Thalaivaa Movie - Micro Review

Director: A. L. Vijay 

Cast: Vijay, Amala Paul, Satyaraj, Santhanam, Abhimanyu Singh, Suresh, Nassar, Ponvannan, Manobala and Sam Anderson (Cameo Appearance)

Music: G. V. Prakash

                     

In the first half of the movie, Vishwa (Vijay) is portrayed as a mineral water supplier and as a dancer in Australia. Meera (Amala Paul) pretends to be Vishwa's love interest and manages an Indian restaurant in Australia. Yes, she just pretends because she is actually a police officer from Crime Branch in India. She plots a clever plan with Suresh (who pretends to be Meera's father) in order to bring back Vishwa to India and arrest Vishwa's father Ramadurai a.k.a. Anna (Sathyaraj) because nobody knows where Anna is living in Mumbai. According to the plan, Meera joins Vishwa's Sydney famous dance group "Tamil Pasanga", makes him fall in love with her, proposes him and takes him to India to seek the approval of Anna. Until Vishwa reaches India, he is unaware of what exactly his father does. Forget that, he does not even know his house address in Mumbai. Anna is a very famous figure in Mumbai who not only helps the poor and needy but also fights against injustice. He has earned the respect of many people in Mumbai which has caused him a lot of trouble. His enemies have done some golmaal and want the police to arrest him. When Vishwa gets back to India with Meera, Anna reveals this truth and Vishwa also gets to know about Meera's plot. Soon after, Anna dies in a bomb blast which was not intended by Meera. Vishwa wants to take up the position of Anna but his chitappa (Ponvannan) refuses and tries to send him back to Australia. But Vijay recollects his father's golden words- "This is a one way path. One cannot step back. In the end, what goes away, is only life. Once you take up aruval (sword) in your hand, you should fight for justice". Finally, Vishwa's chitappa turns out to be a back stabber (literally). But, Vishwa kills all those who had conspired his father's death. Meera, as a responsible police officer helps him out in various instances and also quits her job in the end and marries Vishwa. Then the movie finishes off with the words- "Time to lead"! 

On the whole, it was difficult to digest Vijay's transition from a dancer to a leader and Amala Paul's drastic change from a pretty lass to a police officer. The dance moves in "Tamil Pasanga" song was really nice. "Vaanganna Vanakkanganna" song made the audience whistle like anything. "Sol Sol" is my favourite but this song was not to a part of the movie. Sathyaraj had done justice to his role and for some strange reason, the Anna character reminded me of my grandfather. As usual, Santhanam's comedy was top notch. Adding to that, Sam Anderson's cameo appearance was out-of-the-box comedy. First half of the movie was interesting. Second half was little boring. Nothing extra-ordinary in this movie but Thalapathy fans will enjoy it. 

My So-Called-Best-Friend

When I was feeling low,
You smiled and hugged me tight and slow.

Your hug was always warm
But I didn't know that it would sting my heart like a bee swarm.

Your smile was really soothing
But I didn't think that you were the friend I was losing.

Because, one fine day, you stabbed my back with a knife
And I will never forget it in my life.

Later, you said sorry
But our friendship looked very blurry.

You said you hurt me by mistake
But that was a lie which made my heart break.

All you actually wanted was name and fame
And now, it looks like I'm playing the blame game.

I can forgive but I'm not able to forget
Because, the trust I had on you, makes me regret.

I could have forgetten if you were my enemy
But as a best friend, how could you back stab me?

Remeber one thing, my so-called-best-friend:
When you start winning arguments, you start losing people in the end!

Kadal Movie - Micro Review

Director: Mani Ratnam
Cast: Gautham Karthik (son of Karthik), Thulasi (daughter of Radha), Arvind Swamy, Arjun and Ponvannan
Music: A. R. Rahman

Kadal is a beautiful movie which revolves around the lives of Christian fishermen. It throws light on Jesus and Satan, directly represented by Arvind Swamy (Father Sam Fernando) and Arjun (Bergmans) respectively. The hero Gautham Karthik (Thomas) is caught between these two men in different stages of his life. He explores both the good and evil ways to lead his life and finally chooses the right path with the influence of the heroine Thulasi (Bea). In the end, the good triumphs over the evil.

The music is synced well with the movie. The background score creates a good ambience for the scenes. The choreography brings out the best in Gautham Karthik. Thulasi looks like an angel in her white dress throughout the movie and she suits the role of Bea perfectly. The cinematography is very realistic and you will have the feeling of getting washed away by the waves by the end of the movie. Though the dialogues are in colloquial language, they are clearly understandable unlike the dialogues in other Mani Ratnam's movies.

Overall, it's an amazing movie with a simple story which slightly touches the subject of philosophy. You just need lots of patience to watch it!