I will say nothing negative about Masala Padam (மசாலா படம்)!.

நமக்கு ஏன் படம் எடுத்த தயாரிப்பாளர் விஜயராகவேந்திரா மீது பொல்லாப்பு?. படத்தின் ஆரம்பத்திலேயே படத்தை கிண்டல் பண்ணி கலாய்க்கும் வலைப்பூ விமர்சனர் ஒருவர் தாக்கப்படுகிறார், ஒரு முறை சொன்னாலேலே நான் புரிந்துக் கொண்டுவிடுவேன்.

இந்தப் படத்தை பாபி சிம்ஹாவை எதிர்ப்பார்த்தோ அல்லது RJசிவாவை  எதிர்ப்பார்த்தோ செல்லக் கூடாது, அவர்கள் இருவரும் வருகிறார்கள், ஆனால் இது அவர்களை பற்றியப்படமில்லை. வலைப்பூ விமர்சனர்கள் நால்வர், அவர்களின் தோழி இவர்களுக்கும் ஒரு கமர்ஷியல் தமிழ் சினிமா தயாரிப்பாளர் ஒருவருக்கும் நடக்கும் பந்தயம் தான் கதை. மசாலா விசயங்களையும் சலிப்பு தரும் காட்சிகளையும், தொப்புழ் நாயகிகளையும் கலைந்து ஒரு தரமான தமிழ் சினிமா எங்களால் தர முடியம் என கிலம்புகிறது இந்த ஐவர் குழு. இவர்களுக்கு உதவ தோழியின் சிநேகிதியாக வரும் படத்தின் நாயகி தியா (லக்ஷ்மி தேவீ) முன்வருகிறார், கற்பனை இல்லாமல் உண்மை மனிதர்கள் மூவரை தேர்ந்தேடுத்து அவர்களை காதலிக்க/சிநேகம் பிடிக்கிறார் அவர். அந்த மூவர் தான்  RJசிவா, பாபி சிம்ஹா மற்றும் கௌரவ்.  

எத்தனை முறை தான் மேல் தட்டுவர்கத்தின் அடையாளமான காபியையே டி.வி. நிகழ்ச்சிகளில் பார்ப்பது, தமிழர்களின் பாரம்பரிய உணவுகளை சிறப்பிக்கும்படி நிகழ்ச்சி ஒன்றின் பெயர் “உம்மா with சப்னா” என வருவது நல்ல கற்பனை. 98.3 Radio Mirchi வேட்டிப்பேச்சு நிகழ்ச்சியின் தொகுப்பாளாராக வரும் இளைஞர் அபார வேகத்தில் நிஜத்தில் வருவது போலவே பேசுகிறார், அவர் உண்மையிலேயே Mirchi RJவாக இருக்கலாம், நல்ல தேர்வு. படத்தில் வரும் சில வசனங்கள் ரசிக்கும்படி இருந்தது, உதாரணமாக “சினிமாவில் இரண்டு வகை தான், ஒன்று பார்வையாளனின் சினிமா, மற்றொன்று இயக்குனரின் சினிமா (one is viewers cinema, other is directors cinema)”.

பாபி சிம்ஹா இதிலும் ஒரு ரௌடி என்றவுடன் நீங்கள் சித்தார்த் நடித்த ஜிகிர்தண்டா உங்கள் நினைவில் வந்தால் இயக்குநர் லக்ஷ்மன் குமார் பொறுப்பில்லை. படம் நேடுக  PowerPoint Titleslide போல அவ்வப்பொழுது லேகியம் விற்பனை கடையில் மாட்டி இருக்கும் மனித உடல்கூறுகளைக் காட்டும் படம் போல ஒரு ஓவியம் வருகிறது. எதற்கு?.

படத்தின் முதலில் கமர்ஷியல் படங்களைப் பற்றி பல கிண்டல் வசனங்கள் வருகிறது, அதை நாம் மறக்கக்கூடாது என்று இயக்குநர் நமக்கு விரிவாக விளக்கும் படம் தான் மசாலா படம், பெயருக்கு ஏற்றப் படம்! நன்றி.

Having enjoyed the recent film Naanum Rowdydhaan (2015) by Vignesh Shivan, I decided to watch his debut direction Podaa Podi 2012 (போடா போடி). PP is about two care free youngsters Arjun (played by Simbu) and Nisha (debut performance by Varalaxmi Sarathkumar) living in London, how they fall in love, marry, have a kid, fight and then fall in love again. They both take life as it comes, an attitude shared by Vignesh in the way he seems to have made the film. With no solid script to back the film, the crew appears to have spent all their efforts into selecting the costumes & location, those haven’t gone waste, you certainly make notice and appreciate them. The entire story happens in London, with a song sequence shot entirely in Hong Kong Disneyland; sites of London are a visual treat for audiences here in Tamil Nadu.

Salsa dancing is not easy and Varu has carried off well the role of a Salsa dancer, in her debut film itself she appears as a mother to a child (though the scenes are limited) which takes courage to do in Kollywood. For Simbu this role would have been as easy as just going out for a coffee, he has done well in fights and dance but unfortunately he falls flat when he tries hard to show emotions during the quarel scenes with his love and in the climax.  Dharan Kumar as Music Director has produced two rememberable songs – Love Panlama & Podaa Podi.

Though it was meant to bring some seriousness into otherwise a rudderless story, the accidental death of the small child was unnecessary for a feel good movie. The film in many places feels nonsensical, but somehow I still found it enjoyable. I liked the way Arjun and Nisha continues to love each other, though it’s clear they are very different personalities.

Anushka Shetty and Arya starring bilingual movie is Inji Iduppazhagi (இஞ்சி இடுப்பழகி). I was looking forward to this movie for few months. The story about the social pressure for a “fat” girl painted with a humorous brush was interesting, but after seeing the film today I am disappointed and sad that I wasted 3 hours.

The story is about “Sweety” Soundarya played by Anushka who finds life tough since she is fat and her mother pressuring her to reduce weight. In that anger she rejects “Abhi” (played by Arya) when he comes to see her for marriage alliance. Abhi is in love with a fellow fitness freak Simran (played by Sonal Chauhan). Later Sweety and Abhi become friends and work together in exposing an illegal weight reducing therapy run by “Size Zero” Satyanand (played by Prakash Raj). The friendship turns into love, Sweety on her wedding day with a gentleman elopes with Abhi. The End.

The screen play travels in predictable fashion throughout, nowhere it engages you in any fashion.

Thanga Magan (தங்க மகன்) follows the last year Velaiilla Pattadhari (2014) movie’s super hit combination  by Director Velraj and Actor Dhanush.

The story starts with Tamizh (played by Dhanush), his pregnant wife Yamuna (played by Samantha) and his mom (played by Raadhika) settling into a poor neighbourhood. The family is getting over a traumatic experience following the recent suicide of Tamizh’s father (played by K. S. Ravikumar) who has been accused of wrong doing by Income Tax department where he used to work. In the flashback we see the love and the break up of Tamizh and Hema (Amy Jackson) incidents leading to Tamizh marrying Yamuna. In the present Tamizh is clueless on what happened that caused his father to take his own life, this backdrop reminded me of my once favourite hero Ramarajan in Ooru Vittu Ooru Vanthu (1990).  Rest of the film is how he solves the mystery and takes revenge against the corrupt Income Tax Officer Prakash Kumar (played by Jayaprakash).

Samantha should be appreciated for playing a completely de-glamourised role as a responsible housewife and mother in the film. For a mass hero like Dhanush, the film has very few number of fight sequences; thank you Director.  Instead of harping on the past after his failed love with Hema, Tamizh moves on with his life and loves Yamuna his wife unconditionally – a relief to watch. Anirudh Ravichander has delivered excellent background music which adds much needed tempo to the film. There are few interesting scenes in the last twenty minutes where Tamizh goes after the bad guys responsible for his father’s death. Other than these there is nothing of highlight in the film, the screenplay moves along in expected lines with no twists anywhere and that’s the weakness of the film inspite of some good performance by lead actors.

Maalai Nerathu Mayakkam (மாலை நேரத்து மயக்கம்) is presented in title card by Director Githanjali Selvaraghavan as a love story that’s difficult to explain. It’s a correct self assessment. The story written by Selvaraghavan is about the struggles of an unlikely couple in an arranged marriage. I felt it to be a cross between Arya & Nayanthara starrer “Raja Rani” & Selvaraghavan’s “7G Rainbow colony“. While Raja Rani is a full length version of Mouna Ragam love story, 7G had a charm of being a fresh and bold narration of age old love story. Unfortunately மாலை நேரத்து மயக்கம் was void of charm and the boldness which are what I expected from a female director who are so few and far in Kollywood.

Githanjali for her debut has done a good job and shows potential to deliver brilliant movies in future. She should be appreciated for showing “marital ravishment” but such a powerful emotional element felt wasted in a cluttered story telling. Balakrishna Kola has given an average performance, while  Wamiqa Gabbi has done a better job in portraying her role.

Prabhu (played by Balakrishna Kola) is a cookie cutter “dullard” bachelor character of Selvaraghavan. Manoja (played by Wamiqa Gabbi) is a bold urban girl who after failed relationships agrees to marry Prabhu due to compulsion of her “cancer” ailing mother. Manoja takes her own time in communicating to Prabhu that her heart is not in this marriage. Prabhu makes half hearted attempts to understanding her, none having any impact on Manoja or the audience. After a suicide attempt by Manoja, the couple gets a divorce, followed by cliche attempt by Prabhu to win her back. Though the couple speak in length of underlying love between them, I could hardly see signs of it anywhere.

Today in Chennai International Film Festival I saw was Director Kathiravanin Kodai Mazhai (கோடை மழை). The 104 Minutes film tells the story of an Army man who falls in love with a local girl in his hometown “Sankarankovil” during his summer holidays. Unfortunately the realistic love story takes a sad twist in the end like in Rummy (2014).

The cinematography by the director himself showing the village and it’s surroundings is brilliant, we literally spend the hour & half in Sankarankovil. Songs written by Kaviarasu Vairamuthu for the film are a treat to listen, good composition by Sambasivam. The songs “Pothi Vacha” and “Pattala Rasave” keeps ringing even after I left the theatre. The lead pair of Kannan and SriPriyanka have done their roles perfectly.

Bangalore Naatkal (2016) is a remake of the hit Malayalam Bangalore Days (2014), a film I have been wanting to see for Nazriya Nazim.

Bangalore Naatkal is a simple story of three cousins Ammu (Sri Divya), Kutty (Bobby Simha) and ‘Ajju’ (Arya), who happened to live in Bangalore at the same time in their lives. The first hour of the film was fun with all the outings the cousins take in Bangalore, giving the film it’s name. Second half is a string of seen before (short) stories with Ammu discovering the past love of her husband Prasad (Rana), Kutty falling in a fast love with Lakshmi (Raai Lakshmi) and Ajju getting to love a RJ (Parvathy).

Saranya Ponvannan who comes as Kutty’s mother, has given an enjoyable performance, she comes out natural in the scenes where she transforms from a conservative village mother to a Bangalore ‘cool’ lady. The dialogue she speaks to Kutty when he is hesitating to take her with him to Bangalore is a laugh riot. Similar is when Ajju asking Kutty to read the letter from Kutty’s father (played by M.S.Bhaskar) who has run away to Goa. There are few more of such good scenes, but somehow the overall screenplay doesn’t exceed the sum of individual parts.

Two actors who got maximum screen time and have utilised it well are Bobby Simha and Sri Divya. After seeing Bobby Simha in rough ‘n’ tough roles, this soft role is a good transformation. Sri Divya has effortlessly breezed through her role of a newly wed and as a responsible wife. I couldn’t believe myself the girl in Maryan (2013) with big gorgeous eyes, is the one who is playing RJ Sarah in Bangalore Naatkal, she has given a brilliant performance.

Rana has done well in the scene where he cries out after the accident but otherwise feels out of place in the film. For Arya it’s yet another lover boy character, which I am sure he himself will be bored. Samantha has got a small role, even before we register her presence she is gone.

It looks like it’s historic film season in India. One more on the list is Bajirao Mastani (2015) by Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.  The fact the movie is still running (albeit in one time) in theatres, after more than 60 days from its release proves the success. It has crossed over Rs.350 Crores in box office collection.

I was intrigued to watch the movie, as it was about Marathi Empire and it’s Prime Minister (Peshwar) Bajirao I from 1719-1740. In the Indian history I have read in schools, we see coverage of British rule of India and before them the Mughals, there is little coverage of Marathas, other than Chhatrapathi Shivaji, though they ruled significant part of India including regions near present day Tanjore.

The story is about the personal life of Bajirao played brilliantly by Ranveer Singh, with this performance he is sure to go to great heights. Bajirao fame was because of his intellect, military skills and his love for two women in his life. The film focuses on this love triangle, his love for his first wife (a Hindu) Kashibai played by Priyanka Chopra and his love for his second wife (with a muslim ancestry) Mastani played by Deepika Padukone.

The first scene where we see Chhatrapati Shahu’s darbhar hall, the throne and the row of minister seatings with water body in front of them was a visual treat. Don’t miss the scene. Similar the sets and costumes throughout the film were resplendent.

I enjoyed throughly the military campaigns led by Bajirao in the first half. The bloodless coup he does in the second half against Nizam was masterly. Though the film is about Bajirao, it is Deepika Padukone  who steals our heart with her eloquent acting. She excels equally in the war scenes, dance and in the emotional scenes. Priyanka Chopra though assigned a lesser screen time, has given her best. The second half was a bit slow compared to first, and I didn’t enjoy the villified (though it may be historically correct) portrayal of Bajirao’s mother character, other than these two, the film was great and a must watch of 2015 releases.

Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum (காதலும் கடந்து போகும்) starring Vijay Sethupathi and Premam fame Madonna Sebastian is directed by Soodhu Kavvum  Nalan Kumarasamy. It’s an official remake of a Korean film My Dear Desperado (2010). Having seen few Korean films I can visualize how the film might have appealed in original, but the Tamil adaptation fails to impress.

The story is about two people with different upbringing working their way  up in life, crossing and helping each other. Yazhini is daughter of a railway station master from a small city, who dreams of landing a big job in Chennai and living on her own terms. Yazhini losses her first job, to give her time to find a new job she rents a flat in a low income locality. Opposite to her flat lives Kathir, who is a small time rowdy working for a local politician and bar owner, just returning from Prison after serving five years on behalf of his boss.

Madonna has lived the character of a girl raised by conservative parents with middle class values well, she has a bright future ahead of her in silver screen. For Vijay Sethupathi, acting the character should have been a walk in the park. The highlight of the film for me was the scene were Kathir just before climax, forces his young assistant back. Karthir urges the boy not to get fooled by empty promises that their bosses make to send them to prison. There is a powerful message here for youngsters here on how gangism kills their future.

“Ka ka po” song was already a hit raising the expectation for the film. The dialogue where Madonna compares spending the night with Kathir to be same as Eskimos spending night with their pet dog.

It takes more than a hour into the film to grasp that Kathir is not the same as Pandi from Naanum Rowdy thaan. Madonna as Yazhini, with her makeup and dubbing keeps reminding me of Bindu from Naan E. This lack of a distinct character establishment prevents us from relating to the story better and that’s the shortcoming of the Ka Ka Po. Samuthirakani has a corrupt former cop fails to leave a mark.

Pugazh (புகழ்) is a small town (Walajapet) story around the life of a firebrand when local politics crosses his way, intermixed with usual kollywood love.The film opens with the scene of youth of the town playing cricket in a local ground. The residents of the town wish to see the ground properly developed as a play ground but the politicians headed by a minister and land mafia have a different plan of developing it for their commercial interests. What happens to the play ground, does the residents win their rights is rest of the film.

Jai plays the role of Pugazh, a bold youth of the town who is helping his elder brother (played by Karunas) in his flower shop and is widely liked in his neighbourhood. Jai falls in love with Surabhi whose family has recently settled in the same street as Jai.  Surabhi is shown as a bold character, in fact she is the one who proposes her love to Jai, and not the other way which is usual in Kollywood.

A local politician who desperately wants to become the chairman of the municipal council, but is short of 1 vote.  One of Pugazh’s friend “Venkat” gets caught up in a loan mess due to a failed business and in dire need of money. The local politician befriends Venkat, gets him to stand in the election, and with Pugazh’s help gets Venkat elected and makes Venkat make lot of money. If all this reminds you of Madras (2014),  you can take heart that Director Manimaran has tried hard to differentiate. The way Venkat’s role gets played out is not what we normally expect, I liked that part.

Jai has delivered the fight scenes well, Surabhi comes out pleasing. What saves the movie was it’s less than 2 hours running time. Nothing much to add.

The byline for Thozha (தோழா) is “Celebration of Life” which aptly captures how you feel as you come out of the screen. It’s all around a feel good film that’s thoroughly enjoyable. If you watched the trailer you can guess 90% of the story, there are absolutely no surprises, but that didn’t spoil a bit the pleasure of watching the entire film.

Brilliant performance by Nagarjuna, acting as a quadriplegic (somone whose all four limbs are paralyzed) named Vikramaditya he comes on screen half his real age. When Vikram cons his friend & advisor Prasad (played by Prakash Raj) into buying an amateur painting for Rs.2 Lakhs, Nagarjuna’s facial expressions, only part of the body the character could move, and when he gets tongue tied meeting his love, were both so realistic. Karthi (as Seenu) has given one of his best output till date without any of his repeated mannerisms.

Thozha is an adaption of a french film by name “The Intouchables“, whose influence has made the film different from usual Kollywood masala. There were no villain in the story or fist fights by Hero, no lengthy dialogues or even boring flashbacks. The film starts in middle of the story in the live of Vikram & Seenu, talks of a special bond of friendship that develops between a petty thief who takes care of a wheel chair bound millionare and the millionare. In between there is a bit of love story told for both the characters.

Tamannah as Keerthi has done her supporting role of secretary to Vikram and as lover for Seenu. I like Shriya Saran and it was good to see her in a Tamil film after a long time, she looks gorgeous as ever, just to see her more on screen I would’ve preferred having a love song featuring her, but then that would’ve spoiled the smooth flow of the screenplay. Actor Vivek has done a limited role as a lawyer.

Thozha is a fine import from the land of Lumière brothers by Director Vamsi Paidipally.

The son of a retired village school headmaster falls in love with the girl hailing from a local businessman family. The boy is Hindu and a failed student, the girl is muslim and a studious student. He is assisted in his love endeavour by his friends and the entire local police station headed by it’s Sub-Inspector. The girl’s family is conservative and her father threatens of dire consequences if any love happens in the family; The boy’s family is accommodative with supporting parents.  Rest of the screenplay I am sure you can fill in yourself.

And that is Meendum Oru Kadhal Kadhai starring Walter Philips (debut I guess) and Isha Talwar who appeared earlier in Siva’s Thillu Mullu (2013). The original in Malayalam starring Nivin Pauly and Isha Talwar was a hit and I was told the reason was the emotional love scenes; in Tamil Walter comes out like Isha‘s brother, a complete absence of chemistry between them makes us immune to the couple’s onscreen sufferings. The role played by Manoj K.Jayan as the S.I.  comes out as comical, it seems the entire police station has no other duty other than helping the young lovers. Mithran Jawahar, the Director who gave us the good movie Yaaradi Nee Mohini could’ve given us a much better movie than this.

The title (Meendum Oru Kadhal Kadhai) translates in English to “Again, a love story” and that embodies what this film was. There are other better ways to spend your time!

One more film watched inflight on my travel back from USA. Ki & Ka (2016) meaning Hers & His was an interesting watch. It’s not everyday you see an Indian film with a strong willed older women as a lead character overshadowing the male lead. For that Director R.Balki, an Ad man by profession, has done well by his casting of Kareena Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor as the couple onscreen.

The story is of Kabir (Arjun Kapoor) choosing to be a great homemaker like his mother and lands up as a house-husband to a successful business woman Kia (Kareena Kapoor); soon after their marriage Kia climbing up the corporate ladder and Kabir establishing himself as a health coach and cooking show expert. Even though the story is about a women being successful outside her home, the Director succumbs to the urge to show the husband earning money for the household. I liked the second half of the film which was about the pressure that was getting built-up in the relationship, especially the difficulty for Kia to digest that her “tame” house-husband Kabir could be getting all the media attention and earning as well.

I enjoyed the film using Trains as kind of a background theme in many of the scenes, the showing of Rail Museum as their meeting point and the elaborate miniature rail coaches and tracks in their living room was lovely. In the first half even though they are married there was absence of much chemistry between Kareena and Arjun, it comes out more as a work arrangement which thankfully gets sorted out by end of the film.

Overall, an enjoyable watch.

Remo (2016) is a recent romantic comedy starring Sivakarthikeyan in a lady disguise.  The story is straight forward – SK (Sivakarthikeyan) is an aspiring actor, to convince Director K.S.Ravikumar he wears the lady makeup and takes advantage of it to woo Dr.Kavya (Keerthy Suresh). In the nurse costume Sivakarthikeyan is charming & convincing, kudos to him and to Sean Foot for the excellent makeup. Saranya Ponvannan as SK’s mother and Sathish as SK’s friends have done their role well, but it is Yogi Babu who impresses the audience.

The first half with it’s laughable moments was entertaining but second half of the film turned out to be drag. Editor Ruben forgot to trim the movie by 30 minutes. Songs were unmemorable.

A film that can be watched when it comes to Satellite TV!

After listening hundreds of times on YouTube & iTunes to the song “அவளும் நானும்” written by respected Tamil poet Pavendar Thiru.Bharathidasan I looked forward to the visualization in the movie. Today on release I watched Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada (அச்சம் என்பது மடமையடா)  in Devi Paradise.

Obviously, the first thing about the film you experience are the brilliant songs composed by A.R.Rahman, the majority of them appearing in the first half of the film. After 6 long years from VTV (2010) during which time Silambarasan (aka Simbu) had no hits, his starring in a Gautham Vasudev Menon film again had generated lot of audience expectations; Simbu has certainly lived up to it and delivered a good performance from his side, he should watch out his weight which gets jokingly called out in the film too. Debut actress Manjima Mohan has given a natural performance and feels a perfect cast for the role. The name of Simbu’s character is revealed only in the climax and it turns to be an unexpected one, nice punch by Director. Sathish Krishnan who kept reminding me of Gautham Karthik in his appearance has acted well as the friend (Mahesh) to Simbu.

Coming to the story it’s supposed to be a mixed genre that fails to leave a mark; the first half is about how Simbu falls in love with Manjima who is his sister’s friend; the second half is action sequence of Simbu first in defense and later revenging the killers of Manjima’s family. The first half where Manjima lives in Simbu’s house for a project work with his sister is a different take on a familiar love story, the road trip in a Royal Enfield produces some stunning visuals captured by Dan Macarthur but unfortunately dragging along in first gear only. Post interval when the action sequences start the screenplay instead of switching to higher gears proceeds in a random fashion. The violence exhibited by the villains towards Manjima’s family & Simbu seems completely disproportionate to the reason that’s unveiled in the climax, a nonsensical last 15 minutes.

Still a watchable film just for the brilliant songs, visuals & for STR.

Maaveeran Kittu (2016) is a 1980s period film from the same team as Jeeva (2014) with Vishnu Vishal, Sri Divya in lead roles and directed by Suseendran. The story is about the atrocities by the powerful and “upper” caste to powerless “lower” caste in Indian villages and the love between an upper caste girl and lower caste boy. Unfortunately the screenplay in Kittu comes out weak, as a result what we see on screen is a documentary film that leaves no mark on you. Recent films with the same theme like Chandi Veeran (2015) or Kathiravanin Kodai Mazhai (2016) were interesting to watch.

Vishnu Vishal & Sri Divya as a pair were romantic in Jeeva, but in Kittu there is hardly any foreplay between them, leaving us only with the caste issue. Though Vishnu Vishal is promoted as the hero, it’s R.Parthiepan who has got a bigger role.

Maaveeran Kittu is a film that may be skipped.

Fearing for a full fledged musical due to the title “La La Land (2016)” I hesitated when a friend called me for this film. The film did have songs, thanks to brilliant placements of them in the storyline like in “City of Stars” it all blended producing a delightful experience. The title has the words “LA LA” probably to signify the romance between the couple on screen and to show it’s a musical land; I felt it could also be taken as an abbreviation L.A. as in Los Angeles to show that each of them come to Hollywood (LA) to realise their dreams.

Mia (Emma Stone) is an aspiring actress working as a barista in a coffee shop inside a movie studio in Hollywood, Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) is a traditional jazz pianist who dreams of setting up his own jazz music bar. They accidentally meet up in a party and start seeing each other. A beautiful romance develops between them that’s musical. After much struggle each of them succeed in their dreams but they end up not being together anymore. The song sequences are a delight to watch. While Mia auditions singing “The fools who dream” which was about Paris in a dark room I was able to visualise in my eyes the Paris city and Seine river, such was the intensity of emotions in the moment and performance by Emma Stone <Clap> <Clap>.

Overall, a brilliant movie that’s sure to win few Oscars this year.

Continuing on my film watch at the Chennai International Film Festival today morning I saw a Puerto Rican / Colombian film – Fragments of Love (Fragmentos de Amor). Directed by Fernando Vallejo, based on Colombian novelist Héctor Abad Faciolince’s novel Fragments of Furtive Love the story is about lovers Rodrigo Borrero and Susana Mejia played brilliantly by José Ángel Bichir & Angélica Blandon.

Rodrigo is a talented pianist suffers from memories of his dead wife and unable to compose any new music. One day while tuning the piano of his friend Rodrigo meets Susana his friend’s fiancé, next day he rescues her after a bomb blast in the streets and brings her to his apartment where they get close to each other. To make Rodrigo forget his worries Susana starts telling him erotic stories of her past relationships, her boyfriends included a Priest, Painter, Blind, Ornithologist and a Photographer. The stories intrigues Rodrigo to make him forget his past, as their relationship develops he starts feeling insecure of losing Susana to another man. Finally his jealousy undoing what was going between them.

The film was all about the romance involved and Angélica Blandón fits the role perfectly, she appears sensual in every scene especially when she narrates her stories the audience get transported to the happenings.

Koditta Idangalai Nirappuga (2016) is a two line story about greed and seduction.

Written and Directed by R.Parthiepan, he comes us a middle aged driver cum real estate agent called Rangarajan. Rangarajan gets Kevin (Shanthanu Bhagyaraj), a young businessman from Australia visiting Chennai for buying in real estate to stay in a bungalow under his custody instead of a five-star hotel. In the Bungalow Kevin meets Mohini (Parvathy Nair) and falls for her.

Parthiepan has done well in establishing all the 3 characters quickly and firmly within few scenes, showing how good a writer he is. After Ammavin Kaipesi (2012) I am seeing Shanthanu in this film and he has done his role well, unfortunately this film won’t give him the break he desperately needs to establish himself in the industry.  Parvathy Nair’s has the role of seductress, only around her the whole movie revolves around and she has acted it well.

What could be interesting as a sub plot has been stretched into a feature film making it unnecessarily slow.

Kaatru Veliyidai (2017) is the latest film by legendary Director Mani Ratnam starring Karthi and Aditi Rao Hydari. Karthi is an Indian Airforce fighter pilot “VC”, who gets captured in action by Pakistan Army during Kargil war. Lodged in a Rawalpindi prison VC keeps reliving his past, his first meeting with Dr.Leela (Aditi Rao), how they fell in love and what made them break up.

The songs by A.R.Rahman were already a hit, my favourite being “Vaan Varuvaan” – a lovely melody that keeps ringing in your ears. The natural sights of Kashmir (Leh, Ladakh) is captured lively by Cinematography Ravi Varman, just for the visuals the film can be watched. Other than Audio-Visual, there is not much to be mentioned about the film.

Other than Audio-Visual, there is not much to be mentioned about the film. We get it – VC is a fighter pilot, but we don’t see a reason why he has to be in his fighter costume almost all the time.  The screenplay goes along in predictable style throughout, the audience can be seen guessing aloud even the dialogues. The escape sequence by VC from Pakistan Army comes out amateurish. VC’s family is introduced briefly with no apparent reason other than to show a wedding celebration song.  Karthi lacks expressions of any sort, instead of a romantic look when he says goodbye on their first night out, his eyes show anger!.