Balaji's Thots

Though Rajnikanth found his groove as an action-comedy hero with Thambikku Endha Ooru, most of his films after that were predominantly composed of action and drama with comedy restricted to a few extended sequences(like the ‘fly’ sequence in Velaikkaaran). Guru Sishyan was one of the films where comedy was the primary element. Though there is action and drama here too, the film’s comedy envelops them and is both effective and funny. This made the film a huge hit and it remains one of Rajni’s more universally popular films.

Raja(Rajnikanth) and Babu(Prabhu) are in jail when they meet Manohar(Pandiyan), who has been sentenced to death. When Manohar explains to them that he was falsely implicated by a rich man Rajamanickam(Ravichandran), his brother Muthuraja(Radharavi) and a corrupt cop Nallasivam(Vinu Chakravarthy), the duo break Manohar’s hand to postpone his execution and after being released, go after the three bad guys to prove Manohar’s innocence. Raja falls for Nallasivam’s daughter Geetha(Gauthami), who is a policewoman while Babu targets Chitra(Seetha), Rajamanickam’s daughter, as part of the plan but falls in love with her.

The film’s first half is a series of very funny vignettes as Rajni and Prabhu romance their ladies and trick the bad guys. The raid Rajni and Prabhu conduct at Manorama’s house, the ruse they use – and the way it backfires – to make Seetha fall for Prabhu, the scenes where they blackmail Vinu Chakravarthy – all these are segments that deliver hearty laughs through a combination of funny dialogs and visual gags. Rajni’s lack of knowledge of English is the primary catalyst for many of these jokes but the scenarios that are developed to incorporate these jokes are quite clever too.

Though their crimes are serious(murder, rape, torture, etc.), the bad guys are more clowns than devious villains. Vinu Chakravarthy, in particular, cuts a sorry, very funny figure as he is made to dance to Rajni and Prabhu’s tunes. So the film’s tone never gets serious as Rajni becomes Radharavi’s henchman and Prabhu and Seetha join hands to trick Ravichandran. Cho, as the villains’ adviser, is also on hand to keep things light-hearted with his political jokes(he makes political statements even when he is silent as his hand morphs through the symbols of our main political parties each time he is in deep thought).

Things get serious in the second half. Though there are still a few jokes scattered around(like Vinu Chakravarthy’s description of Prabhu’s palatial home, a joke that was later used in Annamalai with Rajni’s cow shed taking the place of the prison here) but there is not a lot of opportunity for jokes as the story brings in lost kids, mistaken identities and buried treasure (there are some unintentional laughs though in the simplistic way the movie handles things like for instance, a Chinese doctor’s cure for amnesia). But some minor twists and drama – which sees Rajni and Prabhu briefly become foes – ensure that the film’s pace doesn’t flag.

The film gets even more into fantasy territory in the climax as Rajni and Prabhu lead a group on an expedition to retrieve a large lost treasure. With hidden clues, secret passageways, deadly dangers and mysterious codes, the film’s climax sticks out from the rest of the film. It is ambitious but its execution is rather amateurish.

Rajni shows us here that he is a comedy superstar too. His mix-ups in English are hilarious and as always, he smoothly switches between the action and comedy personas as he effortlessly beats up the bad guys while at the same time being scared of lighting a fire-cracker. Prabhu provides him good support playing it straight most of the time. Gauthami looks cute here in her debut while this is one of the few movies where Seetha plays a rich, modern character. Radharavi mixes comedy and villainy well while Cho takes his usual jabs at politics. This wouldn’t count among Ilaiyaraja’s best soundtracks. Kandupidichen Kandupidichen… is a fun song but more for its lyrics and easygoing chemistry between Rajni and Prabhu. Prabhu and Seetha get the best duet with Vaa Vaa Vanji Ilamaane… while the Rajni-Gauthami duet Jingdi Jingdi Unakku… is a cross between a duet and a kuthu number. Naarkaalikku…, which takes the place of the usual Rajni intro song, is a strong indictment of politics while Uthama Puthiri… is a rather unremarkable female solo number.

Reviews for Marandhen Mannithen, Chennaieil Oru Naal, Kedi Billa Killaadi Ranga and Settai are now available on the reviews site.

Just noticed that after this update, at this point in 2013, there are exactly 3 films in each star category from 1/2 star to 3 stars. How’s that for symmetry!

The news that Settai, the Tamil remake of the unapologetically  adult Hindi hit Delhi Belly, would be a clean family entertainer led to apprehensions that it would end up like Pavalakkodi or Sila Nerangalil, bland films that copied Hollywood films(There’s Something About Mary and Dead Again respectively) but left out the crucial aspects(the raunchy scenes in the former, the main twist in the latter) that made the originals work. That fear hasn’t come true. While the elimination of the Hindi film’s raunchier bits does make Settai less edgy and unique, the tight plotting and humor manage to keep the film entertaining.

JK(Arya), a reporter at a Tamil magazine, is all set to wed his girlfriend Madhumita(Hansika), an airhostess. Madhumita picks up a package of smuggled diamonds for a friend and unaware of what is in the package, asks JK to deliver it to its destination. But JK’s roommate Cheenu(Premgi) delivers a different package by mistake, which sets the rowdy(Nasser), the intended recipient of the diamonds, after JK, Cheenu and their roommate Nakki(Santhanam). Meanwhile Shakthi(Anjali), a reporter at an English daily, likes JK and is ready to help them.

Delhi Belly really earned its A certificate with its mature storyline, adult scenarios, colorful language and naughty scenes. Aside from some of the more risque scenes and cuss words, most of this has found its way into Settai also. The scatological humor – including the most explicit visual gag – is present throughout, the story track includes some mature elements(like a visit to a brothel, blackmail and torture) and there are several double entendre dialogs in the script. So, while its true that some of the more overtly sexual elements have been diluted, Settai definitely cannot be called family-friendly either.

Three clueless leads, misplaced diamonds and a ruthless gangster make for a racy film. From the time the diamonds make it into the friends’ place, the plot moves forward constantly with a screenplay that is clever(like the way it clues us in, from the first time that Santhanam enters the house, to the accident that helps the trio escape from Nasser) and not always predictable. With robberies, chases and shootouts, there’s no shortage of action and the characters are always on the move, which helps the film keep moving also.

In spite of such heavy-duty elements, the film’s tone is completely light-hearted and the humor is effective enough to make it work. A lot of the humor is of the scatological variety, not surprising considering that Santhanam spends most of his time in the bathroom after having some decidedly unhygienic food. We’ve had many comedy sequences revolving around a similar conceit but this here is a long-running gag that plays an important part in the story and so adds some new elements to it. But the film also has many other sequences(Santhanam’s first introduction to his new place, Nasser’s capture of the trio in their house, the jewellery shop robbery, etc.) that feature some truly funny dialogs and visual gags(the one where Premgi drinks water while doing reconnaissance in the jewellery store is the best).

Arya is the lead but plays second fiddle to Santhanam for the most part. The comedian is in fine form. Right from the first scene where he gives Arya a lift on his bike, the jokes come fast and furious. They are mostly of the same kind – sarcastic retorts delivered with a couple of rhyming words – and so get a little repetitive but manage to work till the end. Premgi is a little subdued but gets one song Needhaandi Osthi Ponnaa… where he gets to cut loose. Nasser brings some seriousness to his role and that prevents the film from getting too campy. All 3 duets are little more than speed-breakers with the catchiest number, Agalaadhey Agalaadhey…, introduced in lame fashion at an inopportune moment.

With Roger Ebert’s death last week, Hollywood lost its most well-known critic. A movie reviewer who grew to be much more than that, he will be missed by movie lovers everywhere.

Ebert had all those qualities that one finds in a great reviewer. He loved movies, was incredibly knowledgeable about them, was honest about his views, stuck to his guns even when he was in the minority(his liking for Speed 2 is a case in point) and was a terrific writer. At the same time, he had his own likes and was open about them as he made no effort to hide his biases in his reviews(his zero stars for The Life and Death of David Gale made his opposition to the film’s stance on the death penalty very clear). All this combined to make his reviews and other articles a pleasure to read. He was the first reviewer whose reviews I read for the sake of the review itself rather than to use as a guide to whether or not to see a movie I was interested in.

Ebert loved movies with a passion and it came through in his almost child-like joy when praising a movie he genuinely loved and in the way he minced no words when criticizing a movie he hated. This comes through in his reviews but it came through even more clearly in the TV show he hosted with Gene Siskel. Their half-hour show used to be must-see TV for me and it was fun watching them argue over movies who quality they disagreed on. The simple thumbs-up/thumbs-down they used became iconic and they were even made fun of in Godzilla by a director who was obviously unhappy with their reviews of his earlier movies.

Though Ebert encouraged good cinema regardless of where in the world it was made in, I always felt that he had a soft corner for India. His reviews of Indian films(like Taal) showed an understanding and love of the unique aspects of our movies and he was unabashed in his praise of the beauty of Indian women like Aishwarya Rai and more recently, Freida Pinto.

After being afflicted with cancer, he showed the world that he was not just a great reviewer but also an incredible fighter. He lost the ability to both eat and speak, his face became disfigured as his lower jaw was removed and he underwent multiple surgeries. But these couldn’t kill his spirit. He continued watching movies when he could and the reviews kept coming. Having lost his voice, he turned to the internet to express himself and his blog posts increased in frequency as, aside from the movie-related articles, he also began writing about his fight with cancer. Many of these, including his last one ‘Leave of Presence’, which was published just a day before his death, were incredibly honest, personal and touching. They evoked those feelings only because, after so many years of interacting with him through his words, we felt like we knew him personally.

As an exceptional movie critic and a brave human being, Ebert definitely earned a big thumbs up. May his soul rest in peace.

In his films Pasanga, Vamsam and Marina, director Pandiraj managed to find the right balance between comedy and sentiments as he made us laugh while narrating stories that had strong emotions also. But that ability has deserted him in his latest venture Kedi Billa Killaadi Ranga. The film drifts aimlessly for the most part and then concludes with some crass sentiments.

Murugan(Sivakarthikeyan) and Kesavan(Vimal) are two young men who while away their time with friends while dreaming of entering politics. To this end they help the local politician with hopes of getting his party’s seat for the councilor elections. Their parents, who blame each of them for the other one’s failure in life, await the day when their friendship will break. Murugan falls for Pappa(Regina Cassandra), who runs a xerox store, while Kesavan falls for Mithra(Bindu Madhavi), who works in a hospital.

Almost nothing of note happens for a major portion of KBKR. As it follows the aimless lives of Siva and Vimal, the film itself seems aimless as it cycles between scenes of the two drinking and chatting with their friends, scenes where they earn the ire of their exasperated parents and scenes where they woo Regina and Bindu. None of these scenarios are particularly new or original and so a strong sense of deja vu is unavoidable as we see Siva, Vimal, Soori and their friend crack jokes during multiple drinking sessions or Delhi Ganesh shout at Vimal.

The lack of a real story wouldn’t have mattered if the proceedings were actually funny. There are a few funny lines uttered by the friends as they talk among themselves or talk back to their parents. And the gender role-reversal elicits a few chuckles as Siva admonishes a girl who has eyes for him, Vimal gets increasingly disappointed as he learns about Bindu’s profession and Soori begs his wife for some pocket money. But there are just not enough jokes to keep our attention away from the immobile story. And the gender role-reversal loses its charm when it goes over-the-top with Bindu attacking Vimal(a segment that happens later, where his father-in-law recounts his similar experience, is even less funny).

The film finally shows signs of an actual story only when Siva and Vimal take a solid step in fulfilling their political ambitions. This doesn’t turn out as expected – and provides one of the movie’s funniest jokes – but the subsequent proceedings are even more disastrous. In his apparent resolve to make up for the complete light-heartedness in the earlier portions, Pandiraj goes to the other end of the scale as he turns up the sentiments way too much. But this is done in a hurried fashion and so the final segment feels both rushed and crassly manipulative.

Sivakarthikeyan continues to show great comic timing and makes many, rather ordinary, lines work. Vimal shows much more energy than he did in Sillunu Oru Sandhippu and delivers a few chuckles also. Soori manages to stand out though the leads naturally have the best lines. Among the heroines, Bindu Madhavi gets the spicier role where she gets to beat up Vimal but Regina is charming as she slyly enjoys Siva’s wooing. Yuvan delivers a disappointing soundtrack that is dominated with unremarkable kuthu songs with only the romantic Suda Suda Thooral… making an impression.

Directors of Tamil remakes of Malayalam films usually fail to replicate the effectiveness of the originals because they exaggerate the simple emotions and add unnecessary masala elements like comedy under the pretext of making it more entertaining(a recent case in point – Kuselan, the remake of Katha Parayumbol). Shaheed Kader, the director of Chennaieil Oru Naal, the remake of the Malayalam hit Traffic, successfully resists both these temptations. So the film, much like the original, is slick and focused as it smoothly combines a multi-track emotional drama and a race-against-time thriller.

An accident at a traffic signal in Chennai sets in motion a chain of events that affect the lives of many people. These include a journalist Karthik(Sachin) who is on his way to his first job as a reporter at Sun TV; a film star Gautham(Prakashraj) who has no time for his family; a traffic constable Sathyamoorthy(Cheran) who has just rejoined the force after being suspended for accepting a bribe; and a doctor Robin(Prasanna) who is on his way to surprise his wife(Iniya) with a new car for their wedding anniversary. Their lives intersect as a heart intended for a transplant is taken from Chennai to Vellore, a mission overseen by the Traffic Commissioner Sundarapandian(Sarathkumar).

CON has multiple narratives that focus on different characters and eventually converge. Films in this genre, like Sarvam, Vaanam and David, usually follow the individuals and show us their lives before their lives intersect at some point. CON, on the other hand, starts off with the incident that will soon brings its characters together. This allows the film to focus on how they impact each other’s lives after fate brings them together on the way to a common goal.

As the film establishes the characters’ past through some quick flashbacks, we learn enough about them to understand that the road trip is important to them for different reasons. For Prakashraj it provides an opportunity to understand the things that are important in life; for Cheran it is a chance to redeem himself in the eyes of his family; and for Prasanna it is a way to make amends for a rash act. These quick snapshots help us understand that the success of mission will not only save someone’s life but will give them a new lease of life too.

The film’s central track – the drive – is brought on in a contrived fashion(the reason for eliminating the helicopter option – weather – is mystifying since the weather is fine the entire duration of the road trip). But once it kicks off, it is thrilling since its both emotional and time-bound. While the enormity of what the mission’s failure entails provides a strong emotional hook, the chaotic nature of Chennai traffic provides the thrills. The characteristics of the city’s traffic – the large number of vehicles, the public’s irritation, the small lanes – have all been employed to keep the trip consistently interesting. The final segment of the trip in the heavily populated colony, in particular, is probably the most intense and thrilling sequence we’ve seen since the kidnap sequence in Nadodigal.

The film’s biggest star ends up being the weakest as Sarathkumar is unable to bring to his character the everyman quality that it needs. Unnecessary heroism creeps into his portrayal and his frequent “Mission is ON”/”Mission is OFF” declarations sound cinematic. The rest of the case is solid with roles that play to their strengths. Cheran employs his morose look throughout, Prakashraj is flamboyant, Radhika gets one scene to deliver a heartfelt piece of advice and Prasanna is sad and serious. The movie also conveys an important message and a high-profile star shows up in a cameo to promote it.

Reviews for Onbathula Guru, Sundaattam, Paradesi, Vathikuchi and Karuppampatti are now online at the reviews site.

While director Murugadoss’ first production Engeyum Eppodhum was a romantic drama that featured two romances, he has chosen an action subject for his second production Vathikuchi. The suspense generated by the film’s narrative structure helps it start burning brightly but the weak final back story and the out-of-place heroism dampen the fire in the second half.

Sakthi(Dhileban) is a share auto driver madly in love with Leena(Anjali), who is attending a spoken English class. There are three people gunning for Sakthi’s life – a rowdy-for-hire Benny(Sampathkumar), a jeweller(Jayaprakash) and an insurance salesman Vanaraj(Jagan) who also happens to be Sakthi’s neighbor.

Vathikuchi’s underlying story is a familiar one of the do-gooder hero going up against multiple bad guys. But the narrative technique of first telling us about the three people trying to kill Dhileban presents the story in an interesting fashion since it injects suspense about the actual reasons behind their vendetta. But once it actually gets going, the film fails to do anything interesting with the narration like interleaving or connecting the tracks. And by the time the final track comes around, the technique actually ends up being damaging since the timelines aren’t clear and Jagan’s flashback is weak and contrived.

The first two flashbacks offer a rather interesting look at organized rowdyism. The casual and audacious way in which rowdies carry out the crimes and the nexus between businessmen, cops and rowdies are shown with more depth and realism than is usual in these kinds of movies.

Vathikuchi can also be credited for trying to provide a valid reason for Dhileban’s heroics. While it erroneously shows working out at the gym as  providing instant gratification, it at least shows the preparation that goes in before Dhileban’s stunts(which provides a couple of minor surprises about his actions in the climax). But that realism is lost during the fights themselves with Dhileban turning into a superhero who throws the bad guys around. More rawness in the stunt sequences would’ve been better.

Like Engeyum Eppodhum, Vathikuchi too has a cute and fun romance. While Dhileban’s lovelorn acts are familiar, Anjali’s characterzation makes the track feel fresh. While we usually see the girl either accepting or rejecting the boy’s advances, the way Anjali here simply acknowledges Dhileban’s feelings is somewhat unique. That puts the relationship between them also in a unique place and so the way the relationship develops after that, with Anjali revealing her true feelings in small ways, is interesting. The moms of both Dhileban and Anjali also help move the romance along in a fun way with their active participation.

Dhileban has a stock expression throughout but is able to manage here since it is mostly an action role and he takes a backseat in the romantic track. Anjali plays the same kind of talkative role she played in films like Engeyum Eppodhum and Kalakalappu. It still works since she is able to raise laughs with her attitude but the charm has worn off a bit. Sampathkumar and Jayaprakash play typical roles while Jagan is able to make the switch to bad guy convincingly. Saranya has a couple of her usual moments but Raja is wasted in role where he barely has a chance to show his funny side. Music director Ghibran lives up to the promise he showed in his fabulous first effort Vaagai Sooda Vaa. Kuru Kuru… is as catchy as any other number this year and the casual way it is picturized suits the fun and smooth tune. Amma Wake Me Up… is the female of version of the group song usually sung by the hero and his friends. It is also picturized in a way that conveys the fun a group of girlfriends have on a shopping trip. Kanna Kanna… is a very unique number whose tune seems to be a pathos tune but ends up being a very romantic number. Ari Ari Ari… is a strong number with uplifting lyrics.

Special 26

A heist movie is typically divided into three sections – the planning, the execution and what can be termed the post-heist happenings. Each of these parts holds its own charm. The planning takes us into the minds of the gang members and gives us details about the plot; the execution brings on suspense about how the heist will actually proceed; and the period after the heist focuses on the dynamics of the group after the successful completion of the heist. Special 26, from director Neeraj Pandey, who previously directed A Wednesday!, the Hindi original of Unnaippol Oruvan, reserves the best for the final act, which single-handedly lifts the film to a respectably high position among the movies in the genre.

Ajay Singh(Akshay Kumar) leads a team of 4 crooks who impersonate CBI officials and raid the houses of rich businessmen and politicians. Though they make off with the loot, the affected parties don’t report the crime since the money is ill-gotten in the first place. On one of these heists, Ajay involves Ranveer Singh(Jimmy Shergill), the local SI. The disgraced cop seeks out the CBI’s help and officer Wasim Khan(Manoj Bajpai) is given the task of apprehending them just as the 4 decide to go for one last, big score.

Special 26 has a few initial heists but these serve more like a warm-up to the main heist(Jayam Ravi’s first score in Aadhi Bhagavan mirrors these heists). We don’t see any planning, they all have the same MO and barring a small hiccup, they proceed without any problems (since we see the four living under rather ordinary conditions, it does raise the question of what they did with all the money though). But the way the scenes have been staged, like the one where Akshay calmly takes over from a nervous Anupham Kher or Manoj Bajpai’s very realistic chase, keep the film ticking along smoothly.

The main heist does follow the aforementioned format but surprisingly, the planning and even the actual execution don’t hold much interest. The planning is quite simple since the MO of the heist is the same as the smaller heists – just on a bigger scale – and the execution becomes easily predictable once Manoj Bajpai’s plan is revealed and unfolds along expected lines. But a nice twist towards the end of the execution really perks things up. It is a well-handled surprise that changes the dynamics and turns upside down many of our assumptions about scenes and even pieces of dialog in the past.

Akshay plays the role in a down-to-earth manner, toning down both the action and the comedy when compared to his recent movies(barring Oh My God!). Anupam Kher is terrific as his second-in-command and is a stand-out in the scene where he breaks down in front of Manoj Bajpai while Jimmy Shergill conveys well the indignation on being tricked by Akshay. Kajal Agarwal is a tad too expressive in the under-developed love track though the track does impose a time deadline on the heist and add an emotional dimension to the question of whether Akshay and team will get away with it or not.

Race 2

Special 26 scored because it had an original, well-planned central heist and a well-timed, genuine surprise. These are the two exact points on which Race 2 fails miserably. It is good eye-candy with some very exotic locales, rich settings and good-looking actors with great bodies they don’t mind flaunting. But that’s all it is. At one point in the film, Anil Kapoor describes Ameesha Patel as having the goods but no brains. That description could well apply to the movie itself.

Armaan Mallik(John Abraham) and his half-sister Elena(Deepika Padukone) run a large criminal empire. Ranveer Singh(Saif Ali Khan) earns Armaan’s trust by duping a casino owner, who ends up losing his casinos to Armaan. Now Ranveer has an even more lucrative offer for Armaan. But Ranveer has some ulterior motives for his actions and he finds a partner in Armaan’s girlfriend Omisha(Jacqueline Fernandez).

In place of a good twist, we get a series of twists that get more predictable and tiring as the movie plods on. There are a couple of good, unexpected twists – the point where Saif finds out who Jacqueline Fernandez really is and the subsequent twist about her both caught me by surprise – but the sheer number of such twists ensures that they become less surprising with each new revelation. And after all these twists, the climax feels lame with some very predictable and unsurprising moves. As for the heist, it occurs rather late and is copied, right down to the MO, the techniques used and the container used for the stolen object, from National Treasure 2.

In his films, Bala usually shines the spotlight on characters who undergo extreme suffering and depicts what they go through with an unflinchingly bleak tone. For Paradesi, he selects a true story that fits this film-making style, basing it on Eriyum Panikadu, the Tamil translation of the novel Red Tea, which details the author’s experiences with enslaved tea plantation workers. The film’s subject and Bala’s uncompromising style ensure the film makes an impact but we do miss the diverse characters and unique bonds from the director’s earlier films.

Rasa(Adharva) is one of many living in Salur, a small village, in 1939. Being raised by his grandmother, he does chores around the village and eats at the house of whoever is willing to feed him. Angamma(Vedhika) falls for him. When Rasa goes to a nearby village for work, he meets a man who is recruiting people to work at the tea estates owned by the English. With visions of a job that pays well and lets them return home after a year, many of the villagers, including Rasa, sign up for the job. But it doesn’t take long for them to realize the true horrors of their new job.

Paradesi can be seen as a darker, more extreme, pre-Independence era version of Angaadi Theru. So we have people living in poverty, going elsewhere seduced by the promise of jobs that will better their lives. But their dreams and hopes are dashed as they  end up in menial jobs and live away from their family under terrible conditions while enduring physical and sexual abuse.

Like many films that put their characters through severe troubles(Mahanadhi comes to mind), Paradesi too starts off showing us the simple, gentle lives of the villagers. They are not swimming in luxury but the film succeeds in showing us that they are content and happy, particularly in that first, long take that takes us through the lanes and past the people leading their everyday lives. Bala’s peculiar brand of humor also finds its voice in the varied characters here as the raw, coarse dialogs and the slightly morbid humor manage raise some spontaneous laughs.

The villagers’ troubles start on the journey itself (the shot that precedes the intermission is an unforgettable one). There is no let up in the sorrow from this point as the film delves into the horrors that the workers underwent and things only get worse when they reach their destination. Monotony does threaten to set in at times since there is no respite from the sorrow but as the film lays things out with clinical efficiency, our hearts do go out to the villagers as they undergo the suffering. The brutality of the employers leads to some tough scenes but since the loss of hope always hits harder than straightforward suffering, the gentler sequences where the workers get paid and learn about their future have the most impact.

The deviousness of the doctor who, along with his wife, exploits the villagers’ suffering to try to convert them to Christianity is another suffering that the villagers go through. Still the overt methods of the doctor and his wife, which include a song-and-dance routine, come off looking like comic relief in the middle of the tragedy. The weak British actors, a problem with almost all our movies that are forced to have White characters, further increase the campy feel during these portions and dilute the realism and starkness the film had successfully conveyed until then.

For anyone, personal suffering pales in comparison to the thought of loved ones, particularly children, who could be forced to go through the same suffering. That knowledge makes Paradesi’s end memorable.

Bala is known for extracting some terrific performances from his actors and Adharva is no exception. His naive act in the beginning comes close to hamming(barring the scene where he silently but expressively communicates with Vedhika while a meeting is in progress) but he does a good job once the movie gets serious. He expresses the gradual loss of hope well and his final lament is well-delivered. Vedhika seems too chirpy considering the movie’s setting but Dhansika is great as the woman who has been abandoned by the man she trusted and gradually warms to Adharva. The supporting cast is strong too. The couple who are Adharva’s friends are believable as they accept their fate and try to make the best of it while the man who hires the villagers lives up to the nasty reputation earned by the villains in Bala’s previous films. Adharva’s grandmother is a hoot, as is the old drunkard who almost stops a wedding. G.V.Prakash, in keeping with the tone of the movie, delivers a somber soundtrack very different from the upbeat, lively soundtracks he usually presents. Avatha Paiyan… is a lovely number and the only relatively happy song.