Thoonganagaram is a test of endurance

If you, like me are an inveterate cinema-goer, you’ve probably seen more than your fair share of lousy flicks and have, over time, built a certain immunity that allows you to stoically sit through any magnitude of cinematic disasters. But every once in a while (not very frequently, hopefully) comes a truly torturous movie that stretches you to the limit of your endurance. It then takes extreme effort to sit through the proceedings without leaving mid way. Often, you rely on other ways to amuse yourself, like eavesdropping on the argumentative couple seated ahead of you or following the rhythmic pattern of snores emanating from the elderly gentleman seated beside you. At the end of it all though, you wonder how the makers of the film managed to sit through their own creation (presuming at all that they did).  

If today I am able to proudly record that I was able to sit through all of Thoonganagaram, it is thanks in no small measure to an extremely entertaining bunch of co-cinema watchers and some truly wonderful pop corn served at Satyam theatre. Alas, If only the director and the editor of the movie had been similarly blessed, they too could have seen the entire movie and realized beforehand , the magnitude of what they were about to inflict on their audience.

The Plot:

Set in Madurai (pictured with its famous landmarks like the Gopurams of the Meenakshi temple, the busy bus terminus and the Azhagar festival), Thoonganagaram (the city that never sleeps) tells the story of four lower middle class youth whose friendship is cemented at the local bar. One of the four (our principal hero), is reunited with his childhood sweetheart somewhere in the first half of the proceedings. This is shown through some standard flash back routines involving pesky school children, ill tempered adults and regulation skip and hop childhood games. Also introduced are the rich and powerful villain and his scheming, ruthless brother. Their entry is marked by predictable sequences involving intimidation and murder of upstanding citizens. Random sub plots involving tacky attempts at humor follow, before the screenplay finally moves ahead and the paths of the hero and the villains cross. After testing your considerable patience in the second half, the hero and villains decide to quit playing hide and seek and a bloody denouement follows.

My Take:

What can you say about a movie which in the name of humor has sequences involving a grown man farting into another man’s face? Where the comedy track consists of old women, betel leaves and spit fights. Tasteless humor apart, Thoonganagaram is also let down by a below average screenplay which is disjointed, predictable and incredulous. If in the first half it looks like it is meandering from one random single act to another, in the second it turns entirely predictable and fails to hold your interest. The saving grace (if there were one) in the movie is in the performance of the cast who for most part, look and play their roles well

The Verdict:

Don’t watch Thoonganagaram. Visit your dentist instead. It is at least more value for the same amount of pain.

Yuddham Sei – A Review

I have always been of the view that suspense thriller as a genre remains woefully under explored in Tamil cinema. While Kollywood abounds with stories about cops and crime, you rarely come across a movie that delves with any degree of intelligence into the mechanics of a criminal investigation. Investigations in Tamil cinema, for most part, involve a cop, a suspect bound to a chair, a lathi and a dark room. Throw in a few corny dialogues (usually about the said suspect’s morals or patriotism) follow it up with some old fashioned torture and the mystery usually reveals itself. It is therefore not an exaggeration to state that one would be hard pressed to name 5 decent “whodunit” crime stories in Tamil without shamelessly resorting to some googling.

Given this dismal state of affairs, you can hardly fault one for being excited when a film maker of Mysskin’s caliber decides to make a mystery thriller cop story. Yuddham Sei, for most part anyway, lives up to the billing of its maker. It is fast paced, it keeps you on your toes with its parallel narratives, and even as you guess the denouement somewhere towards the middle of the proceedings, it gives you the satisfaction of being smart enough to do so.

The Plot:

Chennai city is rocked by a series of sensational crimes where the victims’ hands are chopped off with an electric saw and left off neatly wrapped up to be found in highly public places. With intense pressure mounting on the commissioner, the case is handed off to the CB CID where it is assigned to JK (played by Cheran) a brooding, upright veteran who after much persuasion takes on the job. As JK and his team (consisting of an old faithful and two green horns freshly assigned to the department) proceed with their investigations, they uncover a sleazy, deeply disturbing design that turns highly personal for some of them.

My Take:

Yuddham Sei has a complex plot involving multiple characters and several parallel, seemingly unrelated narratives told in non linear style. In fact the first few minutes leave you bewildered and scrambling to keep track of names, places and incidents that follow one another at a brisk pace. In time however, you start to see the inter linkages and the plot unravels itself. It is therefore to the makers’ credit that he manages to convey the story with clarity while completely eschewing any digressions (that one typically sees justified in the name of commerce).

The script is propped up by some excellent acting all around. While Cheran turns in a restrained performance as the principal protagonist, Jayaprakash as Dr. Judas, the battle weary forensic pathologist is the pick of the lot. There are several scenes in Yuddham Sei that remind you of Anjaathey, Mysskin’s hard hitting tale of a friendship gone sour (sample the scene where JK is attacked by hit men armed with knives). The dark, grim sequences in the mortuary, the chase sequences with the camera focusing on the feet of the actors and finally the item number involving a girl in the yellow sari are all features that have come to be recognized as part of Mysskin’s signature style.

The Verdict:

Yuddham Sei provides a deeply disturbing account of the base nature of the powerful and the chilling impact it leaves on the innocent. The movie stays in the mind long after you have left the hall.

Aadukalam- A review

For the hardened Tamil cinema goer used to a cinematic experience characterized by larger than life heroes and predictable storylines, certain clichés are immutable - the hero and his associates are always righteous, the villain and his associates always evil and finally the righteous always triumphs over evil. In Aadukalam the director takes these black and white characterizations, fills them with several shades of gray and strings them together in a storyline which in spite of its innumerable twists and turns remains at its core extremely believable. The resulting cocktail keeps you riveted through the end.

The Plot

Set in the rural Madurai milieu, Aadukalam tells the story of Pettaikaran (Played by Jayabalan) the undisputed king of the rooster fight arena, and Rathnasamy (Played by Naren) a wealthy, well connected cop whose devious, determined bids to de-throne Pettaikaran are thwarted by Karuppu (Dhanush) and Durai (Kishore) who are trusted lieutenants to Pettaikaran. The movie then tells the tale of how bravado, wounded pride and intense jealousy wreck havoc on the lives of the protagonists. Interwoven in the story line is the sub plot involving a chance encounter between Karuppu and Irene (Tapasee) an Anglo Indian living in the neighborhood that blossoms (rather predictably) into a full blown poor boy – posh girl romantic relationship with soulful ballads, parental disavowal, failed suicide attempts, et al.

My Take

The biggest strength of Aadukalam is its script. The story consistently surprises with its dramatic “twist in the tale” episodes just when you thought you could foretell the proceedings. Through it all however, it remains coherent, logical and utterly believable. The script is also aided by some splendid acting by the principal protagonists and the entire supporting cast. Whether it is Pettaikaran as the master outdone by his protégé, Rathnasamy as the scheming cop resorting to shenanigans to salvage broken pride or Kishore as the fiercely loyal but easily manipulated Durai, all the actors play their characters perfectly. Ultimately however, this movie belongs to Dhanush, who in his portrayal of Karuppu brings such raw energy to the character that makes for some magical cinematic moments (sample the sequence where Karuppu dances ecstatically after Irene professes her love for him). The only gripe that one had with this movie was for its glorification of rooster fights as a sport in spite of its violence towards animals. Though the episodes involving the actual fights are CG aided, the amount of rooster blood spilt on the screen makes you squirm and wonder if you should call in the SPCA.

The Verdict:

 Aadukalam turns a placid train journey into an unpredictable roller coaster ride. It lunges and lurches, spins and turns with breakneck speed and leaves you feeling giddy at the end.

Dhobi Ghat - A Review

You take a large black and white photograph of a smiling street vendor hawking vegetables in the midst of the hustle and bustle of a busy road. You put the photograph on a caravan and go town to town inviting views. Some see art in the photo, the black and white a metaphor for colorless harshness of the vendor’s life and the smile reminiscent of the endurance of human spirit. Yet some others look at the photo and see….well… a smiling vendor hawking vegetables in midst of a busy road. If you (like me) belong to the latter group of people, Dhobi Ghat is likely to leave you scratching your head, wondering what all the fuss is about. This probably explains why Aamir Khan, a savvy producer, decided to premiere the movie in the festival circuit before bringing it to the masses back home

The Plot:

An anti social artist with a troubled past, a vivacious young housewife with a troubled present, a lost investment banker with a silver spoon, the earnest young dhobi with dreams in his eyes and pain in his soul, their lives, their hopes, their muses, in a city that is always in a hurry.

The movie starts with a view of Mumbai’s sights and sounds as recorded on a handycam and narrated by a newly arrived migrant housewife Yasmeen (Played by Kriti Malhotra). You are then quickly introduced to the other key protagonists: Arun (played by Aamir Khan) a moody, temperamental artist; Shai (Played by Monica Dogra) a NRI investment banker on a sabbatical; Munna (Played by Prateik) a struggler with bollywood dreams who is a dhobi by day and rat killer by night. The film charts their lives as they intersect, form bonds, love and finally lose. Throughout the film you are treated to montages of every day life in Mumbai which comes alive as a protagonist in its own right in the movie.

My Take:

Right from the start, Dhobi Ghat has a documentary, arty house feel to it. While all the characters and  their situations feel very real, the narrative as a whole is un-compelling and fails to keep the viewer involved throughout. There were several points in the movie when the focus on showcasing the everyday life of the protagonists (for instance the sequences involving Yasmeen’s narrative on everyday life in Mumbai) makes the viewing tedious. What makes sitting through such pieces possible however, is the excellent performance from the entire cast. While Aamir’s acting abilities need no endorsement, it is Prateik who delights with his standout and nuanced portrayal of Munna. Finally, for a viewer so used to seeing celluloid stories taken to a logical end, the lack of a conclusion left one wondering as to the point of it all

Verdict:

For a moviegoer fed on an appetite of spicy masala, Dhobi Ghat resembles a salad devoid of dressing – healthy, nutritious but unappetizing