Nimir review: "Can't hold a candle to the original!!!"

One of the finest movies to have emerged from the Malayalam film industry in recent times was Dileesh Pothan's "Maheshinte Prathikaram". It was like a breath of fresh air with the USP being the subtle & realistic treatment, which was eagerly lapped up by the audience. Close to two years after it's release, veteran director Priyadarshan who is proficient in the art of remaking movies, decided to re-create it in Tamil as "Nimir". Despite his excellent credentials, it's still a tall ask especially since the original was a brilliant movie. So can the remake do justice???

Since most of us have watched the original, I dont think it's necessary to discuss about the plot in detail. However, for the benefit of others; Selvam (Udayanidhi Stalin) runs a photo studio along with his father Shanmugham (J Mahendran) in a lush green small village. The shopkeeper next door, Sadha (M S Bhaskar) was like family to Selvam, as he advised & helped him in all matters. Things move along at a lazy pace until Selvam gets embroiled unintentionally in a street brawl & gets beaten up black & blue. Frustrated at being humiliated in front of everyone, he vows not to use his sandals until he had his revenge. At around the same time, his childhood sweetheart Valli (Parvathi Nair) walks out on him when her family coaxes her to marry the guy of their choice. How Selvam overcomes the humiliation & the broken heart forms the crux of the movie.

It is an oft observed feature that the remakes of blockbusters have mostly turned out to be duds. The primary reason in most of the cases was the cultural differences between the two regions. Incidentally, the same issue raises it's head here as well; but the major drawback was Priyadarshan's heavy handed execution. Subtlety was never his forte & that 's exactly what was required here, due to which many of the sequences that was brilliant in the original felt so bland in this version. As far as the screenplay goes, it's a frame to frame remake except for a couple of additional scenes which were taken from "Kochavva Paulo Ayyappa Coelho". Most of the technical aspects were fine but doesnt deserve special mention.

Another major positive in the Malayalam version was the brilliant performance of pretty much every artist involved in the project. I did come across an article where Priyadarshan had mentioned that Stalin had performed than Fahadh & there cant be a more outrageous lie than that. Stalin has given an earnest performance but it is nowhere close to Fahad's standards. The same assessment applies to the rest as well except for Mahendren & Samuthirakani, both of whom were on par or maybe slightly better than K L Antony and Sujith Shankar respectively.

Verdict: The film is unlikely to cater to the Tamil audience & has no scope of a decent run in other states as well. In short, if you have seen the Malayalam version then you will be grossly disappointed or else you can give it a try!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

Padmaavat review: "Impressive tribute....so why have the Karni Sena gone bonkers ???"

Last couple of months had seen violence unleashed in various parts of the country over the release of "Padmaavat". So much so, it had to be postponed by a month & required the involvement of the Supreme Court to hit the screens. Even then there has been no dearth of atrocities with one incident being the stones pelted on a school bus in Gurugram. Incidentally, ever since the project was announced, it had run into rough weather with the Karni Sena who assumed (by their own figment of imagination) that Sanjay Leela's depiction of Rani Padmini wasnt accorded the honour it deserved. So were their arguments valid ???

The film unfolds in the 13th century where Jalaluddhin Khilji (Raza Murad) puts an end to the Mamluk dynasty& establishes himself as the first ruler of the Khilji dynasty. He was assisted in his endeavours by his nephew and son-in-law. Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh). After Alauddin thwarts the Mongol invasion on the Delhi Sultanate & conducts an unsanctioned raid on Devagiri, his uncle rewards him with a slave Malik Kafur (Jim Sarbh). But Alauddin had his eyes on a bigger prize & kills his uncle to usurp the throne. In another part of the land, Maharawal Ratan Singh (Shahid Kapoor) married the Singala princess Padmavati (Deepika Padukone) & brought her to Mewar. The news of her beauty & intelligence, travelled far & wide and it also reached the ears of Alauddin. As he always craved for unique creations, he decided to acquire Rani Padmini by any means possible. But the Rajput valour & honour was something he had not fathomed.

Based on the epic poem "Padmavat" written in the 16th century by the Sufi poet Malik Muhammad Jayasi, the story is a concoction of fact & fiction. Even the historical authenticity of the events mentioned in the poem itself cant be verified as Jayasi himself had mentioned that he had made up the story and related it.Whatever might be the case, Sanjay Leela Bhansali has made an excellent movie in terms of richness, elegance & sheer scale. But the plot as such is rather thin & the pace is sluggish at times. However, it still keeps us engrossed courtesy of Sanjay's mastery over his craft & the build up as well as execution of jauhar in the climax deserves special praise.

On the technical side, it is top notch in pretty much all the departments be it the visuals by Sudeep Chatterjee, costumes by Harpreet, Maxima, Chandrakant & Ajay or the art direction by Subrata Chakraborthy & Amit Ray. The BGM by Sanchit Balhara was in sync with the mood of the movie while the music tracks by Sanjay Leela were also decent. When it comes to performance, Ranveer Singh was brilliant as the flamboyant nasty no holds barred Khilji. Deepika Padukone has done an impressive job as well along with Shahid Kapoor. As for the rest, each & everyone of them have done justice to their roles.

Verdict: Without a shadow of doubt, the film is a brilliant tribute to the valour & principles of the Rajput clan. I seriously fail to understand why Karni Sena is creating all this ruckus as the Rajputs & Rani Padmini are shown in the best way possible. Despite the restrictions, the film has fared decently at the box office & should continue to attract attention at the box office. In short, surely check it out!!!

Rating: 3.5/5

Regards...Ben

Sketch review: "Sketchy & archaic except for the climax twist!!!"

This Pongal saw the clash between the movies of Suriya & Vikram, two of the biggest stars of the Tamil film industry who has a strong fan base even in other states. As far as I am concerned, Suriya's "Thaana Serndha Koottam" entertained me & it remains to be seen whether Vikram's "Sketch" could evoke similar emotions. The trailer gave the impression of a typical masala film but is it distinct enough to pose a threat to Suriya's "TSK" ???

The film unfolds in Northern Chennai where Jeeva aka Sketch (Vikram) works for Settu (Hareesh Peradi), who owns a garage & also offers loan for vehicles. As one would expect, Sketch was Settu's favourite henchman as he was the best in the business when it came to seizing vehicles of loan defaulters. It was at this juncture that Shaktivel, the upright cop takes charge in the region to keep tab on the illegal activities of Royapuram Kumar (Baburaj), the local gangster. Incidentally, Settu held a grudge against Kumar as the latter's favourite vintage car once belonged to his father. On the instructions of Settu, Sketch seizes the car & hands it over to the police which infuriates Kumar. But little did Sketch & his friends realise that this incident will change their lives forever.

This was the second directorial venture of Vijay Chandar after "Vaalu" & it offers nothing out of the ordinary for most parts. It was trite to the extent that it seemed like a rehash of the the masala flicks of yesteryears. The humour track was forced while the idea of romance of the director between the lead pair was rather regressive. However, there are a couple of interesting sequences especially the totally unexpected twist in the climax. But they are far & few and fails to salvage the movie despite Vikram's earnest efforts. None of the technical aspects, deserves a special mention be it Sukumar's visuals or Thaman's music.

It's hard to understand as to why Vikram agreed to do this movie as it barely did justice to his acting credentials. It was literally a cakewalk for the veteran & reminded one of "Gemini" at times. Tamannah's role barely had substance while Baburaj & Hareesh Peradi did their parts aptly. The same also applies to Sriman, Vinoth & Vishwanath as well.

Verdict: Apart from the climax, there is nothing in the movie that makes it worth watching. It is surely going to be trumped by Suriya's "TSK" since it wont find much takers, apart from the fans. In short, give it a miss!!!

Rating; 1.75/5

Regards...Ben

Thaana Serndha Koottam review: "Entertaining remake that creates an identity of its own!!!"

It's the first month of the year & we had three major releases last weekend to cash in on the Pongal festivities. Among the three, the one that instantly caught my eye was Suriya's "Thaana Serndha Koottam. Apart from the fact that it had an catchy title, it also happened to be the remake of the Akshay starrer "Special 26" which I had really liked. With the foot thumping "Sodakku" ruling the music charts, it had generated adequate hype to garner a sizable initial. So will this walk away with the prize among the Pongal releases???

As mentioned earlier, it is based on "Special 26" which I presume most of you would have watched it. Iniyan (Suriya) is a bright young man who aspires to join the CBI but despite his credentials, fails to make the cut due to the corrupt officer Uthaman (Suresh Chandra Menon). The same fate befalls on his buddy as well, who however commits suicide unable to come to terms with the corrupt system. At this juncture, Iniya decide to form a team of CBI impostors & they conduct raids on individuals who had amassed vast amounts of unaccounted money. With none of the victims formally lodging a complaint, the actual CBI had no clue has to how to nab the culprits. However, the upfront hard nosed CBI officer Kurunjivedhan was determined to put Iniyan & his team behind bars.

About five years have passed since Neeraj Pandey's critically & commercially acclaimed "Special 26" had hit the screens. The task of remaking it in Tamil was entrusted upon Vignesh Shivan who had impressed the audience with "Naanum Rowdythaan". He has maintained the main thread but has worked on the treatment so that it catered to the sensibilities of the Tamil audience. In short, more humour elements were inserted into proceedings & it was given a vibrant colourful mood. However, the climax wasnt quite upto the mark & was rather preachy. As far as the technical aspects are concerned, Dinesh Krishnan impressed with  the visuals while Anirudh Ravichander produced some decent tracks with "Sodakku" being an absolute chartbuster. 

Suriya was fantastic as the protagonist whether it be the looks or the body language & also seemed to be in absolute ease with the humour. The idea to cast Remya Krishnan for Anupam Kher's role was a smart move & she has done utmost justice to the character of Jhansi Rani. Though Keerthy Suresh's intro was interesting, she was wasted later on. Karthik has done a fine job along with Suresh Chandra while the rest of the cast have also done their parts aptly.

Verdict: Unlike his last couple of releases, this one will garner positive word of mouth which would surely translate into more footfalls. If one is looking for some bindaas time pass, then look no further than Iniya & his team of impostors. In short, give it a try even if you have watched the original!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben