Honestly, I did not believe someone would have thought of remaking Jolly LLB. It was a beautiful film (no doubt about it), but it’s a movie that sits hidden in plain sight and also with some obvious screenplay issues. So I was surprised when someone pointed out on Twitter that Manithan was indeed a remake of Jolly LLB (initially, I thought Manithan was a Korean movie copy)

For any movie lover, two questions will arise when such a movie is remade. Number One, how Udhayanidhi is going to carry the brilliance of Arshad Warsi? And Number Two, who will replace Saurabh Shukla as the Judge? It was granted that Prakash Raj is going to replace Boman Irani.

Manithan is a frame by frame remake of Jolly LLB so much so that they haven’t changed the name of the family that defends their son. It is convenient to frame a North Indian sounding name as the accused. However, the biggest difference between Jolly LLB and Manithan is the tone of the movie. Subhash Kapoor made the original movie with a satirical tone whereas Ahmed has treated Manithan in a more serious tone. It could have been an excellent deviation but the soul of Jolly LLB lies in that satire. The story is about a small town lawyer trying to make it in the big bad world of the state high court. He files a public litigation case against a hit and run case. Udhayanidhi’s characterisation in the remake is so unbelievable that only when his mother actually says that he has gone to Chennai to make it big, you actually understand that he was in another city. The suaveness of Hansika Motwani doesn’t help too as the original has a more rustic love story.

The treatment coupled with a stirring background score gives a darker shade to the movie. Udhayanidhi doesn’t match up to Arshad Warsi (not even a bit!!) and it was evident when he was cast in this character. He has limited set of expressions and when he can’t emote, he drops his head so that you cannot see his still face. Prakash Raj is a caricature and Aishwarya Rajesh makes you question why she takes up such inconsequential roles. Nonetheless, there is one character that you are going to love in Manithan, Radharavi as Judge Dhanapal. He is the only character who retains the soul of the original but gives a different interpretation to it with his trademark expressions. He showed why he is class apart and completely steals the show from other actors.

The problem with Manithan is it doesn’t have the soul in the right place and it is more a slipshod remake of the original. When a movie is faithfully remade, the mistakes of the original stay too. For instance, Jolly LLB never explains the transformation of the lawyer and its the same with Manithan. My nephew jokingly asked whether the character will change in a song and that’s what happened. The original screenplay had a lot of flaws but it was saved by the performances of lead actors. On the other hand, Manithan does not possess that strength. Manithan is not a bad movie because of the larger message but a little more work on the screenplay could have made it better. It is so obvious that the team didn’t want to do that. They wouldn’t have even discussed it. A hit movie doesn’t mean it’s flawless. A frame-by-frame remake is an easy job but it also shows the lethargy of the directoe. Is it too much to ask directors to take a little more care?

A 2/5 for Manithan – Watch it for Radharavi’s performance but you can also give a revisit to Jolly LLB

PS:

1. Hope Udhayanidhi Stalin stays with his comedy movies and leave the good ones to other capable actors.
2. Aswin Rao of Put Chutney (if you remember their Batman video) does another inconsequential role  but wish he gets better roles in the big screen.

During the late 80s and 90s, Tamil cinema saw surge in village based subjects and the stories will be built on family feuds or inter-village feuds. Somehow, during the late 90s, we saw a dearth in such stories and we are looking at a resurgence of such stories in Tamil. Although, we see a lot regular masala movies, sometimes you get to witness some little gems like Vetrivel.

The biggest strength of Vetrivel is that it doesn’t pretend. There is nothing new in the movie but Vasanthamani (the director) scores his points through his impeccable storytelling. The movie is about a family feud that gets aggravated due to a love affair between two people from different castes/villages. Rajamanickam (played by Prabhu) becomes the President of the panchayat defeating his brother-in-law (husband of his step sister played by Viji Chandrasekhar) in an election. After 20 odd years, the focus shifts to Vetrivel (played by Sasikumar) and his family. His brother Saravanan (played by Ananth Nag) falls in love with Rajamanickam’s daughter Subha (played by Varsha). When Rajamanickam doesn’t approve, Vetrivel decides to abduct Subha in ‘Nadodigal’ style. A mishap during the process changes everything for him and his family.

I will be frank; you need a lot of patience to cross the first introduction song of Sasikumar. It’s more painful than funny to watch him doing a Rajini style dance but if you cross that hurdle, the gripping screenplay takes you over. Apart from few stunts and extended screen presence, Vetrivel’s character blends in with the larger story in which he is just the creator of the conflict. The supporting characters make an enormous impact in the movie. Be it the dignified portrayals of Ilavarasu and Prabhu as fathers or Viji Chandrasekhar’s cunning role of step sister, Vasanthamani has crafted his characters with a lot of finesse. All the three leading lady characters have minuscule screen presences but their roles are well balanced, beautifully portrayed by Mia George, Nikhila Vimal and Varsha. Each one has their moment to score and they use it perfectly. Renuka, the other important lady in the movie plays the mother and shows her mettle when she encounters her daughter-in-law.

There are regular stereotypical village movie scenes, comic sequences and stunts but the story telling is gripping and keeps you interested throughout the movie. For instance, the interval block is one of the best in recent times. And there are some compelling dialogues that will stay with you even after the movie. There is a scene in which Vetrivel says “Idhu En Appa, Idhu En Amma, Idhu En Pondati” (This is my father, this is my mother and this is my wife) to introduce each other. The scene comes at a tense moment in the movie, but you will end up smiling. These kind of scenes are sprinkled along the way to your bliss. Even the comedy sequences that involve Thambi Ramayaa and his wife have a sweet surprise. The director even takes potshots at the ‘Nadodigal’ and it has been used perfectly to move the story ahead. These are things that differentiate Vetrivel from other movies from the rural milieu.

It does not imply that Vetrivel is sans problems. The biggest grouse that I had was the way in which caste issues were handled superficially in the movie. Probably, commercial considerations and debut movie jitters could have put him off from addressing the problems related to inter-caste love stories. Nonetheless, it should have been addressed in such a movie because of the situations in Tamil Nadu.

Of late, Tamil cinema lacks story tellers. People who can take simple stories and weave an interesting screenplay around it. Now a days, directors are searching for interesting premises and when they have it, they probably botch it because they are incapable of writing a good screenplay. As I said earlier, Vetrivel doesn’t have anything new but you will not be bored even a single moment (you definitely need to cross the first intro song) and that’s what makes Vetrivel an endearing watch.

A 3/5 for Vasantha Mani’s Vetrivel for making a decent enjoyable rural movie. Watch it once and leave your prejudices about rural emotional drama back at your home.

PS: A special thanks to the cinematographer SR Kathir and the director for showing the beauty of rural Thanjavur.

Disclaimer: I am a Sci-Fi lover and this review will have that tone and colour but at the same time I am not a scientist to understand every aspect related to time travel. And the review is with spoilers. 

Tamil audiences are one of the unluckiest with respect to Sci-Fi movies although we had a movie as early as 1963 that had an alien invasion of a different form. The problem with our directors is that they trade off screenplay and scientific accuracy to give us grandeur. However, last year, we had Indru Netru Naalai and I was mind blown the way time travel was handled by a debutant – R.Ravikumar. I even said that Sujatha would have smiled finally in my annual Kollywood round-up (I couldn’t post a review as I was out of country that time)

When 24 was announced with Vikram Kumar, I thought it would be interesting to see how a seasoned director would treat time travel (I really loved his nuances in Manam). Nonetheless, he flattered to deceive.

24 is the movie of twin brothers born within 3 minutes of each other. Sethuraman (Surya), a scientist and an entrepreneur who researches on time travel while Athreya (another Surya – we are not revealed what he does) is an intelligent villain (he calls himself so). Athreya finds out his brother’s research, kills him and his wife Priya (played by Nithya Menen) in order to abduct a time travel watch. Before dying, Sethuraman leaves his child along with a small box that contains the watch with Satyabama (Saranya) and Athreya goes in to coma after a freak accident during the altercation. Saranya raises the child as Mani (another Surya) who owns a watch repairing shop. After 26 years, the key to the box magically lands on his table (read it as chaos theory) and also Athreya wakes up from his coma. The rest of the story forms the struggle between Athreya and Mani for the watch.

The biggest objection that I have with 24 is the fact that it’s scientifically flawed. People can contend that it’s a sci-fi movie and it can defy rules. The difference between a sci-fi fantasy and a mythical fantasy is that the former sits inside the theories of science. 24 uses time travel based on an erroneous theory of time. As humans, we think that time is a single straight line and it is based on a belief that a thing/human being occupies only single place at any point of time. So, if you are sitting currently inside a bus and reading my review on your phone, you believe that there is only one version of you. Imagine that your phone is a time travel device and you want to use it to go back in time and not read this review as you are a Surya fan, the common belief is that you will physically reverse your time. This idea is built on physical theories of time. But this is a flawed and age-old concept that has been thrown out of scientific discourse and also Hollywood because time doesn’t travel in a straight line.

In simple words, if you have watched “Indru Netru Naalai”, at one point in time there will be multiple versions of Vishnu and Karunakaran fighting to save themselves (I actually went crazy at the climax because of the brilliance). It uses a “multiverse theory” to explain time travel in that movie. Multiverse theory takes a position that there can be different versions of a person who time travels and each can co-exist without interfering in to each other. So, when Karunakaran interferes with that dog, it changes everything in their life. In the example, that I have used, you can travel back in time and somehow create a sequence to break your own mobile so that you don’t read this review. However, that action will have various repercussions in your future. You might miss a call from your girl friend and she might break up with you or you may miss an important job interview call… The possibilities are endless. In 24, he travels back and changes a lot of things with no outcomes. This what makes the movie cringe worthy. The problem with the screenplay is the selective usage of chaos theory for director’s convenience. For instance, the live wire that helps Sethuraman to recharge the watch. In a sci-fi movie, the actions of people in accordance to the scientific rules dictate the movie and as a writer, it is important to have this in mind in order to write an interesting movie.

So what’s the problem in using an erroneous theory? The famous “Grandfather Paradox” comes in to the picture. For example, if you go back in time and kill your own grandfather, you would actually stop being in existence. If so, how will you murder your grandfather. In this case, the key to the box is held by Athreya and when he returns to consciousness, he loses the key. It magically reaches Mani and then he finds the time travel watch. However, if Athreya is killed when he goes back in time, how does Mani get the key that allows him to go back and alert his father. So it becomes an insolvable loop. The same thing could have happened at various instances in the movie like Sethuraman giving his child to Satyabama in the train.

The grandfather paradox happens only because it is based on the physical theory of time and it was theoretically disproved recently (too much high funda science that can’t be explained here). But over the years, scientists have argued that paradoxes cannot occur in a multiverse based on the Navikov Self-Consistency principles and that’s why you see a lot of Hollywood time travel movies using multiverse theory. They might be flawed in parts but not entirely flawed like 24. But even smaller budget movies in Hollywood explore time travel brilliantly. Don’t get me started at the time freezing ability. There are some super heroes/villains who can do that not a time machine. I couldn’t even sit through those scenes.

But there are going to be criticisms on me that I am trying to debauch a movie which makes sci-fi palatable for a common audience. The reason why I am criticising this movie is that it teaches wrong science and it is dangerous. The other criticism that might be levied on me would be to watch the movie like a movie – the cinematic aspect of it.

Let’s go through that drill too. There are a few wonderful moments in the movie especially the intermission sequence. It does evoke a curiosity but it dies immediately after the break. Smart symbolisms of Vikram Kumar is spread throughout the movie and his Athreya is amazingly characterised. After a very long time, you can see the acting skills of Surya in their full glory. His version of Athreya is menacing and the body language is absolutely brilliant. And there ends the good part of the movie.

The romance portion between Samantha and Surya is unimaginative and boring. I almost wanted to tear the screen when Surya utters that “I am a watch mechanic. Enakku idhellam Sarva Sadaranam”. The movie has the usual mother sentiment scenes and except for Mei Nigara nothing sticks in your mind in AR Rahman’s music. The Harry Potterish sets of Sethuraman’s house and Disney style train were really funny. It was suprising to realise that it was meant to be 1990. Above all, the funniest moment is when a watch mechanic adds a date component overnight to a time machine that was built after years of research by his father. He is a watch mechanic, ivarakku adhellam sarva Sadaranam. When the idea for the script is inherently flawed, it’s not right to expect a good movie.

24 is all what a science fiction movie should not be. It’s painful to find that our directors are using age-old concepts in our movies. It also shows how bad our science writing is. I wish this budget was used by people like R.Ravikumar who could have made a better sci-fi movie.

Whatever I write here, you are going to watch this scientifically and logically flawed 24 because of the star power. Nevertheless, I am going for big thumbs down for 24 and will watch “Indru Netru Naalai” to wade off the after taste. 24 is another attempt to Tamil movie audiences are stupid. It’s more dangerous than a masala movie with gravity defying stunts and illogical sequences. The bigger problem is the glorification of wrong movies such as this. In PS Veerappa style, “Indha Tamil Cinemavum Tamil Cinema Raasigargalum Naasamai Pogatum”.

PS:

1. I wish I could go back in time and not book the ticket for this movie. I sacrificed a nice lunch for this one. Also Vikram Kumar can go back and realise his folly.
2. I would be happy if I am disproved in the scientific aspects that I have explained – if you can send me the proof or articles, I will post an alternate review in an alternate timeline.

References

1. http://www.newdawnmagazine.com/articles/time-travel-the-multiverse-many-worlds-many-timelines
2. http://www.time-loops.net/Paradox.htm
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandfather_paradox
4. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/time-travel-simulation-resolves-grandfather-paradox/
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Novikov_self-consistency_principle

The tax rebate for U certificate movies has created a huge problem for Tamil movie directors. They are not prepared to show raw emotions on screen. Be it love, sex or violence, what we see is a camouflaged version (on the other side, the censor board willingly allows vulgarity). There are only few directors who defy the norm and make a movie with conviction. Here you have a young Vijay Kumar who has written, directed and produced (probably, he did the background score too) a simple, brutally honest movie that hits you like a bolt.

Uriyadi is a game that usually happens at a village festival where a blindfolded contestant has to break a pot that is raised and lowered using a pulley. It has been used as a metaphor in this case where a caste based politician trying to play hide and seek with a bunch of students. The movie takes place in the late 90s and it starts with an erection of a caste leader’s statue. A bunch of students get in to an altercation with that caste group at a nearby Dhaba that sells liquour too. The altercation snowballs in to a bigger issue and the rest of the movie forms how the college students tackle it.

 On the surface, Uriyadi might look like a simple revenge story but Vijay Kumar has built the story on multiple layers. He shows how a caste group with a mere 15,000 votes in a region attempts to build up a caste based party and how some leaders manipulate their members. The modus operandi is so realistic that you will definitely understand how caste based politics work in Tamil Nadu and the importance of statues in it. There is no other movie in Tamil that has openly talked about caste politics without even mentioning names of castes involved. Vijay Kumar impresses you with his construction of mise-en-scene of the movie. The dhaba, engineering college hostel and the college itself is so authentic that you travel to that period (I started my engineering course in 1999 and I can vouch for that) – even the posters of Kajol and Simran were from that period.

The lead protagonists of the movie, I wouldn’t call them heroes because the director hasn’t resorted to glorification of these protagonists. They are normal students who don’t like studying, have sexy posters of actresses in the hostel room, have unquestionable faith in friendship and question norms of the society with respect to caste. When someone fiddles with them, they are unstoppable with respect to their retaliation. The stunt sequences are so realistic and violent that few of the audience will be unable to fathom it. Nevertheless, the truth is real life violence is as brutal as they show it. Of course, the movie has some compromises in making and the acting part but that’s due to the budgeting constraints. It can be forgiven for the brilliance of the movie. Uriyadi is an intelligent movie. It doesn’t take its audience for granted and never tends to hide anything from them. Violence, caste politics, life at a college situated in interior TN – everything has been depicted without being overtly discussed.

Masala Cafe’s rendition of Bharathiyar’s Akkini Kunjondru Kanden is riveting and I have been humming this since I watched the movie while Maane Maane is sweet. The bigger problem I had with the movie is a larger question of whether violence is the only resort for students to tackle political oppression? Hold on to that thought when you watch Uriyadi. At the same time, Uriyadi is an example of how movies should be made – honest and uncompromising story telling.

I give 4/5 for Uriyadi and miss it at your own peril. I expect the movie to get out of theatres by this weekend because it’s really good. That’s what we do to good movies.

I am amazed at the extremely polarised discussion on Iraivi – an average movie that should have been just passed along like many other Tamil movies that come every week. Iraivi is a story of how men’s decisions in the family affect the lives of women. The center piece of the story is a movie made by Arul (played by SJ Surya) and the producer is not willing to release the movie due to differences with Arul. His brother Jagan (Bobby Simha) and Michael (Vijay Sethupathi) are trying to help Arul to release the movie. Arul resorts to drinking and this affect his wife Yazhini (Kamalini Mukherjee). Meanwhile, Michael gets married to Ponni (Anjali) but cannot forget his affair with Malar (Pooja Devariya), who is a widow. The decisions they make in order to save Arul’s movie affects their wives and rattle their life.

Iraivi has some beautiful moments in it – in fact, the way it starts will actually make you notice how Karthik Subbaraj uses rain to show the emotional state of three women. Rain is used as a leitmotif throughout the movie to show the different emotional states of women and in the end, independence (or is it?). There are some scenes that are really well crafted, Ponni’s outburst at Michael or Yazhini’s helplessness between her love for Arul and the reality or at the end when Arul makes that phone call. And that’s the problem with Iraivi, it impresses you in patches. Iraivi suffers from convoluted story-telling. It makes you wonder why this story need such a meandering screenplay to make a point. It’s like an idiyappam (string hopper) that doesn’t have a start or an end. After the second half, you are left to wonder, “What’s the point”? Yes, the men in the story are male chauvinist pigs and not so surprisingly, Karthik Subbaraj establishes this in the first 40 minutes of the movie. He continues to overindulge with his characters and that doesn’t do any good for the movie. It was almost as if like Karthik wanted to show off his intelligence. The best movies are the ones that allow its characters in their own flow.

I had problems thematically too. Iraivi, the name itself is an issue for me. Most men don’t understand the idea of feminism. I always say we either just try to keep a woman in the pinnacle or drop them as a doormat. The whole movie shows how women are being used as a doormat and suddenly at the end they rise up to become a goddess. It’s the patriarchal way of seeing feminism. Take for instance Malar’s character played by Pooja, she had to be a widow to have casual sex. What if Malar was a single woman and is not interested in marriage? We need a reason for her “so-called” immorality and in a way, the director himself thinks his character is immoral. The same with the characterisation of Yazhini, she accepts the remarriage with someone not because she wishes to but because her family wants to. Why can’t she live alone? Or does she have the choice? The idea of benevolent sexism runs throughout the movie and Bobby Simha’s character is the epitome of that. The movie camouflages this benevolent sexism as feminism and people have bought in to it.

Wait a minute. Why am I talking about this in a review? Why would the people in the Tamil movie industry and literary writers are talking about this average movie? Why haven’t they discussed previous instances of movies that talked about feminism (in many ways)? Why this polarised discussion? Is it because it’s from a movie director who masks himself as the beacon of new wave cinema? I have seen people who don’t even write about Tamil movies writing about this one. Tamil film directors are using exotic adjectives to glorify the movie that is below par in numerous levels. Have you seen the same for Uriyadi? None. Literally, None. What a waste of time and energy.

Iraivi is an average movie that doesn’t need this amount of attention. It should be passed along like any other stupid masala movie – probably talk about the acting prowess of SJ Surya and Anjali or how bad the songs from Santhosh Narayan or random adjectives on the cinematography and editing that the usual reviewers add to their review (although they don’t know anything about it). Iraivi is just worth that much.

A 2/5 for Karthik Subbaraj and I hope he steps down from the high castle.

P.S:

1. What’s with nostalgia indulgence of Karthik Subbaraj – in fact, even those old cars and sets hampered the movie experience. It was novel in Jigarthanda but in Iravi – overdone.
2. Unlike the majority, I still consider Karthik Subbaraj as an average director. Pizza was an interesting thriller but Jigarthanda is a mashup of two Korean movies.

Writing about a Rajini movie is a futile exercise. After all, if I give a good review, the post might might get shared and if I give a bad review, I am going to be termed as a fake reviewer. …

Disclaimer:

1. Major parts of the article has been sourced from my academic dissertation submitted to University of Southampton for my MSc., Digital Marketing course.
2. I am trying to introduce a new concept here that’s in a nascent stage. So confusions

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