Tamil Film Reviews - new movies pg 34*

Unnale Unnale..

We go to the movies to laugh, cry and be entertained. The movies are forever, everything else can wait. Jeeva's Unnale Unnale reinforces this faith. Count among the high points- Sada's possessive stubborn woman act, Harris Jayaraj's chic music including the haunting title track and background score and Jeeva's winsome dialogues. Employing a Dil Chahta Hai-esque feel, this film is a visual accomplishment. The cameraman in Jeeva has created an array of breathtaking images of yuppie centric Melbourne.
Unnale Unnale is an urban romantic fun film that explores love from a slightly realistic and different point of view. The movie does not have clichd characters nor the typical masalas associated with Tamil films and is packaged in Bollywood style. Though some of the scenes are straight lifts from various Hollywood and Bollywood films, director Jeeva has succeeded in bringing out brilliant performances from his lead actors and presenting the film in a chic and sophisticated manner.
Karthik (Vinay) a software engineer is a fun loving and a playful lamb who flirts with every second girl who crosses his path. He is sent on work to Melbourne where he meets his ex-lover Jhansi (Sada). They had fallen in love with each other in Chennai but had drifted away when they found that they are not made for each other. Jhansi is also an extremely possessive, always suspicious introvert, basically old fashioned. And there is this bubbly girl Deepika (Tanisha) whom Karthi meets on the flight to Australia who plays cupid after realizing how deeply they still love each other. But Deepika slowly falls in love with him, complicating matters. The stubborn and at the same time lovelorn Jhansi is not willing to open up and sort out issues and her hidden fears makes things worse. Do the mismatched lovers unite?
There is no room for predictability in Jeeva's script and he has shown love happening between the characters as a gradual process over a period of time. This modern love story explores relationship with class and maturity punctuated with light humour that really lifts up the movie in the first half. The interaction between Karthi and Jhansi in India and Melbourne are a pure delight to watch. In the second half, things begin to cool down and the pace drops a bit, but still the packaging leaves an impact, thanks to the hummable tunes, brilliant camera work and freshness in cast.
Full marks to Harris Jeyaraj for the songs especially the "Unnale Unnale…", "June Pona…" and the background score which stays long after you leave the hall. They are picturised aesthetically in never-seen-before locations with utmost care going into details. Jeeva who has handled the camera has done a great job. Each frame of the film is picture-perfect and looks like a dream.
Newboy Vinay is literally the tallest hero (6ft 3in) is handsome with a winsome smile. He fits the character of Karthik, the smooth talking city boy and has the much required screen presence. But he has to brush up his dialogue delivery as he has the potential to be a star. However it is Sada who steals the show as the no-nonsense, level headed, self-centered working woman of today, who knows what she wants in life. Jeeva has given her a matured bespectacled look (a la Preity Zinta in Kal Ho Naa Ho?) with western outfits. She brings the credibility, sensitivity and vulnerability to her character with the mien of a veteran.
Tanisha suits the role of Deepika to the T. She is sassy, gentle and looks glamorous and has been able to bring the zingy mix of her character alive with style and substance. You cannot mention just how luminous the two girls look on screen with perfect costumes that go with the story milieu. All credit to Aneez, the costume designer, that you just cannot take your eyes off the lead actors. Raju Sundaram and Sreenath provide humour and wacky one-liners in the first and latter half respectively.
Anyone (which means almost everyone) who has loved and lost will recognize that Unnale Unnale is a bitter sweet valentine to unrequited love. It is a feel-good love story which will surely appeal to urban audiences and youth. Go for it, and chill out in cool Melbourne, a welcome relief from Kollywood's current favourite location- Madurai and its dry arid lands.
Verdict: Minty cool

Thank you Rhodes for the fantastic review. Will definitely look out for it here.

Pat

thank you rhodes for that review. UU is on my top must see list now. it looks like a refreshing love story. i like love stories, too bad now tamil cinema is saturated with heavy masala films.😭😭

👏 👏 cant wait 2 c da movie thx buddy 4 da reviewEdited by usha_pooja - 17 years ago

jiggly dear..i thought you would be happy to see sada....(Hope u like sada very much)....Hope you had nice time reading this and seeing sada...pretty.

Edited by rhodes - 17 years ago

thanks rhodes, i am really happy to read that sada did a great job in this film. i watched some clips of Unnale Unnale on sun tv yesterday.😊 sada looks fresh & convincing. she also shares good chemistry with vinay. they make a cute couple.😳😳 anyways, thanks again for that compliment.😃

btw, i found this trailer of Unnale Unnale on Youtube.😃

it's short & sweet. vinay looks cute, sada looks pretty & tanisha is so cute too.😊 i like the specs look that sada has been given in this film. it reminds of of preity zinta in Kal Ho Na Ho.😉

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_46q2ULUGSg

Edited by jigglypuff726 - 17 years ago

Review :

Mayakannadi




Director
Cheran
Producer
Chellamaii Celluloid
Music
Ilayaraja
Cast
Cheran, Navya, Radha Ravi


By Moviebuzz


We wish that Cheran had whipped up a more winsome screenplay with Mayakannadi on middle class dreams turning sour due to lack of commitment. It's nowhere in the league of the talented director's previous works like Autograph or Thavamai Thavamirunthu.
Here Cheran has tried to prove that he can be a romantic hero, a city slicker in designer outfits, straightened hair and singing duets (with blonde wigs) in a dream song Azhagu Rani…. in lush locales of Switzerland and Venice and that dance number Oyeale Yenga Vantha…. He moves away from his core strengths - human emotions, nostalgia and soft romance to a more direct up-market approach to woo the multiplex audience but falters!

Kumar (Cheran) an expert hair stylist and Maheswari (Navya) are lovers who work in Adam and Eve adjacent beauty parlour for men and women owned by Tirupathi (Radha Ravi). They are from lower middle class background but are smitten by the rich and famous who come to their parlour. The lovers dream to make it big one day, be rich and lead a good life. They try out various get-rich overnight short-cut routes like being LIC agents and finally Kumar decides to join films after meeting actor Sarathkumar (in a cameo) who says that if the right script comes even "Kumar can be a hero!"

Greed and aspiration forces Kumar to chase his dream and in the race he loses the job at the parlour. He tries hard with full support from Maheswari but ends up working for Arasu a sophisticated, aristocratic rich man and a shrewd businessman dealing in drugs. Kumar ends up in jail and after three years he is a changed man.

The first half has some lighter moments, the way liberalization has brought all pervading consumerism into the life of the lower middle class in our society. The greed to achieve all the latest gizmos and how the young generation are forgetting their roots, chasing their impossible dreams has been well told. The basic plot of the film is taken from an 80's Malayalam film Akkare starring 'Bharath' Gopi and Madhavi.

Cheran's intentions are noble but the execution has gone wrong as the love scenes between the lead pair, the jail episode and a song plus Radha Ravi's lengthy speech in the climax- all tests your patience as the film runs for nearly 3 hours! Were editors Iyyappan & Rama Rao sleeping? However, the silver lining are Dwaraknath's camera and Ilayaraja's hummable songs.

Cheran's message-The road to success is full of hardships and it does not come in a day. It's better to be the number one at what you are, rather than aspiring to be someone else! After seeing the film, we hope that the director applies this message in his life by sticking to his core strength of direction rather than dabble in roles that just do not suit him.

Verdict: Average

Edited by meli - 17 years ago

Thanks very much Meli... 👏 👏
yep..the city boy look doesnt suit Cheran that apt...
May be he has just given a try..but ofcourse its an expensive try...

Thanks for the review meli. Much appreciated.

Pat

Naan Avanillai Movie Review



Cast: Jeevan, Malavika, Namitha, Sneha, Jyothirmayee, Keerthi Chawla
Direction: Selva
Music: Vijay antony
Production: V Hitesh Jhabak


Naan Avan Illai is the story of Joseph Fernandes (the original name of Jeevan's character); a genius who does not believe in hard work. He uses all his natural talents at conning people and drives his elder brother to desperation. Jeevan is soon placed under the watchful eyes of a friend of his elder brother. But as fate has it, the friend is a politician and the fraud that was struggling to grow within Jeevan finds fertile soil. With a little bit of encouragement, Jeevan is convinced that swindling people out of their money is the best thing to do in life. After that Joseph Fernandez disappears from the film, but Jeevan remains there. Well, it's like this. A permanent name and identity can prove harmful to the health of a trickster and so Joseph Fernandez changes identity even before you realize.

From here on, it is the story of five beautiful but gullible women (one at a time) and Jeevan. He befriends, promises big things, sometimes marries and always in the end disappears with a big amount of money leaving no trace behind. Saying more about the story would not be in the right spirit. From Namitha to Malavika, all the ladies fall into the trap without exception.

What makes the movie interesting is the way in which he cons all the ladies. The writer-director of the movie, Selva must have worked overtime to device such foolproof methods. One can't help but wonder whether the movie is a biopic of the writer. There is not a single loophole to detect in any of the methods used. Jeevan is at his best while swindling women, as he proved with Thiruttu Payale. His playboy looks and body language fit the character like a glove. Jeevan is the automatic choice for playboy in Kollywood.

Coming to the heroines, there seems to have been a glamour contest in the movie. Each of the ladies has a song all for themselves and all of them have used their opportunity to the fullest, they sizzle. Anyone going to the theater expecting a heavy dose of glamour will not be disappointed; the five leading ladies have not been wasted.

On the technical front, one must commend both the camera (E.K.Sendhil Kumar) and the editing (Suresh Urs). Both of them have lent certain richness to the movie. Dialogues - crisp and sharp, by Pattukotai Prabhakaran add strength to Jeevan's character. Finally, the music by Vijay Anthony too does not let you down. The only glitch in the movie may be the stunt effects that could have been better taken care of.

All in all, a commercial entertainer that is close to flawlessly scripted and neatly executed. There's lots of color, lots of glamour and lots of excitement; enjoy your time in the theater. But remember, the techniques that have been used in the movie have been conceived and performed by professionals, do not try it in your life! You could end up in jail.

One final word: 'You get as good as you give'. Jeevan, for all his fraudulence, does get the wrong end of the stick towards the end and that's where the sixth lady enters. Does he survive the bad turn of fortune, does he carry on as Casanova, watch Naan Avanillai to find out. It's worth it.

Is it a remake of the yesteryear Gemini Ganesan starrer? Well, don't bother yourself with unnecessary details. It's a good movie, enjoy it.
At last, Paruthiveeran has competition.

Source: Behindwoods
Edited by rhodes - 16 years ago