameo appearance)
    Samantha (Cameo appearance)

Theeya Velai Seiyyanum Kumaru  (You've to work hard, Kumar! is inspired from Partner which itself was a remake of 'Hitch'. Kumar is a looser when it comes to the matters of love. Kumar who is working in an IT firm has has fallen head over heels in love with his colleague Sanjana. But unable to express his love or for that matter even talk to her and growing competition from other boys, Kumar seeks the help of Love Guru Mokia who is an expert love consultant. What happens to their lives after Mokia enters the scene forms the rest of the story.

Those who were expecting a regular over the top typical Sundar.C mass masala will be heavily disappointed. TVSK is a normal romantic comedy with slight twists and turns and some amount of humor. But the film would have been just ended up as ordinary fare if not for Santhanam. The poor hero's [or director's or writer's] Superstar, once again comes to the rescue of an avg film, elevates it to at least above average level (IMHO) and make a super hit out of it. But here too he gets in full flow in the 2nd half. He is the pillar on which the film stands supported by others. But he should seriously conider a change of track before this side kick role starts boring & repetative.

Sidarth played his role well, but nothing exceptional. Hansika, eventhough a bit over weight [BTW her latest look during Singam 2 audio launch was super hot and super slim], was super cute as always. Improved her acting by leaps and bounds, but still need to work on the lip sync. Rest of the cast were also Okay. The cameo scene by Samantha was very good.

Direction was okay, made a decent watch out of an ordinary script, packaged everything well. Camera, editing was good. Music is a big disappointment, don't know why no UTV South movie have chart buster music.There is not even a single hummable or foot tapping track. 

TVSK is a good, clean watch for families, Kids and youth sans unnecessary mass masala, action, violence etc. 

A Time pass entertainer

Rating: 2.7/5 [thanks to Santhanam]

Verdict: Above Average

Box Office: Hit ??? May be

All in All Alaguraja - Exclusive First Look Posters & Stills - Karthi, Kajal Aggarwal, Santhanam

Click On Images for Bigger Size