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.

Raja Rani Movie Review

Starring : Arya , Jai , Nayanthara , Nazriya Nazim , Santhanam , Sathyaraj

Direction : Atlee Kumar

Music : GV Prakash

Producer : AR Mrugadoss and Fox Studios

Raja Rani is a beautiful romantic love flick. The movie revolves around the love stories of the couples, who decided to marry against their wishes. In Milana, the love between the couple grows with time but in the latest flick, it bursts out all of a sudden as the movie starts nearing its climax.

There are two love tracks in the movie. In fact it is three with John (Arya) and Regina (Nayantara) falling in love by the end of the movie. Raja Rani begins with the marriage of the lead stars. They wed against their will. Their chemistry doesn’t work in the beginning and the couple hate each other.

But the story takes a twist when Regina suffers a stroke and she reveals her past love story. In the second half, we are told about Arya’s love story. However, how the love blossoms between John and Regina? What are their past stories? What impact will Jai and Nazriya Nazim’s roles have on the story? Watch the movie to get answers for all these questions.

Coming to performances, and it is the girls who steal the show. Nayanthara does cast a spell with her emotional acts, while Nazriya is super bubbly and cute. Arya does look a bit statue at places, but he does keep in line with what was expected from him. Jai on the other hand, does shadow off a little bit into the overacting circle. Nevertheless, his performance is one which is most enjoyed by the audience. Santhanam does manage to crack you up from time to time but Sathyaraj is a surprise package. Kudos to Atlee for sketching out some really distinct characters and stitching them in beautifully.

Every shot in Raja Rani is a beauty. George C Williams has done a classy job with the camera, his color tones for the song sequences and the camera angles for the movie overall are a eye-catching spectacle. Editing and other aspects are well done too.

Music is another asset of Raja Rani,GV.Prakash’s songs do fit in well as they are aided by pretty good picturisations. His BGM, especially in the Jai-Nayan episode is a treat to the ears.

On the downside, Raja Rani does drag around a bit here and there. You might feel the inclusion of unwanted scenes from time to time, but that doesn’t bring the movie to a halt.

Atlee Kumar manages to come out with a decent show on his first shot. He succeeds in the emotional scenes more than anything else, while receiving good support from his artists.

Verdict : Raja Rani is a family Entertainer, Raja Rani will leave you with a good feeling, while showcasing the realistic truth about love.

Arya and Jai Avoding to pair with Anjali

Actress Anjali is currently one of the most wanted Heroines of Tollywood, However Kollywood heroes are quite happy to keep distance from her. The reason being Anjali’s knack of getting into controversies. She has quite far been one of the most controversial heroine of recent times, even in the recent Missing episode various Co-stars were questioned on Anjali’s whereabouts. Actor Jai was so frustrated with the numerous phone calls he received during those times that he along with Arya have decided to never pair up with Anjali again.

Raja Rani Teaser Hits 2.5Lac Views in a Single Day

Raja Rani

Raja Rani is trending on the home page of You tube in India and creating records…The innovative promotional campaign, set the ball rolling for Raja rani’s teaser promo. The response that was accorded to that teaser was amazing; a mind boggling 2.5 lac views in a single day over lapping almost every other teaser campaigns of the big stars. “It shows the response the film would command in the coming days” director Atlee beamed .They say confidence is built on records and the confidence of the director Atlee is evident in the way the promo has been received.

ராஜா ராணி

சமீபமாக you tube மூலம் படங்களின் முன்னோட்டம் வெளியடப்படுவது என்பது பெருமளவில்

திரைப்படங்களின் விளம்பரத்துக்கு உதவுகிறது . வித்தியாசமானசிந்தனைகள் ,வித்தியாசமான விளம்பர யுத்திகள் மூலம் பரப்பரப்பாக பேசப்படும் ‘ராஜா ராணி’ திரைப்படத்தின் you tube வாடிக்கையாளர் எண்ணிக்கை 2.5 லட்சத்துக்கும் அதிகமாக உயர்ந்து , நட்சத்திரநடிகர்களுக்கு ஈடாகவோ இணையாகவோ இருப்பது, படத்தின் மேல் ரசிகர்களுக்கு உள்ள எதிர்பார்ப்பைகாட்டுகிறது என்று பெருமையுடன் கூறுகிறார் இயக்குனர் அட்ட்லீ.தன்னம்பிக்கை உயர சாதனைகள் அவசியம்என்பர் , அந்த உண்மை இயக்குனர் அட்ட்லீயின் சொல்லிலும் செயலிலும் பட்டவர்த்தனமாகதெரிகிறது.

Settai Movie Review

Cast : Arya , Hansika , Anjali , Santhanam

Director : Kannan

Music : SS Thaman

Producer : U TV Motion Pictures

From the little I have seen and heard about Delhi Belly, I understand that the general reception had been divisive. Remaking such a film may not have been the brightest of idea, especially when you planning to omit the part that actually made it good in the first place. R. Kannan’s previous attempt at remaking a popular Hindi film hardly went well. Say what you will about Jab We Met, but you cannot deny the fact that Kanden Kadhalai was devoid of any charm the former film had. When you remake a film and don’t create a better product, you have failed as a director. But ending up with something that is, inarguably, very inferior to the original, you have failed miserably. So, yes. Settai is a very mediocre outcome from a clearly promising material. Am I surprised? No.

Excuse the pun, but Settai is not just a watered-down version of Delhi Belly, it is a version that never really understood why the original film worked. Besides the effortless and judicious use of cuss words, the original was very open when it came to discussing sex. Settai only offers us a few lazy winks and witless double entendres, coming across as cheap and gutless. If you want to make an adult joke, for chrissake, go ahead and do it. Cut the conservative crap; Tamil audience has had enough of all this babying nonsense. Are you really expecting us to laugh at words rhyming with Sottai, Maadu and Thanni while leaving the rest to our imagination? I mean, come on! We’re in 2013.

Under the pretext of “making it suitable for Tamil audience”, Settai lost all of Delhi Belly’s crackling humor and gained a whole lot of needless songs, which pop up at the wrongest of places. Settai lacks the thrill that makes Crime Caper films work. Thanks to the bevy of duets, the pace is badly hit. The central story keeps you mildly invested, as you sit there waiting, hoping the at least next one-liner from Santhanam would be funny. Excuse me for my poor choice of words, but when done tastefully, toilet humor can be very amusing. Here, after a point, the entire “upset stomach” subplot becomes repetitive. It does nothing to change or even tangentially affect the course of the actual story.

Firstly, setting the film in Mumbai makes not a speck of sense. There could be many reasons for making such a big creative decision; the main reason being the story appearing too alien for the milieu. A film like Thuppaki wouldn’t have worked had it been set in Chennai because of the scale it demanded. But in a pair of capable hands, Settai could have been wonderfully adapted to Tamil. The real reason why Settai takes place in Mumbai is because the a section of the creative team behind this film is so inept that they couldn’t even be bothered to re-imagine the film. Almost all the locations are exactly the same. The film certainly looks visually appealing but anyone could have directed it.

The narrative sequence towards the end is a total mess and the film comes to a jarring halt. It is clear to me that a good story is hidden inside Settai; it’s just that the treatment does no justice to it. The actors don’t do much to elevate the film. Santhanam’s performance is indifferentiable from his previous works. Premji was surprisingly restrained- thank God for that. The others look just pretty as required. Anjali was really convincing though. She’s the only person who looks and acts according to the demands of her roles.

Verdict – A very unimaginative remake which is passably funny

Arya hands are full

Arya is currently the hottest actor in Kollywood who has no dates till 2015!

His hands are full. Kannan directed Settai is releasing on April 5, followed by Selvaraghavan’s magnum opus Irandam Ulagam in May, and later by Vishnuvardhan’s Ajith starrer tentatively titled Valai. And he is also shooting for Raja Rani directed by Atlee.

Arya commands a whopping Rs 5 Crore today and his films can easily fetch Rs 20 Crore in the market. The star has a decent opening and a fan following especially among ladies and is strong in the B & C belts.

But for Arya , UTV’s Settai is going to be an important film. The film has him in the crucial role done by Imran Khan in the original Delhi Belly. The film has got an U certificate and is being marketed as a family entertainer and songs are already a hit. Settai sees Arya reuniting with Santhanam with whom he gave the blockbuster Boss Engira Baskaran.

Now for Arya, Settai has to become a super hit for him to ride on his star appeal. Arya did not have a release for a long time. And his last release Vettai in January 2012, was pretty lukewarm at the box-office.

So Settai has to get the opening and numbers to make his next film, the big-budget Irandam Ulagam attractive to the buyers. Arya is confident that Settai releasing on April 5 will be a hit, as it is a ‘friendship-comedy’ film which normally works in Kollywood.

I have not heard any story from Magizh Thirumeni: Arya

Arya denied the rumors on his next film under Magizh Thirumeni direction. There were huge speculations stating that Arya will be playing a cop role and Samantha will be playing the female lead.

Arya without any hesitation denied all the rumors and said, “I have not heard any script from Magizh Thirumeni. At the moment I’m doing four films in Tamil which is making me work round the clock. I have no intention of signing any new films for the time being.”

Arya is now busy with his upcoming flick Settai which is a remake of bollywood film Delhi Belly. Arya is also playing a prominent role in Ajith- Vishnuvardhan combo Valai (tentative). Along with this, Selvaragavan-Arya film Irandam Ulagam is in its final schedule.

Settai Movie Official Trailer

Hanshika vouches for humour

Actress Hansika’s film Oru Kal Oru Kannadi was a hit and she has understood the power of comedy. Now she has started giving importance for roles that has a lot of scope for comedy. Her film with Arya, Settai, a remake of Delhi Belly, is a comedy ride and she is doing an excellent job in the film. She has also signed another film with Siddharth and the film will also have scope for comedy. She is happy that in her films, apart from the hero and comedian, the heroine is also getting a lot of screen presence and hence chance to shine. Good choices Hansika

Ajith, Arya’s fight sequence, a highlight

Vishnuvardhan directorial and recently a fight sequence shot on the actors Ajith and Arya is said to have come out stunningly and sources from the unit says, the action sequence is going to be one of the highlights of the film.

The stunt sequence was recently pictured in Chennai and both the actors Ajith and Arya have given a fiery performance. Arya is playing a role that had negative shades while the film casts voluptuous beauties Nayanthara and Taapsee Pannu as female leads. Yuvan Shankar Raja is scoring the tunes for this action entertainer.

The expectations on the film are quite high among Ajith fans and movie lovers since it’s the combo of the most successful Billa film, released in 2007.