Mugamoodi Music Review

Movie : Mugamoodi
Cast : Jiiva, Narain, Pooja Hegde
Music : K
Direction : Mysskin

Rating : 2.5 / 5

The Mysskin - K combo are back in action after Yudham Sei, where the latter came out with an impressive background score.. This time around for Mugamoodi, they have decided to pan out 3 songs and a handful of theme tracks..

The album opens up with Vaayamoodi Summa Iru Da which is beautifully crooned by Aalaap Raju and a chorus.. The chorus especially which keeps on repeating itself is catchy.. Lyrics by Madhan Karky are a beauty here and fit perfectly within the rhythm of the song.. Sure to climb the charts soon..

Next in line is Bar Anthem ( Kudi Vaazhthu) which is sung by the director, Mysskin himself.. It reflects the situation in the bar and talks about the various happenings there.. The song has true lines and packs the potential to become another chartbuster.. However, Myskkin's voice will be a misfit if Jiiva is gonna mouth the words, they could have easily opted for another singer..

The third track is Maayavi, sung well by Chinmayi.. The song talks about the superhero from a girl's perspective.. Music here is loud and envelopes the lyrics..

The rest of the album is peppered with theme tracks which also includes a guitar version of Vaayamoodi and the Maayavi Flute theme.. As the producers proclaim Mugamoodi to be a film with less dialogues and more of stunts and intense scenes, these themes will be influential to take the movie forward.. The Blue Panther on the Prowl theme takes a special mention here as it fast paced and will be a treat with the chase sequences..

Mugamoodi's musical score comes by as a neat one without much pomp and show.. However, the presence of just 3 songs and a set of themes which fail to pass muster give an incomplete feel to the listener.. Time will tell whether these tracks can be well portrayed onscreen to connect well with the audience..

Pick of the album : Vaayamoodi Summa Iru Da

Verdict : Half baked music album without a bad odour..

Siddarth Srinivas
You can reach me on Twitter : @siddarthsrini

FIRST PUBLISHED ON YESEXACTLY.NET

Billa 2 Review (Tamil)

Movie : Billa 2
Cast : Ajith, Parvathy Omanakuttan, Bruna Abdullah, Sudhanshu Pandey, Vidyut Jammwal
Music : Yuvan Shankar Raja
Direction : Chakri Toleti

Rating : 2.5 / 5

July 13th and the day had come.. The whole of Tamil Nadu were waiting for bated breath for this day, where their handsome style icon would arrive to the relish of his humongous fan base..

Releasing in almost 2500 screens worldwide, this mid-year special made fans go crazy in expectation.. Heavy marketing from the team making use of social networks as a piercing bullet did wonders for the movie.. Simultaneously landing as David Billa in Telugu, Ajith’s Billa 2 was the most awaited movie of the year yet!

Billa 2 traces the roots of David Billa, an Eelam refugee from Sri Lanka and his journey on becoming a dreaded don..

Billa 2 boasts of a big starcast starting off with the mighty Ajith and moving on to numbers of characters who grace the screen in one scene and trace it in the next..

Billa 2 kicks off with a well-choreographed knife fight sequence.. The opening titles are impressive too with the childhood story of Billa told through pictures.. The highly engaging first half which shows the rise of Billa is a treat to watch as it is packed with a clean screenplay and strong dialogues.. Stunts too, are neatly done even though they might be bobbed down a bit on the logical front.. At the interval block, you will be left bedazzled and ask for more..

Billa 2 begins to falter in the second half where it just wanders without any definite initiative.. The movie begins to slow down and relies hugely on its stunts thereafter.. The climax stunt sequence is packaged with grandeur and risky stunts but doesnt manage to pack a punch..

Billa 2 is Ajith all the way.. With terrific screen presence and charisma, he delivers an impressive performance much to the delight of his fans.. The villians Sudhanshu Pandey and Vidyut Jammwal are majestic and fit the junction as perfect antagonists.. The leading ladies, Parvathy Omanakuttan and Bruna Abdullah have less screen space and dont live up to the expectations created.. Parvathy is trash in her acts while Bruna Abdullah is pure eye candy and looks ravishing onscreen..

The supporting cast consisting of Krishna Kumar, Manoj K Jayan, Ilavarasu and Sriman have small roles intercepted into the script.. Ilavarasu is undoubtedly missed in the second half..

Billa 2 is a technically brilliant film.. Cinematography by R.D.Rajashekhar is top notch and the Red Epic works wonders in his favour.. The fight sequences are done in a stylish manner and seemingly justify the A certificate.. However, the scene where Ajith takes over the whole force with just a bare W1300 is one which will test your patience..

Editing by Suresh Urs is fine as the whole movie is cropped into just 2 hours and 7 minutes.. Musically, Billa 2 is brought down with average songs.. The BGM is apt at places and loud at the others.. Yuvan seems to have overused the Billa theme throughout the movie, as it is heard in a lot of scenes..

Thanks to its big budget and lavish making, Billa 2 stands to give you the feel of a Hollywood movie.. However, the absence of a strong script and a taut screenplay bring the film down.. A little bit care taken over the written part of the movie would have ended in a world class product.. With the absence of big competitors except for the buzzing Naan Ee, Billa 2 would space out as a treat for action movie lovers..

Verdict : Style Yes. Substance No. Watch it for the grandeur!

Siddarth Srinivas
You can reach me on Twitter : @siddarthsrini

FIRST PUBLISHED ON YESEXACTLY.NET

Naan Ee Review (Tamil)

Movie : Naan Ee

Cast : Kiccha Sudeep, Samantha, Nani and Santhanam

Music : MM.Keeravani

Direction : SS.Rajamouli

Rating : 3.5 / 5

SS. Rajamouli. The man with a Midas touch.. Right from Chatrapathi, Rajamouli is always known to come up with films which take Telugu Cinema to a higher level..

Naan Ee ( primarily releasing as Eega in Telugu ) was one Tollywood biggie to keep  an eye on.. Taking a gargantuan release in 3 languages, Naan Ee was touted to be a first-of-a-kind fantasy entertainer..

Naan Ee is the story of a man who reincarnates himself as a fly to avenge his death.

The cast in Naan Ee consists of 4 main characters – The loving Nani, the angelic Samantha, the rugged villain Kiccha Sudeep and the fly.  It is Nani who is killed by the villain and later reincarnates himself into a fly. Santhanam just appears for one scene, which fortunately brings the roof down..

SS. Rajamouli should be commended for coming up with a gripping screenplay to support his strong script.. The steps which the fly takes and its encounters with the villain are set up in a tense manner.. Every scene is carefully panned out.. The interval block is one which will make your jaw drop in awe..

The trump card in Naan Ee is none other than the character of Kiccha Sudeep, who comes up with a stunner of a performance.. With looks and body language resembling the late Raghuvaran, he is a champion of a performer.  Samantha is cute and acts well too.. The hero, Nani, even though onscreen for just about 40 minutes leaves a great impact..

Naan Ee is a technically brilliant film too.. Making use of the Scorpio Crane to amass the special effects, the team have come up with a good level of detailing.. The VFX is close to reality and does not endure the viewer to come up with criticizes..

Camera work and the songs are appreciable.. The BGM gets a special mention as it really sent chills down the spine.. Dialogues by Crazy Mohan are witty..

Naan Ee is a near perfect film and comes with almost no drawbacks.. The runtime too, at a comfortable 2 hours and 20 minutes, is a plus.. However, logically it falls down at places but being a fantasy film, you gotta let it go and watch the magic onscreen!

Naan Ee is one movie which simply shouldn’t be missed.. The film will keep you engaged from the word go. Coming out from the movie, you will surely begin to observe flies more carefully.. Action, Comedy, Fantasy and what not.. Rajamouli delivers, big time!

Verdict : High Flying Entertainer which will keep you on the edge of your seat..

Siddarth Srinivas
You can reach me on Twitter : @siddarthsrini

FIRST PUBLISHED ON YESEXACTLY.NET

  

Saguni Review (Tamil)

Movie : Saguni
Cast : Karthi, Santhanam, Pranitha and Prakash Raj
Music : GV.Prakash Kumar
Direction : Shankar Dayal

Rating : 2.5 / 5

It’s been a dull bagger down in Kollywood for the past two months with no notable ‘big’ films hitting the screens, giving space to smaller films to make it large..

With Karthi’s Saguni finally hitting the screens, doors open to a much awaited Tamil Movie roller coaster which is on our way..

The invent of the promos provided a clear picture that Saguni is going to end up as commercial entertainer with political elements.. And that’s how it aims to be..

Saguni is the story of an ordinary man from Karaikudi who comes to Chennai to solve a family issue and spins a web in the political world..

The characterization of Karthi is in the same manner as his previous films, a bubbly bloke with profound talent.. But here, he comes with more brain than brawl, more like the man with the Midas touch..

Saguni is made with a lot of sub-plots all intertwined in a shuffled manner which fails to grip the attention of the viewer as it progresses.. While the first half mainly concentrates on Karthi’s arrival to the city, his funny episodes with Santhanam, meeting the heroine, dancing to duets etc, the second half brings around a turn of events which lead to a wandering game of chess played by the protagonist..

Performance wise, its Karthi and Santhanam who walk away with the honours.. Their combo works to the maximum potential once again and they are a treat to watch.. The heroine Pranitha is just pure eye-candy and doesn’t toss a coin in the acting field.. Other artists like Nasser, Prakash Raj, Radhika Sarathkumar, Kota Srinivasa Rao etc. fit to their roles like a T and end up with notable performances.. However, Prakash Raj’s dubbing is not by himself and that stands a major minus in Saguni’s record..

Cinematography by PG.Muthiah is fine.. GV.Prakash levels the score in the BGM what he did not for the music. Editing by Sreekar Prasad is neat.

The main drawbacks of Saguni stand in its weak screenplay, its long length ( 2 hours and 50 minutes ) and the song picturisations in the first half..

Saguni will test your patience to an extent.. It is not one of those movies which will be remembered for a long time.. At the same instant, it is not a movie which will be forgotten.. It’s a movie which is stranded between these two extremes and could have slotted into the former with a little care.. A few more days to come and you’ll still be enjoying its comedy scenes on TV..

Verdict : Saguni, a one time watch if you have the time..

Siddarth Srinivas
You can reach me on Twitter : @siddarthsrini

FIRST PUBLISHED ON YESEXACTLY.NET