Review #502: Vaalu (2015)

Vaalu Movie Review

Plot: It is love at first sight for a jobless guy who is called Sharp by friends and family when he sees a college girl in a bus. He also helps her in an accident and tries to befriend her to win her love later. The girl reciprocates his friendship after knowing he was her accidental-helper but informs him she is arranged to be married to her cousin in 2 years. Sharp decides to woo her in 10 days and the spice on offer comes in the form of a rivalry he has with a linchpin of the girl’s cousin in question.

What Works?

• The bonhomie that the core members of the team led by Director Vijay Chander have shared shows up in their intention to bring out an entertainer that aims to provide mindless fun. The delay in production doesn’t show up much in terms of lack of continuity thanks to that.
• STR (that’s how Simbu calls himself now) displays the energy that has earned him the small yet intense fan base and he has provided enough to keep that lot happy performing comedy, action & mouthing punchlines with the ease he has branded himself with
• The supporting cast has played its role in keeping us from getting restless – Be it the comedy that Santhanam, VTV Ganesh provide from time to time or the charming little family of the hero. The director can be lauded for the manner in which he has depicted the father & the villain – There ‘could’ be fathers and villains like that
• The songs, which don’t hold us by themselves in Thaman’s Music, have been put to some painstaking choreography that complements the overall intention of the film. In Suresh’s editing, there are no scenes that cross the tolerance threshold (even if some of the Train/track transitions could have been avoided). Shakti’s camerawork captures the crowd & colours well in the stunts and songs

What Doesn't?

• There is no core story whatsoever and even the love that the hero seems to shower upon the heroine doesn’t look real thanks to his schemes. He looks like someone who tries to woo the girl to win a bet than to wed her & the Day-1 to Day-10 presentation adds to that effect
• The little emotions which could have been exploited with some characters go waste and aren’t handled with conviction. In a film that doesn’t seem to take itself seriously, serious dialogues about family and love seem very odd
• There is too much of meta Mass-hero worship (which succeeds in bringing noise in the house) but all that makes this look less like a film and more like a prime time show on TV

In a Nutshell:

Vaalu doesn’t have much to complain about because it doesn’t have much to write home about. The intentions seem to be to provide mindless fun but in the process, it lacks any story to be told and ends up being a film not to be bothered about – much like the vestigial tail some reptiles have.

Vestigial Tail, Wags a bit!

I Movie Review

Shankar's I Movie Review

Shankar, the director considered widely as someone who keeps re-writing his magnum opus books, comes up with his latest offering 'I'. In its post-production phase, the film evoked a lot of curiosity for the role(s) Vikram had supposedly played in it & the toil he went through. All of that has now been put to test for the audiences' verdict with the film's release today.

I is about how the life of Mr.India aspirant Lingesan is made to take two drastic turns, the first of which is engineered by Diya, the model he reveres & admires, the second by those who he gets related to, through Diya. As is the case with most life-turning experiences, he faces tough situations in both. Here they are potentially heart-crushing situations but he wins over the two with contrasting yet pure humane qualities - Benevolence & Vengeance!

Vikram has given his heart out unleashing another set of memorable & masterful portrayals. As Lingesan the body-builder, his chiseled body speaks more than what his Chennai dialect does & even in his flamboyant avatar of model Lee, we get to feel Lingesan underneath the swashbuckling looks! When calamity strikes, he takes his level a few notches higher and totally takes control of your attention. Vikram makes you empathise with him when he suffers from the condition that disfigures him which is captured quite nicely by Anthony's editing (who has had a pretty tough role in editing the film spanning 189 minutes!). Amy Jackson has given her best with a display of emotions that appear convincing enough & she is a lovely doll in the song sequences. The lip sync with her dubbing suffers though, which is the case with Upen Patel too. The supporting cast with a set of unexpected faces (if one discounts Santhanam, that is) led by Ramkumar Ganesan, Suresh Gopi & Ojas(whose treatment is something you don't expect AT ALL in a Shankar film) is a bundle of cliches. Even these fresh faces cannot balance out the dated characterisations created for the roles they play!

On the surface, I gives an impression that Shankar has tried something away from his highly successful tried & tested presentations of social issues but a close look would reveal that is not the case. Unconditional love has replaced the social issue theme but he has trusted and gone by the underlying template he has used historically. Even though I delves on unfailing love, it is more closer to Anniyan than it is to Kadhalan or Jeans. In fact, there is a huge connection that I holds with Anniyan which could be dissected at length but now is not the time as dissection would bring a whole lot of spoilers.

On the flip side, where doubt creeps in if Shankar's prowess is on the wane are in the facts that the dialogues don't carry the many 'Aha' moments we are used to with his films & the way the screenplay wavers while it introduces and later, focuses on the supporting cast. As an example, the (seeming) twist in the climax is something one could easily guess in the first fifteen minutes of the film. The film suffers from the lack of a well-written subplot for the characters around the primaries.

Also worth mentioning is how Shankar has become obsessed with grandeur and how that, in a way, is impeding his story-telling. The stunt sequence at the body-building competition is too lengthy & the one with the Bikers (where Vikram is seen to be duped big-time) is totally needless given the duration of the film. Apart from giving scope to some grandeur,which the stunt choreographers have duly used, they do nothing to impact the film's proceedings.

Anthony's editing has already been spoken of. The two other important aspects of the film are PC Sreeram's camera which does the simple part of capturing the mystique locations in China & India wonderfully. The highlight of the lens work is in the way it goes chasing in the Bicycle fight sequence & Aila song sequence (which, alongside Mersalayitten, has been conceptualised in typically admirable Shankar style). Rahman's songs have been picturised with devotion with an intention to make them stand out & the experimental background score in the fights are good.

In 'I', Shankar has to be credited for giving Vikram a glorious little boxing platform on which the actor has delivered a balanced knock-out performance playing to the admiration and liking of both the gallery & the judges. Where Shankar has failed is in not being able to give him powerful opponents to box against.

Two Line Reviews - #487

Movie: Raja Rani (Thamizh, 2013)

Plot: Regina & John are forced into a marriage for emotional reasons. John keeps irritating Reg post marriage. When Regina recuperates from a sudden epileptic attack, he gets to know of her failed love from the past. John has an equally emotional flashback that makes him start loving his wife. He later realises it would take more than a sudden change of his mind & actions for Regina, who has plans to shift to another country for work, to reciprocate his feelings for her!

What Works?

• For a first time film-maker that Atlee (an assistant of Director Shankar) is, he shows sparks in the way he handles specific scenes in this rom-com. (For example, the marriage scene in the title, the scene at the registrar office etc.) but has a long way to go if he is to leapfrog other budding film-makers.
• The major bulk of screen-time goes to Nayanthara and Arya. Nayanthara has carefully chosen a solid role for her Kollywood comeback and excels in emoting; Arya shows adequate & subtle differences in style in the 2007/2013 episodes he enacts. Not far behind is Sathyaraj in a short, sweet role as an uber-cool urban pop!
• Santhanam does a fine job in occasionally bringing the roof down! But, it is about time directors who cast him realise people are used to him as well as he is used to such roles.
• The film is technically slick with eye-catching sets by Muthuraj, breezy music by GV Prakash & apt style of cinematography by George C Williams.

What Doesn't?

• The love stories in the flashbacks are way too easy to be practical & have been handled very casually. Net result is the lack of impact which films in a similar genre like Mouna Raagam & Rhythm have been able to create.
• Jai & Nazriya don't have roles of substance and their characters too are weakly defined.
• There are a lot of stereotype scenes & comedies we have seen in umpteen films before (The software engineer boyfriend of Nazriya, Naan Kadavul 'Rajendran''s role reminding us of Boss e Baskaran etc.)
• Arya has an emotionally shattering flashback but the way he behaves post marriage doesn't exactly reflect that, which would leave the audience clueless!

Not so kingly to be taken seriously!

Two Line Reviews - #438

Movie: Neethaane En Ponvasantham (Thamizh, 2012)

Plot: Varun and Nithya know each other since childhood. Simple and silly misunderstandings separate them on four occasions at the ages of 8, 16,20 and 24. Their love for each other stands taller than their ego in two occasions. Will it work a third time?

What Works?

• Yet another attempt from Goutham Menon at telling a romance tale; Only this time, he doesn't go to foreign locales and adds extra gloss! The film is quite different in the sense that it moves not based on a lot of short scenes but based on sharp, incisive game changing conversations!
• Jiiva looks the part in all the situations and so does Samantha. However, in acting terms, with his unperturbed yet impactful presence Jiiva shows he is way better than Sam who appears listless in some scenes thanks additionally to an artificial dubbing!
• For Goutham, the feather on the cap are two defining scenes where the dialogues rule: The pre-interval scene in the terrace and the shore scene post Yennodu vaa vaa - The right questions asked with some nice answers there!
• Ilaiyaraaja's mellifluous melodies have been given the respect and justice they deserve and are used as the apt background sounds as well. Camerawork of the candid style works too.

What Doesn't?

• Goutham's ego needs some rest. Like KB, he brings in things from his earlier films and some of those send us into irritation. He is no KB. He's made just a handful of films.
• The characterisation of the hero is selfish and the climax is a bit off that line.

A simple tale of romance, powered up musically ! Worth a watch.

Two Line Reviews - #428

Movie: Thaandavam (Thamizh, 2012)

Plot: A blind man with a secret identity lives in London to avenge his wife's brutal death in a bomb blast. The perpetrators are being helped by someone he knows. He gets them all and gets to the known helper in this predictable thriller.

What Works?

• A disappointment of sorts, given the potential of the men who have handled the film (Vikram, A Vijay etc.). If I had to list some positives, they have got to be the picturisation of Oru Padhi Kadhavu & the tunes of that and some other songs by GV Prakash.
• The flashback back at home had its moments, though wasn't all that refreshing.

What Doesn't?

• The film doesn't have any surprising twists one would expect from a thriller.
• Top RAW official travelling to London seeking a couriered pen-drive: may have been convincing in early 2000 but it ends up a joke given the timeframe of the film!
• There isn't much scope for performances too; Vikram and Santhanam somehow delay the sinking of the ship.

Yawn inducing predictable thriller.

Two Line Reviews - #224

Movie: Vaanam (Thamizh, 2011)

Plot: There is a slum-dwelling Raja, a prostitute Saroja, a village lady who are in bad need of 'Money' for various reasons. There is a Muslim jodi on pursuit of a lost brother & there is a rock band travelling from Bangalore to Chennai for a concert. Characters in these parallel tracks face problems simultaneously and converge at a place in the climax - for absurd reasons!

Highlights:

• The comedy scenes involving Simbu, Santhanam & Ganesh are the sole relief in this otherwise dud of a film.
• The performances of Saranya, her father-in-law thaatha & Prakashraj were notably good - they are the saving graces. Especially, the old man showing vulnerability instantly earns the sympathy.
• Some very few scenes towards the end of the first half - very few.

Lowlights:

• Converging tracks on the lines of Amores Perros, Babel alright. But there is no proper connection between the tracks. All so-called connections are deliberate and silly. That makes it a boring watch.
• The utterly terrible positioning of songs - all songs infact. (Never seen two songs played back to back in any film!)
• Simbu's love track completely lacks seriousness & so when he tells his lover that his love was true, it was such a silly thing to watch. There are so many such scenes in the film.
• The uninspiring background music , editing , poor graphics & side-screen techniques add salt to the wound.
• The final climax involving so called terrorists with back-packs & deepavali thupaakkis perfectly symbolise the amateurity of the whole film - Messages and all get delivered after the climax absurdities are shown!

This film's a torture!