Sivaji - THE BOSS - Review

Most of the times, a movie would come with such huge expectations that it would just crush under its own weight but once in a lifetime, there comes a movie which defies realism, gravity, logic and still prove to be an enthralling and riveting experience. Sivaji belongs to the second kind. Its escapist cinema at its best. Who needs a story when the movie is all about style, substance and above all the SUPERSTAR?

The first half has the usual dose of comedy and romance aimed at the family audience and the kids, with punch dialogues kept at a minimum. Sivaji, the US return software engineer wants to do something good to the society and starts building hospitals and colleges for the poor and the needy. In the process, he gets into the bad books of one Adi Seshan, a big industrialist. The movie really moves into fourth gear, a few reels before the interval when Sivaji loses all his wealth and property because of the villain’s machinations, and is just left with a single one rupee coin. From this point onwards, the story is all about a one man crusade against the rich Indians who amass huge wealth by minting Black money, how he converts them into white (a la Dawood Ibrahim!) and how he successfully overpowers the villain. Actually the movie is all about BLACK. Be it the skin color of the hero which is ridiculed by the heroine or the “Cool” shades that radiate with vibrant energy, the black over coat which oozes class n style, black is the color associated with the honest hero contrasting the all white attire of the villain. Though the story is very thin on paper and some of the scenes are plain outlandish (the train scene for example), the sheer screen presence of Rajni more than makes up for the lack of a cohesive story line. The last few reels of the movie, starting from the athiradi song, with a charismatic Rajni in a clean shaven avatar, would be lapped up by his fans and make the audience root for more. Shankar has unabashedly donned his fanboy hat and has paid homage to the biggest brand in South Indian cinema. The first night scene, with Rajni in his inimitable style imitating the superstars of the yore, should be one of the most hilarious scenes ever conceptualized and executed in Tamil cinema. Wow!

Rajni in the title role is the best thing about the movie despite excellent performances from all the lead actors and astounding work by all the technicians. Thalaivar’s dance in the athiradi song is out of the world and Hats off to the costume design and make up team for making him look at least 20 years younger.

The villain in this movie doesn’t mouth loud dialogues and comes across as a polished and sophisticated person. Suman as the suave villain fits the role to a T. There is a scene in which Suman confronts Rajni outside the court, which really vindicates Shankar’s choice for the villain. Shriya is gorgeous in the songs, though otherwise she doesn’t have much scope to perform. Her dance movements just accentuate her curves and her perfectly toned body is a treat to the eyes. Vivek as rajni’s “ammathambi” brings the whole house down with his witty one-liners and digs at the present crop of heroes. The rest of the cast are adequate and it is good to see the old foes, Rajni and Raghuvaran (in a special appearance) on the same page. Nayantara looks like a dream in the opening song.

The dialogues in the movie, with constant references to rajni’s yesteryear hits would be a big hit and would appeal to the mass audience. Sujatha deserves a pat on his back for coming up with the perfect dialogues for a Rajni movie and not being too rhetorical. The racer-sharp dialogues in the tea kadai scene, when rajni’s star is on the ascendancy in the movie, would make the audience go crazy in the aisles. AR Rahman's songs are even better on screen. KV Anand’s cinematography and Thotta Tharani’s art direction are pleasing to the eyes and provide the necessary grandeur associated with a Shankar movie. Kudos!

Shankar’s screenplay and story are not the plus points of the movie and the pace is a little sluggish in the first half but his deft execution proves why the word “Flop” doesn’t exist in his dictionary.

Finally, SIVAJI-THE BOSS is all about one man and the man delivers big time.

A “Cool” movie for the hot summer!

Mouna Raagam REVIEW

I want to kick off this blog with one of my all-time favorite movies.

Mouna raagam - silent melody.

The title says it all. Its the ultimate movie nirvana for any film buff.

This movie comes across as a simple story, expertly handled, well etched characters and above all wonderful realistic acting by the lead actors. You can come out of the movie hall with a kind of satisfaction and happiness that engulfs you when a gentle zephyr blows across your face taking you to exalted heights of pleasure and making time stand still just like what revathi (the main protagonist in the movie) experiences when singing the opening song and getting drenched in the rains of pleasure and making you feel jealous (I still believe that kajol’s opening salvo from DDLJ pales in comparison with this song)

The story unfolds when a young manager (Mohan has given his career best performance in this role) from a private company in Delhi visits madras to see a prospective bride (revathi) of his parent’s choice. Its infatuation at first sight for the introvert mohan whereas the heroine is not ready for a marriage yet. But due to the compulsions of her orthodox parents and after a clichéd heart attack to her father, she agrees to marry the hero. But the unhappiness of the heroine comes to the fore when she asks for divorce as a wedding gift from her husband. The gentleman he is, mohan brings both the divorce papers and a golusu (paayal) and asks her to choose between the two. She chooses the former, tells him about her past life - her Mills and boons type romance with a lovable rogue(what a cameo by kartik!) and why she cant love anyone else other than karthik. The rest of the story is all about how the heroine gets influenced by the warmth and affection showered by her husband and in the process getting reunited at the end.

What can one say about mani ratnam? He shows that he is a class apart from the rest of directors, who churn out hopeless potboilers, by making a simple tale so engrossing and arresting. His command over the language of movies is absolute and nowhere can you find a fault with his grammar! The scenes when love blossoms between karthik and revathi is a sheer delight for any purist and also made youngsters yearn for more at the same time.

Illayaraja has come up with some absolute stunners and proves that he is the undisputed king of melody. His background score also contributes to the mood of the movie and makes it even more engaging. PC sriram’s cinematography is of the highest order and its amazing how he comes out with some stunning lighting effects inside mohan’s house. He yet again shows that he is the Mozart among his Indian contemporaries.

Coming to the performances, the scene stealer is mohan with the most understated performance by a lead actor in commercial tamil movies. Revathi both as the young wife and the forlorn lover comes up with a commanding performance and proves that an Indian actress can win the viewers’ approval without shedding her clothes. Karthik as the lovable brat holds your attention in a brief cameo and compels you shed a tear when he dies in front of his lover.

The separate comedy track with vk ramaswami doesn’t gel with the movie even though it is good. But other than that I cant think of any other negative points in this truly remarkable chapter of tamil movies. Go watch it and you will fall in love with the MANI RATNAM BRAND OF CINEMA.