Nanban - The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

It is not the first time we had such remakes or rather as others say a successful or a faithful remake. Can't understand what is a faithful remake?? Well, basically there are two things here when it comes to remake. A very popular wholesome entertainer remake like Bommarilu, Pokkiri and a class movie remake just like A wednesday. It's quite obvious here that Shankar preferred the first which is quite a safe bet but a risky one as well because we all know what happened to Sholay. But to put it simple, what Shankar has done is what Raja had done in the past. I am not degrading Shankar here but the considering the films that he has done in the past, he is certainly capable of more than this copy paste thing. But in the end of the day, it's the quality of the final product matters to the audience. In that aspect, Shankar really had cherished.

The Original production '3 Idiots'. Well, first and foremost, 3 Idiots is not an EPIC movie. I would rather say this is an overrated movie. But that doesn't stop the entertainment the movie gave to us. It's a full fledged wholesome entertainer which as Shankar said in the audio release function, will entertain you for the whole 3 hours nonstop. It's quite hard to find out the boring scenes in 3 Idiots which will leave the director who is going to remake the movie unclear on whether or not to cut/remove any portion from the original product. It is also a good gesture that Shankar in the audio release function clearly given full credit to the original script writer of the movie and the outcome of Nanban should be credited to him and not him.

The Blondie

The actor Vijay. Probably the first time, I am using the term ACTOR adjacent to Vijay. With the stereo typed roles that Vijay was doing in the past and the mass that the actor carried from all his previous movies, I guess there isn't a single movie which has done without action sequences. It is indeed an appreciable fact that the actor leaving his mass fan following and gave his full liberal to the director for the movie. I hope this continues in his usual movies as well. The comparison is something you cannot stop and that too for a movie like 3 Idiots which I guess many would have seen. On that note, has Vijay given justice to Aamir? Hmmmm, I would say partially yes. Why partial? I can come in detail on the TUCO part in my review.

The director has not changed anything from the original production. Which is good as well as bad. Good for the people who have seen 3 Idiots (once or twice) will be satisfied that it is a genuine remake. It is very good for the people who haven't watched 3 Idiots and they will be satisfied to the core.

Jiiva, probably the one person, who has tried to be original instead of 'dittoing' his character from 3 Idiots. At nowhere in the movie, with his screen presence, he has given a slightest feel of Sharman Joshi. I would say he is the best cast in the character for Nanban without any doubt.

The Tuco

You enroll all good actors who are capable of doing more or rather have their own style brand. And when you ask them to succumb it becomes artificial to an extent. That's what happened to Vijay, Sathyan and even Sathyaraj. Before watching the movie, I was seeing reviews and comments that these three actors have given their best exceeding the expectations. But, honestly what I felt was they were asked to imitate from their respective characters in 3 Idiots. But I am not trying to say that they didn't do well, but they looked artificial in many scenes. Sathyaraj was pick of the lot where the way he tried to stress 'S' as 'issss' trying to imitate Boman Irani. Initially when he was introduce with the lecture lesson at the hostel, it sounded interesting but when it was moving along, it started a bit annoying. Same goes with Sathyan. His talents are left unused by many directors. This guy is actually capable giving stunning performances. He has done really well in this movie but just because the script is being ripped even he too had to render the same as his character counterpart in 3 Idiots. Had he given his standard way, I felt it would have been livelier and even more entertaining.

Vijay on the other hand, had tried to imitate Aamir Khan but didn't work as expected. We all know the character of Aamir and we all know the capability of Vijay especially in such character. He has given his best in Kushi which is more or less similar character. I am not trying to call the roles enacted by these actors are bad but I am trying to say that the movie would have been even more brisk and entertaining or rather a new look if they were asked to play their natural game.

The Angel Eyes

First character to spoil the sport is Ileana. PERIOD. The runner up is Srikanth. I wonder what made Shankar to pick this guy who is pretty important in the movie because he is the narrator. Basically, he lags in expression and he has got more screen presence where he has to express when he talks to his parents and in the climax. The way Maddy brought the feel is completely missing in Srikanth.

And comes the Legend 'Harris'. Be it his background score or his songs, at nowhere in the movie it synchronizes with the movie. Two of his songs were saved because of the picturization which are 'Asku Asku' and 'Heartiley Battery'.

Verdict

A neat remake of 3 Idiots. If you have not seen 3 Idiots, this movie is a perfect entertainer. If you have seen 3 Idiots (once), this movie is a good entertainer. If you have seen 3 Idiots many times, better to SKIP.

ENDHIRAN - MAGNUM OPUS

From almost sticking to a stereotype formula with his core plot, the social awareness director, Shankar has finally come up with a pure Sci-Fi genre with a tag 'Asia's costliest movie' and with the costliest cast. I am not a great fan of the director but most of his movies have provided enough entertainment be it any form. The director was quoted as someone equivalent to KB in yielding the required input for the movie from any potential cast. I was one among the people who had ROTFL for this statement given by Rajnikanth during Sivaji's silver jubilee celebration. But I was awestruck that the director has got that calibre though not to the extent of KB. If one has to do a quick brush up, almost all his movies carried the same core plot but told to us in much more interesting way so that one wouldn't feel it's a replica. So, does the costliest movie in Asia worth the money spent on it? You must have known Shankar on how he spends money lavishly on areas where it's absolutely not worth of, but Endhiran is an exception. The maker didn't invest his bet on unwanted irrelevant sets. Neither had he spent on disco camera for the stupid stunts nor for the roll over camera for songs. Every money spent of animatronics is worth each and every penny.

The name is Rajnikanth

Be it any Rajni movies, one would mostly talk about his screen presence, style, punch dialogues, action stunts but hardly one talks about his acting or the performance. It had been made by the man himself as he chosen the path to comfort his calibre. Forget about the path he choose, there will be a much or major impact because of his screen presence. There were movies which ran just because for the magic man. But hardly a very few directors uses the acting skills in him. In the 80s, we have seen the BAD ASS Rajni in Netrikan, Moondru Mugam, Moodru Mudichi, Avargal etc., Shankar has significantly used his potential and it's where Rajni just took over from the director for a period of 30 mins in the movie with his magnificent performance as a bad ass. Not many carry that villainous wicked look. Many villains require dialogue delivery or voice modulation or aggressive roughness to make them call a Villain. But, the opening scene of the version 2.0 is evident from the wicked look followed by his ultra laughter. It's not just the bad ass role where Rajni outshined. There has been enough hard work from the man. If you observe Chitti throughout the movie, you could make out the way he walks, the way he hugs, the way he talks, the way he moves his body signifies the amount of hard work the man has put. Why Endhiran is different from other Rajni movies? Can you think of any Rajni movies where there is no introduction song with a mass opening scene and sans punch dialogues? Well, watch Endhiran DOT

Shreya was superb. Nayantara was plump. Trisha was sexy. But for some reason, I just HATE Ash to the core. I used to text message during her screen presence in Raavan. But in Endhiran, she didn't even allow me to answer my phone. I am not ashamed to admit that she is indeed a HEART THROB. Good that unlike other heroines of Tamil cinema, she managed her presence to a significant part of the movie. Her lip sync was near perfect and an apt voice selection to dub for her. Though there isn't anything to talk about the chemistry, the pair looked individually great as the movie doesn't demand intimate relationship except for the songs.

Danny as Dr Borra was strictly OK to his role. But the director should have at least helped to work with his lip sync. Except for the dialogues in English, he was having a very tough time with his lip sync. But most of the scenes where kept as a long shot to hide it. There aren’t any special characters to talk about the other cast in the movie. The whole movie was run by Rajni-Ash-Rajni with some mind blowing visuals from the maker.

Creativity Emperor Shankar

I will never call him a great director. Neither I call James Cameron or Andy Wachowski a great director. But these directors are known for their creativity. Of course, it's too early to map Shankar on par with these legends or the benchmark directors. But at least in India, Shankar earns that respect for directing a movie like Endhiran. The story is perfect. Screenplay waves from good to better to worse to best as the movie progresses. Dialogues are simple and smart. Especially the one liners delivered by Chitti is magic. Direction again waves in a similar sinusoidal pattern. But at the end of the day, his creativity stands tall diluting the areas of miss hit. The way he choreographed the stunt sequences in the climax is simply magnificent and top notch. There are enough scenes where there is Shankar's magic touch to speak about his creativity. The scene where Rajni portrays as Amman has a beautiful correlation to the start of the scene where speakers chant Amman song. The way how the Robots manipulates and unites to form different pattern makes one spellbound. The usage of Animatronics is excellent in almost all the scenes and the graphics is something a bonanza for the audience. We had seen a decent CG work in his recent movies and we have seen hardcore desi CG works in many Indian movies as well. The man's strongest power in film making, Visuals, has helped him in Endhiran brilliantly though there was an over dosage it was much appreciated.

What are the SIGHS in Endhiran?

The man behind the camera, Randy has easily the unluckiest guy in the planet, who has wasted the opportunity given to him. After coming from a rich Sivaji (talking with respect to the cinematography) Endhiran is a damp squib. The visuals of the songs were strictly OK with a mind-blowing location carrying more value. The man should try to learn what to show and how to show! Good that he has shown Ash as a beauty prince!

Another master to contribute to the sigh is our renowned Editor Anthony. When every other crew wants Tamil cinema to be taken to the next level, our editor wants to go back a step. There is a pause many places and people are enlightened that there will be a song in another 3 seconds with an abrupt cut. The switch over doesn't really happen in a smooth manner between scenes and this makes the quality diminished.

The long run of the movie is yet another factor to sigh. When you have plenty of visuals towards the end, why not place the song appropriately or leave a few unwanted songs and release it as a separate album? The first 30 minutes where kept for the sake not to miss two songs! When Shankar can understand the strength of Rajni and kept the bad ass character, he could have captivated to run long by shortening other sequences.

Jarring BGM is another pain in the ass. Credit for making an effective audio should goto the sound engineers for making the Robot voice clear with robotic sound. I am strictly against the version 1.0, 2.0 BGM track. Thanks to the Arima song which has moulded quite efficiently for the climax background score. But suprisingly the songs which I thought would be pathetic have come out good. I never expected Boom Boom Robot da to be choreographed well but it ended with a good note. We lost the opening song as it was segmented as the movie required. Irumbile was just OK whereas Arima Arima had massive visuals. Kilimanjaro was saved because of its location.

Verdict - Step inside a theatre to experience a roller coaster ride DOT

ரெட்டை சுழி - மெகா சீரியல் எவ்வளவோ தேவலை!

படம் பார்க்கும் போது எனக்கு ஏற்பட்ட சந்தேகம் இந்த படத்திற்கு எதற்காக இயக்குனர் சிகரத்தையும் இமயத்தையும் நடிக்க வைத்துள்ளனர்? நல்ல Character artist நடிக்க வைத்திருக்கலாமே!! வீனா போச்சு ரூ 430. இவர்கள் மட்டும் போதாது என்று S Pictures வேற. அப்படி என்ன தான் கதை இதுல? சுமார் கி பி 40 வருடங்களாக தோழர் என்கிற நம்ம பாரதிராஜாவுக்கும் ராமசாமி என்கிற பாலச்சந்தருக்கும் பகை. உங்க வீடு பகை இல்ல எங்க வூட்டு பகை இல்ல அப்படி ஒரு பகை. இந்த வீட்டில் ஒரு பயிங்கிலி அந்த வீட்டில் ஒரு பட்டாலத்தானை லவ்ஸ் பண்றாங்க. அட ஆமாங்க சின்ன வயசுலேந்து லவ்ஸ்! அவங்க சேர்வார்களா இல்லையா?

இதுக்காக படத்த பாருங்கன்னு சொல்ல வரல, கண்டிப்பா சேருவாங்க! படத்தில் ஒன்றாவது சொல்ற அளவிற்கு நல்லா இருக்கும்னு பார்த்தா ஒன்னு கூட தேரல! இயக்குனர் தாமிரா ரொம்ப தந்திரமா யோசிச்சு பெரும் புலிகளுடன் சின்ன வாண்டுகளையும் சேத்து நடிக்க வச்சிருக்கார். ஆனால் பசங்களை வச்சி படம் எடுத்தா பாண்டிராஜ் ஆகமுடியாது சார்.

படம் தான் மொக்கைனு பார்த்தா மியூசிக் டாப் டக்கர். ஒரு பாட்டும் மனசுல நிக்கல. இதுல வேற அவங்களே அவங்களை கலாயக்குறாங்க. படத்தோட Editor பாராட்டணம். ஒரு முழு நீல சீரியல் கொடுதிருகாறு. Camera அது இதுனுலாம் போக வேண்டிய அவசியமே இல்லை. படத்தோட கதை எல்லாத்தையும் மறக்கடிக்க வச்சிடுச்சு. பாலச்சந்தருக்கு ஒரு 4 பக்கம் dialogue. பாரதிராஜாவிற்கு என்ன ஒரு 8 பக்கம் இருக்கும். சின்ன சின்ன வாண்டுகளுக்கு சேர்த்து ஒரு 10 பக்கம் அம்புட்டுத்தான்.


நானும் எத்தனையோ படங்கள் பார்த்திருக்கேன், அவ்வளவு ஏன் கோலங்கள் மெகா சீரியல் கூட பார்த்திருக்கேன் சார்! இப்படி ஒரு காவியத்த என் வாழ்நாளில் பார்த்ததில்லை! மிக்க நன்றி தாமிரா அவர்களே! நீர் வாழ்க! சமீபத்தில் ஒரு புதிய விதிமுறை போட்ருக்காங்க loss ஆனா மறுபடியும் அதே producer கூட இன்னுரு படம் பண்ணிதரனம்னு. எப்போ அது இயக்குனர்களுக்கு தகும்னு தெரியல!

Review posted @ www.clapsandboos.com

Kaloori - Quite controversial

Yesterday I saw 2 movies back to back. Initially I saw Evano Oruvan and later I saw Kallori.
To be honest guys, it was a big disappoinment. I read someone saying "those who say the movie is bad, doesnt have the essence of watching a movie" I strongly condemn the fact.
Look my review.
Story is about the college life of a set of students, who have studied together starting from the school till college. ALL NEW COMERS DONT SHINE. Balaji Sakthivel (BS) has attempted to use new comers in this film, but he made a mistake in the hero, Muthu. He certainly lag in acting. But we should appreciate BS for his realism, especially with the new faces, when I say faces, I literally mean their faces. HATS OFF to BS.
Its not just the story about the college life. It also tells us about their personal life and their struggles in their life to study. Tamana character (Shobana) is quite expected character in this story. A well off girl, who joins the college temporarily and later due to the friendship, they bond together and sticks in the same college.
Each and everyone amongst the crew have a different character and they are well narrated by the director. But an important character in the movie is Kayal, who always wants their friendship to last long till they die and doesnt want any other sort of relationship amongst them.
Comedy part of the movie comes pretty natural. It comes in their slang and dialogue delivery. As usual, when it comes to college life, there will be a comedian kinda character in the class room. Here in this movie, two unknown person (new) has done neat role. There is no dialogue comedy, but it's quite interesting to see them and they have also been a part in blossoming friendship between the hatred.
The performace of the character Ramesh is really good and full marks to his realism.
But I really dont understand the strategy adopted by the director. I dunno why he feels that only TRAGIC ENDING will get an applause from the audience. Ofcourse I too agree with his point, but that tragedy should somehow be related to the story. I wonder why did he bring politics into the picture for a tragic climax. Thought the scene is well shot, I strictly dont agree with the climax. He could have scripted the story with a tragedy (if at all he wishes to) in a different way, to be precise, more apt and supportive to the story.

Don't watch the movie with the FAME THAT HE IS THE DIRECTOR OF 'KADHAL'

Verdict: Not a noteworthy one from the Kadhal Fame Director.