Vikram Vedha

After months of watching the teleserials as a child, the song still rings in my ears loud and clear, "Vikram aur Bethaaal....". And so will the movie "#VikramVedha" for some more months at least!

Any film that captures audience attention must have one or more of the following: good story, great script, perfect casting, nice narration, impressive cinematography, interesting editing, appropriate music and visionary direction. When most of the ingredients are in the right mix, even if a couple of elements are not in the desired proportions, the feast is still enjoyable. Vikram Vedha is immensely enjoyable.

#VijaySethupathi's antics definitely add to the enjoyment. He is just a perfect fit for the role. His casualness is his biggest asset. The only minus is his dialogue delivery. His expressions during sentimental scenes (his eyes speak a lot) are worth a watch!

#Maddy is super fit and has done a fantastic job. He has started doing only tough roles, looks like. His charm hasn't dwindled a bit. He continues to be as romantic as ever. And as a cop, the act is different from the usual movie cops(not sporting the police uniform at all is such a relief)!!!

The gangster is a lovable prankster and the cop is a heart throb for many a fan. So who do you think will win your hearts? Watch to decide 😊

Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum

#ThondimuthalumDriksakshiyum. Please do not think I'm babbling. This is the latest Malayalam film by #DileeshPothan. This is his second movie (wow) after the much critiqued #MaheshintePrathikaram. Both movies carrying the super awesome #FahadhFaasil.

My awe for Mallu movies and their makers keep soaring high up with every movie off late. The pace of this movie is quite slow only to give a run to the art movies. Barring that, I doubt if such natural film making would ever be practised by the other regional film makers.

The story (like in many of Mani's movies) can be written behind a stamp. The articulation of the subject is what matters. All the actors live their roles. So much so that, especially if you have spent time in the villages of Kerala, you would for a second think you are part cast of the movie. Suraj, Nimisha (what a find!), Alencier and every other member bring so much life to their characters. You are sure to find them on the roads of Kerala. Such is the portrayal!

I will not justify this post without expressing my admiration for Fahadh. Did his father coach him on acting when he was still in his mother's womb??? His body language as a petty theft criminal is unmistakable. His voice modulation, looking through the corner of his eyes with head tilted at 45 degrees showing his inhibition to speak up especially when interrogated, showing the subtle
sense of humour such criminals carry, and his cool approach to people other than the police! He is sure to go a very long way! He has never been a contender in looks to his contemporaries. But that hardly matters! He is a wow package of performance!

Overall, a 90 minutes movie stretched to 135 minutes. Leaves the audience with a mix of emotions - all subtle!

Maragadha Naanayam

Hate to be acidic about movies. But what crap is this #MaragadhaNaanayam! Genre was horror-comedy. Neither goals achieved. Post Baahubali, for almost 3 months, did not feel like watching any other movie. Should have stuck to that decision for some more months. Waste of time!

Power Paandi

Pavam Paandi. Pavam because of the lack of speed in the movie and also because the screenplay (that is so loose). The only places where there is some friction and interest on screen is when Dhanush and Madonna appear. Their chemistry works!

Individually, Raj Kiran and Revathy are remarkable. But something is amiss. Unable to put my finger to it. Something doesn't look right. It leaves the audience with a vacuum. There is no connection with the characters. Prasanna and Chayya do as they are told/not told.

A very touchy and sensitive subject which could have been treated much better. Dhanush as a debut writer and a debut director proves that it is just a debut. And since we love him as a performer and producer, we can pardon his mistakes in his debut venture.

Sean's music is cool. Makes one want to listen again.

Overall, Power Paandi is Poor Paandi.

Kavan

Should it not be spelt Kavann? Given that it is a 'ட'ண்ணகர 'ண'னா in Tamizh? Anyways, thanks to some of these film names we end up bettering our knowledge of Tamizh. Kavann or கவண் means 'Sling'. And we do see that the movie slings back and forth hurling stones at media some times and flowers at some other times.

We have seen movies expose the dark shades of our state of politics, business, society, schools, colleges and what not! This time around #KVAnand takes a dig at Media. Surprised and shocked, though we can take it with a pinch of salt and ignore some aspects of exaggeration. Movies come with this right endorsed on them - the right to exaggerate.

Gripping and entertaining first half; predictable second half. If only some cliches in the second half could have been avoided, and some unwanted stretches of the screenplay cut down, I would have called it as one of the best entertainers. Now I have to stop myself calling it a good entertainer.

Music by Hip Hop Tamizha. Hmmm! Loud. The concept of setting Bharathiyaar's songs to trendy music is good. But not all of them should have been so jarring in the name of rock and (loud) desi beats. But yes! Loved Bharathi's words from youngsters!

Now about the cast. I have no qualms in admitting that I'm totally a huge fan of #VijaySethupathi. Want to watch this movie again just for 3 important scenes where he has totally cracked it up. Of course, his dialogue delivery has to be worked upon. Very clearly one of the 'best actors' our film industry has produced in the recent times. Totally loved his 'smirk'iness. #Madonnafolds in very well. She must have been given more screen space. The rest of the journo group was good too. Jagan had scope to perform and he has always been a good bet. Nasser is wasted. Pandiarajan, again, lacked clarity in his dialogue delivery. He has only been using his 'rolling of eyes' as his only action ever since he has been an actor. Does that very well in this movie too! Power Star in a cameo. I feel sorry for this guy. Akashdeep Saighal as the villain. C'mon! Something certainly is wrong with this chappy. Horrible! Please keep him away from Tamizh movies for Tamizh's sake. That lady Bhavani has lived her role of a media business woman. Good act!

TR - what an intelligent man! If only some good mentor could have coached him!! I have always hated his rhyming dialogues. And that is one thing I hated in this movie too. He should have stopped with some undertone acting and brought in some maturity to the role. But he is loud and as always his own self. That's so disappointing! Don't people mature as they age?

Overall, semma entertainer. Watch for the sake of #VS! 😊😏

Maanagaram

There are very few movies which leave you thinking, replaying and pondering about the sequences, chuckling and laughing at the subtle comedy and truly realising the value of the time and money spent. The last movie which made me feel this way was #Pizza. Now it is #Maanagaram.

It is not an exaggeration if I said we rarely get to watch such excellent movies in Tamil off late. There are multiple stories going on in parallel and as we would expect, they DO NOT converge in the climax. Probably this is the only movie with a parallel climax? That itself is giving away quite a bit and hence I would stop with that. But it is true that I'm all in awe. Three or four days now after we have left the movie hall and all of us end up talking and discussing several aspects of this movie. Brilliant!

The director #Lokesh Kanagaraj and the Editor #Philomin deserve special kudos. Many new (or relatively new) faces in this movie again. The director has done a great job of getting them perform naturally. #Sri and #Sundeepare very impressive. Hope Lady Luck smiles at them and they get more opportunities of this kind. #Charlie has been an actor you can bet on. He may not have fan clubs but he has his own set of fans. He has been a great asset to this movie. Another fantastic performer is #Muniskanth. Where was this guy all this while? Whenever he was on screen, we can hear the theatre laughing. His is a tough role. Had he goofed up, it would have been total mockery. But he has done the role so casually. I still smile thinking of some of his scenes as I write this.

Overall, a must watch!

Angamaly Diaries

It's about a week since we watched this movie in the theatre. What still is etched in the movie watcher's mind is definitely the "pork" business. The impact is so deep! One may wonder if the movie didn't have anything else. But as I said the movie's largest impact especially on a hard core veggie is, "How the hell does someone even do this pork thingy as a business!!!" Cruel and nauseating, I say. That in itself is the director's success.

No known faces (or probably just one). And too many characters. A different dialect (Angamaly dialect??) which is difficult to follow. And my usual problem with subtitles is I miss out on actions and gestures and facial expressions if I focus on subtitles. So, I must admit that I was scampering between the subtitles, the actors' expressions, the actions on screen and many such other elements. Not a great movie watching experience.

However, do not want to discount on many great aspects. First, as with many Malayalam movies, it's 'ek dham' natural. I felt like I was sitting in the centre of Angamaly as events unfold. Excellent! Characters were so beautifully cast. The story telling reminds us of Premam. The hero guy is a poorer version of Nivin Pauly. His love interests remind us of Premam again. He has done well for a debut. And all the other actors have measured up to their roles perfectly. It's funny to see how the grousiest of enemies can become frenemies so swiftly and quickly!

The climax is shocking. But we all know how karma pays off, don't we? Overall, probably had I followed the dialect very well, it would have been a fantastic movie. My lack of language skills should not berate a good movie!