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.

Engeyum Kadhal (2011)

Prabhudeva's attempt at making a candyfloss romantic movie on the lines of Yash Raj Films' numerous such movies.

Kamal is a prolific businessman who comes to Paris every year for a month just to unwind and have a nice romantic time with the ladies. He doesn't believe in commitment and love. Kayavizhi is a Tamil girl who lives in Paris with her detective father. She falls for the charming Kamal, at first sight. She slowly draws Kamal towards her. In the end, Kamal also reciprocates and feels the same about Kayal. The lovers join as expected

Hits

• The look and feel of the film is so classy and glossy thanks to Paris, the costumes and the attractive lead pair. Nirav Shah has had a nice time capturing all the beauty around
• Hansika Motwani redefines bubbly, cute, charming, innocent, plump and pretty. Her dubbing voice is also very apt. She is expressive too. 
• Jayam Ravi, the handsome dude is best suited for such lover boy roles. 
• Harris Jeyaraj is the heart and soul of the film. Super duper hit songs colorfully picturized by Prabhudeva
• Crisp and not dragging for the most part

Comments

• Some hard to laugh moments provided by Raju Sundaram. Could have been avoided

VERDICT

Above average romantic musical. Definitely watchable 

Velayudham (2011)

The Plot
A budding journalist Bharathi creates a fictional superhero named Velayudham after she witnesses the accidental death of 3 anti-social goons who were after her. This character is prominently publicized by the news media as well.

Jihadi terrorists want to terrorize Chennai and the corrupt home minister and his evil associates are also part of this scheme.

Meanwhile, the actual Velu aka Velayudham is a simple village milkman whose life revolves around his dear sister Kaveri . They create a real funny mess in their village and they are the darlings of everyone.

Velu comes to Chennai with the entire village entourage to do some marriage related purchase for his sister. Velu's village 'moraponnu' Vaidehi is madly after him and she would do anything for him.

In Chennai, Velu accidentally averts major disaster in the city on a few occasions and he is accidentally taken to be the fictional superhero Velayudham, because of his name. People are filled with hope now. Velu later comes to know from Bharathi that he is considered to be the all-pervasive Velayudham and he is shocked. He just wants to leave Chennai and continue his simple life.

But, as expected he is convinced to take up the superhero avatar after he witnesses certain atrocities. He also hears about all the shady activities from Bharathi. Now our Velu takes up his Velayudham (Assassin's Creed) avatar full time and bashes the goons, terrorists to pulp and also brings down the home minister.

He also loses his sister in a sad bomb accident and in the end he advises the public to use their anger in a constructive manner and not to waste their strength. He wants everyone to be a Velayudham rather than expect a superhero to do the job for them, all the time.

Hits

• Never a dull moment. Jet fast screenplay with good comedy by a plethora of comedians lead by Vijay, Santhanam, Saranya etc. 
• Vijay impresses in the emotional scenes in the climax and in his bare body avatar spewing thought provoking dialogs. A wholesome show by the man of the masses. He is experimenting with his hair too, in the songs. 
• The songs by Vijay Anthony are peppy and fast. 
• The action choreography will please over-the-top action buffs. They pack a punch
• Saranya Mohan is perfect sister material and she makes the heart heavy when she dies. 

Misses

• Pathetic VFX in the much hyped train fight scene. It's quite funny.
• Shameless aping of the Assassin's Creed robe. 
• Too many dialogs glorifying the hero and his 'anna'/'thambi' image
• The guy who acts as the home minister can be termed as the worst actor in the world
• A single girl shouting in the the climax in the stadium is also quite laugh worthy. 
• Vijay's dressing sense particularly his floral shirts with designs, is really gory. A guy with great personality like him can definitely dress much much better. 

Comments

• Hansika Motwani provides a real treat. She lets the hero grope her and press her. This 20yr old chick has great assets and a curvy structure as well. Genelia is dignified in comparison though she also brushes her assets against the hero's face in one scene. Great time, the hero has had.

VERDICT

Amateurish film making masked by a super fast screenplay. Time pass entertainer which is particularly special for Vijay's numerous local fans. 

Mappillai (2011)

Whats it about
This is the remake of a Rajinikanth film of the same name that released 21 yrs back. But, the execution is very much old fashioned. Just a new cast but, the same old cliches galore.
      A dumb bombshell falls for a loafer like youngster who acts like a very pious and good hearted man. But he actually was a terror and sort of a rowdy figure in his home town. His parents had sent him to Chennai to lead a reformed life. The dumb heroine's mother is a very proud multi millionaire who looks down upon everyone else and thinks that she is the best in the world. She wants a meek son in law. Our hero marries the heroine due to his initial meek nature and settles in the girl's house itself as a jobless husband.
      He then plans to teach his boasting mother-in-law a lesson through his brain and brawn. He starts revealing his true colors. He marries off his sister to his brother-in-law through some funny schemings and finally saves his mother-in-law and wife from the bad guys too. 'MAPPILLAI' proves his worth to his 'athai' in the end after some silly comedy.
      Amidst all this we have the comedian and his side kicks, the heroine's side kicks, the hero's good natured parents, some villains etc etc. YAAAAWN!!!

                                                                    

Hits

• Vivek's act as JP is really laughable. But, He entertains and annoys in equal measure as Chinna, the Namitha fan. Funny accent indeed for both the characters. 
• Dhanush with his usual style satisfies his fans. 
• The "Ennoda Raasi Nalla Raasi" remix offers some solace amidst the bore

Misses

• Pathetic acting from both Manisha Koirala and Hansika Motwani. Just some chubby cherubic looks. Nothing else
• Terrible boredom during some of the comedy scenes. 
• Dhanush as a terrifying rowdy like figure, is definitely unbelievable. 

VERDICT

When Tamil cinema is looking to cross boundaries with some new subjects and innovative screenplays, comes this film that is a throwback to at-least a few decades back. Nothing new in this film. Why do big shots of the industry continue to associate themselves with such plain mediocre subjects?. After 'Endhiran' and 'Aadukalam', Sun Pictures have gone back to their 'Sura', 'Thee' days ... AVOIDABLE FARE. DESERVES TO FLOP BIG TIME ...