Nov 12 2012
Coming Soon – Thuppaakki, Poda Podi
Along with new clothes, sweets and fireworks, new movies are an integral part of Diwali. This Diwali too we have a couple of high-profile movies – and a few smaller movies – hitting screens. And though the number of movies seems to be small, there is something for everyone. There’s Vijay-Murugadoss’ Thuppaakki for action fans, Simbhu’s Poda Podi for fans of romance and Thankar Bachan’s Ammavin Kaipesi for those looking for a fix of sentiments.
For Vijay, Thuppaakki continues his recent habit of stepping outside his comfort zone and working with established directors with good track records. This started after the dismal Suraa and has paid off well so far with films like Velayudham(director Raja) and Nanban(director Shankar) becoming successes at the box-office. While Velayudham was a pucca commercial masala film, Nanban was the complete opposite of what we’ve come to expect from a Vijay film. Thuppaakki appears to be falling somewhere between the two. While it has the actor playing a heroic, action-heavy role, it also seems to have a pan-Indian touch and so has a good chance of satisfying both his fans and average viewers.
Starting with the blockbuster Ghajini, Murugadoss was on a truly golden streak with big hits in both Telugu(Stalin) and Hindi(Ghajini) as director and a sleeper hit in Tamil(Engeyum Eppodhum) as producer. But his return to direction in Tamil wasn’t quite so successful with 7aum Arivu getting only a tepid response at the box-office. But he has built up a reputation for making masala entertainers out of some interesting subjects. He has worked with big stars(Ajith, Vijayakanth, Suriya, Chiranjeevi, Aamir Khan) in all his movies so far and has been able to fashion films that fit their image while also being entertaining. That talent is even more key for Thuppaakki since he has to find the right balance between Vijay’s mass image and the serious subject he has taken up.
Kajal Agarwal, fresh from Maattrraan, adds another high-profile star film to her resume. Most of Murugadoss’ films so far have had good roles for heroines with both cute characterization and an important part in the storyline. So Kajal will hopefully have more to do than is normal for a Vijay film. Vidyut Jamwal, the villain in Billa 2, was one of the most impressive bad guys in recent times and should be a worthy opponent for Vijay. Satyan once again teams up with Vijay after Nanban. Harris Jayaraj follows up the weak Maattrraan album with an even weaker soundtrack. Google Google…, sung by Vijay and Andrea, and some parts of the theme music are the only moderately bright spots in it.
Poda Podi was the first film Simbhu signed early in 2009 when he revealed his surprising intention to switch to soft, romantic roles after a series of crass masala movies. Though the film appeared to be in limbo, the actor kept his promise to switch to softer roles and appeared in roles markedly different from the kind of roles he had been doing until then in both Vinnai Thaandi Varuvaaya and Vaanam. After a brief return to masala territory with Osthi, he is back in a full-blown romantic role in Poda Podi. He is paired with Varalakshmi, Sarathkumar’s daughter.
The long delay has dimmed the excitement surrounding the film, which was launched with fanfare with some innovative and youthful posters. But the success of Dharan’s soundtrack has restored most of that excitement. Though I’m not a big fan of the soundtrack(because of the coarse lyrics and the conversational nature of the tunes), the songs are apparently big hits and the album is the most successful among recent releases.
2012 hasn’t been very kind to big stars with films like Billa 2, Thaandavam and Maattrraan failing to light up the box-office. Hopefully Thuppaakki and Poda Podi reverse the trend and make it a happy Diwali for both the stars and the viewers.
18 responses so far
Happy Diwali Balaji sir. I am hopeing thuppaki to be a decent film too, but the music is such a disappointment, it seems A.R is the only person to go to have a decent soundtrack? Disbelief. It’s a shame the directors are not prepared to take risk on new music directors. I thought Anirutha produced some good trackes in 3.
Thupakki , good enterianer… fast moving….
Thupakki has been getting some great reviews…
Looks like Thupakki is releasing in the Bay Area today……
Happy Deepavali, Balaji.
Thuppakki and Poda Podi are both superb movies. After a long time we have two good movies on a festive day. Thuppakki may not beat the opening day collections of Billa-2 as it released in less no of screens than the latter and also has competition in the form of Poda Podi but surely will be the highest grosser of 2012 by the time it completes its run.
Suresh,
I thought there were a lot of good soundtracks the past few years such as Angadi Theru, Mynaa, Kumki, 180, Vaagai Sooda Va, Neethane En Ponvasantham….but yes HJ’s songs are plain stale nowadays…of course ARR is in a class of his own and can’t even be compared w/ the others….
Suresh, Happy Diwali to you too. As Vimal mentioned, there have been many good soundtracks recently(Kumki & NEPV are my favorites). But HJ has disappointed with 2 high-profile movies. Irandaam Ulagam will be an acid test for him since Selva always brings out the best in his music directors.
tp, good to know!
Praveen, I read good things about it in all sites except Rediff.
Karthik, there was a preview show yesterday.
venkit, Happy Deepavali to you too!
karthik, that’s definitely good news. After a string of big budget disappointments, it will be nice to see 2 stars giving hit movies at the same time.
Both films have got great reviews. I will never believe rediff reviews for tamil movies. Not sure what happened to “Ammavin Kaipesi” though. It has been completely sidelined by the media. Poor decision by the producers to release it with two biggies.
Balaji, I’m sure you’ve seen these pics: http://behindwoods.com/new-images/photo-galleries-q1-09/tamil-photo-gallery/mirchi-shiva-wedding/mirchi-shiva-wedding-mirchi-shiva-01.html (Why are Thala and family playing such a prominent part in this wedding?! Are they related to Shiva or Priya or both?!) As you can probably see, I have nothing to say about Gun or PP! 😀
Hello balaji sir. I m really surprised you actually took Rediff’s review into account. I wholeheartedly disagree with Pavitra’s review. Certainly, it is cliched and very biased. Firstly, the storyline is immaculate, and i must congratulate Vijay( despite me being one of the biggest Vijay mass movie hater) for opting out from his usual mass appeal. He projects himself as a buffon with a brilliant mind. Chiselled appearance combined with perfect body language is something i find very amazing. I wonder why he has been hiding this kinda appeal ….. Having said that, the movie also has some flaws, ARM should have changed the music director to Yuvan/ ARRahman as HJ offered nothing sort of spectatular. However the BGM is pretty decent and blends well with the setting.
bb, am looking forward to PP more…I don’t have much hopes for Thupaaki after all the controversies surrounding the movie…it seems that Vijay and Murugadoss were at loggerheads quite often…looks like (from Vijay’s recent interview in Sify) that things are fine…my relative in India mentioned that the news around Thupaaki came in one of the Tamizh dailies..
off topic, now that Amaidhi Padai-2 is being made, Amaidhi Padai – the original – would be a nice rewind review…it’s my favorite satire of all time…Satyaraj at his PEAK…Manivannan’s best as a writer/director (as purely a director, he fared even better in “100-avadhu Naall” and “Gopurangal Saivathillai”, the latter being written by Kalaimani)…looks like “Sornamukhi” wouldn’t figure on your Rewind list…at least, Amaidhi Padai deserves a place…right, bbthotians?!
I second ram. Amaithi Padai in BB’s viewpoint would be something I will look forward to :).
Speaking of Thuppaki, it appears that it will become a runaway hit based on what I hear. Will wait for tirutu vcd to watch poda-podi :).
couldn’t help asking
“2012 hasn’t been very kind to big stars with films like Billa 2, Thaandavam and Maattrraan failing to light up the box-office. Hopefully Thuppaakki and Poda Podi reverse the trend and make it a happy Diwali for both the stars and the viewers.”
I can see the hope for Thuppaki reversing the trend. How can Poda-podi do that? 😀
Good to see films succeeding.
Shalini and Priya play badminton for TN.
Balaji,
“Lincoln” was a wonderful movie.
Saw Thuppaki recently. It is good for Vijay & Murugadoss.
Giri, I think I saw only 1 review for AK which called it too melodramatic. It would’ve had to be real good to make a mark between these 2 biggies but doesn’t look like it was.
Sandya, yes saw a few of the photos. Quite rare to see thala at one of these I think.
Navneurz, I don’t really take any reviews into account since I like to see the film and make my own opinion. I just mentioned Rediff since it seemed to be the only one with a different take on the film.
ram/Harish, I’ve been thinking about catching up on AP since I read about the launch of the sequel. Will try & see it soon.
Harish, Simbhu is one of our stars even if not on the same level as Vijay. Hence the line
kajan, thanks for that bit of trivia. Didn’t know that link between Thala & Shiva.
Vimal, will be waiting for the DVD for Lincoln.
venkit, I agree!