Tag Archives: Anirudh Ravichander

BEAST (2022) Tamil Movie Review: Guns, Swag and Vijay in a Nelson world

Commercial cinema in India is a tricky issue, especially so in Tamil and Telugu where directors need to tread a path wherein they need to balance their storytelling and pander to fans. While Vijay has been consistently among the most popular stars in Tamil cinema, with a solid mass fan following, Nelson on the other hand is a director who is known for dark comedy, a genre which has not been explored much in Tamil cinema. I was looking forward for this combination, expecting something exciting to emerge out of it.

Continue reading “BEAST (2022) Tamil Movie Review: Guns, Swag and Vijay in a Nelson world”

Master (2021) Movie Review: Vijay Shines, Lokesh Flatters to Deceive

Covid-19 has given a break to theatre-going experience across the globe. Even though Indian cinema halls have opened up slowly from October 2020 onwards, there has been no tentpole release which has revived the fortunes of cinema halls so far. December saw the release of Telugu film Solo Brathuke So Better which indicated that the audience in Southern India is willing to watch movies in the theatre. With this being the Pongal/Sankranti week in India, we have two films in Tamizh and three in Telugu (plus Master’s dubbed version) hitting marquee in a span of less than a week. If we go by the initial response, it is sure that cinemas are here to stay and co-exist with OTT. Continue reading “Master (2021) Movie Review: Vijay Shines, Lokesh Flatters to Deceive”

Darbar (2020) Tamil Movie Review: All Style and No Substance

SUPERSTARS in cinema is a rare concept now, probably the only star in the world who has seen such a longevity in his career is Rajinikanth. Perhaps no other star in the entire cinematic history of the world has played the lead role and shouldered such big budgets beyond the age of 60. Continue reading “Darbar (2020) Tamil Movie Review: All Style and No Substance”

Petta Movie Review: The Stars Are Out Tonight

There’s something to be said about the excitement in the air, as one walks into the theatre for a Rajinikanth movie. The old cliché about a Rajinikanth movie being an event didn’t ring true for a while, what with the critically reviled Kochadaiyaan and Lingaa and mixed feelings with regard to Kabali, but with Kaala, it seemed like the star for a change made way for the actor, and 2.0 was for the fans and fans alone.Continue reading “Petta Movie Review: The Stars Are Out Tonight”

Vedalam Movie Review: Tried and Tested Formula, Works Here in Parts

Playing a larger than life character is something that all Tamil heroes have always been fond of, nowadays even actors who are just a few films old feel the need to play such roles, perhaps with a view of fancying a shot at the superstar’s throne. And if it happens to be a mass entertainer featuring a popular actor then it’s almost a given that the main lead would perhaps portray a larger than life character, often with a righteous instinct as well. When Siruthai Siva decided to work again with Ajith after the reasonably successful Veeram, it kind of looked like a win-win prospect for both of them. After all Ajith had done a slightly classier film after Veeram in the form of Yennai Arindhaal and so a mass film would have been good to balance the act. Also for Siva it would have meant that that he could prove his consistency by turning out another success after Siruthai and Veeram.Continue reading “Vedalam Movie Review: Tried and Tested Formula, Works Here in Parts”

Naanum Rowdy Dhaan Movie Review: Could Have Been a Swashbuckling Film, but Falls Short

Tamil Cinema seems to be continuously evolving these days, gone are the days when comedy meant just the typical slapstick variety. Today while slapstick and loud comedy might still work, there’s a lot more than that available on display. With horror comedies doing well of late including Kanchana 2 and Darling this year, there is a scramble for making more such films these days. Also thanks to the success of Soodhu Kavvum, Neram and to an extent even films like Jigarthanda and Moodar Koodam, there’s a whole new market for black comedy in Tamil films, we hear of more such films getting made regularly these days. When the teaser and trailer of Vignesh Shivan’s Naanum Rowdy Dhaan (NRD from hereon) were unveiled it looked certain that this was another film in the same category. The film looked promising, especially as Vijay Sethupathi seemed to be enjoying himself, Nayantara has been having a good run of late and the talented Parthiban was also playing an important role in the film.Continue reading “Naanum Rowdy Dhaan Movie Review: Could Have Been a Swashbuckling Film, but Falls Short”

Maari Movie Review: The Swag Works, But Would That Alone Do?

There are some things that never change when it comes to films, Tamil Cinema being no exception. Every actor worth his salt and of course every rupee invested on him, and every single whistle devoted to him, would love to feature in an out an out masala, playing a larger than life character in his or her own way. This is part of the whole “I feel I have it in me to become the next superstar” drive in which a lot of actors get involved in, some are open about it while some do it a little clandestinely. Which is why even actors like Vikram, Suriya, Dhanush who are all known for their acting prowess, keep attempting mass movies, time after time, not succeeding every time of course. We also have directors who otherwise do films of a slightly different kind also attempting to make the transition with more ‘formulaic’ films. Mysskin tried it with Mugamoodi, Ameer tried it with Aadhi Bhagavan, Suseenthiran tried it with Rajapattai, none of these worked and they have gone back to making their kind of films again. But the quest for commercial success doesn’t stop, the yearning to be the darling of the masses never ends.Continue reading “Maari Movie Review: The Swag Works, But Would That Alone Do?”

Shankar’s ‘I’: Trailer

I Poster 2One of the most awaited Indian films in recent times has been Shankar’s I, which will see a release in Telugu and Hindi too apart from its original Tamil version. Slated for a Pongal/Sankaranti release, I is produced by Aascar Films and written by Shankar along with Subha (dialogues). Featuring Vikram in the lead role, the rest of the star cast includes Amy Jackson, Suresh Gopi, Upen Patel, Prabhu, Santhanam etc. The music by A.R.Rahman has been in discussion ever since the grand audio launch on 15th September this year. While the stunning visuals are by P.C.Sreeram, the editing is by Anthony.Continue reading “Shankar’s ‘I’: Trailer”

Kaththi Movie Review: A Social Message Delivered via a Commercial Film

Over the years writer-director A.R.Murugadoss has made an impact with his films in Tamil (and their remakes in Telugu-Stalin and Hindi-Ghajini and Holiday). One may or may not like his films but I guess there is no debate about the fact that he does manage to bring in a variety of subjects with his films, with no film of his so far having any resemblance to any of his previous works. Even in case of an ambitious project like 7 Aum Arivu (2011) while the final outcome wasn’t all that satisfactory, the premise was quite interesting. When Murugadoss and Vijay joined hands for the first time for Thuppakki (2012) what emerged was a good commercial Tamil film which according to me is the best Vijay film since Pokkiri (2007). So with both of them coming back together for Kaththi obviously the expectations were clear and the questions were many. Continue reading “Kaththi Movie Review: A Social Message Delivered via a Commercial Film”