Raja's read only memories

Peppered by stellar performances by its cast, Saguni has a beaten-to-death storyline If only politics were as easy as portrayed in Saguni Anarchy prevails the ruling political party — which interestingly portrays the late actor Poornam Vishwanathan as its founder — when its scheming deputy chief Boopathy (Prakash Raj) supplants the chief minister-elect unceremoniously, with some help from his concubine (Kiran, back after a hiatus). He rules the party, and the state, with an iron fist. The camera then swings to the protagonist, Kamalakannan (Karthi) a villager on his maiden visit to Chennai, who, after witnessing its squalor, remarks sardonically, "Busy city, pasi (hungry) citizens." Sounds familiar? Those who grew up in the 70s/ 80s would have sworn that these scenes belong to an MGR's messiah-of-the-masses movie (think Nam Naadu ), or Rajinikanth flick. A man-against-the-system themed movie that manages to punch above its weight due to power-packed ...

A remake of the Rajinikanth 80’s cult classic, Murattu Kaalai falls flat due to poor storytelling A theatrical poster of Murattu Kaalai, a remake of Rajinikanth's yesteryear ht                                                           By harking back to yesteryear Tamil movie hits — in particular those of the fab four, MGR, Sivaji Ganesan, Rajinikanth and Kamalhasan — Kollywood reiterates, every now and then, that retro will always be its metro. The Sundar C, Sneha starrer Murattu Kaalai (the raging bull), that shares its title and storyline, but not its finesse and chutzpah, with its namesake of the 80’s Rajinikanth sleeper hit, amply evidences this. The superstar, in what was possibly his first hit as a solo hero Etymology would reveal us that...