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

Oru Porambokku.

It was a dream debut for Pandiraj, as the 2009 sleeper hit Pasanga brought in both commercial success and critical acclaim - and the big bonanza, of 2 National Awards. While his last outing Marina did not bring in the moolah, the adverse title and bright star cast of Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga, livened expectations.

And we the people, have been miserably cheated.

KBKR, is the story of two inseperable friends - 'Theni' Kesavan, and 'Pattai' Murugan, who are your usual good-for-nothing loafers, who aim to become politicians in the near future. Their life, their love, and whether or not they succeed in their ambition, seems to be the apparent crux of this story.

Positives, yes. Able performers have been chosen to fit their roles, and both Sivakarthikeyan and "Parotta" Soori deserve credit for making the film lively through its runtime. Vijay's cinematography is commendable, and coupled with A.Siva's editing, the movie is laid out to a decent runtime. While Yuvan Shankar Raja's album is shockingly forgettable, his background score gels perfectly with the film. The heroines, Bindu Madhavi and Regina Cassandra, still have a long way to go.

At the end of the film, it would not be criminal to say that the effort of this very able cast and crew has been blind, due to a rather baseless storyline/screenplay. The movie, runs amok through its course, pointless throughout, only to end at what seems like an unexpectedly forced message. The pace of the movie is lethargic, though there are those rare bright spots of comedy that lighten us up a bit. It is tragic to see Pandiraj, the man who brought to screens the impressive Pasanga, fail to impress us yet again with KBKR.

Kedi Billa Killadi Ranga, is a haphazard-running film, which invokes a few laughs. Those impatient enough to catch it on Aditya TV, or some other channel in the recent future, can take this ordeal up.

Aditya Baskaran