Raja's read only memories

Published in City Express, the daily supplement of The New Indian Express, Bangalore on April 16, 2012 A rehash of the director’s earlier hits, Oru kal ou kannadi bears no novelty and entertains, albeit partly And we thought recycling allegorically referred to only leftover-dependant lazy cooks or music composers with little care for copyright issues. Joining the bandwagon is director Rajesh with Oru kal oru kannadi (a stone, a looking glass), which reprises – and ends in a reprisal of – his earlier hits Siva Manasula Sakthi and Boss Engira Baskaran.  An etymology analysis would reveal that the kal and kannadi of the movie’s title – probably inspired by a song of the same name from Siva Manasula Sakthi – refer to the sexes from Mars and Venus respectively; one needs no nuclear scientist to infer that this is a love caper. OKOK opens to Saravana (Udhayanidhi Stalin, grandson of DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi) and his friend Partha (Santhanam) setting out to Pondicherry t...

A novel love story that we should have had... Boy, this movie did send expectations soaring into the upper echelons of the atmosphere first with the involvement of the progeny of screen idols Rajinikanth and Kamal Hassan in it and then the phenomenal success of the soundtrack Why This Kolaveri Di. However, the movie, 3 , a love story that transforms into a thriller, fulfills some of them and punctures some too. A funereal opening scene is followed by a rich-boy-meets-not-so-rich girl scene; love blossoms faster than the setting of quick-dry cement, culminating in a marriage. Shades of Thulluvadho Ilamai and Alaipayuthey are impossible to miss in this almost fresh portrayal of adolescent love, punctuated by hilarious sequences and brief dialogues. Aided by a crisp narrative and flashbacks that segue into the present – a la Mani Ratnam’s Aayutha Ezuthu – this is also the best part of the movie. Expectantly, the matrimony soon encounters choppy waters. The viewer is bombarded wit...