Sunny review: "Not necessarily a sunny experience for all!!!"

Being relevant for a period of time in any field of profession is no mean task & hence when Ranjith Shankar's "Sunny" was announced as Jayasurya's 100th movie, there was a palpable sense of expectation & anticipation. Whenever the duo have collaborated, it has garnered appreciation from the audience & the trailer of their latest venture seemed to headed in that direction especially it seemed to be quite unlike what they had done in the past. So will this experimental treatment have people warming up to it???

Covid has wrecked havoc across the globe & the life of many NRIs was thrown into uncertainty by the pandemic of which Sunny (Jayasurya) was one among them. He had flown back from the Gulf & booked himself a suite for his mandatory week long quarantine at an upscale hotel. Slowly the story evolves & the audience is introduced to the fact that he was under immense personal & professional turmoil. This resulted in depression & Sunny chose to drown his sorrows in alcohol. With not even a soul to talk to in person, whether he manages to emerges from this crisis or not is the crux of the movie. 

Ranjith's credentials as a director needs no introduction & over here as well, he needs to be applauded for conceiving a project that is not quite easy to pull off. In terms of the script which was Ranjith's creation as well, it does not parade itself as some pretentious intellectual mumbo jumbo. It showcases the life of a man who has been pushed on the edge for various reasons, some of which weren't borne out of his folly. So does the story manage to engage us? Well it surely captures our attention early on as we are introduced to his problems but after a certain point of time, it does not quite offer anything different that would keep us invested & culminates in a predictable manner. The movie surely scores brownie points on the technical side as Madhu Neelakandan's cinematography was impressive considering the challenge of shooting within a suite. Similarly, kudos to Shankar Sharma for his music which had a significant role to play.

Close to two decades have passed since Jayasurya made his debut in the industry & over this period of time, he has constantly improved himself to the point that he could be considered as one of the most reliable artists. The efforts that he takes to do justice to his roles is evident & comes across as one who doesn't mind experimentation. As Sunny, he deserves praise & the same also applies to the rest of the cast such as Innocent, Aju, Siddique, Shivada, Shritha, Mamta etc who through their voices conveyed their characters convincingly.

Verdict:  Both Jayasurya & Ranjith deserves credit for striving to do something distinct & off beat. Even though, Sunny & the various characters were defined & did their parts aptly; I felt that the script didnt quite have the substance to maximize on their efforts. Anywaz at just over 90 mins, you can give it a try!!!

Rating: 2.25/5

Regards...Ben

Kaanekkaane review: "Myriad of emotions that keeps us engaged!!!"

Ever since uncertainty has set in over the opening of the theatres due to the COVID crisis, the film industry were left with no choices but to resort to the OTT platform to display their product to the world. Though it does not resolve many of the problems, it still ensured that the industry stayed afloat & more importantly, it reached more eyeballs. The latest release to climb aboard the OTT bandwagon is Manu Asokan's "Kaanekkaane" which was premiered on SonyLIV, the first Malayalam flick to do so. With an impressive movie like "Uyare" as his debut venture, the expectations on Manu were understandably high. So does he manage to live up to that??? 

More than a year had passed since Paul Mathai (Suraj Venjaramood), Deputy Tahsildar in Pala had lost his daughter, Sherin (Shruti Ramachandran) to an accident. However, life had stood still for him since then even as his son in law, Allen (Tovino Thomas) moved on & got married to Sneha (Aishwarya Lekshmi), who accepted Sherin's son Kuttu (Master Alok Krishna) as her own. Both of them maintained a warm yet strained relationship with Paul, who still pursued the case that led to the death of her daughter. Will Paul ever be able to come to terms with his loss???

When "Uyare" released in 2019, it heralded the entry of a new talent in the industry in the form of Manu & with his latest venture he has proved that he was not just a flash in the pan. Once again he has joined hands with the talented Bobby-Sanjay duo & the trio has yet again crafted a praise worthy celluloid creation. The movie delves into the plethora of emotions of the human mind that makes one to take decisions at the spur of the moment which could changes lives forever. The characterization of each of the three main artists are well defined be it that of the relentless pursuit of justice of the grieving father who is mellow yet steely, he inner demons the son in law constantly faces to the extent (that the audience empathizes yet acknowledges) that it was virtually wrecking his existence before his eyes & the second wife who isnt always about being brushed with a grey shade is both vulnerable and human & sincerely makes all efforts to make her relationship work. If at all there was one aspect that might not work with quite a few will be the overwhelming emotional baggage in the latter half which kinda makes the movie feel a bit jarring & lengthier

On the technical side, Ranjin Raj's BGM was top notch while Alby Antony's visuals that focused on mellow colours complimented the mood. Whenever Suraj takes on a character role that has depth to it, then we can rest assured that he will ace it & as Paul he has proved it yet again. It was a brilliant performance that is likely to garner accolades & he was complimented in his efforts by both Tovino & Aishwarya. The former has steadily improved upon his acting skills over the past two years & he has done a fine job as Allen, since it was a role that we would like to hate yet empathize at the same time. As for the latter, she has also done utmost justice to her role. The rest of the cast such as Alok, Sruthi, Prem Prakash, Rony David did their parts aptly.

Verdict: It is not an entertainer or a feel good movie in the actual sense, but it gives us a glimpse into the various shades of human emotions that determines one's existence.  In terms of the genre, it can be termed as an emotional drama thriller that keeps us engaged with the investigative track in the first half & the emotional tension subsequently. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 3.25/5

Regards...Ben

Thalaivi review: "Kangana's impactful performance makes it an engaging biopic!!!"

History was created in the wee hours today when Emma Raducanu became the first qualifier ever to win a Grand Slam title & if the stars align for Djokovic, we will be in for another historical event tomorrow. The history so created makes us either spell bound in awe of the accomplishments or frown in dismay and if one has to choose an individual whose life have gone through such extreme fluctuations, then one of the popular answers would be former TN CM Jayalalithaa. This weekend saw the release of her biographical drama "Thalaivi" helmed by A L Vijay & the question was whether Kangana Ranaut was indeed the right choice as the protagonist???

The year is 1989 & Jayalalithaa (Kangana), the Leader of Opposition in the TN Legislative Assembly was humiliated & virtually disrobed by the ruling party on the back of a heated argument on the floor of the House. As the whole state (& nation) bowed their heads in shame on that Black day of Democracy, Jaya vowed that she will be back & at that time, it will be as the CM of the State. Hence begins an engaging biopic that covers her film career, relation with MGR (Arvind Swami, though the makers named the character as MJR) and her metamorphosis into the Iron Lady of Indian Politics.

AL Vijay is a name that doesn't need an introduction with movies like "Madrasapattinam" & "Deiva Thirumagal" to his credit. However, when a biopic is made on a prominent political personality like Jaya; then the makers would have to tread a very thin line lest the whole project itself could be shelved for obvious reasons. Keeping that in mind, Vijayendra Prasad was brought on board in the hope that he would create a wholesome engaging drama after all he had penned the script for the "Baahubali" series, "Bajrangi Bhaijaan" etc. As expected, the screenplay was engrossing & keeps the audience interested for most parts in the manner that Jaya was constantly beaten down by her adversaries & let down by her own people, but she always arose like a Phoenix. However, the length of the movie & an extended focus on the MJR-Jaya angle might be a turn off for some. On the technical side, pretty much everything deserves praise be it GV Prakash's BGM, Vishal Vittal's visuals and the production design. 

When Kangana was announced as the protagonist, I certainly had my reservations about it as I felt Remya Krishnan would have been the apt choice (incidentally, a couple of months later Remya portrayed the role of Jaya in Gautam Menon's web series "Queen" & she completed aced it). But after Kangana's performance, I have to admit that she was just fantastic as she oozed vulnerability & authority in equal measure. She doesnt try to imitate Jaya but captures the nuance of the character perfectly & that essentially proved to be the winner. Just like wine, Arvind Swami has just got better with age as he was simply mind blowing as MGR  (never thought I would say that after Lalettan's mesmerizing performance in "Iruvar") while Samuthirakani did his part justice. Most of the rest of the cast did their parts aptly. 

Verdict: Irrespective of whatever controversial statements Kangana makes which rubs off people on the wrong side, there is no denying the fact that she is a fantastic actress. As Jaya, she pulled off yet another wonderful act which will rank as one of her finest to date. Though the biopic does not touch upon her political life which saw a lot of highs, turmoil & controversies, it still keeps us engaged. In short, do check it out!!!

Rating: 3/5

Regards...Ben

Tughlaq Durbar review: 'Hilarious at times but nothing more!!!"

With Ganesh Chaturthi falling on Friday, this invariably meant it is a long weekend for most of us & the first thing that came to my mind was the action packed super sports weekend. This included the Manchester Test, CR7's first match since his return to ManU colours & Djokovic on the doorstep of history. Well the Test got cancelled (or rather postponed) & that's when debutant Delhi Prasad's "Tughlaq Durbar" beamed on Sun TV caught my eye. From the looks of the trailer, it seemed like a hilarious political flick. So does it manage to tickle the funny bone???

Singaravelan (Vijay Sethupathi) is the quintessential party worker who wouldn't think twice to go the extra yard to ensure that he was in the good books of his leader, Rayappan (Parthiban). The intention as is evident is to ensure that he is in front of the pack whenever his thalaiva offers gifts in the form of political deals & positions. Things seemed to move according to plan as he moved swiftly into the inner circle of Rayappan, but destiny also had its own plans.

As mentioned earlier, this is Delhi Prasad's debut venture & he has undoubtedly chosen an interesting one-liner that he himself had penned. In a way, it kinda reminded me of Jim Carrey's "Liar Liar" in a subtle way. The screenplay has let down the movie significantly since apart from the initial interest that it created, there was hardly anything worthwhile. Even the character arc of the female artists were barely developed . However, there were quite a few genuinely hilarious sequences such as the scenes between Sethupathi & Parthiban and another one with Satyaraj. As for the technical aspects, it was average at best be it Manoj Paramahamsa's visuals or Govind Vasantha's music.

Both Sethupathy & Parthiban has done a fine job and provides some of the best moments in the movie. As for the rest of the cast, Karunakaran as Vasu, Satyaraj as CM have also fone their parts aptly while both Manjima Mohan & Raashi Khanna was wasted.

Verdict: With a much more well thought out screenplay, it could have been an absolute winner. In the present state, it does manage to give us laughs but apart from that there is hardly anything that quite stands out. Even then, it wont hurt to give it a try!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben