Cast: Vijay, Genelia, Hansika Motwani, Saranya Mohan
Direction: 'Jayam' Raja Production: Aascar Ravichandran
Music: Vijay Antony
Vijay's wish to act in a Shankar's film might have come true with 'Nanban'. However, it is not going to be the usual Shankar movie we had watched so far. But there is nothing to worry about, as 'Velayudham' is 'Jayam' M Raja wearing the mask of Shankar and projecting the 'Ilaya Thalapathi' as the messiah of masses. The story is as old as the sun and the moon. Though it is actually inspired from Telugu hit 'Azad', Kollywood is already familiar to it thanks to a number of films from 'Indian' to to 'Citizen' to 'Samurai' to 'Anniyan'. To make things more clear, 'Velayudham' is about a common man, who vows to clean evil things in the society. The way it has been presented by Raja makes all the difference. The director has packed the screenplay with ingredients that would be liked by one and all. There is action, comedy, romance and sentiment- neatly placed and packaged. In all, Raja, in the able company of Vijay, has ensured that the film has got something for everyone to enjoy. Velayudham (Vijay) is a milk vendor in a village called Pavunoor, who has a sister Kaveri (Saranya Mohan) to shower affection and a cousin Vaidehi (Hansika Motwani) to go crazy about him. Life is cool for Velu till he comes to the city to withdraw money he had saved for his sister's marriage. In the city, there is Bharathi (Genelia D'Souza), a television journalist who creates an imaginary character called Velayudham, and instills fear among baddies that he would put an end to all atrocities in the metropolis. Situations force the milk vendor to wear the attire of the crusader. It's Vijay all the way. From scene one till the end, he is there fighting, dancing and tickling the funny bone. In comedy scenes, he allows Santhanam to dominate him and this brings the roof down. As the actor said in one of his interviews, 'Velayudham' is a Deepavali treat to his fans. Hansika, without vanishing with mere skin show, tries her hands at comedy too and her chemistry with Vijay is cool. Genelia as television journalist fits the role well and she emotes well in serious scenes. Santhanam as Speed throws some good one-liners at the audience which are received well. There are Manivannan, Shayaji Shinde, M S Bhaskar and Suri too who do their parts well. Vijay Antony has played to the gallery by giving songs that would be loved by Vijay fans. Priyan's cinematography does its bit in elevating Vijay's image. V T Vijayan's editing proves the experience the veteran has in the job. Tom Delmar's stunt scene is of top-notch quality. However, the film makes you feel lengthy, especially at the second half. Also, songs appear from no-where putting a speed breaker on proceedings. But these things fail to stop 'Velayudham' from emerging a racy entertainer this Deepavali season. A right choice for the festival mood.
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Banner: Y Not Productions
Cast: Shiva, SPB Charan, Lekha Washington, Kalyan, Abhinaya Shree
Direction: Puskhar Gayathri
Music: G V Prakash

Tamil cinema is undergoing a change. Themes that are once considered taboo are taking shape as films and ‘Va-Quarter Cutting’ by Pushkar-Gayathri duo of ‘Oram Po’ fame is one such attempt.

A funny take at happenings that take place during one night in Chennai, the movie is about a youngster’s search to quench his ‘quarter’ thirst. Though loaded with funny scenes from the beginning, the movie tests our patience thanks to a confusing script.
Sundararajan aka Sura (Siva) comes to Chennai from Coimbatore on his way to Saudi Arabia. Our hero is received by Marthandam (S P B Charan), a veterinary doctor, who is going to marry his sister soon.

Soon after the travel agent informs Sura that he can not taste liquor or women in Saudi as laws are very tough there, he, along with Marthandam, goes to a wine shop to have the last gulp.

Alas! It’s a dry day thanks to elections. Though disappointed, Sura is determined to taste the ‘quarter’ and starts a journey to various places in Chennai where he was told that liquor would be available.

He goes to a politico who supplies wine for votes, a star hotel, an Anglo Indian group of youngsters, a fish market, a gambling den, a kulfi shop and a brothel house among other places, all in search of ‘quarter’.

In his trip, he meets Saraswathi aka Saro (Lekha Washington) who attempts suicide after her parents scold her and King-Prince, a father-son duo (both roles played by John Vijay), who run a gambling centre.

How Siva, in the company of Marthandam and Saro, achieves his mission and leaves for Saudi Arabia is the remaining story, which is stitched with bizarre scenes that are totally new to Tamil cinema.

Siva is as usual cool and tries to do justice to the role. Charan is tailor-made as Marthandam while Lekha Washington is an apt pick to play a school girl who tries hard to pass in twelfth class. It’s a double delight for John Vijay in a dual role. Look out for a cameo by Arya.

Music by G V Prakash Kumar is okay. His background score add more bizarreness to the film. On the flip side, the script gives a quirky feel thanks to a loose script and ‘comedy scenes’ that hardly evoke laughter.

Produced by Y Not Studios and released by Dhayanidhi Alagiri, ‘Va-Quarter Cutting’ is no doubt a bold attempt by Pushkar and Gayathri. But whether it would work or not is the big question here.

Cast: Arjun, Haripriya
Direction: A Venkatesh
Music: Dheena

A rehash of Arjun’s and A Venkatesh’s past films is ‘Vallakottai’ to you. Hardly one could see a new attempt in this movie, which is a masala mix loaded with stunts, songs, sentiments and humour (?) in an overdose.

Even the getups Arjun don in the film are inspired by ‘Nayagan’ Kamal Haasan, ‘Krissh’ Hrrithik Roshan and ‘Pirates of the Carribean’ Johnny Depp. But still you can enjoy ‘Vallakottai’ if you are ready to least mind about logic and game for a commercial cocktail.
Vayuputhran aka Muthu (Arjun) comes out of the prison with a promise to his jailmate Bala (Prem) that he would take care of his ailing brother Sathish, who is about to undergo a surgery.

After visiting Sathish in the hospital, Muthu goes to Vallakottai (from where he gets an assignment) to earn money. His job is to surrender for the murder of Eswarapandian (Suresh), the jameen of Vallakottai, which is to be committed by Eswarapandian’s archrivals Nachiyar (Ashish Vidyarthi) and his brother Sethupathi (Vincent Asokan).

At Vallakottai, Muthu meets Anjali (Haripriya) and Veera Sangili (Ganja Karuppu). As scenes unfold, he falls for Anjali and also comes to know that Eswarapandian is harmless and Nachiyar is the one who is to be punished.

Even as acting as a servant of Nachiyar, Muthu wears different getups in the name of Vayuputhran and teaches a lesson or two to the baddies. In the meantime, Bala gets released from prison and what follows is a twist.

Arjun proves that he is ‘action king’. His fit body and the stunts he do with the help of it are awesome. But all goes waste in a script is that is so weak. Haripriya is beautiful while ‘comedy attempts’ by Ganja Karuppu and Sathyan (as Giri, a friend of Muthu) go haywire.

Ashish Vidyarthi shouts well. But the credits go to the dubbing artiste. Vincent Asokan has little scope to perform. There are Vennira Aadai Murthy (as jailor Terror Thennarasu) and Livingston (as an advocate, who is the brother-in-law of the villain) in minuscule roles.

There is nothing much to say about music (by Dhina), cinematography and editing as everything when put together make one squirm on seat.

To sum it up, Vallakottai starts on a brisk note, loses fizzle as it progresses and ends as damp squib.





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Banner: Pankaj Productions
Cast: Mammotty, Sneha, Arjun, Mamta Mohandas, Malavika
Direction: T. Aravinda Raj
Production: Henry
Music: Vidyasagar
Finally it’s out after a long wait. Been in the making for over a couple of years, 'Vande Matharam' brings together Malayalam superstar Mammootty and Arjun who go hammer and tongs to nail a terrorist who intrudes in south India.

Director of the film Aravindan has opted to go the mass way coming out with scenes that one would usually associate in a Shankar, Vijayakanth and Arjun film in the past.

What is creditable is the homework that Aravindan has done to get the detailing right. He has tried to convey too many things at one time- terrorism, poor plight of farmers and the need to interlink rivers. These things go preachy at times.

At the same time, the director has adopted a unique style in narrating the story. Mammootty and Arjun hog equal screen space and sizzle in their respective roles. The star cast includes Sneha, Nasser, Jagadhi, Rajan P Dev, Riyaz Khan and new comer Deepak Jethi.

The movie begins in Chennai when south head of Indian intelligence department Gopi Krishnan (Mammootty) is entrusted with the task to apprehend Malik (Deepak Jethi), a dreaded Pakistani terrorist who has entered south India.

He takes the help of couple of police officers Anwar Hussain (Arjun) and Ashok (Jai Akash). They stumble upon a mysterious murder in Kanyakumari. They begin their investigations. Slowly they catch hold of vital clues and finally take Malik in their custody.

Now they try to get the words from his mouth. Interrogations begin to ascertain his true identity. Gopi hatches a plan and uses his wife Nandhini (Sneha) for the mission. But fate has different plans.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister (Nasser), saddened at the plight of farmers, decides to launch a grand canal project (interlinking of rivers) in Kanyakumari. Now the ultras plan to foil the event by planting bombs. The onus is on two men (Gopi and Anwar) to end all menace.

It’s been a vintage Mammootty all through. As IB chief, he is there delivering his best in a cool and casual manner. He lends dignity to the role. Arjun does what is expected of him. He plays his part well. He flexes his muscles and minces punch lines too. But the khaakhi clad Arjun reminds us of his earlier movies in many places.

Sneha comes briefly in the movie. She appears in a song and sacrifices her life half way through. Jai Akash and Jagadish fit the role as cops. Jaya Prakash and Riyaz Khan play cameo. Newcomer Deepak Jethi is menacing as baddie. He is there playing his part extremely well. But at many places he reminds one of such villains seen in many Vijayakanth’s movies before.

Music is by D Imman and there are very less songs in the movie but the background score is peppy and brisk. Rajesh Yadav and Panneer Selvam have ensured that all is caught well on camera. Dialogues by R N R Manohar at places evoke curiosity and interest. But the rest sounds too preachy. Produced by Henry, ‘Vande Matharam’ is high on hopes, but delivers little.

Banner: Mogana Movies
Cast: Arulnidhi, Sunaina, Ganja Karuppu, Jaya Prakash, Anupama, Rajkumar
Direction: Pandiraj
Production: M K Thamizharasu
Music: Taj Noor
‘Vamsam’ is a significant movie for reasons a many. Primarily, it is the launch vehicle of Chief Minister Karunanidhi’s grandson Arulnidhi, the hero of the movie and the second movie of Pandiraj who had offered ‘Pasanga’ before. Comparing both the movies would be a bad thought because ‘Pasanga’ was special for its own reason and ‘Vamsam’ is different from the usual.

Though rural and rustic scripts have been on the rise thanks to the background of the directors and the enormous scope, a village script can offer, ‘Vamsam’ offers an assortment of entertainment that caters to all sections of the audience and all members of the family. The movie’s start itself talks it all. The director introduces the villages involved and the traditional celebrations that take place in these villages.

The Plot

As the title goes, ‘Vamsam’, talks about family heritage, traditions involved and the feud existing among various families. This movie talks about one such grudge between two families, the hero’s ‘Eppadu Pattalum Pirpadu Kedathavar’ and the villain’s, played by Jayaprakash, ‘Nanjunda Ma O Si’. The hero is the only descendant of his family. His mother played by Anupama Kumar, brings her son up in a traditional way so that he doesn’t glue to his family’s ancestral violent nuances. Between all this, a love story happens between Arulnidhi and Sunaina, a bubbly, happy yet brave and courageous girl.

A certain incident entangled with revenge and rivalry takes place. The result leads to the clash of the families again. How Sunaina is involved and what happens to the love story forms the rest of the plot. The movie progresses with unusual and unpredictable twists and turns.

The Ingenious Pandiraj

Pandiraj proved his mettle in narrating in ‘Pasanga’ itself. Therefore consistency and expectations would naturally have to be dealt with, in his second movie! He’s fabricated a clever screenplay. The movie talks about feud and revenge, and at the same time, love and peace and combining it with family and traditional values. So the story offers an enormous scope to present variety and director Pandiraj has succeeded in every bit.

Pandiraj has also penned the dialogues for the movie. When it matters, they are subtle and straight forward. A cheerful person he is, he has made sure the fun element in the movie is not lost. Comedy as an ingredient is abundant in the movie. Thanks to Ganja Karuppu and Arulnidhi, a few scenes are quite funny. Scenes to be noted: look out for the hilarious scenes where the villagers face difficulty in accessing their mobile networks. They climb on trees, water tanks and anything reaching the sky, to ‘get their signal’.

The Characters and Performances

Arulnidhi, the debutant, has performed really well. He seems to be a promising actor and if groomed well, will go a long way. His performance in flirty scenes and his variation for the intense scenes are commendable. Sunaina as the courageous village girl is impressive. Her character will be talked about and so will her performance. Watch out for her! Anupama Kumar as Arulnidhi’s mother has a lot of screen time. She’s done her role well.

Now we go to the villain’s camp! Jayaprakash seems to be Pandiraj’s favourite for important roles. We saw him play a caretaking teacher in ‘Pasanga’ and now he plays the villain in ‘Vamsam’. As the villain, he is wicked. Rajkumar as Jayaprakash’s son has also acted fiercely. As an avenging son, he fits the role perfectly.

The character to take notice of is Kishore. Appearing in the flashback, Kishore plays the role of Arulnidhi’s father. Though he comes only for a brief while in the movie, he has made his mark! He’s executed an emotion-packed performance! Something similar to what he did in ‘Porkalam’ but an improvised version in this movie.

Technical Supremacy

‘Vamsam’ though a rural subject has a lot to offer technically. The movie is high on technical standards.

The first technician who will have to be appreciated is Mahesh Muthuswamy, the director of photography. His camera has managed to capture rustic details in every frame. The celebrations in the village, the ‘jalli kattu’ scenes, etc have been shot amazingly that even the villagers may not have been aware of the shots being taken. The action sequences and chasing scenes have been brilliantly captured as well. Scene to be noted: Watch the scene where Kishore shakes head and so does the camera, giving you a feel of dizziness. Well shot!

The next is stunt director Silva. The hero’s not a hunk with muscular physique. Hence the stunt director has adopted an intelligent fight design. The fights are practical and nothing really cinematic.

Music by Taj Noor, who also debuts, is decent but he scores full marks in his background score. The rerecording in the movie, especially during intense scenes holds the grip of the audience. The editor, Yoga Basker also deserves appreciation for his apt pruning, yet further more would have impressed the audience!

The sound department of the movie, i.e. the audiography by Lakshmi Narayanan is classy. He’s got hold of valuable sound inputs from the villages, especially during the customary celebrations in the villages. On the whole, kudos to the ‘Vamsam’ Team!

Director Waterman
Cast Eashwar, Dhanya, Nassar, Bala Singh
The first thing that struck about the movie is the relevance of its title. Not only any attempt to make sense of the title proves futile, but also the entire movie watching experience is excruciatingly painful. And this, after a week of promising releases that upped our hopes about the general state of affairs. It’s as if the idea of making the movie is broken into pieces and entrusted to slackers. As a result, you get a product that is so

incoherent – every single aspect (script, dialogues, music and even acting) appears to be made individually and put together to form a final product. Is it only bad editing?

The story traces the life of spoilt rich kid Eashwar, whose father is imprisoned in a murder case. Eashwar is a money lender, along with his mother, and collects repayments with his friend Singampuli. Everything is hunky dory in Eashwar’s life until Dhyana comes along to the village, as the village postmaster’s educated daughter. It is love at first sight but the girl shows some restraint, thankfully. But love develops inevitably. Throw in a few twists and turns, a murder, an accidental witness, corrupt police officers and a contrived, supposed to tug at your heart, climax the movie is complete.

The director has obviously felt the need to tell the world that his movie ought to be taken seriously. So the movie suffers from a heavy Sethu hangover. It worked for Sethu since the movie had an earnest story and everything about it felt right. But alas, any attempt to replicate that classic will always be overshadowed by that powerful movie. Virunthali suffers from that fate exactly.

Eashwar shows some potential, if it was with a better script or, probably, director, he would have garnered some attention. Rest of the cast, including the heroine, Dhyana, whose character is supposed to evoke sympathy, is poorly written and comes across as unfinished. As a result, you feel nothing for the sufferings, the film’s characters undergo.

Everything else, including S S Kumaran’s background score and songs is unremarkable. The songs, not only hinder whatever progress the movie makes, they also are painfully loud and ear-splitting. Hariharan saves the ‘Un Jannal’ song solely owing to his credentials.

Despite the availability of a producer like Rajesh Gopinath, the director and his team has failed to cash in on the opportunity. Virunthali is nothing but an attempt at movie making, a bad one at that. In the end, the director might have learnt some lessons but the fact that he attempted something mind numbing as this will remain forever in his bio-data.
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Banner: Star Makers

Cast: Kathir, Arundhathee

Direction: Senapathimagan

Production: S A Chandrasekaran

Music: Barani

SA Chandrasekaran, who is known for action-packed revolutionary themes, has ventured to produce a film with a newcomer Senapathy Magan wielding the megaphone in 'Veluthu Kattu'.

The movie has shades of usual SAC films all through and a storyline that is as old as the hill. A spoilt youth who reforms in life for the sake of his love is what the film is all about. Senapathy Magan has tried to make the venture commercially viable with item numbers, comedies and twists, which are enjoyable only in parts.

The script lacks punch and conviction at many places. The movie boasts of several characters with events unfolding at an uneasy pace during the second half. The melodramatic latter part of the movie reminds one of Vikraman.

Kathir (Kathir) and Arukani (Arundhathi) are childhood friends, who are very close. Since their school days, they are fascinated towards each other and resolve to marry once they become adults.

Kathir grows up to become a ruffian but his love for Arukani grows strong. When there is strong protests for their marriage, Arukani throws a challenge at him. She takes promise from him that he would go to Chennai and come back rich earning money through honest ways and she would wait for him till then. Kathir comes to Chennai and fulfills her desire. But he gets a shocker when he returns to his native place.

The whole film is centered on two principal characters played by newcomers Kathir and Arundhathi. They have tried to liven up to the proceedings with their performance complimented by a host of new faces. Kathir looks fresh but at places reminds Karthi of 'Paruthiveeran'. Arundhathi has a major role to play especially in the second part.

Music is by Bharani with a couple of hummable tunes, while cinematography is bright and good. Produced by S A Chandrasekaran, the movie by Senapathy Magan could have been much better had he concentrated on the script and trimmed it an interesting way.

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