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