My fanmade, Vishwaroop trailer (featuring Jung Hai first 20 sec.) English lyrics by Asif Ali Beg. Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy. All credit to source videos: Raajkamal Films & Maiam (both Youtube channels.)

Audio release for Hindi “Vishwaroop” from 28th December (Late December via Flipkart). You can get the MP3 Downloads as well (UK residents, available on Amazon UK same day)

More courtesy of Vikatan.com.  Featuring Gautham Menon (director), Aditya Roy Kapoor and Samantha Ruth Prabhu

 Director Rajesh is back  after delivering hits like Siva Manasula Sakthi &  Boss Engira Baskaran. This time, Udhay Stalin joins as the debutant, Hansika remains Namitha 2.0 and namma Santhanam remains the USP of every unwatchable tamil movie till date. But unlike BEB or SMS, OKOK falls short of expectations and
it only tests your patience in the latter half of the film.

 Sometime post the release of KS Ravikumar’s Aadhavan (the poor man’s freemake of Telugu hit, ATHADU minus Mahesh Babu’s dum) the producer (Udhay Stalin) decides to join Ravikumar’s “Hitchcock” gag in the final frames of the former. Udhay insists that with his black money (keep in mind DMK was in power when
it released) & acting abilities, Udhay believed. He believed he can take the TN makkal with his nakkals like all the Suriyas, Aaryas and Thala-Thalapathis.

 Then comes director Rajesh and the aspiring Udhay Stalin (while carring a sack
full of crores). Udhay concludes that the makkal can lap up comedies as long as he and Santhanam are the sole leads and begins bribing Rajesh through crores and crores of investments. Stalin claims he can make the film beat records of Rajni and Kamal’s films and demands his acting calibre to be telecasted on the silver screens/ Then comes the sacrifices. Rajesh drops his pal Yuvan for Harris (Udhay it seems wooed him over with the Hasilli’s the fisiili’s, and tons of RaasaMONIES.) The list of heroine names (Trisha (who was in the news for the scandal with Stalin post MMA
release)) till Namitha 2.0 was finalized (Hansika).

No doubt Santhanam was going to be in the film as he soley carries Rajesh’s films. You could say that SMS was a turning point in Santhanam’s career due to the popular one-liners circulating social video sites. Boss Engira was another feather to the cap. So then Udhay settled. He’s got everything right. A popular comedian, a comedy director & a lukewarm heroine resembling yesteryear’s shakeela. What could go wrong? 

Everything went wrong. Not even Santhanam or Aarya, Andrea or Sneha could save a distorted film. Rajesh continues to take the Priyadarshan approach through his present come flashback sequences. According to Rajesh, all heroes are lovesick losers who go after heroines dressed fully in Delhi-ish attire. The lovesick hero must make the time to banter with the popular comedian though in this case.

The rest of the film swings between the “Rajesh-isms” and the “Santhanam Special” comedies. I agree certain scenes with Santhanam were rotfl worthy, but this time ,
Rajesh misses the bus completely. The film starts out okay but ends up wandering aimlessly till the climax portions. When we we have decent heroines like Anjali, Ananya, Oviya & Amala Paul, why are directors continuing to hire milky heroines who contrast the complexions of our heroes. Neither can they act, nor can they give reactions. Dubbing artists can only salvage half the damage. Poor Savitha Reddy. The subplot regarding the 20 years of silence is unneeded and only adds reels.

After 7aum Arivu, it’s the second time, Harris has disappointed me with his score. I feel his concentration is focused more on his concert and in order to meet the deadline of the audio releases, he simply “phoned” his work. Till now, I will say
that his work with Gautham menon (Vaaranam Aayiram) and Prabhu Deva’s Engeyum Kaadhal (Never mind the film) are his best score works till date.

Udhay Stalin needs to work on his emotions. Giving a single expression throughout the film is monotonous and lame. So what if he’s some CM’s grandson, the guy needs to seriously think about his acting career. I know this guy is a jackass on
twitter through his smart comments. So with that, we’re expecting an “80 Days” record breaking poster for OKOK as he commented months back during 7aum Arivu’s release.

Give this mOKkai a big miss! Pathetic

Rating: 1/5  

Dhanush has been on a roll these last couple of years. It’s amazing how much of a turnaround he’s shown post Kadhal Kondein. After a string of flops, he bounces back with Pollathavan and hasn’t looked back since. Fast forward to 2012 and he’s ready with his latest, 3. Directed by Aishwarya R. Dhanush (his wife), the film was in the news for the viral hit, “Kolaveri.” That and Shruti Haasan stars after the much hyped 7aum Arivu. Below are some stray observations. 

• Nice intro of showing the death of the hero at first off. The last time we got a major character kill off at the start of the film was Jayaprada in Ninaithale Inikum, but we didn’t know who died until the reveal at the very end.
• The school days love arc was sweet and well executed. Dhanush and Siva Karthikeyan are rocking, but at times, Karthi’s jokes often miss the intended punch line.
• Shruti Haasan’s tamil is still a major problem. Of course, the new gen girls cannot speak fluent tamil as the have all caught “Gautham Menon-eese” syndrome. Just ask Trisha.
• Anirudh’s songs are great. The best part of the songs is that they don’t bore you out nor do they add length (Runtime is 2hrs 25min), but most songs don’t exceed beyond 4min. Kudos to the background score, though at times, feels very Yuvan Shankar Raja-ish.
• For a directional debut, Aishwariya does a decent job. Not one scene felt amateurish and for very little experience (I understand she worked behind the scenes in some films), it’s commendable. But I still had problems with the second half.
• The second half feels like a Mayakkam Enna redux. As if Selvaraghavan co-authored the script with his usual mood lighting, psycho characterization, plot device death, etc. All because of that Hutch dog. It also doesn’t help to CAST Sunder Ramu (remember Sunder from ME?) in the SAME KIND of role.
• It doesn’t help either when Dhanush in the latter half sports the EXACT same getup as he did in Mayakkam Enna’s penultimate scenes. 
• Shruti Haasan’s crying scenes…..can we please get Savita Reddy to clean up this dubbing mess? Also, majority of her dialogue is in English. Did Gautham Menon hijack the second half too?
• Prabhu and Dhanush’s scenes are a delight. After donning lame character roles, here’s a role that will stay within your memories for life.

Dhanush has acted brilliantly no doubt, but I felt it was a repeat of Mayakkam Enna. Shruti Haasan has shown improvement from the hackeyned 7aum Arivu, but her dialogue delivery is still a problem. Comes off Trisha-ese with her broken tamil.

On the whole, Vidya Balan will have to battle out with Dhanush for NA 2012.

Rating: 3/5

After seeing Jiiva and Nani with Sam, here’s the Hindi version (not dubbed) of Neethane En Ponvasantham & Yeto Velli Poyindi Manasu. Featuring Aditya Roy Kapur & South sensation, Samantha! Directed by Gautham Menon (3rd Hindi venture after Ekk Deewana Tha.)

Music: “Maestro” Ilaiyaraaja

Images courtesy: Rediff.

From Rediff:

Saifeena, the 2nd most dreaded pair after Abhiwarya returns to torture the audience after a not-so-great KURBAAN.  Unfortunately for me, the film looked outright tepid, it makes Don 2 look so much boss.

Don’t get me wrong, the film itself was decent, but coming from Sriram Raghavan who made the everlasting “JOHNNY GADHAAR” is too hard to follow. Songs come at random (personally, I didn’t mind “I’ll do the talking tonight” since we weren’t force to stare of Mallika Haydon’s abs the whole time and played throughout the background, so I was satisfied) but the melodious Raabta was placed in a rather funny situation, yet didn’t seem so inappropriate.

The film shuttles between a Bond and a Bourne film. At some point, I was comforted by the witty liners by Saif (Forget SRK being top contender for Gautham Menon’s “Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu” Hindi remake, Saif can handle it like a pro.) Generally, Saif carries the film on his shoulders and he does it with ease. Out of the 3 heroines, 2 of them are ho-hum and Kareena is strictly average. Not sure why she puts up the same KURBAAN’ish caricature AGAIN. Irony is that (for those that have seen KURBAAN), the opposite happens. The climax felt lazy, but here’s hoping that Don and Vinod clash. With Raghavan and Akthar on board for a crossover, I’d pay big bucks to see that happen. In fact, why not tie it up with Don 3? But I did love the old-school treatment (note the RD Burman BGM placements throughout the film.)

Big Swag and Miss, this Vinod. Maybe not stirring enough.

Verdict: 2/5

After sitting through the horrible Muppozhudum Oru Karpanaigal (another Amala Paul movie that released the same time as KSY), I was keenly anticipating this one since it boasts of a good cast and favorable reviews. Even though Siddarth’s 180 bombed in Tamil and Telugu, he still one the few young heroes who take care in the story/script department. Having served as an AD (Assistant director) to Mani Ratnam, who can blame him? Bullet pointed for your convenience.

• Kudos to Balaji Mohan for introducing the mockumentary as seen in “The Office.” A love failure subject like this could’ve easily gone the cliche way (introduce Point A: The hero, Point B: Hero falls for Heroine, cue song and dance to Point C: Hero declares love, etc. Here, Mohan opts for a resolution approach and then trace back to it’s roots.
• Siddarth never fails to age, but what’s with his broken tamil (in places)? His biography suggests that he was born and brought up in TN. Has Telugu taken over his mother tongue?
• I know Amala Paul speaks pretty good tamil, but why is Deepa Venkat suddenly the next Savitha Reddy? She’s a mallu (and based on a scene in the pre-climax portions), it’s shameful to see her dubbed by another. This isn’t the 2000s anymore. Vettai had her dubbed by the latter, btw.
• The fatso and his sulky friend are the highlight. Nothing over the top. The former had me cracking when he does that expression of his. :)
• Arun’s parents commenting on facebook and Arun’s “Friend” was nailed to the point. Every indian parents trying to beg friend requests from their sons/daughters is asking for free snooping.
• Thaman’s score is great. My picks are Azhaipaaya and Thavarugal. Especially Thavarugal.
• My only gripe about the film was the sluggish pacing near the resolution, but it’s a minor thing since the film lasts for 2 hrs.  
• Ramakrishnan (Fatso’s cousin) resembles comedian, Manikandan. Related perhaps?
• The “watefalls-tank opening” analogy for girls was spot on!

STORY:  3.5/5

ACTING: 4/5

MUSIC:  4/5

VERDICT: 3.8/5 

Triumphant comeback for Siddarth despite a wafer-thin storyline.

dinosaursdiedforyoursins:

I never thought anyone would be able to phrase my complaints so succinctly.

You would think the combination of Suseendran and “Chiyaan” Vikram would promise viewers a slick entertaining film. After the awesome Naan Mahaa Alaa (with Karthi), I was hoping the formula for success would repeat since RP had everything in it’s favor (Vikram, K Vishwanath & 4 songs by Yuvan.) Let’s go to the bullet points!

• The story is weak. Shallow characters pretend to co-exist while the lady villian (yes you read it right) screams shades of “Jayalalitha”. Prior to release time, there was a land scam case going on that involved our current CM. Sub-par acting from everyone that have “tried” to inject life to their characters. The overall feel of the film is too Telugu-ish.
• What happened to Vikram? His looks are right out of the Incredible Hulk movie? Gym instructors do not look this monstrous. But his comedy scenes with K Vishwanath and his roommate are funny, I’ll admit.
• I know the film was a flop, but sources tell me that the script for this film was written by a Boopathy Pandian associate. Years after Kandasamy released, Vikram was co-signed to do a film with Pandian, but for some reasons did not work out. When Suseendran was signed up to do a commercial film with Vikram, the original producers (before backing out and handing the reins to PVP Cinemas) had paid advance to the writer and thus, the film was born. In contrast, Naan Mahaa Alla was written and directed by Suseendran.
• Remember when I said the film being very Telugu-ish? Just look at Deeksha Seth’s role. Nuff said. 
• Yuvan’s score lacks the punch and hooks heard in Paiyaa. The songs instead wear his illustrious father’s hooks instead. Paniye Paniye was censored since it mentioned “Tamil eelam”.
• The saving grace is that the film runs for 2hrs 7 min. The bad? We have to put up with Shriya Saran and an obese Reemma Sen dancing towards the end credits.

VERDICT:  1/5 stars

After a Deiva Thirumagal redemption, Vikram returns to square one.

Damn them crtics. They know how to turn off the viewer completely. Never mind how Taran Adarsh, Rajeev Masand and these so called “critics” lamblasting yet another movie. Having seen VTV like 3-5 times prior to the remake, I expected a word by word translation based on how Gautham sir. From watching the remake, I was completely taken aback and you should follow my bullet points to see why.

• ADR in some places faltered from Prateik’s side (Prateik goofs up in the beginning saying Duniya prior to saying the much celebrated phrase, “Of all the girls in the world, why Jessie”.)

• The Hindi remake did a fabulous job of compressing the scenes into the song sequences. By the way, the run time is at 2hrs and 16 min. The Tamil original was 2hrs and 46min. I was relieved when scenes post the “Kadhal Desam” BGM were chopped of completely. Completely unneeded in the original and instead, Gautham jumps to the pre-Phoolon Jaisi stuff. Major props.

•  Difference between Hindi cinema and Southern cinema is the narrative. In Hindi, we assume the audiences are sophisticated with their hipster angrez (English), western attire and their love for muscular smucks while in Tamil, it’s all about being straightforward. 
• The non-linearity sprinkled throughout the second half worked. Especially the emotional parts, because in Tamil, I was ready to throw my chair at Silambarasan & Trisha for dragging the reels into  “You don’t like f****g films, what kind of logic is that scene.” In Hindi, it was a matter of emotional substance and struggle for compliance. Gautham must have gauged that the scene if done verbatim in Hindi, would’ve backfired miserably.

•  Lots and lots of improvisation. Manu Rishi is first-rate here. His dialogues don’t go overboard (yes some are taken from the original, again Menon’s inputs), but offers some fresh points too. The Mallu scene at Kallipurakal is completely new. George uncle does his usual scthick but talks Hindi with an accent and asks Manu Rishi for the correct grammar. On Manu Rishi, he and Ganesh are two seperate entities. Both were superb in their respective roles.

• Not sure why the film wasn’t liked by the Mumbaites. In fact, the film was tailored and adjusted to their tastes. Would you rather watch a shoddy smug Imran Khan (for the nth time) play the loser hero opposite to stick statue, Kareena? Or perhaps say Salman Khan murder another Southern remake with his “Rajniism and 3rd grade acting? Look at the reviews for Bodyguard, Ready and Singham and see the films. No big acting scope or script sense but because of star power, they get the results desired. Classic bias over Stars. Prateik is completely underrated here. In fact, I liked that his character isn’t aggressive like Simbu’s version. I guess chicks didn’t like Amy as much as they praised Trisha. To be fair, we should give credit to singer Chinmayi for her dubbing work. She’s the real heroine of the film. Not Trish, not Sam nor Amy.

• Rahman as usual good work on improvising the BGM from the tamil original.

On the whole, go see this Deewana. Certainly, I felt more relieved to see this in Hindi than I did in Tamil, it’s short and to the point. Yes, the story isn’t ohoho great, but the performances make up for it.

STORY:  3
ACTING: 3.5 
MUSIC:  3.5

VERDICT: 3/5

No worries Gautham! I’m still your biggest fan from RHTDM days. Expecting wonders from Assi Nabbe Pure Sau & Neethane En Ponvasantham