Glares for 'GETHU'

Our cinema industry is blessed with a bevy of charismatic heroes with each of them having their own sizable fan followings. In their quest to add that extra tinge of heroism to their onscreen avatars, heroes take the help of a lot of accessories. That extra mass factor or the ‘gethu’ factor really plays a part in endearing heroes to the masses. Accessories range from stylish kerchiefs wrapped around the neck to ear studs to chains to bracelets.

Who can forget the superstar’s stylish bracelet in Arunachalam, which he used with a lot of punch.  In movies like Dheena, Attagasam and Amarkalam, Ajith used a variety of accessories to look the part as a street ruffian. Vijay has also done his part in promoting accessories in movies like Madura.

But, I’ve missed the mother of all accessories. One, which can be used to project a debonair look, a heroic look as well as a rough and tough look. Each of our heroes has played his part to ensure the iconic status that this accessory has in Tamil cinema today. Be it, a gangster’s role or a policeman or a thug or a college dude or just a jobless street Romeo, one thing in common to all these characters is the glares (or shades or sunglass or the cooling glass in everyday popular lingo).

Imagine the Superstar in countless movies, Ajith in his recent movies, Kamal as the heroic cop in Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu, Vikram as the stylish Remo or even Arya as Boss. The glares have added so much style to the look of these characters. To give it to the heroes, they have also carried off these glares with such panache.

Not to mention, most of the songs picturized today will be incomplete without a set of these accessories on the lead hero, the beautiful heroine and even the side dancers in some cases.

Rayban, Fastrack, K-L, Police, Polaroid etc. must be indebted to our heroes for positioning their products in such spectacular fashion in movie after movie. Free marketing and free publicity for these brands. Why not an in-film branding / positioning tie-up with one of these brands? Tamil producers can think on these lines.

The glares have become such a part and parcel of Indian cinema, that you can’t even imagine a single movie without these. We also enjoy our heroes more when they put on some decorative eye wear.

Just a sample, in a scene in Mankatha, when Ajith drops his uber stylish Rayban glass towards the ground facing the camera, my friend sitting near me in the theater just leaned forward towards the screen in a gesture as if to catch those glares. As we all must have seen, those glares were a part of Ajith’s character and he blazed the screens in scene after scene wearing it. Billa 2 just reinforces that special relationship that heroes share with their glares. Even in the court scene when Ajith is going for a hearing or when he is arrested by the police, bizarrely, his glares are very much intact.

Some people might laugh at such obsessive use of the glares but we can say, glares accentuate ‘gethu’ and they are just irreplaceable and unmistakable for the all-important mass factor in the characters that our heroes play.

Oru Kal Oru Kannadi movie review

Director Rajesh must indeed be a lucky man. He has solely banked on current comedy king Santhanam to dish out a close to 3hrs long movie that is entertaining only when our comedy king is on screen. The story is the same old "hero pursuing heroine with the support of Santhanam", like it was in SMS and BEB.

While Jiiva was a super match to Santhanam in SMS and made it a cult, Arya tried his level best to make 'Nanbenda' a memorable affair too. Here Debutante Udhayanidhi's only plus point is his pretty decent voice. He is funny at dance and poor at emoting. Blessed with boyish looks and shitloads of money, a new hero has arrived. His dance moves need serious addressing. He is much better producing blockbusters, personally speaking.

But OKOK has become the biggest hit among Rajesh's 3 movies so far. Strange fact. The quality is dipping with every movie but the collections are almost doubling.

There are some needless cameos for a fat,jaded Sneha, the sexy Andrea and the charming Arya. The movie has really been extended thanks to these cameos. The sequence in the plane is one big drag. The editor has seriously slept off while working in his FCP or whatever.

Harris' songs are on the money. His luck and good time seem to be never ending. That said, the Venam Machan song looks good on screen.

Saranya turns in a typically delightful performance as the mother of our hero. Her attempts at passing her degree exams since 20 long years and her relationship with her stubborn husband are a nice sub-plot in the movie.

Hansika has been taken for a ride. In the 'Azhage Azhage' song, she runs around the screen all through the song exposing her ample cleavage in extremely tight, low neck gowns. The intentions of the director and choreographer are obvious in this song. Her fat body, her makeup sense, her dresses etc have been made a mockery too, through some dialogs in the movie. She looks perplexed all through the movie. It seems young heroines can do anything for a good pay package. A sad performance after a delightful one in Engeyum Kadhal.

Finally our man Santhanam. With colorful clothes, a Brahmin slang to his English, terrific one liners / one words, a funny profession, a hilarious car etc etc. this man is a riot and a superstar in his own right. This movie is another feather in his already decorated cap. It would not be off the mark to say that OKOK would have been a headless dead body if not for Santhanam.

VERDICT: Only Santhanam ... nothing else. The entire team must be indebted to this one-man army.

Vettai movie review

The plot is set in Tuticorin and we have 2 brothers who are diametrically opposite to each other. While the elder one Thirumurthy is a timid man who fears everything, the younger one, Gurumurthy is a fearless bloke who doesn't mind getting into a hustle now and then.

Thiru incidentally gets into the police force after his father's death and he is helped by his brother while dealing with the rogues and rowdy elements in town, in the form of Mari and Annachi. The brothers get hitched to a pair of sisters. The elder pair's is an arranged marriage while the younger pair fall in love and get married later.

Thiru gains the respect of his colleagues and family due to his brother's timely 'action' interventions. The villains are baying for his blood and they eventually find out that Thiru is actually a timid guy and they bash him to pulp. Then with his younger brother's encouragement, Thiru turns a new leaf. It is like a rebirth and he goes around town wrecking havoc on the villains in his new 'action' avatar.

After a cliched climax where the brothers' wives are also dragged in, the villains are hunted and the 'vettai' is complete.

Hits

• The movie moves lightheartedly for the majority of the first half and it is enjoyable till then. Maddy and Arya bond well with their comic timing and their contrasts in character. In the second half when Arya and Amala play around with the NRI groom, it is entertaining too, thanks to the NRI guy's artificial accent and antics. 
• Amala Paul is really fresh and has a long career ahead. She carries off any costume gracefully and emotes well too. 
• Sameera goes overboard at times but is decent as the talkative and bold elder sister.
• The camera work by Nirav Shah makes the film look glossy. 
• The scene where Ajith's Mankatha intro scene comes on screen, sends the crowd into frenzy. The mini cameo by Jiiva on screen in the movie Ko is another mini-highlight. 

Misses

• The villains are cliched and are a caricature with their loud voices, stale punch dialogs, long hair, unkempt beard etc etc. For how long will this continue? 
• Whenever the movie becomes serious and action oriented, the audience mocks. Such is the formulaic treatment. The climax in particular is a major drag and is totally stale. The scene where Maddy gets up from the wheel chair seeing his brother getting hit, is hilarious and silly. Unintentionally funny scenes galore. 
• Arya and Maddy hardly look convincing in action and Maddy sucks during his dance in the opening number. 
• The BGM by Yuvan is a major letdown. 

Comments

• Average songs which have been placed just for sake to fill time. Kattipudi is the pick of the lot. 

VERDICT

The light hearted scenes make the movie watchable while there are lot of unintentionally funny scenes as well. Half baked hunt. 

Avan Ivan (2011)

The Plot
Walter Vanangamudi and Kumbidren Saamy are step brothers. While Walter wants to be a dance artist, Saamy is happy with doing petty robberies with his small side kick. Walter is slightly effeminate thanks to the influence of 'Highness', the entire family's godfather and a highly respected man in the village. The brothers have their petty rivalries over who is the better thief and their mothers are also constantly at loggerheads over who is the superior son. But they are very close and their bonding is very strong. The brothers also have their love stories going on with 2 timid village girls, a policewoman and a college girl.

The brothers have their stints with the police who are mere buffoons. They also have a minor disagreement with Highness over Saamy's girl, which ends well nevertheless.There is also a villain in the story in the form of a man who deals in illegal cow business. 'Highness' gets mixed up with this man's business and what follows is a brutal last half hour which will surely leave a lump in your throat for the sheer intensity and emotionally draining nature of Bala's film making.

                                                             

Hits

• Vishal has come up with the performance of a life time. His intro scene is among the most daring. His comic sense during the scenes where he woos his girl, the scene where he performs before the entire school and his performance in the final half hour of the movie is surely worthy of many awards. 
• Yuvan is supreme as usual. His title score is mesmerizing. His BGM for the villain is also quite chilling. He has given 2 extra songs both of which are very good. At lots of places, the BGM adds to the emotional value of the film 
• Arya is also impressive with his comic timing and his bonding with Arya is evident. His act is very similar to Suriya's Pithamagan role. 
• Both Arya and Vishal have become experts at the 'kuthu' dance
• G.M.Kumar as Highness makes a huge impact in the second half. His role is among the most daring character roles in Tamil cinema history. 
• Ambika and the lady who comes as the mother of Arya bristle with energy and typical village charm. The young side kick of Arya is another typical village lad.

Misses

• Suriya's absolutely needless cameo and his attempts at self promotion show him in very bad light. He better stay away from such nonsense in the future.
• The obvious similarities to Pithamagan
• The characterization of the police as sheer buffoons
• The 2 lead ladies, though very pretty (particularly Madhu Shalini) are mere show pieces and their love with the lead guys is also very cinematic. 

VERDICT

A typical Bala product. The performances of Vishal, G.M.Kumar and Arya, in that order,being the major resurrection.