CUCKOO ("BOLD AND BEAUTIFUL")

March 21, 2014.

Cast: Dinesh, Malavika.

Director: Rajumurugan.

Cuckoo directed by debutante Rajumurugan comes from one of his real life encounters during his stint as a Magazine reporter.

Tamizh (Dinesh) is a blind man who earns his bread mainly as a singer in a music band. He happens to meet Swathanthrakodi, who is also blind, through a common friend. Their brief encounters slowly turns to romance after the initial quarrelling. Finally when they decide to get married, their till then happy life turns awry after Kodi’s brother forcefully arranges her marriage to his friend.

Though there is nothing new in the story as such, the screenplay narration and execution are really good taking the audience right into the lives of the blind couple. Refreshingly it is not the usual tragic love story with a mushy sentimental dialogue in every other scene. Instead it’s filled with situational humor almost all through the film except for the last part.

Still there is plenty of room for improvement; there are a few unnecessary scenes that lengthen the film much beyond what is required and surprisingly there are a lotta melodramatic “coincidences” and “magic” that happens especially towards the end. If not for these two flaws Cuckoo could have easily found it’s place in the list of the greatest Tamil films.

Santhosh Narayanan has once again come up with soulful music and soothing BGM lifting the mood of the film manifold. The supporting cast also puts in a wonderful performance inspite of not being regular actors.

But Cuckoo belongs undoubtedly to it’s lead pair Dinesh and Malavika. The chemistry is crackling and they deliver a lifetime performance which is sure to be nominated for the highest awards in the country. With the brilliant and honest performance they have definitely taken the Tamizh-Kodi story to an altogether different level, much much better than what Rajumurugan must have had in mind.

I am giving a 3.25 for the film and 0.25 for it’s lead pair. Go watch it, you will fall in love.

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

THEGIDI ("DECENT")

February 28, 2014.

Cast: Ashok Selvan, Janani Iyer.

Director: P.Ramesh.

Looks like Ashok Selvan is slowly becoming a safe bet for newbie filmmakers. Just a few months back he came out with Villa which, though not very good, made profits and Thegidi is more or less in the same lines.

Vettri a Criminology graduate comes to Chennai after being selected as a detective in a private Detective Firm. He happens to meet Madhu (Janani) while on an assignment and develops a soft corner instantly. Later he is delighted when he is assigned to track down Madhu’s details for a client and they fall in love just as expected. Vettri’s life takes an unexpected turn when the persons he investigated start dying one by one!

The first 15 to 20 minutes of Thegidi is pretty amateurish direction wise and BGM wise; senseless pieces of BGM appearing as if controlled by a robot with a timer having no relevance whatsoever to the scenes playing out.

But once we are through with that things start getting a tad interesting with a fresh screenplay having no separate unnecessary comedy track and the likes of it which has to be appreciated, barring the songs which are a bit too many in number.

Still the lack of experience in direction really hits you on your face at regular intervals with a lotta scenes feeling incomplete and abrupt where the flow gets cut. But there are also a lotta scenes that are very well directed so it’s more like a fifty fifty thing that you get on screen.

As a concept Thegidi is a bit fresh and manages to hold your interest till the end of the first half. The second half gets a bit too ordinary as it progresses and the film starts getting predictable.

Overall Thegidi is a decent thriller; and with a sequel to come let’s hope things get better next time around.

I am giving a 2.5 for Thegidi. You can watch it for timepass you won’t get bored.

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

RUMMY ("NOT A GOOD GAME")

January 31, 2014.

Cast: Vijay Sethupathy, Inigo Prabhakaran, Gayathrie.

Director: Balakrishnan.

Rummy takes us into the violent volatile villages of the 1980s Tamilnadu, a bit reminiscent of Subramaniapuram. The story starts with Shakthi (Inigo Prabhakar) joining a college in Sivagangai where he falls for Meenakshi (Gayathrie) at first sight. His roommate Joseph (Vijay Sethupathy) comes from a poor background and very soon he also falls for a girl, who happens to be the daughter of a local gangster.

Being a village where outsiders who try hitting on the local girls are seen as criminals who deserve even death as punishment for their “crime”, the romance of the lead pair soon starts creating tension. The premise as it is can be related to a lot of the films that have come of late with Madurai and the likes of it as their background; hero meets the heroine; heroine happens to be the bad guy’s daughter and after a few tense scenes a tragic climax! We have already had enough movies of that sort.

Sadly Rummy is no different, even though it has the presence of the ever dependable Vijay Sethupathy who plays more of a second hero with lesser screen time compared to Inigo Prabhakar. One wonders why in the world he chose to be part of such a film.

The director has tried to make the film engaging with sort of a multi-layered screenplay which, though has to be appreciated, fails to hold the interest of the viewers especially when the film feels way too much longer than it’s runtime of 150 minutes. The songs are passable but when they keep coming a bit too frequently and at odd times as the film progresses the patience starts wearing out faster.

Most of the scenes offer decent acting with tinges of brilliance at times (the scenes involving Vijay Sethupathy) but sadly those are abrupt and incomplete and are more like pop ups appearing when we browse the net. The romance track also suffers from the same problem offering beauty only in parts.

Very soon into the second half the film spirals out of control and becomes utterly predictable and dragging and still the songs keep coming!

Coming to the climax, it is more funny than scary and just when I was thinking if I am being a bit hard on the film 90% of the audience started laughing; though the performances were earnest the fumble in the execution takes anything worthwhile away from those scenes.

I am giving a 2.5 for Rummy. Though it’s good in parts it’s long and tiring!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

GOLI SODA ("REFRESHING")

January 17, 2014.

Cast: Kishore, Sree Raam, Pandi, Murugesh.

Director: S.D Vijay Milton.

Vijay Milton’s debut directorial venture “Goli Soda” deals with the life of four orphan boys for whom Koyambedu market is everything. They are content with the meagre daily earnings they get from a variety of things they do at the market. One among their daily timepass’ is checking out the schoolgirls who cross the market everyday on their way to school.

When one among the four boys falls for a girl who happens to be the daughter of “Aachi”, a mother like figure for the boys they decide to do something worthwhile in life. With the help of Aachi they open a food stall in the godown of the local gangster. Things get sour between the gangster and the boys when the boys get into a fight with the former’s right hand man.

One of the main attractions of Goli Soda is the boys themselves who are in top form. Armed with a good script and some nice dialogues they deliver a much better and a very mature performance in comparison to their debut film. Their chemistry is really good and they really win your hearts in certain scenes.

The script offers plenty of twists and turns and is quite unpredictable, and for the same reason thrilling, at times. It manages to strike a really good balance between masala and realism; while some fight sequences and scenes may appear to be a bit masala-ish the rest of the film offers realism in plenty.

It could also be called a bit lethargic or naive especially in the second half because of the way in which the writer manages to arrive at a solution for the problem thereby ensuring justice for the boys; the way Vanmathi tracks down the boys is one such instance and the unexpectedly sudden change of heart of the gangster in the climax is another.

Keeping those apart, Goli Soda offers something really refreshing for the viewers especially when there is a barrage of masala films with over the top dialogues, fights and songs tearing apart anything that could be termed sensible or enjoyable.

I am giving a 3 for Goli Soda. It is a good film, a bit more thought on the part of the writer/director could have made it great!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

VEERAM REVIEW

January 10, 2014.

Cast: Ajith, Tamannah, Vidarth, Nasser.

Director: Siva.

Please click here for the review.

JILLA REVIEW

January 10, 2014.

Cast: Mohanlal, Vijay, Kajal Agarwal.

Director: Nesan.

Please click here for the review

BIRIYANI ("STALE FOOD")

December 20, 2013.

Cast: Karthi, Premgi, Hansika.

Director: Venkat Prabhu.

REVIEW COMING TOMORROW......!

IVAN VERA MATHIRI ("SATHYAMA ILLA!!")

December 13, 2013.

Cast: Vikram Prabhu, Surabhi, Vamsi Krishna.

Director: Saravanan.

It is sad when a young director gives you hope after a decent realistic film in his debut and then gets confused on what to do next ending up offering a substandard masala film.

Gunasekaran (Vikram Prabhu) is a normal city guy belonging to a middle class family. He gets involved with a local gangster (Vamsi Krishna) after he decides to bring down a corrupt politician who happens to be the former’s brother. After a few totally unexpected meetings with Malini (Surabhi) the two fall in love. But trouble follows when the gangster wants Guna dead.

It is difficult not to mention the misfire right at the beginning with the unnecessary song in the background during the law college fight. It is known to everyone how bad things are in law colleges nowadays with a lot of untoward incidents happening almost on a regular basis but by emphasising it a tad too much with a song conveying the same spoils the whole thing. Starting with the above it’s misfire after misfire at regular intervals.

Almost all the songs in the movie are unnecessary and it’s better not to start talking about the BGM which gives one helluva pain for your eardrums.

The director has tried doing justice to the title of the film by trying to give an image to Guna in one of the songs by highlighting certain activities of his which are things not everyone does normally, but sadly that is all that you get. After that the screenplay slips into a very mediocre level making the film a normal hero V/s villain film with the usual masala set up.

Things keep happening mechanically half the time and the film progresses on such a narrow level with no importance or relevance given to any of the characters except the hero, heroine and villain. The dialogues and scenes towards the end, especially when Malini is tied to the metal bars as a dummy, are so silly that you would laugh out loud despite trying so hard not to.

The next area of disappointment is the fights, most of which have over usage of ropes, making lifting the opponent look like lifting a piece of paper. Going by common sense, with the kind of beating that they take with iron rods, metal objects, concrete etc among other things, both the hero and villain should have died several times.

All this and a lot more ,which if told would expose the story, makes one wonder if this is the same director who gave us a simple and decent movie an year back.

I am giving 1.5 for Ivan Vera Mathiri. This one lacks common sense and has no entertainment value.

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

VILLA REVIEW

November 14, 2013.

Cast: Ashok Selvan, Sanchitha Shetty, Nasser.

Director: Deepan.

REVIEW COMING SOON......!

ALL IN ALL AZHAGURAJA ("INTOLERABLE CRUELTY")

November 2, 2013.

Cast: Karthi, Santhanam, Prabhu, Kajal Agarwal.

Director: Rajesh.

First it was Santhanam’s dialogue mocking the “Smoking kills” ad that landed the film in trouble; next Rajesh gave a shock telling from now on his films would be having only situational comedy (something which he has not proved himself to be good at); now finally when the film has come out it looks like the biggest trouble is the film itself!

Azhaguraja (Karthi) runs a local channel AAA TV with the help of Kalyanam (Santhanam). His father (Prabhu) owns a stationery shop and his mother (Saranya) is a homemaker. As is customary in a lotta Tamil films he falls for Chitra Devi Priya (Kajal) at first sight.

Apart from the point above, till OKOK, Rajesh’s films had some kind of a story in them but Azhaguraja is different from them in this aspect also, the film keeps drifting aimlessly for an unbearable 2 hrs and 54 minutes; more or less like the answer to a 20 mark question in a Madras University Exam!!

Karthi and Santhanam try their very best to make something out of the intolerable screenplay but sadly all their efforts go in vain owing to the dull writing and execution. The flashback that comes in the second half where Karthi plays Prabhu’s younger days is more like a caricature gone horribly wrong. It will make one wonder what the director was thinking while making those portions because of the preposterousness of it all! Karthi makes a mockery of himself trying to imitate Prabhu with a single exception of the song with Radhika Apte.

There is only one scene that provides entertainment in whole film where Kajal’s father laments about the sufferings he has gone through because of her singing. The portion where M.S Bhaskar teaches Bharatanatyam to Kajal is also acceptable when compared to the rest of the film.

With one of the worst screenplays, dry dialogues that make the most cheerful of persons indifferent and tasteless songs All in All Azhaguraja is a real pain. Please stay away!

I am giving 0.75 for All in All Azhaguraja. This is Intolerable Cruelty!!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

ARRAMBAM ("ANYAAYAM")

October 31, 2013.

Cast: Ajithkumar, Arya, Nayantara, Taapsee, Rana Daggubatti.

Director: Vishnuvardhan.

Mankatha provided a really good comeback for Ajith. What followed was a disaster in the form of Billa 2 and even before we have recovered from that impact here comes Arrambam.

Ashok (Ajith) is introduced as a terrorist who is bent on destroying certain people. He is aided in this endeavour by Maya (Nayanthara), who happens to be the computer whiz Arjun’s (Arya) classmate. Arjun is in love with Anitha (Taapsee).

Arjun is tricked into coming to Mumbai along with Anitha by Ashok who wants Arjun’s help in his endeavours. He starts coercing Arjun into doing things against his wishes with the threat of killing Anitha in case of non cooperation. Any viewer with an interest for English films would clearly see “Swordfish” by now but to make it worse what follows is a few so called twists (all of which fall flat), a horrible flashback and some scenes that really test your patience!!!

The script is very very mediocre letting anyone who has watched a few films guess what is coming and a few minutes after the interval you can very easily predict the climax. The first twenty minutes or so in the film is literally unbearable with two irritating songs, a stupid flashback involving Arya, Nayanthara and Taapsee, stupid makeup (Arya’s) and bad acting!!

Once you have passed that test of patience you would be subjected to a lotta unnecessary slow mo shots, completely trite background score, substandard direction and a lotta bad acting yet again. After all this it’s time for the flashback explaining how an honest Ashok was turned into a terrorist of sorts; Nayanthara starts the flashback with heavy words like torture, terror and the likes of it; but sadly it’s all just words and no action whatsoever.

The screenplay is so bad that the characters have to verbalise the scenes so that the audience might understand what they (characters) are going through which exhibits a blatant absence of feel that is required for any scene to reach the audience!! With umpteen characters (all played by major artistes) which are so very ill conceived it’s a cruelty to the film and unfair to the artistes of this calibre!!

Next comes the dialogues that make you laugh and cry at regular intervals; but the sad part is that both the laughter and crying are the unintentional by-products of some of the worst dialogues that you have seen in the recent times. After a point your laughter and crying would cease to make way for indifference owing to the realisation that it has reached the incorrigible plane!

In short Arrambam is a waste of time, money and efforts.

I am giving a 1.5 for Arrambam. Stay away!!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.
       
3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

ITHARKKU THAANE AASAI PATTAI BALAKUMARA ("WELCOME SUMAR MOONJI KUMAR")

October 2, 2013.

Cast: Vijay Sethupathy, Aswin Kakumanu, Nandita, Swathi, Soori, Pasupathy.

Director: Gokul.

Film after film the trust that we have on Vijay Sethupathy keeps increasing and that continues with this film as well.

Sumar moonji Kumar (Vijay) a happy go lucky jobless fellow has only one mission in his life; to marry Kumudha (Nandita), almost everyone in his street is irritated by him. Bala (Aswin) is almost the opposite to Kumar, an frustrated guy who is dissatisfied with his career and love life. Renu (Swathi) is Bala’s love interest.

IABK plays out in three tracks till the interval; Sumar moonji Kumar’s life, Bala’s life and the murder of a local goon; after which the everything gets connected. Of these three the track involving Sumar moonji Kumar is undoubtedly the best one mainly because of the excellent performance by Vijay Sethupathy that is well complemented by the very good writing and direction.

It is a clearly a comeback for Gokul after the Rowthiram fiasco and he has made full use of the star value of Vijay Sethupathy with a script that seldom loses momentum. The track involving Aswin and the murder seems a bit stretched with a few unnecessary scenes as well as characters but something that works in favour of the film is that when the screenplay switches to Sumar moonji Kumar the audience completely forgets the other two because of the laugh riot at offer.

The script clearly shows Gokul’s intention to make this a laugh riot as is clear from the really funny dialogues mouthed by the characters even in serious situations. But perhaps the choice of Aswin is a bit debatable as he seems to struggle a bit at being natural in a lotta scenes which dulls certain parts though Swathi tries her best to lighten up the same.

The songs are passable with one or two being nice and the background score does not harm the film’s proceedings as such. There are a lot of scenes in the night especially in the 2^nd half and the cinematographer shows his class with excellent lighting and angles.

Pasupathy who comes as the mediator to bring a solution to Sumar moonji Kumar’s menace really entertains and the scenes involving him and Vijay Sethupathy are cracking with humor. Equally good is the character that takes Vijay Sethupathy and his friend to a godown offering liquor.

Ultimately IABK belongs to Vijay Sethupathy who simply excels as the irritating yet adorable Sumar moonji Kumar. This is definitely his best role after Pizza or may be even a better one considering the ease with which he plays the character that is someone so different from his real self.

I am giving a generous 3.25 for IABK. Except for a few scenes this one sets the screen on fire. Brand Vijay Sethupathy is growing!!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

RAJA RANI REVIEW

September 27, 2013.

Cast: Arya, Nayantara, Jai, Nazriya.

Director: Atlee.

Please visit the following link for the review
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/tamil/movie-reviews/Raja-Rani/movie-review/23286719.cms

MOODAR KOODAM ("NONSENSE ON SCREEN")

September 13, 2013.

Cast: Oviya, Jayaprakash, Naveen.

Director: Naveen.

After the success of films like Pizza, NKPK, Soodhu kavvum etc the Tamil film industry has all of a sudden become willing to let the filmmakers experiment, even though they are debutantes.

Moodar Koodam is one among such offerings which comes from debutante director Naveen (who also plays one of the leads in the film), an ex-associate director of Pandiraj.

Four strangers Naveen, Sentrayan, Vellachami and Kuberan happen to meet each other in lock up. Owing to the not so good background that each of them has they stick together and decide to rob Vellachami’s uncle played by Jayaprakash.  In Soodhu kavvum if it was kidnapping that had gone wrong here as expected the heist goes wrong.

It is good to experiment but when it is an experiment with an experiment the project will have danger signs written all over it unless supported by a solid script which unfortunately is not the case with Moodar Koodam.

The earnestness wrt the script is evident but the end product falls way too short of what was expected by the writer(who happens to be the director as well). When a comedy film evokes not even a single laugh from you till the interval or even after that then you have to call it something else. To say the least it is nothing short of nonsense on screen in the name of dark comedy.

The film seems more like a documentary with the lead actors giving moral insights every now and then more or less mechanically which neither has the intended effect nor any entertainment value. The average background score does not help either.

The even more irritating factor is the flashback that each of the four lead cast has!! To make it worse even Jayaprakash’s dog “Tiger” has a flashback shown with one of the dumbest irritating horrible songs ever shot which serves no purpose at all in the scheme of things.

It is very very hard to tell anything good about the movie but if forced to think too much there are just 3 good things about it. The first one is the earnest performances by the cast in a few scenes; the second is the cinematography and editing which look slick and the final one being the technical finesse with which the cartoon style flashback of Kuberan has been shot.

I am giving a 0.25 for Moodar Koodam. Do not go even anywhere near the posters of the film!!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

THALAIVAA ("ITHU THEVAIYAA")

August 17, 2013.

Cast: Vijay, Amala Paul, Santhanam, Sathyaraj, Mano Bala, Rajeev Pillai.

Director: Vijay.

When the circumstances and loss of the loved ones demand, a normal man becomes a don or a leader for that matter; now that is a premise that we have seen time and again in films.

The same story can be taken in entirely different ways by different directors and when the story is something as old as the wine as far as the film industry is concerned it would do well for the film if helmed by an able hand which unfortunately is not the case with Thalaivaa.

Ramadurai (Sathyaraj) is forced to become the leader of the Tamilians in Bombay and in the ensuing gangwar he loses many of his people including his wife. He sends his son Vishwa (Vijay) along with Nasser and his son Santhanam who are leaving Bombay to have a safe and peaceful life. For the Tamilians Ramdurai grows into their beloved Anna while Vijay and Santhanam grow up in Australia unaware of anything that is happening back home. Vijay falls for Amala Paul who is the daughter of a hotelier and comes back home for his father’s approval. The story which was set in Australia till then shifts to Mumbai.

Barring around 5 minutes and a nice twist just before the interval, Thalaivaa is a disaster of sorts in the first half with a few songs (that are horrible to say the least), dumb comedy, and even dumber romance. A.L Vijay shows how horrible he is when it comes to certain areas of direction to the extent that even if you scoop out almost the entire first half it would have little or no effect on the film as a whole.

When you go back in after the interval hoping against hope for a little worth for your money A.L Vijay yet again proves why a lot of people always carry fear in their hearts about a film directed by him. The disaster of the first part continues in the second as well barring of course a few nice scenes like the one where Vishwa chases down a pickpocket and Vaanganna Vanakkamanna song (which is in fact the only song worth listening to or watching in the film).

A.L Vijay has always been so keen to “borrow” from other films right from Poi Solla Porom (remake of Khosla ka Ghosla), sometimes in parts and sometimes in entirety. He continues his streak of “borrowal without approval” in Thalaivaa as well, the theme and several scenes of which seem to have been lifted from yesteryear Tamil films. The Thalapathi Thalapathi song is yet another disaster to listen to and watch and what makes it even worse is the fact that the set up and choreography is a ditto copy of “Azeem Oh Shaan Shehanshah” from Jodhaa Akbar.

There is another twist towards the climax but, unlike the first one which nobody would have guessed coming, this one falls flat (along with the film) as it is very obvious right from a certain point in the first half.

Thalaivaa comes nowhere near films like Mani Ratnam’s “Thalapathi” , “Nayagan” or Priyadarshan’s Mohanlal starrer “Abhimanyu”, which were hugely successful because of their raw nature and powerful writing and direction. This in contrast looks so wayward a film to have come from a mainstream director. It fails in almost all the departments so bad that even the presence and grace of Vijay is not enough to compensate for the lazy writing and direction.

I am giving a 1.5 for Thalaivaa. It is sad to see Vijay acting in such a film after Nanban and Thuppakki!!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.

SINGAM 2 (SINGAM LE!)

July 5, 2013

Cast: Surya, Anushka, Hansika, Radha Ravi, Vivek, Santhanam.

Director: Hari.

After the flop show of Maattraan Surya is back with one of his most appreciated and cherished role as Duraisingam.

Duraisingam is now working undercover as an NCC master at a school in Thoothukudi. Thoothukudi is ruled by Bhai and Thangaraj who are arch rivals. Thangaraj’s niece Sathya(Hansika) is studying in the school where Duraisingam works. Soosu(Santhanam) is a local who helps Duraisingam with simple stuff.

Barring the unnecessary songs(especially the below average item song featuring Anjali) and separate comedy tracks, Singam 2 scores very good points in it’s first half which is very entertaining with the usual formula for masala films, which has been rightly baked by Hari with the aid of his long time mate Priyan helming the camera. All the usual shots that you have seen from the Hari-Priyan combo are present (including a lot of slow mo shots; some hitting the mark and the rest going completely off track).

Hari has worked very hard on the screenplay infusing a lot of technology and technical aspects into it but it almost completely goes off track in the second half with the introduction of a lot of sub plots and unnecessary characters. The international angle involving Danny Sapani seems to be really unnecessary when a simple continuation of the fiery action in Thoothukudi in the first half could have sufficed; something which Hari seems to have overlooked in his effort to make the sequel much more appealing than it’s predecessor. The unnecessary and below substandard songs continue appearing in the second half as well and you would most likely be tempted to take a loo break.

One of the most disappointing things with Singam 2 is the absence of a strong character like that of Prakashraj in the first part. All the 3 villains combined do not come anywhere near the sheer intensity that Prakashraj had brought on screen in the first part which was one of the main reasons for it’s huge success. Though the terrific screen presence of Surya almost negates that, a better antagonist would have made the duel much more juicy.

Anushka has almost negligible role here, which is why Hari must have added an extra song or two, but that idea falls flat on it’s face offering only irritation to the audience. The same is the case with Santhanam who,  though does nothing to harm the film, only seems to lengthen the already long film. The one surprise package though is Hansika who has given a much better performance compared to her previous films. But as mentioned above it is 

Surya who single handedly carries the film on his reliable shoulders.

Singam 2 could have been crisper with a much simpler screenplay which would have made it a great entertainer like the Saamys and the Geminis but on the whole you end up getting a good entertainer.

I am giving a 2.75 for Singam 2 and a 0.25 for the amazing Surya. Watch it for the first half and the terrific and inspiring Duraisingam!!!

Rating Scale (Out of 5)

Less than 2                   -           Unwatchable.

2    to 2.25                   -           Below average.

2.5 to 2.75                   -           Average.

       

3    to 3.25                   -           Good.

3.5 to 3.75                   -           Really Good.

4    to 4.25                   -           Great.

4.5 and above               -          Extraordinary.