NEPV Music Review

Movie : Neethane En Ponvasantham

Cast : Jiiva, Samantha and Santhanam

Music : Ilayaraja

Direction : GVM

Rating : 3 / 5

Gautham Menon’s movies are always known for their good music.. After joining hands with Harris Jayaraj and AR.Rahman, GVM has opted for the Maestro Ilayaraja in his next venture, Neethane En Ponvasantham..

Starring Jiiva, Samantha and Santhanam in lead roles, this romantic episode is touted to be one which could be your love story, as the director states it..

Ilayaraja returns with 8 tracks in this album, all penned by Na.Muthukumar..

Kaatrai Konjam is the first song in the album, and straightaway a winner.. Karthik’s voice coupled with the lovely clarinet pulls mid-on highlight this number and propel it to a high level.. Raja’s magic stamped all over it!

Pudikale Maamu is the next number, a lively college fusion with drums and beats.. Even though Suraj Jagan and Karthik are fine on the vocals, the song falls down due to its improper organization..

Karthik is back, for the third time here with Ennodu Vaa Vaa.. Ilayaraja manages to grasp you on the first listen with perfect sync in the first half of the song.. Thereon, the song takes on a different beat and fizzles out.. Beautiful, nevertheless..

Ilayaraja brings in Yuvan for Sayndhu Sayndhu, the track which was first promoted all over the net.. Music kicks the vocals here, making you notice the orchestration over the lyrics.. Had Raja gone for a better singer, this song could have come out higher in all probability!

Raja ventures into a new genre for Pengal Yendral, which is once again crooned by Yuvan.. The heavy metal touch at the beginning is a joy.. Similar to Yuvan’s tracks in his earlier movies, this song gives a déjà vu feel..

Mudhal Murai is the next track, sung beautifully by Sunidhi Chauhan.. Raja has induced violin and string tunes beautifully into the rock beat, making it a champion of a song..  Swoon in melody as this haunts you..

Sattru Munbu is the penultimate song in the album, which is a slow song talking about the pains of a young girl.. This song is prosaic and does not interest the listener, even on a second hearing..

Even though it clearly traces one of his earlier compositions, Vaanam Mella is a soulful number.. Raja’s duet with Bela Shinde once again, he brings out the magic to catch the listener’s attention with his voice as well as the orchestration.. Once again, a graceful track, all set to climb up the charts!

Na.Muthukumar’s lyrics deserve a special mention here as he has done his part in fitting into the spot left out by Thamarai.. His work in Kaatrai Konjam, Sayndhu Sayndhu and Mudhal Murai is enticing..

With Neethane en Ponvasantham, Raja has brought back the 80’s once again.. Except for Pengal Yendral, the rest of album is classic tunes revisited.. The songs fail to impress at first but climb onto you on repeated hearings.. Hopefully, they will work better with the film..

Verdict : Ilayaraja gets you a ticket back to the 80’s, your choice whether to take it or not..

Siddarth Srinivas

You can reach me on Twitter : @siddarthsrini

FIRST PUBLISHED ON YESEXACTLY.NET

Mugamoodi Review (Tamil)

Movie : Mugamoodi
Cast : Jiiva, Naren,  Pooja Hegde and others
Music : K
Direction : Mysskin

Rating : 2.5 / 5 

Superhero movies are a rarity in Tamil Cinema.. Even though some movies have cropped up in the past in the track of the undefeated vigilante, they have failed to provide a bankable character.. Mugamoodi is the next attempt in this marathon..

With heavy publicity from the UTV team, Mugamoodi stormed itself into the theatres as the kickstart for the long trail of the interesting lineup of movies stacked for release this year..

Mugamoodi is the story of a common man who dons the cape of a superhero to survive through the hurdles thrown down his path..

Jiiva, Naren, Pooja Hegde, Nassar and Girish Karnad are the main characters in Mugamoodi..

The first half of Mugamoodi is cleverly made with an equal balance of fun and intense scenes.. The opening robbery, fight scene in the fish market and the picturisation of the Bar Anthem and Vaayamoodi numbers are a treat to watch.. The chase sequence where Jiiva chases two runners with a Superman-ish costume is neatly done.. At the end of the first half, one expects Mysskin to deliver a cracker of a second..

What follows is a tardy half, which does not manage to create much excitement.. The director had a huge opportunity to hit a home run here but doesn’t do so.. Although spread on a different canvas, the movie fails to grip the attention of the viewer.. The climax stunt sequence is an ultimate bore..

The movie as it states before it begins, is dedicated to Bruce Lee.. All the fights are choreographed with the art of Wing Chun, a Chinese martial art on the lines of Kung-Fu..

Performance wise, Jiiva scores big.. The actor has put up a clap worthy effort which is put to waste by the poor writing.. It is evident that he has taken up a lot of trouble, especially in the scenes with the suit on.. The antagonist Naren tries to put up a show but fails miserably in it.. In the climax sequence, he replicates the Joker’s behavior which is immediately mocked by the audience.. Pooja Hegde as the heroine is an absolute fail, one wonders if she has a big future down here.. The supporting cast consisting of Nasser, Girish Karnad, Selvah and the others are just about okay..

Camera work by Sathya is very good, noting the fact that most of the movie was shot in the night using different angles, Mysskin’s trademark..

BGM by K is the trump card in the movie.. The young composer has come up with some hair-raising tunes and they are tangible at various instances in the movie, especially the chase cuts..

Stunt director Tony Leung must be commended for his efforts to bring out the Kung-Fu fights successfully onscreen.. The adept showcase of various moves brings in the interest, even though they are repetive..

Mugamoodi, is an experimental attempt.. The vision of the director is manifested here.. But, he fails to score on the screenplay which was the X factor in his previous ventures.. Had a little more care been taken, we would have been presented with a winner.. The resultant output, isn’t convincing..

Verdict : ‘A’ class effort. ‘B’ class product.

Siddarth Srinivas

You can reach me on Twitter : @siddarthsrini

FIRST PUBLISHED ON YESEXACTLY.NET