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| "Captain" Vijaykanth has kept his promise not to be preachy in his 150th film Arasangam. He and his director Madhesh have delivered a fairly decent entertainer, which is interesting and racy. The film reminds you of the old uncomplicated action movies that the 'Captain' used to do earlier. Araviarasu (Vijaykanth) is a criminologist working as the chief instructor at the police training college. He uses his brains and brawn to catch criminals and has a passion for his job. Arivu is happily married to Aarthy (Navneet Kaur) after some enjoyable courtship and a song. Meanwhile top scientists and entrepreneurs get murdered in the city, by ordinary people like a student, a poor graduate girl, a milkman. The top echelon of the police force is baffled by this murder spree. Suddenly Arivu is asked to investigate the matter as a top cop and his brother-in-law Manoj (Biju Menon) disappears in mid air as he is on his way from Mumbai to Chennai. The sharp brain of Arivu leads him to Chandru (Rahul Dev), a guy who is killing off top 'brain trust' of future India using innocent people to murder them. However Chandru escapes to Canada when the super cop is just about to close in on him. Not to be discouraged our hero in hot pursuit goes to Toronto, to catch the kingpin behind the operations. In Toronto (everybody speaks Tamil!) he is assisted by a sexy undercover Royal Canadian Police agent Lara ( Seril Brindo). Together they unearth a plot to destabilize India with their "operation brain dead" plan where a foreign force jealous of India becoming a world leader wants to kill all scientists and entrepreneurs. The bad guys are led by Martin (no explanation is given how cop Manoj and Martin look like twins? Maybe the bad guy did a face-off with the good guy?) The rest of the film is how our hero brings back Martin to Chennai and also uncovers another diabolical plot to destabilize the country. The film has everything packaged as masala entertainment, and for a change Vijaykanth is engaging and enjoyable. There are just two songs in the film, by Srikanth Deva to show Navneet's and Seril's glamour. Biju Menon as bad guy is promising, while Rahul Dev looks anemic. Thank god there is no irritating comedy track. For the undemanding masala fan, Arasangam is worth a look, when you compare it with the recent crop of over hyped super hero films that failed to deliver. | ||||||||||||
Arasangam
Dasavatharam (Review)
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| Kamal Hassan's die-hard fans will love him in his 10 different avatars. But for many others, Dasavatharam will fall short of the huge expectation and hype it had generated. So what went wrong? It had absolutely no story to speak of, and the twists and turns were predictable. In the end, it turned out to be a routine film rendered more aggravating by its incessant near-miss plot structure. You desperately want to like the film for its maddeningly zany characters played out by Kamal Hassan. Alas! There's only so much life an actor can pump into a moribund script. It once again proves the old theory that, without a proper story and script, no film, however big the actors are, can succeed. The plot The film opens in the 12th century where Rangaraja Nambi (Kamal Hassan), a staunch Vaishnavite, opposes the removal of Lord Vishnu's idol by King Kulothunga Chozhan (Napoleon), who is a strong believer of Shiva. Nambi is punished and thrown into the deep sea tied to the idol. His wife Kothai (Asin) also kills herself. Then the story cuts to the US where Dr Govind (Kamal) discovers a deadly virus, which catches the attention of the government including President George Bush (Kamal). But his boss tries to sell the vial to the enemies and now it’s the turn of our hero to protect it from causing damage. Dr Govind is pursued by a former CIA agent-turned-mercenary Keith Fletcher (Kamal) and his Tamil interpreter (Mallika Sherawat), who land up in Tamil Nadu. An array of other characters are drawn into the chase—Balram Naidu (Kamal), the Telugu speaking RAW chief, a Chinese martial arts teacher (Kamal) thirsting to take revenge on Fletcher, Vincent Poovarahan (Kamal) a Dalit activist , Krishnaveni Patti (Kamal), Khalifullah Khan (Kamal) and a Punjabi pop singer Avatar Singh(Kamal). Andal, a Brahmin girl, is also unwittingly drawn into a long chase. What follows is a cat and mouse game till the Tsunami climax.
The trouble with the format is that far too many characters of the actor criss-cross without any reason—or they don’t make any difference to the story. It is obvious that characters like the Punjabi pop singer Avatar Singh, the tall Khalifullah Khan, the Japanese martial arts expert , etc., are unnecessarily stitched together to make it a perfect 10. The real crisis point in the film is nebulous. The film also coasts along at a doleful pace—185 minutes. Kamal’s prosthetic makeup, especially as George Bush, Fletcher and Khan, is a bit of a dampener. But Brian Jennings’ special effects, mainly of the climax Tsunami scene, are top class by Indian standards. Himesh Reshammiya’s music is nothing much to talk about other than Kallai Mattum. But Devi Sri Prasad’s background score is superb and makes up for everything. Cinematographer Ravi Varman may take a bow, as his camerawork is glossy and superb. The big plus for watching the movie is the one-man acting school, Kamal Hassan. He pitches in yet another fantastic performance. Among the 10 avataars, the pick of the lot is Naidu the bumbling cop, as the actor is able to bring out his impeccable sense of comic timing. Asin looks cute as the chirpy Andal, but beyond a point her character irritates you with her frequent Perumale.. calls.Her dubbing is top class and deserves special mention. Mallika, in a brief role sizzles. M.S.Bhaskar and napolean in small roles shines. Yes, the film is hugely flawed, but it is still worth a look for its overall packaging and richness in production value. | ||||||||||||||
It's actually hard to believe that in this age of experimentation within the commercial format, the director could think of such a moth-balled story. The earlier Kamal films in which he played dual or multiple roles, like Avvai Shanmukhi, Michael Madan Kamaraj and Indian, were far superior in style and content compared to his latest 10 avatars. Innathe Chinthavishayam
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| Sathyan Anthikad, the biggest brand name in Malayalam cinema after the superstars, is certainly in no mood to take chances. If you are Malayalam cinema's "ladies and family specialist" who has his own following among the audiences, you can't afford to move away from your basic formula that has survived for nearly 30 years. Once again in Innathe Chinthavishayam, Sathyan's 2008 Vishukaineetam, he caters to his core audiences. There is nothing new story wise or in presentation and it's the same old Kadumanga (tender mango pickle) in tetra pack, which has its own unique taste. And Mohanlal the greatest entertainer in Malayalam cinema does his "do-gooder" act, along with Meera. Does the Sathyan- Mohanlal combo succeed? "Yes" to a certain extent, as they have come out with another feel-good family entertainer with a topical message. The film's focus is on three women and their families and moves away from the regular pattern of telling the story through the eyes of its larger-than-life hero. In fact the hero plays second fiddle to the three women and acts more as a Suthradhar who takes the story forward. The writer-director's agenda is to examine the problems that seem to plague marital life today and how urbanisation has caused havoc in personal relationships. The film opens with a voice-over from the director about three couples who are facing martial discord and are on the verge of splitting up. Meet Dr Murali Krishnan (Mukesh) a successful dentist who married Tressa (Sukanya), and has a 10 year-old daughter Lakshmi who is the apple of their eyes. However Murali has a roving eye and is a skirt chaser and his mobile has male names for all his female friends, and soon is cornered by his wife which leads to the dentist walking out on his family. Pitambaran (Vijayraghavan) who was doing well in the gulf throws up his job to live with his wife Premila (Mohini) and their two lovely children, as he has an inferiority complex stemming from the fact that she is beautiful. Pitambaran is always suspicious of his wife's movements, which leads to a showdown between the two. Premila in disgust moves out of her home and goes to live with her rich father, while Pitambaran is an egoist who believes he is right. Similarly the well educated Rehna (Muthumani) married into an orthodox Muslim family consisting of her husband Nassar (Asokhan), his parents and relatives feel suffocated as they are not allowing her the freedom to work as an advocate. She rebels against her husband and his family and starts working independently. Meanwhile our hero Gopa Kumar (Mohanlal) or GK, a garment exporter buys Dr Murali Krishnan's house and when he and the broker Imanuel (Innocent) along with the cook Shajahan (Mammookoya) tries to move into the house they find it still occupied by Tressa. GK does not want to resort to police help because he is "caring and has a large heart that tries to reach across to everybody he meets" including taking care of women in distress! Soon Gopan wins over Tressa her daughter, and the two other women Premila and Rehna who are her 'soul buddies' from college days. Gopan along with his new fashion designer Kamla (Meera Jasmine) plays the good Samaritan and solves all their problems and bring the three feuding couples together. The first half of the film is a rollicking and funny, while the second half drags as Sathyan repeats the gags he has already shown in the first half. The film has no story, as it is string together by a series of incidents. All the women characters are strong, while the men are all weak in comparison. Mohanlal oozes sincerity and he is the pivot around which the film revolves, and his ability to bring his character vibrantly to life with all the nuances of tenderness and humour at his disposal, is reason enough to see this film. Meera repeats her Rasathantram act, as the cute girl with a sad past, while Sukanya, Muthumani and Mohini are a treat to watch as the three women with problems in their marriage while the men who play their husbands Mukesh, Vijayaraghavan and Asokhan are adequate. Ilayaraja's music is melodious, though picturisation is a carbon copy of Sathyan's earlier films. Innathe Chinthavishayam has its flaws but it must be watched because it is able to recreate the Sathyan magic which our families love. | ||||||||||||
De Ingottu Nokiye
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| Balachandra Menon’s De Ingottu Nokiye is one of the most insufferable movies of the millennium! Where is the script Mr. Menon? The film’s tag line says it is “A political striptease by Balachandra Menon”, but by interval you feel like saying De Angottu Nokalle! It’s badly conceived, there is no plot or structure and shot in a haphazard manner. The story has resemblance to half a dozen earlier films. The director wanted to make a political satire but ends up making an “idiotic” film. The story in a nutshell is about Vettikadu Sadasivan (Jagathy Sreekumar) a corrupt and inefficient Chief Minister. His elder brother Vettikadu Suganan (Janardanan) has an old grudge against Sadasivan. Sugunan gets the help of his nephew Vettikadu Sivan (Jayasurya), who is in love with his daughter Chakara (Sara) to settle scores with the younger brother. Sivan kidnaps the Chief Minister and brings in his identical twin brother Sambasivan (Jagathy) who was presumed lost in an accident as the replacement. Sambasivan has a personal agenda to find his long lost love Ammu! What do you do when good actors like Jagathy, Thilakan and Nedumudi Venu ham? Balachandra Menon as usual makes an appearance in the second half just like in his earlier Ammayanu Sathyam as a police officer. Time to escape! | ||||||||||||
