Simbu(STR) Sung a song for Mahabalipuram Movie

Simbu(STR) Sung a song for Mahabalipuram Movie

STR sung a song for the movie Mahabalipuram, produced by Vinayak in which he himself plays a role.. Mahabalipuram is being directed by Don Sandy who earlier assisted Director Boopathy Pandian…

The Film has music composed by “K” of Mugamoodi and Yudham Sei fame and Lyrics penned by Yugabarathi…

The Specialty of this song is that it’s a New Year Song and expected to release for this New Year…

Biriyani Movie Review

Staring : Karthi, Hansika, Premgi

Director : Venkat Prabhu

Music : Yuvan Shankar Raja

Production : Studio Green

Director Venkat Prabhu has a rare distinction as a non-linear story-teller. Be it Saroja or Mankatha, he induced his trademark style in the narrative. In Biriyani, he took a linear route with some sparks of connecting the dots game during the climax. In all his previous outings, the master-stroke lies in the black comedy he manages to generate without going overboard. Here too, backed by some fine performances, he pulled it off with finesse. The movie is also a litmus test for Karthi after going through a lean patch in this year, and comes out with flying colors in this spicy offering.

The film explodes with a ‘Men at Work – Take Diversion’ board and the smoke trail leads to a flashback that paved way for all the comic elements in the film. The creative touch of the director is seen right from the first frame when he gives credit to himself – a Venkat Prabhu diet – on a traffic police barricade. This one is followed by a chase involving Karthi and his friend Premji Amaran. The latter narrates the story in a flashback mode. Get ready for more of ‘Flashback’ and ‘Live’ cards on screen.

Karthi is cool and goes easy on girls. It takes him few seconds to woo someone. Not only that, girls give him a rating of 12/10! Moving with him Premji sees no chance to find love as he plays spoilsport always. This attitude becomes the causative factor for a strained relationship with his girlfriend played by Hansika. On the other side, he goes to a town to help his would-be brother-in-law in his business (Heavy product placement of Mahindra can be seen here). The follow of events and his fetish for biriyani puts him in deep soup. The rest of the story revolves around how Karthi sets things right.

The first half of the film never gives an inkling of a thriller. It fills the air with comedy and romance and just when the film is inching towards the interval the film shifts gears and slips into a thriller zone. The second half is where the entire core lies in. Many creative ‘black comedy’ elements hit you in the face. Even a sad situation was not spared to tickle the funny bone. The director rewrites an unwritten rule that comic episodes can be built with many characters. Here, he uses only two characters in problematic surroundings to bring the house down.

Venkat Prabhu packs a lot of concepts in the songs. He effortlessly laces them with extra gloss to make them more appealing. In one song you can see freeze frames, underwater singing, and in the other you can feel the retro vibe. One is targeted at the front benchers and the others act as catalysts for the narration. Yuvan Shankar Raja hits a century with Biriyani, and he is credited for this at the beginning. He becomes a pivotal cog in the film’s wheel and his background score knew no bounds and blends with the proceedings. The way he conjures myriad pieces is laudable.

A few surprises come in late and you would be eager to see where the story is headed. Though the movie is replete with creative treatment, the masala staples become unavoidable. A fight sequence becomes mandatory for the hero – even in the climax when the suspense unfolds. Even some unwarranted scenes bring down the pace. The assassin / hit woman is a faint reference to many Hollywood films and some are archetypal Guy Ritchie.

Karthi has a worldly charm. He takes you through a wide array of emotions and expressions. He is playful at the start, moves into a confused zone when the film hits the midpoint; his true grit and intensity surfaces towards the end. Premji does what he is good at – make a mockery of him, and try to break the barrier of tolerance. In a finely crafted role, he complements Karthi in every act. Hansika has little to offer and lightens the screen only in a couple of songs. Nasser gets to do a comic act in the climax.

Biriyani is a taut thriller with some loose ends. The way the suspense unfolds in a simplistic way may be unpalatable. Even most of the scenes give a feeling of déjà vu. While it’s refreshing to see a film-maker refine a format, on the other side it’s painstaking that he can’t do away with force-fit commercial elements. But Venkat Prabhu must be applauded for the way he has embedded a wafer-thin story line in multiple layers of entertainment. He climbs a few notches in the ‘black comedy’ thriller genre.

Verdict : Spicy offering in a linear mode!!

Endrendrum Punnagai Movie Review

Staring : Jiiva,Trisha, Andrea, Vinay, Santhanam

Director : Ahmed

Music : Harris Jayaraj

Production : Red Giant Movies

“Endrendrum Punnagai” is not a film about the lives of three friends; it is about one despicable, self-centered and maddeningly unreasonable man who happens to have two friends. Gowtham, Sri and Baby are inseparable chaddi-buddies who run an advertising agency together. Due to his Mommy issues, Gowtham has a strong aversion towards womankind and, for some reason, expects his friends to remain bachelors for their life. Due to his Daddy issues, Gowtham is not on speaking terms anymore with his Father. Time decides to test their friendship.

Gowtham is a self-entitled prick who wouldn’t talk to his Father but continues to live in his bungalow and shamelessly drives around in a BMW which he could not have earned. I have seriously begun to wonder why Jiiva is so open to playing characters with a tendency to often be a complete asshole. I had same issues with how his character treated the girl he fancied in “Siva Manasula Sakthi”. Most people who watched theat film for just its comedy didn’t take offense because, to them, SMS stood for “Siva Manasula Santhanam”. The way his Gowtham casually disposes his lifelong friends for something so petty, “Endrendrum Punnagai” only keeps giving you more and more reasons to hate him. Blaming his Mommy issues for his unreasonable and pathetic attitude is such a convenient excuse. I sort of know what it feels like to lose a close friend, but the film offered me no reason to relate to it.

With Andrea’s Soniya and Trisha’s Priya, “Endrendrum Punnagai” glorifies the preexisting Virgin-Whore dichotomy in female characterizations in our films. While one is an absurdly promiscuous woman who hornily bites the ear of the man she met for the first time a few minutes ago, the other is a pushover in Salwar Kameez who cries for something that’s not her fault. Even within the context of its casual slut-shaming, the character of Soniya, besides being completely irrelevant to the plot, is made out to be a total bitch who halts a shooting of an ad-film in Europe for bafflingly random power trips.

In order to please the lowest common denominator, and because the male point of view is all that matters, the film continues to bash the wives for turning marriages into a living hell. One friend of Gowtham who was very much in love and hopeful before his wedding is now saying, “phone eh vai di, tortue pannatha!” to his wife of few months. Even Gowtham’s Mother is referred to as the Odi Pona Amma by everyone in the film, including his Father. Who even knows what happened there? Sri and Baby reveal to Gowtham that they got married because that was his father’s last wish. Then what about the lives of the women they are married to? They didn’t sign up for a lifetime with sexist alcoholics. Why is Director Ahmed so deeply misogynistic?

At the end, Gowtham doesn’t tell Priya that she makes him want to be a better person. Instead, he thanks her for changing him into a “nalla manushan”. It’s done and dusted, apparently. After all that he has done to the people around him, Gowtham is completely undeserving of happiness- not so soon, anyway. But because he is the “hero”, the film lets him off the hook way too easily. He makes up with his Father and even gets the girl he so doesn’t deserve. Besides awful product placements and useless America mapillais, it is the shoehorned character transformation that’s keeping this love story from rising above clichés.

Verdict – Endrendrum Punnagai is a predictable, under-achieving RomCom with a very unlikable lead character.

Vidiyum Munn Movie Review

Starring : Pooja, Amarendran, John Vijay

Direction : Balajee Kumar

Music : Girish Gopalakrishnan

Production : Javeed Khayum

Although inspired by British thriller ‘London to Brighton’, debutant Balaji K Kumar’s Vidiyum Munn is a cut above the rest of the Tamil films of the recent past. It’s bold, daring and treads a path very few films would ever attempt to walk on. Unlike several films in the same genre, VM stands out because its treatment is distinctly unique, be it the color tones or the constant use of VFX, it uses it effectively in its favour.

A hooker named Rekha (Pooja) while trying to save a 12-year old Nandini (Malavika) commits the biggest mistake of her life and flees the town. She is chased down by her pimp and his close friend, who have to produce her along with the girl in the next 24 hours to avoid being killed. What mistake has Rekha committed? Who has given the pimp an ultimatum to capture Rekha and Nandini? All this forms the rest of the story.

The film’s narrative is slow but the suspense which I think was brilliantly managed throughout the film keeps you hooked from start to finish. While most thrillers across any language tend to break the suspense right before the interval bang, VM steers away from such clichés and unveils the suspense only at the later stage of the film.

The film isn’t a frame-to-frame copy but does feature scenes that look similar for all those who may have watched the original. It’s also probably the film’s title cards doesn’t even include story, while screenplay and direction was done by Balaji. Thankfully, VM has a strong cast that holds the film together and never let its narrative pace cause much of a problem. Balaji deserves special mention for choosing actors who just didn’t act but lived in their roles.

Pooja and Malavika shine in their respective roles. While I had some issue with the dialogue delivery of Pooja, I think she made a very strong comeback. Malavika, the child artist, can indeed act and will leave you stunned with her performance.

Vinoth Kishan plays the baddie but I liked him more in ‘Naan Mahan Alla”, in which he was meaner. John Vijay evokes sporadic laughter but kind of mouths the same dialogues over and over again, and therefore, gets boring to watch after a while.

The film’s music elevates the overall visual experience of VM, which is further heightened by the fitting background score. Composer Girishh’s tunes are apt and are place at the right junctures in the film never breaking the flow of the narrative.

If Tamil industry ever aspires to make parallel films not with the intention of entertaining audiences, it should probably use VM as an example. Balaji Kumar takes a baby step film towards parallel cinema with VM, which needs audience with some intellect to watch and appreciate.

Verdict – VM is a baby step towards parallel cinema in Tamil

Kalyana Samayal Saadham Movie Review

Starring : Lekha Washington, Prasanna, Delhi Ganesh, Uma Padmanaban

Direction : RS Prasanna

Music : Arrora

Production : Ananth Govindan, Arun Vaidyanathan

Arranged Marriages are like dark clouds looming over the heads of self-respecting single people in their mid to late 20s. There’s a degree of helplessness about letting parents find the “right” partner, but there’s also this sense of inevitability attached to it. Spending a lifetime with someone you know well is itself a frightful prospect; doing the same with a total stranger is most likely to be worse. But it has been happening all around us and most marriages seem to tick. “Kalyana Samayal Saadham” is the story of a girl of “marriageable age” and a boy with a sick grandparent, who are gently nudged into matrimony by their parents.

This is not a film where the man and the woman discover their platinum day of love a year after the wedding. Here are two people who have been hitched by the family, trying to find reasons to fall for each other. Meera Chandrasekaran (Lekha Washington) and Raghu Vishwanathan (Prasanna) start “dating” after getting engaged, but it’s not until Raghu’s kind, albeit overly dramatic, gesture to help his would-be father-in-law from a sticky situation that he wins Meera’s heart. They’re just a couple of months away from the wedding and they couldn’t be happier. Right on cue, we learn about Raghu’s inability to perform in bed.

Thankfully, the film is not too uptight about dealing with a problem which is inarguably delicate. It finds the right balance between humor and earnestness. Besides helping him find a solution to the problem, Raghu’s friends (who are all very memorable) continue to pull his leg because that’s what friends do. From dubious quacks, sleazeball gemologists to reputed sexologists, they leave no options unchecked. The film creates this problem to see how it impacts Raghu and Meera’s relationship. It surely hurts them but the characters are so matured about it that it makes the film all the more fascinating.

In a scene where the film reaches its emotional peak, a dozen negligible resentments build up and come to the fore ensuing an argument. A seemingly broad-minded Raghu plays the ‘we-didn’t-make-any-demands’ card in the middle of an argument, accusing Meera of being ungrateful and thankless. She calls him a mama’s boy who is unable to stand up for her and himself, going on to call him something truly hurtful. It’s striking how the argument slowly keeps blowing bigger and bigger before things get said in the heat of the moment which cannot be taken back. At that moment, I asked myself if I wanted these two to make up and be happy. The answer was a yes, and I think that is exactly what this film was going for.

If there is one movie that gets the upper middle class Tambrahm family setting right, it is “Kalyana Samayal Saadham”. Instead of stereotypical caricatures who eat vadu-maanga/thayir-saadham and say stuff like “Aathuku varela?”, characters, here, are given these tiny traits which you instantly recognize. Like that one scene where you can clearly see inner vest sticking out from under Meera’s brother’s tee shirt. I mean, damn! I have Iyer friends who are just like that. In another scene, at a party, Raghu’s friend asks Meera whether her friend went to the KK Nagar branch of PSBB or to the Main School. It’s so heartening to such a pakka Chennai film with these esoteric jokes which someone like me can privately relish.

One of my few gripes with the film is the presence of a few vile aunties who are too intent to spread malice. They leave a bad taste in the mouth and the film could have done without those conspicuously negative elements. But on the other hand, it does good Raghav’s NRI character. There are minor structural issues near the end as the film, which was mostly rooted in reality, took a rather filmy turn. It might work for you, but I found it a bit too syrupy. Call me old fashioned but the traditional wedding was infinitely more beautiful compared to the one in the middle of nowhere.

Verdict – Kalyana Samayal Saadham is a lovely little film featuring some matured writing and performances.

Thagararu Movie Review

Starring : Arulnidhi, Poorna

Direction : Ganesh Vinayak

Music : Dharan Kumar

Production : Meeka entertainment

In Thagaraaru, Director Ganesh Vinaayac picks Madurai as his backdrop to tell the tale of four petty thieves who find themselves in the midst of the city’s history of violence and aggression.

The band of brothers, Arulnidhi, Murugadoss, Pavanji and Sulile Kumar, led by professional practices and a series of events find themselves warring with one of the most notorious men in Madurai. As it turns out, there are others vying to take out this gang of thieves as well. Somewhere between all this, the director cooks up a love-at-first-touch romance between Arulnidhi and Poorna along with some limp comedy to make up the first half. The interval block does build up well and promises more.

As far as performances go, within the thieving gang, Arulnidhi comes across as the baby-faced dare devil criminal and one feels that he could have put his imposing height and frame to better use. He’s tried to come out of his quiet-persona mould. Dancing too is an area that he needs to look into. The other guys in the gang, played by Murugadoss, Sulile Kumar and Pavanji, are all well cast as they look and play their parts aptly. Poorna finds herself in a role that could potentially have a lot of people talking about her, but it feels that the presentation of her character demanded a little more attention from the director.

The intent that Ganesh Vinayaac shows during Nanba Nanba song to drive home the bonding and friendship is commendable and the same amount of intent ought to have been given to nurture the romantic angle which then would have played a huge part in creating the impetus in the climax. Also, instead of making the second half a gripping narrative that unearths several clues, it plays out as a long drawn out melodramatic affair filled with kicking and screaming in the rain making the 2 hr and 15 min film feel a tad longer than it should.

Dhill Rajg’s cinematography makes an impact with his close-ups and low angle shots while T.S.Suresh pulls off the task of editing a long and tense climax. Dharan’s songs are lively while Praveen Sathya’s re-recording in the second half is noteworthy. In a film where there’s plenty of sickle waving, the stunt master, Dhillip Subbarayan gives the action blocks some cinematic moments and also marginally excess violence, leading to the film’s U/A certification.

Those who bask in Madurai fanaticism will have some takeaway from Thagaraaru, the rest will be left without caring for the characters or their motives.

Verdict : Thagaraaru has its share of madurai violence, friendship and cliches, but is a one time watch for its climax

Mankatha 2 Story is Ready – Dhayanidhi Alagiri

Our KT fans would remember that there was a big buzz surrounding Mankatha 2, Rumors were going around that Venkat Prabhu had roped in Chiyaan Vikram to be part of this sequel alongside Thala. The Producer of the movie Dhayanidhi Alagiri of Cloud Nine Movies banner in a recent interview spoke about Mankatha 2
“The fact that people are still talking about Mankatha 2 shows the grand scale of victory Mankatha achieved. People can never such a movie and I want to make sure that Brand Mankatha stays forever in people’s mind. The sequel might happen in future but as of now we haven’t started any discussions. However Venkat Prabhu has already completed the plot for the sequel. To me Ajith signifies Mass in Tamil Nadu”.

Samantha warned by Nagaarjuna

Samantha Ruth Prabhu is one of the most active heroine in social media, she regularly updates about her personal as well as her professional life. Samantha is currently acting is one of the biggest project in Tollywood which stars the three generations of Akkineni family in Manam, Akkineni Nageswara Rao, Nagarjuna and his son Naga Chaitanya. The movie is also produced by Nagarjuna under their Annapurna Banner.
Recently the Tollywood star was shocked to discover that the details about his character in Manam has been leaked. On inquiry, the actor found out that it was Samantha who unknowingly divulged the info through her twitter posts. He immediately contacted Samantha and asked her not to indulge in such acts and not to release information without his permission.
There is also some media reports that Nagarjuna totally lashed out against the actress who came away in tears from the meeting.

Rana to dating with Ragini Dwivedi now ?

The latest buzz in Tollywood industry is that Ragini Dwivedi supposedly has found a new special person in her life – who is none other than the Tollywood hunk Rana Daggubati. Sources claim Ragini has been making frequent trips to Hyderabad and Mumbai to see Rana, while the latter makes trips to Bangalore to meet Ragini.
The couple are however sticking to their ‘We are just Good Friends’ tag and are even uploading pics of themselves together on social media. The actress was previously linked up with Kannada actor Yogi while Rana-Trisha episode is still a hot topic in K’Town.

Sunny Leone Performing Item Song in Jai Movie

Actor Jai is a wanted man in Kollywood after his impressive performance in Raja Rani, The actor’s Naveena Saraswathi Sabatham is slated for release next Friday. The actor also holds an intresting project tilted Vadacurry with actress Swathi directed by Saravana Rajan a former associate of Venkat Prabhu. The latest buzz on the project is that the online sensation Sunny Leone has been roped in. Dhaya Alagiri of Meeka Entertainment made this tweet

Irandam Ulagam Movie Review

Starring : Arya, Anushka

Direction : Selvaraghavan

Music : Harris Jayaraj

BGM Score : Anirudh

Production : PVP
Irandam Ulagam (Tamil) / Varna (Telugu) is all about how the past can subsume the present, how weakness can coexist with resilience, how lyrical can run alongside the sinister, and how far can you travel to find your love. But what could have been a rare equilibrium in a mystical land ends up in rigmarole of ‘spot the difference’ or ‘understand the plot’ kind of story.

The premise says that without love the human race can’t flourish and somewhere down the lane it says ‘love is eternal’. Right from the word go, in a ‘graphic mode’, the movie charts the preaching terrain. The movie shifts between THIS (terrestrial) world and THAT (celestial) world and the first half moves slowly with decent intercuts between the two worlds. The movie is a two-world labyrinth and in the end there’s a third one added to that. Director Selva Raghavan (aka Sri Raghava) fails to give a proper justification for the space and time, and its path meanders out of the realm of trees, forests, mountains, castles, snow-capped mountains into varied panoramas.

Irandam Ulagam / Varna is the tale of a young doctor (played by Arya) and his colleague (played by Anushka), in this world, sharing a companionship and the dream-world of eternal togetherness. The chain of events is set in a sluggish motion that relentlessly leads him to a point (in both worlds) from where the story takes a volte-face. Both the characters in the two worlds get estranged in a similar situation. Hope you are darn confused to understand the story. Don’t worry, there are many people still racking their brains as what the story is?

The second half is all set in ‘that’ world. Though the locales breathe some life into that world, the narration makes it mundane. As the film progresses, every new scene saps its essence drop by drop. Arya’s character juggles between two worlds adding more confusion. It’s surprising to see no change in the behavioral traits of the people as per the eco-system of the respective worlds and this fails to bring a stark contrast. Even in that world people are stuck in the vortex of family ties, quarrels with spouses, brawl with neighbors amid not knowing about love. In a sheer artificial way, all the earthly emotions surface from Anushka’s character during the climax.

Selva Raghavan picks up the right idiosyncrasies for his characters, but fails miserably to give believable traits and a proper arc. You fix your eyes only on Arya and Anushka, as they are the only noticeable faces in the entire film. The other members of the cast cease to exist. The scenarios and song placements are so silly that you feel there are thorns on your seat.

The movie can be lauded for its visuals and its background score, which is melodious and lilting. But you can’t see some fine gems coming from the repertoire of Anirudh Ravichander biting the dust in insipid scenes. Harris Jayraj is unimpressive with his music. One or two good melodies (including the Hotel California inspired track) fall prey to poor timing and bad execution. Camerawork by Ramji is classy and welcoming, so as the art direction and graphics work. The snowfall sequence has been canned well with picture perfect framing.

It seems the director uses and reuses only one template and just changes the set-pieces here and there. He should learn that stupendous visual effects can’t hide silly writing. Irandam Ulagam / Varna is a classic example of his imagination and intent to tell an emotional story going haywire. In a scene, Anushka says she is a free bird and nobody can curtail her freedom. Then what’s the reason behind director Selva Raghavan killing an exotic bird, by peeling it feather by feather, in a two-world labyrinth!

Verdict – It’s like killing an exotic bird, by peeling it feather by feather, in a two-world labyrinth!! Stay away from it.

Irukku Aana Illa Audio Launch News

Varam Creations maiden venture IRUKKU AANA ILLA, audio launch function opened to a packed audience of 750 people at Cambridge school auditorium, Kuwait on 22nd Nov.
A well planned program showcased the songs from the film as Lyric video, Audio songs coupled with dance and as a Video song. Music director Shammeer, a new entrant to Cinemas, proved his skill in each number.
The cast flew down from Chennai for the program. The newcomers in the film are Director K.M.Saravanan, Music director Shammeer, Hero Vivanth, Heroine Manisha, Lyricist NavinKannan& Singer AnanyaThirumalai. The crew also has Heroine Eden, Cinematographer Kris Chandar and Executive Producer Kalaignani.
Aadhavan&Priyadarshini kept the audience engaged with the interaction of artists interspersed with the songs. Deepak sang a lovely number “IdhuEnna” that mesmerized the packed house.YGMahendran, who could not be present had sent a video message to the audience. He is doing an important role in the film.
A different approach was taken to give an opportunity to poets in Kuwait. A Lyricist from Kuwait SengaiNilavan was selected from 15 that participated in the contest. The result was announced on stage & the happiness of the winner was evident!!
Dr. PariVendhar, Chancellor & founder of SRM university graced the occasion, spoke encouraging words about the film and released the Audio. The audio was received by Kuwaiti businessman.
The producers, all NRI’s from Kuwait had organized a delicious spread for the audience !!

Anushka is one actress who is not at all selfish – Samantha

Contemporaries in tinsel town heaping praises on each other is a rare sight, Particularly when two leading heroines are involved in such a act..Headlines are bound to be the end result.
Actress Samantha who is one of the leading ladies of Tollywood was all praises for Anushka, She said Anushka is one actress who is not at all selfish. Samantha added Anushka would give enough importance to the character she is playing and there has not been one time where Anushka has insisted that her role be made prominent in the movie. Sam added it was this unique quality that Anushka is still a dominating force in Tollywood.

Suriya Next is Like Baasha ?

Surya’s next big film with Lingusamy has started rolling in Mumbai. Sources say Surya will be sporting two different looks in the movie and the story of the film will be very much on the likes of Superstar’s Baasha. Another similarity is that majority of this Untitled Surya flick will be set in Mumbai.
This movie also marks the Kollywood comeback of Samantha Ruth Prabhu. The stellar cast includes Manoj Bajpai and Vidyut Jamwal. Yuvan Shankar Raja scores the music for this Linguswamy’s Production Venture.

Nayanthara Salary is Now Two Crores

After the infamous break up with Prabhu Deva, Actress Nayanthara career has taken yet another stellar rise with back to back blockbusters in Raja Rani and Arrambam. The Actress is currently into Idhu Kathirvelan Kadhal with Udhayanidhi Stalin which is directed by Sundara Pandiyan fame Prabhakaran. According to reports Nayanthara was paid a remuneration of One Crore and 40 Lakhs for the movie.
However Nayanthara was then paid a whopping amount of 2 crores for the bilingual remake of Vidya Balan’s Kahaani. Sources add the Kollywood beauty also demanded the same amount to pair up with STR in Director Pandiraj’s untitled flick. Nayanthara is currently the highest paid actress in all of Kollywood, No wonder people call her the Lady Superstar !

Pizza2 The Villa Movie Review

Starring : Ashok Selvan, Sanchita Shetty

Direction : Deepan Chakravarthy

Music : Santhosh Narayanan

Production : Thirukumaran Entertainments

Synopsis
Desolated over the demise of his father (Nasser), the 30-yr old writer Jabin (Ashok Selvan) is dashed with his hopes. With his father’s assets soon to be shifted into others’ hands, he is surprised on hearing from a lawyer that he has a gigantic Villa in Pondicherry. Things turn to be favourable for Jabin as he gets his first novel published and the parents of his girlfriend Aarthi (Sanchitha Shetty) give a nod to their marriage. As the tables turn, the horror side of Villa unveils as a bunch of painting burried in a store room forecasts the future of Jabin, his success, downfall and a danger that awaits his sweetheart.

Story, screenplay, dialogues and direction
If Pizza 2 – Villa was a novel, I’m sure it would have been a top-notch novel catering to the taste of horror story buffs. It has such a treatment that it looks fantastic on papers, but the translation into pictures has some minor issues. The problem is that Deepan Chakravarthy had asssured that it’s going to be a ‘fantasy-thriller’ laced with some horror elements. Well, Fantasy, Thriller and Horror factors would easily excite us and here you won’t find its presence to a greater magnitude. The film has a running length of 1hr.45 minutes, but the engaging moments are confined to just 20 minutes. It’s a huge applause in theatres when you see the title PIZZA 2 – VILLA appears oncreen followed by the spine-shuddering interval. Of course, climax becomes the mosts intriguing part of this screenplay with the twist that comes in form of SJ Surya. Nevertheless, it looks like Deepan has given more importance to the research of black magic, positive and negative vibrations with the tags of famous scientists.

Performance
Ashok Selvan slightly disappoints us. No actor would get such a powerful character in his second movie and he could have utilised it a better way. Sanchitha Shetty looks beautiful and her performance, especially during the climax is brilliant. SJ Surya’s entry during climax and how he gets linked into this perplexed drama is awesome. The actor in the role of researcher doesn’t get complete attention and Michael as Ashok’s friend looks doubtful throughout the movie.

Technical aspects
The makers have given more emphasis on sound as they have done sound script to nurture the ‘DOLBY ATMOS’ effect. That’s good, but too many ‘Crow and Wind’ sounds merely to generate the spooky feel hampers the film. However, certain sound effects really deserve special mentioning. The CG works on painting boards is an additional attraction.. Deepak’s camera works are good, but his usage of ‘Dutch Angle’ to exhibit horror is something we are seeing for decades onscreen in supernatural thrillers. There are no additional songs and almost all the tracks occur as background score.

Final Word 
Pizza 2 – Villa is a new attempt in Tamil cinema and the entire team appreciations for their earnest efforts. But we do find the amateur elements prevailing in the screenplay and characterization and if it was nurtured with best attempt, the film would have been a pioneer in new genre.

Verdict : Pizza 2 – Villa is a new attempt in Tamil cinema

Simbhu and Nayanthara Pairs Up Again

The biggest breaking news in Kollywood is that STR and Nayanthara are back !! Yes STR and Nayan are coming together for Director Pandiraj’s untitled flick. The couple who have been through so much after the publicised affair and the subsequent lip lock ups that followed with the break up. Sources add it was Director Pandiraj who was keen to cast Nayan cause he felt she would be the perfect fit for the script.
Pandiraj later convinced STR who is the producer of the film. Sources add there is also another heroine in the film which will also be finalised soon.
Here is the tweet by Pandiraj confirming the above story

Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma in Love ?

Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma are the latest love birds in Town according to the recent reports. It all supposedly started on the sets of a shampoo commercial, Ever since that shoot, the duo have been spending time together. According to a source, Virat Kohli and Anushka were seen in latter’s black Range Rover around Aram Nagar at Seven Bungalows.
Anushka’s neighbours have also spotted the fiery cricketer quite a few times at her apartment. The couple were even spotted snuggling up to each other in the lift during morning hours.
Looks like Virat Kohli is working to forge yet another strong partnership.

Suriya watched Ajith’s Arrambam

With Thala’s Arrambam roaring enroute to the 100 Crore Club, the latest Celebrity who has smitten by the Thala factor was none other than Surya. The six packed hero was spotted at the Sathyam Cinemas on Friday night along with a bunch of his friends to watch this uber cool movie of Thala

Simbhu talks about his marriage plans

Young Superstar is one actor who is never afraid to express his opinion, The actor in a recent interview to a tamil magazine cleared the air on several rumors surrounding him and explained the real reason why his movies are being delayed

“I never wanted to draw media attention towards me, The media have never hesitated to criticize me. I seriously don’t know what wrong i’ve done. No actor has ever been targeted by media like i have been. A false image of me was created by the media, They labelled me as a Playboy and accused me of destroying the lives of people who are close to me.
I seriously don’t understand why i’m being targeted, I started paying my taxes when i was at the age of 6 for Enga Veetu Velan, I was known as the son of T.Rajendran until the film Kaadhal Azhivathillai afterwards it’s just been me Simbu, I have created an identity for myself.”
“I have also been accused of delaying my own movie, But i am not the one responsible for such delays. Honestly i have forgotten the release date of my last film. I do want to release a movie every six month for my career benefit, But the inabilities of the producers have pushed the movie release. But they hide their financial problems and simply say Simbu didn’t come for shooting and that’s why the movie was getting delayed. This is how i’ve been cheated by people who i trust.”

On regard to his Marriage , STR said My sister Elakiya marriage’s has more or less been confirmed, we will announce the date soon. Afterwards when i feel in my heart that i need to get married, the next second i will marry.

Madhubala returns to Kollywood with Balaji Mohan’s film

Actress Madhoo, who was last seen in Tamil in Mani Ratnam’s 1997-film Iruvar, is now returning to Kollywood with Balaji Mohan’s new film Vaaya Moodi Pesavum. The Roja actress will be seen in the role of a writer in the Tamil-Malayalam bilingual, which stars Dulquer Salmaan and Nazriya Nazim.
The film’s producer Sashikanth confirms, “It is an experimental film and Madhoo was impressed with the role.” However, we hear that she will not be playing the mother to either of the leads and she will share screenspace with Nazriya, as the character she plays is that of the heroine’s relative.
Madhoo is expected to join the film’s shoot, which is currently underway in Munnar, from November 17. Interestingly, the actress had shot with Mammootty for her first Tamil film, Azhagan, at the hill station, and will now be shooting with his son in her comeback film.

Ajith Sir Rocked at Veeram Teaser – Devi Sri Prasad

Thala Ajith’s Veeram teaser will be attached with Arrambam movie today. This Siruthai Siva project has already racked up huge expectation following the rural look of Thala in long while and the mass posters which were designed. Though the teaser will be played in theatres along with Arrambam movie . Here is the Tweet of Veeram Music Director Devi Sri Prasad

Hansika Talks About Simbhu and Andrea

Much has been made of the on-screen chemistry between Andrea and STR in Inge Enna Solludhu which has sparked off a rumor of an alleged off-screen relationship between the couple. As KT reported earlier in the day, Even Andrea had to clear the air officially regarding this link-up. Now Hansika Motwani who publicly confessed of her relationship with STR has expressed her opinion on the alleged relationship.
“Even i do romance with several actors in numerous movies. But STR has never expressed his anger on that. That being the case why will i alone by angered by this. I and STR are actors, this is what we do and there is no way that we will see this has a wrong thing. When it comes to acting, its all about how much you get into the character and perform be it romance or anything. That’s all we ever worry about.”

Pandiyanaadu Movie Review

Starring : Vishal, Lakshmi Menon, Bharathiraja, Vikranth

Direction : Suseenthiran

Music : Imman

Production : Vishal Film Factory

Pandiyanaadu starts with the death of a local gangster and the fight over who should be taking his place. In line are two of his own men who have split into separate factions. And on the calmer side of town are Siva Kumar (Vishal) and his family. Siva’s brother works in the mining department and his father played by Bharatiraja is a calm going man content with his family. Siva works as a mobile phone service man in the back room of a showroom. I have been to a service centre recently and what was behind the door (like all doors saying No Admission) made me curious, though much wasn’t explored on that front it was a nice dose of realism.

Kattama Ravi, the more dangerous and audacious of the two in the race for the chair goes on a killing spree eliminating any potential enemies and eventually gains control over the town. One of Siva’s friends (played by Vikranth) whom he would turn to in tough situations needs to protect his lover, who is now married to someone else from one of Ravi’s henchmen who obsesses over her (played by Harish). Siva’s brother taking some strict action against Ravi’s illegal mining knots the fearful protagonist in another conflict with the dangerous Ravi.

The Siva Malathi love story provides us with some clean humour, the songs in spite of the badly dubbed lyrics were still bearable for the visual component and the film stands out mainly for its super choreography of the action sequences. After the screenplay had done its job of setting up these fights, the choreography and the cinematography made sure the emotional drive is retained to move you to the edge of the seat without realizing it.

After yet another stretch of desperate commercial failures this looks like the one that will bring back the love and the money to Vishal. The film’s central conflict of pushing a scared and restrained protagonist to finally rise and fight is a used idea, but, when done right it can still engage one. Suseenthiran’s screenplay creates a convincing arc for Siva to have no other choice. The film keeps you guessing till the very end and Siva’s final confrontation was valid, necessary and exhilarating.

Verdict : Tightly scripted and has some of the best action sequences in recent times

Vijay’s Jilla First Look Poster

All in All Azhaguraja Movie Review

Starring : Karthi, Kajal, Santhanam, Prabhu, Saranya Ponvannan

Direction : Rajesh M

Music : Thaman SS

Production : Studio Green

Well, it was bound to happen someday. After three consecutive hits, Tamil cinema’s luckiest filmmaker has made a film that’s so awful, its success would result in me losing faith in our people. It’s not like M. Rajesh is new to making bad movies. I absolutely loathed “Siva Manasula Shakthi” and “Oru Kal Oru Kannadi”, but enjoyed “Boss (a) Baskaran” quite a bit. It’s just that none of his previous films have been a catastrophe of this magnitude.

Rajesh has made a conscious effort to make his fourth film different from his previous three. The difference is that it showed a hint of having a proper story in its early minutes. But that’s where the deceit lies. It’s still the same old trash – only less funny and more unbearable. There’s Santhanam playing a drag queen for whom an old man develops feelings. Boy, I wonder if this is the first time in our history that a film has tried to milk humor out of a man dressed as a woman. For the sake of tackling a period setting, Rajesh creates a laboriously painful backstory involving Prabhu which does nothing to make the film better.

Raja (Karthi) runs an obscure television channel and tells his parents that he wouldn’t marry until he makes his channel the best in the market. Kalyanam (Santhanam) is a friend/employee/lapdog who continues to stick around and do things for Raja for reasons unknown. Raja is a total loser who does nothing to achieve that goal of his.. a goal which we are made to believe is what driving the film. The moment he meets the girl, he throws everything aside and inadvertently does everything to sabotage her career. The film is over-written with too many subplots, none of which make any sense.

I had a minor panic attack when I noticed on the Censor board certificate that the film’s running time was close to 180 minutes. That’s about as long as Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather”. With only five minutes worth of humor, you have to be on a suicide mission to make such a long film with so little to offer.

“Azhaguraja” is a deeply misogynistic film which treats its lead female character terribly; I felt very sorry for Kajal Aggarwal’s Devi Priya. She is the most adorable Grammar Nazi in the world. She shows her displeasure when Raja sends a note along with a bouquet that reads, “I Love U”, and asks him to spell ‘You’ correctly without exactly being a dick about it. There’s an excess of the typical OTT elements in her character, but there’s some novelty too. She isn’t swept off her feet that easily. She manages her father’s cinema and wedding hall, and wishes to make a mark in the entertainment industry in some way. But then something very awful happens. She meets Raja who irresponsibly kills her self-confidence and turns her into a consolatory “housewife”. He brings her down to his state and eventually makes her say, “I Love U”. He domesticates her, that bastard.

Performance-wise, Santhanam is decent with his peculiar idiosyncrasies. At least he makes an effort. I don’t know if it’s just me but every time I see Prabhu, I immediately think of his Kalyan Jewellers advertisements. MS Bhaskar is worth mentioning, but that’s about it. “Azhaguraja” is punishingly long, achingly unfunny and doesn’t deserve any audience at all.

Verdict : All in All Appalling

Pandiyanaadu Movie Review

Starring : Vishal, Lakshmi Menon, Bharathiraja, Vikranth

Direction : Suseenthiran

Music : Imman

Production : Vishal Film Factory

Pandiyanaadu starts with the death of a local gangster and the fight over who should be taking his place. In line are two of his own men who have split into separate factions. And on the calmer side of town are Siva Kumar (Vishal) and his family. Siva’s brother works in the mining department and his father played by Bharatiraja is a calm going man content with his family. Siva works as a mobile phone service man in the back room of a showroom. I have been to a service centre recently and what was behind the door (like all doors saying No Admission) made me curious, though much wasn’t explored on that front it was a nice dose of realism.

Kattama Ravi, the more dangerous and audacious of the two in the race for the chair goes on a killing spree eliminating any potential enemies and eventually gains control over the town. One of Siva’s friends (played by Vikranth) whom he would turn to in tough situations needs to protect his lover, who is now married to someone else from one of Ravi’s henchmen who obsesses over her (played by Harish). Siva’s brother taking some strict action against Ravi’s illegal mining knots the fearful protagonist in another conflict with the dangerous Ravi.

The Siva Malathi love story provides us with some clean humour, the songs in spite of the badly dubbed lyrics were still bearable for the visual component and the film stands out mainly for its super choreography of the action sequences. After the screenplay had done its job of setting up these fights, the choreography and the cinematography made sure the emotional drive is retained to move you to the edge of the seat without realizing it.

After yet another stretch of desperate commercial failures this looks like the one that will bring back the love and the money to Vishal. The film’s central conflict of pushing a scared and restrained protagonist to finally rise and fight is a used idea, but, when done right it can still engage one. Suseenthiran’s screenplay creates a convincing arc for Siva to have no other choice. The film keeps you guessing till the very end and Siva’s final confrontation was valid, necessary and exhilarating.

Verdict : Tightly scripted and has some of the best action sequences in recent times