Vallinam
Critic's ReviewTags:Sidhu|Nagulan|Mrudhula|Kreshna|Jegan
NAGULAN IN A STILL FROM VALLINAM
Critic's Rating: Cast: Nagulan, Mrudhula, Sidhu, Atul Kulkarni, Amzath, Jegan, Chandru, Jayaprakash
Direction: Arivazhagan
Genre: Sport
Duration: 2 hours 27 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Synopsis:
Krishna, a talented basketball player, moves to a new college after a fatal accident on court. There, he clashes with the college team's egomaniacal cricket team captain, Vamsi, who will not have any other game sharing the limelight with his own sport.
Movie Review: If it was horror in his debut (Eeram), Arivazhagan tackles the sports movie genre in his sophomore effort Vallinam, which wants to highlight the fact that we should stop being a one-sport (read cricket-crazy) nation and encourage every sport and sportsperson in the country. It is an idealistic film, yes, but what makes Vallinam a commendable effort is that it doesn't resort to cricket-bashing to drive home its point.
The film begins with an prologue in which we see Krishna ( Nagulan, working hard), a gifted if self-centred basketball player. An on-court fatality involving his friend Shiva ( Kreshna, in a guest appearance) leaves him demoralized and he decides to give up the game and move to Chennai. But, as his coach ( Aadhi, another guest star) tells him, the game that he loves the most will definitely enter his life again. That happens in his new college, thanks to the college's egomaniacal cricket team captain Vamsi, who always belittles other sports and tries to scuttle the chances of the other sportsmen in the place. To put him in his place and defend his friends, Krishna challenges Vamsi that the college's basketball team will win a national tournament. But winning is not going to be easy, especially with an enraged Vamsi doing his best to foil the team's chances.
Vallinam uses most of the sports movie constructs — underdog protagonists who must first overcome their differences before taking to the court, a no-nonsense coach, an offbeat training montage, fearsome opponents in the final, and a motivational speech by the hero which helps snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The one interesting variation here is the adversary — here, it is someone who plays a different game and so, the clash is not exactly on the field but off the field. Arivazhagan divides the narrative into two distinct halves. The first involves Krishna's challenges in putting together a team while in the latter, he keeps throwing obstacles (official indifference, politics, match-fixing, and even romance) in the team's path.
Movie Review: If it was horror in his debut (Eeram), Arivazhagan tackles the sports movie genre in his sophomore effort Vallinam, which wants to highlight the fact that we should stop being a one-sport (read cricket-crazy) nation and encourage every sport and sportsperson in the country. It is an idealistic film, yes, but what makes Vallinam a commendable effort is that it doesn't resort to cricket-bashing to drive home its point.
The film begins with an prologue in which we see Krishna ( Nagulan, working hard), a gifted if self-centred basketball player. An on-court fatality involving his friend Shiva ( Kreshna, in a guest appearance) leaves him demoralized and he decides to give up the game and move to Chennai. But, as his coach ( Aadhi, another guest star) tells him, the game that he loves the most will definitely enter his life again. That happens in his new college, thanks to the college's egomaniacal cricket team captain Vamsi, who always belittles other sports and tries to scuttle the chances of the other sportsmen in the place. To put him in his place and defend his friends, Krishna challenges Vamsi that the college's basketball team will win a national tournament. But winning is not going to be easy, especially with an enraged Vamsi doing his best to foil the team's chances.
Vallinam uses most of the sports movie constructs — underdog protagonists who must first overcome their differences before taking to the court, a no-nonsense coach, an offbeat training montage, fearsome opponents in the final, and a motivational speech by the hero which helps snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. The one interesting variation here is the adversary — here, it is someone who plays a different game and so, the clash is not exactly on the field but off the field. Arivazhagan divides the narrative into two distinct halves. The first involves Krishna's challenges in putting together a team while in the latter, he keeps throwing obstacles (official indifference, politics, match-fixing, and even romance) in the team's path.
The film takes a while to get going after the epilogue as the director devotes quite some time on Krishna forming new relationships (both friendly and romantic) in his new college. But the film goes into top gear after Krishna's confrontation with Vamsi, culminating in a tense pre-interval on-court contest involving Krishna and Sundar, a third-year student, who the former wants to woo to his team. The second half never truly captures the high of this scene but Arivazhagan keeps things moving at a fairly fast clip (save for the romantic track, which takes far too much time than it should ideally do, especially with such a blah heroine) so the film doesn't turn dull.
The filmmaking too is a bit heavy-handed here when a little bit of understatement would have been welcome. Take the climatic final match. When Krishna and his teammates are playing, it is intercut with shots of Vamsi playing cricket on his mobile phone and his game's progress contrasts with what's happening on the court (when Krishna's team seems to be losing, he is hitting sixes and fours and as they start winning, he starts getting out). And the expressions of the opponent players (all of whom are foreign actors) are unintentionally funny.
But, by then, we are very much invested in the final clash and rooting for the protagonists so much that we feel a genuine rush when the movie ends. The rousing end credits, which feature notable sportspersons of our country (including a certain Tamil actor with a passion for racing!), only adds to the excitement.
Review - Vallinam (2014)
After being in the making for quite sometime, Nakul's Vallinam, produced by V. Ravichandran's Aascar Films (P) Ltd., hits screens today.
Vallinam is the story of a basketball player in a college - Nakul, and his love for the game. The movie is a take on how sports other than Cricket are not being given their due in our country. Our hero is a basketball lover who aims to make it big in the sport. However, he crosses paths with a Cricket player - Siddharth Jonnalagadda, who is out to show that his sport is superior than anything else. With the help of his coach (Atul Kulkarni), Nakul and his group of friends and basketball team-mates have to rally around all kinds of odds to achieve their goal. But, the journey to their dream is not all smooth sailing. There are a lot of incidents and specifically people, who want to derail the team's plans. Watch Vallinam on the big screens to know how the movie unfolds...
Director Arivazhagan of Eeram fame is back with Vallinam. This time he has chosen a movie rooted in sports and has done a good job. Nakul has excelled in his role as a basketball player and all the hard work he has put in shows in his performance. Debutante Mrudhula Basker is very good, and impresses in her first outing itself. Thaman's music is good and provides the right tempo for the screenplay. A movie in the sports genre is not very common in Tamil cinema and Vallinam is a very good attempt. Veterans Atul Kulkarni and Jayaprakash bolster the movie with their performances. One has to definitely watch the movie till the end credits, as a lot of stars who have made our country in different sports are mentioned, along with a special mention for a special star from our own Kollywood. The train sequence needs a special mention and the climax has been stunningly done.
Vallinam is a very good movie on sports that definitely warrants a watch.
Review - Amara
Coming from SA Jalaludeen's TKM Films and Eros International,
Amara is directed by M. Jeevan, and stars Amaran and Shruthi Ramakrishnan in the lead roles, with D. Imman scoring the music.
Amara gets on a train to try and escape from the Police and reach Chennai. In the train, he sees the beautiful Shruthi Ramakrishnan, who seems very attracted to him. When Amara accidentally misses the train at the Trichy station, he finds that Shruthi has also gotten down, and later only realises that she has been in a drugged state.
After a lot of trouble, the two spend the night safely, and when morning comes a whole lot of trouble comes. Lots of men come in cars to take away Shruthi and kill Amara. Who are these men? What do they want? Why do they try to kill Amara? Will the Police ACP have his revenge? Watch Amara on the big screens to know!
Director M. Jeevan has taken a very complex plot and weaved a unique love story around it. A slow and steady first half, and a pacier second half are good for the movie. Amara is good in the stunt sequences and resembles Jr. NTR a lot. Shruthi Ramakrishnan is very beautiful, and has done a good job. The major plus point for the movie is Ganja Karuppu, who has done a very strong role.
Director M. Jeevan has taken a very complex plot and weaved a unique love story around it. A slow and steady first half, and a pacier second half are good for the movie. Amara is good in the stunt sequences and resembles Jr. NTR a lot. Shruthi Ramakrishnan is very beautiful, and has done a good job. The major plus point for the movie is Ganja Karuppu, who has done a very strong role.
Ashish Vidyarthi also breezes through his role. D. Imman's music plays a very vital role in the movie and can be considered one of the biggest pluses for it. The songs are very nice and hum-worthy. The cinematography, especially in the song sequences, needs to have a special mention.
Amara is an action ride with a major twist in the climax... Watch it in the theatres...
Amara is an action ride with a major twist in the climax... Watch it in the theatres...
Pani Vizhum Malarva..........
Critic's Rating: Cast: Abilash, Saneathara, Varsha Ashwathi, Master Sai Vishal
Direction: P James David
Genre: Romance
Duration: 2 hours 19 minutes
Avg Readers Rating:
Synopsis: Tarun and Kavya, who fall in love, elope from home in a bid to get married and teach their parents 'a lesson'. However, they land in a forest where they end up learning a lesson themselves and choose to return.
Review: Pani Vizhum Malarvanam, which starts off on a romantic note with the young couple's first meeting on a social networking site, looks to first develop into a full-blown family drama with the parents of both lovers issuing threats and picking fights. After a point, it changes tracks and raises hopes of becoming a crime thriller when the couple encounters three poachers who look to rob them and outrage Kavya's modesty. From there, the plot takes a wild turn, to give audiences an impression that the film might be on man-animal conflict. It finally ends tamely as a didactic, sentimental drama.
Director David tries to convey too many ideas in his first film and as a result, ends up losing the audiences' interest right in the first half when he's saved his best for the next.
His relatively inexperienced lead pair also don't seem to help his cause as they struggle to strike a chord with the audience. While the cinematographer and music director seem to have done their jobs reasonably well, the work of the film's casting, dialogues, CG and editing departments leave a lot to be desired.
The movie is not without its strengths though. Varsha Ashwathi, who plays the mother of an ill child, and Master Sai Vishal, who plays her child, impress with their performances. Thanks to them, the second half of the film, which focuses on a conflict between humans and a man-eater (a tiger) , seems a lot more cohesive and purposeful than the first.
Director David's film, apart from telling a love story, stresses on the fact that the love of a mother for her child is supreme and looks to highlight the conflicts arising as a result of humans encroaching upon the space of wild animals.
To cut a long story short, while the messages David's film seeks to convey are significant, the manner in which they have been packaged isn't.
Coming from CTN Productions and RayMax Media, Panivizhum Malarvanam is a Maruthi Nandan presentation.
A young girl Kavya (Saniya) and a boy Tarun (Abhilash) come across each other and fall in love head over heels. They decide on being life partners and are inseparable at heart. However, the girl's parents have a different plan in mind for their daughter. They are dead against their girl being with the guy of her choice. With no other option, the couple take off from their hometown. The only person in the girl's house who cares for her is her sister-in-law. She follows the couple when they take off. After a lot of thought, the couple decide to move into a jungle to spend the rest of their lives there without the interference of anybody else. Unfortunately, they come across a band of dreaded poachers and smugglers who are looting the forest's flora and fauna, illegally and ruthlessly. At this juncture, everybody comes to know of a man-eating tiger on the loose, within the forest. Will the young couple escape the clutches of the group of evil men? Will the man-eater spare anybody at all? Who will have the last say in a war that is raging on between man and nature? Watch Panivizhum Malarvanam on the big screens to know!
Director Jam David has taken a breezy romantic story and infused a very strong social message and made a very good movie. The newcomers Abhilash and Saniya have done a good job. The supporting cast of Jagan, Varsha and Baba Laxmanan have played their parts perfectly, and provide a good foil to the lead. The highlight of the movie is the presence of the Tiger, which as one of the major characters in a movie, makes it a first of sorts for a Tamil movie. It is to be noted that the tiger is a veteran star, as it has already appeared in Hollywood movies like Hangover and We Bought a Zoo. Raj's music is good and cinematography by Ragav of Jananam fame is absolutely wonderful. The sequences of the lush green locales is a visual treat. The news that over 2 years of research was done by the team before the movie went on floors is interesting. The CG is also very pleasing to the eyes and makes for some good viewing. A little more tautness to the screenplay would have added greatly to the movie. The second half is racy and the speed picks up as the movie moves towards the climax. The social message in the movie is a must for current times.
If you want to watch a romantic entertainer with adventure and a social message along with some good technical values, head over to watch Panivizhum Malarvanam!
'Thegidi'
Review - Thegidi (2013)
Thegidi By Mohan K [ February 28, 2014 ]
views: (2066)
Coming from the house of CV Kumar's Thirukumaran Entertainment, ABI TCS and Vel Mediaa, the uniquely titled Thegidi stars Ashok Selvan and Janani Iyer under P. Ramesh's direction, with music by Nivas Prasanna.
The movie opens to Vetri (Ashok Selvan) receiving an offer letter from Radical Detective Agency. Adter completing his education in criminology, his dream of pursuing a career in crime solving has just taken off. He travels from his hometown of Tanjore to Chennai to take up the job, and moves in with his friend Nambi (Kaali), a chef by profession. Sailesh (Jayakumar) and Sadagopan (Pradeep Nair) are his seniors in the company. Here, Vetri is given the task of collecting detailed information on certain individuals, which he goes about doing meticulously. While trying to stealthily enter a person's house, Vetri is seen by Madhu (Janani Iyer), who happens to be visiting her friend's house.
Coincidentally, Madhu happens to be the next case Vetri has to collect details about. On following her closely, Vetri begins liking Madhu and slowly falls for her. He meets her in person and states that he was only trying to get into his friend's house and that is when she saw him. Slowly, the two get into a relationship. Suddenly, one day Vetri comes across in a newspaper that one of the people he had collected information about, has passed away due to a vehicle accident. Becoming suspicious about the death, Vetri starts asking around, and he finds out that another person whose details he collected has also met with an accident and died. Finding things fishy, Vetri tries to warn 2 other people he has collected details about, and is suddenly confronted by the killer himself. Suddenly, Vetri realises that not everything around him is as it seems to be. Things suddenly spiral out of hand and Vetri and Nambi are arrested by Inspector Raguram. Meanwhile, fearing for Madhu's safety, as she was also on Vetri's list, he brings her to his new home. Here, Madhu realises that not everything that Vetri told her was true. Feeling betrayed, Madhu leaves the house. With Madhu gone, and with a threat on his life, no job to go to, Vetri is left in the lurch. Who is the killer? Why is he killing the people? Will Vetri track down the killer? Who are his friends and who are his foes? Will Madhu escape the killer's clutches? Watch Thegidi on the big screens to know!
Director P. Ramesh has brought to screen a wonderful plot with a tight screenplay that keeps the viewers rivetted to their seats. The way the director has ensured that there are no unwanted diversions and the way each character has been sketched, is very good. Though one feels the climax to be wandering towards expected lines, the director keeps everybody guessing till the last scene and shows that he still holds one more card in his hands to play. Ashok Selvan is proving to be an able performer. Though his previous project did not do well at the box office, his performance in Thegidi is sure to earn him a very good name. Janani Iyer is very natural and impresses in her role as Madhu. Kaali impresses with his casual performance. Kudos to Jayaprakash and Jayakumar, who are very good. The cameo by Sai as Kamalakannan is good. Dineshkrishnan. B's cinematography and Leo Jhon Paul's editing are top notch. Nivas K. Prasanna's songs have already received a good response, and his BGM maintains the tempo of the movie.
The makers and Ashok Selvan have a winner on their hands with Thegidi... A gripping movie with wonderful performances!
Review: Bramman fails to impress
Related News: Sasikumar, Bramman, Santhanam, Socrates, Shiva
A scene from BrammanDirector-turned-actor Sasikumar’s Bramman directed by debutant Socrates is an average film that revolves around two friends separated in childhood, who are deeply passionate about cinema, writes S Saraswathi.
Director-turned-actor Sasikumar’s films on friendship are legendary in Tamil cinema.
In Subramaniapuram, Naadodigal, Poraali to Sundarapandian, Sasikumar has always played the perfect friend, giving up everything for friendship.
Bramman, his latest venture, is yet another film extolling the virtues of a good friend.
The film is directed by debutant Socrates, a former assistant of Kamal Haasan. The music is by Devi Sri Prasad. It is produced under the banner of K Manju Cinemas and Anto Joseph Film Company.
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Bramman features newcomer Lavanya Tripathi along with Sasikumar in the lead role supported by Naveen Chandra, Santhanam, Soori and Jayaprakash.
Shiva (Sasikumar) and Kumar (Naveen Chandra) are inseparable as children. Crazy about cinema, the two steal film reels from the local theatre to make their own childish bioscope. Together they dream of making films to screen at the local theatre in their village.
Fed up with their antics, Kumar’s parents decide to leave the village hoping to break Shiva’s influence on their son.
The story now moves 25 years into the future, where Shiva and his friend Santhanam take a lease on the old theatre. Their desperate attempts to release new films in the theatre always fail, and they incur heavy losses.
Shiva is unable to maintain the theatre or even pay the taxes. The dues pile up and eventually the government issues a notice threatening to seal the place in three months time. He requires Rs 5 lakhs to get out of this mess. Since he is already in debt, no one in the village is willing to lend him any more money.
Kumar now enters the scene. After leaving the village, he has become a very rich and successful Telugu film director.
Shiva has been keeping track of his friend’s journey to success. He feels just like him, his friend Kumar too will be interested in protecting the legacy of the old theatre, where they spent countless moments together as children.
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Does he succeed in saving his beloved theatre or like countless other landmarks will this too be destroyed to build a shopping complex or a wedding hall?
Despite the very interesting concept, the film fails to impress.
The first half is extremely slow and boring, while the second half is designed to include every possible scenario to highlight the many sacrifices that Shiva makes for his friend. There are many dramatic twists, yet the film lacks the depth, intensity and sentiment that we have come to expect from Sasikumar.
Music by Devi Sri Prasad is mediocre except for the En Uyirin Uyiraga number, which has beautiful visuals and is sung by DSP himself.
As far as performances are concerned, Sasikumar has not attempted anything new. Debutante Lavanya, who plays his love interest, does not make much of an impression. Santhanam is adequate, and Soori livens things up a bit in the second half.
In his attempt to glorify the character, director Socrates has regrettably sacrificed a very good story; the climax is the only saving grace of the film.
The film will definitely be a huge disappointment to fans of the hugely talented Sasikumar, whose almost perfect record will be marred by this film.
BRAMMAN MOVIE REVIEW
Release Date : Feb 21,2014
Home > Tamil Movie ReviewsBramman (aka) Brahmman reviewReview by : Behindwoods Review Board
CAST AND CREW1 of 3
Production: Joseph Anto, Manju K
Cast: Lavanya Tripathi, Santhanam, Sasikumar, Soori
Direction: Socrates
Screenplay: Socrates
Story: Socrates
Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Background score: Devi Sri Prasad
Cinematography: Faisal Ali, Jomon T. John
Dialogues: Socrates
Editing: Raja Mohammed
Stunt choreography: Silva
Dance choreography: Raju Sundaram
Singers: Andrea Jeremiah, Anitha, Chinna Ponnu, Devi Sri Prasad, Karthik, M M Manasi, MLR Karthikeyan, Sooraj Santhosh
Lyrics: Na. Muthukumar, Thamarai, Viveka, Yuga Bharathi
PRO: Nikhil Murugan
Bramman is the name of the God, who is referred to as the creator in Hindu mythology. However as far as Socrates’ Bramman is concerned, the word refers to a friend who creates a successful life for his childhood mate.
Sasikumar, the Bramman in Socrates’ tale, does his job well in being the creator that the director has successfully managed to conceptualize. The plot that is exploited here is cinema, love and passion that is seasoned with true wholehearted friendship.
The movie takes us through a ‘not-very-exciting’ first half that establishes Sasikumar’s passion for cinema and his love interest, played by Lavanya Tripathi, along with a few essential characters played by Santhanam, Malavika Menon and Lateef Omar. Santhanam, in the movie, is as snug as a bug in the rug in bringing out the laughs. It does look quite easy for the actor. However, one might get the feeling that his timely deliverables were not up to the usual standards he sets.
The usage of songs might have slowed down the pace of the movie and disappointingly represses the momentum the screenplay builds up. Sasikumar’s effort to brush up his dance moves is laudable, although there weren’t too many variations on offer.
The second half of the film, rolls out in a shipshape manner, with the introduction of Naveen Chandra, letting the audience chew through the meat and potatoes of the story. Naveen Chandra, plays Kumar, Sasikumar’s childhood friend. Sasikumar’s unanticipated fortune that leaves him dumbfounded and Naveen’s nescience is pretty much what drives the story to its finishing point.
Soori replaces Santhanam in the comedy department in the latter half of the movie. Although the actor does not have too many scoring points, his presence does not disappoint the audience. His single shot narration of Sasikumar’s story of luck, run in a fast yet comprehendible frame speed is an interesting idea that is executed to perfection.
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