Raja's read only memories

A still from Jigarthanda (source: internet) “Tarantino, Godfather , Scarface … make a movie modelled on those lines; if possible, rip-off from them totally. Also, get loads of violence, blood…” a movie producer tells an aspiring director as he hurls in front of him a bunch of Hollywood CDs and DVDs rather dismissively. Chastened, and desirous of an authentic debut, the director seeks a real-life don for a muse that leads him to Madurai. Thus begins  Jigarthanda , Karthik Subburaj’s second venture (after Pizza ) -- an absolute entertainer that could, in all probability, turn out to be the movie of the year.                       By straddling various genres with utmost ease – comedy, gangster and romance -- not to mention the gamut of cleverly-placed twists in a near-flawless plot, Jigarthanda leaves the audience yearning for more, as if after an orgasm. As far as f...

Sivakarthikeyan's now the latest Tamil 'mass-hero' For Sivakarthikeyan, this is it. He has become the latest entrant to Kollywood’s ever-burgeoning “mass-hero” club. His latest movie, Maan Karate offers several pointers to the same: a shroud of invincibility to the lead character, irreverence to factors such as logic, the mandatory David vs Goliath setting, and an “intro” song (yes, you read it right). So much for an actor who shone in “very much like us” roles in Ethirneechal , Marina or Varuthapadatha Vaalibar Sangam . As in any other “mass” movie, Peter (Sivakarthikeyan) has his way with everything: Maan Karate is all about the man who is out to claim his space, be it by right or by serendipity. He hails from the “low-class” locality Royapuram, but manages to impress and woo Yazhini (Hansika Motwani) the daughter of a college professor (Sayaji Shinde, who surprisingly does not play the corrupt politician/ police officer). He can’t tell apart cricket from b...

                 Movie Name: Billa-2 (A)    Language: Tamil Cast: Ajith Kumar, Vidyut Jamval, Parvathy Omanakuttan, Brunah Abdullah Director: Chakri Toleti      Pros: Ajith's stellar performance; fast-paced narration; mind-blowing stunts and a gripping climax Cons: Originality takes a hit — stay away if you are awash with the gangster flicks of Hollywood, notably Martin Scorsese flicks or Coppola’s The Godfather ; mind-numbing violence Imagine, if you can, a home-grown don who answers to David Billa (known in Bollywood as Don), who, during a police encounter gets gunned down; the police get hold of his doppelganger, make him infiltrate his gang, and after a cat-and mouse game spanning locales in Malaysia, bring them to justice. Imagine, if you still can, the focus shifting to Billa’s chronology; his rise to the top of the food chain, a la ...

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...

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...

Article can also be read at: http://newindianexpress.com/entertainment/tamil/article344575.ece An analysis into the success – and failure – of the national award winning Tamil movie Aranya Kandam     The slick, pulp fiction-like poster of Aaranya Kaandam, perhaps the first Tamil neo-noir movie by Rajagopalan Venkataraman Think noir in Indian cinema and it is but natural to think of movies based on gangsters and internecine wars for supremacy. Notable examples in this genre include the Amitabh Bacchan-starrer Zanjeer , Mani Ratnam’s Nayakan and Ram Gopal Varma’s repertoire of mafia sagas, ranging from Satya to Company and D. Save for a few, a majority of such movies, in their bid to dish out “masala” entertainers – a euphemism for a film that has something for all sections of audiences – have traditionally offered the backseat to factors like story and screenplay. Ergo, when Aaranya Kandam (the jungle chapter) – perhaps the first Tamil neo-noir movie...

Bollywood fare, served with Tamil niceties When the recipes of Gobi Manchurian and Chicken Tikka can transcend national barriers and become a rage elsewhere, can’t we have different versions of an intra-national rage: a remake of a successful Bollywood movie in another language, for instance? Director Shankar answers the question with Nanban (friend), a faithful reproduction, nay a spitting image, of its original, the Aamir Khan-starrer 3 idiots , comprising its highs and lows with equal measure. The hero and the anti-heroes The flaws in our higher education system, especially engineering, and campus life unite to form a heady theme, with Vijay, reprising Aamir Khan’s cool dude-cum-Buddha-like role in the original, offering ingenuous solutions to many a conundrum. Did he levitate on screen? I don’t know; however, I am not willing to bet against it. Jeeva and Srikanth (after a hiatus), portraying Sharman Joshi and Madhavan’s roles in the original respectively, are hi...