Mister Madras

2017 has been kind to most of the movie buffs thanks to some splendid works by debutants and new actors who, together, redefined Tamil cinema. But, as always, there was also a fair share of films which didn’t give that bang for that buck. Incidentally, I also found such films to be as high as the good ones. So here are some of the films I consider to be the ones that managed to disappoint me immensely. PS:  Of course there were terrible films such as  Mangalapuram  and  Yaar Ivan , I’m sticking to films which had known and bankable stars who are known for delivering decent films. Also, kindly note that these films are in the order in which they released this year. Muthuramalingam One of those films which I seriously expected to be a spoof. But the film was serious throughout the whole time but those who watched this were serious for different reasons. As someone who grew up seeing Napoleon films, Muthuramalingam  was even more disappointing. Motta Shiva Ketta Shiva Yet anoth...

Cast : Sivakarthikeyan, Nayanthara, Prakash Raj, Fahadh Faasil Director : Mohan Raja When I saw Remo , it was quite apparent that it was a Sivakarthikeyan film right from the first frame. But what I love about Velaikkaran is the fact that it’s completely a Mohan Raja film. After making his mark by staying away from remakes and directing Thani Oruvan , it was obvious that the man has serious concerns about the society we’re a part of. Velaikkaran is a reflection of those concerns and it has been showcased in quite an interesting fashion. The film sees Arivu (Siva) as a slum dweller who wants to work hard and be successful in life. Who doesn’t do that you may ask? But Arivu’s social responsibility can’t be compared to that of an average Joe, for he aims to improve the welfare of those around him too. But a series of events snowballs the workings of a common man into something big and what happens after that is the crux of Velaikkaran . As far as the artist ...

Cast : Santhanam, Vaibhavi Shandilya, Vivekh, Sampath Director : GL Sethuraman This week belongs to the comedians who’ve painstakingly risen up the ladder to become lead actors and with  Sakka Podu Podu Raja , Santhanam has attempted to don the garb of an action hero. Let’s begin with the positives of the film as it’ll be a more concise list. Silambarasan, who has debuted as a music director with this film, has done a really good job. His Kadhal Devathai track is catchy and the other songs are equally hum-worthy. Santhanam has never looked this sophisticated before and his costumes and hairdo team clearly had better discussions than those who worked on the story. His dance moves too have comparatively become better. Cinematography by Abinandhan Ramanujam is colourful. It’s evident that they’ve played with the colours and it’s refreshing to the sight. SPPR  must’ve seemed like a  pucca  commercial film with a good dosage of action, romance and humour on paper, but it hasn’t translated w...

Cast :  Aditi Balan, Anjali Varadhan, Lakshmi Gopalswami Direction : Arun Prabhu Purushothaman 2017 has been a great year for Tamil cinema, especially for debutant filmmakers who’ve been backed up by big banners such as Dream Warrior Pictures and by the audience who’ve welcomed films by stars as well as those starring newbies with open hands. Aruvi , which is one of the last few films to grace the screens this year is probably the cherry on top of the cake. For starters, Aruvi is the story of a person – named Aruvi, and not a film about her. The difference is inevitably obvious when seeing it as, a story – unlike a film – isn’t perfect. Aruvi, the girl, isn’t perfect and that’s what makes Aruvi , the film, perfect. And while we’re at the name, Aruvi can represent umpteen things that can be related to the movie, the free flow of the water, the fall from top to bottom, making an impression wherever it fell. The characteristics of a w...

Director : Abbas Akbar Cast : Gokul Anand, Rajesh Balachandiran, Anju Kurian, Shiv Keshav, Emcee Jesz A film that gets a much-delayed release is rarely enjoyable, and interestingly enough, all the three major Tamil releases this week were ready to see the light of day ages ago. But Chennai 2 Singapore isn’t a regular film. The fact that the very first word you hear in the film is  irappu  (death) is just one of the many examples that reaffirm this. Though promoted as a rom-com, Chennai 2 Singapore scores more on the ‘com’ part of the genre. The film is about a struggling filmmaker whose luck has seen better days. Just like the promotions, where a single track was released in each country during a road trip from India to Singapore, the way the director has worked in humour and emotion in the film is unique… and mostly works. For starters, despite the film having the scope for it, the director hasn’t gone overboard with the emotional scenes. And he’s treated the romance sequences ...

*****  SPOILER WARNING  ***** While this article won’t reveal the story of the film, it would be fathomed in a better fashion if you had watched the film. That spoiler warning shouldn’t affect many folks considering the fact that unless you’ve been living under a rock, the chances of you not catching the Vijay starrer Mersal is very slim. After piruchu menjufying  Kaatru Veliyidai in the name of decoding, I’ve tried to do the same with Mersal , which has gone on to become one of the biggest hits of the industry. Suggestions, criticism, comments such as ‘ dei  I knew this already’, are all welcome 🙂 Despite a few cons, I loved Mersal , so much that I saw it twice in theatres ( here’s my take on the film). What I also managed to notice were a few intricately added details that separate the three characters played by Vijay which might’ve missed the sight of many. This intrigued me as such things aren’t common to come across in a commercial...

Cast : Nivin Pauly, Shraddha Srinath, Natty, Prakash Raj, Lakshmi Priyaa Director : Gautham Ramachandran Neo-noir films are rarely welcomed by the audience in Tamil cinema and even when it happens, it’s after the film’s run in the theatres. Richie is the latest film to join that rare club. The remake of Ulidavaru Kandanthe , Richie also marks the straight debut of Nivin Pauly to Tamil cinema. Richie sees the journey of a journalist (Shraddha Srinath), finding the man behind the myth in the name of working on a story. She meets a lot of people who give their varied opinions they have on this man and what they are and how those opinions were formed in the first place makes up the story of Richie. What works for Richie , right from the word go is the sub-plots. While there are one too many, the way they converge together to form the bigger picture is fascinating and one cannot help but wonder how the same can look different to each person. Not just beauty looks like everythi...

Cast : Sibiraj, Remya Nambeesan, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar Director : Pradeep Krishnamoorthy After dabbling with a villain role, a horror-comedy and another comedy film, Sibiraj is back in a serious thriller after his  Naaigal Jaakirathai  days with Sathya, a remake of the Telugu hit  Kshanam . What works for  Sathya  is the fact that they haven’t reworked the script in order to ‘suit the local sensibilities’, something a lot of remakes do which only leads to the original essence getting lost in translation. Sibi’s debut film  Student Number 1 , incidentally, is a classic example of this. Sathya is about an NRI techie who gets a call from Swetha (Remya Nambeesan), his ex-girlfriend, saying that her daughter Riya has been kidnapped forcing Sathya (Sibi) to return to India, only to be confused by all the uncertainty that clouds the case. As the story is told from Sathya’s perspective, the audience too is mired in doubts as each sequence progresses and there is no...