Settai- a joy ride

When director Kannan set out to work on the Tamil remake of ‘Delhi Belly,’ he had to keep in mind the Tamil audience that was not ready for adult comedy, so ‘Settai’ is a toned down story of the original. Besides, the story is set in Mumbai.
Three friends living in a run- down apartment find themselves on the hit list of a mafia don, due to an accidental mix up of packages. JK, a journalist is handed over a packet to be delivered at a particular address by his girl friend, Madhu, an air-hostess. He passes on this responsibility to his room- mate, Nikki, a photographer, who in turn passes it onto Seenu, another room mate. Nikki also hands him over a packet containing his stool sample to be given to the lab for testing. And when Seenu interchanges one for the other, trouble comes in the form of a trigger happy don. Following the original scene by scene, ‘Settai,’ entertains. Expect toilet humour. Expletives that featured in the original are missing here, opening the film to a family audience. 

PLUS POINTS:  Santhanam with his one liner is the saving grace of the story. He keeps you in chuckles.

MINUS POINTS: Both the heroines, Hansika Motwani and Anjali fail to match the actress who played their characters in the original. Nasser is a poor imitation of the don, played to perfection by Vijay Raaz in Delhi Belly.

VERDICT: Settai is a joy ride that takes you away from your woes for a while. Enjoy it as it lasts.

Paradesi- a strong brew for those who love serious cinema

‘Paradesi,’ inspired by the novel, ‘Red Tea’ by Paul Harris Daniel opens in Salur, a village set in 1939. As the camera pans it takes you to a new morning as women draw kolams and children run around while the cooking fires slowly light up. You are introduced to Rasa, (Atharvaa) whose job is akin to that of a town crier. This time he announces an upcoming wedding.
Angamma (Vedhika) a vivacious young woman enjoys playing practical jokes on the innocent Rasa. Inevitably the two falls in love but Angamma’s mother refuses to give her daughter in marriage to a jobless Rasa.
Rasa goes out in search of work and a chance encounter with a supervisor of a tea-estate, brings work not only for him but for the villagers too. Lured by the supervisor’s promise of food, shelter, a warm blanket and money for work on tea estates, the villagers set off on an arduous journey on foot. Arriving at the estate 48 days later, a different reality meets them.
From living under pitiable conditions and made to work like an animal, to watching their women being exploited by the English owners, Rasa and his people understand the grim truth, a tad too late.
This story of bonded labour is a sad reminder of forgotten chapters of yore and as the scenes roll on, you watch their helplessness and pain.  The villagers wait eagerly on their pay day with dreams of purchasing gifts for folks at home, only to be told rudely that their salary has been adjusted towards their maintenance on the estate and that they get nothing. So they are forced to return to work. The vicious circle continues.
There is an authentic feel about this narrative as Bala takes you there spot on. For me it was like following Rasa and his people through binoculars, and at every step, feeling their anguish as well as their little joys, yet bottling up the anger within, unable like them to do anything.
Tears well up when you watch a distraught Rasa telling his Angamma, while clasping their little son, ‘Naraka kuzhile vandhu vizhunduttai,’ (you have fallen into hell’s trap).
The characters are well developed and come to the fore rendering the actors invisible. Each and every one delivers a brilliant performance.  Atharvaa in the skin of a rustic Rasa, Vedhika, (the glamorous heroine of the other films) as the unglamorous Angamma and Dhansika as the bold Margatham with a little daughter, whose husband has left her, excel. Newcomer Jerry as the supervisor impresses. Not to forget the actor who plays Rasa’s grandmother. The film stays with you long after it is over.
G.V. Prakash’s music complements Bala’s story while Chezhiyan’s camera work is bound to earn plaudits. 

HARIDAS- A poignant tale of a father’s dreams for his son

For each and every child, his/her father is the first hero,” reads the tagline of G.N. Kumaravelan’s new film Haridas.

For a start, this story breaks the norms. It does not open with a hero introduction song. Instead it introduces us to Sivadas, an encounter specialist on a mission to nab gangster Aadhi.

He may be a tough cop tied to his job, but Sivadas, a widower, does not hesitate to take leave from work, in order to bring up his only child, Haridas, an autistic child.

He attends classes with son and on the advice of Dr Ravi, a specialist; he tries to find Haridas’ strength, and a meaning to his life. Not an easy job as any parent with an autistic child will agree, what with society’s apathy towards such children and an insensitive school management to battle with.

Kumaravelan deserves plaudits for choosing to tell this story and for his excellent casting. Kishore as Hari’s father is excellent matching every step with Sneha Prasanna, in the role of a school teacher who grows fond of Hari. Child actor Prithviraj Das is brilliant, another pat for the director.

Delightful humour breaks the seriousness of the story, be it in the scenes with Dr. Ravi (Yugi Sethu) or the children in Hari’s school. What seemed totally out of place in this heart-touching tale was an item number, vulgar and crass.

Yet, the message is clear, every child has his own strengths, including autistic children and parents need to delve into their minds and discover that one thing, which will anchor them to their life.

Ranjith’s ‘Spirit’ conveys a social message, but does not match his earlier works 

Raghunandan (Mohan Lal) is an alcoholic and that was the main reason for his separation from his wife, Meera (Kaniha) and their speech impaired son, Sunny. Meera marries Alex and finds the bliss that was missing in her earlier marriage. Alex is a doting father to Sunny too.
Raghunandan, besides being a writer is a talk show host and his program, ‘Show the Spirit’ is a popular one as it confronts several ills of society and politics. With the story pegged on Raghu’s addiction to the bottle, Ranjith has a social message on this evil that plagues society at all levels. So you have Mani the plumber, another addict, who under intoxication gets suspicious of his wife and beats her up. Then there is the lyricist who meets his end, thanks to his addiction to the ‘Spirit.’
Yet the film does not end on a dark and gloomy note, ‘Spirit,’ shows that this evil can be kicked off. And proving that is none other than chat show host Raghunandan. 

PLUS POINTS: While Mohan Lal excels in his role, you could not call it his best. Kaniha is good. Matching pace with the lead pair is Shankar Ramakrishnan, script writer of Urumi, making his debut as Alex. He clearly left a mark with his performance.  Dialogues are the strength of the story. Rarely do you see onscreen a separated couple sharing a good friendship with their exes. This story shows a beautiful bond between Raghu, Alex and Meera.

MINUS POINTS: While Ranjith has developed his characters well, this does not match his earlier works, 'Pranchiyettan and the Saint' and Tirakatha.

CAMERAWORK: Beautiful locations captured aesthethically.

 VERDICT: Watch it for the social message it delivers.