Cinema, Karam, Kapi

The magnum opus Indian 2 feat. Kamal Hassan and a dozen other top names from Indian cinema, that has been in the making for over 5 years, bankrolled by Lyca Productions, directed by Shankar, and with music by Rockstar Anirudh, is ready to be showcased on the silver screens across India come July. The film has witnessed high expectations even as Kamal Hassan and Director Shankar are coming together after their previous outing “Indian” in 1999. The music album which was released 2 weeks back had a muted response, with ardent fans of the previous movie franchise comparing it with AR Rahman’s musical on which 5/5 songs went on to become a hit.  During the music release, Anirudh himself confessed that there was only one ARR and that none could replicate his work. After much ado, the release date of the film has been fixed on 12 July 2023. A peak muhurtam day, the film is expected to witness packed crowds for the first 2-3 weekends with the diehard fans of the nearly 70years old Kamal ...

Aishwarya Rajinikanth’s directorial and the much awaited and talked about “Lal Salaam” will hit the screens on 9 Feb. ’24. The film features a host of artists such as Vishnu Vishal and Vikranth as the key characters with KS Ravikumar, Thambi Ramaiah, Livingston, Senthil among many others, playing support roles.   Bankrolled by Lyca Productions, Aishwarya’s third directorial has music by Oscar Winner and Mozart of Madras, AR Rahman, where the two are collaborating for the first time.  The director’s first film titled “3” was released in 2012 and featured Actor Dhanush (to whom she was married back then) along with Shruti Hassan, the elder daughter of Actor Kamal Hassan. Her sister Soundarya Rajinikanth directed her maiden venture “Kochhadaiyaan” feat. Superstar Rajinikanth which released in 2014.  Superstar Rajinikanth will be seen as “Mohideen Bhai” only in a cameo role in Lal Salaam, though his presence is expected to increase the “saleability” of the film across cinema ...

Few would have noticed, but it was the first time that Superstar Rajinikanth donned the role of a grand father in his August 2023 outing titled “Jailer”. While the actor, who will complete 50 years in Indian Cinema in 2025 has been the darling of Producers & Distributors for two decades continuously in the 80s and 90s, the actor’s charisma started waning around the turn of the millennium. His own production film “Baba”, one of his career best according to his ardent fans, was the worst flop of his career. Thereafter, the actor’s films have been nothing short of a roller-coster ride. As I write this article after 5 days since the release of Jailer, the film is said to have grossed Rs. 350 Cr (USD 65 mn approx.) worldwide at the box office as per market estimates.  Day 1 - ₹ 95.78 cr     Day 2 - ₹ 56.24 cr     Day 3 - ₹ 68.51 cr   Day 4 - ₹ 82.36 cr   Day 5 - ₹ 49.03 cr  Total - ₹ 351.92 cr   For a 72-year old actor, at the fag end of his c...

After almost a week of its release, watched Vijay’s Varisu. Went without any expectations as there has been a steady negative feedback about the film. In fact, the reviews mostly said the film was too much drama.   After coping for over 150mins, I am convinced with the popular verdict. The film is heavy on drama. But then, aren’t films meant to be that way? Will come back to this at the end of this article.  Vijay (Vijay) is sent out of his home by his father Rajendran (Sarath Kumar) as he fails to fall in line to his wishes. The family patriarch, father of three sons is yet to decide his successor of his sprawling business empire which is dominated by the mining fields and wants his sons Ajay (Shamsudern aka Sham) and Jay (Srikanth) to pitch themselves against each other. Not wanting to be a part of this rat race, Vijay relinquishes from the race. He travels around the country only to be called back home by his mother Sudha (Jayasudha).  On the occasion of Rajendran’s 60...

Bank heists are a common subject when it comes to international films. Many are based on true stories, some are really well made. Over two decades back, Amitabh Bachchan’s Aankhen was all praise for it’s content and crew’s excellent acting. Thunivu is perhaps the first of its kind in its genre in Tamil cinema. After a bit of it in Billa and Mankatha, Ajith Kumar is back in his badass avatar. Spanning 145 mins, the film sets the ball rolling within the first 15 mins.  Darkdevil aka Chief (Ajith Kumar) and his smart crew are a gang of robbers with various international heists to their credit. They are much sought after, with their impeccable track record, access to the latest technology, weapons and what not. Kanmani (Manju Warrier), Amir, Pavni and Ciby are part of the gang as well.  It is interesting that the protagonist doesn’t have a defined first name all through the film! Yes, Ajith is addressed with various monikers and not really an actual name. At the end of the movie, ...

After 10 days since its release, I finally watched Kamal Hassan’s Vikram, well er… should I say, Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Vikram. That’s how it seems to be, going by the screenplay, the audience feedback and of course, the Box Office collections. As I write this piece (after 3 weeks of its release), the film has collected over Rs. 300 Cr at the Box Office in India and wolrd wide. Plus OTT rights, of course.  Kamal Hassan’s Vishwaroopam 1 & 2 were anything patriotic, to say the least. His critics have always said the gentleman lacked clarity of thoughts in his screenplay, and political stance, later on. But that’s for a different article. Staying true to his age and image that he has created for almost 6 decades now, KH has sprung a surprise in Vikram, where he plays a disheartened father who loses his son to the drug mafia – just that his son was not an addict, rather a cop who uncovered the mafia and stashed their prized catch.  The film opens with a drunk+sober Karnan (KH) who...

Lady Superstar Nayanthara has played a few unique characters in her career spanning 18+ years. In one of her earliest movies with Superstar Rajinikanth, her character was named “Durga” and she takes the same name in her most recent outing “Netrikann” in which she plays the role of a visually challenged person. In her earlier movie “Naanum Rowdydaan” pairing with Vijay Sethupathy, she appeared in a role who cannot hear anything. With this role, she has touched the emotions of millions of her fans with a fantastic portrayal, something very close to how a real person who cannot see the world would. Very few actors / actresses have played such a role so well, notable among them being Kamal Hassan in “Rajaparvai” and Rani Mukherjee alongside Amitabh Bachchan in the movie “Black”. Quite frankly, it is extremely difficult to “act” as though one cannot see.  Nayan has done justice to this role and has stepped up expectations on her, making the audience feel worthy of her title “Lady S...

  I have been watching films on Netflix only for about a year, though I have honestly had the account for the past 3 years intermittently. Thanks to the theatres “locked down”, I would’ve watched at least 50 movies on this OTT platform since Apr. ’20, while washing vessels during the first lockdown, late nights after stressful work days, while on travel or simply finding a slot on a normal day to catch up some “me time”. So, watching Jagame Thandhiram (JT) today at home on the Tv was a natural progressing. And the film lived up to my preferred genres – Crime, Thrillers, International Politics, Refugee situation and of course, some gunfights. Only that JT packs almost all of these genres in one single movie over 158 mins. The whole narrative was so international that at many moments, I felt I wasn’t even watching a Tamil movie.  Dhanush’s Jagame Thanthiram is the first Tamil film to be titled “A Netflix Original” after the producers backed by S. Sashikanth, YNOT Films & Rel...

Prof. Selvam was a big inspiration when I was still in school. In the climax of the film “Nammavar”, a title which Mr. Kamal Hassan’s supporters  have been liberally using for his political posters, advises the young ones that “Change” will take time, but one shouldn’t expect immediate results as the system has been corrupted for a long time. 25+ years later, Prof. John Durairaj also concludes in the film with a similar message. That we should keep trying for improvements and never stop becoming better – at things around us as well as ourselves. While everything was reasonably good with Vijay’s Master, the Kutti story that was intended was a tad too long – spanning almost 180 minutes.  Lokesh Kanagaraj, who’s “Kaithi” feat. Karthi had a great outing a year back has been on the news ever since his “Master” feat. not one but two Vijay namesakes was announced. Along with the veteran Vijay (Sr.), we also have Vijay Sethupathi who plays a negative role yet again after Vikram V...