Showing posts with label Suriya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Suriya. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

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.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

7aum Arivu movie review


The Plot
The film is as expected about Bodhidharma and his amazing contribution to the world of medicine and martial arts, and how a genetic engineering student Subha Srinivasan tries to bring those powers back through the genetic memory concept. The Chinese don’t want this to happen and they send a very powerful martial arts hypnotist named Dong Lee to stop this and start Operation Red in India.

Operation Red is actually a bio-war (virus) and China wants India to beg them for the cure to the virus. The cure to this virus is the very same that Bodhidharma developed 1600 yrs back when he saved a Chinese village from the same virus attack. The Chinese know that if Bodhidharma is brought back, their plans will go bust.

Subha finds out that circus artist Aravind has a DNA line that is 80% similar to that of Bodhidharma. She pursues him solely for this purpose but Aravind falls in love with her and is snubbed by her. He feels defeated when he comes to know that he was just used by her.

But, later he comes to know of the purpose of her research and Dong Lee also starts wreaking havoc in India in his mission to kill Subha and Aravind. They join hands along with some more students and bravely proceed with the process with Aravind to bring Bodhidharma back. They do it very secretively but the inevitable villain moves start to happen, leading to the climax face-off between Dong Lee and Aravind aka Bodhidharma.

The film gets preachy in the end with a message about how Tamil culture is being forgotten and how science is the basis of life.

Hits
  • Shruti Haasan has a great debut and she has maximum weightage. She pulls it off very convincingly. She looks smoking hot in the songs. Super prospect.
  • The villain is menacing and he is a great addition to Indian cinema
  • Nice directorial touches by A.R.Murugadoss in many places. One such instance is when he shows the virus spreading
  • The hypnotism concept has been worked out in a terrific manner.
  • Suriya shows off his chiseled body, funky styles and youthful demeanor. He is convincing as Bodhidharma with his serene eyes but, in the rest of the movie he is just the second fiddle to Shruti.

Comments
  • The scene where Dong Lee wreaks havoc with the vehicles on the road is nicely worked out but poorly executed by the VFX team.
  • Song placements are very average though they have been picturized beautifully. Oh Ringa, Yelelama, Yamma Yamma lead the pack. All the songs sound great too, though familiar.
  • Harris Jeyaraj’s BGM doesn’t have one single notable theme. Very average score that is loud at places.
Misses
  • The anticipation leading to the climax face-off between the hero and villain is great. But, the actual fight is just over the top commercial stuff. How Aravind suddenly gets Bodhidharma’s powers despite the DNA process being interrupted towards the end, is a mystery.

VERDICT
Great effort that could have been flawless if the climax fight had been worked out with more punch. Worth a watch for sure. 80% of the hype has been fulfilled. 

Friday, May 13, 2011

Aayitha Ezhuthu (2004)


What’s it about:
             Set in the world of Tamil Nadu politics, it shows the lives of 3 young men, a student leader Michael, a ruffian Inba and a typical city youngster Arjun.
             Michael wants to serve the people of TN and he shuns even the high profile scholarships that he gets. He inspires all his college mates and the villagers of Neykaaranpatti.  He has a lover and is supported by his concerned mom and 2 sisters.
             Minister Selvanayagam panics due to Michael’s proactive stand and he takes the help of gangsters like Inba to somehow curtail Michael’s growth.  Inba has a troubled relationship with his wife and is caught up between his wife and his own greedy money minded intentions.
             Arjun is hell-bent on going to the US and but he changes his mind after a shootout by Inba to Michael. Arjun saves Michael and he gets inspired by Michael’s ideals and he also joins politics along with Michael and his gang.  Arjun has a nice lover Meera and his father and brother to support him.
             In the end, the team of 4 youngsters lead by Michael wins in their respective constituencies and is shown entering the assembly.

                                                               

Hits
  • The same incidents shown from the 3 protagonists’ points of view, is something very new to Tamil cinema. Very novel and classy handling of the screenplay by Mani Ratnam.
  • A.R.Rahman comes up with one of his best ever scores, both the songs and the BGM. The title track in particular gives goose bumps all over.
  • The 3 heroes are dashing and apt to the core. Suriya as Michael is a dynamo and is aggressive as the ambitious young leader. Madhavan as the local ruffian Inba looks macho and is a real natural as the gangster . Siddharth as the carefree youngster turned politician Arjun is competent too.
  • The 3 heroines look beautiful and have their parts too. Meera Jasmine, a terrific actress is obviously the best of the 3. As the concerned and emotional wife Sasi, she is top class. Trisha is very cute and emotes well. Esha is also very cute and like-able.
  • Some very good support characters. Bharathiraja as the politician is very natural and utterly believable. The lady who is a sisterly figure to Sasi is again very natural. Sreeman as Dilli, Inba's friend and well wisher is first class. Other characters like Michael's mother and his sisters are all life like too. All the other student politicians make an impact too. 
  • The sound design is top class. The sound effects for the fight scenes in particular make a supreme impact
  • Some of the stunts are awesome. Michael’s first stunt and his stunt with Inba on the broken bridge are superb

Misses
  •           The graphics during Michael’s shootout are tacky
  •           The climax fight on Napier Bridge is also very amateurish.
  •           After the 3 protagonists’ perspective sequences, the movie somehow loses grip and fails to inspire. 

VERDICT
Deserved a better run. The making style is supreme. Kudos to the master Mani Ratnam for bringing together such a star cast and giving them equal footage. 

Mounam Pesiyadhe (2002)


What’s it about:
Gautam and Kannan are close friends since a long time. Gautam does not believe in love and he has a very bad opinion about the present state of love and lovers. Gautam is fiercely independent. Kannan is in love with Maha and he is an open flirt with all other girls too, except Sandhya, his ‘mora ponnu’. Kannan is a very obedient father-fearing son.
              Gautam isn’t convinced about Maha’s love with Kannan until the very end when an incident to Kannan shows Gautam the extent to which Maha loves Kannan.
              Gautam thinks that Sandhya is in love with him and he also starts falling in love. But, in a sad turn of events, Sandhya is in fact in love with another guy. Gautam had misunderstood Sandhya’s intentions. Gautam walks away totally shattered and even more skeptical about love.
              In the end, Kannan marries Maha and Gautam walks away all alone, mulling over his loneliness. Then all of a sudden, his longtime fan and a girl who has been loving him unconditionally since his college days, resurfaces and convinces Gautam that she is the girl for him. A fairytale climax that gives a very feel good feeling about love and life.

                                                                    
Hits
  • Yuvan’s terrific songs and nice soothing BGM. An all-time favorite score from Yuvan
  • Suriya looks macho, tough and at the same time very handsome as Gautam. He does adequately and dances like a dream in this film.
  • Nanda as Kannan does very well for his debut. The 2 girls are beautiful and don’t have much to do except a few scenes. Trisha makes her debut and is very cute.
  • The humor is all situational and the 3rd friend Selvam provides some good laughs.
  • The dialogues are all brilliant. Gautam’s take on love has been brought out with some very humorous dialogs.
  • The realistic feel good nature of the entire film.
  • The climax is very intelligently linked with the rest of the film, though it appears very cinematic


VERDICT
A great debut by Ameer and a stark contrast from the rest of his later films. One of the all-time feel good films.