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.

VILLALI VEERAN

VILLALI VEERAN

Theatre : TVM NEW SCREEN 1
Showtime & Date : 2:30pm, 07-09-2014
Status : 50%

A Dileep movie on festival season,this time script & direction by newcomers and songs were pretty enjoyable. Did the movie entertains??? Lets see

Story
Siddharthan aka Siddhu(Dileep) is the only hope of three families who struggles for day today expenses. He meets Namratha(Namitha Pramod), an ad film maker, by accident in between a mock drill by Police. Later he enters to her life as Arun K Menon. Rest of the movie is Siddharthan's flashback which later ends as a comic and action flick.

Performances
Dileep carries the whole movie with his comedy timing and histronics. Kalabhavan Shajohn with his screen presence was good and evoked a few laughters. Dharmajan as BijuBrahmanan's intro scene was bad, but later he was fine. Siddhique, Lalu Alex, Suresh Krishna, Riyaz Khan, Seetha, Valsala Menon, Neena Kurup were routine. Namitha Pramod needs to be a bit more serious about acting and character selection and above all HER MAKEUP. Though Mythili got a better role, her impeccable disinterested dubbing and wooden expressions killed her chance.

Songs & BGM
Songs by S A Rajkumar were good and fits well with the movie. BGM was too loud at times.

Technical
Editing could have been better in econd half, Cinematography was good, especially in songs and action sequences.

Script & Direction
Script by Dinesh Pallath had all ingredients for a festival entertainer but the ingredients were a bit more or less and timing at times killed the taste. Still an enjoyable one. As a debutant, being a festival entertainer package, he did a nice job with the storyline. Though nothing much happens in first half, he could make the show engaging.

Direction by debutant Sudheesh Shankar could have been better. SScenes as such were fine at many parts and shot in rich frames. But certain slapstick ones like Ad Film shoot will test our patience with b grade slapstick humour. Second half showed better promise than first where script was more tight and stick to the subject. Though not a great debut, he's promising as he could handle the final portions of the movie without going overboard in a neat manner.

Overall an enjoyable flick if we can forget a few set of scenes in first half.

Verdict : Entertainer

SAPTHAMASREE THASKARAHA

SAPTHAMASREE THASKARAHA

Theatre : TVM Dhanya
Showtime & Date : 11:15am, 06-09-2014
Status : Balcony 80%, FC 38 personsANIL RADHAKRISHNA MENON after 24 NORTH KAATHAM, that was my calling card for the movie with an impressive trailer. Does the movie entertain us??? Lets see

Story
Watch the trailer here

All the 7 thieves meets at a jail and plans to hunt down a common enemy of two - Krishnanunni & Nobilettan

Performances
Prithviraj was fine, so as Asif Ali who got a good intro scene, Nedumudi too. It is Chemban Vinod as Marty who steals the show. Terrific dialogues and expressions. The one who played his asst too scores. Neeraj Madhav as Narayankutty too got a couple of scenes to score. Sudheer Karamana as Leaf Vasu was a superb characterisation and he did his part in a superb way, but used less in second half. Joy Mathew is typecasted again, so as Irshad and Mukundan. Lishoy was good in his role. Another person I have to mention is director Lijo Jose Pellissery who was superb, especially dialogue delivery as a Thrissur priest. Reenu & Sanusha were okay in their role.

Songs & BGM
Rex Vijayan disappoints except the Title saying song portion. BGM was fine.

Technical
Nothing special, Editing was fine.

Script & Direction
Both departments handled by Anil Radhakrishna Menon. Story plot is nothing new, but the way story unfolds and the characterisations make the show different. First half was a kind of introduction and flashback of all the seven thieves. Towards Interval, they plans a robbery. First half was good enough with enough genuine comedies, especially situational ones. But second half, though the proceedings were engaging, could have been a lot better. I think script was in a confusion whether to give prominence to the 7 characterisations making a robbery or the robbery plot with 7 thieves. He chose the second option in my opinion. The climax portion was predictable and the post climax part killed the party and standard the movie set till then.

Real Hero is ANIL RADHAKRISHNA MENON, the director. A director with vision, at the same time racy and slow enough which the subject demanded.

Overall a director's flick with good first half and could have been better, still engaging second half with not so impressive twist and post climax

Verdict : Engaging Entertainer

BHAIYYA BHAIYYA

BHAIYYA BHAIYYA

Theatre : TVM Anjali
Showtime & Date : 11:30am, 05-09-2014
Status : Balcony Don't know, FC 45-50%

Kunchacko Boban-Biju Menon combo again after a short gap, Benny P Nayarambalam penning the script. This Johny Antony flick had these features to attract attention before release. Did the movie reach the expectations??? Lets See

Story
Movie begins with Babumon(Kunchacko Boban) on an ambulance introducing his Bhaiyya Baburam Chatterjee(Biju Menon), his love Angel(Nisha Agarwal), Baburam's untold love Shanthi(Vinutha) and Udayipp Soman(Suraj Venjarammood), all for different reasons travelling together while both Babus on the way to Bengal to deliver a deadbody of one of their workers. Story begins from childhood when Chacko Contractor(Innocent) takes home Baburam to his home and considering his as his own son and both Babus are living as brothers. Now Babumon is a Bengali employee supplier with the help of Baburam. Angel is the daughter of politician Vijayaraghavan and his son Monayi(Shammi Thilakan) is an upcoming MP Candidate. Story takes a turn in Interval after flashbacks when the Ambulance met with an accident.

Performances
Kunchacko Boban and Biju Menon did their part well. But the screenplay failed to create a strong bonding and emotional attachment the story demanded. Suraj was superb, though repetitive at times. Salimkumar was good in one scene, otherwise wasted, Innocent too. Shammi Thilakan and Vijayaraghavan were Superb. Nisha Agarwal, reminded Kajal in most frames except closeups. Her lipsync needs special mention. Vinutha was fine as Tamil girl Shanthi. Gregory except one or two scenes, failed to evoke laughter. Thesni Khan repeats her Trivandrum Lodge role. Sadhique was wasted.

Songs and BGM
Vidyasagar disappoints big time. Aarodum by Jayachandran which is the title song is my pick. Only 3 songs are included in the movie, not even theme song Bhaiyya Bhaiyya. BGM could have been a lot  better

Technical
Nothing much to talk about, except the opening shot cinematography, the road from hills.

Script & Direction
Benny P Nayarambalam seems to have a plot and a no proper storyline to engage the audience at times. It is the lead casts with Suraj makes the show watchable. Screenplay lacks the flow and the whole stuff treated as a fun film, which lacked that seriousness the scenes demanded. Comedies some of them were too old or rehashed which acted as subplots.

Direction by Johny Antony was engaging. Climax portions clearly states that slapstick humour is his forte and he could create that well. Overall the packaging was OK to FINE only. No blames to director, but the script didn't give him ample support most of the times.

Overall an avg first half with few comedies and an avg but better second half with an enjoyable climax which takes the movie to an abv avg level

Verdict : Tads Above Average

The ones who are planning to make Chackochan-Biju team has to keep one thing in mind. The script and final product should be something above ROMANS to satisfy the audience fully

VISHUDHAN

VISHUDHAN

Theatre : TVM SreePadmanabha
Showtime & Date : 11.15am, 22-11-2013
Status : 85%

Vysakh who is known for his 100% success track record with four commercial mass masala entertainer joins with Kunchacko Boban for the third time after SENIORS & MALLU SINGH, but this time its a totally different Vysakh movie which sans all the usual masala elements. Lets see whether Vysakh entertains in this way

Story
Fr.Sunny(Kunchacko Boban) takes charge as a priest in new church in a village. Snehalayalam an oldage home run by Vaavachan for getting dead bodies for his Medical college creates clash between them. To cover up the issue, Vavachan creates an issue of illicit relationship between Fr.Sunny & nun Sister Sophie(Mia) which results in the marriage of both. The rest is their life in the same place after marriage & a subplot of Nandulal.

Performances
Kunchacko Boban as Sunny was superb. His looks, voice modulation, especially crying scenes in climax needs special mention. The best scene of him was the first night in the home when Mia comes to his room. Superb expressions & dialogues. Mia had nothing to do. Her looks itself did what she was supposed to do. Hareesh Perady as Vavachan was a letdown. He is still in the hangover of Left Right Left, climax scene underlines that point well. Shalin in her limited role was good, Nandulal too. Lal's intro was one of the best scenes in the movie, after that he too lost track. THough a single scene, Shaju was good as Chackochan's brother. Krishnakumar, Joju, Anil Murali, Suraj...all are wasted in poorly written roles

Songs & BGM
Both departments are handled by Gopi Sundar. Oru Mezhuthiriyude works well. BGM was not upto usual Gopi Sundar level. Still good at times.

Technical
Shehnad Jalal's cinematography was superb especially mist scenes. Editing by Mahesh Narayanan could have been a lot better. Art Direction needs special mention

Script & Direction
Vysakh handled both departments. Vishudhan was supposed to be Vysakh's first film. And the script was also ready long back. The problem is there is an incident in the movie. But there is no proper story which could create a good impact for that. First half was a good one with nice proceedings eventhough predictabel. But in second half, screenplay was half baked to reach the climax. Dialogues were superb at times. The best scenes were First Night dialogue scene & Lal's Intro. Predictability is another big problem of the movie. There are no surprises for audience at any point of the movie. Plot was a good one, but screenplay killed the part altogether though. Scenes as such was good but when considering the whole package, its a failed attempt. Overall a movie Vysakh could have made into a blockbuster in his usual way of direction was executed in a way which didn't struck the chord with audience at many times. The serious approach also kills the flow.

Verdict : Watchable, but lacks pace
BO Verdict :Flop

The movie will be an advantage for Kunchacko Boban as an actor, nothing more nothing less.

Idavakayil ethunna puthiya Fr.Sunny(Chackochan)
Naattile pramaaniyaaya kuttykku kandudan ishtam
Nayika ishtam thurannu paranjittum nayakan anusarikkunnilla
Romansle pole bhagyathinu kutty suicide cheyyunnilla
Naattile mattoru villainum muthalaaliyude makanumaaya Sasikku ee kochine nottam
Upadravikkaan varunna Sasiye(Riyaz Khan) pedichu nayika palliyil olikkunnu
Nalla vaakku paranju madakki vidaan nokkumbol Riyaz Khan kelkunnilla
Pinne Sunny Sasiye loha oori vechu thera paara adi
Itharinju Saside father naattilethi father pattam therippikkunnu
Sunny veendum aa naattil land cheythu Sasiyeyum gundakaleyum veendum thera paara ittu thalliyittu avante fathernte business samrajyam thakarthu nayikaye kettumennu parayunnu
INTERVAL
Pinne oru kidu second half

Vysakh ingane vichaarichirunnel padam SUPER HIT

KADHAVEEDU

KADHAVEEDU

Theatre : TVM Kripa

Showtime & Date : 11.30am, 08-11-2013

Status : Susheela... Enthooooo!!! Aaro enne vilich

KADHAVEEDU was supposed to be a serious cinema raising the question whats the relevance of marriage in a society where divorces are happening a lot due to various reasons. Or is it better to have a Living Together relationship?? This is what I understood from what I saw. But nothing was presented well and effectively other than making the audience yawn

Story

Characters from the stories of M T Vasudevan Nair, Madhavikutty & Vaikkom Muhammed Basheer was mixed to the storyline of a film maker Raj Karthi(Kunchacko Boban). He makes the movie with Basheer's storyline(featuring Manoj K Jayan as Abdul Khader & Mallika as Jameela) and Madhavikutty's Indulekha & Balachandran played by Swapna Menon & Biju Menon respectively. In between Raj Karthi reminds what happened two years ago with Major Frederic Mukundan(Lal) & his wife Reetha(Rituparna Sen Gupta). Whats the final decision by Raj Karthi whether to marry or not Jeena(Bhama) who is having a living together relationship with him.

Performances

Kunchacko Boban delivers a good performance as Raj Karthi. As a film maker, he was simply awesome in his looks which suits well with attitude of the character he plays. His scenes with Lal & Rituparna Sen was too good. The scene remarking his victory over Reeta like a kid featuring Innocence lost was awesome. Biju Menon as Balachandran was too good. He underplays the pain the character demanded and makes it more effective. Only positive I found was these actors' performances.

Lal was usual. Rituparna Sen Gupta as a debutant in malayalam needs special mention for perfect lipsync even with the song. Manoj K Jayan was wasted in a badly directed episode. His makeup too looked bad especially old getup. Mallika scored well in old getup scene. Swapna Menon was  just a showcase. Bhama too. Kalabhavan Shajohn was fine.

Songs & BGM

Songs by M Jayachandran was superb ones which were picturised in a dull manner. BGM was done as if the person wants to market himself of what he knows rather than sticking to the mood of the movie.

Technical

Good Cinematography by T D Sreenivas. Editing NO COMMENTS. What else can be done with these. Art Direction was good. Sound Recording needs special mention. Rain Effects were Awesome

Script & Direction

I appreciate Sohannlal for selecting this theme, but a movie works mainly on the screenplay rather than the theme. Bad screenplay on the whole. Dialogues were too drama type ones at times. At times too good too. Direction was below average one.

On the whole, KADHAVEEDU never impresses as a movie. If the movie has any positives its Kunchacko Boban, Biju Menon & Songs(just listen, don't watch the video)

Verdict : No story presented well

BO Verdict : 1 Week Run itself is too large for this

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