Tamil

Maattrraan  Movie Review – 7am Arivu's second part !!!

Sometimes the ending will be the beginning,' says the caption of Maattrraan but it has an ending in the beginning! KV Anand's film has rare characters of conjoined twins but has a predictable story and appears like a second part of Surya's last movie7aum Arivu directed by AR Murugadoss.

Genetic scientist (Sachin Khedekar) does not get due credit for his research works in India but he never loses his heart. With his sustained efforts, he becomes successful in life by becoming a proud owner of an energy drink product. As the company grows, there is a lot of competition and his rivals have set their eyes on the formula of the drink, which could make an ordinary man extraordinary.

His wife played by Tara gives birth to conjoined twins - Vimalan and Akhilan played by Surya. Akhilan and Vimalan are as different as chalk and cheese. While the former is good at studies and decent in nature, the latter is care-free man and when it comes to studies, he is very poor. Vimalan realises that there is something fishy about his father-owned company and smells a rat. This costs his life and he is killed. Anjali (Kajal Aggarwal), who was in love with Vimalan, falls for Akhilan and they set to solve the mystery.

The first half of Maattrraan is good and entertaining. Director KV Anand has amazingly shot the conjoined twins portion. In the movie Charulatha, which also had the subject of conjoined twins, Priyamani's twins portion was limited to merely 30 minutes. But in this movie, audience will get to see more than 90 minutes of Surya's twins portions. The director has to be appreciated for showing the rarity in detail. Having said that, the second half is predictable. Though it is okay, audience will start realising that the film has similar subject to 7aum Arivu, which was Surya's 2011 release.

However, performance wise, Maattrraan has brought out the best in Surya. It requires a strong will to take up conjoined twins role considering that a slight error could have made him a laughing stock. The actor has worked hard which is visible on-screen. The kind of energy that he has given to the characters are remarkable. Kajal Aggarwal is not merely limited to arm candy role and she has good number of scenes in the movie. Sachin Khedekar and Tara are okay.

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Verdict: Surya's Maattrraan is good, not brilliant.

Thaandavam Movie Review

Vikram's Thaandavam is not glamorous but it is rich. It does not have masala elements yet it is entertaining. It has a usual filmi-story but a realistic one. In one word, it is a 'brilliant' film. The highlight of the movie is the performance of Vikram and the biggest drawback of the movie is the running length.

On January 1, 2011, a bomb is planted in Tent Bridge, UK, killing hundreds of people. In the next few scenes, blind Vikram commits a couple of murders. But he is not what you think, as he is a man with a good heart, who doesn't even like to trouble an ant which bites him. However, there is a secret woman, who meets him at public place occasionally and says something to him. However, there is also Sarah, the model, who comes to his life by chance and fells for him instantly for his kind nature.

In the next stage, we are told that Shiva Kumar (Vikram), a high profile officer in RAW (Research and Analysis Wing), marries Meenakshi (Anushka Shetty). But there is no love-hate relationship in the beginning and they decide to become good friends before considering themselves as a husband and wife. At this juncture, a nuclear flow chart, a weapon to mass destruction, goes missing and Shiva and his colleague, good friend Sarath (Jagapathi Babu) start investigating the case. But they fail in their mission which cost them the life of Meenakshi. What happens next should be seen on-screen.

There is no exaggeration in any of the characters in Thaandavam. The story has a natural flow and it has realistic feel in most parts of the movie. Labelled as an action movie, there are no unnecessary fight sequences. The film has a wonderful story blended with action and romance. It also has good comedy scenes.

On the flip side, the running length of the film might test your patience. Like Mugamoodi, the slow progress of the story may play spoilsport. In the first half, there are some boring moments and the placement of some songs, which appear justifiable, will irritate you. Nonetheless, Thaandavam is a breath of fresh air at a time when most actions movies only portray the heroism and made with three-fights-four-songs formula.

Vikram is excellent in the role of blind, who uses echolocation to detect objects in his environment. His actions and acting are natural. He has proved again that he comes out with an extremely brilliant performance when he is given a challenging role. But his fans will miss his lavish avatars and punch dialogues in this movie. Anushka Shetty has given best and Amy Jackson is charming. But Jagapathi Babu is not that impressive. However, Santhanam as a cab driver brings smile on the audience when ever he appears on-screen.

Technically, Nirav Shah's cinematography is sharp. GV Prakash Kumar's 'Oru Paadhi Kadhav...' and 'Uyirin uyire...' songs are good. Editor Anthony's scissors could have been sharper to reduce the length of the movie.

Verdict: Thaandavam is a seriously interesting affair.

Devi Sri Prasad bags Ajith Kumar film

It is not Yuvan Shankar Raja or Anirudh Ravichander but Devi Sri Prasad (DSP), who has bagged Ajith Kumar film. Well, it was recently said that the ‘Kolaveri di...' musician was in talks with director Siva of Siruthai fame to compose the music for his next project starring Thala but now it has been revealed that DSP has been offered the film.

The buzz says that the makers of the forthcoming film directed by Siva have approached Devi Sri Prasad and they are likely to seal the deal soon. Yuvan Shankar Raja and Anirudh Ravichander were also in the race but the movie bosses preferred Devi Sri Prasad. This will be DSP's first film with Ajith Kumar.

It may be recalled that after Anirudh Ravichander met Ajith Kumar in Mumbai last month, it was said that the young musician was roped in to score the music for the upcoming film. However, with this development, all the speculations related to the music director of Thala's next film have ended.

Meanwhile, Ajith Kumar and Anushka Shetty's name have been finalised as the lead star of the movie. The title of the film, which was earlier said as Vetri Kondaan, is yet to be finalised. Other details about the project are yet to be revealed.