Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Vinnaithandi Varuvaya Tamil Movie Review

Vinnaithandi Varuvaya - Lengthy Love story

‘Vinnaithandi Varuvaya’, (VTV) and you know what its like to cross the sky and get into another dimension called love. ‘Vinnaithandi Varuvaya’ is a popular lyric from the ‘Vennilave Vennilave’ song from ‘Minsara Kanavu’ directed by Rajeev Menon and all of you know that. So director Goutham Vasudev Menon has rightly acknowledged Rajeev Menon in the first card of the Titles. How humble!
Right from the time, the word ‘action’ was told, the film has been creating the ripples of expectation among director Goutham’s fans. He has surely tried his maximum to live up to the expectations. Captain Goutham and his team- comprising of editor Antony, art director Rajeevan, director of photography Manoj Paramahamsa and music by A R Rahman, just look at that combination, have always given us that feeling of modern cinema.
Well technically, the movie is made with high values- Exceptional music, background score, re-recording, classy camera work, foreign locations, etc. All the technicians involved must receive that imperative appreciation for they have done their work with much finesse.
The first in the list of technicians who have to be appreciated would be, undoubtedly, A R Rahman. Man! Isn’t he a creative genius! His 1st movie after the Oscar phenomenon. His music is one of the main reasons to the much acclaimed hype. The re-recording and the background score are really amazing. If you’ve listened to his songs in your personal stereo, then its only half of the magic you have experienced.
The picturisation of the songs is simply remarkable and they complete the magic. God knows how Goutham gets his ideas and the eye of Manoj Paramahamsa who’s done ‘Eeram’ before, not just his eye that thought of those exotic locations but his ‘lens eye’ as well that caught all those beautiful locales. Watch those videos even with half opened eyes and you’ll realize he hasn’t used a camera but a paint brush with the palette of colours from Mother Nature. The colour tones in the movie have been brought out quite amazingly. The songs especially, ‘Hosana’ and ‘Omanna Penne’ shot at Malta, are worth the watch at the cinemas. Songs get major attention in the movie and the other technician we are going to talk about is Rajeevan and his art-work in the sets of a few songs is fascinating. The D.O.P (director of photography) Manoj has used minimal artificial lighting in the movie, showing his signature style.
We’ll come back to the people behind the camera a little later. Now is the time for the people in front of the camera. Trisha and Silambarasan as the lead pair, and quite a few veterans in the movie like Kitty as Silambarasan’s father and Bob Antony as Trisha’s father. All artists have done well especially Ganesh, also one of the producers, who plays Silambarasan’s friend, has acted well, and his dialogue delivery must be appreciated. Lets talk about- Silambarasan! We’ve seen him as a college student, as a mass character and we’ve seen him dance in the middle of the road, typical Chennai style, but can you imagine Silambarasan in formals, as a simple, regular guy-next door, decent and at his best behaviour? Well, he has proved he is not just the normal run-off-the-mill commercial hero but an actor who will mould himself into any character that a story demands. He’s come out of that commercial image with VTV. All were apprehensive about the fact that Silambarasan working with a classy director like Goutham. But the director has been persistent about Silambarasan and he hasn’t let the director down. Silambarasan has been in front of the camera since he was a kid and such a role as ‘Karthik’ in this movie is really not demanding or impossible to him. He hasn’t acted in this movie, but has been himself. His dialogue delivery appeared to be simple, just like how he would talk to anyone in his real life. He is an ambitious and aspiring film maker in the movie and in real life, he really is.
Opposite Silambarasan is pretty lass Trisha. Trisha as Jessie has portrayed her character brilliantly, she hasn’t over acted or under acted, and she’s done it perfectly. Director of Photography, Manoj has prettified Trisha, and she looks prettier than her previous appearances. Saree clad in most of the movie, Trisha has pulled off a terrific performance. Nalini Sriram’s costumes might start a cult with the ladies from now on.
Now we’re moving in to the ‘story, screenplay and dialogues’, by Goutham. Don’t expect us to be spoilsport and reveal the storyline and the cute screenplay of the movie. The first half till the interval will grab your attention as it has been nicely written and well taken. Some cute scenes between Silambarasan and Trisha look really candid and the camera man has managed to capture that cheeky chemistry between the two. According to the film promos, theatrical trailers, etc ‘VTV’ is a love story ‘with a difference’. There wasn’t anything particularly different to talk about, except for Simbu being younger to Trisha by one year, and the screenplay that won’t tell you till the end if they’ve fall in love and live happily ever after?
Silambarasan wooing Trisha, their second pairing after ‘Alai’, is not at all impractical and you can relate their characters to real life. Their chemistry is enticing and they actually appear a cute pair. Silambarasan’s attitude in the movie is straight forward while Trisha is homely and conservative. The one thing you can’t relate to life or even agree is the hero meeting the heroine at her house, at his will without anyone noticing. Cinema has grown of age, or have people!?
The screenplay in the first half is slow and cute but the screenplay in the second half is even slower.
A faster screenplay might spoil the feel of a romantic movie. Back to technicians, Editor Antony has done a decent job but could have advised his Captain to chop off a few reels. Some of the audience thought the movie got over and they got off their seats when a song was being played! but the movie continued for 10 more minutes after that.
Silambarasan, we all know fights well and dances amazingly. There is just one stunt sequence in the movie and that’s designed by Shiva who’s handled the fight scenes very well and Silambarasan is the demi-god we know, sustains not a single scratch on him. Silambarasan’s dance is admirable. Keeping in mind that most of the songs are not dance numbers, you’ll still see him sway to those tunes convincingly.
Dialogues in the movie and especially Silambarasan’s dialogue delivery is worth mentioning. The dialogues make you giggle at times, and sometimes they make you feel- how one can be so romantic.
Director Goutham has tried something ‘different’ but the audience is perplexed at the end. You wouldn’t know how to react after the climax. Weird! If you’ve been following all his movies and know his style of film making, then you would appreciate his work. There were rumours about two climaxes to the movie. The version the audience saw on the first day is not really lively.
Finally a disclaimer: If and only if, you have all the time in the world, and you like the slow romantic genre, you’ll enjoy this one.
VTV- a feel (long) 'good' film!
Courtesy:indiaglitz.com

Priyamani chokes

Usually most actresses don’t prefer to dub for their films for obvious reasons. But still there are some who makes it a point in their contracts to use their own voice.
National award winning actress Priyamani has become more determined these days to dub for her films. One reason may be, she recently missed a Kerala State Award for the film ‘Thirakkatha’ because she has not dubbed herself for the film even with an incredible performance. So the dark beauty has decided not to take chances any more.
Recently Priyamani was dubbing for the tri-lingual Mani film ‘Raavan’. She is dubbing for herself for both the Hindi and Tamil versions of ‘Raavan’. Since Priya knows the languages well everything thing was going fine. Then there was an emotional scene which has to be dubbed with intense modulations. Mani’s dubbing directors told her to do the Tamil version first and then do the Hindi version because she will be able to understand the feel better and emote better in Hindi.
She was game and started that way with Tamil. The scene had typical Tirunelveli dialect and Mani was personally supervising Priya. The dubbing started and at one stage Priya became so emotional and choked. Finally she broke down. She said the scene was so touching and she virtually blended with the scene.
Good signs any way. Priyamani feels ‘Raavan’ will be a turning point of her career.
Courtesy:indiaglitz.com

Waiting for Vikram in Bollywood


It is known that Mani Ratnam’s ‘Raavan’ starring Vikram, Aishwarya Rai and Prithviraj is a bilingual for south – Tamil and Telugu. Vikarm also stars in the Hindi version of ‘Raavan’ with Abishekh Bachchan and Aiswarya Rai. Mani Ratnam who feels Vikram will be the next best thing happening to Bollywood from south has created a special trailer to introduce the national award winning actor to Bollywood in style. The special trailer will be a curtain raiser show casing Vikram’s style and substance using scenes from his earlier movies. Amitabh Bachchan is expected to release this special curtain raiser in March.
So expecting Vikram to make it big in Bollywwod after ‘Raavan’, Vikram’s current producers and getting ready to cash in. Mohan Natrajan who is doing a film with Vikram under Boopathy Pandian is all set to dub it in Hindi also. Ileana opposite Vikram will make it easy for Telugu dubbing. Vikram plays a police officer after ‘Samy’ in this untitled film. Brahmanandam will tickle the funny bones. Devi Sri Prasad will do the music instead of previously reported Mani Sharma.
Courtesy:indiaglitz.com

Endhiran could be a tragedy

"Sujatha’s novel En Iniya Iyanthira had a climax in which the Robot will be dismantled. Wondering what the climax of Endhiran, which is based on this book, would be? Well, some of our sources say that director Shankar has planned two climaxes.

One of the climaxes will have Aishwarya Rai, the film’s heroine, killed by the Robot. Another climax will have Rajini dismantle the Robot keeping in tune with the book that Sujatha had penned. However, none of the sources have confirmed about this double climax and it’s also possible that the director may have other plans."


Courtesy:behindwoods.com

Permission denied for Endhiran

The shooting of Endhiran is almost over barring a few scenes. These scenes need to be shot in Delhi and the Endhiran crew has been running from pillar to post to obtain the necessary permission. In a recent function, Rajini had also mentioned that he was able to attend it only because the shooting in Delhi has been cancelled owing to denial of permission.

It is very difficult to obtain the permission to shoot in Delhi because of the security threat that the country is facing.

Courtesy:behindwoods.com

Rahman drops out from Vikram project

With the Vikram – Vikram Kumar project, tentatively titled 24, having been shelved, looks like the other crew members are also dropping out. A R Rahman and P C Sriram have also left the project, although Vikram’s dates have been bought by producer Mohan Natarajan and the project will now be handled by Boopathy Pandiyan.

Pandiyan is synonymous with comic capers with Dhanush namely Devadayai Kanden and Thiruvilayadal Arambam. The untitled new project will now have Mani Sharma’s score, it is learnt

Courtesy:behindwoods.com

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

No heroine for Ajith this time

Ajith’s next with Gautham Menon will be announced in a few days. The director is now busy with the release of Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa and will start working on this Ajith-starrer soon.
Ajith
Meanwhile, there has been a lot of buzz that Ajith plays a cop in this film. Other reports suggested that he is a crime detective. And all this indicated the fact that it is to be an action flick. Looks like there is some truth in this. According to our sources in Kollywood, Ajith will have no leading lady to pair opposite him in this film. So, is this going to be an out-and-out action film?

Courtesy: behindwoods.com

Sunday, February 21, 2010

‘Raavan’ at 55 and counting


We are talking about the production cost so far of Mani Ratnam’s ‘Raavan’. Yes Rs.55 crores is the amount of money that’s involved in the making of ‘Raavan’, keeping in mind the fact that it’s a bilingual being made in Tamil and Hindi.

Being his home production, Mani Ratnam has not compromised anything for the quality. For starters, read this- Reports from sources say that dogs that look like wolves have been brought from Australia for a whopping Rs.3 crores.

As reported earlier, the movie was shot in Pollachi and the deep forests in Kerala. A special set was erected near the Chalakudy falls in Kerala. Apparently, a rain pulled it down and huge loss was incurred. So the unit had to erect new set.

Mani Ratnam’s penchant for details is well known. It’s also learnt that the sun rise from the Chalakudy falls is a delightful sight and Mani didn’t want to miss it. So he and the unit of ‘Raavan’ used to get up as early as 4 am to record the natural scene.

Courtesy:indiaglitz.com

Goutham plans ‘VTV’ sequel



Even as ‘Vinnaithandi Varuvaya’ is all set to release Goutham Menon hasn’t come out of the film fully say circles close to him. So much so that he is even planning a sequel.
“Goutham is yet to fully come out of ‘Vinnaithandi Varuvaya’. The film had its impact on him since it is inspired by some of his real life experiences,” they add.
“However, he didn’t have the idea of a sequel until a few days ago till he saw the final version on screen. He may start the venture after completing two of his commitments- Ajith’s 50th venture and the film with Kamal Haasan. He considers ‘VTV’ as his best so far” sources add.
With Silambarasan playing Karthik (an aspiring filmmaker) and Trisha as Jessie (a Malayalam Christian girl), the film produced by Escape Artists Motion Pictures and R S Infotainment, will be released by Red Giant Movies (Udhayanidhi Stalin) on February 26.


Courtesy:indiaglitz.com

‘VTV’ on Feb 26



‘Vinnaithandi Varuvaya’ has not kept its Valentine’s Day date. The movie expected to make this Valentine’s Day special has been postponed by a fortnight and will release on February 26.
‘VTV’ has been given a U/A certificate keeping with the general trend today. Some sources say the U/A is because of some lip lock scenes in the movie.
This soft romance is a typical Goutham Menon film and you can expect all the color and dignity of his earlier urban romance ‘Minnale’. Silambarasan and Trisha are also expecting this film to give a major boost to their image and career.
Music is already on top of all the charts. ‘VTV’ will be A R Rahman’s first Tamil release after his winning double Oscars and double Grammys.
The film is promoted by Red Giant Movies in India. TWO95 Entertainment, Inc is the distributor in United States.



Courtesy:indiaglitz.com

‘Endhiran’ in 3D



Yes. Director Shankar is planning a 3D version of the magnum opus ‘Endhiran’ to pre-empt any piracy attempt.
After the unpleasant episode in ‘Jaggubhai’, where the full length film was leaked on the internet even before it came out of the processing lab, Shankar is trying each and every way to plug the holes. Today all major films are happening under strict vigilance by competent persons. Mani Ratnam has appointed managers at each point where the works for ‘Raavan’ is happening.
So in a no holds barred attempt to make the audience watch ‘Endhiran’ only at theaters, Shankar is even contemplating to convert a part of ‘Endhiran’ film into a 3D version. He has already started consultations to this effect with the experts on the economics of converting the film into a 3D film.
The demo version of ‘Endhiran’ in 3D was shown to Shankar by an effects company and he is awfully impressed with the result. So the chances to see ‘Endhiran’ wearing the 3D spectacles are great.


Courtesy:indiaglitz.com

Simbu with Mani



Even as his ‘Raavan’ is yet to be released, Mani Ratnam seems to have signed up Silambarasan for his next project.
Mani Ratnam is usually a silent director and never speculates about his next project when an ongoing project is yet to release, but he seems to have broken the myth and sources say his next movie will be with Silambarasan.
Mani’s ‘Raavan’ will hit the screens in June, but he will start script work for his next project before that. Sources say, Mani’s next project, for which he’s also the producer, will also be a bi-lingual, in Tamil and Hindi with Ranbir Kapoor will be doing the hero’s role. The shooting for the movie would most probably start in November, later this year.

Courtesy:indiaglitz.com

Sameera-Goutham Again




The rapport between Sameera Reddy and Goutham Menon is so terrific that the lady has signed her third film for Menon.
After the stunning introduction in ‘Vaaranam Aayiram’, Sameera was signed to do a Goutham film for Sivaji Productions opposite Ajith. Although controversies mired the project and Goutham walked out of the film Sameera stayed on and completed what is now called ‘Asal’.
Now according to latest news Sameera has already started shooting for Goutham Menon’s next film. She plays an intense role of a commercial sex worker. The movie is said to be a thriller about how a single incident one night changes the life of many. New comers play other pivotal roles.
By putting all pieces together, it appears the new film we are talking about is Goutham’s long drawn film ‘Chennaiyil Oru Mazhai Kaalam’. It originated with Suriya and Asin. Then Trisha replaced Asin. And now we hear Sameera. It is expected Goutham will complete the film soon after ‘Vinnaithandi Varuvaya’ is released.


Courtesy:indiaglitz.com

‘Rahmania’- A tribute to ARR



A mega musical event “Rahmania" is being organized in Chennai to pay respects and celebrate A R Rahman’s international success in the best way possible. After all A R Rahman is the global face of Indian music today. The event that will rock the Chennai city on February 28 is conducted in aid of ‘A R Rahman Foundation’, which is doing phenomenal service to the society, by helping the under privileged.
The event will feature all the lively numbers of A R Rahman starting from his ‘Roja’ till ‘Guru’. For the first time ever all the original track singers of A R Rahman will assemble on a single stage to pay tribute to the pride of India.
A galaxy of celebrity singers, like Benny Dayal, Srinivas, Suresh Peters, Naresh Iyer, Haricharan, Timothy Madhukar, Sujatha, Swetha Mohan, Suvi Suresh and others will enthrall the music lovers.


Courtesy:indiaglitz.com

A R Rahman in




The Michael Jackson’s song 'We Are the World,' that raised over 30 millions US dollars for African humanitarian programs 25 years ago was redone by popular artistes of the world today including our own A R Rahman to raise funds for Haitian earthquake relief.
The 25th Anniversary recording featured over 80 artists and performers. The new version embodied the same passion, determination and bigheartedness as the original recording 25 years ago. The song was recorded on February 1st, 2010, in the same studio as the original 25 years earlier. None of the singers from the original were included except for the late Michael Jackson joined by his sister Janet.
The star-studded video was premiered on February 12 during the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics at Vancouver. Quincy Jones and Lionel Richie brought artists from different genre for this remake.
"We Are the World 25 for Haiti" is one of the most diverse and successful charitable collaborations in history.


Courtesy:indiaglitz.com

Rajini says ‘Endhiran’ in July



Superstar Rajinikanth today met the Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi at his residence and expressed thanks for his presence at the engagement ceremony of his daughter yesterday. Superstar’s younger daughter Soundarya was engaged to a city businessman Ashwin Ramkumar in a simple ceremony yesterday at a city hotel. The chief minister was present with his entire family to bless the to-be married couple.
While coming out of CM’s residence Rajinikanth told, actors attend filmy functions only on their own will and not out of compulsions from anybody. On ‘Endhiran’ the superstar said the film would be ready for release in July in all probability.


Courtesy:indiaglitz.com

Goutham’s gamble!

Goutham Menon, the brilliant director who has given us hits consistently is taking the gamble. Puzzled? Read on…
Goutham Menon is a true flexible director. Its heard that his much awaited movie ‘Vinnaithandi Varuvaya’ has two endings. Depending on the feedback from the audience during the initial one or two weeks, the director will decide the climax of the movie. The movie is about inter-religious love between the hero and the heroine. Sources reveal that the movie will have one tragic climax and another happy.
Goutham's climax have always received appreciation. From 'Minnale' to 'Varanam Aayiram' he has made a definite style in his movies. His Fans in the past have commented on climax of his action movie ‘Khaaka Khaaka’, where the heroine is shown dead. We will have to wait and watch how he gambles this time.



Courtesy:indiaglitz.com

Tanvi Shah to stay

Tanvi Shah is thrilled to talk about her association with A R Rahman that got her global recognition. She is one of the A R Rahman regulars of late.
Tanvi Shah is the first Indian female singer to win a Grammy Award. Tanvi was a part of the song 'Jai ho' in Danny Boyle's ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ which took the world music community by storm in 2009 and 2010. The versatility of Tanvi goes beyond her voice. She can sing in Arabic, Latin, and Spanish and sings a wide range of music with her band, Zahrra.
The lovely voice of Tanvi made Indian debut with a song ‘Yaakai Thiri’ in ‘Aayutha Ezhuthu’ for A R Rahman. After that her association with A R Rahman continued in ‘Rang De Basanti’, ‘Sillunu Oru Kadhal’, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ and ‘Dilli 6’.  Her success with A R Rahman hot her invitations from the other young happening music directors like Yuvan Shankar Raja, Srikanth Deva and Premji Amaran.
Tanvi’s popular numbers in Tamil like “Pul Pesum Poo Pesum” from ‘Pudhupettai’, “Sillunu Oru Kaadhal” from ‘Sillunu Oru Kaadhal’, “My Life” from ‘Saroja’ were chart toppers.
Her recent songs in ‘Theeradha Vilaiyattu Pillai’ and ‘Goa’ have created a unique space for her kind of voice. An A R Rahman find can never go wrong.
 
 


Courtesy:indiaglitz.com

Endhiran on 3D?


Although one section of the media speculated that Shankar and producers Sun network are planning to make Endhiran 3D, a plan, according to Shankar, would effectively curb the release of pirated CDs after the movie’s release, looks like it might not happen. As it turned out, plans weren’t made during the commencement of the movie for 3D and trying to convert the entire movie now will not have the same effect. So effectively, the plan is as good as shelved, we hear.

Endhiran is made on a mammoth budget and stars Superstar Rajinikanth and Aishwarya Rai in the lead. Double Oscar / Grammy winner and a Shankar regular Rahman scores for the movie.



Courtesy:behindwoods.com

Friday, February 05, 2010