Balaji's Thots

I’m in Japan now for a short business trip. I used to travel to Japan 3-4 times a year in my first job but my last 2 jobs have not had any travel and so I am back in Japan after more than 10 years. One of the things I remembered distinctly from my previous trips here was the helpfulness of the people, who go above and beyond normal courtesy in extending help. I found evidence of this the very first day I was here.

On the advice of a colleague from work, I purchased one of the prepaid cards for use on trains. After the 1st train journey, I was supposed to use my train ticket on the way out. Instead, I tried to swipe the card, which unfortunately didn’t work. This guy, who was on his way out, noticed me, came over and asked me if there was a problem. When I showed him that the card wasn’t working, he asked me to follow him, took me to the information desk, talked to them in Japanese and then informed me that I had to give them the ticket and didn’t need the card there. All this from someone whom I hadn’t even asked for help!

The 2 train journeys were easy enough. But though I had directions to the hotel, I was a bit disoriented when I came out of the train station since there were multiple exits. So I went into a department store and asked the girl at the counter for directions. She didn’t know the hotel but when I gave her the address, she looked it up on Google Maps on her laptop and then asked me to follow her outside. I assumed she was going to give me directions. But she ended up taking me all the way to the hotel’s doorstep a few blocks down the road, even running ahead at the end to ensure that it was the right hotel!

Yes, its difficult to find anything written in English; yes, its extremely difficult to communicate in English; and yes, its tough to find vegetarian food. But with their attitude and the willingness to help, the Japanese make the trips to their country pleasant and easy.

Though Lingusamy started with a family drama in Aanandham, he made a successful switch to masala with the fabulous Run and hasn’t looked back since. His films since then, including 2010’s Paiyaa have been disappointing but in his latest film Vettai, he seems to have rediscovered the touch that made Run such a wonderful entertainer. Small tweaks to familiar elements and a nice mix of action, romance and comedy ensure that the film is a well-paced, fun entertainer.

Thirumoorthy(Madhavan) is a coward while his younger brother Gurumoorthy(Arya) has no fear as he stands up for himself and his brother. When their dad, a policeman, dies, Guru convinces Thiru to take up the job as SI for the respect the position would confer on him. Once he becomes a cop, Guru helps Thiru execute some daring assignments, which makes Thiru the enemy of the rowdies Annachi(Ashutosh Rana) and Mari. Meanwhile, Thiru’s marriage is arranged with Vasanthi(Sameera Reddy) while Guru takes a liking to Vasanthi’s sister Jayanthi(Amala Paul).

Lingusamy makes small tweaks to familiar scenarios to make things interesting. So familiar scenes like a man beating up rowdies and saving kidnapped kids is made interesting by making him a kid brother surreptitiously helping his cowardly cop brother. The story has enough juice to drive the film forward. It is sufficiently different from the usual hero-vs-corrupt politician stories that drive most of our masala films and has enough scope for action and comedy to maintain a great pace. So while the nicely- choreographed fight sequences provide the thrills, the reactions of others – both the police and the bad guys – who don’t know about the switch leads to nice laughs.

In the same way, the romance is launched via a small tweak too. While we usually see the lead pair go from modhal to kaadhal as they fight before falling love, here its Arya and Sameera start off quarreling before she ends up marrying Madhavan(so, in a way, she goes from modhal to madhani ). Apart from the quarrels being fun since we know what’s coming, this also leads to a cute start to the Arya-Amala romance as they alter their earlier stances after seeing each other. The relationship between Arya and Sameera appears to get a little serious after she marries Madhavan but thankfully doesn’t go down that route.

Madhavan’s transformation lifts the movie when it starts to drag a wee bit. The way it is effected is cinematic and it happens too quickly but it leads to some nice sequences(including one where Madhavan refers to his famous scene in Run) as he takes on the villains. And though there are now two action heroes, the film doesn’t lose its humor as the way events unfold at Amala’s wedding shows. Still, its a letdown when the film resorts to cliches to keep the story moving. Whether its the needless, caricatured Americanized suitor for Amala Paul, the the tactic Arya uses to change Madhavan or the strategy Arya and Madhavan use with one of Ashutosh Rana’s henchmen, the sequences give us a faint feeling of deju vu.

Arya slips easily into action hero mode though he just seems more comfortable doing romance and comedy. Madhavan looks flabby with an obvious paunch and struggles to dance in the Dham Dham… number. Still he makes us overlook it with a strong performance as he makes us laugh as the coward and is all fiery once he changes. Amala Paul shares good chemistry with Arya and dances well in the song sequences but Sameera makes up for that with a crowd-pleasing moment near the end. Ashutosh Rana doesn’t do much throughout but does put up a good fight at the end. Pappapappa… is a fun number though prosthetic noses seems like a rather weird prop for the group dancers. Dham Dham… and Thaiya Thakka… are captured beautifully in some colorful locales thanks to Nirav Shah’s cinematography. He also makes a mark in capturing the fight sequences indoors.

The best remakes allow us to see the director’s own vision while retaining the spirit of the original. At the other end of the spectrum are the remakes(Seenu, the atrocious remake of Malayalam classic Bharatham comes to mind) which mutilate the original with a mix of bad casting and a poor screenplay. Nanban, a remake of Bollywood blockbuster 3 Idiots, sits somewhere in the middle. It is a very faithful remake of the original and manages to earn the same positives and negatives, with the former considerably outnumbering the latter.

Venkat(Shrikanth), who is studying Engineering at the insistence of his parents but dreams of becoming a wildlife photographer, and Senthil(Jiiva), who faces the prospect of being his family’s sole breadwinner after graduating, are roommates after enrolling at Ideal Engineering College, one of the most reputed in the country. Soon they meet Pari(Vijay), their new roommate, who soon brings about some startling changes in their behavior and outlook on life. The college principal Virumandi Santhanam(Satyaraj) is a harsh taskmaster, who doesn’t tolerate poor performance or lack of discipline and its no surprise that Pari and he never see eye to eye. But Pari has the same reaction on Virumandi’s daughter Ria(Ileana) as he has on his roommates.

Considering that Nanban is Shankar’s first remake, the extent to which the director has replicated the original comes as a bit of a surprise. The film is a very close copy of 3 Idiots, from major and minor characters, plot points, staging of scenes and snippets of dialog right down to character  mannerisms(like Satyaraj’s lisp), character nicknames(Silencer, Millimeter) and camera angles. Barring the picturization of the song sequences and a few pieces of dialog, everything in the film comes from 3 Idiots.

3 Idiots was a very good entertainer that presented a timely, topical message skilfully packaged with lots of humor, some romance and sentiments and a feel-good ending. By being faithful to it, Nanban ensures that the same applies to it also. The film’s key point about our education system’s misguided emphasis on memorizing rather than learning is a strong and valid one and the messages about pursuing one’s dream and not letting the pressure of academics get to us holds universal appeal. The romance, even if it banks on a caricatured character like Ileana’s fiance, is cute because of the fun in the meetings between Vijay and Ileana.

But the film’s biggest achievement is the perfect balance it strikes between sentiments and humor. The emotions, like the friendship between the leads or the affection between Shrikanth and his dad, are captured accurately and never get melodramatic(the childbirth scene is over-the-top but the emotions see it through). At the same time, Vijay’s attitude towards life and his approach to things ensure that his interactions with those around him are a lot of fun. The humor is mostly loud and a bit crass but it works. Both the overt instances(like Sathyan’s Teacher’s Day speech) and the instances where its blended with sentiments(as in the dinner at Jiiva’s house) are effective and lead to big laughs.

Considering Nanban is such a faithful remake, its success hinged on its cast and they make it work. Vijay puts aside his usual macho self to portray a down-to-earth student with a zest for learning. It is a non-flashy, controlled performance that suits the movie perfectly. His mannerisms are likeable and his pieces of advice don’t seem like sermonizing. Jiiva fits his role really well as he brings out his fear at what lies ahead. Shrikanth is a little dull compared to the other two but has his moments(he gets the expressions just right in the hospital when Vijay uses him as bait to revive Jiiva). Satyaraj goes over-the-top many times and doesn’t strike the right balance between being strict and being funny. Ileana is pretty but looks jaded at many points. Its not easy accepting Sathyan as a foreign-returned nerd but he manages to get by in the key role. The All is Well… number is picturized with energy with some casual dancing from Vijay. Shankar’s penchant for grandeur peeks in in Aska Laska…, though he shows himself to have a sense of humor in the way he takes a dig at his own template for songs in his movies. Irukkaana… catches the eye with its rich and colorful sets and costumes.

In the days leading up to Kaavalan’s release and the subsequent assembly elections, Vijay and DMK appeared to be the greatest of enemies. Vijay publicly accused the then in-power DMK of sabotaging his film’s release(I don’t remember the exact reason though I think it had to do with Sun Pictures not being able to buy Kaavalan). Though there were a lot of rumors about his entry into politics, he didn’t float a party but openly supported Jayalalitha and AIADMK. He was also among the first to congratulate her in person after her landslide victory.

The enmity seemed to be continuing even as late as last Diwali. Velayudham trailers were shown only on Jaya TV and the now-familiar promotional programs(interviews with the cast, special programs about the film, etc.) on Diwali were also limited to Jaya TV. Where Vijay’s loyalties lay were pretty clear in the film too as Sun TV was conspicuously absent and Jaya TV was in the forefront among the cameras held by reporters in the film. Vijay also made an overt comment about being happy that he was in the ruling party quite early in the film.

But things seem have changed now. I was surprised to see Nanban trailers quite frequently on Sun TV. Then came the audio launch, which was a large-scale affair and was attended by Vijay and was also telecast on Sun TV. But I dismissed those as things Vijay had no control over since rights to the trailer and the audio launch would’ve been at the discretion of the producer. But I was really surprised to see an interview with Vijay, along with Shankar, Jiiva and Srikanth, on Sun TV as one of the special programs for Pongal.

I’m sure Vijay could’ve declined to appear in the program. I’ve read that Ajith has a “no participation in promotional activities” clause when he signs up. So we don’t see him appearing in programs leading up to the release of his movie. In fact, Mankatha’s producer opted not to have a big scale audio launch or 100th day celebrations since Ajith wouldn’t be part of them. So I think Vijay could’ve refrained from appearing in programs linked to the Sun Network if he so wished but didn’t. Does this mean his harsh feelings towards the DMK have softened? Or was he just made an offer he couldn’t refuse?

There’s a popular saying that there are no permanent friends or enemies in politics. I guess that can be extended to cinema too. Now all that’s left is for Vadivelu to appear in an interview on Captain TV!

Looking ahead, 2012 looks to be a star-studded year in Tamil cinema with films from top actors and leading directors slated to hit screens this year. Pongal, which typically kicks of the movie year, seems to be a sign of things to come with two big movies, Nanban and Vettai, both of which feature interesting star casts and successful directors.

Nanban, remake of Aamir Khan’s blockbuster 3 Idiots, is a rather intriguing film. It is a non-commercial film that brings together our most successful commercial director and our most consistently commercial actor. By doing so, the film has earned a couple of firsts to its credits as it is the first time Vijay and Shankar are teaming up and it is also the first remake for Shankar. And if its a faithful remake of the original, it may also be the first Vijay film without a fight sequence!

Nanban had lot of bad buzz to start with. A lot that was owing to Vijay, a mass masala hero with a strong image and a long list of formulaic commercial films, not being a good fit for the role of a genius student in an urban college flick. And some of it was because of the non-suitability of Shankar’s grandiose, larger-than-life approach to the simple, down-to-earth story of 3 Idiots. But the negative talk has largely died down with a nice trailer and a popular soundtrack, both of which indicate a faithful adherence to the original.

For Vijay, Nanban is the strongest indication yet of his desire to step out of his comfort zone and take some risks by acting in non-masala movies. The original has none of the staple elements of his usual films – an introduction number, kuthu songs, fights – and is actually the polar opposite of the kind of films he has been associated with. So it is great that he accepted the film. With 2 hits behind him and movies with successful directors(Thuppaakki with Murugadoss and Yohan with Gautham Menon) ahead, it is the right time in his career for a movie like this. I don’t think Jiiva, who is doing Sharman Joshi’s role, would have accepted this movie if the offer had come after Ko since 1 hit is all our heroes need to claim that they wouldn’t do multi-starrers. Rowthiram and Vandhaan Vendraan notwithstanding, his appearance does make Nanban a genuine multi-starrer. Srikanth, who has taken on Madhavan’s role, hasn’t been seen for a while(barring the long-delayed Sadhurangam) and so doesn’t bring much to the table. Gorgeous Ileana, who was last seen in Kedi but has since found much success in Telugu cinema, finally returns to Tamil in Kareena Kapoor’s role. Satyaraj plays the principal role that Boman Irani essayed in the original. Its a role that has a lot of opportunity for hamming up and I’m hoping Satyaraj downplays it. But the actor I’m most scared of is Satyan, who plays the nerdy student played so well by Om Vaidya. With his penchant for loud comedy, he is likely to turn it into a caricature.

After Anniyan, Shankar is once again working with Harris Jayaraj in Nanban. Aska Laska…, with its interesting lyrics and sweet tune, has already become a hit. En Frienda Pola… and Heartile Battery… are both catchy and easily hummable with their simple lyrics. The latter does well in fitting 3 Idiots‘ popular All Is Well catchphrase into a nice tune. Irukkaanaa… has a generic tune and the Olli Belly hook loses its charm after a few listens. Endhan Kann Mun… and Nalla Nanban… are passable.

Pongal’s other big release Vettai has a couple of things in common with Nanban. It also features a commercial director with a number of hits to his name and it is also a multi-starrer.

Vettai is a commercial movie but is headlined by two actors who aren’t usually associated with that genre. Arya has been seen in comedies(Boss Engira Bhaskaran) and romantic films(Madharasapattinam, Chikku Bukku) and hasn’t acted in a commercial venture for a while now. Madhavan, who is pretty selective when it comes to Tamil films, has also not acted in any masala films for a while now. Here he re-teams with Lingusamy, the director of one of his biggest hits Run and takes on the role of a policeman. Arya is paired with Amala Paul, arguably the fastest rising heroine today while Madhavan is paired with Sameera Reddy, who hasn’t impressed after a charming debut in Vaaranam Aayiram.

Lingusamy started off with a successful family-drama Aanandham but made a very successful jump to masala with his very next film Run and hasn’t looked back since. He has seen both hits(Sandakkozhi, Paiyaa) and flops(Ji, Bheema) in that genre but has been quite reliable in delivering entertaining and crowd-pleasing films. He has stuck with Yuvan Shankar Raja, who gave a hugely successful soundtrack for Paiyaa. But Yuvan hasn’t repeated that this time around. Pappapappa…, which was released as a single and blatantly copied Kolaveri’s in-studio, making-of video style, was very energetic and catchy. But the rest of the soundtrack, released a few days later, was a disappointment.

With two big movies featuring interesting actor(s)-director combinations, this Pongal is a big one for Tamil cinema. Let’s hope both the movies are successful, giving a rousing start to the year.

2010 was a spectacular year for Tamil cinema with movies from all top actors, acclaimed directors and new and exciting genres. Naturally, 2011 was a step down in all those aspects. We didn’t have movies from Rajni or Kamal and directors like Manirathnam and Shankar and not as many new genres were explored in the movies that came out. Still 2011 was not anything to complain about either as it took Tamil cinema in some new directions.

2011’s biggest surprise was undoubtedly our stars peeking out from image blanket they usually hide under as they took risks and played some surprising characters. The biggest risk was taken by Ajith, who played a bad guy who cheats on his girlfriend and double-crosses his teammates for money in Mankatha. The gamble paid off in a big way as the film became the biggest blockbuster of the year. While Vijay’s risk wasn’t that daring, it still was a surprise seeing him in a romance/comedy film like Kaavalan, which faced many problems because of his political affiliations. Dhanush in Aadukalam and Simbhu in Vaanam made choices in the climax that went against what our heroes usually do. Sarathkumar threw away his he-man image to appear as a eunuch in Kanchana while Vishal surprised us with a physically demanding role as a cross-eyed man in Avan Ivan and executed an entire song sequence dressed as a woman. Vikram had no heroics in his role as a man with the mental capacity of a 5-year-old in Dheiva Thirumagal while Suriya, after his appearance as Bodhidharman, was content playing a secondary role to Shruti Hassan for most of 7aam Arivu.

Ofcourse most of the above actors played the superhero in generic masala movies to balance things out. So Vijay played an actual superhero in Velayudham, Dhanush appeared in Venghai, a cut-and-paste job from director Hari and Maappillai, a limp remake of Rajni’s hit,  Simbhu did Osthe, a remake of Salman Khan’s superhit Dabangg, Vishal played a cop in Vedi and Vikram teamed up with Suseenthiran for Rajapattai. It was telling that barring Vijay, all the actors earned both critical and commercial success with the movies where they took on different roles when compared to their masala movies. One can only hope that this pushes them towards experimenting more with their characters and movies. Karthi tasted success with the violent and crass Siruthai but the best of the masala movies was Ko, where K.V.Anand gave us yet another entertainer with style, smarts and breathtaking locations.

Unlike 2010, when we had movies in new and exciting genres like socio-fantasy, heist and western-comedy, directors were mostly content to stick to established genres last year (one exception was Nil Gavani Selladhey, which introduced us to the slasher sub-genre in horror by being based on Texas Chainsaw Massacre). But the upside was that some of these genres were ones in which Tamil cinema hasn’t had many entries. The crime thriller was one of these and had multiple movies, all of which were strong entries. The exhilarating Aaranya Kaandam paid homage to Pulp Fiction with its tale of a father and son duo who inadvertently stumble into a drug theft while Yudham Sei was an atmospheric murder mystery built on a revenge saga. Mouna Guru gave us a suspenseful Hitchcockian tale of an innocent man in trouble while Muran channeled Hitchcock more directly with its take on Strangers on a Train. Nadunisi Naaigal, without a background score, was an interesting experiment while Sadhurangam resembled a chess game with an exciting middle game bookended by a weak opening and a disappointing endgame. Others mixed different elements to make things interesting. Azhagarsamiyin Kudhirai was a gentle mystery with allegorical touches while Payanam and Kanchana added humor into genres where humor is typically avoided – a hijack thriller and a horror film.

While romance was an integral part of all films but only a few films tackled it full-length. Engeyum Eppodhum, director Murugadoss’ first production, narrated two cute and funny love stories with 2 couples before delivering a topical message at the end while 180 also handled two love stories but with a single guy. Yuvan Yuvathi banked more on Santhanam and picturesque Seychelles while Theneer Viduthi didn’t even have those to relieve the tedium. Mayakkam Enna took a look at love in typical Selvaraghavan style and Doo was a rare urban romance that handled the romance and break-up better than the subsequent patch-up. But the romances from two experienced directors were disappointing. Prabhu Deva’s Engeyum Kaadhal tried – and failed – to make up for its non-existent story with exotic locales while Kannan’s Vandhaan Vendraan won the award for the most ridiculous setting for a love story to unfold.

Overall 2011 was a good year for Tamil movie buffs. As always, let’s hope 2012 is even better…

Reviews for Thoonga Nagaram, Poraali, Osthe, Mouna Guru, Mambattiyan and Rajapattai are now available @ the reviews site.

This update wraps up 2011 at the reviews site after 47 reviews. That is a considerably fewer number of reviews compared to the previous years. There were also a few high-profile movies(Avan Ivan, Singam Puli to name a couple) that I saw but missed reviewing. I’m still hoping to fill in at least some of the gaps as we move forward. But for now, its on to 2012…

With our villains typically serving as little more than punching bags for our heroes, we rarely get crime thrillers in Tamil cinema since the genre requires smart, purposeful bad guys who are equal to the good guys and almost get away with their plans. Mouna Guru gives us such bad guys and a hero in the Hitchcockian mould, who ends up being in the wrong place at the wrong time. The result is a smart and engrossing crime thriller.

After getting into some trouble in Madurai, Karunakaran(Arulnidhi) moves to Chennai and thanks to his brother, who is friends with the principal, gets enrolled in an arts college. His sister-in-law isn’t too happy to see him but her sister Arthi(Iniya) begins to like Karuna. Meanwhile a group of cops, led by the Assistant Commissioner(John Vijay), comes across a huge stash of cash in a car that gets into an accident on a deserted highway. After killing the driver, the group escapes with the money.

Once Mouna Guru dispenses with the requisite love story, it is a pleasure watching it unfold. It holds our attention with different tracks and the way the multiple tracks are taken forward is filled with many small twists and surprises. The screenplay is particularly engrossing as we see the well-laid plans of the cops falling apart through some interesting and unexpected happenings. The manner in which Arulnidhi gets caught up in their affairs is also neatly done, introducing some suspense into the mix.

Though Arulnidhi is the hero and is caught in the middle, its the other 2 characters, one on each side of him, who keep the plot moving. John Vijay is a strong antagonist. He is smart and unflappable and the way he comes up with new plans on the fly whenever a new obstacle presents itself makes him a worthy opponent. On the other side is Uma Riyaz Khan. Clearly modelled on Frances McDormand’s Marge in Fargo, she is equally smart and persistent as she follows the leads. Though the two don’t meet until the end, its their battle which drives the film forward.

After focusing on Arulnidhi, Uma and John Vijay’s gang, the film hits a small speedbreaker when it shifts to showing us Arulnidhi’s plight. The diabolical nature of the plan that brings him to that point is impressive and he earns our sympathy with his powerlessness. But the segment affects the pace of the film, which temporarily turns from a crime thriller/police procedural into the story of a man victimized for no fault of his.

The film’s key revelation is a bit disappointing since the primary character is someone we haven’t met earlier. Still, the film makes up for that with the way it ties everything together. The way in which events from before are brought in and explained is very satisfactory. The climax is also suitably low-key and in line with the tone of the movie so far.

Arulnidhi’s limited expressions and monotone fit his character as he goes about minding his own business before becoming tangled in events beyond  his control. This is especially true initially in his interactions with his family and Iniya. Iniya doesn’t have much to do once Arulnidhi gets in trouble. John Vijay makes the transition to bad guy smoothly and his big eyes and rough voice help him as much as they helped him in comedy roles in films like Oram Po. Uma Riyaz Khan is calm and collected as the pregnant cop and conveys her desire to close the case. The supporting actors are natural in front of the camera and are convincing in their roles. Pudhu Punal… is a fast, hummable number with both the flute segment and the Jambulingame Jada Jada… hook working very well. With its montage of clips, it also serves as a nice introduction to Arulnidhi without seeming like a familiar hero introduction number.

After a string of disappointing masala movies, Vikram appeared in different, more complex characters in his last 2 movies Raavanan and Deiva Thirumagal. Director Suseendran’s last 2 movies have also been vastly different with a star-driven revenge thriller (Naan Mahaan Alla) and more offbeat mystery (Azhagarsamiyin Kudhirai). So there was the hope that the two of them would do something different when they came together, even if it was a commercial entertainer. But Rajapattai dashes those hopes with its feeble story and bland screenplay.

Murugan(Vikram) is a ‘gym boy’, an actor who dreams of acting as a villain in films but for now is stuck playing a henchman. When he runs into Dakshinamoorthy(K.Vishwanath), who is being hounded by his own son to give up the orphanage he runs to a politician Ranganayaki(Sana), Murugan asks Dakshinamoorthy to move in with him so he can protect him and save the orphanage. Dakshinamoorthy helps Murugan get the girl(Deeksha Seth) he has eyes for but a misunderstanding sends the old man back to his son.

Suseendran has so far displayed a strong knack for subtle humor as all his three movies have had an effective undertone of humor, whatever their genre. But that is completely missing here. Barring a couple of moments, like the dig at the business of launching into duets at the first hint of romance, the humor misses the mark on most occasions, banking on ancient plot points like Vikram lying to Thambi Ramaiah about Vishwanath’s wealth and Ramaiah subsequently sucking up to him. The only smiles come from one of the villain’s henchmen, who makes us smile with his fear of Vikram and his knack for getting into trouble with him.

After being used to seeing heroes being surrounded by his friends, it is nice to see Vikram and K.Vishwanath team up to get him the girl. It is also fun to see K.Vishwanath play against type as he recounts his younger days and advices Vikram. But his plans are lame as he almost bullies Deeksha and the sequences where he talks to her are neither cute nor funny. So the romance between Vikram and Deeksha is a complete bust.

Vikram has both a politician and her powerful mentor to go up against during the course of the film. But his confrontations with them lack energy since neither of them are strong enough. Sana is too overt about her activities to make a believable politician and Vikram’s meetings with her are filled with his self-confident bravado and her empty threats. Pradeep Rawat fares a little better as he initially puts up good resistance but is eventually reduced to a weakling after a farcical interview sequence. A sequence where Vikram rescues Deeksha has him using his brains but its brawn all the way otherwise as he battles their thugs in long fight sequences.

Vikram has made himself so beefy that his head looks disproportionately small compared to the rest of his body. He gets a number of chances to play dress-up as he appears as some famous bad guys during the Villathi Villain… song sequence and plays multiple characters when interrogating Pradeep Rawat. The make-up is good, particularly for the characters during the interrogation, and the disguises sit well on him but they are little more than gimmicks. Deeksha Seth, who sometimes looks like a thinner, more frail version of Katrina Kaif, looks puny next to Vikram and its no surprise that there is hardly any chemistry between them. K.Vishwanath, who has been stereotyped in serious roles, has fun when joking around with Vikram and his group while Sana makes a confident debut as the greedy politician. The much-hyped Laddu Laddu… that has Vikram dancing with Shriya and Reema Sen plays during the end credits but there’s nothing special in it to make one sit through the credits.

Its that day of the year again, when we wonder where the previous year actually went and resolve that we would do something to make the year we have just stepped into better than the ones that have passed. So wish you all a wonderful 2012 filled with good health, happiness, prosperity and ofcourse, good movies