Raja's read only memories

With Sighappu Rojakkal (Red Roses), director Bharatiraja, who had earlier directed 16 Vayadhinile , a movie that continues to be regarded as the watershed of Tamil cinema, and Kizhakke Pogum Rayil – both of which focused on bucolic backgrounds – can be said to have attempted the cinematic equivalent of Operation Entebbe; none so telling as the manner in which its title credits roll: the discolouration of a rose in a dark background, accompanied by the harsh scream of a feminine voice in the background, conveying subtly that she may be getting raped, or even murdered, and sowing the seed of thought that its lead could be an anti-hero. A trendsetter in ways more than one, the director adopted urban Chennai - replete with women in attractive attire with little or no inhibitions, glitzy bars and restaurants, and people in odd jobs striving to make ends meet - as the canvas for Sighappu... The departure in the theme was, as many a chronicler of Tamil cinema would say, the director’s mess...

Appeared in expresso, the daily supplement of The New Indian Express on Tuesday, 28th December 2010 Movies scripted by Kamalhaasan have always provided fodder for the grey cells. When a potent mix of humour along with a strong subject comes your way, which is what K S Ravikumar's latest directorial, Manmadhan Ambu (Cupid's arrow) is, rest assured that you have an entertainer. Ambujakshi (Trisha), a successful actress who believes in long-lasting relationships, is engaged to Madanagopal (Madhavan), a leading businessman and a mama's boy, who is wary about her conduct with other actors and suspects her fidelity, leading to their breakup. Madan now deploys Major Mannar (Kamalhaasan) to spy on her. He travels in the same cruise liner that she and her friend Deepa (Sangeetha), a divorcee, do and gives constant updates about her activities, under the agreement that the medical expenses of Rajan (Ramesh Aravind), a cancer patient, are fully borne by him. A series of twists and tu...