Raavanan Review (Tamil)

The great Indian Epic Ramayana has inspired a wide range of interpretations over the centuries. From folk and traditional art forms to various contemporary expressions today. Not to forget our school cultural version of the modern Ramayana that is still performed with a lot of vigour and innovation. Hence it is not surprising when we hear that one of the best directors in the country has taken it up for his next venture. With the entire industry at his disposal to pick and choose, Maniratnam tempts us with a dream ensemble of cast & crew. Promise to release it in 3 languages, keep the audience waiting for two years and he has the entire country eating out of his hands. The sheer exhilaration of grabbing those tickets and running to the seat is beyond explanation for any movie buff.

Raavanan brings together some of the best Indian cinema can offer. Let me rephrase that; the best popular Indian cinema can offer. That is the best in direction, performance, music, camera, art & technology. Logically, we should be having the ultimate cinematic experience. Unfortunately not even close. And why? Someone forgot that every film, irrespective of the people involved needs a story. I guess they thought the epic would take care of that. The conversion of the story to a movie screenplay is inadequate and shallow. Raavanan is a case of the captain too busy getting others to do a good job that he forgot his!

The story in spite of being so familiar seems like a few scenes put together. Sequencing of scenes suffers as there is no natural continuity. The struggle of the villagers, the place where they live seem too disconnected from reality in spite of the Tirunelveli / Ambasamudram mention. The audience is left with no element of emotional connect. After exposure to Bollywood, Mani seems to be dwelling in this one large village called India. Regional differences in location and behaviour are barely visible. The characters remain flat and predictable, except that of Dev’s. The critical points in the movie, where Ragini starts empathising with Veera, Dev ‘s obsession with killing Veera and Ragini’s reason for return etc. just pass without making an impression. Dialogues (Suhasini Maniratnam) are another reason for departure from realism. They are however interesting though occasionally pretentious. What could’ve really saved the show, in spite of these, is the ending. Just when he gets you to believe it is going to end differently, he takes a full U turn in some way, punishing us for sitting through the two hours. Maniratnam has always played safe with his plots. His endings are always politically right, uncontroversial and hence boring. (Eg: Thalapati, Iruvar, Guru and now Raavanan).

Having said that, the effort of several other people behind the scenes make the movie a definite one time watch. Santosh Sivan & Manikandan’s camera work, leave you asking for more stunning visuals. They bring the nature, foliage and water in the forests for the audience to touch and feel. The director as usual gives us the most distinct locations. Songs by AR Rahman, though did not rise to the hype, serve well in the movie. But none create the magic expected from the director- music director duo. Art by Samir Chandra is sufficient for the story telling, but the regional flavour is missing. The stunts, especially the climax sequence by Peter Heins deserves special mention. It is absolute team work of the crew that is evident here. Picking out the parallels in the epic and the movie is something I enjoyed immensely. Gnanaprakasam as Hanuman, Hemant as Lakshman, the vulture as Jadayu etc. There is even a subtle reference to the sanjeevani, when Karthik remarks that half a bottle should take care of Hemant’s illness!

Exploring the good and evil with respect to different perspectives, Mani Ratnam manages to give us a new look at Raavanan, as the misunderstood villain. In a story that lacks depth and emotional connect, the actors and the technicians do more than their part to save the day. The movie is a good representation of the epic in cinematic terms so far. But the depth that one sees in other art forms like Kathakali in the characterisation of Raavana is missing. Time for the veteran to take his story and script seriously and look inwards for inspiration, instead of playing to the big names in Bollywood.

How to Train Your Dragon 3D - Review

How to train your dragon is a charming animated film, based on the book of the same name by the British author Cressida Cowell. It is one among the several books in a series of adventures of Hiccup, the young hero and his world of dragons. The success of Harry potter and the Twilight series have prompted film makers to relook at the genre of children’s fiction for inspiration. Goes without saying that it has also lead to children’s authors sprouting in every nook and corner. The trend, yet to catch up in India will be something to look forward to considering our endless supply of fairytales and fantasy.

Hiccup is the son of a Viking chief Stoick the Vast, a well respected leader of the dragon slayers in the Island of Berk. Hiccup, unlike his brethren is tiny in size and does not live up to the expectation of his father. When he finally does manage to trap a dragon, he is unable to kill it. Here starts the story of a beautiful friendship between the two. As hiccup tries to fix the tail of the dragon who he now calls Toothless, Hiccup realises dragons are more fun trained than killed. Thanks to the experiments with his secret friend, he emerges as the best student in dragon combat training. Among the students is Astrid, who after the initial suspicion is partner to the secret. Hiccup now faces the tough task of convincing his tribe that dragons can be friends and win his father’s confidence as a true Viking. The cheerful ending has a mean little twist, but something that can be forgotten before you get out of the theatre.

Jay Baruchel playing Hiccup is extremely compelling as the sarcastic and bored teenager. Gerard Butler, who is the voice of Stoick, is admirable and nothing like what we have seen him previously. It’s best to forget his involvement while looking at the hefty bearded warrior especially if you have been a sucker to Butler’s rom-coms like me. The 3D element is subtle and adds to the fantasy experience. Considerable effort that’s gone into sketching out the different types of dragons is obvious. They are a delight to watch in all possible colours and sizes capable of firing any kid’s imagination.

Apart from just presenting a story, the film is ideal for a kid living in today’s world. It tactfully and subtly deals with several issues of the times. The misfit teenager, difficult father –son relationship, expectation vs interest, man vs beast battle, love and respect against cruelty etc are just a few. The film turns out to be a brilliant way to spread some good thought, sans a moral science format. An ideal vacation outing for not just the kids and their parents, but the entire neighbourhood.

Green Zone - Review

The Bourne series caught my attention and coming together of the director and actor once again was an interesting proposition. It was also a bit of curiosity that led me to watch this movie. Paul Greengrass who seemed to be a master at entertaining thrillers was this time toying with real life. The film credits Rajiv Chandrashekharan’s book (non-fiction) – Imperial Life in the Emerald City for inspiration. The book documented a journalist’s perspective of the life in Baghdad. Inspite of the ‘work of fiction’ disclaimer, several reviewers have spotted the real-life counterparts of most of the key characters in the movie. The Green zone is a 10 square kilometres area in the city of Baghdad that was the centre of all the International operations post the Iraqi invasion in 2003. Previously the seat of the Ba’ath party and Saddam Hussein’s palaces, after the American occupation it was used as offices for the coalition forces. After the handover it is back into the hands of the Iraqi Government and houses the various embassies.

Matt Damon plays Roy Miller, a Chief Warrant Officer in the Special Forces of the US Army. The year is 2003, 4 weeks after the invasion. Miller and his team are in charge of finding WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction). When several attempts prove futile, Miller doubts the source of intelligence which is soon disregarded by senior officers in the army and the Pentagon. He finds an ally in Brown (Brendan Gleeson) from the CIA who shares his doubts. Clarke Poundstone (Greg Kinnear) the Pentagon’s man in Iraq is busy setting the stage for the new government and planting stories in the media through journalist Lawrie Dane (Amy Ryan) from the Wall Street Journal. Adding to the drama is Al-Rawi (Yigal Naor), a General from Saddam’s regime, waiting to strike a deal with the Americans and Freddie (Khaled Abdalla), a translator picked up by Miller during his quest for the truth. Damon looks the part of an army officer and takes the film on his shoulders. As Gleesen, Kinnear, Naor and Amy Ryan do absolute justice to their roles, it is Khaled Abdalla of Kite Runner fame who strikes a chord. He stands apart as the representative of the Iraqi common man, a citizen having to deal with his country being torn apart by his rulers and strangers alike. The cinematography in handy cam style is realistic, but at times too shaky to hold attention, especially towards the chase in the end. One can’t help but wonder why Miller doesn’t seem to have a boss. He chases his clues with no intervention from the army, as if set on a personal mission. It is at this point we see it departing from reality.


A peep into the WMD conspiracy, the film definitely points fingers at the inefficiency o f the coalition forces and the twisted intelligence reports. The inability of the US government to deal with the post invasion Iraq and the lack of understanding of the local political texture is dealt with in the background. That is precisely the reason why the theme deserves more credit than other movies like ‘The Hurt Locker’. Having said that, the film remains purely fictional. The main idea of the movie being entertainment, after a point it takes the form of a high voltage thriller, thus compromising the credibility of the issue. It is Greengrass’ and Brien Helgeland’s (writer) take on the story of Roy Miller, presented to us in the most dramatic and entertaining manner. A racy and exciting watch, harmless if not taken too seriously. Best seen in the theatres.

Angadi Theru - Review

Why are realistic movies difficult to watch? We know we are in for good cinema, and very often the conflicts the director puts forth are common concerns. I wonder if it is the overdose of escapist reels that we are brought up on, that makes us uncomfortable watching something so real. Having said that, I must add that Tamil cinema in particular, has off-late developed this skill for portraying some worst cases of human suffering - often unnecessary and meant for shock value. An instant example that comes to my mind is Paruthiveeran. The gang rape of the heroine was purely to end the movie with an engaging climax. In no way did the entire movie contribute or lead to the climax. I wonder if its because as a culture, we are exposed to a considerable amount of 'sentiments' that there is a need for exaggeration to evoke a serious emotion. Lets accept it, when we do get all emotional, we Indians are also extremely good at looking away after a while. There is only a certain amount of realism we can take at a time. That is precisely the reason, I was shifting in my seat as the titled rolled at the begining of Angadi Theru.

Vasanthabalan, the director gives us another moving account of the lives of people from the villages of Tamilnadu. His previous film, Veyil - a heart wrenching story on the effects of corporal punishment, was the Indian representative at Cannes in 2007. This time again he successfully takes us through the life's of the characters rather than bringing them to us. Jothilingam (Mahesh) when suddenly faced with the responsibility of supporting his family is forced to take up a job at a popular textile showroom Senthil Murugan stores in Chennai. His friend Marimuthu (Pandi) tags along. Soon expectations are crushed and the boys are disappointed at the poor living conditions and the ill treatment of the several emloyees like them herded from different parts of the state. As routine takes over, Kani (Anjali), who works in the same shop, and her friends become a part of their camaraderie. Their malicious and lecherous floor supervisor who they call Karungali (director A. Venkatesh) add to their woes. Inspite of their troubles they make space for laughter and love. The plot deepens into the love story of Jothilingam and Kani and their escape from the clutches of the supervisor and Annachi (the owner of the shop).

Vasanthabalan presents the story is the most convincing way; a few minutes into the movie and he gets the audience empathising with the characters. It is the theme of the movie that presents the novelty. To look at the other side of a world that is so familiar to us is it's most engaging factor. Mahesh ' s performance is nothing like that of a first timer. Not for a moment do we suspect the genuine apppeal he brings to the character. Anjali, handles the complex role of a cheerful and independant girl torn by sorrow convincingly. It is Pandi who brings in the laughs. His comedy is spontaneous and works as a superb mood-lightener. We have not seen a better villian in recent tamil cinema than Karungali. Venkatesh with his unassuming looks makes him more eerie and detestable. Only a little more dramatic than Nurse Ratched of 'One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest'. The support cast does not lag behind in the performance factor either. Annachi, Selvarani, Sopia are characters who will stay alive in your imagination much after you leave the theatre. The hidden cameras used while shooting is now part of part of the Chennai cinema-lore. Richard's camera, never diagressing from reality contributes immensely to Vasanthabalan's vision. The songs are nothing more than adequate, though the background score by Vijay Antony is impressive.

Though the movie is harshly realistic, there are several lighter moments included to keep the gloom factor away. Of course I left the theatre wondering if the case of such employees hired by such shops were really this bad? Considering the number of years these shops have been around, did not a single person who left the place take-up the issue? Only a fool could miss the parallel the director was drawing between Senthil Murugan stores and Saravana stores. The logo is similar and to make things clear he keeps zooming in to the shots of the shop at Ranganathan street and the photo of the owner. The arrest of the owner of Saravan Bhavan(the restaurant) is a living proof of the existance of this kind of exploitation.

It is evident that it is the thought process of one person that has led the movie throughout. The director achieves his goal here and presents cinema that is not only honest but has also been a box office success. If one can ignore the ending that seemed a bit contrived, the movie is almost flawless. A must-watch for people ready for good cinema.

Paiyaa - Review

There had been a boredom setting in, with respect to my blogging as I have not been able to appreciate the real joy of reviewing, ie: ripping a movie apart. For reasons being purely economical, I have been forced to watch movies that are not considered high risk. How much I would have enjoyed analysing the finer points of an Aasal or Vettaikaran! Well, Paiyya takes me closest to that pleasure, so far. While I don't think it deserves to be torn apart, can't be kind either.

Paiyaa makes a pathetic attempt at a road movie, Hollywood style (nothing less!!!). Combining romance, travel and adventure can be an instant success at the box office. The combination was used endlessly in old Hindi & English films. Even DDLJ worked to a certain extent thanks to the eurorail. (Dil hai Ki Manta Nahin is another favourite). These days, we seem to have a serious dearth of directors who can deliver the delight of such an experience, to have someone sit down and sketchout a sensitive, believable narration of such plots. What Linguswamy attempted in Paiyaa, if had come out right, would have been a new experience in Tamil cinema.


Shiva (Karthi) is an unemployed young man in Bangalore, who falls in love with Charu (Tamannah) at first sight. Charu is being chased by goondas who plan to take her to Chennai and Shiva offers to drive her to Bombay to her grandmother where she can be safe. A weak flashback gives us a peek into Shiva's past where he has created an enemy of Bali (Milind Soman), a mean gangster in Bombay. Jagan, one of the nicer parts of the movie, plays his friend. Shiva takes Charu to Mumbai, beating up the 2 sets of goons alternatively at regular intervals. Now, with a plot like that, you cannot create a classic, the least one can do is make it racy. But we are not that lucky.

N. Linguswamy, the director is best known for his pot boiler Run, and my guess is, will remain to be known for that alone. His love affair with the gangster theme continues to linger. I wonder if he added the second set of goons to stretch the movie to the second half. It would've made no difference to the movie having one set deleted! Story, screenplay and direction is just too much to handle for Linguswamy. There is barely a story and as far as screen play is concerned, if they played the second half backwards, nobody would notice. My suggestion to him would be to keep the first half and paste in the last 20 minutes of the second. It 'll be the same story with no head ache.

Karthi, with his demeanour and expressions take you in from the first scene. I sense a danger of him being type cast as this young, nonchalant guy who is smart with words. On the exterior his role may be diffrent from Ayirathuil Oruvan or Paruthiveeran. Somehow the attitude seems to remain the same. Tamannah looks attractive and provides eye candy. Her character (and the director) expects nothing more from her. It is depressing to watch Milind soman wasted as a brainless villian yet another time in Tamil Cinema after Pachakili Muthucharam. There Gautam gave in to his Jyotika fixation and here Linguswamy decided, gangsters don't have brains. Jagan is spontaneous most of the time and makes an attempt to salvage the second half.

Cinematography is adequate. The action sequences shot really well, get wasted when they seem to happen too often for no reason. Rajeevan's sets are not very convincing. The set in the song Suthude bhoomi is partliculary artificial. Jagan's rooms in bombay was not very real either. Tamannah sports a wardrobe disaster in the rain song. Goondas chasing Charu seem to have a dress code. They are all fat, black, loud and sport atrocious hairstyles. Apart from these, the clothes by Priya Manikandan are believable and contribute to make the hero and heroine look their best. Songs are a let down. I wonder if Yuvan is losing his touch. Too many boring albums lately. They merely add to your irritation as they pop up every now and then. 'Poongatru'( Benny Dayal) and 'En kadhal solla' (Yuvan)are the better ones. Kanal kannan's action would have made an impact had the director used it well. It gets tiresome expecially when the hero with super human strength can pretty much fill in for a 'weapon of mass destruction'.


It is only the character of Shiva that seemed to have gone through any thought process. Charu could 've been a native of South Korea and it wouldn't have made a difference. She's dumb and pretty, that's I guess irresistible in a testosterone powered movie like this one. She shows no signs of love for the hero during the movie, but prompltly runs into his arms in the last scene. Having said all that, I must mention what kept me going. Shiva's bunch of friends and his bonding with them came out really well. The dialogues are short, straight and evoke laughter wherever necessary. The first half almost got me thinking I was in a for a time-pass entertainer. Then, the 2nd half happened.

Considering the team the director lined up, the movie could've worked if, 1. Got Yuvan to deliver better. 2. Concentrate on the romantic angle and screen play than on mindless action. In the case of Paiyaa, 2 people evidently haven't done their job right - the director and the music director. Wait and catch it on TV.

Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya - Review

I caught the movie really late. Ie: after I saw all the brickbats spewing venom at the movie and the director. It was my confidence in Gautam's sense of romance that he portrays on screen that allowed me to give the movie a decent viewing without being biased by the comments I heard before. You have to give it to him... he manages to capture those small elements of urban romance that makes you instantly connect with the characters. No director other than perhaps Mani Ratnam can claim to have such a convincing depiction of romance in Chennai. Gautam has been consistent in this aspect right from Minnale to Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya.


After talking to a couple of people I realised it worked for some and didn't for others. Well, it worked for me. Yes, including the ending. By now, I am quite familiar with the 'can u be that dumb' expression I have been receiving every time I say this. The film is not flawless. The errors are much more than any of his previous movies. Infact I think it is these not so harmful seeming flaws that's irked a lot of viewers in the context of the film as a whole. However i enjoyed watching the movie, didn't get bored for a minute, loved the visuals, performances, songs etc. Realism, rationality - that’s an entirely different issue.


It is the story of Karthik (Silambarasan) and Jessie (Trisha), neighbours who fall in love. Jessie's traditional upbringing in a malayali Christian house hold comes in the way of the lovers uniting. Jessie defies logic every time she agrees to the relationship and tries to break away from him. Malathi Rangarajan in her review in 'The Hindu' said she's an ideal representation of the woman of today. Well Ma'am, I take offence. I like to believe, we are a little more rational in our thinking abilities. The director engages us in the small conversations and moments shared by the lovers. The movie is very dialogue oriented and has the two key characters in all the scenes. Once again, a very different treatment in Tamil cinema. The supporting cast, unobtrusively form the world around Karthik and Jessie. This treatment I am guessing did not really work in favour of the film as far as the 'mass' is concerned. But interestingly I found more than one instance of people feeling otherwise. My friend (a guy), couldn't believe the similarity between his life and the movie. Meanwhile the girl sitting to my right never had a dry moment and constantly kept blowing her nose into a tissue. As for me, I immensely enjoyed being part of the smallest conversations between the young couple.


So to start with what worked for me - the dreamy frames, tones & visuals, I wanted to be out there with the characters and be part of this beautiful thing. Hossana is definitely one of the best picturised songs in Tamil cinema. In an industry where songs are about grand sets, foreign locales and 50 dancers gyrating their hips, this song stands up for pure class. Manoj Paramahamsa strikes a balance by creating a realistic setting for the scenes in chennai. His camera pretty much sets the environment for the entire story. AR Rahman's music, though not as popular as what Harris has delivered previously lends an air of freshness. It is nice to have someone give us sounds and rhythms we are not used to hearing that prompts us to concentrate harder or tease our senses occasionally. That also means another similar album from him, won't work. Nalini Sriram's clothes, especially on Trisha stand out. It’s a pleasure to see a young office going woman almost every time in a saree. Especially, when I had to deal with a range of comments when I did the same. It’s nice to see a normal side of Simbu, especially a better looking one. He is extremely believable as the aspiring director, hopelessly in love. I admire Gautam's decision on the ending. It gave it a nice lump in the throat feel that we all die-hard romantics enjoy. Ands lets admit it, that’s how most of these things end up anyway. For a more practical, reasoning of the ending, I think Karthik simply deserves someone better. May be its all part of the larger plan ;-).


Now for the not so nice parts - Gautam forgot to do a final edit & wrap on the script. It meanders in the seond half and stumbles its way to an ending. Jessie takes that one last decision based on the fact that Karthik did not respond in time when she was probably the strongest. Now as a girl, I can tell you that often, we do tend to get disillusioned when someone fails to rise to the occasion; especially when it takes all that we have to take a bold step. But in Jessie's case, we have no clue of the conflict in her mind. The scene apart from being written badly, is not given the importance of a turning point in the movie. The end result being the audience left wondering why the woman is crazy. The part where she tells Karthik they should be just friends (after the movie premier) reduced almost the entire film into a cliché. What happened to all the grace one expects from Gautam menon movies? Why did the hero have to be a boxing champ just for that one fight? The detail was totally unnecessary and seemed like it was added purely for Simbu's benefit. The scene where Jessie confesses her love to Karthik in Kerala, they play 'mannippaya...' in the background. I wonder if it means she regrets telling him all that she just did. And why would somebody who refused to walk up to your ex boyfriend when they meet in New York attend a premier show of his movie held in Chennai? Jessie continues to puzzle Karthik and the audience throughout the film with such antics. I wish Gautam had been more kind to her.


I would strongly recommend watching the movie. It is the kind of Tamil cinema we don’t get to see too much of. Brace yourself for 3 hours of pure romance. For many men I know, that’s too much to handle. An ideal romantic outing - breezy and dreamy. (I wish the kissing was more convincing though, somehow Jessie just refuses to open her mouth ;-)…) Gautam, a slightly more mature fare the next time…OK??