Balaji's Thots

Reviews for Kola Kolayaa Mundhirikka, Kanagavel Kaakka, Maanja Velu, Katradhu Kalavu and Raavanan are now online @ the reviews site.

Now that the Raavanan fever has abated, its time to start welcoming other Tamil movies. And tomorrow, we are welcoming two films, in two very different genres, that have some good things going for them and promise to be unique and interesting in their own ways.

The first and more high-profile of the two is Madharasapattinam, a big-budget, period film about the romance between a poor dhobi/wrestler and a British woman in pre-Independence Madras. That is new ground for its director Vijay, who has so far made the serious, star-driven drama Kireedam and the lively, small-budget film Poi Solla Porom. Not only is the period setting new for him, Madharasapattinam will also be his first original film after 2 remakes. But his choice does attest to his versatility and willingness to take risks and those are admirable attributes for any director. The film stars Arya, who has earned a name as a dedicated actor after Naan KadavuL. He’s starred in some high-profile films with good directors(Bala, Vishnu Vardhan) but hasn’t had a big hit in some time now. Amy Jackson plays the British woman. The film has a strong technical team. A period film demands a lot of the cinematographer and there’s no doubt that Nirav Shah is capable of that and G.V.Prakash has done a good job evoking the mood of those times with his soundtrack.

Taking on Madharapattinam is S. Pictures’ Ananthapurathu Veedu. Inspite of a recent stumble with Rettachuzhi, the name of director Shankar’s production house still promises quality fare in a variety of genres and that is the main reason behind the anticipation for this film. It is supposed to contain supernatural elements and unlike Vijay, director Naga is on familiar ground as he was the man behind the popular television serial Marmadesam. The film stars Nandha, who was also in Eeram, Shankar’s previous film in the same genre, and Chaya Singh, who has always been my pick for the most underrated and under-utilized actress in Tamil cinema. The key role of their kid is played by Master Aryan while the music is scored by a debutant music director Ramesh Krishna.

Of the two, only Madharasapattinam has made it to the US (that itself might be an indication of S. Pictures’ diminished stature since before Rettachuzhi, all the company’s films were released here). While that means I might have to watch Ananthapurathu Veedu on the small screen, I’m still looking forward to both films equally and hoping they both become big hits. The big winner in that case will be Tamil cinema.

By the time the 2nd sequel comes out, most film series have run out of steam and the films end up being dispensable fluff that exist for the sole purpose of making money based on the familiarity of the series. Trust Pixar to buck the trend. By adding potent sentiments to the series’ already-established mix of humor and action, Toy Story 3 is a rare third installment that matches – and in some aspects, exceeds, the quality of its 2 predecessors.

As the film begins, Andy is heading out to college. While he decides to take Woody with him, the other toys are supposed to be moved to the attic. Unfortunately, a confusion results in the toys ending up at a daycare,which doesn’t quite turn out to be the toy paradise they expected. So its upto Woody to rescue them.

Like Toy Story 2, at the heart of the movie is a rescue mission (its just that the roles are reversed since here its Woody rescuing the rest of the toys). So there is no shortage of action as the toys break out of the daycare and then escape from a garbage dump. These action sequences are filled with  intricately choreographed moves(like the ways the toys get out of their ‘cells’), tense and suspenseful set pieces(like their narrow escape from the incinerator) and clever touches(the best being the Pizza Planet aliens’ role-reversal).

The film is replete with visual gags and one-liners that keep us laughing. While a lot of laughs are got from Barbie’s ‘plastic-ness’ and her times with the fashion-obsessed Ken, Buzz’s Spanish mode and the accompanying dance provide the film’s comic highpoints.

While the first two films incorporated sentiments too, they were more from the point of the view of the toys as they missed Andy or discovered the strength of their friendship. Now that Andy’s grown up, the toys are no longer just pieces of plastic but reminders of his childhood and that adds a whole new dimension to the film’s emotions. The final portions are truly heartfelt and touching and while Woody’s final act does convey a message about sticking together with one’s friends, its Andy’s emotions that really bring a lump to our throats.

Pixar has recreated several worlds(beneath the ocean, a futuristic wasteland, etc.) but the one common factor in all those was the attention to detail. That is also evident in the closer-to-home environments of Toy Story 3. Whether its in the workings of the toys or the elements of the daycare(as Buzz slides on a rope, he pushes aside the artworks of the kids that are hung with clips), the realism and the richness of detail in what’s on-screen is fantastic.

Toy Story 3 is reportedly the final instalment in the series and if that’s true, it is a fitting goodbye. Its not just Andy, we’ll miss the toys too.

Hollywood annually follows a calendar for its movie releases with the weaker entries reserved for the first quarter, the blockbusters scheduled for the summer months and the award probables penciled in towards the end of the year. Looking back at Tamil cinema in the first half of 2010, it looks like we might have hit upon our own calendar too.

Tamil cinema opened the year with movies in a variety of genres in the first quarter. But masala was the keyword as we entered the 2nd quarter with things being kicked off in earnest by Lingusamy’s Paiyaa. Well-packaged and well-marketed with a happening hero and heroine and good music, it became a superhit inspite of the light plot and weak action. Next up was Suraa, Vijay’s 50th film. Made without a shred of originality, style or flair, it wound up as one of the actor’s biggest flops.  But Suriya, certainly Tamil cinema’s golden boy today, restored our faith in masala films with the fast-paced Singam, that thankfully saw Hari display flashes of the talent he showed in his first 2 films.

While those 3 were the biggies, other masala films hit the screens quite regularly. Kacheri Aarambam tried to relieve the tedium with some self-deprecating humor but failed after some time while Guru Sishyan kept up Sundar. C’s unenviable track record of starring in the worst movies of the year. Maanja Velu’s masala overload wasn’t surprising considering Arun Vijay tasted success in the masala genre(with 2009’s Malai Malai) after several years of trying but was unremarkable barring an energetic comeback by Karthik while it was Karan’s turn to play social crusader in the familiar and uninteresting Kanagavel Kaakka.

But it wasn’t like Tamil cinema completely gave up on the other genres since there were still a few releases taking the road less traveled. Leading the pack was Irumbu Koattai Murattu Singam, a very unique entry in the comedy-western genre. While its comedy was a bit uneven, the uniqueness of the genre carried it through. The ever-reliable Mani Rathnam gave us his take on the Ramayana with Raavanan, that had some interesting characterization but a romance without much depth. Mundhinam Paarthene was a nice little urban romance with real characters set in Chennai’s IT world while Kola Kolayaa Mundhirikka was a full-fledged comedy that had Crazy Mohan in fine form, tackling con men, hidden diamonds, sloppy gangsters and a bumbling cop. Rettachuzhi was a rare stumble from Shankar’s S Pictures as the film offered nothing beyond the casting gimmick of bringing together K.Balachander and Bharathiraja in front of the camera.

Ofcourse, post-Subramanyapuram, not a quarter passes by without a few raw and gritty movies about young men pulled into violence and in this quarter, the entries were Maathi Yosi and Goripaalayam. Veerasekharan, while having only a single hero, also followed the same path by pushing him unwillingly into a life of violence.

As we step into the 2nd half of the year, masala might once again be taking a backseat as the films lined up(Madhrasapattinam, Anandhapurathu Veedu, etc.) fall into very different genres. And for those who like big, event movies, there’s Endhiran, which Shankar has promised will release this year(recent reports have said that it might hit screens as early as August). So here’s looking forward to a strong 2nd half…

Raavanan once again finds Mani Rathnam take on a well-known story and put his own spin on it. It is a rather interesting spin told in a captivatingly succinct style, with some gorgeous visuals providing the backdrop. Still, the weak characterization of the most important character prevents the film from meeting all of its aspirations.

As the movie opens, Veeraiya(Vikram) kidnaps Ragini(Aishwarya Rai), the wife of the SP Dev(Prithviraj). As Dev, with the assistance of a forest guard(Karthik), goes after Veera to save his wife, Veera goes on the run with his brothers(Prabhu, Munna) and his loyal group of followers. Ragini is forced to tag along and she soon learns why Veera has abducted her and understands why he is revered by the villagers.

It is by now common knowledge(even if not, the film’s title makes it amply clear) that Raavanan is Mani Rathnam’s take on our epic Ramayana. Mani has had experience doing this as he took on the more complicated Mahabharatha in Thalapathy. While that film was a more straightforward retelling of the story with a core set of characters, he has attempted something different in Raavanan. Its almost as if he has picked the characters from the epic and then weaved a different story around them.

Mani never lets us forget the film’s source material. There are numerous references – some subtle, some not so subtle – to the Ramayana. So Vikram talks about the 10 voices in his head, he asks Aish if Prithviraj is a God or an avadhaara purushan, Priyamani is threatened about her nose being cut off, Karthik jumps around like a monkey, Prabhu keeps eating or talking about food all the time and probably for the most tongue-in-cheek reference of them all, Karthik states a proverb that directly refers to the Ramayana.

But after setting up our expectations in this way, Mani delights in breaking them. After reinforcing the movie’s basis with all these explicit references, he takes the storyline in very different directions. The basic elements – Aish’s kidnapping, Karthik’s infiltration into Vikram’s hideout to meet Aish, the lie detector test, to name a few – are all in place. But what grows from them – the causes and effects of those elements – are very different from what we know and expect. Whether its the history between Vikram and Prithviraj, the way Priyamani’s episode plays out or the fantastic way the lie detector ploy is employed, the story constantly closer to and far away from its source material.

But the biggest surprise lies in the arcs for the 2 main characters, who undergo complete transformations from the time the movie starts to the time the end credits roll. Selvaraghavan did the same with the 2 leads in Kaadhal Konden but while he relied on Tamil cinema stereotypes to surprise us, Mani combines our familiarity with a well-known epic and a non-linear narrative to achieve the same results. Our knowledge about the characters of Vikram and Prithviraj and the point where the story starts make us see Vikram as a cop-killer and a kidnapper and Prithviraj as a loving husband and a conscientious cop. But by the time the movie ends, they have morphed in front of our eyes to the point where Vikram lets Prithviraj live because of his love for Aish while Prithviraj manipulates that love to nab Vikram. This transformation the two go through, both in our eyes and the eyes of Aish, is the film’s chief pleasure.

It is possible to enjoy Prithviraj’s carefully orchestrated transformation and Aish’s changed view of Vikram is understandable as the story unfolds. But the film’s key aspect, Vikram’s transformation, isn’t as emotional as it should be because its reason isn’t showcased well enough. While its love that softens his heart, it happens too soon(a passionate number like Usure Pogudhe… definitely deserves a longer build-up and stronger feelings) and it doesn’t have the strong foundation needed to earn our emotional involvement. His feelings for Aish never rise beyond seeming like part infatuation/part lust and she doesn’t do anything extraordinary to justify all those things he says about her, especially in the climax.

Mani Rathnam is never condescending of the viewer and nowhere has this been more evident than in Raavanan. The film is lean and this is primarily because he rarely spells things out. He shows only what is necessary, banking on us to put together the pieces required to figure out what led to that. While this technique sometimes seems like an easy way out from explaining difficult questions(like how exactly Karthik managed to sneak into Vikram’s place), it does keep the movie short, meaningful and to the point. Mani also frequently shows us something before showing us what was behind it(this is evident both at an interpersonal level, as when Prithviraj calls Aish Naattiya PeroLi before we see that she is a dancer and at a higher level, as in the structure of the entire movie). This approach ensures we are involved right from the word ‘go’ and requires that we really pay attention.

Vikram, after a couple of duds, finally finds a role he can sink his teeth into. The ‘psycho’ parts of his character are more overt but its in the quieter moments, when he gazes at Aish longingly or leers into a mirror in the police camp, that he really makes an impression. Aishwarya looks beautiful whatever she goes through. Her expressions still don’t feel natural and she overdoes some of them but this is definitely her strongest performance yet. The dialogs don’t help her much though. Though they are mostly uninspired, her lines in particular sound stilted and cinematic. Prithviraj is solid and is able to bring a lot of intensity to his single-minded pursuit of Vikram. Priyamani makes a great impression even with a short role. Her initial chirpiness and her eventual sorrow are both equally believable. Karthik hams in his usual way while Prabhu, looking almost unbelievably big, is in Vikram’s shadow most of the time.

The film is a visual feast, more so than other Manirathnam films since it is almost entirely shot outdoors. Many of the locales are breathtaking and Manikandan/Santosh Sivan have captured them in all their natural beauty. The film is character-based but it is dressed up like an action movie. The dark, damp forest provides a claustrophobic environment and the slo-mos and close-ups as the leads slide down, fall into water, climb up, etc. are of the kind usually found in action movies to reiterate the fact that its the actors and not stunt doubles performing those activities. The climactic fight between Vikram and Prithviraj on the suspension bridge is phenomenally shot and executed. Mani Rathnam continues to show us that he is done with treating songs as separate entities. Barring Kodu Poattaa…, none of the other songs plays fully and they are all integrated into the background score. Kaattu Sirukki… has a different version while the song that plays over the end credits is soulfully sung.

It was evident even as 2010 started that it was gonna be a great year for Tamil movie fans. With films from all the top actors and several noted directors in the pipeline, film buffs settled in for a wonderful year ahead. They haven’t been disappointed so far as a parade of event movies with big-name heroes and/or top directors have reached the screens at regular intervals. Almost halfway through the year, its finally time for a real biggie as Raavanan hits the screens.

A Mani Rathnam film is always cause for celebration for movie fans. The director’s filmography is dotted with several classics(Naayagan, Iruvar, Mouna Raagam) and near-classics(Kannathil Muthamittaal, Bombay)and even the few films that don’t fall into those slots are several steps above the average Tamil movie. His films have been a bit weaker ever since his target audience expanded from Tamil Nadu to the whole of India but they were still quality films. Its been 6 years since his last straight Tamil film Aaydha Ezhuthu and there’s no doubt that Raavanan is eagerly looked forward to.

Mani Rathnam has had experience in tackling epics since his Thalapathy was a none-too-subtle retelling of the Mahabharatha(with only the ending altered to fit the standings of its stars). This time around, as the title implies, he has taken on the Ramayana. The Ramayana is a simpler, more straightforward story with fewer characters who are also easier to categorize as good and bad but Mani has made things more interesting by electing to focus on the villain of the piece. His musings about there being “a Ram inside every Raavan and a Raavan within every man” suggests that he will be exploring the different shades of the characters. That should add some interesting dynamics to the relations in the story and everybody will be curious to see how Mani handles them.

Vikram plays ‘Raavanan’ in the Tamil version and ‘Ram’ in the Hindi version. The last few years haven’t been good to him. He has had only 2 releases in the last 2 years and both those films, Bheema and Kandhasamy, took a long time to hit the screens and proved to be completely undeserving of the pre-release hype when they were released. But Manirathnam has illustrated his trust in the actor’s talent in no small terms. Being cast in two different roles in the two versions is no mean feat and the fact that he has managed this in a film by Manirathnam, who has a reputation for extracting the best from his actors, speaks volumes about his talent. I’m not a big fan of Aishwarya Rai but its undeniable that her presence lends any movie a huge amoung of buzz. Her ‘Sita’ is understandably a complicated character and lets hope she carries it off. Prithviraj plays ‘Ram’ in Tamil while Priyamani plays ‘Surpanaka’ in both versions. Karthik and Prabhu, who clashed against each other in Mani’s Agni Natchathiram are also back. While the former plays ‘Hanuman’, the latter plays a member in Vikram’s gang.

Considering the quality of previous Mani-ARR soundtracks, the Raavanan album is a bit of a disappointment.  Usure Pogudhe… is the standout though Karthik’s singing and Vairamuthu’s lyrics make more of an impact than Rahman’s tune. The same is true of Kalvare Kalvare…, where Shreya Goshal takes the song to another level with her silken smooth voice. Veera Veera… does its job of describing a he-man while Kodu Pottaa…, barring the orchestration with its tribal music touches, sounds like another of those group introduction songs. Kaattu Chirukki… has some energetic singing by Shankar Mahadevan and Anuradha Sriram while Keda Keda Kari… is similar to Kodu Poattaa….

Its been a long wait for Raavanan. But considering the team behind the film, we can be quite hopeful that it will be worth the wait…

With the release of Raavanan just a few days away, its Mani Mani everywhere these days. And rightly so. As a director who changed the Tamil cinema landscape, gave Tamil cinema a global face and audience and strived to raise Tamil cinema to the next level with every movie, he deserves every accolade he gets. And considering his films so far, Raavanan deserves every bit of the hype it is getting.

Though he made his debut with a Kannada movie(Pallavi Anu Pallavi) and followed it up with a Malayalam movie(Unaru), it is in Tamil that he grew as a director and delivered his best output. With 14 straight Tamil films so far, I thought I’d try to rank them. While the bottom 4 were easy to pick, the quality of the remaining 10 made this arguably the toughest Top 10 list I’ve ever assembled.

So here, from my least favorite to my most loved, are the films of Mani Rathnam.

14. Idhaya Kovil

A melodramatic and sentimental romance that didn’t feature any of what we’ve come to know as Mani Rathnam trademarks – except for the fantastic soundtrack ofcourse.

13. Pagal Nilavu

The generic story marked by surprisingly loud sentiments and cliched plot developments was rescued only by Sathyaraj’s effective and measured performance and needless to say, Ilaiyaraja’s soundtrack.

12. Thirudaa Thirudaa

A rare – perhaps only? – instance of Mani going wrong with the casting as the 4 leads failed to energize the otherwise racy and fun plot about cops and robbers.

11. Aaydha Ezhuthu

The fresh narrative structure and the character-based rather than issue-based approach were nice but the imbalance among the leads and the rushed end left us without a sense of closure.

10. Thalapathy

Mani’s modern take on another epic Mahabharatha created strong emotional bonds between some powerful characters and thrived on the confrontations between them. Was quite possibly his most hyped and anticipated film (for obvious reasons!).

9. Alaipaayuthey

Mani didn’t stop where other love stories typically stop and proceeded to show the cracks that develop after marriage and how its only love that smooths them in his usual charming and endearing fashion.

8. Agni Natchathiram

A 1-line story about warring stepbrothers was blown up into a slick, stylish, hugely entertaining affair. The sheer energy in the Prabhu-Karthik meetings led to goosebumps and the bold, cute romances rocked.

7. Bombay

The backdrop this time was the communal violence in Bombay but the focus was still on matters of the heart as the lead couple tried to save their love and their family from the senseless violence. The transition from heart-tugging love to heart-stopping tension was handled seamlessly in typical Mani fashion.

6. Anjali

The emotional, touching tale about a young girl whose days are numbered featured a stunning performance from Shamilee. As she tentatively bonded with her family and friends, she stole our hearts along with theirs.

5. Kannathil Muthamittaal

With both the core issue – a girl’s search for her roots – and the backdrop – the Sri Lankan conflict – handled with sensitivity, the film was simultaneously thoughtful, touching and entertaining, a very rare combination in Tamil cinema.

4. Roja

A perfect blend of patriotism and romance, the film never lost sight of the love between its lead young couple while making an honest – even if commercial and crowd-pleasing – attempt to see all sides in the issue of terrorism.

3. Mouna Raagam

Our first real introduction to Mani, this was a beautiful film with memorable characters, good performances, subtle sentiments, great photography, an amazing soundtrack and several ideas that have since become trademark Manirathnam touches but were a breath of fresh air back when the movie was released in 1986.

2. Iruvar

A bold and fascinating look at TamilNadu politics during the last few decades with the spotlight on the two personalities who dominated – maybe even defined – it during that time period, it was a clever chronicle of one of the most important and influential periods in TamilNadu politics

1. Naayagan

With its larger-than-life yet human portrayal of a mafia don, this was an example of film-making at its finest. Anchored by a career-best lead performance by Kamalhassan and backed by a strong technical team, there was not a single scene in the film that didn’t work at some level.

The only question now is where Raavanan is going to fit into this list. While a spot in the Top 5 is doubtful(but not impossible), even a Top 10 entry would mean that we have another great film on our hands. And that, more than anything else, is why Manirathnam is my favorite director.

Apart from the kinds of movies he is acting in, the other problem with Sundar.C turning into an actor is that no other directors took over his spot to direct the kind of comedy capers(like Ullathai Alli Thaa or Naam Iruvar Namakku Iruvar) that he specialized in. Madhumita would seem to be a rather surprising candidate for that slot considering that she previously gave us the Mouna Raagam clone Vallamai Thaaraayo. But with solid support from Crazy Mohan, she does a nice job in Kola Kolayaa Mundhirikka, delivering a clean, fun romp.

When a zamindar wishes to safeguard his diamonds from his partner Veerappan(Anandraj), he hides them in one of his four chairs and gifts the chairs to four different households. His wife and he are killed shortly thereafter, orphaning their child Krish and the whereabouts of the chairs are lost. Several years pass before the zamindar’s servant(Delhi Ganesh), informs a conman Krish(Karthik Kumar) about the location of the first chair. Karthik teams up with a conwoman Veni(Shikha) to grab the diamonds. Meanwhile Veerappan, who overheard the address, is also after the diamonds while a bungling cop Mathrubootham(Jayaram) joins the chase soon under the impression that the chair contains a microchip.

Director Madhumita mentioned in her pre-release interviews that the movie’s real hero was Crazy Mohan and she wasn’t kidding. Mohan dips into his inexhaustible bag of humor and comes up with a string of quips, one-liners, kadi jokes and wordplays that keep us smiling or chuckling most of the time. His script here doesn’t rise to the level of his best work – his many collaborations with Kamalhassan, one of which, Panchathanthiram, is explicitly referenced – but many of his jokes, like the confusion between ‘call’ and the tamil kaal, the Kausalya-maattu ponnu bit and the play on words like Singh and Sikh, are both clever and funny.

The story’s main task is to let Crazy Mohan the opportunity to let the jokes fly and it does that job well enough. With a treasure hunt, conmen, inept gangsters and bungling cops, it has the elements needed for a good farce and puts them to good use. The comic setpieces, like Jayaram’s interrogation of a beggar or the stage playwill multiple Narasimha avatars, are also funny by themselves and create a good foundation for Crazy Mohan to build his jokes on.

The film starts on a serious note with a couple of murders and an orphaned kid(the shot of the kid’s bloody footprints, which is in stark contrast to the footprints laid a few minutes ago to mark Krishna Jayanthi, wouldn’t be out of place in a dark thriller). But after that, it turns into a comic romp without a single moment of seriousness. The film does resemble a series of comic skits put together and things are carried a bit too far with the deaf judge in the climax. But there is a nice, unexpected surprise in the end that shows that some thought did go into the story.

Karthik Kumar does a good job. He overdoes the expressions sometimes but has the likeability and energy required to carry off the role. Shikha appears quite comfortable before the camera and shows good comic timing. Jayaram’s comic abilities have never been in doubt and he displays it again here in the role of the cop. M.S.Bhaskar has a number of good one-liners and is missed when he is shunted off to jail for most of the film. One of our big stars has a cameo but though his role of a chair collector is a little over-the-top, he plays it quite straight.

Reviews for Veerasekharan, Mundhinam Paarthene, Rettachuzhi, Suraa, Irumbukkoattai Murattu Singam, Goripaalayam, Guru Sishyan and Singam are now online @ the reviews site.

While its cop thrillers that he is most closely associated with after films like Kaakka Kaakka and Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu, Gautham Menon actually started his career with the urban romance Minnale. His protege Magilzh Thrumeni follows in his mentor’s footsteps and makes his debut with a own urban romance which he also names with the starting words from one of the songs from Gautham’s Vaaranam Aayiram. He does his mentor proud with a nice romance set among realistic and interesting characters in Chennai’s IT landscape.

Sanjay(Sanjay) is a project manager at one of Chennai’s numerous IT companies and the film is primarily about the three women who play big roles in his life. First is Puja(Puja), who moves into his apartment complex. Starting with helping her get a handycam, they become friends and Sanjay develops feelings for her. Second is Anjali(Ekta), who also lives in the same complex but is rather aloof and the subject of a lot of gossip and rumors. Last is Anu(Lizna), who joins as a project manager at his company and becomes close to him.

Mundhinam Paarthene presents characters who seem realistic. Guys in similar films usually while away their time chatting, drinking, ogling at girls and commenting about them. The guys here do all that but we also get glimpses of their lives aside from all that. Their thoughts and conversations on a variety of topics – unique for each gender but not understandable by the other gender – are completely natural. And there are a number of small touches, like the girl who replaces her beer with soda when her boyfriend shows up, that make them very real. There are no real stereotypes or caricatures but the director manages to put forward a number of feelings like friendship, infatuation and jealousy via the interactions between the friends.

Characters like these make it easy for the romance to develop naturally also. Cinematic and cliched events like the ‘love at first sight’ scenario are avoided and its a pleasant surprise that in all the 3 cases, the couple becomes close before their feelings morph into love. At the same time, the physical component of love is also touched upon naturally(as in Sanjay’s lustful thoughts about Puja in the elevator and his confusion about them) and without vulgarity. There are no loud declarations or long dialogs and there’s a practical aspect to the romances right upto the bittersweet end.

The story is moved along with a lot of humor. The conversations between the characters are peppered with a number of subtle jokes. There are also episodes intended primarily for humor and though these involve the same set of characters, the film blends them in without making them seem like part of a disconnected comedy track. All of these work as well and particularly hilarious are Sanjay-Sai’s dance class and the result of Sai’s blind date with an internet friend.

Sanjay makes a decent debut though he has 1 fixed expression during most scenes. But Sai Prashanth is the standout and makes us laugh even with the expression for a simple ‘No’. Among the girls, Lizna is the prettiest though Ekta gets the meatiest role. The girl playing Priya also makes an impression. Thaman delivers a suitably romantic soundtrack. Kanavena Kanavena… and Kanavin… work very wellas they play in the background. Maya… and Indre… feature some good locales but are regular duets otherwise.