Jul 08 2010
Coming Soon – Madharasapattinam, Ananthapurathu Veedu
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.
6 responses so far
Neither MP nor AV boast of a big star cast. That said, maybe you might get to see AV next week. They are hoping that MP can rake its money this week and AV maybe next week. We’ll just have to wait and see! My expectations for both MP and AV are both pretty low. I don’t see either earth-shaking us or the box office!
I have to admit, I agree with Sandya on her comments. Only hard core tamil movie fans tend to watch these low profile movies in the big screen, at least here in the US. Rest of us commoners are content on watching them on the small screen
I read an article (I think on Sify) that said that if AV flops, Shankar might close down S Pictures. that will be a shame…he does encourage filmmakers with different ideas (even if they don’t always make for entertaining viewing) and I hope that, as you put it, “for the sake of Thamizh cinema” that these kinds of movies do well…my mind goes back to Kamal’s comment that “Devar Magan” was 10 years late, that if “Raja Paarvai” was accepted by the masses in 1981 his career wouldn’t have stagnated in the early – mid 80s…
Balaji, based on reviews so far, it doesn’t look like AV will make it next week. There are some rare instances that even bad films do make it to theaters based on the production company, director or even just one great song
.. who knows what will happen in a week?! 
Balaji,
going by the reviews it looks like at least MP has some impact (in the making, mostly) but AV seems to be not so good – which is a shame as I am a huge fan of Naga’s Vidathu Karuppu (Marma Desam) and Sidhambara Ragasiyam.
I am actually looking for “Kalavani” – to see it on big screen if somehow it gets released here – as I am hearing all good things about that film.
BTW, is it true that your “Thalaivar’s” padam might get released in September 5th?
Sandya, yeah AV doesn’t seem to be getting the reviews or word-of-mouth that would’ve brought it to the US next week. Very few movies have managed that(I think ‘Thamizh Padam’ was the last one).
kk, I was hoping I was one of the hardcore fans but looks like I’ve to be satisfied with the small screen for both the movies.
ram, yeah I read that in a couple of places too. and like u, that was my biggest reason for hoping that AV would be a big hit.
APALA, haven’t seen those 2 serials but have heard lots of good things about them. so was looking fwd to AV too. I’ll be absolutely thrilled if ‘kalavaani’ released here but I don’t think its gonna happen.
yeah I read that news too. and audio release end of this month. the time is near