“Manmadhan Ambu” Music Album Review…

Music: Devi Sri Prasad
Release Date: 20th November 2010
Lyrics: Kamalhassan (5 songs), Viveka (1 song)
Director: K.S Ravikumar
Starring: Kamlhassan, R Madhavan, Trisha, Sangeetha and others.
Producer: Udhayanidhi Stalin (Red Giant Movies)

Dhagudu Dhattham (4:57)
Vocal by: Kamalhassan
Lyrics by: Kamalhassan
This song has a mixture of western music with folk singing by Kamalhassan. The beginning of this track reminds one of Michael Jackson’s work and later on it shows resemblance with Thennali music. Besides the copying, Devi has added some catchy drums in this song. Kamlahassan has written about how the rich are taking advantage of the poor. Kamalhassan’s voice suits this track. Nothing new about this song, but it is a catchy number which will appeal to the masses. – 49%

Who’s the Hero (4:26)
Vocal by: Andrea Jeremiah
Lyrics by: Kamalhassan
Excellent singing by Andrea. She has sung jazzy number  well in English, Tamil and Hindi. Devi’s music has been well arranged to complement Andrea’s singing. Kamalhassan’s lyrics are well written with a mixture of some English and Hindi words. Over all, this is a well compiled song. – 82%

Neela Vaanam (4:27)
Vocal(s) by: Kamlhassan, Priya Himesh
Lyrics by: Kamalhassan
A romantic song, written and sung by Kamalhassan. Music is slow and soothing with nice use of violin. Kamalhassan as a lyricist has excelled, but his voice doesn’t suit this type of song. Especially high pitch singing ruins this otherwise amazing song. However, it will reach people because of the wonderful lyrics. – 62%

Oyyale (3:55)
Vocal(s) by: Mukesh, Suchitra, Karthik Kumar
Lyrics by: Viveka
A kutthu song with rhyming lyrics. It’s sung well by Mukesh, Suchithra and Karthik Kumar, but nothing extraordinary about their singing. As Devi always does, he has arranged the kutthu song music well. An average song, for this genre. – 50%

Kamal Kavidhai (5:12)
Vocal(s) by: Kamalhassan, Trisha
Lyrics by: Kamalhassan
Excellent poem written by Kamalhassan. Kamalhassan always does well with reciting poems, so there is nothing to be surprised about his delivery. However, in this track he reminded me of the “Aalavandhan” poem and delivery tone. Trisha’s pronunciation in some places are not as smooth as it should be considering she is a Tamil, however her cute voice is soothing to listen to. Devi has composed beautiful music, which doesn’t interfere with the poem. All in all, this will be well received, particularly by the educated crowd for the meaningful stanza. – 85%

Theme Music (1:49)
Vocal(s) by: None
Lyrics by: None
A nice theme music, which includes good use of violin and chorus. It would have been better, if this track was a little longer. – 47%

Manmadhan Ambu (4:21)
Vocal by: Devi Sri Prasad
Lyrics by: Kamalhassan
A catchy and typical tune by Devi. Kamalhassan has written rhyming lyrics. Devi’s singing is fair, but can’t help thinking that it would have been better if someone else had sung it. Because of the catchy tune, this will reach the masses and would be remembered. – 57%

Summary
Devi Sri Prasad has provided a varied album with folk, kutthu, western jazz, soft romantic melody, catchy theme, and kavithai with music. This album has variety, catchy music, quality lyrics and some good singing. The major plus point in Devi’s music is that it complements the lyrics and singing than overshadowing it.
Generally all singers have done well in this album. “Who’s the hero” deserves a special mention for beautiful singing by Andrea. Kamalhassan’s writing skills shines in “Kamal’s Kavidhai” and “Neela Vaanam” tracks.

I have to give a good score for the lyrics (74%), especially because of Kamalhassan’s excellent work in Neela Vannam and Kamal Kavithai. The music was good (58%), even though the music is average, it scored well because of the variety provided in the album and it doesn't overpower the lyrics. Singers have performed (58%). Particularly, Andrea was excellent. Kamalhassan has a mixed bag with some being excellent and some not so. All in all, it’s a Kamalhassan show, and Devi Sri Prasad has complimented it well with his music and variety. - 63%

"Enthiran" Music Album Review...

Music: AR Rahman
Release Date: 31st July 2010
Lyrics: Vairamuthu (3 songs), Pa. Vijay (1 song), Madhan Kaarki Vairamuthu (2 songs), Kash n’ Krissy (1 song)
Director: Shankar
Starring: Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai Batchan, Danny Denzongpa, Santhanam, Karunas and others.
Producer: Kalanidhi Maran and Hansraj Saxena (Sun Pictures)

Pudhiya Manidha (6:11)
Vocal(s) by: SP Balasubramaniam, AR Rahman, Khatija Rahman
Lyrics by: Vairamuthu
Excellent lyrics by Vairamuthu for this song. Song starts with AR Rhaman, who gives a robotic effect to his voice. Khatija Rahman’s follows on with a devotional tone. SP Balasubramaniam sounds good, as always. The music has a calm tone that definitely adds to the lyrics. However, in some places the vocals have been tampered with to resemble the background music and some good work of Vairamuthu is lost here as the words are hard to understand. However, overall this is a good original song that suits the theme of the film well. – 78%


Kadhal Anukkal (5:45)
Vocal(s) by: Vijay Prakash, Shreya Ghoshal
Lyrics by: Vairamuthu
This song is the one that stands out and impresses the listener the first time itself. Beautiful music by AR Rahman. Many different styles of music have been mixed well to present the tune. Only negative aspect about this song is that it has touches of his earlier compositions. Lyrics of Vairamuthu are average. He has tried to use scientific words the express romantic feelings, a big challenge and some lyrics suffer because of that. A few sentences in English could have been easily avoided. Vijay Prakash’s vocal is brilliant; Shreya Ghoshal is good, but expected a little more from her. – 70%


Irumbile Oru Irudhaiyam (5:15)
Vocal(s) by: AR Rahman, Kash n’ Krissy
Lyrics by: Madhan Kaarki Vairamuthu, Kash n’ Krissy
Another love song, this time for the robot. Fascinating words written by Madhan Kaarki Vairamuthu. Particularly fresh and should be welcomed. Kash n’ Krissy’s lyrics are ordinary, but work well with this song. However their vocal sounds first-class. AR Rahman suits the song, but his voice gets lost in the music sometimes. Given the interesting lyrics, wish the words had been given a little bit more prominence over the background music. – 78%



Chitti Dance Showcase (2:44)
Vocal(s) by: Pradeep Vijay, Praveen Mani, Yogi B
Lyrics by: None
This track has a lot of influences from previous AR Rahman’s work and also Hollywood films. It has been mixed together seamlessly as expected of AR Rahman, however the originality is missing. All vocals play a second fiddle to the music. – 42%



Arima Arima (5:19)
Vocal(s) by: Hariharan, Sadhana Sargam
Lyrics by: Vairamuthu
This is a mass hero song. Lyrics are disappointing from Vairamuthu. Hariharan and Sadhana Sargam have done well in rendering the lyrics. AR Rahman has used the orchestral music to give a special number. If you don’t pay attention to the words, this is a good song. Shame Vairamuthu couldn’t deliver something special for this song. – 65%



Kilimanjaro (5:32)
Vocal(s) by: Javed Ali, Chinmayi
Lyrics by: Pa. Vijay
Lyrics for this song are sub-standard. Surprising considering it’s written by Pa Vijay.  Chinmayi’s voice is interestingly mischievous. Jayed Ali’s voice is average but suits the tribal theme. The music is average; however some interesting percussion has saved this number. Kilimanjaro is definitely the most lowly ranked song in this album. After watching the movie, this song does score better because of the beautiful picturisation. – 52%



Boom Boom Robo Da (4:28)
Vocal(s) by: Yogi B, Kirthi Sadathia, Swetha Mohan, Tanvi Shah
Lyrics by: Madhan Kaarki Vairamuthu
Lyrics for this song is average. Boom Boom Roba Da is a very youthful sounding song with interesting vocals. Particularly both female voices have cuteness and playfulness which adds to the quality of execution. AR Rahman’s music is funky and enjoyable. This tune is most suited for the younger audience. – 68%



Summary
AR Rahman has provided an interesting album with good, fresh tunes in general. However (as usual) his music has overshadowed the some great lyrics which is a real disappointment. The album caters for the young and the old. Generally all singers have done well in this album. “Pudhiya Manidha” and “Irumbile Oru Irudhaiyam” songs deserve special mention for their lyrics and music.



I have to give an average score for the lyrics (51%) even though it had some songs with strong lyrics, some song lyrics were bad. The music was good (70%). It could have scored better if the music didn’t overshadow the lyrics in some of the songs. Singers have performed lustrously (74%). All in all, the entire album is another hit for the Oscar winner AR Rahman. – 65%

“Enthiran” Film Review…

Release date: 1st October 2010
Starring: Rajinikanth, Aishwarya Rai Batchan, Danny Denzongpa, Santhanam, Karunas and others.
Directed by: Shankar
Screenplay by: Shankar
Story: Sujatha
Music by: AR Rahman
Lyrics: Vairamuthu, Pa Vijay, Madhan Kaarki Vairamuthu and Kash n’ Krissy
Choreography by: Raju Sundaram and Claudia Bruckmann
Cinematography by: Rathnavelu
Art: Sabu Cyril
Animation: Stan Winston Studio, USA
Editing: Anthony
Produced by: Kalanidhi Maran and Hansraj Saxena (Sun Pictures)
Running Time: 155 mins
MPAA Rating: G (General)
Genre: Action/Adventure/SciFi/Fantasy/Romance

Rating: 45%
Summary: Most expensive Indian film with well known actors and acclaimed technicians – film should have been a mega hit, but it is a failure because of the direction and screenplay, long unwanted scenes, pathetic romantic scenes and bad comedy. A film that is an insult to viewer’s intelligence!

This is a simple triangular love story. Dr Vaseegaran (Rajinikanth), a scientist creates a robot named Chitti (Rajinikanth again), in the hope that the robot could eventually be useful to the Indian army to fight wars without the loss of human life. Chitti has to be taken to an approval panel which has to test and approve it’s worthiness for military use. Professor Bhora (Danny Denzongpa) who is Dr Vaseegaran’s former mentor is part of this panel to test Chitti. Professor Bhora is jealous of Dr. Vaseegaran’s success and objects the use of Chitti in military as it doesn’t have human feelings. To rectify this Dr Vaseegarn works hard to teach human feelings to Chitti. Sana (Aishwarya Rai Batchan), Dr. Vaseegaran’s girlfriend wants to keep Chitti to assist with her studies and house work during her university examinations. Chitti starts to fall in love with Sana and Dr Vaseegarn gets annoyed and jealous of Chitti’s behaviour towards her. When Chitti fails the trial for military, Dr Vaseegaran disassembles and dumps the parts.

Professor Bhora finds broken Chitti and re-assembles him and gives him a red chip that makes the robot an evil killing machine. The newly assembled Chitti kills Professor Bhora, kidnaps Sana, creates hundreds of Chitti’s, robs and kills people. Blame is placed on Dr Vaseegaran for all this destruction and mayhem. What Dr Vaseegaran does to stop Chitti, forms the rest of the story.

Acting – Danny Denzongpa as Professor Bhora has done his role extremely well and is believable as Professor and villain. It is a real pity that he didn’t have more screen space. The other good performance comes predictably from Rajinikanth as a “villain” Chitti. It is well documented that Rajinkanth at his best is when he acts as a villain, and this is another testimony for that sentiment. Dr Vaseegaran and “good” Chitti are average performances; there is nothing to write home about. Aishwarya Rai Batchan as Sana has done an ok job, not that she had a challenging role. The talented Santhanam and Karunas have been wasted in this film, as they have not been given enough scope to act.

Direction and Screenplay – Shankar who has a high reputation fails miserably in this film (again, as in his last few films). He did make good movies such as “Gentleman”, “Kadhalan”, “Indian”, “Jeans” and “Mudhalvan” once, but lately, he has been creating below-par movies starting from “Boys”, “Anniyan”, “Shivaji” and now “Enthiran”. He takes a story, applies his standard “formula” to it and makes a film with unnecessary graphics, lame jokes and wastes money on sets/costumes that do not add anything to the story. This has been happening from his early days as a director, however after repeating this formula time after time, it has got to the stage that it can’t be tolerated any more. Especially now when there are other young directors who are able to produce a final result that is, much better than Shankar’s with a lower budget.

If we look at “Enthiran” there are holes in the story from start to end, the screenplay is very boring and in some scenes it did not make any sense. At the end there are a lot of graphics and a few words such as “de-magnetising”, “deworming”, ‘de-bugging”, etc. Somehow by throwing these words around miraculously Dr Vaseegaran overcomes Chitti. Dr Vaseegaran was not able to do anything to stop Chitti for a long time, but once he uses all these words and types some kind of codes into a computer set up in a van, suddenly Chitti and his fellow robots are destroyed. To make these scenes worse Shankar has showed graphics after graphics where Chitti and his creations are forming all kind of different shapes and figures almost like synchronized swimming!

Earlier in the movie there is a scene where Sana gets upset with Dr Vaseegaran for not paying enough attention to her and decides to break up with him, so both of them bring all gifts that they received from each other in a suitcase and return them to each other. Then the hero says to Sana that she has not returned the kisses, so he can’t break up with her. So she kisses him and the scene continues in a manner the audience has to cringe. Rajinikanth looks sleazy with a much younger Aishwarya Rai Batchan. Following this scene, comes a song in which Rajinkanth is trying to look like Suriya from “Varaunam Ayiram” film with a guitar. Why?

The heights of Shankar’s (lack of) talent in direction come out when Chitti comes to Sana’s room in the middle of the night wanting a kiss from her. Sana says that a mosquito bit her and she will only give him a kiss if he can bring that mosquito. Chitti goes finds the mosquito, has a conversation with multiple mosquitos and brings back the ‘guilty’ mosquito to Sana, so that it can apologies to her. I can’t think of any director who could think of a scene like this other than Shankar!

Special Effects / Animation – This is definitely a positive in this film and is the best animation that has been seen in Tamil films. However, there was too much of it inserted into the film so that it makes you want the film to end. Some scenes were not executed well, such as the scene that involved a burning apartment building is on fire as this looks very artificial.

Settings / Locations – Can see that the makers of the film have put in a lot of effort to find good places to shoot the film, particularly songs. This is definitely a positive in the film and adds to the entertainment.

Cinematography - This was a positive in the film. Rathnavelu has done a great job, as expected. He has been one of the cinematographers who have been doing well consistently. If you want to be very critical, there are couple of shots of Aishwarya Rai Batchan which was a in an awkward angle and a bit too close. But this does happen often in Indian films.

Background music – AR Rahman has done a good job on this, as nothing made you lose focus from the film or story. But nothing less is expected of AR Rahman.

Editing – This was very crisp, as explained earlier may be a lot of the movie should have been cut up because of bad direction and long unwanted scenes. However, that is the fault of the director and not the editor.

Songs – I am intending on writing another blog on Enthiran music. So I will not comment on the songs in this blog.

There is nothing wrong with Enthiran story and there is nothing wrong with Tamil cinema wanting to experiment with sci-fi. Sci-fi is not new to Tamil cinema, as director SJ Suriya has done similar sci-fi like “New” and “Vyabari” that comes to the mind immediately. Particularly “Vyabari” film had a lot of similar aspects to this film. Ofcourse a countless films from Hollywood, Bollywood and Kollywood have inspired this film, and there is nothing wrong with it long as it’s not a direct copy of it.

However, very poor direction, long unwanted special effects scenes, cliché romance scenes and some poor comedy scenes have ruined this film that is said to be the most expensive film yet from India. Shankar has (ab)used the big banner production (which poured in the money with no restrictions), mass hero Rajinikanth (who has given more than two years of his call sheet), ex miss world Aishwarya Rai Batchan, Oscar winner AR Rahman, along with good technicians from Kollywood/Bollywood/Hollywood in making this film. Most of the above have given their time and effort to this film, but because of the poor direction their efforts are wasted. If all these resources were given to a good director, the result would have been an outstanding film.

Just for comparison if you look at a the well directed Hollywood sci-fi film from last year “District 9” it cost only 75% of the amount that was spent on “Enthiran” film. This would give a good referral point for people who want to compare “Enthiran” with Hollywood films.

Because this film has such big names involved and because of the branding of Sun TV there is a lot of hype created, which had helped in pre-bookings for tickets and also in a big opening. However, unless the audience of this film and media provide honest feed-back about it, directors like Shankar will keep insulting our intelligence by using popular artists and technicians to create more rubbish.

When Tamil cinema is making history and being noticed around the World slowly for quality films by good young directors, films like these are a slowing down the progress of it. It’s time that the Tamil cinema audience request more intelligent films and make sure that they don’t put up with rubbish because their favorite actors or technicians are involved in a project. Be objective!

Where are you? I can’t see you standing up for the people! Why?

As most people know that there is a Genocide that is happing in Sri Lanka right now! It’s all of our duty to stand up against Genocide! Specially as a Tamil living in New Zealand, it’s my duty to ensure the fellow New Zealanders know about this Genocide, so that they can take a moral decision to stand against the Tamil Genocide in Sri Lanka, by the Sri Lankan Government.

Unfortunately I come across friends and family who are able to carry on their own lives as nothing has happened. I am amazed, that they are not worried about their kith and kin back home. Yes, we are lucky ones, as we have managed to escape the war, does that mean that we forgot the people who are being massacred back home.

This is my e-mail to my Tamil friends and family, who is carrying on in their lives as nothing is happening back in Sri Lanka:

My dear Tamil brothers, sisters, family and friends,

Although this is not an e-mail addressed to you personally please consider it personal. There are two reasons that I am sending this e-mail to you as a group e-mail:

1. I don’t want to single you out and point fingers;


2. I would have to duplicate the same e-mail to many times to cover you all.

Just to make my point clear: This e-mail is coming from myself and is not a forward!

I choose to e-mail you, because I value your relationship as a family member or as a friend and most importantly as a fellow Tamil.

I am sure you all are aware of the situation back in our homeland. A situation where our kith and kin are being brutally massacred by the Sinhala Government! You know the Sri Lankan Government has banned independent media and NGO’s to go to the affected areas. Illegal weapons of war such as cluster bombs and chemical bombs have killed more than 6,000 civilians since January this year (2009). Mass graves have been dug up by the army and the Sri Lankan Government has continuously refused to stop the war despite international pressure.

I know that it’s hard for us to do anything from here in New Zealand to stop this bloody war! But I believe that we can at least try by participating in protests, talking to local MPs and raise awareness to take our message to the New Zealand public and New Zealand Government, so that they can at least try to put pressure on the Sri Lankan Government to stop the Genocide of Tamils immediately. It is solidarity alone that can save our people.

There has been a mass movement all over the world to show the Tamil people's emotions and stance on this illegal war. However, some of you are refusing to participate in anything and are going on with your everyday lives which I am to be honest shocked and disappointed to see. It is really beyond my comprehension.

All of you are either born in our motherland, have family in our motherland and most importantly the whole reason you are not living in our homeland is the discrimination and/or the war that was experienced by you personally or by your family. Even if not any of the above (which is unlikely), it is still Tamil blood that is running in your veins.

Everyone needs roots and identity. You may have not had any opportunity to bond or had the need to identify with your identity yet, but I am sure each of us will have a time when you will search and want that identity, it may not be today or tomorrow, but it will happen. Exactly that identity is being wiped out as you read this email.

I know we all are busy: busy with work; our own commitments to the family; etc etc etc. But like the famous words on TV goes “While you walk, play, eat, a child waits, in the hope that someone like you will be able to make a difference!” This is the same situation back in our homeland!

Even if it is not the Tamil identity that links you to the current situation back home, not even the humanitarian tragedy that has unfolded seem to have softened your heart. My kiwi friends and friends from other countries seem to care more than you care. As they still have the heart to care for the people who are needy and also they are brave enough to voice their disapproval of the people who violate and kill innocent people! I salute them!

I read this verse other day, and believe in every single word Dr. Martin Luther King has said:

“I say to you, this morning, that if you have never found something so dear and precious to you that you will die for it, then you aren’t fit to live.

You may be 38 years old, as I happen to be, and one day, some great opportunity stands before you and calls upon you to stand for some great principle, some great issue, some great cause. And you refuse to do it because you are afraid. You refuse to do it because you want to live longer. You’re afraid that you will lose your job, or you are afraid that you will be criticized or that you will lose your popularity, or you’re afraid that somebody will stab or shoot or bomb your house. So you refuse to take a stand.

Well, you may go on and live until you are ninety, but you are just as dead at 38 as you would be at ninety.

And the cessation of breathing in your life is but the belated announcement of an earlier death of the spirit.

You died when you refused to stand up for right;
You died when you refused to stand up for truth;
You died when you refused to stand up for justice.”

-Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
From the sermon “But, If Not” delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church on November 5, 1967.

Thank you for reading this e-mail! My intention is not to offend you but this has been on my mind for a long time. I tried to ignore it but it was time to speak out so that I can remain honest. If you choose to come along and support us and contribute, I would very much appreciate it. If you can’t do that, I suppose we have no common link in that we are “Tamils”.

Kind regards,
Dhaya

"Sathyam" Music Album Review...

Music: Harris Jeyaraj
Release Date: 20th July 2008
Lyrics: Pa. Vijay (2 songs), Yaga Bharathi (2 songs), Kabilan
Director: A. Rajasekhar
Starring: Vishal, Nayanthara, Upsendra, Prem Gi Amaran, Kota Srinivasa Rao and others
Producer: Vikram Krishna

Gada Gada (5:02)
Vocal(s) by: Prem Gi Amaren
Lyrics by: Pa. Vijay
Prem Gi Amaren and Harris Jeyaraj have delivered a rhythmic and stylish song in this “Gada Gada” song. A different kind of song which make use of the voice like a music instrument. Prem Gi Amaren has done a good job with his unique but not smooth voice – very original. There is nothing special to say about the lyrics and most of it is in Tanglish, I suppose it’s excusesable since it’s a kind of a rap song and a youthful song. – 80%

Enn Anbe (6:07)
Vocal(s) by: Sadhana Sargam, Beney Deyal
Lyrics by: Yaga Bharathi
Harris has given the nice melodious music to complement the lovely vocal without overpowering Sadhana. Music is simple but nice. Sadhana Sargam always had a good voice, but often her Tamil pronunciation has let her down, but in this song she seems to have improved a lot. It’s very soothing to listen to. Not sure why they have included the African chant, but because it comes in the interlude, it doesn’t disturb the song. Again there is nothing special to say about the lyrics. It’s just a plain romantic song. – 87%

Aaradi Kaathae (4:46)
Vocal(s) by: Hariharan
Lyrics by: Pa. Vijay
A new kind of mass song. It’s refreshing to here something different and new in this mass song filled times. A song that picks up pace as it goes on with a lot of nice drums. This is a different kind of attempt by Hariharan to sing a mass song, which is not his usual style of song. It s definitely a good try to do a unique possibly intro song. Specially the bits where he pronounces Tamil in a broken way doesn’t sound good, but good effort in other places. This is a very original mass introduction lyric for Vishal. – 80%

Chellame Chellame (6:03)
Vocal(s) by: Naveen, Bombay Jeyashree
Lyrics by: Yaga Bharathi
Probably the most trademarked Harris Jeyaraj song in this album. The music sounds a lot like his older work, however the music does sound good. One violin interlude and then Thai female solo is adding a bit of a new feel to the old melody. Nice vocals. Naveen and Jeyashree both do compliment each other and add a positive effect to the song. However, Jeyashree trying to sing sexy has dragged out the words and that has made it hard and sometimes even impossible to understand what she is singing. The lyrics are reasonable sensual – 67%

Paal Paapali (5:49)
Vocal(s) by: Naveen, Mahathi
Lyrics by: Kabilan
This is the “kuthu” song of this album. Nowadays each album seems to have a “kuthu” song and this album is not an exception. Harris is not known for his “kuthu” songs but he has done a decent job with the music. There is some nice use of drums. This song has typical vocals for a “kuthu” song. Nothing new, but the singers have done their job in providing what is expected of them. Again the song has typical lyrics for “kuthu” songs. – 67%

Summary
Overall Harris Jeyaraj has done well in introducing some new ideas but still playing it safe with his music. This album is a good album with a decent mixture of songs, so there is something for everyone. Singers did well and the best thing is that the pronunciation of Tamil was good most of the times. Most of the singers also suited the mood of the music with suitable voice and delivered the song. Good choice of singers for all the songs. Definitely “Gada Gada” song by Prem Gi Amaren is new and refreshing and that has to have a special mention. Lyrics were ok but nothing novel.

I have to give a pass mark for the lyrics (64%) as there was nothing wrong or special in it. The music was excellent (84%) even though there are shadows of Harris’s earlier work. Since he has added a few new bits to it, it sounds newer and still has the enjoyable melody that he is known to produce. Singers also did an excellent (80%) job and they suited all songs. All in all, the entire album is another hit for the “king of melodies”. – 76%

"Kuselan" Film Review...

Release date: 1st August 2008
Staring: Rajinikanth, Pasupathy, Meena, Vadivelu, Nayanthara, Sona, Mamta Mohandas and others.
Directed by: P Vasu
Screenplay by: P Vasu
Cinematography by: Aravind Krishna
Music by: GV Prakash Kumar
Choreography by: DKS Babu, Ragavendra Larrence, Brinda, Ashok Raj
Editing: Saravana
Lyrics: Vaali, Pa Vijay, Yugabarathi, Dr Kirdhayaa
Produced by: Pushpa Kandaswamy, GP Vijayakumar (Kavithalayaa & Seven Arts Films)
Remake of Malayalam film “Katha Parayumbol”
MPAA Rating: G (General)
Running Time: 158.52 mins
Genre: Family / Drama / Comedy

Rating: 40%
Summary: A movie that should have been a mega hit is a failure because of the direction, screenplay, too many unwanted characters, unnecessary graphic gimmicks and vulgar scenes. What a shame!

The plot is simple. Balu (Pasupathy) a barber who has a small old-fashioned barbershop is finding the going hard to make a living. His old school friend Ashok Kumar (Rajinikanth) who is known as superstar comes to the village for a film shooting. Everyone gets to know that Balu and Ashok Kumar were childhood friends. The villagers try to be friendly with Balu, so that they can meet Ashok Kumar. But Balu feels ashamed of his current position in life and feels that Ashok Kumar would not want to meet or not even remember him . The whole movie is about how Balu meets Ashok Kumar.

Acting - Pasupathy as Balu acted out his role well, can’t say this is his best performance though especially when compared with Veyyil. I believe Vasu did not know how to get the best out of him. Rajinikanth as Superstar Ashok Kumar didn’t really have to act as such, as he just had to be himself in this movie. Meena acts as Sridevi (Balu’s wife) and her acting was very artificial and she didn’t manage to portray the character to the audience. She reminded me of characters in TV commercials. Her childish peepsy voice did not help either. She just did not fit the role of a mother with 3 children especially with the oldest daughter being around 15 years old. People broke out into laughter when she says “naangallum alluthutom”. I too almost cried when she said that. Vadivelu as Shanmugam is the main comedian in this movie. Again Vaduvelu did act his role out well, but nothing outstanding about it. The comedy at times included a lot of vulgarity which is very unlike Rajini movies. Nayanthara acted in a role that I would have imagined the likes of Silk Smitha in. She degraded herself to that level and that is all I can say about her. Nothing else.

Santhanam in certain places gave a relief from the monotonous screenplay. It was beyond my understanding why this movie had to have to many comedians in it. Noone had a real opportunity to deliver. And the little that was delivered was tasteless.

Direction – The P. Vasu who has given many hit movies in ‘90’s couldn’t be found in this movie. He was not able to remake an already established and successful script that proved to be a hit movie in Malayalam. Even with stars such as Rajinikanth and Pasupathy he managed to fail miserably. First of all he has to learn to caste for a movie, it’s not about how many stars that you have in a film, but about whether they add any value to the story. P.Vasu has not paid any attention to artists’ dialogue delivery to make it realistic ensuring that it’s shot again and again till it’s right. In this movie, there are many scenes where the dialogue delivery and acting were below par. There are so many instances where computer graphics have been introduced for no apparent reason. The artificial blue colour of the sea and dolphins were very unreal. In fact there are scenes that gives the impression they were introduced only to add computer graphics. Not sure who came up with this idea, but who ever did as well as the director who let this happen are to be blamed. The ultimately worst scene is where Rajinikanth slits his neck and pulls his head off his body which then flew around the room (this was supposed to be “Chandramugi 2” shooting). There are many scenes like this that have ruined Kuselan. Pasupathy’s characterization was insufficient because of that the movie did not have the impact on the audience that the story really deserves. Direction is an art, and P Vasu has showed, how it shouldn’t be done!

Screenplay – Character development lacked everywhere especially for Balu (Pasupathy). There were so many unnecessary scenes and dialogues. There are big holes in screenplay and most audience in the theater could see that it was not up to the standard and hence there were a lot of comments and laughter during serious scenes. It was truly emberassing considering it being a Rajinikanth movie despite the fact that it has him in a guest role. After all the marketing was done for it as if it was a typical Rajini movie. Therefore the expectations got crushed.

Settings / Locations – Were realistic and the landscape was beautiful.

Cinematography – Most parts cinematography was impressive. It was a treat to the eye. Composition were easy on the eyes. However, there was a scene where Madhan Babu’s head was cut off as he was talking from the balcony of the Superstar’s guest house. This is a big flaw in cinematography and I can’t believe the director, cinematographer and editor all missed this. Makes you wonder how much effort and dedication went in to the postproduction work. A highlight in the camera work is that the lighting suited the situations. Especially the scene where Balu is repairing his barbershop’s old chair was taken very well with artistic flair. Finally, the camera angles that were trying to show Nayanthara and Sona’s body are very disturbing and too intrusive.

Background music – Another aspect that let down the movie is the background music, which was distracting as it was often too loud. At times it did not suit the situation. Some were even copied from other movies.

Editing – There was nothing that looked out of place, however, it can’t be called crisp and I could not identify any particular patterns. The background music had taken a lot of the blame and because of that the editing couldn’t be reviewed properly.

Songs – Refer to the "Kuselan" Music Album Review in this blog itself.
Special effects – Almost all of the computer graphics was unwanted for this movie. The special effects removed the emphasis and realism of the story. The special effect work was very amateurish in many places.

The message told by this movie was good and showed how a good friendship could be a big turning point in ones life. This movie is a remake of a hit Malayalam movie called “Katha Parayumbol”. I did watch some of “Katha Parayumbol” and think that movie was much more realistic and it had a lot more importance to the story. The direction was true to the story line. There was a lot of publicity about Kuselan but it didn’t live up to all the hype that was created around it.

This movie might be a “good lesson” for many artists and technicians. P Vasu should understand even if he was to remake a hit movie, he has to pay attention to screenplay and direction. There is no point in adding more characters (big names) and adding more comedy if you are going to sacrifice the main characters development. This movie makes us appreciate other directors and artists who are remaking hit movies in a successful way. A hit from a different languagee is not an automatic hit film inTakil, it has to have the right touches. Probably Pasupathy for acting and Aravind Krishna for camera would be talked about for the right reasons. Definitely Nayanthara and Meena for their lack of acting, P Vasu for bad direction and screenplay, GV Prakash Kumar for loud and unsuitable background score, Soundharya for amateurish and unwanted additions of special effects will be talked about for the failure of this movie. Audience expects Rajini movies to be family entertainers. Selective comedy scenes and the ‘Charal’ song do not let Kuselan qualify for “General Audience’ certification but somehow it has managed to do it.

Producers, distributors, theater owners (for financial reasons) and superstar Rajinikanth (for his reputation) are the losers from this project.

“Kuselan” Music Album Review…

Music: GV Prakash
Release date: 1st July 2008
Lyrics: Vaali (2 songs), Pa.Vijay, Yugabharathi, Dr. Kridhaya
Director: P Vasu
Starring: Pasupathy, Meena, Rajinikanth, Nayanthara, Vadivelu and others.
Producer: K Balachandar
Remake of Malayalam classic “Kadha Parayumbhol”

Chaaral (4:34)
Vocal(s) by Shreya Ghoshal
Lyrics by Dr. Kridhaya
Shreya seems to be delivering good songs consistently. However, this song is not above average in terms of music or lyrics, but the honey filled vocal of Shreya has to be appreciated. She has played her part well as a singer. – 67%

Cinema Cinema (6:08)
Vocal(s) by Shankar Mahadevan
Lyrics by Vaali
This is a typical Rajinkanth glorification song. There is nothing special in the music to speak of. Shankar Mahadevan has done well and there are no suprises as he has rendered many songs in this tempo. Lyric for this song do not live up to expectations especially since the hype was that it was a tribute to Tamil cinema’s 75th anniversary. It has bits and pieces about Tamil cinema, but mostly it’s about Rajinikanth. I counted the lines that it talks about the rest of the cinema or cinema related lines and it’s only 21. The Rajinikanth glorification lines are 32. So not sure how it can be a tribute to the Tamil cinema in anyway. It also does not talk about other key people in the industry who have made great contributions like Kamalhassan, Manirantam, Balachandar, Illayarajah, AR Rahman, etc. I think it would have been better if they had tried to add some of these people in to the song and if it was going to be hard to add them as there is always some one who might get left out and that may cause unwanted problems, then they should have not sung about Rajinikanth in this song and kept it general. Where I have a problem is when they say that it’s a tribute for Tamil cinema’s 75 years celebration, and then they write about Rajini alone. There is already a song for Rajini so this was just purely overkill. Anyway why we have NTR and Rajakumar when it’s suppose to be a tribute for 75 years of Tamil cinema? I hate it when they try to make marketing comments thinking that everyone else is an idiot! - 53%

Om Zaarare (7:12)
Vocal(s) by Daler Mehndi, Chitra, Sadhana Sargam
Lyrics: Vaali
Why Om Zaarare? What does that mean? Is that Hindi? Don’t we have enough Tamil words to use? The music is very average, probably the weakest song in this album. Why waste Chitra and Sadhana in this song? Why Daler Mehindi? He does not add any value to this song. Why include someone who can’t pronounce Tamil and there is no need for that voice as such either. Another marketing strategy, I guess. The lyrics contain many of Rajini’s previous film names all through out the song. But it doesn’t make much sense; anyone can put the titles of Rajinikanth movies together in this manner. Very disappointing song especially considering this was written by Valli. Another simple mass song only, however it is not that great. - 40%

Perinba (5:36)
Vocal(s) by Kailash Kher, Prasanna
Lyrics by Yugabharathi
Another Rajinikanth worshiping song! Nice music, probably the best music in this album, pity that it reminds us all of GV Prakash’s earlier work from “Veyil” movie. There is no uniqueness. Apart from Kailash Kher’s Tamil pronunciation the song is sung well. I am not sure if Rajinikanth is all what it says in this song, infact I am sure he is not! There is no need to have such lyrics in any album. The lyrics suggest he is a god, leader, etc. Why this? Praise his accomplishments rather than inventing fairy stories- 53%

Sollamma (6:13)
Vocal(s) by Hariharan, Sujatha, Baby Ranjini, Baby Pooja
Lyrics: Pa Vijay
This song is probably the best song of the album. Music is easy to listen, with nice melody. Do I need to say anything about Hariharan and Sujatha’s singing ability in a melodies song like this? They excel as expected. Probably the best lyrics in this album as it depicts the simple happiness a poor person has in their daily life, it’s no surprise that this song was written by Pa Vijay. – 80%

Summary
All in all, I find that the album serves the only purpose of worshipping Rajinikanth. I am not sure how they could write songs like this and get Rajinikanth to act in this! He is said to be a modest person and doesn’t like glorification, but this song is all about glorification of Rajinikanth and not even true glorification. I know that Rajinikanth is acting as a super star in this movie, but I don’t see the need for so many songs about Rajini to portray that super star effect. I am confident that all Rajini fans will be overjoyed and this would be the best thing that happened to them but I for neutral fans this album is a bit suffocating. Overall lyrics are a big letdown. The music is good, but nothing exceptional or new. GV Prakash has played it safe by placing good singers into their comfort zone. Daler Mehndi & Kailash Kher were inclusions that could have been avoided, as they didn’t add anything special and their Tamil pronunciation was appalling to warrant their presence in this album. Especially Daler Mehndi was not needed at all, but as I said it would have been another marketing decision to promote the movie, perhaps specifically targeted at North Indians? Who knows!!!

I would give a fail (44%) to the lyrics apart from Pa Vijay’s “Sollamma” song. Music was good, but because there was nothing new or special it’s a pass mark (58%). Singers did a good (72%) job and they are probably the ones who saved the album on the end of the day. – 59%.