Kayal (Music)

Prabu Solomon and D. Imman. After two outstanding albums in Mynaa and Kumki, the duo are back for their next, which is a love story set in the backdrop of the 2004 Tsunami. How are the songs this time?

All lyrics have been penned by Yugabharathi.

Paravaya Parakurom : Singer – Haricharan ( PICK )

One more gem to add to Haricharan’s long list of impressive songs this year. The orchestrations fit the vocals to perfection, making this a flawless track on all terms.

Yengirundhu Vandhaayo : Singer – Shreya Ghoshal

A lilting melody sung in a gloomy aura. The music slowly climbs up on the tempo ladder, along with some beautiful violin leading to the tabla. Shreya’s voice is an asset to this one.

Koodave Varamaadhri : Singer – Alphonse Joseph

A track on the slower note, which is rendered well by Alphonse Joseph. Passable one, this.

Yen Aala Paaka Poren : Singer – Shreya Ghoshal, KG Ranjith

Shreya Ghoshal is back with a stupendous rendition in Yen Aala Paaka Poren, which is tossed across a healthy mix of simple and organic instrumentations.

Unna Ippo Paakanum : Singer – Haricharan, Vandana Srinivasan ( PICK )

This is where Imman brings all his talent together. The tune, orchestrations and the vocals gel so well along with the lyrics, making this a heavenly listen.

Deeyalo Deeyalo : Singer – Oruthanodu Gopi

A folk track which is a regular in Prabu Solomon’s films. And it stays regular at that.

Yenga Pulla Iruka : Singerr – Balram ( PICK )

Lovable end to the album, with a cry of a man who is in search of his love. Balram’s vocals add flavour to the track, which boasts of some brilliant chorus bits.

Though Imman doesn’t venture out of his usual base and style of music, Kayal is a soothing journey for lovers of the melodious genres. The album is replete with live instrumentations and the composer’s choice of talented renderers. Belted with Solomon’s visuals, these songs will surely create magic on the screen.

A concoction of emotions, in trademark Imman style.

3 / 5

Anegan (Music)

KV Anand is back with Anegan, which has Dhanush in the lead role. Touted to be a film with Dhanush playing four roles in four different time periods, Anegan has music by Harris Jayaraj. Let’s look at how the tunes have cropped up for the film.

Danga Maari : Singers – Dhanush, Marana Gana Viji, Naveen Madhav, Lyrics – Rokesh ( PICK )

An exciting kuthu track to start things off. The trumpet sounds gel well along with the beat and are used effectively, especially in the interlude after the first stanza. Dhanush’s works on the mic are the best parts of the song, and the other two singers aid him well and make the listener wait for the high point. Rokesh’s lyrics are local at the lowest levels, something mandatory for this type of a song. Instant winner!

Roja Kadale : Singers – Shankar Mahadevan, Chinmayi, Sunidhi Chauhan, Lyrics – Vairamuthu

Once again, Harris isn’t original with his beat here. The concoction of the laudable lyrics and the vocals don’t go to well here, making this just a passable track.

Aathaadi Aathaadi : Singers – Bhavatharini, Tippu, Dhanush, Abhay Jodhpurkar, Lyrics – Vairamuthu

Though Harris directly rips off his tune from one of last year’s best songs, Aathaadi Aathaadi is a soothing melody to lend your ears to. The choice of singers are probably the USP here, along with Vairamuthu’s stellar lyrics which create a likable aura.

YOLO - You Only Live Once : Singers – Shail Hada, Ramya NSK, Richard, Lyrics – CS Amudhan

On the lines of Shaggy’s hippie beats, YOLO comes off as a shot at a calypso number. But the song gets disinteresting as it goes, and fails to excite as much it intends to. Though this is a new attempt, it falls flat and dies out without creating an impact.

Thodu Vaanam : Singers – Hariharan, Shaktisree Gopalan, Lyrics – Vairamuthu ( PICK )

Harris is always known for his melodies, and atleast one enjoyable song is sure to come your way. In that array comes Thodu Vaanam, which has Hariharan at his best. A completely likable track, which has assets like Shaktisree’s voice and Vairamuthu’s lyrics to its name.

Deivangal Ingae : Singer – Sriram Parthasarathy, Lyrics – Kabilan Vairamuthu

Harris keeps this light, with a simple tune which offers a lot of space for Sriram Parthasarathy to score. The sweet additions of the female chorus and chime sounds make this number a harmless one on the whole.

Though Anegan is not Harris’s best in recent times, the album offers a good blend of commercial music. Yes, the composer has taken a leaf out of many other songs, but the end result is satisfying and surely won’t be a tiresome watch on the big screen. Anegan ends up on the safe side, an album which will hold on until the film comes by.

Borrowed ingredients, likable curry.

2.75 / 5

Oru Oorla Rendu Raja

In one of the comic sequences of the film, Soori tells Vemal to join Facebook and Twitter. And our so called street smart hero replies by saying “Adhula laam sera evlo da selavu aagum?”. Yes my dear friends, Oru Oorla Rendu Raja is replete with jokes of this kind, some even worse.

OORR begins as a no-brainer, just like many other films which have been churned out in the past. Vemal and Soori are introduced as two happy-go-lucky fellas, who happen to catch a train thanks to an inane flashback story. Director R.Kannan does spray some spice with Priya Anand’s entry, as the story takes an interesting turn with the actual plot coming into play. Vishaka Singh has a good role here, with an important issue as the pivot. But once that’s wrapped up, it moves onto a rather predictable and uninteresting track filled with clichés and unnecessary commercial infusions. Kannan’s inability to grip the viewer with an engrossing screenplay hits back at him, the film is devoid of a clap worthy moment on the whole.

Walking out from his earlier films and walking into this one, Vemal continues to be the stick. The amount of expressions on his face are just a handful, as there is nothing to take away from his part. Soori continues to be the annoying piece, as his character keeps reciting one-liners which receive a straight face. However, one must laud him for his dancing skills which have gone up by a mile. Priya Anand is the saving grace of OORR. With more screen space than the heroes, her character in the film has been penned well, with a notable amount of maturity and scope to perform. Nasser has one of his worst makeovers ever, accompanied by Anupama who has the same grumpy expression to showcase throughout the film.

Cinematography by PG.Muthaih is neat, except for the overdose of aerial shots. The songs have been shot with a lot of colors which make them visually appealing, especially Mazhakaatha and Sundari Penne. Editing is decent at just over 2 hours, as pulling the film anymore would have made it a drag. Imman’s work in OORR is on the positive side, helping the film with both the songs and the BGM.

Oru Oorla Rendu Raja ends up being the film we all thought it would be. After an impressive debut in Jeyam Kondaan, it is saddening to see Kannan coming up with trashbags like Kanden Kadhalai, Settai and this one. At the end of the film, a card pops up saying ‘Save Human’. I’m hoping the director didn’t mean the audience.

One city two kings. One review two stars. 

2 / 5

Poojai

Poojai comes up as Diwali’s ‘overflow’ release. Produced by Vishal with himself as the lead, the film boasts of an ensemble starcast, and Hari’s usual tech team. So what works, and what doesn’t?

Poojai is a cocktail of Hari’s earlier films (excluding the cop stories). The film follows the usual commercial routine of comedy, songs, fights and family sentiments. Hari spins his story around a flurry of characters, linking them up to each other and finally sorting things out. Thanks to the lead pair Vishal and Shruti Hassan, the film is watchable throughout. While Vishal keeps it going with his manly acts, Shruti and her cute expressions provide the much needed ‘aww’ moments. The comic track which includes Soori, Pandi and Imman Annachi never manages to tickle the funny bone, except for a few one-liners. Sathyaraj and Radhikaa Sarathkumar do have notable roles to play here, but their characterisation is half baked, which results in an average final note. The rest of the cast which includes Abinaya, Thalaivasal Vijay, JP and more do fit the bill well.

Technically, Poojai is just decent with mainstream cinematography and hurried editing. The stunts are the solace in Poojai, executed well by Vishal. Music by Yuvan is pedestrian, and his stale re-recording adds to the worries.

Director Hari sticks to his basics and comes up with yet another film on the same lines as his previous ones. Poojai has some interesting moments here and there, but the excitement is brought down with the insertion of forced comic sequences and unwanted melodrama. Had the director concentrated on bringing in some more brain into the script, the film would have ended up becoming a racy tale to watch. Right now, it just ends up being a commercial entertainer to watch if you have nothing else to do.

Customary commercial potboiler!

2.25 / 5

Kaththi

Diwali and big star films go hand in hand. And this Diwali, it's Vijay. After a plethora of problems, conflicts and confusions, Kaththi finally arrived today to a thundering response, sure to begin on a bang. AR Murugadoss joins hands with Vijay for the second time post Thuppakki, does Kaththi match up to that? Read on.

While Thuppakki was more of an action thriller, Kaththi has a strong emotional side to it. Though the first 40 minutes are a big bore, the film picks up right from an intriguing fight sequence between Vijay and two girls. Vijay's tryst as Jeevanandham is one of the high points of the movie, as it deals with a hard-hitting issue in the best possible way. Post the interval, the content takes centrestage with well researched facts and figures. AR Murugadoss saves his best for the end, firing on all cylinders with his excellent dialogue writing.

Yes, Vijay plays a dual role in Kaththi and his performance quotient in the film has surely doubled up. Be it the trendy Kathiresan or the soft Jeevanandham, this guy is a revelation. His acts in the emotional scenes are on another level, and connect quickly with the audience. Dance and fights are something which come easily to the star, and that continues in Kaththi too. Though Kaththi does have a tinge of his earlier films where he saves the people on his own, it is distinct in its own way. Samantha as Vijay's pair has been used effectively at the right places. Her role in the film is compact, offering less space to perform and just be the glam doll. Neil Nitin Mukesh is a thumping villain here, dubbing his lines to near perfection too. Just like Vidyut, we won't mind seeing him in more movies down south. The rest of the cast including Sathish are aptly placed, mainly the grandfathers who have worked along with Vijay. 

Technically, Kaththi is a storm. The film possesses stunning visuals thanks to George C. Williams. Editing by Sreekar Passed is neat, yet a few trims in the first half would have stepped on the pedal. The art direction is surreal, and the stunts do bring up the anti, especially the coin flip fight sequence. Anirudh's songs dont find themselves good placements, but he co-ops it up with stellar re-recording. 

Kaththi is no 3 hour entertainer to go enjoy, have dinner and go to bed. The film deals with a deep social issue. The audience here, are more like the media in the film. They will not care if this kind of an issue is shown on TV, written in a book or spoken about publicly. But with a star like Vijay at the forefront, this film is sure to turn heads. The silver lining here is Murugadoss, who walks the tightrope between being preachy and being massy, with absolute elegance!

This knife shines on one side, smiles on the other.

3.25 / 5

Yaan

Most of the successful directors in Tamil have reached their spot not because they come out with glossy and technically sound movies. They are there because of their ability to keep the audience pinned to their seat with their paperwork, which has to be coupled with good execution. Ravi K. Chandran dons the directorial hat for Yaan, and what could have been a superb debut falls short by a mile thanks to some absurd writing and amateur narration.

Yaan doesn’t begin on a bad note itself, the film starts off looking to be promising thanks to a decent action block followed by a breezy romance between the lead pair. Right from the intro, Jiiva carries the film on his shoulders, be it comedy, action, expressions or the liveliness. It is really astounding to see how jovial this guy is, as he keeps the film going whenever he’s onscreen. The film has its chances to get better, but Ravi spoils it with his unnecessary addition of commercial elements which eventually turn out being an overdose. The attention given to make the film feel like a glossy Bollywood romcom turns out to mar the flow of events which make the viewer squirm. The director keeps the main plot to himself until the interval block, from where the film falls from the watchable level it attained, and finally turns out to be an unintentional comic. The second half is mundane, be it the premise, events or the action sequences which are a hush. Adding to the agony, there is a song in pathos, and another one at the height of a pitiful moment. When the film ends, I was happy. Happy that I could board a bus back home.

If Yaan does have a silver lining, it is Jiiva. Brimming with energy, Jiiva is the live wire in movie. Though the narration fails to excite you, this guy is your consolation prize for buying a ticket. It might be too early for Thulasi Nair to be the mainstream Kollywood heroine, but she does fit the bill to extent. Moreover, this is a commercial film and we don’t need a heroine who actually knows to act. Thulasi with a handful of expressions is adequate, you might think. Nawab Shah as the villain is of no use, and turns out to be nothing more than a Bollywood puppet brought in to make the cast sheet look good. The supporting cast is neat, but you did expect better from veterans like JP and Nassar.

Manush Nandan does a superb job with the lens, especially in the song sequences which ooze with colors. At a runtime of 156 minutes, the film does test your patience and better cuts could have given it a shot at being engaging. The much-hyped action sequences choreographed by the men who worked in ‘Inception’ do not manage to light a spark and end up being an eyesore. In fact, there are no interesting action scenes except for the first run with Jiiva and Thulasi. And yes, was the film shot in Morocco or ‘Basilistaan’?

Harris Jayaraj’s middling music gets some appreciable picturisation, but the song placements do really make them turn into walkout breaks. While his BGM makes you ‘wow’ at places, at the others it is downright awkward.

Ravi K. Chandran came up with a fairly appealing premise. It’s just that the film is contrived in such a way that it tries too hard to be a classy commercial, and ends up being a complete mess. The action blocks are forced, the romance lacks the feel, and logic goes for a toss. Yaan is all bright, but no beauty. It would be great to see the director going back to what he does best, cinematography. 

Wannabe glossy commercial which goes berserk!

2 / 5

Jeeva

Films with sport as the backdrop have plunged Tamil Cinema, especially in the last decade. There has been a flurry of films with a pinch of difference between each other, in context to the storyline. Suseenthiran teams up with Vishnu Vishal for Jeeva, a film which stresses on the darker sides of the game.

Unlike usual sport-based films, Jeeva has a professional angle at the game with real cricketers who play textbook shots and follow the basic technique. Though VFX is used at some places, the aura of an original cricket game is brought about to an extent, making it an enjoyable experience when it comes to watching the matches onscreen. While the cricketing side of Jeeva is its trump card, the romantic portions take away the excitement. The scenes in the first half between Vishnu and Sri Divya are unnecessarily stitched into the screenplay. Suseenthiran does keep them to their limits, as the screenplay immediately shifts itself to the main plot when the film starts to drag. Coming into the second half, Jeeva is an emotional ride with Soori’s funny moments peppered all over it. There is intensity, believable cricket, fun, family and everything else you need to have in the mix. You will love the cameo at the end, for it has a cute little twist embedded with it.

Being a cricketer in his early days has helped Vishnu mould into his character with elan. He is jovial when it comes to the lighter moments, and saves his performance for the moving moments in the second half. Cricket is something which naturally comes to this guy, and that is what makes Jeeva different from the other films – an organic touch which is very essential. Sri Divya is adequate and pulls off a decent performance with her expressions at the brink. Lakshman is an apt pick for the role, rather than going for a famous face to gain popularity. Ravi as the coach is firm, along with the rest of the cast who are handpicked by Suseenthiran.

Madhie’s camera captures the sequences beautifully, as the noticeable flares add a special feel to the songs. Editing by Ruben is crisp with a running time of just over 2 hours. Imman’s songs are flushed into the narrative, but his re-recording for the intense portions is truly hair-raising.

Suseenthiran comes up with an appreciable show in Jeeva. His laudable paperwork is propelled even higher with the help of Vishnu’s clap-worthy performance. The director has a subtle storytelling technique, which makes the film a good one on the whole. Jeeva may not be an inspiring film, but it does throw some light on the issues which are lesser known to the common public. Give this a watch, for it is definitely worth one. 

Commendable cricketer!

3 / 5