Savaale Samaali

Paayum Puli

தமிழ் சினிமா அப்டேட்ஸ் களை உடனுக்குடன் தெரிந்து கொள்ள Filmi Street App - ஐ டவுன்லோட் செய்யுங்கள்

Movie : Paayum Puli (2015)
Directed by : Suseenthiran
Screenplay by : Suseenthiran
Story by : Suseenthiran
Starring : Vishal, Kajal Aggarwal
Music by : D. Imman
Cinematography : Velraj
Edited by : Anthony
Production company : Vendhar Movies
Distributed by : Escape Artists Motion Pictures
Release dates : 4 September 2015
Country : India
Language : Tamil

Often, when a successful combination comes back following a success, it is bound to a critical situation, where the expectations get beyond usual paradigms. Pandiya Naadu was a blatant hit and everyone precisely anticipated something much better than their previous outing. Paayum Puli comes from the celebrated combination of Vishal and Suseenthiran, this time produced by Vendhar Movie S Madhan.

Remember, when was the last time we saw a film based on police officer who has to go through hurdles in completing his mission. Though unable to make a pick, we have witnessed similar movies many times in our movie watching experience. Paayum Puli is about ACP Jayaseelan (Vishal) who through his undercover operation manages to bump off three gangsters who have been responsible for the death of a honest police officer and many businessman. As the mission deepens, he is appallingly bound to a critical situation of his family getting involved.

Suseenthiran has proved his craftsmanship as a screenwriter and filmmaker. His narrative style always remains to be simple and convincingly conveyed albeit the momentum. This was too agreeable with his previous movies, which include Pandiya Nadu and Jeeva. Over here, the screenplay turns out to be little slower and too ordinary is few places. Say for instance, it’s quite a heroism to see Vishal bumping off three gangsters, but it could have been more powerful in depiction. Moreover, with Suseenthiran offering the twist too early, keeps the audiences hooked up with their predictions and how the film is gonna end. The final fight sequence is completely unwanted and Suseenthiran could have easily winded up with the scene, which would have really brought forth additional intensity and power.

Vishal as usual gets over the top performing his best. His action sequences are powerful and body language is commendable. Kajal Aggarwal doesn’t have anything to perform and it becomes too boring to see the actresses are merely used for namesake, but don’t have a strong depiction on the screens. Kajal was portrayed in a similar way in Suseenthiran’s yesteryear hit film ‘Naan Mahaan Alla’. Soori happens to evoke laughter in few places. Samuthirakani delivers a power-packed performance and he is sure to be one among the strong contenders for the nomination of ‘Best Baddie Award’. The one who plays the father role of Samuthirakani and Vishal (He shot to fame with his performance in Komban) does his role well.

Imman’s songs are at its best just like his previous combo Pandiya Nadu, but couple of songs are good. The background score could have been little better. But the stunning cinematography by Velraj offers more strength to the film.

The screenplay is filled with ups and downs that keeps distracts us and there is no depth that would keep us engrossed throughout the film. The romantic portions doesn’t blend well and since we find only cops and encounters, there seems to be a vagueness. While the film gets closer to the climax of 20 minutes, things get on right path. If Suseenthiran had managed to wrap it up avoiding the unwanted action sequence towards the end, it would have been picture-perfect film.

Verdict: Watch it if you’re a great lover of action films

Thakka Thakka

தமிழ் சினிமா அப்டேட்ஸ் களை உடனுக்குடன் தெரிந்து கொள்ள Filmi Street App - ஐ டவுன்லோட் செய்யுங்கள்

Vikranth, known to be a decent performer on screen and excellent performer on ground (you may recall his memorable shows during celebrity cricket), aims to make a comeback with ‘Thaaka Thaaka‘.

The film, directed by his elder brother Sanjeev, speaks about an orphaned child who grows up to become an angry man. It starts on a riveting note, takes momentum slowly and ends on a routine track.

Sanjeev has conceived a potent knot. But the way he has executed it is avarage and familiar, making the movie one more to the list of usual entertainers.

But Vikranth has improved a lot in acting, except his body language which need little more tuning. Another hero of the movie is Sujit Sarang’s impeccable cinematography, as the visuals speak a lot.

Sathya (Vikranth), at a very young age, sees his own mother getting murdered by a pimp (Arul Doss). He grows up as a fearless guy and Karthik is his trusted aide.

One day, Karthik’s girlfriend (Abhinaya) gets kidnapped. Sathya starts his mission to rescue her, and in the process, he also meets his mother’s murderer.

Abhinaya, Arul Doss and Bose Venkat among others have played their respective roles well, while songs by Jakes Bejoy are average. But his background score is good. There are Vishal, Arya and Vishnu Vishal in a song.

To sum it up, ‘Thaaaka Thaaka’ was aimed as a stylish action-revenge thriller, but ends up as an average fare. But it has some high moments which are laudable.

Thani Oruvan

தமிழ் சினிமா அப்டேட்ஸ் களை உடனுக்குடன் தெரிந்து கொள்ள Filmi Street App - ஐ டவுன்லோட் செய்யுங்கள்

Movie : Thani Oruvan
Directed by : M. Raja
Produced by : AGS Entertainment
Written by : M. Raja, Subha
Starring : Jayam Ravi, Nayanthara, Arvind Swamy
Music by : Hip hop Tamizha
Cinematography : Ramji
Edited by : Gopikrishna.V
Production company : AGS Entertainment
Distributed by : Sun Pictures
Release dates : 28 August 2015
Country : India
Language : Tamil

After a long hiatus, Jayam Ravi has been striking efficiently with back to back hits. Of course, three releases in a span of two months is something nearly to a miracle in Tamil cinema, where an actor has made up his mind to amuse the audiences with different genres, themes and roles. We extend our appreciations to Jayam Ravi for these earnest decisions.

The tale of a good and honest cop fighting against an evildoer and do you think is something new to Tamil cinema. It’s one of the most fundamental elements of story in Indian film scenario. But what makes it precisely different from the ones we are talking about is unique style of crafting the tale and keeping the audiences engaged with some fresh and appealing scenes. The second appreciation goes to Jayam Raja who has been continuously remaking Telugu movies. Giving a break, he comes up with Thani Oruvan, which indeed is a fresh script that has some racy moments without any hassles.

One more thing that appealingly convinces the audiences is the ensemble star-cast, which doesn’t merely look like a Telugu commercial pot boiler, where there are many actors appearing on the screen for namesake, but yet don’t find a substantial scope. Over here, he has made sure that each and every one in every frame has something more meaningful to deliver.

An honest sincere cop by nature Jayam Ravi and his bunch of friends are tested by the turmoil and upheavals caused by the society’s most happening icon (played by Aravind Swamy). What actually pulls them together putting in a ring of combat is something you’ll have to watch it over the screens. Instead of choosing a stereotypical pattern that goes with just hand on hand combat, where the hero bashes down 20 roughnecks at the same time and finally has his turn of beating the baddie black and blue, the director has managed to balance it with brainy moves.  The intelligent moves made by Jayam Ravi and Aravind Swamy have been very well etched with brilliance. Had the director completely focussed only on this aspect by cutting down unwanted elements, the film would have been more engrossing. But he slightly fails to maintain the momentum because of involving some unwanted commercial elements like romance and comedy, which doesn’t befit accordingly.

Jayam Ravi has always showcased an immense performance in his movies, especially with the ones that are so much emotionally punching. Here, he makes sure of utilising every frame, but we find when compared to his movies like Aadhi Bhagavan and Nimirndhu Nil, it is comparatively little lesser. Nayantara on the other hand has been projected with a difference and she manages to carry her portions well, but yes, she can perform more than this. Aravind Swamy turns the spotlights towards him eclipsing the others in the cast. His performance is vivifying though little unconventional to see him a baddie. The last few minutes of this film brings an impactful performance from this genius. Ganesh Venkatraman is simple at his best. Others in the cast deliver what has been offered to him.

Cinematography by Ramji is top-notch and his visuals are the greatest strength in the technical department. Hip Hop Tamizha manages to deliver at least one hit number in an album, but he has to improvise a lot with his background score.

Director Raja keeps the duration too lengthy around 160 minutes and if it was somewhere around 120-130, this would be a genius thriller that would outperform some of the best films in the recent times.

Although there are some minuses in the film, the gripping moments of brainy confrontations among the characters and the good performance of Jayam Ravi and Aravind Swamy stands out to be a source of attraction in keeping us engaged.

Verdict: Unconventionally good, but could have been shorter

Jigina

தமிழ் சினிமா அப்டேட்ஸ் களை உடனுக்குடன் தெரிந்து கொள்ள Filmi Street App - ஐ டவுன்லோட் செய்யுங்கள்

Movie : Jigina
Starring : Vijay Vasanth, Sanyathara, Singampuli, Ravi Mariya,’Daddy’ Senthil,Sugu Venkat, ‘Kumki’ Ashwin, Kutty Sridevi and Ansun Paul
Directed by : Ravi Nanda Periyasamy
Production House : Thirupathi Brothers
Music Director : John Peter
Lyrics : Yuga Bharathi
Editor : Gopi Krishnan
Cameraman : Balaji Ranga
Release Date : 21 August 2015

Vijay Vasanth’s latest release Jigina showcases the crisis involved in the world of Facebook, where the teenagers have been succumbing to. The film is directed by Nanda Periyasamy and is released by Thirrupathi Brothers.

The film opens with Vijay Vasanth standing at a suicide point with eyes moistened and we are commuted to the flashback… He is an ordinary cab driver who on getting acquainted with some guys working in IT. Witnessing their jolly lives, he too wants to have a girlfriend. His friends help him create a fake Facebook profile so that girls follow him and he chooses someone from the list. She is none other than Saniya Tara, a beautiful good looking girl. But sooner, there happens to be a twist of surprise, where the story takes us to the point where Vijay Vasanth is standing now.

To start off with, the plot and basic theme of this film is more convincing and something that deals what’s happening in the society of modernism. In fact, this is something that has been happening for a very long time and Nanda Periyasamy takes an intensive attempt to depicting it. But the problem arises with the narrative style. The screenplay is so weak that we get distracted and not get related to it anywhere. The first half rarely has some lively moments and the second hour is sluggish.

Vijay Vasanth tries to deliver what is offered to him. But the basic problem is that Vijay has done some good job in his previous outing and he could have chosen something more challenging that would take him to next level. Saniya is just beautiful but has nothing more to perform and no scope as well. Others in the cast including Kumki Ashwin are unimpressive.

Musically the songs were okay when heard on audio, but the picturing is too poor and the complete DI works are terrible.

On the whole, the film has an interesting plot, but an unconvincing screenplay and technical mediocre makes it a dull and boring film.

Verdict: Fails to glitter

Vaalu

தமிழ் சினிமா அப்டேட்ஸ் களை உடனுக்குடன் தெரிந்து கொள்ள Filmi Street App - ஐ டவுன்லோட் செய்யுங்கள்

Directed by : Vijay Chander
Written by : Vimalan
Screenplay by : Vijay Chander
Starring : Silambarasan, Hansika Motwani, Santhanam, VTV Ganesh
Music by : Thaman
Cinematography : Shakthi
Edited by : T. S. Suresh
Production company : NIC Arts
Distributed by : Chimbu Cine Arts (Tamilnadu), Ayngaran International (Worldwide)
Release dates : 14 August 2015
Running time : 155 minutes

3 years was perhaps a long hiatus that kept STR fans so much disappointed and they desperately wanted a release of their star. This indeed had created more hype for his comeback film ‘Vaalu’ directed by debutant Vijay Chander and produced by Nic Arts. First and foremost, there are certain things that has to be clarified before getting to watch this film or reviewing. The film was bound to unexpected hyper promotions scenario due to various reasons that we have been witnessing in the past few weeks. But while watching this film, it indirectly creates an assumption of elevating the expectation bars and suddenly dropping it downside. This is the problem with those who don’t feel the film is worth watching up for.

Vaalu is a romantic comedy that is predictable in parts and the makers are clear with their motto. A complete entertainer for all STR fans and henceforth analyzing this film with more score points isn’t so much worth it.

Silambarasan as known to everyone is an entertainer and he has completely done what will make his fans so much excited. Apparently this should have been evident while watching the film in theatres that keeps everyone, especially STR fans enthralled for the first 20 minutes. Guess what? For the ones outside STR fan zone or common audiences, they might keep waiting for something to happen, in other words, a proper story to arrive soon, which doesn’t happen.

In fact the film doesn’t have a substantial plot as well. It’s a simple romantic comedy entertainer that involves a devil may care ‘Vaalu’ boy well pampered by his parents and loveable sister. He isn’t looking forward to join a job and is seen all the time shooting breeze with beer and cigarettes with his friends (Santhanam and VTV Ganesh). This is when he falls in love at first sight with Hansika Motwani. Unexpectedly, she happens to have been already arranged by her father to marry the cousin boy (newcomer Aditya), who is a loan shark with ethical values. What unfolds next has been narrated in a way that will entertain Simbhu fans.

As mentioned earlier, the film doesn’t have anything special to offer in terms of story or narration. You go easily predicting what’s gonna happen next. When it comes to performance, STR has undergone some change, where he maintains a low tone even while uttering punch dialogues, which makes him more loveable on the screens. You can precisely spot the change in his dancing skills as well, where he imitates himself in Manmadhan style and just see how he has changed his dancing pattern. In the same way, his mannerisms and dialogue deliveries have been slightly enhanced than his previous movies. Hansika Motwani in contrast has nothing special to mention about. Santhanam’s comedy lines and his episodes with Silambarasan and VTV Ganesh are good and rib-tickling. Aadukalam Narain plays his role very well and his emotional touch of father sentiments keeps winning appreciations in theatres. Newcomer Aditya appearing as baddie is commendable with his episodes.

Musically, the background score is not up to the mark and Thaman does favour for STR fans in couple of places. The music director can attempt something more efficient stepping out of ‘Telugu Masala’ Zone.

On the flip side, the film doesn’t carry a proper story even till the end. It’s a hackneyed story that doesn’t have anything surprising or exciting.

All that you can say is ‘Vaalu’ attempts to satisfy and make the STR fans invigorated who missed him a lot for three years.

Verdict: Entertainment and celebrations for STR fans

Rating: 2.5/5

To Read Vaalu Movie Review in Tamil