RAJADHIRAJA

RAJADHIRAJA

Theatre : TVM SreePadmanabha
Showtime & Date : 6:00pm, 07-09-2014
Status : Housefull

A Mass Entertainer from Mammootty on the lines of Rajnikanth's Baasha by debutant Ajai Vasudev written by Udaykrishna-Sibi K Thomas team. Does the movie met the expectations?? Lets see
 

Story
The very same Baasha storyline - Shekharankutty(Mammootty) is living peacefully with his wife and kid with petrol pump job and restaurant. Ayyappan(Joju), a distant relative enters their life causing problems. Later villains enter the scene and in Interval block Shekharankutty bursts out as Raja the old DON. Second half is his flashback and how he finishes the villain gang.

Performances
Mammootty looked dull throughout except in flashback episode. The Interval portion where he needs to be energetic was spoiled mainly by this dull nature. Joju simply scores with his well written character though shades of Biju Menon was there at times. Nelson was fine in his limited scenes. Bheeman Raghu was wasted. Lakshmi Rai had nothing much to do. Joy Mathew and Babu Namboothiri were again in typecast roles. Siddhique was fine, so as Lena. Rest of the cast especially from Bollywood were too many and killed the effect at times.

Songs & BGM
Music by Karthik Raja and Berny Ignatious were below average and songs were picturised in a bad manner. Lyrics killed the songs most of the time. BGM was fine, but lacked the punch and timing in those mass scenes.

Technical
Shaji did a fine job with his camre work but not his best. Editing could have been better especially towards climax and mass scenes

Script & Direction
Script by Udaykrishna Siby K Thomas team was fine, and better compared to their last few outings. The script had enough moments and elements to be a mass entertainer. What killed the party was Ajai Vasudevan's direction. Though he could maintain the tempo and interest factor in first half till Interval portion, then onwards direction was totally out of place in most of the times. Ajai couldn't execute the mass scenes in paper to screen with style and elan. There were only frames copied at times from Telugu/Tamil flicks rather than packaging it as a whole. The much anticipated Interval scene was lazily executed. Second half could have been a lot lot better with the script.

Overall an enjoyable first half and an average second half.

Verdict : Above Average

Undoubtedly recent better outings from Mammootty for mass audience, but definitely not the best for the standards he had set before.

ALL IN ALL AZHAGURAJA

ALL IN ALL AZHAGURAJA

Theatre : TVM Ajantha
Showtime & Date : 11.00am, 02-11-2013
Status : Balcony Full, FC ~80%

Rajesh M after hits Siva Manasula Shakthi, Boss Engira Bhaskaran, Oru Kal Oru Kannadi this teams with Karthi who is going through a tough phase in his career after flops Saguni & Alex Pandian. Whether Azhaguraja saves him?? Lets see

Story
A very simple plot as in every Rajesh movie - Azhaguraja(Karthi) falls in love with Devipriya(Kajal Agarwal). Raja is running a local cable TV channel along with friend aka officer Kalyanam(Santhanam). How Raja wins Devipriya along with problems happening in between with Kalyanam forms the rest of the story with a super flashback episode of Raja's father(Prabhu) played by Karthi again in 80's episode.


Performances
Kajal Agarwal as Chithra Devipriya aka Devipriya towers above all in performance with her impeccable comedy timing and smart expressions. She proved that she's not the usual glamdoll in routine tamilcinema. There is a good actress in her who can emote well comedy & emotional scenes without going overboard. Directors out there, an actress is here, give her good roles to perform. 

Karthi makes a strong comeback & he performed well. His comic timing & voice modulation needs special mention. Santhanam is getting typecasted and boring at times. His Kareena Chopra avatar was good but long sequences made it irritating in initial scenes. He was good in 80s episode. M S Bhaskar was enjoyable in his extended cameo. Prabhu, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Nasser & Saranya was adequate. Rest of the cast did their part well.

Songs & BGM
Songs were good especially Unna Partha Neram in flashback was superb. It was picturised well. Also Yaarukkum theriyaamal is one of the most colourfull song after Maduraikku Pogathedee in Ilayathalapathy Vijay's Azhagiya Tamizh Magan. Rest were enjoyable and sync well with the flow of the movie. BGM was enjoyable though nothing great to rave about.

Technical
Cinematography was usual, but did a neat job for a movie like this especially in flashback episode. Editing could have been a lot better especially Santhanam scenes and at times certain scenes. Art Direction was good.

Script & Direction
Both departments handled by Rajesh M. This time too he chad chosen a waferthin plot and converted to an enjoyable ride with lots of comedies in proceedings. First half though the nothing great happens still it was enjoyable with nice song well taken scenes and neat proceedings. It is second half, flash back episode and post that makes it a laugh riot. For me its Rajesh's best after Siva Manasula Shakthi. His other two movies bored me at times in second half. Interval Punch though nothing to do with tone of the movie was a Mass one matching to PAIYYA interval block.


Overall a jolly funride this Deepavali season, enjoy with your families

Verdict : FUN-FILLED JOLLY ENTERTAINER
BO VERDICT : HIT