Business Man (2012)

This is a total anti-hero movie where a young man named Surya comes to Mumbai to shake up the entire city. He wants to revive the mafia in Mumbai, which has been eliminated thanks to the commissioner's efforts. In the process, he earns the wrath of the police and opposing politicians. He soon starts mafia franchises all over the country and is in a position to decide even the ruling party in the national elections. There is a reason as to why he does all these things. Side by side, he is also busy romancing the commissioner's daughter who falls for him despite his dubious modus-operandi.

The reason given by Surya for the mafia to flourish, is pretty shocking. There are so many logical loopholes that conveniently favor the hero. He is all conquering, bashes goons to pulp singlehandedly and opposes an entire police battalion. The police also fear him for some strange reason despite having so many arms and ammunition.

The entire movie happens in a Telugu speaking Mumbai.

If the movie is even half bearable, it is thanks to Mahesh Babu. His dialog delivery, his totally fiery and aggressive body language, his cold looks etc etc make this movie an affair strictly restricted to his legion of fans.  The fact that this is an anti-hero movie where the lead hero doesn't have even a shade of gentlemanly qualities, earns a few more brownie points. The stunt scenes are typically extravagant and 'mass'. That's about it.

The reason for Surya to do what he does is again pretty cliched. It is personal vendetta. The love track is silly and typical of any commercial movie. The songs are mostly lackluster with Thaman shamelessly stealing the whistle tune of 'Fistful of Dollars' in the BGM. Kajal looks scorching hot and sexy. Her friend in the movie is totally irritating with her accent and lame explanations. Nasser is just a shadow of the imposing actor he was in the 90s. Prakash Raj as the villain has done a similar role in countless movies before.

VERDICT: A big disappointment on the whole, and strictly for Mahesh Babu fans. Others may ignore this over-the-top movie. 

Dookudu (2011)

My first Telugu movie and I chose to see it for Mahesh Babu alone. I was impressed by his style and the hype that he has among Telugu movie watchers. Superstar Mahesh as the title proudly proclaims and I must say this man has amazing screen presence, solid dialog delivery, decent dancing skills, good emotive skills and above all he is a superstar without a shade of a doubt.

In Dookudu he is a cop (Ajay) and while he is not busy plotting the baddies' downfall as an undercover cop, he takes care of his father (Shankar Narayana) who has just recovered from a coma. At some other times, he woos the girl he covets. There are adequate doses of drama and staged comedy. The main plot diverts quite often. When the baddies are the very same people who were responsible for backstabbing his father, it becomes more convenient for our hero. He uses brawn, lots of staged comic drama and of course some pure star power to overthrow the baddies led by Nayak.

There are some nice songs by Thaman. The movie is pretty long at close to 3 hours but Mahesh Babu holds the movie together. There is no crass comedy or skin show. It is a pretty decent movie for commercial standards. But, the action scenes are absurd. They have taken too much cinematic liberty.

Sonu Sood plays the typical Indian commercial movie villain. There are other villains too like Sayaji Shinde. Brahmanandam tries to make us laugh with his trademark style. Prakash Raj has a larger than life 'messiah' like role

On the whole, a wholesome treat for Mahesh Babu fans as we get to see him as a mass hero, a police officer, a politician, the entertainer etc. all in one movie. His punch dialogs were a rage, thanks to the subtitles, I was able to enjoy them as much as a Telugu speaking watcher.

VERDICT: Proper masala entertainer. Mahesh Babu carries the movie to the winning post. 

Kadhalil Sodhappuvadhu Yeppadi movie review

The much acclaimed recent super hit. Finally, got the chance to see it. The movie is a light hearted college fare that is enjoyable most of the time. It's basically about how a pair fall in love, fall apart and then fall back in place again in the end.

The way Arun and Parvathi fall in love is pretty cute particularly the episode around missing one another through sms. They start falling apart gradually due to no particular reason. As Arun himself says, he behaved like a guy and she behaved like a girl. That's what happens every time they have a lengthy discussion.

Amala Paul's hairstyle is the clincher. It adds to her cutesy value. Siddharth manages to look boyish and he can pass off as a college kid even now in his early 30s. But, Siddharth's constant PTCs get tiresome beyond a point. The same voice modulation and the same frustrated gibberish about love failure.

Thaman's songs and BG score are in sync with the mood and feel of the movie. They are youthful and peppy. The 'Thavarugal Unargirom' song in the climax is well placed.

Parvathi's parents' problems in their marriage and subsequent patch-up is a prominent subplot in the movie. Suresh as Parvathi's dad has an atrocious wig in place. But, a good show by him. His wife in the movie looks ravishing. Arun's parents are very light-hearted and always trump for their son. The small references to FB are enjoyable. Another subplot is the love between Cathy and John and how Cathy's ex-boyfriend tries to play spoilsport between them. The 2 SS Music VJs Pooja and Shyam play these parts. The hunky Shyam has a long way to go in the acting stakes

Arun's 2 friends are a riot. While one keeps getting into trouble with some nonsense, the other makes us laugh with his innocent and fidgety moves with one of the junior girls in college.

On the whole, it is definitely a new experience.

VERDICT: Love, the most common parameter in our movies continues to entertain us through another take. 

Mounaguru (2011)

Karunakaran is a brooding college going youngster. He is moody and deals with things in quite a straightforward and principled way. He joins an Arts college in Chennai after he is kicked out of his first college. He lives in the hostel while his mom lives with her first son in Chennai. Karuna's family sees him as a burden. His sister-in-law's sister has a soft corner for him.

There are a series of thefts that take place in his Chennai hostel. Karuna also has run-ins with a notorious guy in college. On the other hand, the greedy AC of police gets mixed up with a murder, for money and he starts covering up the mess that he has created along with his team of cops. He gets caught on tape once and this tape goes missing. It is traced that the thief at the hostel is behind this tape theft too.

Then poor Karuna gets mixed up with these cops and he escapes death barely, is sent to the mental asylum and goes through hell. An honest pregnant cop offers some hope with her acumen and effective investigation but, Karuna can't escape that easily. The ending is quite different though the heroism in the end could have been toned down.

Hits

• The grip in the screenplay. It is tight, unwavering, engaging and very interesting. 
• Solid roles for Uma Riyaz as the pregnant cop, John Vijay as the ruthless greedy cop (his eyes are terrorizing), the helpful madman in the asylum, the other cops, the college father, the warden, the hero's mother etc.
• Iniya as the girl in love with the hero reminds us of Asin from her M.Kumaran days, both in looks and voice. Very homely girl
• Arulnidhi's height, serious looks and bland voice suit this character very well. 
• Thaman's title track and BG score are among the highlights. 

Comments

• The climax has some heroism which could have been toned down given the realistic nature of the movie
• The justification for the thefts aren't very convincing. The suspense built up behind the identity of the thief is awesome but, the moment of revelation is quite bland
• The love scenes though few, aren't needed much. 

VERDICT

A real surprise from this unheralded team. A knockout movie. One of the best of 2011. Thrill, surprise and suspense galore. 

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.