SARPATTA PARAMBARAI

Director: Pa Ranjith

Cast; Arya, Dushara Vijayan, Pasupathy

⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Arya as Kabilan is all set to deliver that knock out punch, to the enemy within and the enemies in general. Brace for engaging bouts”

The weather was freezing outside on a Wednesday night, the day was very exhaustive and tiresome and body was badly yearning for a good sleep and was on a discussion on favorite movies on Clubhouse as I was slowly slipping into sleep. Just got a alert from friend that Sarpatta Parambarai is out and streaming on Amazon. I was in two minds, to sleep or watch the movie for few minutes. (Thanks to OTT release) and then continue next day. The moment I saw the length was 2 hrs. 53 minutes, my resolve to go to bed became stronger as the movie started with no special ‘Hero Entry’ for Arya as we are used to with other hero oriented films. Just few minutes into the movie, and my sleepiness vanished and even after 2AM when I finished watching the movie, it took a very long time for me to sleep. That was the impact.

 

After two back to back ordinary films with super star, Pa Ranjith finally returns to what he is best at. The story revolves around boxing competitions in Madras ruled by upper class clans and to suppress the efforts of working class competitors, Sarpattai boxers at an arm’s length, literally. All this drama inside the ring and outside is set during mid-70 political crisis, emergency in addition. How Kabilan (Arya) emerges as a boxer to reckon with, and how he manages to almost, yeah almost defeats Vembuli (John Koken)  before things take a wild turn…form the most part until the Interval.

The 2^nd half is equally interesting as the drama in and around Kabilan’s world is very interesting and engaging on his journey downhill. How Kabilan will fight the enemy within, enemies in his clan and the enemies in general before he regains what was abruptly snatched away from him, take you on an interesting trip towards climax amidst Pa Ranjith’s typical Madras premise.      

 

The biggest strength of the movie is characters played almost by everyone will leva a mark in your thoughts for days to come. Kabilan’s wife Mariamma (Dushara Vijayan) is too good, like wise Pasupathy as coach, John Vijay as daddy, Brilliant Shabeer Kallarakkal as Rose, ever reliable Kalaiyarasan as Vetri with Arya as Kabilan has carried the role with aplomb. Even a roadside drunkard has left his mark as he celebrates the victory of Kabilan in the end. Why, as an audience, even you will be touched with the kind of narrative and screenplay by Ranjith and Team.

 

Background Score and Cinematography is good but art direction is bit patchy compared to Ranjith’s earlier cinemas.

 

Anantha Subramanyam K. 

 

                                                            

                                                                        Bhoomi

Director: Lakshman

Cast: Jayam Ravi, Thambi Ramaiah, Radharavi

★✶(One & Half)

Bhoomi starts with protagonist Bhoominathan explaining his discovery of surviving in Mars with his magic pill to delegates and the media in a crowded hall in NASA, we are made to believe. The beginning will leave the audience breathless, literally. I mean gasping for air and the suffocation continues throughout the movie. 

Bhoominatahn's success is not because of academics and NASA, but the way he was inspired by a visionary in his village, one Veluswamy (Thambi Ramaiah). A character who runs around government offices begging for relief following his failed crops, later protests and commits suicide by immolating himself. Some inspiration. 

We have a minister, a collector, a police force, all are fit for nothing and hell bent upon thwarting every effort of Bhoominathan in his endeavor to prove MNC crops are the reason for all the miseries. In fact, the collector's only interest is women and he is shown behaving that way in his official jeep when farmers are protesting. 

If you have survived this far, then meet Ronit Roy, who tells the hero that not only crop seeds, the soap, the food and everything Indians are using are controlled by him and his relatives across the globe.Then the war begins... On, how Bhoominatahn wins his challenge in getting rid of this MNC giant out of India. With just an acre of land and a bunch of so-called farmers who get pricked by a single villain at any given time and lose their vision just like that. 

Was there a heroine in this movie? Well, I don't recollect, but only read the name Nidhi Agerwal in the credits.

The only brilliance I saw in Director Lakshman is the childish portrayal and the behaviour of the antagonist in this movie. not the acting or importance of the role, but the name of the character, Richard Child. Applause. 

Even if you are watching the movie on OTT platform with a borrowed username and password of someone else, you can skip this movie. Not worth it. 

                                                                           Maara

Director: Dhilip Kumar

Cast: Madhavan, Shraddha Srinath, Mouli

★★

 

Statutory Warning: If you are expecting to relive the magic of Charlie, then stay away.

 

A young Tessa, who grows up to find her match as told by a wise old lady in the bus journey once upon a time, embarks on a solo trip where she gets drawn into a surreal world of art and faceless artist behind the magic. An art-book, at the den of the artist Maara, which also is the rented room of Tessa, now, has drawings of a series of events that stops with suspense of Dr Kani. To know the ending, she embarks on another journey. Each and every character she meets has their own stories and flashbacks and none help her to come to a logical conclusion. By this you would have spent an hour or so watching the movie where Maara aka Madhavan is shown a couple of times on the screen. FYI, if you are a diehard Madhavan fan.

Almost every scene is a drag, with Tessa wanting to know the story and the characters she meets have their own story than the answer to the puzzle. Even when Tessa finally meets Dr Kani, and she is about to tell the ending, Mouli and team interrupts and unwanted dialogues and another day spent to come to the actual point. By the time Tessa knows the ending, Dr Kani confuses her with another puzzle. Was Tessa’s search just the climax of the story in the Art-Book or her new beginnings with Maara? Only later you will realize that search was also for Vellayya’s (Mouli) long lost love Meenakshi. By the time you come to climax, chances are you slip into sleep and have your own sweet dreams. Especially, if you are watching the movie after your work hours.

 

The lead cast, Madhavan and Shraddha Srinath comes nowhere near the magical pair of Dulquer & Parvathi or the movie Maara, nowhere close to the original masterpiece Charlie. Only saving grace is Art Direction and the Cinematography. Else, the journey is very short that is unnecessarily stretched to tire the audience.

 

A request to filmmakers. Please don’t show epileptic episodes of characters unless it is something to do with medical scripts. And, searching for a key bunch during seizures is not the treatment for this. Even more so by a lady who is on her way to organize a medical camp? Please grow up and be sensible.

 

                                                                     Mane No 13  

Genere: Horror/Thriller

Rating ⭐⭐

After watching a very good release, in theatres, last Friday, I needed some antidote to get out from that hangover. This movie is a perfect escape mechanism. If the movie is good, hours doesn't matter. Otherwise, even less than two hours that you spend, needs grit to sit through.

As I gave the hint yesterday, the movie did began like I Know What You Did Last Summer. But later, no one knows what runs in this film's director ViVy Kathiresan's mind. A group of Techies, rent a haunted house 'Mane No 13' after two years of their hit, and murder of another friend Ahalya. Then the comedy begins. Yes, they should have added Comedy also in the movie's genre. The noise, which we are made to endure as horror, is very predictable as one after another is killed by an unseen enemy. With a written note for a change on the time when the next killing would take place. By this time if you want to quit, don't. Because the director has twin suspense for you in the store. If you can't predict the first suspense, then there is another jolt. Just wait. 

The characters led by Ramana are just OK. Same with other technical aspects too. But, if the filmmakers think audiences can be fooled by the false narratives as shown in this movie, then better they learn to respect the movie lovers' expectations. Miss-able. Even if it is streamed on a OTT. 

The two stars that I have given here are one in advance for all the audiences who decide to watch this movie even after reading many reviews, and another one for the cinematographer, who every now and then tilts his camera upside down. Thank you for the special effects. 

Ends/-

Anantha Subramanyam K

                                                                 ACT 1978

 

Rating✪✪✪✪

 As a Cinema Buff, the scene, where in the midst of a famous bank robbery in 1972, in Brooklyn, Sonny Wotzik comes out to take the Pizza and also pays the delivery boy with tips. Played by Al Pacino in neo-noir crime drama Dog day Afternoon (1975)

 

How much have we yearned for similar plot and execution in sandalwood all these years! There is a scene in Act 1978 where Yagna Shetty tells her negotiator to pay the BESCOM bill and Paint Zebra Stripes on a Road hump. Well, if you think this is a silly demand, then aren't we all victims of such civic apathy and remained mute spectators for way too long?

 

ACT 1978, the movie, deals with serious anomalies in government departments. After losing her father, husband and hope, victim Geetha, pregnant and in pain, decides to take the entire department staff as hostages with strapping a live bomb with the help of Sharanappa, a wise old man. As the drama unfolds, the story deftly deals with the dilemma that government agencies face following the demand by Geetha that has many legal hurdles. With a sharp but factual presentation on how society and media behaves under the circumstances.  

 

Monsore and team have delivered an engaging saga and achieved what many directors and production houses failed even with hero worship, songs and stunts that are so unreal. Though there are certain shortcomings here or there, the focus here is the engagement from the beginning to the end which scores the most. With good background score and cinematography. 

 

In fact, there is a clear question to each one of us on how you deal with an issue? With violence, or the Gandhian way ? Visualizing with of the contradicting characters. As the final countdown begins with the ticking time bomb about to explode, the audience will be left shattered at the end for sure. Not to be missed, B Suresha's silence that is so deafening. 

 

ACT 1978 is an excellent watch for the family and a lesson or two in self introspection for all.

 

Anantha Subramanyam K

                                              

                                   Soorarai Pottru

 

4/5

 

Soorarai Pottru is it a Biopic or a Fiction?

Well, the answer lies in the life and tale of Captain Gopinath whose experiences in realising his dreams were no less than a fiction, but a drama in Real Life. And when the story is inspired by events that made Deccan Air a reality with Suriya as the lead, then you are bound to have a bon voyage, yeah with a lot of turbulence before a smooth touch down.

Suriya is Nedumaran (Maara) is a socialist by chance and  aviator by choice. And the movie is all about following the heart , come what may, to open up skies for the common man. The struggles and obstacles to achieve this dream forms the exhilarating journey from the first frame of the movie till the end.

The characters surrounding the protagonist are equally interesting and leave their mark on the viewers. Be it the parents, friends or his foes, every one has had their presence  throughout movies as the story oscillates between present and past with good screenplay. Suriya’s partner in the journey Aparna Balamurali is a perfect match only adds to the exploits of a daring couple ready to take the plunge with or without Bungee Rope!

All said and done, the making of this movie has taken a bit too much of cinematic freedom too. The best scene in the movie is in the airport where the hero cannot take flight because he falls short of airfare and the desperation followed is a sureshot award winning performance. In reality, does that happen that way? Or, just bargig into the President's office and the president calling him in because he is a Maduraikaaran. Well, that’s cinematic freedom and will be enjoyed by the audience for sure.

Overall, it’s a great team work led by Sudha K Prasad with BGM, Editing & Visuals all complimenting each other. It would have been great to watch the drama unfold on the big screen, but it was equally good on my TV screen also.

Anantha Subramanyam K

NOUGHT-a great story

 

Yesterday, got the news on the demise of our Mathematics teacher in Middle school Ms Shanbagavalli. As kids, we used address her as ‘Shambagoli’ miss, most of my classmates would agree. I have a short story to share with you while I was in my 6th grade.

We were to get our signatures on marks card after every test or exams. In one such test I had scored a perfect Nought! My father, who knew about my educational prowess, was bit annoyed. He told “normally you would get 4 or 5 marks out of 50, but how come a ZERO? Can’t you score at least 1 mark out of so many questions?” He was clearly disturbed, which was not common otherwise, (He was a cool dad) So, I replied that my Maths teacher had misplaced my answer sheets, it is yet to be discovered… So, the Zero! I didn’t know what was running through my dad’s mind, but he signed the progress report. Not a good progress rather!

Next day, in the middle of the class I was summoned to HMs chamber. To my utter shock I could see my dad to my left, Maths teacher Shanbagavalli to my right and a fuming Fathima Sister (HM) in the middle. And even more dreadful scene was that my teacher holding my answer sheets, intact, in front of my dad! My legs failed me, beads of sweat started to build on my forehead as my mouth went dry. A tight slap from my dad and a mouth full of gaalis, both by my teacher and the HM. To add insult to injury, a ‘stand up on the bench’ punishment in the class with my infamous story told to all the class by my teacher. I deserved it, it was absolutely no fault of Shambagoli miss at all. It was all of my own making.

In 2017, we, the Lourdes high school Class of ’85 had a grand reunion where most of our teachers too were gathered. Yes, Shambagoli miss also was there. Now being a photojournalist and all, I was also asked to speak at the reunion. I admitted at first that I was an outstanding student, because, most of the times I was asked to stand outside the class for my lethargy, dullness and falling behind in so many aspects. Later, I explained the gathering about this Zero Mark incident too (bit hilariously), to everyone’s amazement.

After I got down from the stage, many teachers shook my hands for being so frank in admitting my mistakes and our HM Fathima sister hugged me with fondness. After few minutes, Shambagoli miss came to me, held both my hands tightly and said “Anantha, your success goes on to prove that Zero has so much value in one’s life” them she fondly pulled my chin and said she was happy to see me what I am today.

Her last words echoed in my ears when I learnt about her demise.

RIP Shanbagavalli Madam. You will remain in memories forever.