‘Kaththi’ barely razor sharp, woos Vijay fans with its double treat

Why is it that the prisons in Indian films are so easy to break out from?

And, why are cops reduced to a dumb force that seeks help from a jailbird?
Tamil film, ‘Kaththi’ opens with that premise. 
When a dreaded criminal escapes from Kolkata prison, the cops approach jailbird Kathiresan, (Vijay) to help them nab him.
And they justify their action with a Tamil proverb that goes like this: ‘mulla mullalethan edukkanam.’ (A thorn can be pulled out by another thorn).
Kathiresan is happy to oblige. He gives chase to the criminal with cops following him and eventually the criminal is caught.  But then Kathiravan goes missing. Before the cops realize it, Kathiresan reaches Chennai and surprises his friend Satish. Now the search for Kathiresan is on and with that, Murugadoss’ story gets rolling.  
To evade police arrest, Kathiresan decides to fly to Bangkok, but at the airport, the pretty looking Ankita (Samantha) stops him on his tracks when she borrows his pen. Kathiresan tears his ticket to Bangkok. 
Time now for a song. 
So Kathiresan goes singing and dancing right there at the airport. Giving him company are co-passengers and flight stewards. 
Don’t forget that the impossible is possible on our Indian screens. 
Now, that the love angle has been established, what’s next? 
Pop in the emotional quotient.
 Murugadoss brings in Jeevanandham, a look alike of Kathiresan, who is injured in a shooting while driving his van. 
And appropriately, Kathiresan and his friend are witness to the shooting. They rush Jeevanandham to a hospital in time. 
Next, the twist in the tale.
Kathiresan decides to switch places with Jeevanandham, a much loved social activist who is striving for the welfare of farmers in his village.
Subsequently, Jeevanandham finds himself in Kolkata prison when he regains consciousness while Kathiresan is enjoying the hospitality and love at an old age home that Jeevanandham managed. 
Bring in the villain next.
Viewers are introduced to Bollywood’s Neil Nitin Mukesh. A business tycoon, he is eyeing the very land that belongs to Jeevanandham’s villagers, where he plans to set up a factory. But then Jeevanandham is the thorn in his plans.
‘Kaththi,’ is an ideal Vijay film. You pay for one Vijay starrer and fans get to watch two Vijays: the sober looking Jeevanandham and a  messiah of the poor. The second role is Kathiresan, a petty thief who wins hearts with his cool attitude.
What perks up this masala laden narrative is the second half when Kathiresan in a change of heart takes on the mantle of Jeevanandham.
Playing a one man army, Kathiresan goes around beating goons, even taking on twenty and more. Like I said, anything can be conjured up on the Indian screen.
That one scene where Kathiresan addresses the media putting across in statistics the woes of farmers and their suicides makes audience sit up.   He also makes a dig at the media for their unsympathetic attitude in their quest for sensationalism. 
As for Samantha, she is pure eye candy with hardly any scope to perform.  All she does was oscillate  between a happy face and a sad face. Neil Nitin Mukesh also does not have much of a characterization, besides his sarcastic laughter and arrogant attitude. 
Catch Murgadoss in a brief appearance too. Comparisons with his earlier films is inevitable, especially when ‘Kaththi’ was looked forward to.  ‘Gajini’ even with its gruesome violence had a solid story with excellent characterization which was matched with splendid performances. That is missing here. Music was a another plus for ‘Gajini.’ ‘Kaththi’ s music hardly lingers in the mind. 
Even ‘Thupakki,’ his last film with Vijay was enjoyable and a story that convinced the invincibility of the hero.
Recently there was another small film, ‘Kurai Ondrum Illai,’ that also spoke on farmers and their suicides. Taking up their cause, it exhorted MNCs to include them in their technological stride. Sadly it did not get its due although it had a more realistic tale.
This ‘Kaththi’ is not razor sharp in its telling and could do with a whetstone in the form of a better story.  

‘Kurai Ondrum Illai’ appeals with its honesty and simplicity

Karthik Ravi’s debut film, ‘Kurai Ondrum Illai,’ (translated as ‘There are no flaws’) makes no tall pretensions.

This love story is told in a simple manner and in the process the director also put across the message of including our villagers, especially farmers, in our technological march.
Krishna (Geethan Britto) is a sales executive of large private company. When he suggests to his seniors that the company should extend their sales network to the villagers and include farmers too, his immediate boss brushes away the idea. But the company’s Vice-President likes it and gives Krishna a chance to try it out. Krishna arrives in his village where his grandmother lives. There he meets a young doctor, Sangeetha (Haritha Parokod) who has been posted in the village. Love blossoms between the two. The director has captured these moments in a realistic way and that is what makes the story convincing. Sangeetha is the more responsible kind, having grown up without her parents and brought up her little sister by herself. Krishna is the typical young guy, who does not bother about keeping his room clean, is late for a meeting, be at work or with his beloved and his motor-bike tank always runs short of gas. But he has his values intact.
Director Ravi has developed his characters well and his actors, despite being first timers, don’t let him down. Not just the lead players, the entire cast, especially the actor playing Krishna’s immediate boss. He comes across as a real prick.
A very poignant scene is the one where Sangeetha breaks down while sharing her feelings for Krishna with her younger sister. Sangeetha is in UK on training and has had a tiff with him. Feeling utterly lonely, she tells her sister, ‘I just feel like lying on amma’s lap now.’ That was a good performance by Haritha.
The same sentiment is later echoed by Krishna when his plans at work go awry. Disappointed and feeling lost, he calls up his mom when she least expects it from him.  Beautiful moments captured by Ravi, who has written the script.
The ‘kurai’ (flaw) with ‘Kurai Ondrum Illai,’ lies in the slow pace of the narration. And it t could have done with tighter editing.
Yet Ravi’s work is laudable for making a film that is shorn of exotic locales, cinematic romantic scenes, gory action scenes and loud music.
Incidentally this film was crowd funded the first in Tamil cinema.

‘Rajadhi Raja’ a mass entertainer for Mammootty fans

Shekharan Kutty (Mammootty) runs a restaurant adjacent to the petrol bunk he owns, the kind you see on the highways in India. With a pretty wife Radha (Lakshmi Rai) and a school going daughter, Kutty is a happy man.
When Radha’s cousin, Swami Ayyappan (Jojo) visits them, we get to see what a contrast he is to the meek and timid Shekharan Kutty, who shies away from any fight and prefers to mind his own business.
One day, Shekharan Kutty is taken into custody by the police who mistake him to be Raja, a notorious don of Mumbai. Kutty is released only after a sound thrashing by the cops.
Back home, life looks good once again for Kutty. But then Ayyappan’s attitude of throwing his weight around lands him in trouble with a bunch of goons from Mumbai.
With them baying for his blood, Ayappan seeks refuge in Kutty’s house. Kutty’s family is threatened and that’s when viewers get to see the real face of Kutty. With Kutty’s past catching up with him, the question in their minds now is ‘who is Raja?’
Ajay Vasudevan’s debut film entertains Mammootty fans who will whistle in glee as their idol goes about bashing goons. Not to forget the comic moments.
The story is not new and you wouldn’t call it one of Mammootty’s great films. Lakshmi Rai in a homely wife’s role is pleasant surprise. Bollywood actor Mukesh Khanna plays Raja’s close buddy while Raza Murad is seen as a head of a notorious gang that is into drug trafficking and terrorist activities. Joy Mathews play the bad guy again. Siddique comes in a dignified role as a DGP while Lena, his onscreen wife is an IAS Officer.
A predictable fare!

‘Yaan’ lacks a convincing screenplay

While a golden frame might draw attention to a painting it holds, what makes the art a masterpiece is its quality of the art. So too in the case of a film. Without a strong content, can a film survive?
‘Yaan’ the debut directorial venture of noted cinematographer Ravi K. Chandran carried high expectations. Chandran has worked in  Bollywood films like ‘Fanaa,’ ‘Rabne Bana Di Jodi,’ and ‘Dil Chahta Hai,’ to mention some. But it failed to deliver.
Sure, the visuals of ‘Yaan,’ are a treat but they end up like the golden frame of a painting.
Poor scripting is the major flaw, despite the story opening with a well-staged shoot out scenes. Amidst this violence, Chandru (Jiiva) falls in love with Sreela, (Thulasi Nair) when they both bump into each other at an ATM.
While Chandru is head over heels for Sreela, a driving school instructor, she does not take him seriously initially. Trying to build up their romance takes the first half of the story and even then, you just don’t’ feel they are in love.
Post interval, the story gets a thrust forward after Chandru is arrested in Basilistan for possessing drugs. Innocent and tricked into this situation by a travel agent, Chandru is now on the death row.
What next? The obvious! Send Sreela to Basilistan to rescue her lover. From then the narrative becomes a joke.  Predictable and with logic taking a backseat ‘Yaan,’ reminds you of those empty Bollywood films that boasted only of glamorous heroines, exotic locales and stylish action scenes.
Entertaining me during the second half were the guffaws from the audience around, who could not help themselves as they watched Chandru bash an intimidating prisoner guard and escape. It gets funnier when a fellow prisoner hands over a bunch of keys to open the main gate and lo behold, a two wheeler is parked there for Chandru to zip off. Is it really so easy to escape from a prison and that too in a country like Basilistan that has strong laws for possessing drugs? Chandru arrives spot on at the hotel where Sreela is staying and rings her room door bell.
But then ‘Yaan’ does not end with that, Chandru needs to settle scores with the travel agent who is in hand with a wanted terrorist. There is more to keep you chuckling. Let me leave that for you to discover.
 Jiiva looks dashing but the good actor has been wasted in a role that has nothing to offer. Even Nasser, a veteran suffers from the same fate. Thulasi Nair after ‘Kadal,’ is seen in a mature character, but she needs to work on her expressions.
‘Yaan’ fits well into the Bollywood template. Haven’t we watched similar stories before? ‘Yaan’ is another yawn.

‘Sapthamashree Tashkaraha’ a heist film that keeps you chuckling

Anil Radhakrishnan is back with a heist story in ‘Sapthamashree Tashkaraha.’
What begins as a confession by a petty thief Martin soon takes viewers to a prison where seven jail inmates bond together over a plan to rob rich bad man Pious Mathew (Joy Mathew). This scheming businessman has amassed wealth at the expense of others. One of the affected is Nobel (Nedumudi Venu) a former financier, now reduced to penury. Nobel has an axe to grind and he puts forth the idea to rob Pious. Krishnan Unni, also a victim of Pious’ mean ways joins hands. For the other five inmates, the promise of money lures them into this project.
So, when they are released from prison, they get into action with their plan.
Shuttling between the confession box at the church where the interactions between Martin and the priest are laced with humour and then to the jail confines, Radhakrishnan, gradually lets his characters grow upon the viewers. He has lovingly carved each one of them in great detail and they are hard to leave your minds. Be it Narayana kutty, (Neeraj Madhav) the mechanic with a brilliant mind or Shabab, the tough guy, (a cool looking Asif Ali) whom everyone fears, the characters are distinct from one another.
While this is not a racy thriller, it’s the presentation of the story that gets you hooked. The script written by Radhakrishnan is the hero and the dialogues keep you chuckling.
Justifying Radhakrishnan’s casting are the actors who have slipped on their character’s garb with great ease. Veteran actor, Nedumudi Venu is so perfect. Prithviraj as Krishan Unni is seen in a subtle role, sans his macho image. I won’t blame you if you wished for a priest like the one in the story portrayed well by  Lijo Jose Pellisery. Confession would be much easier! Joy Mathews as the bad guy fits in well. Dubai’s Renu Mathews does justice to her role as Krishnan Unni’s wife and so does Sanusha as Noble’s daughter, who becomes an accomplice in the mission to rob Pious. Mongolian circus artiste Flower Battsetseg surprises you with her antics. The comedy here is clean and although it does get to toilet humour towards the climax, it does not stink. You can’t just help laughing. The Puli Kali scene was hilarious.

But it’s the director who has the last laugh. Radhakrishnan has attempted a different genre from his earlier film, ’24 North Kaatham,’ and once again he scores with the audience.
Just don’t miss this clean entertainer. Go for ‘Sapthamasree Tashkaraha.’  

‘Sigaram Thodu’ fails to touch its own peak 

Cop Chellappa Pandiyan’s dream is to see his only son, Murali as a cop. But Murali  is not enamoured by the police services, having watched the trials that his father has gone through as a policeman. Chellappa lost a leg during a shoot –out. And, in a moment of shock, his wife dies.  Murali’s ambitions are pinned on a banking career. But Chellappa is unaware of it. Chellappa continues to cherish his dreams. And his dreams turn into a reality when Murali is selected for training at the police academy. 

Now Murali’s sole aim is to prove himself unfit for a policeman’s job. Not just to pursue his dreams but also to win the heart of his lady love, Ambujam, a medical student, who incidentally happens to be a policeman’s daughter. She also detests a policeman’s life.
Does Murali live up to his father’s dreams? Does he win Ambujam’s heart?
Spun around this emotional angle is a spate of ATM thefts happening in town. Director Gaurav Narayanan has researched well into this criminal activity and is an eye opener for the audience. You realize how vulnerable your money can be.
However interrupting this thriller quite often is silly humour and unconvincing romantic moments. How many of you would kiss a stranger, I mean you’re your beautiful co-passenger while on a flight that appears to be losing its bearings. When your life is in danger, the last thing on mind would be a kiss. Monal Gajjar as Murali’s love Ambujam is nothing more than eye-candy.
This is Vikram Prabhu’s first in a cop role and for once cops are shown in good light. Prabhu’s character Murali is so predictable. Sathyaraj lives up to his image of a good performer. Gaurav Narayanan plays an important role and does it well. Supporting him ably is partner in crime, Charandeep as the impulsive hot headed young man. Clearly an actor to look out for.  ‘Sigaram Thodu’ is a pucca commercial film and that’s just about it. It does not touch its peak though.