Saguni review - FIRST ON THE NET

3 / 5

Saguni is a hilarious political game as expected. It is entertaining and gives your bucks' worth.

Kamala Kannan (Karthi) comes to Chennai to meet the concerned political honchos to save his ancestral home. He befriends Rajini Appadurai (Santhanam) and narrates his past to him. The first half moves with Kamal telling his flashback to Rajini. The way he woos Sridevi (his 'moraponnu') is a hilarious little part. The heroine doesn't have any work other than this small portion. She appears in few songs later in the 2nd half.

When Kamal comes to know that the politicians aren't going to help him, he decides to play the game himself. He becomes the kingmaker and singlehandedly helps Ramani Aachi (Radhika) to become the councilor and later the mayor as well. He doesn't stop at this. He also resurrects the flagging VTMK party and works his magic wand on this party as well. All he envisages, is a rule where the ground level people are involved and benefited.

In the process, he exposes the corrupt CM (Prakash Raj) as well. The kingmaker doesn't stop at the state level and in the end he is called for duty at the national level as well.

The numerous references to Kamal, Rajini, Sridevi and even Ajith, Vijay and Suriya, will give you adequate doses of laughter.

The film works big time and there is never a dull moment save some sagging scenes late into the 2nd half. Karthi works his 'boy next door' charm again and his comic timing and innocent smile are intact. Santhanam's chemistry with Karthi is another reason why the movie makes you laugh very often. His one-liners are terrific as always. Santhanam is a hero himself what with the loudest cheers reserved for him. The portions with Nassar as the God-man and Karthi's marketing / packaging mantra are hilarious as well. Good to see Nassar enjoying himself and entertaining the audience as well.

Karthi has worked hard on his dancing and he passes the mark. 'Kandha Kara Vada' and 'Pottadhu Pathala' lead the pack among the songs. The other 2 duets with the sweet Praneetha are just fillers. GVP's BGM scores as well with the Saguni rap leading the credits. At other parts, his re-recording is decent.

The dialogs are the biggest plus what with 2 huge comic talents at the helm. Politicians in this movie are either wicked or dumb. This cliche continues. Prakash Raj plays yet another villainous role. He must be tired of such roles now. Radhika has a small little part which she does well. Kotta Srinivasa Rao isn't the villain for a change. Kiran looks voluptuous as always as the side-keep of the CM.

Of course, it might be hard to believe how Kamal suddenly becomes a political expert overnight. But, this is commercial cinema and that's how it works.

VERDICT: An entertaining ride with a street-smart kingmaker.

Leelai (2012)

Leelai is a long delayed movie that finally released in 2012. It turns out to be a decent romantic movie.

Sparks fly on the phone between the flirty Karthik and uptight Malar. Later, after some years and after dumping few girls, Karthik falls for Malar once he sees her. But, he doesn't want to reveal his true identity fearing that she would refuse him, given their past frictions. So, he starts loving her as Sundar and she also reciprocates soon. In the end, Karthik has to reveal his true self and he does so after some hiccups due to uncertainty, fear and guilt.

The movie is a nice feel good romance. The heroine Manasi is sparkling cute and absolutely charming. Her styling and dressing is decent. And the girl acts well too. Shiv Pandit makes a decent debut. He is handsome and reminds us of Madhavan during his 'Alaipayuthey' days.

The lovely songs by Satish Chakravarthy are another major plus. 'Oru Kili' and Jillendru take the cake. The BGM is also pretty neat. The songs have been picturized decently as well.

Santhanam has an average outing. His antics border on double meaning at times but he provides some laughs here and there. The girl who comes as Suja has a pretty solid part in the movie as the mediator between the pair. The parents of the lead in the movie are all like vegetables. They don't have much to do. The ending could have been crisper.

The IT setting has been portrayed authentically. HCL is the scene of action and I was reminded of my Infosys days.

VERDICT: A feel good romance guaranteed to please. Nice debut by Andrew Louis. 

Saguni music review

3 / 5

Saguni is Karthi’s release after close to one and a half years. In this gap, the expectations and hype around him have increased manifold. He is a mass hero in his own right now. At such a time, Saguni arrives with the beautiful Praneetha and comedy superstar Santhanam in tow. G.V.Prakash joins hands with Karthi for the 2^nd time after ‘Aayirathil Oruvan’. Let’s see if he has lived up to his lofty levels.

Kandha Kaara Vadai … THUMBS UP

Shankar Mahadevan

Lyrics: Paramu

This is an enjoyable number about life in the city. It is a jolly ride all the way with catchy words and typically expressive singing by Shankar Mahadevan. The tempo never drops with the instrumentals aiding in the pace of the song. Will be a winner in all probability. It would be interesting to see Karthi enacting the lyrics out on screen. A new number for G.V.Prakash, definitely

Manasellam Mazhaiye … THUMBS UP

Sonu Nigam, Saindhavi

Lyrics: Na. Muthukumar

When you have Sonu Nigam, you know what to expect. A full-fledged melody, it is. When Saindhavi is there for company, it adds to the melodic quality even more. Her voice sounds shrill though. The flute and the whistles gel well with the song.  Will the masses take a liking to this melody? Time will tell.   

Vella Bambaram … THUMBS UP

Baba Sehgal, Priya Himesh

Lyrics: Vivega

This is an energetic and cheeky number. A comedy duet, so to speak, what with the teaser already showing us glimpses. The flute has a prominent presence in this song as well. The singers add the necessary punch to this song. Will appeal to the kids for sure.

Pottadhu Pathalai Maapillai … THUMBS UP

Velmurugan

Lyrics: Annamalai

This number was an instant hit when the 20 seconds version was out itself. Songs centered on alcohol have generally hit the bulls-eye as the youth instantly connect to such songs. The trumpet and ‘thaara thappatta’ are part and parcel of such ‘gaana’ songs. The veena is a nice addition as well. Deva was en expert at such numbers and now GVP has one to show in his resume as well.

Aatukkutti Muttaipodum Solliduvaanda

Pushpavanam Kuppusamy

Lyrics: Na. Muthukumar

A song centered on the elections, politicians and the general voting process. Given the genre of the movie, such a song was expected. It is a happy ‘thiruvizha’ type song with the trumpet, ‘nadaswaram’ in full flow and Pushpavanam Kuppusamy is an expert at such songs.

VERDICT: The songs have all been composed with the sole intention of entertaining the audience. Save the melody, the rest all play to the gallery all the way. Good ‘mass’ album.

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.

Vellore Maavattam (2011)

Cop movies generally follow the same template. A honest, upright police officer who comes up the hard way and a villain, generally a politician who has the entire place under his control through his corrupt network.

This movie also follows the same template. Set in Vellore, the corrupt politician in the movie looks like Kalanithi Maran. The hero Muthukumar IPS (Nandha), succeeds in putting him behind bars after a major struggle. He also has to deal with the middleman Gurumurthy who helps the minister with his deals. Muthu almost gives up at the half way point but, lives to fight on.

We have a comedian (Santhanam) who doubles up as the driver for Muthukumar. Santhanam succeeds in giving us some laughs as he deals with his perverted father. The ravishing Poorna is the wife of the IPS officer who falls for his charms and stands beside him through thick and thin. Their initial love track is a bit interesting. We also have the hero's father who wants his son to rise in life through education and hard work.

The songs are lackluster though the BG score is decent. The major weakness with the movie is the absolute lack of the 'imposing' element with the villains. Nanda puts in his earnest efforts but looks sad in the scene when he cries. His screen presence is good.

VERDICT: Average at best. A predictable police story. 

Polladhavan (2007)

Prabhu is a jobless young loafer who has his set of loyal friends. He swindles money from home and has a lot of drunken fun with his friends. His father isn't happy as expected. Prabhu covets the Pulsar bike and he uses the money that his father gives him in angst, to buy his favorite bike. He gets a job through that and slowly comes up in life. He also has a love affair with Hema.

Just when things are fine, his Pulsar bike goes missing. As a result, tt is a hunt that involves gangsters in North Madras. Selvam is the kingpin, Out is his man-Friday. Ravi is the younger brother of Selvam and he is an immature, impulsive guy who is looking to make it big like his brother.

Prabhu and Ravi accidentally face-off a couple of times and the missing bike also has Ravi's involvement (for drug trafficking). At one instance, Prabhu beats Ravi to within an inch of his life. Prabhu's father is incapacitated by Ravi's men as a result. Selvam advises Ravi not to take this matter further and even Prabhu is prepared to let go after he gets his bike back. But, Ravi doesn't relent and takes it as a personal ego issue to settle scores with Prabhu.

In the end, the lean 'boy next door' uses his guts and daring to eliminate Ravi in his own den. There is a major bloodbath prior to this, where most of the gangsters are killed one way or the other.

Review

• A major break for Dhanush back in 2007. He rocks in comedy, the romantic pursuit scenes, the intense scenes and also in the climax 6 pack fight. Wholesome appeal. 
• The songs by G.V. Prakash are all chartbusters. 2 needless songs in the second half break the rhythm of the movie. The BG score is cult. Widely appreciated themes though some have been blatantly lifted. The bike theme, the theme for Selvam etc. take the cake. 
• Riveting non-linear screenplay from 2 perspectives - Prabhu and Ravi. Definitely something new. 
• Kishore, Pawan are imposing as the gangsters with some conscience. Daniel Balaji as Ravi has a terrific makeover and is brilliant in such negative roles as expected. 
• Santhanam and Karunas are a riot in the comedy department along with Dhanush. Divya Spandana has a cute little part as the lady love. Murali and Bhanupriya are the typical middle class parents. The sister has a small likable part too. 
• The scenes following the bike's theft are riveting. Such shocking and authentic detailing. Hats off. A birds eye view of the gangster life in North Madras. 

VERDICT

A major cult in Tamil commercial cinema. The screenplay, the authentic portrayal of gangsters and the bike element make this movie a classic. 

Vandhaan Vendraan (2011)

The Plot
The movie is about the efforts that Arjun takes to mend his elder step brother Ramana and to bring him back home. Ramana is a dreaded gangster in Mumbai and he is wanted by an opposing gang. He has a lot of connections in the police and has a major illegal business setup in Mumbai.

Arjun uses love as a tool and he tells a love story to Ramana featuring his dream girl Anjana. Arjun tells Ramana that he can get Anjana only if Ramana surrenders as Ramana is the guy who killed Anjana's father. Arjun uses a lot of 'brain' to get Ramana behind bars.

Whether Arjun's love is actually true, whether he gets his lady love and whether Ramana mends his ways and returns back to his family is what the climax is about. It is not as cliched as expected. The ending is particularly interesting with a major twist. The movie has other cinematic elements like Santhanam's hilarious comedy track and good songs

Hits

• The twist in the climax is a major plus. It is a shocker 
• The songs by Thaman are another big highlight. Anjana and Thiranden lead the pack
• Jiiva's costumes are trendy and he looks very fit. 
• Taapsee looks very cute and her role is not as expected.
• Nanda looks menacing as the gangster. But, he is always grim
• Santhanam's comedy is a treat too. 

Misses

• Too many fights and gunfire featuring Ramana and other gangsters. Ramana misses each bullet always. 

VERDICT

An interesting film for sure. Could have performed better at the box-office than what it actually did. The climax lifts the movie considerably. 

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. 

Deiva Thirumagal (2011)

The Plot
A remake of the Sean Penn starrer "I am Sam". Vikram and baby Sarah reprise the 2 memorable lead roles of the mentally retarded man with the mental faculties of a 5 yr old and his 5 yr old cute daughter. If in the original, it is the Govt. that is against the father staying with his daughter, here it is the father-in-law's family that is against the father staying with his daughter.

Here also, a lawyer Anuradha takes up the case of the father Krishna, as he aims to reunite with his daughter Nila. Nila's mother dies during her birth and her sister Shweta comes to know about Nila and doesn't want to give her up. A senior lawyer Bashyam is on Shweta's side and is against Krishna's bid to get his daughter.

Krishna has his set of childish friends and he is a very good man at heart. He works at a chocolate factory and there are some comedy portions here, involving Krishna and 2 other workers. Anuradha also has her 2 sidekicks who provide some funny moments as they try to get a case desperately.

In the end, what happens to the father and his daughter and whether they reunite or not is the question.

                                                                     
Hits

• Dr.Vikram scales peaks yet again. As the naive, pure and childish Krishna he is A rate. But, heavily inspired by Sean Penn's act
• Baby Sarah is angelic and godly. Lovely emoting too. The father daughter bonding is the biggest highlight of the movie. Their pranks with their hands, their attempts at story telling etc. etc. are so touching and innocent
• G.V. Prakash is the biggest highlight of the first half as his mesmerizing BGM and songs take up the entire first half. This is his best work till date, by a mile. Maestro like. 
• Anushka looks elegant and acts well too. Amala Paul looks fresh but, a very minuscule part. 
• Santhanam looks very smart and provides some funny moments as he attempts to win the case for Krishna by manipulating the witnesses
• The childish friends of Krishna are also a take-off from "I am Sam". Good genuine fun nevertheless. 
• Other characters like Ragi and the factory owner also make a mark with their pure intentions. 
• Director Vijay's cute touches at showing Krishna's law abiding and helpful nature

Misses

• Some comedy scenes in the first half are irritating
• Vizhigalil Oru Vanavil song looks great and smashing on screen thanks to Nirav Shah, the editing and the visual effects. But, very poor placement.
• In the end, Anushka's efforts and character lose their weight. 
• Nasser appears brooding in the entire film. Quite an irritating and lengthy character portrayal. 

VERDICT

In-spite of the misses and the obvious inspiration, the movie makes a mark for its feel good nature 

Vaanam (2011)

Whats it about
This movie comprises 5 short stories with all of them getting connected at a particular point and then meeting their respective endings.
Story 1: Cable Raja is a happy go lucky low class guy who falls in love with a very rich girl, posing as a rich guy. How he is after 40000/- to take his girl to the richest new year party is this story's plot. He has his friend, mama and granny to help him.
Story 2: A Muslim brother is looking for his long lost younger brother in Chennai. He later comes to know that his younger brother is involved in terrorism.
Story 3: A prostitute escapes from her brothel along with her trans-gender makeup assistant and they are off to Chennai to start their own business. But they get caught up with the police for an earlier notoriety.
Story 4: A rock-star is off to Chennai along with his troupe and girl friend for their first rock show. How this selfish guy realizes the value of life and helps others in need is this story's focus point.
Story 5: A mother and her father in law are off to Chennai to trade the mother's kidney and get the money that they owe to a money lender and redeem their son's education and future.
       All the characters meet in the climax at the hospital and they are all trapped by a set of Muslim terrorists. What the 2 lead men do to save the big crowd at the hospital is the culmination of this movie.

                                                                   
Hits

• Yuvan is as usual brilliant. The Vaanam title track appears at so very apt points of the movie and it brings tears in the eyes in the climax. 'Evan di Unna Pethan', 'No Money No Honey', 'Who Am I' have all been picturized well. Sadly 'Cable Raja' just comes in the background during STR''s intro scenes. Yuvan's BGM varies between good and brilliant. 
• Silambarasan makes a huge impact. Initially he is his breezy self but later he realizes life's value and repents for his act of stealing money. Top class emoting from STR
• All the others actors are very much adequate. Bharath is uber cool in his looks. Anushka is absolutely sexy and has a lot of oomph factor, particularly her height and shape. New face Jasmine glows and resembles Katrina Kaif in certain angles and is absolutely chubby, cherubic and cute. She too has got the oomph factor, particularly her bust. Prakash Raj sparkles at places. Saranya and the old man really look and play the part. The trans-gender also impresses. 
• Santhanam and Ganesh take care of the laughs along with STR and there are many nice moments during STR's attempts to get the 40000/- 
• The dialogs are really meaningful at places and make an impression. 
• Great attempt by the director Krish to take a rarely tried out concept 

Misses

• The Muslim terrorist angle is getting too clichéd. Krish should have avoided this in an otherwise fresh movie
• The climax melodrama is needless and sticks out sorely
• The bomb farce in the climax could have been avoided too

VERDICT

A very good movie that could have become a rainbow in the Tamil cine sky, with a more toned down climax. Anyway KUDOS to the entire team for giving us Vaanam.