PachaiKili MuthuCharam - Music Review

PaChAiKiLi mUtHuChArAm

Gautham - Harris Jayaraj

An Instant Favorite...

This is not pathbreaking. This is mesmerizing. This is not agitated. This is calm and cool. This is not a "Bubblegum" album. This is a calm acheiver.

Let me get submerged in the mood of the album,

1. Unakkul Naan (Bombay Jayasree)

HJ-Jayasree combination is turning out to be a prospective ARR-Hariharan. This song gets right into the base-voiced mood that Jayasree creates like in her every other piece. It proceeds calmly until the fantastic interlude starts at 2:37 with a refreshing humming followed by a beautiful violin. Those soft beats in sync with the Violin bit hooked me into this song. A mature track from HJ with the combinational glory of Jayasree.

Tailor-made for Jayasree - 8/10.

2. Un Siripinil (Sowmya Rao, Raphi)

What an amazing song? The beats can be hailed 'beautiful' instead of 'rocking' and I have to make a special mention of the singer Sowmya Rao. She creates just about everything this song needs - sweetness, harmony, slowness and 'the search' . Raphi has done an equally good job but somehow I get the feeling of hearing Harish Ragavendra, the 'lost Harish' in fact. The sax and violin are used at the right spots to dissolve us in full swing. However, the first line of first stanza

"Unakkul irukkum mayakam, andha uyarathu nilavai azhaikum" reminds me of

"Paladaikal sumai thaandi, adhai muzhudhum neeki vittu kulithen" of Malargale song from Pudhukottayil irundhu Saravanan.

The song's tempo is neat and brilliant and leaves us wanting more and more as it ends. Keep your eyes closed, your sensations will do the rest!! Best song of the album!!!

Flooded my heart, instantly - 9.5/10

3. Kadhal Konjam (Naresh)

This is one of those songs that you can hear while travelling or throwing a light party at home. A fast and light hearted track. This is a typical HJ song just like "Ore Paarvai Paar" from 12B. A peppy number that will get you going with a nice old guitar in the middle.

This is certainly not as jubilant as the "Sorgam Madhuvilay" classic but surely a lively track from such a beautiful, moody album.

Nice and lighter - 7/10

4. Karu Karu (Karthik, Krish, Naresh)

A rapid paced song that gives the equal and opposite feeling of "Un siripinil" song. Just superb! As this song starts, one might wonder where is HJ's shade but when the chorus starts as "Oru Mallicharame, ilai sindhum marame" we say "Ye, there it comes"!!

I love the tune "Thamarai ilai neer needhana..." that drools at various points of the song. The feeble rock used is terrific and blended perfectly with the tempo of the song. There is a considerable usage of Keyboard but it doesn't repress the words and emotions.

Frisky and zippy - 8.5/10

5. Unakkul Naan (Madhusree)

Remove Bombay Jayasree's voice and place Madhusree's voice. You get this cloned song. I liked the previous one better because I don't really connect with Madhusree's voice (more like Sadhana Sargam). She has a "keech-keech" voice but that's my opinion only.

An album filler - 6/10

Well, while this album is no Kaakha Kaakha, it certainly equipped me for more HJ albums. He is right in the groove and has certainly improved in some areas. His uncanny knack of adding sweetness to the songs is still intact. His instrumentation, though not entirely original, is surely mesmerizing. He keeps the songs neat and presentable as always. Kudos HJ!! Hope the picturizations turn out well.

PachaiKili MuthuCharam rocks, but softly!!!

**********

VJ Lekha

It's been a long time since I watched MTV, Channel V, VH1... Usually VJs are very expressive and eloquent in shows from these channels. Somehow I feel Indian Channel VJs lack that spirit. They are trying to be too intelligent when communicating with the callers. That's a bad way of doing it. VJ's should serve the caller's time in a silver platter and make them feel comfortable in the first place. The more the VJ tries to be fast and flowery, the more they mess it up.

SS music is one good South Indian Music channel. The VJ's with a good sense of presentation are selected. Shriya Reddy set the trend 2 yrs back with a very different way of layering with the callers. But sadly, she is into movies now. No worries, whatsoever.

Lekha, the newcomer is simply energetic and ecstactic. She has taken over the prime slot in style. The name of the program is PCO.

Things I noticed about Lekha - She is very clear, loud, expressive , most importantly she makes the caller feel good about calling. She makes them talk which makes me watch. She has an appreciable sense of humor and good structuring of the entire call (like it doesn't drag for more than 5 minutes). She really uses good presence of mind to respond to callers who ask dubious, awkward questions sometimes. She also never leaves the caller go gaga about her looks and beauty. But of course, she acknowledges that subtly to not disappoint them. Even though she doesn't speak Tamil fluently, she admits it and tries to speak out without the slightest of fuss on caller's request. That's the spirit one should show instead of standing there with a fussy elite face. It's all about frankness.

Let me cite an example. Once a caller asked "Why don't you wear Chudidhars. You would look really good in that right? Why do you always wear jeans??" She said with a smooth and undisturbed tone, "Yeah sure, I like chudees and I would love to wear them. But what to do?? My manager wouldn't allow me to for the sake of the show!!"

That's why she is rocking the slot of 9:30 to 10 pm, Monday to Friday, SS Music. She is quite an impressive and articulate VJ amongst all the recent Indian VJs.

2006 - Top Ten Tamil Movies >> Movie of the year

1

Pudhupettai

Director: SelvaRaghavan

Cast: Dhanush, Sneha, Sonia Agarwal, Azhagamperumal

Pudhupettai is the most underrated and forgotten movie of the year. Simply because, it seeded roaring expectations in viewers' minds in a completely different way.

This movie daringly provokes a certain section of the society. The intent is not to provoke but to show the mentality literally. It's not a movie that sugarcoats things and increases prejudices on low-life. The honest script is wrapped around with sound technical support from the crew.

The spontaneous depiction of class consciousness is Selvaraghavan's piece of cake. There's a scene from the movie 'Kadhal Konden'. The world is small for Vinodh (Dhanush) who comes from an orphanage to join a college in the city. He is suddenly left in the wide and open world. Those initial isolated moments he experiences with fear and innocence as he looks at the attire and mannerisms of city-bred students in his classroom are shown without any spurious inferences. That scene touched a string inside me.

Likewise, Pudhupettai is one such movie that nabs your hands, drags you and makes you sit amongst the low-life hoodlums until their moustache scratches your cheeks.

Kokki kumar witnesses his mother's body lying on the floor after having done by her husband. An usual slum homicide but the picturization of the next 10 minutes showing Kumar's deep down fear and loss signals that this is going to be one helluva ride for the viewers. He flees away fearing his own father and struggles to survive on streets. He is spotted, fed, beaten and even threatened. The way he rises upto those moments of escape and retaliation is truly magnificient. He grows in stature and tries to take control of the city with organised crime. The movie then turns into an intense political drama with jumpy moments here and there. Every scene has a dark humor curled up beneath and I burst out laughing even at gruesome action scenes.

The ways - way the hoodlums eat on a roadside 'purotta shop', way the policeman treat their daily scapegoats, way the 'juvenile' looks at a woman as only an object of lust, way the sex worker expects a freudian connection with the juvenile, way the hoodlums blurt out their ancestry, way a politician exploits goondas, way the goondas count on politics and fame, way the sword and sickle are used, way the human lives are treated as vegetables are captured in resolutely literal fashion. No scene in this movie sails on assumptions and superficiality.

Azhagamperumal does play his role as a diplomatic politician with supreme control and scenes that unravel in the bizarre second half, especially when Kokki Kumar is surrounded by experienced politicians on the rampage of slicing him into pieces for his irrelevant behavior made me want more and more. Literal depiction!!

Sonia Agarwal's character, though used as Dhanush's object of desire fails to create overt impression while Sneha (as the sex worker) settles down in the movie with ease and empathy. Dhanush is brilliant in some scenes but patchy in some scenes. An overall likeable performance by him. The viewer may be irritated by the jumpy final 15 minutes but it's obvious that certain scenes have been chopped off for length. Editing could have been better. Climax is very abrupt but fits in "Okay" when you look back at the entire movie later.

This movie needs a different and mood viewing. It shouldn't be seen from our viewpoint and ideology but it should be seen from Kumar's viewpoint and behavior to really empathize his dark life that travels on the needle of betrayal and death every moment.

Though this movie fails on tempo and completion, it wins on research, ideas and technicality like direction, toning, BGM, songs and picturization and amateur-styled (yeah, people in slum seldom speak professionally and intellectually) dialogues. Every time I saw, it grew on me more. Overall, the daring attempt by Selvaraghavan barring all cliched substances in a Tamil Movie has purely made Pudhupettai fetch this spot. Forget box office, this ahead-of-time venture is my MOVIE OF THE YEAR!

Pudhupettai, Superlative film-making!!!

2006 - Tamil Top 10 Tamil Movies >> 4 - 2

4. Veyyil
Director: Vasantha Balan
Cast: Pasupathy, Bharath, Bhavana

Guilt, shame and agony - How does a sombre man suffer from all these sultry emotions when he rejoins his family after a painful separation? This movie delivers exactly the same. Not more, not less. The director has done a serious travel into the deepest nerve of such a man (played by Pasupathy). I would always be interested in any such movie that is narrated from one person's point of view. Pianist by Roman Polanski is the best example I could state instinctively. This movie is carved brilliantly for most of the running time but it fails miserably when the relationship between Bhavana and Bharath are emphasized. Why do we need that?? There are few scenes inspired from 'Cinema Paradiso' which is a great Italian movie but they are beautifully Indianized.

The words 'Market, Entertainment, Compromise, Glamour' play a lot in Indian Cinema. I mean, I could prepare a long list of potentially good movies getting collapsed with such inappropriate intrusions. Likewise, in this movie, keeping in mind about the producer's stakes, the director has changed the course in the 2nd half which spoils the entire beauty of the movie (though viewers might like the irrelevant Bharath-Bhavana encounter). I personally feel this movie would have earned the maximum credits if it hadn't deviated from the storyline in the second half. When they get deep down into a person's emotions why do they want to mess up by inserting few deviating, superficial scenes??

However, Pasupathy's performance as the protagonist has given this movie all the glory, life and applause it deserved. He deserves a standing ovation. Very professional!! The young MD, G.V Prakash Kumar has given us some lovely songs and the artwork is simply amazing. Nativity drools in every frame of the movie. Hats off to the crew!! Vasantha Balan HAS a future.

Swaying, moving and scintillating!!!

3. E
Director: SP JanaNathan
Cast: Jeeva, Nayanthara, Pasupathy, Aashish Vidhyarthi

Sadism, Exploitation, Ignorance, Guinea pigs - This movie is certainly an important venture. It leaves even the literate viewers in shame for the ignorance on such pitiful existence in the under-developed countries (India in this case). Is India really developing in this aspect?? Now, that's a question!! Ignorance is not a bliss sometimes.

This movie is definitely not original. Constant Gardener (2005) is a movie that speaks about the grave consequences of Bio-warfare and the conspiracy behind that and so does Jananathan's 'E'. This is a hard-hitting, ruthless scorn on the ignorance of common people. Jeeva as 'E' has swept the movie with an effortless performance. My goodness, how he's matured in stature!! The 'matter-of-fact' presentation and insisting dialogues hook the audience unconditionally. The biggest edge this movie has, is the rapid pace in which it moves.

There are very intriguing moments shown in total spontaneity. They reflect the nuances of low-life in a typical fashion. Depressing humor, you gotta see them!!!

Like,
In a salon, Jeeva spraying water like a deodarant to refresh his armpits.

Karunas telling Jeeva, "Dhuddu karaka mudilena innathuku luvvu??"

Jeeva arguing with Pasupathy aggressively "Sotthuku edhuvum illama roatla kadakaradha poriki thinravan enna maari 'E' aadhanya varuvaan!!"

It's the story of a smalltime thief called 'E' trying to make big money by keeping an international criminal (Pasupathy) on the run. The saddening reality behind Pasupathy's extremism is explained in clarity. Nayanthara in an imporant role for a change, gave a commendable performance. Songs which aren't needed in the first place are not good to hear too. Director Jananathan could have done the graphics a bit better but guess the budget couldn't stretch. Climax should have been shot better. However, a hugely laudable performance by the entire crew.

See it, believe it!!!


2. Vettaiyadu Vilayadu
Director: Gautham
Cast: Kamalhaasan, Jyothika, Daniel Balaji

Frankly, the cast-crew value and ecstactic songs pulled me into the theatre. Believe me, I was overwhelmed when I came out. I always had the fear that hugely hyped movies, bomb in the box office. But this movie proved the opposite. VV, a box office smasher in 2006 is technically brilliant, intelligent and racy. Gautham hasn't let down in narration once again. Though, it was rebuked for imitating Kaakha Kaakha I couldn't agree entirely. Yes, there are few measly similarities but this movie has it's original moments. In fact, more captivating moments captured in detail (Kamal's mannerisms and cop-eyed expressions for example). Jyothika seemed very professional and sure she has matured a lot in acting.

However, the biggest find through this movie is Daniel Balaji playing the maniacal stalker on the run with his 'homo' partner. He has delivered a relentless acting to define the raw character he's given. The movie grips the viewer right from the beginning when Kamal throws a flat challenge to a local rowdy in a unique style. Combat stunts, aerial camera shots, racy BGM and terrific songs can never be spared for a round of applause. Gautham-HJ combination strikes gold for the third time in a row. This movie entertained me to the max this year!!

Raw, Racy and Stylish!!!

The detailed review is available @
http://veenmanshow.blogspot.com/2006/08/vettaiyadu-vilayadu-movie-review.html

2006 - Top 10 Tamil Movies >> 7 - 5

7. Imsai Arasan 23M Pulikesi

Director: Simbudhevan

Cast: Vadivelu, Vadivelu, Nasser

Yes! I could register two different versions of actor-comedian Vadivelu in this movie. In multi-action movies, it's very imporant to portray the uniqueness of each character. 'Micheal Madhana Kama Rajan' is the best example that strikes my mind. All 4 roles - I could associate each one of them with some originality. I saw this movie for 2 reasons,

1. Vadivelu

2. Vadivelu.

He sweeps the show completely. A refreshing slapstick (not the best of the league) is given by Simbudhevan to the audience through this period film. But, somehow the movie as a whole doesn't settle in my mind. It's a goner! More of a passtime visit to the theatre. That's because of the lack of professionlism in the art and settings. A period movie with a serious second half should deserve better art-work. I was a bit let-down on the production values too since the inspiration from Chevalier Sivaji Ganesan's Utthamaputhiran is very obvious.

The director has depended too much on Vadivelu's magnetism in this movie. The acting from other supporting characters could have been a little better. Nasser, with his hair-style reminds me of Bethaal in Vikram aur Bethaal!!

A unique environment, an overall let-down!!!

6. Dishoom

Director: Sasi

Cast: Jeeva, Sandhya, Nasser

I was enthralled by Sasi's debut venture 'Sollamaley' since the movie strictly sailed on script rather than stardom. Sasi is studded with the knack of presenting a gloomy concept in a very lively way. Dishoom, aptly titled, is an epitome of that.

'Risk' Bhaskar (Jeeva) is a daredevil stuntman. But the movie leverages the ideology of a stuntman to ping-pong the love between 'Risk' Bhaskar and Cynthia (Sandhya of 'Kadhal' fame). The movie is not as simple as it sounds. It shows a complex relationship between both of them. Clean-cut and forthright heart-ruler (Jeeva) counting endlessly on a typically calculative mind- ruler (Sandhya). Who wins? That's an obvious answer in Tamil Cinema. How it wins? That's the story! Both the lead roles are carved exactly the way they need to be. Supporting roles by Nasser and Malavika (KB's 'Annie' fame) are played to perfection. The songs and their picturization are good but the screenplay and dialogues get the viewers to focus more.

Definitely, not the typical love story!!!

5. Pattiyal

Director: Vishnuvardhan

Cast: Bharath, Arya, Pooja, Padmapriya

This movie intrigued me in bits and pieces. Again, another movie potentially spoiled. The director could have done wonders with the kind of set-up this story has but he has succumbed to few compromises here and there . The ambience and casting are really good, typically spoiled by unnecessary songs and scenes in a humorous first half. However, the second half of the movie has a neatly taut screenplay.

Bharath playing deaf and dumb has delivered an excellent performance bar none.

Technically a sound movie, the camera work and BGM have given refreshing dimensions for the viewers. All the intricacies and nuances involved in the friendship of two contract-killer-orphans (Arya and Bharath) are captured faithfully. Frankly speaking, I was blown away by the climax of the movie which enveloped an air of coldness around the viewers. Summation is brilliant! The realistic ending has truly fetched 'Pattiyal' this spot!!

Contracted to view!!!

The detailed review is also available @

http://veenmanshow.blogspot.com/2006/03/pattiyal-post-mortem.html

2006 Top 10 Tamil Movies >> 10 - 8

10. Thambi
Director: Seeman
Cast: Madhavan, Pooja

Fight fire with fire!! Condemn violence using violence - This movie deserves the spot purely for the criticality of it's thought. Don't you see a silhouette of your own anger, rampaging in the air when a ruthless crime happens in the society?? We all see! Sadly, we all just see. 'Thambi' is a man who takes that 'One More Step'. But again, heroism springs up only after getting personally tolchoked. So, yet another 'same old' kind of flashback pops up. A very cliched presentation, but with some force. Well, in few scenes, the director seems to have been caught up in some sort of surge to deliver the message. Hence, the professional presentation is a lacklustre.

However, the movie stands out in the consistency of 'thought projection' - till the very end, in fact. The climax justifies the objectivity. The central point is loud and clear but the overall execution could have been better, avoiding sticky songs and abrupt stunts (which evoke laughter). Madhavan's performance is quite an exhibition here. His overt expressions and driveling lectures on violence hook the audience to their seats for few moments. Overall, the movie scores on thought but loses out on narration, making it less interesting to watch.

The thought winner, The act loser!!!


9. Kodambakkam
Director: Jaganji
Cast: Nandha, Diya, Kalairani, Manivannan

Refreshing my memory, KB's Oru Veedu Iru Vaasal (2nd episode) was the last vivid depiction of a close-to-realism scenario happening behind the reels of Tamil Cinema. This movie is queued up in the same league. To be frank, the movie's line of thought is close to my heart since I came up with a short story last year, called "Behind The Scenes" narrating a new director's maiden rendezvous with producers and writers in a discussion room. The pain which is involved in compromising a good story for a silly 'Masala' is truly sticky. That stickiness is superbly portrayed by the director. The casting is almost brilliant in this movie. Nanda abides perfectly by the emotions of a man with such a mission; Kalairani - what to say, she is born to be melodramatic!! However, diya as a village girl doesn't fit in at all.

It's an irony that this very movie contains glamourous songs and few junk scenes just to kill time and glory. The director can bow down to accept that he is also a trap for that kind of cinema-ism. Overall, a refreshing attempt amidst a truckload of stereotyped movies.

Clap, clap!!!


8. Thiruttu Payale
Director: Susi Ganesan
Cast: Jeevan, Sonia Agarwal, Malavika, Abbas

Void life, Chance, Golf, Trust, Betrayal, Richness, Love, Blackmail, Friendship, Duel and Death are the tags I would associate with this bizarre thriller filmed in noir style. I was quite impressed with Susi Ganesan's 'Five Star' which served a dish of youth, humor and love in a completely refreshing mode. Must confess, he has taken a reverse gear to come down with 3 stars through this movie. I personally feel the immense potential this movie contained is terribly wasted by jumpy screenplay and artificial acting.

The first half is a taut package. Scene by scene, the drama gets tangled and mysterious. Clever and cunning, Jeevan makes money from fearful Malavika, stacks them, spends them, and then tries to make more money from her - all through continous cold-blooded blackmails on a grossly offensive betrayal. But. there has to be some sort of 'catch' for his relentless money-making. The 'catch' is pretty impressive as it is unveiled in an innovative climax. The movie gets off track often, irritating the viewer to some extent. Bharadhwaj has given a brilliant BGM to ride along with the movie's manic screenplay. The biggest plus is Jeevan's casual performance and series of tiny twists and turns in the beginning and towards the end. The biggest letdown is Vivek's comedy. The dragging scenes and songs happening in Australia should have been chopped off.

Great potential, blighted!!!