Seethakaathi review: "Interesting theme with a sluggish pace!!!"

Among the numerous Xmas releases that had hit the screens, one movie that was particularly eager to check out was Vijay Sethupathi's "Seethakaathi". He has always been a wonderful performer & this seemed to be equally good atleast from the looks of the trailer. Was it just me, but the prosthetics on him kinda reminded me of Kamalhasan from "Indian". So will it be yet another classic performance from Sethupathi???

The first forty minutes takes us through the latter half of the 20th century when theatre was still a popular source of entertainment for the masses. In the Tamil theatre world, the most prominent actor in those days was 'Ayya' Aadhimoolam (Vijay Sethupathi). Despite offers from the film industry, Ayya preferred to ply his trade on the stage in front of packed audiences as that gave me a high. However, with the advent of television, internet & mobile phones, the footfalls to the theatres dwindled which worried Ayya & his fellow troupe members. To make matters worse, his grandson was diagnosed with a condition that required immediate surgery. How will Ayya tide over this difficult situation???

Balaji Tharaneetharan burst into the scene in 2015 with the comedy flick "Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom" which had the critics raving about it. However, since I havent watched that, I didnt have much of a reference regarding his style of direction. The first thing that struck me about his script was his humour sense which was in the expressions of the artists rather than their dialogues. He takes his own sweet time to set the stage which to be frank does test our patience. However, if you are able to tide over that initial hour, then we are in for a fun ride as it is concoction of humour and fantasy. Personally, I felt the climax was rather lame as it seemed like Balaji didnt have an idea as to how to conclude it. On the technical side, Saraskanth T K's visuals & lighting was excellent while Govind Vasantha could have made the initial half crisper. 

Surprisingly, Sethupathi is there only for the initial forty minutes but his impact is felt until the very end courtesy of Balaji's creative script. He has done a fantastic job as the elderly star performer in all aspects be it with the body language, dialogue delivery & expressions. Actually Mouli is the one who takes the story forward & he gives a solid performance. As for the rest of the cast, both Sunil Reddy (as Dhanapal) & Rajkumar (Saravanan) brings the house down with their antics.

Verdict: There is no doubt that the Sethupathi factor will attract eyeballs but the slow pace & melodrama is definitely a dampener. It has an art movie feel to it which many will find it hard to swallow. In short, it has an interesting theme with its share of shortcomings denying it the status of an entertainer!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

Maari 2 review: "Better than the prequel!!!"

Just a week more for the New Year & one of the biggest Tamil movies to hit the screens in the lead up to it is "Maari 2". Bankrolled by Dhanush's Wunderbar Films, this is the sequel to "Maari" which was released in 2015 & had the audience entertained coz of the vibrant character of the protagonist. Hoping to cash in on the holiday season, Balaji Mohan has brought back the bindaas don once again with the intention of striking gold at the box office. So will Maari make the masses go crazy???

After the demise of Velu (Shanmugarajan), his son Kalai (Krishna Kulasekaran) becomes the boss of the gang on the insistence of Maari (Dhanush) who was his best buddy. The rival gang in the hope of gaining control over the whole region attempts to kill Maari for the 100th time & as always, he manages to escape unscathed. It was at around this time that Beeja aka Thanatos (Tovino Thomas),a hardened criminal who had some unfinished business with Maari join hands with the rival gang. Soon enough, cracks starts to appear in the friendship of Kalai & Maari, which sets the stage for Beeja to deliver the knockout punch to the latter or so he believed.

As in the prequel, apart from calling the shots Balaji Mohan has penned the script as well.  There is a marked improvement in the story as more masala elements are injected into proceedings & a worthy opponent in the form of Tovino as opposed to Vijay Yesudas in "Maari". Without doubt, there is a conscious effort to evoke Rajni mania with many sequences being a tribute to the thalaivar. Despite the predictability, it is engaging for the entire duration of the first half. It does falter in the latter half,when there is a marked difference in the character arc of Dhanush & Tovino which blunts the scenes since that was what made them unique. On the technical side, Yuvan Shankar Raja's music was a disappointment & Prasanna GK could have made it crisper while I loved the choreography of "Rowdy baby". 

Dhanush absolutely rocked as Maari & reminded me of Rajni in quite of a few of his antics. He was ably supported by Sai Pallavi who as mentioned by her in one of the dialogues wasnt just a 'loosu ponnu' type of character that we are so used to watching in such movies. Tovino Thomas was impressive as the antagonist, something which he has done well in "Style". As for the rest of the cast, Krishna, Robo Shankar etc have all done their parts aptly.

Verdict: As per the latest box office reports, it has got off to a roaring start at all the centres despite the presence of equally big movies like "Zero", "KGF" etc. Well to be frank, it's not surprising to see the reason why the movie is doing well coz it's pretty entertaining for large parts. In short, if watching a bindaas masala entertainer is fine with you, this wont disappoint despite the predictability!!!

Rating: 2.75/5

Regards...Ben

Zero review: "Begins as a hero & ends up as zero!!!"

Just a day more for Xmas & what better to celebrate it than with friends & family. As is typical for any festive season, it's time to gorge on the goodies & entertain ourselves with some big banner movies. In Bollywood, this slot is usually booked by Aamir Khan, however this time around he opted for Diwali to release his dud "Thugs of Hindostan". So this Xmas holidays, we have King Khan's "Zero" which has attracted considerable pre-release attention as he was essaying the role of a vertically challenged individual. Hmm, the makers will be hoping that the box office collections does not turn out to be true to its name & protagonist's height???

Bauua Singh (SRK) is a 38 year old Meerut guy who was finding it hard to find a marriage alliance as he was vertically challenged even though he fantasized of making the Bollywood heart throb Babita Kumari (Katrina Kaif) his life partner. Despite the constant criticisms and mockery that he used to face from different quarters, he was cocky & oozed with confidence. This is when he happened to come across the wedding profile of Aafia Yusufzai (Anushka Sharma), a NASA scientist with cerebral palsy & ends up getting close to her, though he wasnt keen on taking the relationship forward. At this juncture he gets an opportunity to be part of a dance competition, the grand prize of which was a chance to meet Babita. The subsequent portions focuses on his relationship with the both of them & with whom he eventually ends up settling down. 

Aanand L Rai made a name for himself with movies like "Tanu weds Manu", "Raanjhanaa" etc apart from bank rolling praise worthy flicks like "Nil Battey Sannata", "Mukkabaaz", "Tumbbad" etc. His partner in crime, Himanshu Sharma like his previous directorial ventures have also scripted this one. The first half breezes through with humour sprinkled liberally. The thought that Himanshu invested into the character of Bauua Singh, his attitude to life, family dynamics, relation with Aafia & Babita's insecure spirit all deserves praise & the same also applies to Aanand as well for handling it aptly. Unfortunately, all these cheers dies down the moment the second half begins as it moves towards absurdity at a rapid pace. It seemed like the dress rehearsal for SRK's next movie which is the biopic of Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma. By the time, the movie is over the audience are left confused as to what the hell the makers were trying to convey. 

On the technical side, Ajay-Atul's music was pretty good especially "Mere Naam Tu" rendered by Abhay Jodhpurkar which is my most favourite track in the past couple of years. The way Manu Anand had shot it was fantastic while the VFX though impressive at times lacked consistency. When it becomes to performances, after the debacle of "Dilwale"; there has been a conscious effort from SRK's side to take up roles that offered him something to perform. This is undoubtedly one of his best roles in recent times & SRK has done a fantastic job. Anushka Sharma has given an earnest effort, but her portrayal of cerebral palsy wasnt quite upto the mark. However, Katrina Kaif surprised me with her ace performance of the broken superstar. As for the rest of the cast, Zeeshan Ayyub was fine while talented artists like Tigmanshu Dhullia & Sheeba Chaddha were wasted. The same goes for the cameos of Madhavan & Abhay Deol as well while the mini "Om Shanti Om" lineup of actresses or Salman didnt have any sort of impact.

Verdict: Being a SRK movie & the curiosity of watching him as a vertically challenged individual should enable the movie make a killing at the box office in the opening weekend. However, the lack lustered latter half will create a significant dent in the collections & it will definitely struggle to make a sizable profit especially since it was made at a cost of 200 C. In short, the first half is worth watching but the latter half is an absolute drag, the choice is yours!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

Odiyan review: "A decent movie let down by Shrikumar's audacious claims!!!"

It's been ages since I have written the review for a Malayalam movie & it was primarily coz of the lack of movies being released at my place on the same day as in back home. Hence when Lalettan's "Odiyan" was released here, I was naturally thrilled until I read crushing negative reviews about it on social media. However, I still decided to give it a try after all different people perceive the same movie in different ways & also maybe coz my last name was "Thomas". So was the flick as bad as what I heard???

The film unfolds in Varanasi where a drowning female is rescued by a long haired unkempt sage who in the next scene turn up in a village called  Thenkurissi. He turns out to be Odiyan Manikyan (Lalettan), the last among the Odiyan clan who were said to possess powers to assume animal forms. Odiyan was back in his village after a self imposed exile of 15 years after he was forced to leave it on the back of two murder accusations. Incidentally, one of them was the husband of his childhood friend Prabha (Manju Warrier) & it soon becomes evident that her cousin, Ravunni Nair (Prakash Raj) had masterminded the whole plot. So how will Manikyan prove his innocence as he put his skills to the ultimate test.

This has been a venture in the news for quite a while & there has been immense hype towards the lead up of its release. The project was helmed by the debutant V A Shrikumar Menon who is quite a known name in the ad world. Despite being his debut venture, one thing that had stood out was how Shrikumar boasted about himself & the movie as truly incredible prior to its release. Well it's a claim that most of us bought after all Harikrishnan of "Kutty Srank" fame took on the Odiyan folklore which was an interesting concept  that felt both fresh & intriguing. Surprisingly, rather than focus on the Odiyan angle it turned out to be a typical hero-villain revenge saga that we have watched numerous times. I am not saying that it has to be taken like the effects of "Vellichapadu" on a family as in Murali & Prithvi's "Veeralipattu", but the Odiyan theme could have been explored much more effectively. To make matters worse, Shrikumar's execution left a lot to be desired.

On the technical side, the visual effects was pretty average & though Peter Hein's action sequences were impressive, it didnt have the desired impact coz of the sloppiness or Shrikumar's lack of vision. With regard to music, M Jayachandran has given some incredible tracks especially 'Kondoram' rendered by Shreya Ghoshal & Sudeep Kumar which was equally well picturized though the placement of it was rather odd. Sam C S also deserves praise for his catchy BGM along with Shaji Kumar for his cinematography. There is no denying the fact that the movie moves at a snail's pace at times & Johnkutty ought to have done a better job with the editing as it wears down the audience by the end.

Lalettan has done a fine job as the protagonist & his effort is there to be seen be it with his expressions, body language or agile action scenes. Manju did complete justice to the role that was offered to her while the role didnt do justice to Prakash Raj's caliber as it was something that he has done innumerable times with the only difference being the dark makeup applied on him (did Shrikumar mean to imply dark means evil...so imbecile). As for the rest of the cast, Sana Althaf, Manoj Joshi, Innocent, Siddique etc, did their parts aptly,

Verdict: Prior to the release of the movie, Shrikumar has put up a FB post in which he claimed that they had already collected 100 C through the sale of rights & pre-release bookings. Well I dont know whether it's true but there is no doubt that after all his boastful statements I feel he ought to be called "Pushkumar". As far as the movie is concerned, it's a decent flick which if watched without the outrageous expectations that Pushkumar has created, then it will surely satisfy the audience. In short, wort hurt to give it a try but I hope MT Sir doesnt give him the script for "Randamoozham" as I doubt whether he has the caliber for it!!!

Rating: 2/5

Regards...Ben

2.0 review: "Visual treat doubles the thrills but the script lacks depth. Dot!!!"

Is it a bird??? is it a plane??? no..it's Pakshirajan & in true gladiator style, he is in a slug fest with our badass Chitti 2.0 in 10,500 screens across the globe. Finally after years of hype & anticipation Shankar's magnum opus "2.0" has hit the screens much to the delight of fans & movie lovers alike. It is the most expensive Indian movie ever with a budget that is said to hover around a gargantuan 550 C. With such a hefty budget, the question is whether Shankar was able to invest the money judiciously & give us something that will blow our mind. Being a Rajini & Akki fan , my expectations just like million others are sky high. So was "2.0" able to satiate it???

The film unfolds with an elderly man hanging himself atop a cell tower in a remote area & his lifeless form being swarmed by hundreds of avians. Back in the city, Dr. Vaseegaran (Rajini) introduces his latest creation, a human android named Nila (Amy Jackson) to a group of enthusiastic students. Soon after, a peculiar phenomenon occurs in the region whereby cell phones seemed to attain life & soars away like a bird from the grasp of its owner. As panic sets in across the state, the Government calls for an emergency meeting of eminent scientists and law and order forces. Vaseegaran was of the view that since the present threat seemed to suggest a fifth force, their best line of action would be to reassemble Chitti & entrust him to negate the menace. However, that proposal gets vetoed & the authorities decides to engage the military instead. But soon enough they realize that if they stood a chance, then their best bet was Chitti.

The showman of Indian cinema, Shankar is one who doesn't need any introduction after all he has constantly pushed boundaries ever since he burst into the scene with "Gentleman" quarter of a century back. His latest creation is no exception as it is the finest sci-fi movie that has been made in India & which can proudly rub shoulders with similar Hollywood flicks. Shankar has crafted his celluloid creation brilliantly & we would be awe struck as to how exquisitely he has executed his marvelous vision. But I would have to admit that I was disappointed & surprised at his rather feeble script which could have elevated the experience to stratospheric levels. 

The message that he wants to convey is really worth thinking about & even the back story for Akshay was impressive. Though I am not questioning cinematic liberties, but still the subsequent portions which led to the creation of the birdman doesnt quite gel. The movie starts off with a bang & then slacks off though the graphics keeps us engrossed for most parts of a rather weak first half. However, we wont have any such complaints in the latter half as it is exhilarating stuff pretty much until the very end. From a technical point of view, it's just MIND BOGGLING as it is a visual treat with the VFX from the top drawer. Kudos to Nirav Shah for the mesmerizing visuals along with the make up & art team; all of whom have done outstanding jobs. Unlike the prequel, A R Rahman's music doesnt feature much while his BGM was praise worthy. 

The Superstar floors us yet again with his style & charisma especially when he enters the sequence as the rogue Chitti after all thalaivar revels in villainy. For such an imposing hero, the impact will be delivered only if he has an equally matched adversary & Akki deserves full points for that. The Khiladi has done utmost justice to his role & reminded me of Thanos in a subtle way. I never thought I would be saying this but Amy Jackson was a perfect choice as the human android & she does provide a couple of chuckles as well. There are quite a few others as well & all of them have done their parts aptly. 

Verdict: As per reports, the producers have recovered about 370 C prior to the movie's release through the sale of rights etc. With the first day collections estimated to be more than 100 C, it has more or less recovered its costs as well. Despite a rather weak script, the VFX & the star power of Rajini & Akki should make this venture a blockbuster. So will it pose a challenge for "Dangal" & "Baahubali 2"? Hmm...to be frank I dont think so, though I wont be surprised if it crosses the four digit mark. In short, a must watch in theatres to enjoy the visual extravaganza!!! 

Rating : 3/5

Regards...Ben

Thugs of Hindostan review: "Bugs audience into shouting azaadi from the theatre!!!"

It was a rather sedate Saturday with hardly much to do & I couldn't have chosen a better day to watch "Thugs of Hindostan" which I was eagerly looking forward to. Though I never read reviews prior to watching any movie, a couple of my friends did mention that they werent impressed with TOH. I have to admit that it did dampen my spirits, but I was still optimistic after all Aamir rarely falters in choosing a worthy script. With the Super Sunday matches just a couple of hours away, will TOH prove to be a sumptous appetizer for it or will I have the same experience as my buddies???

The story unfolds in the late 18th century when the East India Company were slowly & steadily establishing themselves as rulers of India. Led by the ruthless British officer Clive (Lloyd Owen), their latest target was Raunakpur which was ruled by Mirza Sikander Baig (Ronit Roy). As the brave & proud king refused to bow before the company, his whole family was brutally murdered by Clive's men. However, Princess Safira (Fatima Sana Shaikh) was rescued by their General, Khudabaksh (Big B). As time passed by, Khudabaksh, Safira & his band of soldiers proved to be a constant headache for the British. With all their efforts to imprison Khudabaksh proving to be futile, they hatch a plot to infiltrate the former's group. They entrust the task upon the cunning Firangi Mallah (Aamir Khan) in exchange for wealth. So will Firangi nail Khudabaksh or will the latter succeed in making Firangi into a worthy human being???

The last time that Vijay Krishna Acharya had called the shots was for "Dhoom 3" which was close to half a decade back. Though it set the box office on fire, it didnt quite match upto the usual standards of an Aamir movie. So I was really surprised when Aamir decided to join hands with Vijay yet again, but when Big B was also roped in; it proved to be a casting coup that had everyone excited. Unfortunately that was the only thing that Vijay managed to do to enthrall the audience with as his script & screenplay was mediocre. Apart from the fact that the characters & template of the movie looked heavily inspired from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series such as Firangi/Jack Sparrow, Khudabaksh/Barbossa etc, the story just didnt have anything worthwhile that would have made it unique. On the technical side, the film definitely looked grand & kudos to Manush Nandan for the stunning visuals. Even the action sequences were pretty impressive while John Stewart did a praise worthy job with the BGM especially the one used for Firangi while there was another score which seemed like inspired from "Avengers: Infinity War". The same cant be said for Ritesh Soni whose editing was far from ideal while Ajay-Atul's music was average.

Despite the pedestrian script, I felt Aamir did a fine job as the duplicitous Firangi who goes all out with his whacky mannerisms which is endearing for most parts. Big B had a rather stiff character to portray but he did utmost justice to it though it wasnt a challenging role for a person of his caliber. As for the rest, Lloyd Owen was ok, Fatima Sheikh wasnt quite upto the mark, Katrina didnt have much to do apart from groove while Mohammed Ayyub was wasted.

Verdict: After a record breaking initial of more than 50 C, it has since then been on a steady slide which was understandable after all the movie was well short of expectations. This was one of those rare movies where Aamir's judgement of the script had faltered & a classic movie from two of the finest actors in Bollywood was denied to the audience. Hopefully we will get to see them paired up again in a much better movie. But until then, it's better not to be bothered by this mundane flick!!!

Rating: 1.75/5

Regards...Ben

Sarkar review: "Not quite matching the expectations like Modi Sarkar!!!”

The Festival of Lights is here as the nation celebrated Lord Rama’s return from exile & Krishna’s slaying of Narakasura apart from similar other mythologies. Despite a restriction of 2 h to the bursting of crackers, there hasn’t been any such restriction to the release of some cracking movies. The most prominent among them happens to be Vijay’s “Sarkar” & “Thugs of Hindostan” which had kept the audience wait with bated breaths ever since the trailers had hit the screens. With “Sarkar” having released earlier, I decided to check it out in the hope that it would be as exciting as their previous ventures together. The question is will it set the box office on fire???

Sundar Ramaswamy (Vijay), a NRI was the CEO of GL & known as the “corporate monster” in the business world for his style of decimating rival companies pretty much like Thanos. His visit to India was met with apprehension by the Indian corporates, though it turned out that he had flown down to Chennai to cast his vote in the assembly elections. Much to his dismay, an imposter had voted in his name & he decided to seek legal assistance to stay the election results in his constituency. Interestingly, there is a provision in the Conduct of Election Rules under Rule 49P where a voter can cast a “tendered vote” & Sundar obtains the permission for the same from the judiciary. He subsequently sets in motion an awareness campaign about the rule which eventually results in the elections being annulled. This irks Masilamani (Pala Karuppiah), the CM & his brother, Malarvannan (Radha Ravi) who were corrupted to the core & had clung onto power taking advantage of the hapless citizens. The stage was set for an all-out showdown between Sundar & Masilamani, both of whom had vanquished their opponents with disdain in the past. So, who will have the last laugh???

AR Murugadoss is a name that needs no introduction as his craft over the years has earned him an honourable position in the industry. This was his third venture with Vijay after “Thuppakki” & “Kaththi”, both of which had garnered huge numbers at the box office. His latest effort, looked classy in the trailer but can’t quite say the same about the movie. Scripted by Murugadoss himself (not exactly, as writer Varun Rajendran had to be compensated & credited after he launched complaints that it was plagiarized from his story “Sengoi”), it kicks off in an engaging manner giving us ample awareness as to what Rule 49P is about. However, once that stage is over then it proceeds into the ‘tried & tested’ territory of one guy taking on the whole system. It morphs into a political podium for Thalapathy as he speaks about capitalism, Jallikattu, government freebies, fishermen issues etc. to name a few. 

Interestingly, there were quite a few subtle references to real life characters as well such as Google CEO Sundar Pichai/ GL CEO Sundar Ramaswamy, top lawyer Jethmalani & Varalaxmi's Komalavalli which happens to be Jayalalitha's real name. It was kinda evident that the makers have tried to show AIADMK in poor light and rather than the script taking the movie forward, it’s Vijay’s charisma they have heavily relied upon & he pulls it off impressively for most parts. Another major disappointment was AR Rahman’s music which was strictly average though his BGM was catchy. However, Girish Gangadharan’s visuals were praise worthy while the other technical aspects were kinda ok.

As mentioned earlier, the film depends entirely on Vijay’s histrionics & he manages to carry his suave style with elan. At the same time, he was extremely over dramatic in many sequences with exaggerated body language be it with his hand gestures, laughs & even dialogue delivery. Keerthy Suresh was barely given anything substantial to perform except make wide eyed expressions despite sharing the screen with Vijay in numerous scenes. Varalaxmi did her part well but the character required someone more impactful & it should also have been introduced much earlier. As for the rest of the cast, Yogi Babu was fine while Pala Karuppiah lacked consistency as his character oscillated from being evil to comical.

Verdict: It has all the elements that will make the fans go wild & that in turn should facilitate its way to being a huge hit. As a person who had really looked forward to the magic of the Vijay-Murugadoss duo, this movie came across as a disappointment as it started off with a bang before meandering itself into the oft witnessed storyline. In short, it’s a decent time pass if you watch it without expectations!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards…Ben