MARYAN MOVIE REVIEW
Ace ad filmmaker Bharathbala makes his Tamil feature film debut with Maryan, which sees the return of Dhanush to Tamil films after a sizable hiatus post 3. With the best possible technical crew assisting the director, Maryan comes with the promise of delivering great music and visuals. Maryan also continues the recent love affair that Tamil cinema seems to be having with the state’s coastal areas.
The trailer gave us the perfect gist of the tale with elements like love, separation, struggle, survival and hope being the pivotal emotions. We have to admit that the movie is exactly what the trailer led us to believe.
Maryan is a spirited young man who shares a deep bond with the sea and calls himself the ‘Prince of the Ocean’ as that is where he plies his trade and earns his livelihood in an adventurous manner. Circumstances surrounding his lady love Panimalar, force him to seek employment as a construction worker in Sudan. Just as he is about to return home, things take a turn for the worse.
Will the power of Maryan’s love for Panimalar cross geographical boundaries and prove to be his elixir?
The movie’s pace is leisurely all the way and the director might have deliberately slowed it down for the audience to feel the intensity of the emotions longer. The first half is mostly used to set up the deep bond between Maryan and Panimalar and whether this bond can withstand all the pain and suffering, is what the second half narrates.
Marc Koninckx’s visuals are poetic and out-of-this-world as he has fully exploited the wide visual canvas that Bharathbala has offered him. You might be reminded of Kadal and Neerparavai though, as the setting is the same.
A.R.Rahman has used the tunes of the magical ‘Enga Pona Raasa’ and ‘Kadal Raasa Naan’ prominently as part of the movie’s background score and this will resonate in your heart, long after the show is over. The wizard has brought his A-Game for the movie’s BGM score. His songs for the movie need no further mention but their visual treatment is mostly similar due to the repetitive situations and surroundings.
Dhanush has mastered pain and suffering on screen and he has apparently gone through an extraordinary physical struggle for the second half. His emotional prowess is displayed in the scenes when he mourns his dear friend’s loss, during his lovelorn phone calls with Panimalar and when he overcomes his starvation with an imaginary feast of seafood. When he bursts out and expresses how workers such as him are impoverished and helpless, you can feel his agony. Expect more awards to knock at the star’s doorstep.
His looks don’t have continuity at times and his hairstyle undergoes a noticeable change even within the same scene. The long production duration of Maryan shows.
Parvathy Menon is all oomph and looks really attractive in authentic native costumes. She is a terrific actress and shows her emoting range in Maryan. Her chemistry with Dhanush is really intimate and adds a lot of depth to the movie.
Among the support actors, Appukutty and Jagan have their moments as Maryan’s close friends while Uma Riyaz Khan is too loud and boisterous. The African villains are over-the-top and their modus operandi isn’t too logical and reasonable.
Ultimately, there is no questioning the crew’s hard work and the lead cast’s outstanding work. Maryan might not appeal to the common man seeking unadulterated entertainment but it is worth a trip to the theater nevertheless, for the very reasons mentioned above.
Hari’s Singam was about an honest small town police officer who is an embodiment of all virtues and values. He loved his Khaki more than anything else. And he operated within the indigenous shores to nab criminals and weeded out unwanted elements of society and to a large extent he remained a local domicile. In Hari’s Singam 2, the honest cop expands his horizons to bring peace to his place.
From the word go, Singam 2 clearly establishes that it’s fulcrum is only action and the quantity of romance, sentiment and comedy that occupied equal proportion in Singam is less here. The film opens up with an item number of Anjali with a vigilant Suriya who also keeps her company in waltz but conveys to the audience that he is a man on a different mission.
Director Hari adheres to all his usual ingredients from music to method of action scenes to the cavalcade of four wheelers to the structuring of sequences. He is known to string the various elements of commercial cinema viz. romance, action, sentiment and music in an entertaining fashion and he does the same in Singam 2 too with a racier screenplay that gives a lot of scope for action.
Suriya shoulders the film big time. The sincerity and dedication of this artist is something that needs to be lauded. Suriya with his dialogue delivery, eye expressions, body language and live energy has redefined screen presence! What a show! The biggest challenge of doing an action packed ‘mass’ role is not to over do it, as its a very delicate thin line to cross. Suriya in Singam 2 pulls it off with consummate ease.
The actor brings in a majestic and a respectable color to the police attire and his dexterity over action sequences is remarkable. Dialogues like “appa amma solra pechai kekkaama vera yaar pechai keppanga” when mouthed by Suriya brings out the earnestness of the statement. The efforts the actor has put in to his dancing is also visible with the ‘Singam dance’.
The rain fight in front of Suriya’s house, revved up by DSP’s RR, Suriya taking charge as Deputy Superintendent of Police, Thoothukudi and Suriya making the first arrest of Danny are all power packed sequences.
Hansika is effective and her role is meaningful and integral to the plot. Anushka is charming and has screen space in the second half. Santhanam is an enjoyable addition to Singam 2 and his sequences livens up the proceedings be it in the Arabian Kudirai episode, the Viswaroopam Kamal sequence or the Kadhal Vandhale scene. He makes us ask for more of him in the film.
There is a long list of ensemble in Singam 2. Mukesh Hari and Rahman as the key antagonists supported by Naan Kadavul Rajendran deliver neatly. Danny Sapani, the London based artist as the international drug dealer is fearsome initially but tapers down towards the end. Sankarabaranam Vishwanath also makes a cameo.
Music director Devi Sri Prasad soothes the audience with a melodious ‘Puriyavillai’ number. Rest of the tracks sound like an extension of the earlier enterprise. Kannukkule number suffers from wrong placement. Cinematographer Priyan neatly captures the Tuticorin and the South African soils and the car chase sequence in Durban has been done well. V.T Vijayan and Jay, the editor duo have worked in tandem with Hari to keep the proceedings pacy.
The predictable nature of the plot and the climax could well be the downers of this otherwise well packed action entertainer.
To sum it all, with Hari’s racy screenplay and Suriya’s terrific screen personality, Singam 2 strikes big time. Mass masala guaranteed !
The trailer gave us the perfect gist of the tale with elements like love, separation, struggle, survival and hope being the pivotal emotions. We have to admit that the movie is exactly what the trailer led us to believe.
Maryan is a spirited young man who shares a deep bond with the sea and calls himself the ‘Prince of the Ocean’ as that is where he plies his trade and earns his livelihood in an adventurous manner. Circumstances surrounding his lady love Panimalar, force him to seek employment as a construction worker in Sudan. Just as he is about to return home, things take a turn for the worse.
Will the power of Maryan’s love for Panimalar cross geographical boundaries and prove to be his elixir?
The movie’s pace is leisurely all the way and the director might have deliberately slowed it down for the audience to feel the intensity of the emotions longer. The first half is mostly used to set up the deep bond between Maryan and Panimalar and whether this bond can withstand all the pain and suffering, is what the second half narrates.
Marc Koninckx’s visuals are poetic and out-of-this-world as he has fully exploited the wide visual canvas that Bharathbala has offered him. You might be reminded of Kadal and Neerparavai though, as the setting is the same.
A.R.Rahman has used the tunes of the magical ‘Enga Pona Raasa’ and ‘Kadal Raasa Naan’ prominently as part of the movie’s background score and this will resonate in your heart, long after the show is over. The wizard has brought his A-Game for the movie’s BGM score. His songs for the movie need no further mention but their visual treatment is mostly similar due to the repetitive situations and surroundings.
Dhanush has mastered pain and suffering on screen and he has apparently gone through an extraordinary physical struggle for the second half. His emotional prowess is displayed in the scenes when he mourns his dear friend’s loss, during his lovelorn phone calls with Panimalar and when he overcomes his starvation with an imaginary feast of seafood. When he bursts out and expresses how workers such as him are impoverished and helpless, you can feel his agony. Expect more awards to knock at the star’s doorstep.
His looks don’t have continuity at times and his hairstyle undergoes a noticeable change even within the same scene. The long production duration of Maryan shows.
Parvathy Menon is all oomph and looks really attractive in authentic native costumes. She is a terrific actress and shows her emoting range in Maryan. Her chemistry with Dhanush is really intimate and adds a lot of depth to the movie.
Among the support actors, Appukutty and Jagan have their moments as Maryan’s close friends while Uma Riyaz Khan is too loud and boisterous. The African villains are over-the-top and their modus operandi isn’t too logical and reasonable.
Ultimately, there is no questioning the crew’s hard work and the lead cast’s outstanding work. Maryan might not appeal to the common man seeking unadulterated entertainment but it is worth a trip to the theater nevertheless, for the very reasons mentioned above.
SINGAM 2 MOVIE REVIEW
Hari’s Singam was about an honest small town police officer who is an embodiment of all virtues and values. He loved his Khaki more than anything else. And he operated within the indigenous shores to nab criminals and weeded out unwanted elements of society and to a large extent he remained a local domicile. In Hari’s Singam 2, the honest cop expands his horizons to bring peace to his place.
From the word go, Singam 2 clearly establishes that it’s fulcrum is only action and the quantity of romance, sentiment and comedy that occupied equal proportion in Singam is less here. The film opens up with an item number of Anjali with a vigilant Suriya who also keeps her company in waltz but conveys to the audience that he is a man on a different mission.
Director Hari adheres to all his usual ingredients from music to method of action scenes to the cavalcade of four wheelers to the structuring of sequences. He is known to string the various elements of commercial cinema viz. romance, action, sentiment and music in an entertaining fashion and he does the same in Singam 2 too with a racier screenplay that gives a lot of scope for action.
Suriya shoulders the film big time. The sincerity and dedication of this artist is something that needs to be lauded. Suriya with his dialogue delivery, eye expressions, body language and live energy has redefined screen presence! What a show! The biggest challenge of doing an action packed ‘mass’ role is not to over do it, as its a very delicate thin line to cross. Suriya in Singam 2 pulls it off with consummate ease.
The actor brings in a majestic and a respectable color to the police attire and his dexterity over action sequences is remarkable. Dialogues like “appa amma solra pechai kekkaama vera yaar pechai keppanga” when mouthed by Suriya brings out the earnestness of the statement. The efforts the actor has put in to his dancing is also visible with the ‘Singam dance’.
The rain fight in front of Suriya’s house, revved up by DSP’s RR, Suriya taking charge as Deputy Superintendent of Police, Thoothukudi and Suriya making the first arrest of Danny are all power packed sequences.
Hansika is effective and her role is meaningful and integral to the plot. Anushka is charming and has screen space in the second half. Santhanam is an enjoyable addition to Singam 2 and his sequences livens up the proceedings be it in the Arabian Kudirai episode, the Viswaroopam Kamal sequence or the Kadhal Vandhale scene. He makes us ask for more of him in the film.
There is a long list of ensemble in Singam 2. Mukesh Hari and Rahman as the key antagonists supported by Naan Kadavul Rajendran deliver neatly. Danny Sapani, the London based artist as the international drug dealer is fearsome initially but tapers down towards the end. Sankarabaranam Vishwanath also makes a cameo.
Music director Devi Sri Prasad soothes the audience with a melodious ‘Puriyavillai’ number. Rest of the tracks sound like an extension of the earlier enterprise. Kannukkule number suffers from wrong placement. Cinematographer Priyan neatly captures the Tuticorin and the South African soils and the car chase sequence in Durban has been done well. V.T Vijayan and Jay, the editor duo have worked in tandem with Hari to keep the proceedings pacy.
The predictable nature of the plot and the climax could well be the downers of this otherwise well packed action entertainer.
To sum it all, with Hari’s racy screenplay and Suriya’s terrific screen personality, Singam 2 strikes big time. Mass masala guaranteed !
KUTTI PULI MOVIE REVIEW
When Kuttipuli directed by newcomer Muthaiah commences with blood spewing opening shots, you might believe that this could just be a basic arc of the film because it was certified with a U/A by Censors. However, as the story unfolds, you realize that the gore violence is spread all over the 150 minutes reaching a crescendo in the climax. Again, the sanguine tonality of Kuttipuli could still be acceptable if there was a plausible justification but unfortunately it is not so.
The Sundarapandian pair of Sasikumar and Lakhsmi Menon had set up some kind of expectation based on their previous track record. However, but for giving the audience quite a few déjà vu moments of the earlier film, the pair does not render much here.
The story of Kuttipuli is very simple. It is about a mother who does not want her son to follow her husband’s footsteps but desires his settlement in matrimony like every normal man.
It is harmless if there is no storyline but it could get really destructive when there is a shortfall in treatment and presentation. Most of the time, Kuttipuli lacks any direction and drifts aimlessly. Inept screenplay, archaic storyline, pointless scenes and inconsistent characterization mark Kuttipuli. At no point in the film the director has a grip of his audience. The scenes involving Pappu and gang evoke some kind of laughs while not contributing anything to the progress of the film. There are so many foibles in the film and listing them would be pointless.
Although Sasikumar is sincere in his efforts- he even does a neat jig of Silambattam- his characterization has nothing new to offer. His character of Kuttipuli is the personification of all things Madurai. He is someone who goes livid if something happens to women from his locality; does not raise his sight towards any woman; extremely respectful of his mom; fights ferociously and even tries to emulate a suave hero. The scene where Saranya and Ramaprabha deride Shah Rukh Khan as an emaciated soul is quite amusing.
For Saranya, the role of a sacrificing mother is something that she can do in her sleep. Lakshmi Menon’s role is exactly like the one she did in Sundarapandian from her costumes to emotions to body language. Aadukalam Murugadoss in his supporting role as a friend of Sasikumar delivers his bit.
The excessive usage of old songs especially Ilayaraja’s ‘Ponnoviam Kandenamma’ appears more like a mockery than a tribute. And there are many such songs used which are annoying to say the least.
The tracks of Ghibran had created the desired effect when they were released. But the picturization has not enhanced its feel. Rest of the technical departments is just about average.
The film travels on an excessive manipulative melodrama most of the time. And if you are the type who would go gaga over mother sentiment, mindless violence, punch dialogues, Kuttipuli may work for you.
The Sundarapandian pair of Sasikumar and Lakhsmi Menon had set up some kind of expectation based on their previous track record. However, but for giving the audience quite a few déjà vu moments of the earlier film, the pair does not render much here.
The story of Kuttipuli is very simple. It is about a mother who does not want her son to follow her husband’s footsteps but desires his settlement in matrimony like every normal man.
It is harmless if there is no storyline but it could get really destructive when there is a shortfall in treatment and presentation. Most of the time, Kuttipuli lacks any direction and drifts aimlessly. Inept screenplay, archaic storyline, pointless scenes and inconsistent characterization mark Kuttipuli. At no point in the film the director has a grip of his audience. The scenes involving Pappu and gang evoke some kind of laughs while not contributing anything to the progress of the film. There are so many foibles in the film and listing them would be pointless.
Although Sasikumar is sincere in his efforts- he even does a neat jig of Silambattam- his characterization has nothing new to offer. His character of Kuttipuli is the personification of all things Madurai. He is someone who goes livid if something happens to women from his locality; does not raise his sight towards any woman; extremely respectful of his mom; fights ferociously and even tries to emulate a suave hero. The scene where Saranya and Ramaprabha deride Shah Rukh Khan as an emaciated soul is quite amusing.
For Saranya, the role of a sacrificing mother is something that she can do in her sleep. Lakshmi Menon’s role is exactly like the one she did in Sundarapandian from her costumes to emotions to body language. Aadukalam Murugadoss in his supporting role as a friend of Sasikumar delivers his bit.
The excessive usage of old songs especially Ilayaraja’s ‘Ponnoviam Kandenamma’ appears more like a mockery than a tribute. And there are many such songs used which are annoying to say the least.
The tracks of Ghibran had created the desired effect when they were released. But the picturization has not enhanced its feel. Rest of the technical departments is just about average.
The film travels on an excessive manipulative melodrama most of the time. And if you are the type who would go gaga over mother sentiment, mindless violence, punch dialogues, Kuttipuli may work for you.
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