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.

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