Skip to main content

From Kolaveri to Kola-Weary

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 with medical terms and explanations about mental disorders planting the first signs of boredom, when the proceedings start meandering. One feels that the director has tried to convey the implications of such revelations, when emotions spiral out of control, as the past merges with the present – in a leisurely manner. The difference is even starker given the breezy first half. Nonetheless, good performances from Dhanush – who seems to be in his element – and Sunder Ramu, who reprise roles similar to that in their earlier outing, Mayakkam Enna, and Shruti Hassan, shore up the latter half. Credit must be given to the director for exploring a novel theme, which suffers due to poor script-writing, not to mention the free-fall to logic at times.

Prabhu, Siva Karthikeyan and Rohini, appear in small roles that carry impact.

And yes, the song Why This Kolaveri Di appears in the movie in a setting far-removed from its YouTube counterpart.

Wish that the movie’s title had a more obvious reference to its storyline.

by Rajagopalan Venkataraman

Comments

  1. good show -- but the movie flopped on account of

    1. the intense hype provided.

    2. dhanush and sruthi having extra marital dating affairs and their whereabouts being published in all leading dailies

    3. aishwarya who was already bugged up with dhanush for flirting with hansika motwani in the filming phase of the film 'mappilai' and now a fling with sruthi -- she is undergoing severe mental stress as her old secret marriage with silambarasan has started to come out in the grey.

    all these and the pathetic story line opening with a funeral -- does not send out a good aura among the masses. People are already thrashed by reality and they dont feel good seeing that on screen and some god forsaken 'bipolar' disorder. who cares....anyway TR movies are a better bet.

    Veera Chaamy, Kadhal Azhiva dullai and so on to mention. :) :)

    Great work keep it going :) :) good luck.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why the editorial is the unsung hero of any newspaper

A tad autobiographical, this account encapsulates my experiences at a news organisation. Why wait until 50 or 60 to compose one? Hell, who knows, this could even be its blueprint! So, here goes my first stab at chronicling myself... I was prepared for all kinds of weird questions for my first job interview as a journalist four years ago, for the post of a sub-editor, but I never anticipated this one that caught me off guard. Noting that I preferred to work in the editorial than the reporting section, a HR representative at the organization asked in almost an air of dismissal, implying that the editorial is something redundant, “After all, we have Microsoft Word, in built with grammar and spell check capabilities, so why must I hire you?” I stared at him blankly for a moment as a smile grew on his face, perhaps out of exult at having stumped me. I trotted a familiar refrain, which I am sure he would have encountered countless times, “Because I am passionate about writing a...

Is what you are watching actually a cartoon?

Disclaimer: What you are about to read may seem weird, but what the hell, I am hypothesising it to be true, so who knows... Cartoons are basica lly meant for kids. The main reason e lders prefer letting the kids watch them without their sup ervision is that they need not fret over the incidence of X-rated content in it – namely content that concerns that famous three-letter word or violence. I suggest that we re-examine this mindset of ours (as someone who has grown up watching the very cartoons that I am about to damn, I have mixed feelings as I type this. Consider the following list: Tom and Jerry , Bugs Bunny and El mer Fudd/Yosemite Sam , Tweety and Sylvester and Coyote a nd Road R unner . These are cartoons which we would definitel y not squirm about before letting a toddler/child watch it. These cartoons are hilarious, have palatable themes; have caricatures that look cute (I am yet to come across a girl who hates Tweety). Tom and Jerry, for instance, was once even vot...

Tamil Nadu’s Thala-Thalapathy conundrum

Overrated, yet celebrated:  Tamil actors Vijay and Ajith, who command massive fan-followings “Oh, you watch Tamil cinema? So, you must be a fan of  Thala /  Thalapathy ?” Trepidation must be the watchword when one encounters these statements. For, this refers to a syndrome that has divided film freaks of Tamil Nadu into fans of Kollywood’s leading (well, at least expensive) actors —  Thala  or Ajith Kumar and  Thalapathy  or Vijay. Chances are, the manner in which you will be treated from then on depends on your reply. Behold the Thala-Thalapathy syndrome. Such is its omnipresence that no Tamilian worth his salt can ever claim to have escaped it ( Thala  and  Thalapathy  roughly translate to “leader” and “commander”, in Tamil). Industry buzz has it that Vijay’s moniker lends credence to the theory that he is the “successor” to Rajinikanth’s mantle in the industry ( Thalapathy  was one of Rajini’s biggest ...