‘Amen’ is a cute love story that wins hands down with its fresh music and breath stealing visuals

With a tag line stating ‘divine comedy,’ Lijo Jose Pellissery introduces us to a Christian community of a village named Kumarankari, with a prank that literally stinks. As the camera pans over the picturesque village,  its glistening water bodies  and evergreen palm fronds, the story pegs itself around an old church managed by Father Ottaplackan.

 Father Ottaplackan, an orthodox to the boot does not like the flashy attire or cool attitude of Father Vittoli, the new and young priest appointed to the church. Nor is he keen on continuing with the church band that has been tasting defeat at the hands of a rival band, belonging to Martha Mariyamma.
 Solomon, a young clarinet player from this band struggles to make himself heard as he aspires to play like his dead father but is always overcome by fear and nervousness, reason enough for everyone to put him down including his sister, Clara. Solomon loves the rich Shosanna against her brother’s disapproval solely encouraged by the bold Shosanna. And, when his clarinet becomes an object of challenge not only for the sake of his church band but also to win the hands of Shosanna, the timid Solomon wonders whether he can do it?
‘Amen’ touches viewers’ hearts with its simplicity, tickling you now and then with its humour and gently sending across the message of love, of triumph of goodness over evil and of humanity over religious traditions.
It is hard to single out any one actor for his or her performance; such has been the work of the entire cast. Joy Mathews as the old priest matches Indrajit, the young exuberant music loving priest, Father Vattoli, whom you will end falling in love with. If Fahad Fazil reveals yet another aspect of his versatility as an actor in Solomon, then Swati Reddy as the bold Shosanna makes an impressive Malayalam debut. You will see a different Kalabhavan Mani as Loius Pappen, the senior most member of the church band and an old friend of Solomon’s father, who believes in Solomon’s hidden art.
Natasha Sehgal, writer at National Geographic Traveller India plays Michele, a French violinist with a soft corner for Father Vattoli. Not to forget all the supporting actors who complemented their roles. Don’t’ miss the toddy vendor often perched atop a tree and keeping an eye on the village happenings below regaling viewers with his comments. Good idea, Jose Pellissery.
Prashanth Pillai’s music is a big plus to the story, it appeals with its freshness and melody. Capturing the beauty of the village Kumarakari in every hue, especially those scenes bathed in moonlight and drenched in rain, cinematographer Abhinandan Ramanujam is just awesome as he leaves a poetic trail in every shot. My favourites are many, but one that remains in my mind is the scene where the villagers in their white attire travel in boats, looking so pristine in the ebony night,  flanked by greenery and an azure sky overhead. Solomon playing the clarinet at Shosanna’s arched gate every night while the light from her room above streams down to reveal a smiling Shosanna is another favourite.
Yes, there is toilet humour and a couple of expletives, but somehow they seem to blend in well with the story. Kudos to Jose Pellisery, for his unique presentation of the story. After his earlier successes with Nayagan’ and ‘City of God,’ he scores a hat trick, creating another ripple in the new stream of Malayalam cinema.
Good Cinema? Say ‘Amen.’ 

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. 

Good Night, Good Morning

This talkie film directed by noted film critic Sudhish Kamath keeps viewers hooked with crisp dialogues laced with humour while sharing grim truths of life

It’s New Year’s Eve in New York City. Turiya, an insurance agent is driving back after a booze party with friends. Moira, a young woman spends the night in a hotel while in transit on her flight home to Mumbai. The two had met briefly earlier this evening when she spurned the invitation of the young men to join for a drink. On the drive back, Turiya picks up his phone and calls her at her room. Initially hesitant about talking to a stranger, she disconnects the line. But on an afterthought, she calls Turiya back. From polite talk it moves onto easy banter, to sharing views on love and God.  Their conversation progresses through the night as the hour hands move ahead and the two strangers drift away geographically. Yet, they seem to find a strange comfort in listening to each other’s voices and unloading their emotional baggage.  Turiya and Moira are at vulnerable phases in life after having gone through failed love affairs.  Moira seems to have emerged stronger, practical and cynical while Turiya is still licking the wounds left behind, unable to let go of his former lover of eight years. It could have been easy for both to find solace in each other’s arms but Sudhish Kamath’s story busting stereotypes takes viewers on a different journey altogether.  

PLUS POINTS: Shot in black and white in split screen, the director deviates from the mundane as he narrates the story in a format that is not much experimented in the Indian film industry. Splashes of colour come and go in flash back and dream moments. There is clean humour that leaves you often chuckling. The strength of the story lies in its dialogues which hold you in rapt attention. There is never a dull moment. Manu Narayan as Turiya and Seema Rahmani as Moira turn in compelling performances. Great care has been taken to give attention to Turiya’s friends in the car, who egg him as he gets chatting with Moira. Ending on an optimistic note, this story drives home few truths of life. 

MINUS POINTS: The flash back moments and dream sequences though funny could have been avoided.

CAMERAWORK: Nischalakrishna Vittalanathan’s camera takes viewers on a road trip from New York to Philadelphia in the wee hours of the morning. Good work.

VERDICT: Watch Good Night, Good Morning for its unusual style of story-telling revolving around a situation seldom encountered in life by two strangers. 

Poraali

Poraali, lacks the punch that Samudrakani and Sasi Kumar have come to be known for

‘Man is a social animal,’ reads the tagline as ‘Poraali’ opens revealing a dark night dominated by sounds of animals. And the narrator states that there is an animal residing within each one of us only waiting to rise at the opportune moment. Coming from the stables of acclaimed actors- directors’ duo Sasi Kumar and Samudrakani, you wait expectantly for the story to unfold. Sadly Poraali disappoints. There is nothing new in the script. The age old vendetta for family property with a scheming step mom out to oust her step son forms the core of the story. Naturally there is enough gore and more. The script meanders aimlessly and when it realizes its futility, it raises its head to offer serious lines on humanity and how we are drifting apart in our quest for material pursuits. The first half of the story entertains as Kumaran and friend Nallavan make an honest living in a city like Chennai. Comedy in the form of Ganja Karuppu has you chucking occasionally. Add slapstick humor for roars. The film turns serious when the two friends are hunted by their villagers who claim they are insane. And viewers walk down memory lane. 

   

PLUS POINTS: Sasi Kumar as the protagonist Kumaran puts in a good performance. Allari Naresh as Nallavan shows potential though at times, he goes overboard. Swati’s versatility comes to the fore once again as a city bred girl. Nivedita on her debut in Kollywood impresses.

MINUS POINTS: A weak script with poor characterization makes Poraali a disappointment. Making the film a typical masala is the group dance to start with soon after the film opens. Sasi Kumar joins the league of super heroes who bash up a multitude of villains with ease. As if all this was not enough, the last scene meant for laughs at Ganja karuppu’s expense mocks at the viewer’s intelligence. Now where did Nallavan’s family spring from?
Even the music failed to linger in the mind.

CAMERAWORK: Kathir has done a good job, be it in capturing the villages and the city cacophony. 

VERDICT: ‘Subramaniapuram’ with all its violence had a soul, ‘Nadodigal’ carried a social message, ‘Easan,’ a hard hitting take on the powers to be was honest but ‘Poraali, lacks the stroke that Samudrakani and Sasi Kumar have come to be known for.