|
Pokkiri
With a winner in the form of story, Vijay in the
company of Prabhu Deva has come out with an action-packed entertainer.
With typical 'Vijayisms' (action, humor and punch dialogues) finding a
place at right intervals, he steals the show and his charm is spread all
through the movie. The life and blood of the movie, the actor charms the
audience in dance and stunt sequences. His characterization, though not
unfamiliar to the film-buffs, is made interesting by director Prabhu
Deva as he has let Vijay to be himself on the screen.
Prabhu Deva and Vijay leave their magical presence especially in the
dance sequences. Both proven dancers, the choreography for the peppy
songs are entertaining and attractive.
Asin is attractive and plays a typical heroine falling in love with a
macho-man. She does have the opportunity to shake her legs with Vijay.
Both Vijay and Asin share a terrific on-screen chemistry. Prakash Raj as
the notorious Don Alibhai does an excellent job. His mannerisms and body
language would surely win applause from the film-buffs.
Napoleon plays an honest police commissioner in the hunt of criminals.
Hats off to him for playing the tough role with utmost grace. Vadivelu
evokes laughter with his comedy. He succeeds in tickling the funny bone.
He dons the role of a kung-fu instructor.
Tamizh (Vijay) is a hardcore criminal, who can do anything for money and
also change loyalties for currency. He meets Sruthi (Asin) and love is
the immediate offspring between the two.
A villainous cop attracted by Sruthi threatens her mother to send her
daughter with him. Enters Tamizh as a savior for Sruthi and her family.
Tamizh works for an underworld gang and he soon rises in life, owing to
his bravery and never-say-die attitude. The sequences that throw light
on the ruffian attitude and ‘can’t-care-any-less’ stance of Tamizh offer
sumptuous treat for Vijay’s fans. His boss and an international don
Alibhai (Prakash Raj) arrive from abroad only to be caught by the Tamil
Nadu police.
An honest cop Mohideen Khan (Napoleon) investigating the cases of
Alibhai is blackmailed by Ali's men. What happens next is narrated in a
fast-paced, gripping narrative that is sure to bring the audiences to
the edge of their seats. The twist of events adds to the thrills.
Stunts by Vijayan are a major attraction of the movie. The chasing
sequences have been captured well by Nirav Shah's lens. Sreekar Prasad’s
editing is crisp with fast-paced cuts.
All credit to director Prabhu Deva for managing to sustain the tempo
throughout. He has given a perfect formula film for Vijay which should
work out well with the masses. He seems to have given more thrust on
expressions and all his characters are there, doing what Prabhu Deva
wanted from them.
Excellent choreography, thrilling action sequences and catchy songs
besides cool 'punch lines' from Vijay contribute for a cracker in Pokiri.
To sum up, the movie is an action-packed film with loads of fun and
thrill. Pokiri is a sweet Pongal treat for Vijay fans.
**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**
Alwar
With a winner in the form of story, Vijay in the company of Prabhu Deva
has come out with an action-packed entertainer.
With typical 'Vijayisms' (action, humor and punch dialogues) finding a
place at right intervals, he steals the show and his charm is spread all
through the movie. The life and blood of the movie, the actor charms the
audience in dance and stunt sequences. His characterization, though not
unfamiliar to the film-buffs, is made interesting by director Prabhu
Deva as he has let Vijay to be himself on the screen.
Prabhu Deva and Vijay leave their magical presence especially in the
dance sequences. Both proven dancers, the choreography for the peppy
songs are entertaining and attractive.
Asin is attractive and plays a typical heroine falling in love with a
macho-man. She does have the opportunity to shake her legs with Vijay.
Both Vijay and Asin share a terrific on-screen chemistry. Prakash Raj as
the notorious Don Alibhai does an excellent job. His mannerisms and body
language would surely win applause from the film-buffs.
Napoleon plays an honest police commissioner in the hunt of criminals.
Hats off to him for playing the tough role with utmost grace. Vadivelu
evokes laughter with his comedy. He succeeds in tickling the funny bone.
He dons the role of a kung-fu instructor.
Tamizh (Vijay) is a hardcore criminal, who can do anything for money and
also change loyalties for currency. He meets Sruthi (Asin) and love is
the immediate offspring between the two.
A villainous cop attracted by Sruthi threatens her mother to send her
daughter with him. Enters Tamizh as a savior for Sruthi and her family.
Tamizh works for an underworld gang and he soon rises in life, owing to
his bravery and never-say-die attitude. The sequences that throw light
on the ruffian attitude and ‘can’t-care-any-less’ stance of Tamizh offer
sumptuous treat for Vijay’s fans. His boss and an international don
Alibhai (Prakash Raj) arrive from abroad only to be caught by the Tamil
Nadu police.
An honest cop Mohideen Khan (Napoleon) investigating the cases of
Alibhai is blackmailed by Ali's men. What happens next is narrated in a
fast-paced, gripping narrative that is sure to bring the audiences to
the edge of their seats. The twist of events adds to the thrills.
Stunts by Vijayan are a major attraction of the movie. The chasing
sequences have been captured well by Nirav Shah's lens. Sreekar Prasad’s
editing is crisp with fast-paced cuts.
All credit to director Prabhu Deva for managing to sustain the tempo
throughout. He has given a perfect formula film for Vijay which should
work out well with the masses. He seems to have given more thrust on
expressions and all his characters are there, doing what Prabhu Deva
wanted from them.
Excellent choreography, thrilling action sequences and catchy songs
besides cool 'punch lines' from Vijay contribute for a cracker in Pokiri.
To sum up, the movie is an action-packed film with loads of fun and
thrill. Pokiri is a sweet Pongal treat for Vijay fans.
**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**
Guru
Daring to dream’ is probably the larger motif of the movie Guru. In a
sense, that has also been the underlying impulse of Mani Rathnam himself
as he has dreamed into reel about the life and times of a man who had an
outrageous idea and even more outrageous desire to make them into
reality, come hell or high water.
If Gurukanth’s chase of fantasy (to make it as a businessman) puts him
and those who reposed faith in him on the path of riches, then Mani’s
own cinematic odyssey into the pioneering story of modern-Indian
business world rewards us with an unforgettable experience of artistic
entertainment.
A business missionary and a visionary, is what Gurukanth is. For him, no
rule or norm is an impediment to the path of progress that he has
charted for him, his company, which for him is also the metaphor for the
newly emergent India.
Mani’s genius lies in incorporating a cute and impish love into the
broader ambit of an emotionless world of shares and supplies. Mani’s
other great success is in getting the best out of his team. It is
Abhishek Bachchan who leads the pack with a show that is surely the best
of his career so far. In a de-glamourised ‘bania’ look, Abhishek packs
all the right punches in a character that is far more complex than the
dandified exterior would otherwise lead us to believe. The Abhi-Aish
chemistry is well known and needs no repetition here. But the sub-text
of the duo’s romance to the larger theme of a man with a mission keeps
the film from slipping into the slipshod stream of stereotyped
consciousness. And then there is A R Rehman. In Mani’s company, Rehman
becomes magical and his beautiful songs get an even more compelling
contextual beauty. Rajeev Menon has the true ‘eye’ of Mani, bringing
into images the ideas in the director’s mind.
The story is obviously a takeoff from Dhirubhai Ambani’s life and times.
But that is just a starting thread. Using that, Mani’s spins a yarn
(just about the right term to describe about a story that is about
success in spinning mills and polyester fibre) that gives a feeling of
comfort and warmth.
‘Guru’ begins with the young Gurukanth (Abhishek) setting off to the
arty and raucous Istanbul. In a sense, Istanbul proves to be what South
Africa became eventually for the other great Indian dreamer ----Mahatma
Gandhi ----- a seed of inspiration. Appropriately, Guru too invokes the
ideas (though not the idealism) of ‘Bapu’ when he is towards the end
pinned down by Indian authorities for transgressions of laws that are in
the book.
Guru, though appreciated for his work ethic, is consumed by the desire
to make his work come good for himself rather than waste it for others
(in this context, the whites). So he throws up his job in Istanbul and
comes down to his dusty hamlet in Gujarat. But here again, the
roadblocks before the takeoff are many (parental disapproval, monetary
dryness and a general small-minded approach).
Guru, who sees Sujatha (Aishwarya) in quaint circumstances, falls in
love with her and marries her. But the bigger love is for the money that
she brings along as dowry (it is a truth that he will come to face at an
unexpected crossroad). This would be his opening gambit on a complex,
chequered board of a game in which every coin is deemed a pawn by vested
interests. Guru of course wants to be the king. He understands the
system. More importantly, he understands men and their minds. He strikes
up friendship, by chance, with a maverick press baron Mangaldas (Mithun
Chakraborthy). It is what launches him into a tumultuous world and it is
what holds him back later. It is an enigmatic relationship that even
amidst the no-holds-barred fight, Guru is able to strike a beautiful and
bouncy relationship with the multiple-sclerosis ridden daughter of
Mangaldas (Vidya Balan).
The initial days in the market are hard slog and slugfest. Guru
manoeuvres them all with commonsense and conviction. But he has to
subvert the system (mind you, those were the times of license raj and
quota rules). This is what gets the goat of the Mangaldas, an old-world
journo, who, despite his outward brusqueness, likes to play within the
rules.
What ensues is a high-stakes cat and mouse game with Mangaldas using his
hotshot scribe Shyam (Madhavan) to dredge up details of off-the-book
dealings of Guru. It is a fight between two equal enemies. Guru, despite
playing by his own rules, wins popular support. It is on these crutches
that he eventually hobbles out.
The story’s strength is in the details that are too difficult to explore
and experience in words and overzealous adjectives. But in Mani’s expert
eyes, everything parade out in a panache-filled procession.
In the end, the film is indeed a biopic, without the attendant
dreariness.
Like all truly great directors, Mani says a lot when he doesn’t say
much. The story between the lines is what holds the attention as it is
where the drama is…the action is.
For Abhishek, this is the performance of a lifetime. He lives the
complex character of Guru with rare ease. Abhishek has managed to convey
the underlying energy and enthusiasm of a businessman who romances the
idea of being the best in the world.
The Abhi-Aish love story, cool and crisp at the start, grows up to be
warm and wistful towards the end. It is a study in dignity and charm.
Aishwarya, as ever, looks ravishing in song sequences.
Mithun brings to life a media baron who hides his essential simplicity
and sweetness in practised roughness. Madhavan, as the howitzer journo
of Mithun, flies into the target unerringly. His restraint, caught
between the high-fire exchanges of two worthy rivals, is beautiful.
Vidya Balan, in a weepy role, looks comfortable.
As ever, you have technical virtuosity all around in Mani’s movie.
Rehman’s songs sound even better on screen and have been lovingly
picturized by Mani and Menon. Be it Madurai, Istanbul or Karnataka, all
places come out in alluring clarity.
The Hariharan ghazal just lifts you to heights that only monastery monks
reach at their moments of high inspiration. Sreekar Prasad’s editing is
crisp. The belly dance of Mallika (in Istanbul) is a treat to eyes
craving for aesthetic satisfaction.
So, is there nothing wrong with Guru at all? Like the man Guru, the film
too has warts and all. But that is the charm of it. It is what adds the
agreeable spice.
The dubbing voices all fit just perfectly. Suriya’s full-throated
backing to Abhishek is really splendid. The details of the story have
not been lost in translation. For, what is narrated is a universal tale
of human effort.
Mani has used all his sensibilities and sensitivities to unspool a tale
whose drama lies in the men and not in their methods. Guru is
unpretentious and doesn’t labour to make a point. Affected artifices are
not for him.
Guru is a study of a man who is not afraid to chase the rainbow of
imagination. Guru, the film too, is a jubilee of imagination and
inspiration.
**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**
Adaikalam
In Adaikalam, the story is about a father who has to endure the
mortification of being away from his children and eventually being an
object of their ire.
Adaikalam, directed by Bhuvanaraja, is one tale of human emotions that
is at once warm and acceptable. It is the story of a father who ends up
as the villain in the eyes of his children for no fault of his. As any
story of human bonding, this one too is high on sentiments and with a
very dignified show from Prashanth, the film offers a change from your
regular four fights-five songs-small story routine. In fact, Prashanth
the actor, has got his due after a long time. As a brother and a bitter
son, he has churned out what is arguably one of his better performances
till date.
The story is simple and it revolves around Anbu (Prashanth) and Thamizh
(Uma). The two are siblings and dote on each other. They live under the
care of their uncle Somasundaram (Radha Ravi). Why? Well, their parents
(Thiyagarajan and Saranya) had a bitter separation. Nobody knows why
this happened but the father is seen as the villain of the piece and
when he comes back after several years, no one is ready to accept him.
But he has a tale to tell about why he separated.
What is it and then what happens? The answers are found convincingly in
the emotional gut-wrench that the film becomes in the end.
It is Prashanth all the way. Be it the son who is uncomfortable with his
dad or the loving brother, he never misses a trick. His histrionic
talent gets a good fodder.
Uma as his sister is simply superb. The young woman pulls out a gritty
show that is warm and believable. The surprise is however Thiyagarajan,
as a hapless father. He gets his limited expressions right. Saranya is
now the mother of the season. The role is an extension of hers from
films like Em Magan and Thavamai Thavamirundhu. Radha Ravi, as ever, is
Mr. Dependable.
The music of Sabesh Murali also deserves mention. The songs are pleasant
and carry an attractive lilt.
Director Bhuvanaraja can be appreciated for the fact that he has not
taken recourse to the many short ways. He has stuck to the simple path
and delivered a good cinema.
It maybe slow in places, but it doesn’t pull a fast one on you. That’s
where Adaikalam is different.
**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------** |