Symphony - I just learnt this word, He taught me what it is... In 7 Minutes!

Why is he even aging? Can't he be immortal? Well... He is gonna be. A musical concert. With a stage-wide orchestra, he stands in the middle facing a question. The 8 minute long retort that was calmly delivered by the man made me rephrase my line "With a stage-wide orchestra, He stands in the middle facing the question". "What is a symphony?" asked the compere. An answer came. We might need a never ending list of superlatives before we even start "adjectiving" it. The scene that unfolds makes you punch your fists in the air (not once) and at the same time your eyes turn moist. 

You feel a silence that engulfs the initial frames of the video and you can see Him waving His hands as if He is painting in the air. Yes, He was.  With one strong wave of His hand, *Bang* He breathes life into the dormant orchestra. You see cellos and violins being played. The crowd erupts. He just silences the crowd with His finger on His lips. The passion evident. A divine two and half minutes into the video, when the music reaches its peak, He stops it abrupt. "Idhayammmmm Poguthaeeee..." - No music, no back up vocals, absolute silence - yet there is divinity and there is a pain conveyed (that is the situation for the song in the film). A 1979 song starts and the crowd goes frenetic. We have a standing ovation at the end. Then, we have how this music evolved from Schubert's musical notes to Idhayam Poguthae. We have a short session with the same song played for a different music. This version, during its run, makes a comfortable shift into the folk genre - the fist pump again. After a brief second version comes the answer to "What is symphony?" in His own style. 

The words from The Gnani to the novice. He reiterates AR Rahman's quote on Him - "When many musicians were running behind awards, He was living for music". 

ISAIGNANI ILAIYARAJA!


Please do watch the video embedded below

Thanks - Isaignani Ilaiyaraja, Prakash Raj, Jaya Television, YouTube Channels

Kaadhalum Kadanthu Poagum - In Nalan We Trust!

After setting the bar high with his debut film "Soodhu Kavvum", Nalan Kumarasamy is back with his rom-com "Kaadhalum Kadanthu Poagum", an official remake of a korean movie. After a brilliant trailer that garnered unanimous praise from the netizens, the expectations for the movie sky-rocketed. With Vijay Sethupathi having back to back releases this year, will Kakagapo be a +1 in the hit list?

A love story of an uneducated rowdy with an IT professional - sounds impractical yet falls into the conventional elements in Tamizh cinema. Hold on. Nalan doesn't present you an unbelieveable love affair. There is a relationship that runs on the thin line between friendship and love, an unconventional romance, an underlying pain, an undeniable practicality and an unanswered question at the end - this sums up the unconventional love story presented by Nalan breaking the stereotypes. It is not a love story where a man chases his lady love till Kerala or USA to impress her. There is no hurry in the sequence of scenes. Nalan gives time for the scenes to evolve and the love story evolves too. 

Vijay Sethupathi as "Kathir" is a gangster and Madona Sebastien is an IT professional.  A very known catastrophe in the IT industry lands her as a neighbour to Vijay Sethupathi. We have seen similar roles from Vijay Sethupathi in his previous movies, but he is at his best when he teams up with Nalan. Madona makes a great impact as the help-seeking, desperate IT professional yearning to fulfil her aspirations. Samudhirakani plays a small supporting role, a cakewalk for him. The movie deals with the reality of IT industry during its run. Right from the "eyewash" interview panel to sexual harassment, everything is dealt with and they form a perfect ambience for the story. The screenplay is seamless - it doesn't test the viewer's patience eventhough the scenes take time to evolve.

Nalan Kumarasamy's attention to details, Santhosh Narayanan's placement of songs and Vijay Sethupathi's entertaining screen presence gives us an exceptional experience. There is romance on screen even when the lead pair don't even see each other. We have seen Vijay Sethupathi walking out of a bank manager's room with the "Soodhu Kavvum" BGM. There is one similar scene where Vijay Sethupathi walks out of an IT company, but there is romance, a sense of gratitude from the lead lady, a sense of relief from the lead pair that engulfs the frame. Kaadhalum Kadanthu Poagum is Vijay Sethupathi show all over and the response he gets from the theatre growing crowd is amazing. His carefree body language and his ease while delivering dialogues makes him the "special one" of Tamizh Cinema.

Nalan redefines "mass appeal" in Tamizh cinema. We have the hero beaten up by rowdies because of his carelessness and stupidity. The audience laugh at the scene that unfolds. In the next frame, he gets up and walks out wearing a cooling glass. We have the deafening screams of the viewers in the cinema hall - Were these scenes inspired from Vadivelu? The immediate thought that came to my mind is Vaigaipuyal teaming up with Nalan Kumarasamy for a laugh riot. We have humour throughout the show that is undisturbing. Santhosh Narayanan's BGM and placement of songs makes the movie a delight to watch. His ability to blend the songs into the narration such that there is no dilution of the script makes him the best in recent times. The songs come in splits and hence the narration has no hiccups.

Bottomline - Kakagapo : A Nalan Show!

Miruthan

With the onset of new genres in Tamizh cinema, we have Sakthi Soundar Rajan's first ever zombie movie - Miruthan. Jayam Ravi's varied choice of scripts, with his last five falling under five different genres makes him the unanimously celebrated hero in the recent times. How does Miruthan live up to the expectations from the theatre going crowd?

Miruthan is about a traffic cop escorting a group of medics after zombies take control of an entire city. Jayam Ravi (as Karthik) lives with his sister (Baby Anikha) in Ooty and the city turns into a zombie-land overnight. A group of medics, Lakshmi Menon and co., after attending a medical conference, find themselves in the mid of the catastrophe. Is there a respite in the offing?

Jayam Ravi opens his account for 2016 with a perfect performance. There are a few screen-presence moments and he enjoys the screams and whistles at regular intervals. He seems to be unstoppable after Thani Oruvan. Kaali Venkat's timing and the innocence he bears while delivering the comical scenes is entertaining and there is not even a single comedy that doesn't work. Sriman shares a lot of lighter moments right from his intro. 

With a genre that is not tried and tested with the Tamizh audience, one has to compromise. There is a sister sentiment, there is romance, there is friendship and there is heroism - all the ingredients for a commercial cinema, yet the film engages the audience throughout. Imaan's songs are appealing and the background score - one of his best. The "Horrifying Zombies" theme lingers in your ears even after you leave the cinema hall - a top-class BGM from Imaan after a long time. There are zombies creeping into the lens now and then, but there is not even a single frame that turns disgusting. The effort of the technicians behind the scenes is definitely laudable for delivering a zombie movie with authenticity in a short span. 

After Naanayam and Naaigal Jaakirathai, Shakthi Soundar Rajan has delivered his third genre in three movies. He has managed to create a zombie movie interwoven with the much needed commercial elements. There are few scenes which go overboard in action and sentiment, which could have been avoided. The director's idea of amalgamating "Mirugam" and "Manithan" for "Miruthan" deserves a special mention as he conveys the theme in just one word. With the film running lesser than two hours, we have the screenplay fast enough and Miruthan crosses the boundary line with comfortable ease. 

Bottomline - For those who rave about Hollywood zombie movies, we have Tamizh Cinema's first ever zombie movie finished in 54 days with a shoestring budget. Kudos to the entire team!

Jil Jung Juck

We have Vadivelu's omnipresence reiterated with one more movie titled with his famous dialogue from Kaadhalan - Jil... Jung... Juck... With the single track "Shoot the Kuruvi" and an interesting promo two days before its release, Jil Jung Juck enjoyed the much needed pre-release hype. Is Jil Jung Juck a Jil or a Jung or a Juck?

The opening scene of the movie takes us to an interesting plot, a period when the world is experiencing a severe fuel crisis. A drug smuggler, a petrol smuggler, a scientist, three people who are hired to transport cocaine - an interesting plot and characterisation. Siddharth as Jil, Avinash Raghudevan as Jung and Sananth Reddy as Juck are hired to deliver a pink vintage car to the Chinese which is believed to be packed with Cocaine. Deiva (Amarendran) hires them to deliver his last package of drugs after many of his recent failures in drug trafficking. Will Jil Jung Juck deliver the package at the right time? 

Of late, we see Siddharth trying diverse roles and he is back as Nanjil Sivaji. As a producer and as a protagonist, he is perfect. Sananth Reddy's performance as the innocent Juck is laudable. However, Avinash as Jung is the most entertaining of the three lead characters. With a blank expression on his face, he has the perfect looks for a comedian. Radha Ravi and Nasser are the usual supporting character materials and deliver a flawless performance. Bhagavathi Perumal has been under-utilized, sad that he did not get any meaty roles after "Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanom".

Director Dheeraj Vaidhy and Mohan Ramakrishnan's dialogues are new and afresh. Art direction and VFX deserve a special mention for the spectacular treatment of few shots, escpecially the scene involving the petrol silo and the marbles. The screenplay is fast paced in the first half, with the movie shifting back and forth as there is a flashback scene for each of the primary characters. Though the plot and the line-up of characters is interesting, the screenplay lacks the much needed element of suspense until the last fifteen minutes. There are lengthy scenes which makes the second half a little dragging. A movie tagged with "Comedy" genre tries hard to evoke laughter in most parts. Despite the comedy ingredients ranging from adult comedy to slapstick comedy, a very few scenes evoke laughter. The film falls yards short of the boundary line, with a dragging second half attempting the comedy route. The final 15 minutes of the movie provides relief to the otherwise dull second half. 

Vishal Chandrasekhar deserves a special stanza in this review - the sole hero of the movie. Right from his "Shoot the Kuruvi" to background score he has delivered his best in an experimental album. The music adapts to the wacky nature of the movie and compliments the picturization. The carnatic dubstep that is played in the background during the burst of the petrol silo and the chase that unfolds - height of experimentation. With the next-gen musicians forming a line-up with Santhosh Narayanan, Anirudh, Sean Roldan to name a few, Vishal finds his place in the list with a thumbs-up from the audience. "Shoot the Kuruvi" with the end credits rolling, makes the audience sit through till the end card - a winning moment for Vishal!

Bottomline - Jil Jung Juck, definitely not a Jil or a Juck!

Visaaranai

Visaaranai, after seeing a lot of international film festivals across the world, comes back to where it belongs - theatres of Tamizh Nadu. The film garnered highly positive reviews right from superstars Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan to critics and jury members. Tamizh Cinema has seen a lot of promise from Balu Mahendra's proteges - Bala, Ram and Seenu Ramasamy to name a few. Vettrimaran is no exception. 

Visaaranai is about political interference in Indian judiciary, corrupted officials, white collars, police officers and hapless victims caught in the web - if that's the correct hierarchy of the so called "system". The movie starts in Andhra Pradesh with a group of four homeless migrants from Tamizh Nadu being picked up by the policemen and asked to confess a robbery they never knew about. The only connection they have with the robbery is the place where they stay, a park closer to the colony. They are repeatedly beaten up until they confess the robbery and finally taken to court. The second half runs along the same lines again, but the ambience and the nature of police investigation changes. Vettrimaran, taking inspiration from a novel "Lock Up" has interwoven few real life incidents to make a feature film that runs for less than 2 hours.

The realistic portrayal of police investigation sends a chill down your spine. The brutality handled by the policemen to make the victims confess the crime is terrible. Everytime a lathi blow lands on one of the victims, you feel the pain. Vettrimaran has achieved a rarity in Tamizh Cinema, making the viewers a part of the proceedings. Right from the first frame, he keeps everything real and there is no exaggeration anywhere. The authenticity of picturization is clearly evident from the crackles of walkie-talkies you often hear in the background in a police station. 

Vettrimaran is one director who makes movies which are critically accliamed and commercially successful. In Visaaranai, he has managed to place an intriguing sub-plot that keeps the audience engrossed throughout. There is love, there is friendship, there is betrayal, there is truth - everything blended in so perfectly that there appears to be no compromise. Above all, there is an element of fear that engulfs every frame - and it sometimes shifts to the viewers too.

"Attakathi" Dinesh gives his career best performance - Performance would be an understatement :  He has given his heart and soul.. and skin for the character. You can sense his pain everytime his muscle releases a spasm on a lathi blow - the most underrated actor in recent times. We can see his "Attakathi" version in a few frames that involves a love portion with Anandhi of TIN fame. Be it the frame where he emotes betrayal or the scene where he takes in more and more beatings to save his friends from being beaten to death -  a masterclass performance from an under-utilized actor. Samudhirakani and Kishore play their role with comfortable ease. They are the front-runners in the list of most sought after supporting actors. The investigation scene involving the two of them brings out the crux of the story, a true reflection of the reality - how political heads influence and make use of police and civilians as pawns for their own gains. Samudhirakani's shift from being confident when he has the upper hand in the first half to becoming one more pawn in the second half is just a sample for his versatility. Kishore's performance is perfect especially in scenes where he cries in pain before having his last breath. "Aadukalam" Ramadoss provides the humour quotient, and his boundary does not end there - he is only second to Dinesh in emoting the pain. Each and every person on screen is at his/her best, even the ones who come in for a single frame. Misha, as the only kind hearted cop makes an impact. 

Vettrimaran's dialogues are top-notch, they convey the much needed message strongly - The system feeds and is being fed by the powerful and the powerless are nothing but pawns. Editor Kishore has delivered one more masterpiece and Tamizh Cinema has definitely lost one of the bests in business. GV Prakash's background score is undisturbing and doesn't dilute the script. There are scenes where there is no background score - this makes us realise the impact the movie would have created in the international film festivals, where it was screened without the BG score. Being a definite contender for the national awards, Dhanush and Vettrimaran have one more feather to their cap - after Kaaka Muttai.

Bottomline - Visaaranai: The real face of Tamizh Cinema at the global arena... Oppukontaara?

Irudhi Suttru - Boxing Its Way To Box Office Success!

We have been seeing sports drama movies in the recent times in Tamizh cinema - Vallinam, Jeeva, Bhoologam to name a few. We have Sudha Kongara's Irudhi Suttru concentrating on issues plaguing Indian Sports industry - Right from political interference to sexual harassment.

Madhavan as an angry, foul mouthed, short tempered boxing coach makes a memorable comeback to Tamizh cinema after 4 years. Prabhu (Madhavan), a boxing coach with allegations of sexual harassment against him goes in search of (is made to go in search of) new boxing trainees. He stumbles upon a "born boxer" (Rithika) in the slums of Chennai. The journey of this born boxer to world championship forms the storyline - a clichéd storyline that differs in the treatment it gets.

How often have we seen screen presence of a woman in Tamizh cinema? Rithvika Singh has delivered aplenty here, especially the "Kannula Gethu" moment. Rithika's portrayal of the bold, defiant and rebellious "Madhi" is definitely laudable. Her lip sync is perfect - the dubbing artist needs a special mention too. She even overshadows Maddy in many scenes.

There is not even a single frame that doesn't belong. A tight screenplay, an honest script, hard hitting dialogues by Arun Madhieswaran makes the movie a must - watch. The film's supporting cast is hand picked and there are no complaints. Kaali Venkat, as Rithika's father provides the humor relief. Nasser, as a boxing coach reiterates that he is one of the best supporting actors Tamizh Cinema has. Radharavi cakewalks his role and no doubt he is Nasser's counterpart in the most sought after supporting actors. The villain gives a performance that makes you hate him, a winner hands down.

Behind the scenes, we have a hero - Santhosh Narayanan. His songs are a huge plus. His background score and placement of lyrics from Muthamizh and Vivek are brilliant. There is a scene where Rithika counters Madhavan after he dictates her to do pushups as a punishment. Santhosh's placement of "Kannula Gethu... Ava kannula gethu... Vaaipilama vechuduvaa vaaiyila kuththu" gives Rithika the best screen presence moment. Be it a foot tapping "Vaa Machaney" or a soul stirring "Ey sandakaara" or an ambitious "Maya Visai", we have typical Santhosh in full form. There are whistles and screams at the start of each of his songs. His background score in the final moments makes your heart race faster - his brilliance in script oriented music revisited. The climax sequence makes you feel as if the moment is live, though we see shades of Chak de India.

Madhavan underplays his role, a much needed performance for the script. Being overshadowed by Rithika's performance in most of the scenes, he makes it even with just one emotional shot in the climax - a knockout performance.

Sudha Kongara delivers an honest script without much fuss and with no compromise. Her detailed research on boxing is clearly evident from the never ending list of boxers in the end credits - a trendsetting lady filmmaker.

Bottomline - Irudhi Suttru, tadoun tadoun tadoun tadoun taaandoun tatatadoun! (Santhosh Narayanan effect)

Rajini Murugan - Harmless Fun Guaranteed!

Of late, there are new rituals followed in Tamizh cinema for a movie's promotion - a title release - a first look release - a single release - a teaser release - an audio release - a trailer release - interviews and promos - film release. And there is equal share of hurdles that come up for the producers to bring their film to the big screens. "Rajini Murugan" has faced both. Right from its inception till its release, the film garnered huge expectations. A film running with packed houses even after a week of its release - where did all these expectations start? Of course, in its title - Rajini Murugan.

Siva Karthikeyan, after his commercial outing Kaaki Sattai comes back to what he is best at. VVS team is back with their VVS 2.0, with a huge star cast this time. Soori, after a forgettable 2015, makes a comeback with this movie. His combination with Siva works for the second time and they provide a lot of lighter moments. Keerthy Suresh plays a girl-next-door role. Though the scope of her role is limited here, she is here to stay. 

Siva karthikeyan's improvisation of dialogues are clearly evident and his timing elevates the scene to a delightful state. His choice of scripts are amazing, so does his confidence in delivering comical scenes. Raj Kiran and Samudhirakani carry the movie on their shoulders, with Siva and Soori pitching in perfectly. For the first time, Raj Kiran serves as an entertainer. There are few places where Raj Kiran's comical side pops in and it is a treat to watch. This film gives a brand-new Raj Kiran for us. Samudhirakani plays a comical villain, one more sample for his versatility. 

There is one more ingredient which makes this movie, a perfect entertainer. Aptly titled, there are Rajinikanth's dialogues placed throughout the movie which provide an ambience for the scenes to move forward, a definite value addition to the movie's strengths. A movie with zero double meaning dialogues and zero intimate scenes is possible - Director Ponram's efforts to bring out a simple yet entertaining film is praise-worthy. The dialogues are masterly penned and they easily cover up the lack of storyline. There are few moments which try to preach, but those come in with humor too - rightly but lightly delivered. Lastly, the climax twist - Ponram delivers a comical twist and makes the movie even simpler! 

Bottomline - Harmless fun guaranteed... Nambi poanga, Sandhoshama vaanga!

Kathakali - A Pandiraj Experimentation!

After his recent hit "Pasanga-2", the kids specialist comes out of his comfort zone for the first time with a thriller, a whodunit one, a rarity in Tamizh cinema. Pandiraj, known for his movies with the "humour" tag ventures into the action platform for the first time with a perfect action hero on board. With a well-trimmed trailer of Kathakali releasing a few weeks back, has Pandiraj lived up to the expectations in the longer version? 

Kathakali starts with Balasubramaniem's brilliant top-angle shot of the sea, a sample of the technical brilliance behind the scenes. After the voice-over introduction of the principal character "Thamba", the film takes a dip featuring an intro song with the usual carnival backdrop. The first half of the film takes a fairly long time establishing the plot, often disturbed by the romance portions. Catherine Tresa as Meenukutty gets a very weak role and poor dubbing, a movie to forget after her much-acclaimed performance as a North Madras girl in Madras. Vishal fails to impress in the first half, as he tries to woo Meenukutty most of the time. Karunas, as Vishal's friend provides a few lighter moments. Samudhirakani's voice-over for Thamba is worth mentioning for the intensity it adds to the character. With a weak screenplay, first half tests your patience. With a lot of compromise made in the first half, the film rope-walks on a thin line suspense - "Who killed Thamba?"

Thamba, a local bigwig in Cuddalore gets killed and Vishal is finger-pointed for the murder. There are streaks of flashback scenes peeping in, involving Vishal's family and Thamba, hinting at some kind of enmity. Vishal has a motive, so does a bunch of others around him. Close to the intermission, you realise that Pandiraj has set up a brilliant plot with a lot of knots to be unravelled later, in spite of the fairly large share of compromises made. Vishal's much needed transformation comes and from then on, the movie picks up pace. Pandiraj begins the guessing game and keeps the audience engaged.

Pandiraj's Kathakali transforms into a dark thriller in the second half with the guessing game still on. Vishal's role with the portrayal of his close bonding with his family reminds us of his Pandiya Naadu and Paayum Puli. Hip-hop Tamizha's Kathakali whistle elevates the scenes and enlarges Vishal's action hero image. The selfie-scene post the action sequence with the local thugs provides the much needed mass-appeal. The question marked face of the killer justifies the title "Kathakali" -  a dance form involving masked faces. The flow of the movie is unadulterated in the second half and is free-flowing. With tightly knitted scenes, the movie is catapulted into an intriguing suspense. A lot of underplaying moments gives a whole new experience. The unexpected twists towards the fag end of the movie gives a decent finish to the movie. The second half of the movie makes it a one-time watch, it would have been a well etched thriller if not for the disturbing first half.

Bottomline - An experimental film from Pandiraj with a fresh genre and novel-like treatment let down by compromise on the commercial elements!

தமிழ்

பன்மொழிகள் இவ்வுலகில் தோன்றி மறைந்தும்,
தொண்மொழி எங்கள் தமிழும் பாரும்!
தென்பரத நாட்டில் முடங்கிய போதும்,
வான்புகழ் கொண்ட செம்மொழி ஆகும்!

ஆயிரம் மழைத்துளி கடலில் சேரும்,
அதிலொரு துளி மட்டும் முத்தாய் மாறும்,
ஆயிரம் கவிகள் இப்புவியில் பிறந்தும்,
இருவரியில் புவி தந்தக் கவியும் பாரும்!

இசையும் மொழியே என்பார் பலரும்,
தமிழும் இசையே என்பேன் நானும்!
தமிழ் மெல்லச் செத்தது போதும்,
மறுபிறவி கொண்டு செழித்திட காண்போம்!

எழுத்து & எண்ணம்,
அருண் பாரதி சுவாமிநாதன்

Vaigaipuyal Vadivelu - An Invisible Member Of Family Ration Cards

What has changed in my conversations from 8 years back to now? What has changed in Tamizh Cinema from 8 years back to now? These questions had one surprisingly common answer - Vaigaipuyal Vadivelu. An 8-year hit movie drought for Vadivelu. The usage of Vadivelu dialogues in our day to day conversations with friends and family. Despite the 8-year hit movie drought, Vadivelu has managed to cling on to our minds. How many of you use Vadivelu's one-liners everyday? Almost everyone, almost everyday. If there is a survey for the usage of Tamizh film dialogues in day-to-day life, Vadivelu's one-liners are sure to top the charts. Sometimes, most of us will be trying to find opportunities to use his dialogue to make the atmosphere delightful. "Ithugalum nammala follow panuthae!" How does Vadivelu sustain the craze even today?

Vadivelu started his career with Rajkiran's "En Rasavin Manasile" as a sidekick to legendary comedian Koundamani. With the few screen appearances which he was given, he managed to grab the audience's eye. Singaravelan is one sample. "Wowww... Sattae melae evlooo buttaen" is still one trending dialogue in social media. His roles transformed and he bagged big roles and big movies. A director who doesn't believe in separate comedy tracks in his movies, Bharathi Raja maintained a separate comedy track for Vadivelu in "Kizhakku Cheemaiyilae". That is the extent of his reach among the theatre going audience.

In the 2000s, Vadivelu's career graph reached its peak and he delivered back to back hit comedy tracks. He was celebrated by the masses in the theatres. There were heroes who waited for his call sheet before signing up a movie. There were movies which became blockbusters just because of one name - Vaigaipuyal Vadivelu. His combination with mainstream heroes still has no replacement. His on-screen chemistry with the entire cast of a film has a high success ratio, be it a superstar or a heroine or a supporting actor. We have seen him as a building contractor, a conductor, a rowdy, a don, a beggar, a police constable, a fisherman, a call centre employee, an auto-driver, a politician, a king, a grave digger and the list goes on and on. He has probably performed more diverse roles than Ulaganayagan Kamalhaasan in his 24 year film career. His comedies are a huge hit. His one word "Aahaan" was all over FB at the start of 2015. Only those who follow Tamizh Cinema know that the "Aahaan" comedy released in 2007. A film that runs 100 - 200 days is called a blockbuster. What should a scene which trends on all social networks and all TV channels even after 8 years from its release be called?

Everything he does - his introduction scene, his facial expressions, his body language while delivering punchlines, his dialogue delivery, his tone modulation, his famous one-liners, even his interjections makes the theatre crowd burst out with laughter. The last line has his skill set just for comedy. He has also shined as a supporting actor and he has outperformed the rest of the cast in many emotional sequences. Vadivelu has also lent his voice for a handful of songs. His voice is almost perfect for the "gaana" genre which is again justified by his rural origin. 

How does he manage to pull off such rib-tickling, crowd pleasing comedy scenes? He replies to this question in one of his interviews. The dialogues, interjections, reactions, body language come out of his observation skills. He observes interesting characters and people he comes across everyday and reflect their mannerisms on-screen. No wonder, there is a real taste of nativity and authenticity in his acting. His accent and slang have the authenticity which easily relates him to the common man we see everyday.He can give 4 different reactions in a split of 4 consecutive frames. The split second change in reaction itself is a treat to watch.

"London la lotaayi lobby aairuva", "Oor la ulla ellaa sub jail-layum, en subject ah thaandaa paadama vechu nadathurainga en sipppss eh!", "Ellathayum visaarichitu thaanda vanthu aerirukom en jeans eh!", "Aama.. Naama laam periya lord langodu" - the words chips, jeans, lobby, lord langodu doesn't mean anything in his context, but you still sit and enjoy these, you may also use one of these with your friends. His dialogues have become a household, with kids, youngsters and adults using them often. In the past year, there have been atleast 5-10 movie titles with Vadivelu's dialogues.
 

Originating from a small village in the outskirts of Madurai, he has become the most popular actor from Tamizh Cinema and he has reached each and every house in Tamizh Nadu with his omnipresence in television. With the onset of memes era in Facebook and Twitter, Vadivelu holds the major share of memes posted. His dialogues, screenshots of his body language, images of his facial expressions, sequence of his comedy scenes prove the reach he has with the Tamizh audience. When you read a Vadivelu meme posted online, you will always read it in his slang. Yes, that comes out involuntarily. 

His stint with politics was short-lived and he took a 2 year break. Tamizh Cinema had sidelined him with the onset of new comedians during this period. His comeback wagons "Tenali Raman" and "Eli" backfired. There are people who still get reminded of Vadivelu when they see a weak comical scene in the theatres. I am one among them. "End card poatu egathaalaamaa da panringa... enaku end ae kedaiyaathu da!"

After a bad day at office, you reach home very late. Everyone at home has slept. Barely in need of a company to vent out the mounted pressure and stress, you find in front of you, the TV remote. You switch on the TV and the last viewed channel pops up. "Vandhutaanyaa... Vandhutaanyaa..." - this dialogue welcomes you home and for the first time in last fourteen and half hours, your face gets a smile. You watch the whole comedy and not an instant did the smile go away. Vadivelu is the best stress buster!

After the launch of 24x7 comedy channels in Tamizh, Vadivelu has become a household member. Atleast every 10 minutes, his comedy runs in one or the other comedy channel. Over the weekends, when you're enjoying his comedy in TV, try to reduce the volume in your TV to inaudible levels. You will still hear his voice crystal clear - either in your mind or from the TV in your neighbouring house. You can switch on your TV set or scroll through your news feed only to agree with this undeniable truth. Vaigaipuyal Vadivelu is undoubtedly the Superstar of comedy! His throne is going to remain empty until his comeback!

An apt line written for Vadivelu in one of his songs -

"பிறர் சிரிக்க பார்த்து சிரிப்பேன்
அவர் மொகத்த பார்த்து ரசிப்பேன்
அதில் இருக்கும் சொகத்த நெனச்சு நெனச்சு கண்ணீர் வடிப்பேன்
அதில் கவலை மறப்பேன்
என் கலையும் இதுதான்
என் தொழிலும் இதுதான்"

"Nallaa thaane sollirukaan... Nallaa kanichu thaanae yaa solirukaan!" 

- Arun Bharathi, a member of Vadivelu's Varuthapadatha vaalibar sangam.


Edited version of this article published in Behindwoods - Behindwoods Article


Thanks - Vaigaipuyal Vadivelu, Troll Cinema, Swameme