Yaen Di Enna Konna?

Wunderbar Films' previous production was the over-hyped 3, which bombed at the box office, while delivering an extremely impressive, rage of a music album. With chart-topping music, and a bubbly star cast, the house delivers its second production Ethir Neechal, starring Sivakarthikeyan, Priya Anand, Satish, Nandhini and several others.

Ethir Neechal, is the story of Kunjithabaadham, a man haunted by his comical, ill-sounding name, which he decides to get rid of once in for all. Taking the new name of Harish, the protagonist goes on with newfound success in his life and love, till the ill-luck of his old name finds him again. Whether the hero manages to rise over his bad luck and succeed in his life forms the rest of the story.

While the concept of basing a film on a man's unlucky name might sound interesting, the film is probably not so. The pace of the film is extremely slow, with an array of songs smothering the screenplay in the first half, and is a complete drag towards the climax, especially with the emphatic use of slow motion. The film moves in haphazard ways, juggling various parts of the hero's life, until it fixes on a sudden track on which the film rides till the climax. 

Sivakarthikeyan, five films old, shows great promise, but still has a long way to go. Both Priya Anand and Nandhini have given decent performance. While the movie is touted to be a comedy, Satish-Siva's various attempts sadly do not evoke laughter amidst the audience. The cinematography and the editing are passable.

Anirudh Ravichander proves through this film, that he is no one-hit wonder. While the album is not as impressive as his previous one, (which contained the phenomenal Why This Kolaveri?) it is nevertheless hum-worthy. The solo peak period of the film, is the song Local Boys (Sathiyama Nee Enakku), which along with high-octane kuthu beats and corresponding choreography, has cameos by Dhanush, Nayanthara and Anirudh.

Sivakarthikeyan, who rose to success from the television screens to the silver screen, must choose his roles carefully, for none of his films are yet to make an impact in the box office, while Dhanush really needs to show some more care in investing his cash. Targeted towards the B and C centres, Ethir Neechal is a draggy movie that moves ahead pointlessly, to finally turn our good-for-nothing protagonist into the idol of determination, as usual. Even after bringing forth the concept of national athletics and certain sensitive issues involved in it, the film gives the audience nothing that is new to them. Worth a watch, if there's nothing else to do at all this holiday season.

Aditya Baskaran

The Future Is Here.

An interesting title, another talented short-film maker coming up to the big screen, and the success of Thirukumaran Entertainments' previous outings created great expectations for Soodhu Kavvum, starring Vijay Sethupathy, Sanchita Shetty, Simhaa, Yog Japee, MS Bhaskar, Karunakaran and several others.

Kesavan, Pagalavan and Shekhar, all faced with sudden joblessness, join forces with Das, a deluded kidnapper with a heart of gold. As their petty crime career works successfully, they are drawn into a mix-up of massive proportions following their decision to kidnap Arivupragasam, son of the honest and dignified Minister Gnyaanodhayam, who has sinister plans of his own. The series of events that unfold during and after this mix-up, and whether or not our heroes succeed in their ordeals forms the rest of the story.

Performances, as usual. Vijay Sethupathy, is riding on a high, managing to deliver success after success, as he fits into his role as the middle-aged Das to the bill. Simhaa, Ashok, RJ Ramesh, Karunakaran, Sanchitha, MS Bhaskar, Yog Japee, each and every artist do complete justice to their roles. Dinesh Krishnan's cinematography is commendable, and while Leo John Paul's editing is also worth appreciation, the film seems to feel a bit longer than its supposed 2-and-a-quarter hour runtime. Santhosh Narayanan, who has impressed audiences earlier, brings out yet another interesting album with his film, and his background score, though reminiscent of the Oceans series, and his own Attakathi, still takes the visuals to a whole new level.

This genre of cinema, "caper comedy", if it may be called so, has found great success through films like the Oceans' series, and several of Guy Ritchie's films: Snatch, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, RocknRolla to name a few. While very few attempts have been made in Tamil (the films I can recall closest to capers are Saroja, Va Quarter Cutting, and by a long, long limb, Kalakalppu @ Masala Cafe), Soodhu Kavvum is a fresh treatment to audiences, as it manages to entertain the audiences with its serious portrayal of comedy, and quick-paced twists. Nalan Kumaraswamy has succeeded in pulling off what seems like the most engaging entertainer in recent times. A refreshing storyline, with extremely interesting plots and characters, the movie has us in splits because of its extremely natural comedy, and keeps us glued to our seats till the very end.

Thirukumaran Entertainments', which has introduced a debutante director with every one of its production, while making good money, could probably also be bringing forth the directors, the brand-names, of tomorrow's Tamil Cinema.

Aditya Baskaran.