Mister Madras

Very rarely does an actor work with the same director in the current gen and when Ajith announced his third collaboration with director Siva, it was obvious that what’s instore is something totally different from what we witnessed in Veeram or Vedhalam . Vivegam sees the best of all we loved from this combination and more. The plot might be thin – an international spy is branded to have gone rogue and how he manages to set things straight forms the storyline. But aren’t all commercial films so? Where Vivegam stands a class apart is the execution. A few minutes into the film, I was smiling; wondering how such a stylish flick can be made by the same man who made Veeram which was set in a rural backdrop. In short, the film can be stated as a classic Siva film with a much mellowed down show of elements that didn’t work in his previous projects. The setting is slick and a good amount of research has gone into getting the details right. Obviously, as one would...

Occasion:     Simply Caribbean festival Location:     A2, The Park, Nungambakkam Duration:     18th to 27th August 2017 It’s quite rare to find a well researched and articulated menu in a restaurant, especially when it’s for a festival that involves food from a cuisine that’s rarely seen in the city. No wonder I was a bit skeptical when I was invited for the Simply Caribbean festival at The Park’s A2 restaurant. Talking about the Caribbean, I was expecting a jerk chicken and a few more basic dishes but boy, was I wrong. A2 is a world cuisine restaurant that focuses predominantly on Japanese delicacies such as Sushi. But they also do regular festivals and after successfully pulling off an Italian one, they’ve opted for the Caribbean cuisine. I’ve always been a fan of Caribbean food ever since I got to try is a decade back. I can’t forget those food trucks in Elephant and Castle that made some amazing chicken and beef curry which was very similar ...

Area:-  Adyar Cost for two:-  ₹850 Cuisine:-  North Indian, South Indian, and Chinese Despite being a hardcore non-vegetarian, there would obviously be days when I would love to sit down with some nice veg food. Apart from the fact that they rarely make you feel heavy, it also gives a sense of (fake) satisfaction that we’ve had something healthy. I’ve tried the Krishnavillasam in Nungambakkam ages back and I felt that it’s a restaurant that has what it takes to do well, considering the market veg food has in our city and as I predicted, over time, they’ve outdone themselves and have now opened another branch in Adyar. A couple of foodies and I were invited to check out this new branch and here’s my take on it. Location & Ambience Located in Kasturibai Nagar’s first cross street, Krishnavillasam isn’t hard to find for those who know the area. For people like me, fortunately, the location mentioned in Google maps is precise which makes it easy...

Area:-  St. Thomas Mount Cost for two:-  ₹2,000 Cuisine:- North Indian and South Indian Before the entry of MNCs’ to the F&B sector, the number of star hotels in Chennai used to be less. Le Royal Meridien has been one such gems that I’ve frequented as kids along with my family. No wonder a sense of nostalgia hit me when I got to visit Navaratna a while back. Location Le Royal Meridien is located at St. Thomas Mount right below the Kathipara flyover. When coming from Guindy, instead of taking the exit towards the flyover, one would have to take the furthest left which leads to the Chennai airport to reach this hotel. Its close proximity to the airport has always favoured Le Royal Meridien. Parking isn’t an issue as they’ve got valet parking service. Ambience Navaratna’s ambience is reminiscent of all the old star hotels. Gold and red interiors, dim lighting and live music performance – the place definitely has its royal touch and to me personally,...

Often, voiceovers are used to explain a backstory or give an introduction to a character and are mostly considered lazy filmmaking. But Taramani has broken that jinx as the voiceovers by Ram receives thunderous applause in the theatre. With women-centric being the trend in Tamil cinema now, the stories are usually that of an underdog who would end up becoming a ‘hero’ in her own rights. Director Ram, fortunately, has destroyed this notion and has given us the film about a woman who can be just another common person we know. In Taramani , we find a single mother who unknowingly yearns for love and an orthodox and conservative simpleton who is shattered due to a previous relationship-gone-wrong. When both get together, a few things go well and many things go wrong. Will they work things out in the end forms the crux. Sounds simple right? But when such a one-liner lands in the lap of a master story-teller who can write volumes about the emotions of a common man (and woman), it...

Tamil cinema’s recent trend has been to cash in on the success of a film with a sequel. While there are films such as Baahubali which were decided to be made as two parts, film-makers and actors who need a hit badly opt for the easy route of making a sequel out of the blue. VIP 2 joins the list of such films as a story has been weaved to another story that had a satisfactory ending which, the makers would’ve considered as a safer bet. Vellai Illa Pattathari 2 follows the trials and tribulations of Raghuvaran (Dhanush) who’s now married and finds him once again to become a VIP (a jobless engineer i.e). And obviously, a villain has to be introduced to make our lead the ‘hero’ and there enters Kajol, making her comeback to the Tamil industry after more than 2 decades. She looks fabulous and steals the show with her reactions despite being pitted against the hero. Where the films work is how they’ve written Kajol’s character – someone who i...

There are tried and tested templates, run-of-the-mill tales, and beaten to death stories. But very rarely do films dig out a long-buried story and bring it back, only to bury it deep again, along with our hopes of watching an entertaining commercial film.  Podhuvaga Emmanasu Thangam  tries till the last minute to fall into the category that we hope it does, but boy, does it fall flat. The film looks colourful, something that films like  Varuthapadatha Valibar Sangam  and  Rajini Murugan  have done well in the past. After all, director Thalapathy Prabhu is a former associate of Ponram who directed those films, and he shows he’s learnt his lessons well. Soori for comedy, a half-saree draped heroine who’s   makku , a wannabe bigwig who does cheap things to make sure he becomes one, and of course, Imman’s music. But unfortunately, most of these ‘sure shot’ ideas fail to work. Udhayanidhi Stalin and Soori, just like any other hero-comedian combo from village-based Tamil films are illiterate...