‘Naanum Rowdy Dhaan’ is hilarious and fun

Nayanthara completely busts her glamorous image, as the vulnerable and hearing impaired Kadambari and matches pace with the versatile Vijay Sethupathi

With a title like ‘Naanum Rowdy Dhaan,’ (I am a Rowdy too), you would expect a story of a tough goon and gore to put you off, but director Vignesh Sivan surprises you in his second film.  There is plenty to laugh aloud in this black comedy.
Pandi, (Vijay Sethupathi) contrary to the wishes of his mother, (Radhika Sarath Kumar as a sub-inspector) aspires to become a rowdy. But this mama’s boy lacks guts and toeing in line with her wishes, he appears for the police services examinations.
His life gets a new meaning and probably his deep seated desire of becoming a ‘rowdy’ might be realized when Kadamabari, (Nayanthara)  a hearing impaired young woman enters his life. Pandi falls in love with her and little does he know what’s coming when he bends down to kiss Kadambari. Kadambari tells him that the way to her heart is by killing a thug, Killivallavan, (Parthiban) who had killed her parents. Sethupathi is back in form once again. The versatile actor fits into his role like a glove. Complementing him is Nayanthara with her brilliant performance. Dubbing in her own voice, the glamorous actress plays Kadambari, the vulnerable little girl who holds onto her painful past, most beautifully, without going overboard.
What keeps the story alive and fresh is Sivan’s treatment and dialogues, you just can’t predict what’s next.  Hilarious moments keep you chuckling. Radhika Sarath Kumar is perfect as a cop and I loved the scenes where she asks her colleague to manipulate results to get her a son a place in the police force.

‘Poojai’ an action film from the word go

‘Tamil director Hari’s Diwali offering, ‘Poojai,’ adheres religiously to his formula of film-making. From the moment the screen opens till the last scene, there is action and gore. And, if you have watched his earlier films, you know what to expect.
Vasu (Vishal) is a loan shark making a living in the markets of Coimbatore and with our first introduction to Anna Thandavam, (Mukesh Tiwari) a contract killer posing as a respectable businessman, Hari prepares the stage for the battle.
The story gathers steam after Anna Thandavam’s plan to kill the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Sathyaraj) goes awry. Vasu saves the cop. Now the foremost question in Anna’s mind is- ‘Who is this Vasu?’
Love blossoms between Vasu and Divya, (Shruthi Haasan) a young woman whom he meets in a mall. And they break into a duet at the slightest instance taking viewers with them to exotic locales.
Did I mention about the guest appearance of singer Andrea in a song sequence? Going by the trend, Tamil films seem to be incomplete without a booze scene, so Vasu and friends find an excuse to drink and with that they put on their dancing shoes. The result is a song sequence with Andrea.
Slapstick comedy does little to tickle the funny bone here. Where is the humour in Soori bashing up his junior, Black Pandi at regular intervals? This Soori joke has been done to death and its time he pulled out something else from the box.
Melodrama, another ingredient in all Hari stories exists here too. With a large family Vasu takes up cudgels for their welfare even travelling all the way to Patna to avenge his mother’s death.
It is a Vishal show all the way and undoubtedly the actor comes with an impressive performance. But the story is nothing new.  Radhika’s performance as Vasu’s mother was commendable. And Shruthi Haasan’s expressions are certainly improving with each film. She looks lovely in each scene, her costumes complementing her well.
‘Poojai,’ contrary to its title has aruvaals (sickles) flying all the way, (you had better duck) and is predictable to the core.
If you love action and are a Vishal fan, then this one is up your alley.