Ela Veezha Poonchira!!

If you are a movie buff like me, you would have waited for that one movie; that would have twisted your mind completely with that one piece in the story’s puzzle revealed in the climax. The impact of the movie would be felt for a couple of days. If you are that person, you are in a ride.

Ela Veezha Poonchira (based on an actual location) is a murder mystery thriller associated with a dismembered body with pieces strewn across the hilltop. The location is famous for quick cloud formation and subsequent lighting as well as a very remote location and this characteristic has been woven superbly into the movie.

Highlights

• The movie’s story has been written by two police officers who actually served duty time on the hilltop. This story as a core idea is one of the best I have come across.
• The cinematography by Manesh Madhavan deserves special mention as it not easy to shot in a real location with limited space. The shooting on the sets merges perfectly with the natural location and adds a flavor to the movie.
• The music by Anil Johnson and editing by Kiran Das highlight the tension as it builds up as a crescendo in the movie’s climax.
• Sudhi Koppa and Jude Anathany Joseph have played their parts adequately as the additional police constable.
• However, the highlight of the movie is ‘Soubin Shahir’ who’s stupendous performance as Police constable Madhu, brilliantly comes to the fore in the movie’s climax. He displays nearly all the human emotions subtly and carries the movie brilliantly on his shoulders.
• No praise is however worthy for the movie’s director, Shahi Kabir, who has crafted a superb movie. Mystery thriller can be quite tricky to pull off and full credit to the director for fantastically revealing each twist in the story at the appropriate time with a huge twist in the movie’s climax.

If you have time and the patience to sit through a nearly boring first 20 minutes of this movie and have the stomach for a twisted climax oriented story, this movie is highly recommended (not during lunch or dinner time).

Do let me know your thoughts on the movie.

There is also historical importance to the actual location with Pandavas resting there during the incognito time. Another attraction is the ancient temple of Krishna, established by Panjali herself. It is believed that Panjali's Akshayapatra, an inexhaustible vessel of food, is concealed here and guarded by Agastya. There is also another legend connected to the Ramayana, as it is commonly believed that Lord Rama lived here with Lakshmana for a few months during his vanavasa.

Por Thozhil!!

The first scene of any crime thriller movie pretty much tells you what’s in store. Por Thozhil’s first scene is an ordinary interaction between a police driver and a inspector ending up on ghastly note, pretty much summarizes what a absolute cracker of a ride this movie would be.

The movie’s takes us through a brutal killings of young women, bound and murdered, in particular fashion. The case is led by an experienced crime branch cop, expertly played by Sarath Kumar and a newbie, Ashok Selvan, who with a bookish knowledge is the anti-thesis to his superior.

Highlights

• The story and screenplay are woven very tightly and you never feel any lag in the movie, which is quite a must in a crime thriller movie. Full credit to the writers Alfred Prakash and Vignesh Raja to keep us on the edge of our seats.
• The cinematography by Kalaiselvan Sivaji catches every frame of the movie prudently and keeps us invested in this thriller. The grey shades towards the climax nearly goosebumps us into a supernatural thriller mode.
• The most crucial piece of the thriller movies is its editing. Sreejith Sarang has done a wonderful job in this regard, keeping the most engaging parts in this movies stitched seamlessly.
• Jakes Bejoy’ music combines the eerie silence and required decibels for this thriller and lifts up the movie, especially in the scenes, where each of the dead bodies are recovered.
• Sunil Sukhada, has done a fabulous job (will not reveal his character). He provides his characters with enough depth in the few scenes he comes in the movie.
• Nikhila Vimal has aptly conveyed her part and its related emotions quite well.
• Ashok Selvan has done a fabulous job as an under-study cop in this movie. His vulnerability as well the character’s brilliance has been aptly portrayed and this is his sweet success after ‘Thegidi’.
• But the true pillars of the story are the two ‘Saraths'. Sarath Kumar has played the senior grumpy intelligent cop to perfection and so has Sarath Babu as the repentant antagonist brilliantly. His interactions with Sarath Kumar and Ashok Selvan’s characters provide us with heart-beating moments in the second half of the movie. Wish Sarath Kumar plays more character based roles in future.

However, the success of this movie truly belongs to the captain of the ship, the director Vignesh Raja. The individual characterizations, the set-up of each of the scenes along with the usage of scientific technology (like the thermometer scene) elevates this movie to one among the best Tamil crime thriller movies and aptly conveys a crucial social message to us along as well. The movie ends with space for a sequel and we are definitely waiting for it.

Do let me know your thoughts on this movie.

Social Satire – Kat-Hal!!

From time to time, serious (like Sherni) as well as comedic social/political satires (like ‘Peepli Live’) adorn the Indian movie landscape. The latest to join this list is ‘Kat-Hal’ directed by Yashowardhan Mishra starring Sanya Malhotra (of Dangal fame), Vijay Raaz and a host of other actors.

The movie’s story revolves around two cases: one of a serious nature involving a missing teenage girl and other involving a missing (kat-hal or jackfruit) from the tree in the front yard of a local MLA in a small town. Brave Inspector Mahima, played superbly by a emotive Sanya Malhotra is assigned to the missing jackfruit case and is under lot of pressure to crack it. How the inspector decided to pursue both the cases and solved it makes the rest of the story.

Highlights

• Vijay Raaz plays the role of a local politician to perfection, whether it be threating the law enforcement or his son-in-law into submission and bending the political system to suit his needs.
• Rajpal Yadav like Vijay Raaz is a amazing fit into this movie as a no-holds barred risk-taking news reporter, who drives the story forward and adapts quite well to the new age of ‘breaking news’.
• Gurpal Singh, Neha saraf and a host of the supporting actors play their part to perfection in providing a realistic setting to this movie.
• No words can be enough for Sanya Malhotra, who single handedly carries the movie on her shoulders acting to perfection in each and every scene. Her performance in Dangal and Menakshi Sundareshwar were splendid and we look forward to many such enthralling performances.
• But the real show-stealer is Anant V Joshi, who through stellar underplayed role of constable Saurabh Dwivedi, who is also in love with the inspector, brings quite a refreshing honesty and realism into the character, albeit in a muddled way.
• The story by Ashok Mishra, music by Ram Sampath and strong editing by Prerna Saigal (running under 2 hours) lend quite a strong support to the movie.

However, the icing on the cake is director ‘Yashowardhan Mishra’ who splendidly handles every department and delivers an absolute masterpiece. This light hearted comedy that delivers quite a strong message on gender equality, caste discrimination and governmental system in general is a must watch and is available on Netflix with sub-titles.

Do let me know your thoughts on the movie.

CSK – YELLOVE!!

 As my friends and me huddled around for the final over of the 2007 world cup, we knew there was something special around the corner. As we celebrated fanatically Misbah’s miscued scoop shot which rested in Sreesanth’s palms, I knew that T20 was here to stay.

As Chennai Super Kings (CSK) won their first IPL title in 2010, me and my friends in our Masters held out our own small march in our university campus to celebrate the victory. Through the years, CSK has gone through many ups and downs, with them being banned for 2 years, to them not qualifying for playoffs on certain seasons and them even being quipped ‘Dad’s Army’ for the above average age of their players. Every time they have come out stronger and better to win the IPL championship 4 times.

The past weekend was perhaps the best of all IPL matches and my destiny helped me watch the match as it got postponed for a day, due to heavy rain. As the batsman of Gujrat Titans took CSK bowlers to cleaners, I had lost all of hope of a championship win. The rain, which had been playing spoilsport, returned with vengeance once again and it seemed like the match would be abandoned. However, destiny had other plans and the match started with reduced overs with a new target based on the infamous DLS system, which definitely needs to be looked at.

CSK made a brisk start during the powerplay overs, with both openers getting a move on. However, the middle over batting was a revelation, wherein even with loss of wickets at regular intervals each of the batsman (Dube, Rayadu, Rahane) kept going for their shots and it eventually boiled down to 10 runs of 2 balls, an improbable situation considering that they were up against the best death bowler of the tournament, former CSKian, Mohit Sharma (who’s story this IPL has literally been a phoenix rising from the ashes).

All through last year, Ravindra Jadeja career had been under immense pressure. Made the captain of CSK last year, he failed to lead them to play-offs eventually giving it up to Dhoni once again. A freak injury saw him lose out of T20 World Cup campaign in Australia. Coming into IPL, Jadeja had long conversations with Dhoni leading upto some twitter posts which speculated the rift between him and his captain.

As Jaddu decided to swing for the mountains, he somehow connected the first the 2 remaining balls and it sailed over long-on for a six. With 4 runs needed off the last ball, it reminded me of the infamous 2019 finals, where CSK lost to Mumbai Indians by just a run, setting up quite a heart break. However, Jaddu flicked the last balls of his legs for a boundary and even before the ball reached the boundary, frantically ran through the grounds and into the hands of his captain, Dhoni, who bear hugged and lifted his champion to provide us with one of the most iconic picture of this IPL.

 

Dhoni and CSK had done it again; with a failing knee, rookie bowlers and ageing batsman, pulled not just a rabbit out of a hat but the championship from everyone’s grasp. The icing on the cake was however, was Dhoni’s intention to perhaps return to play next year for his last IPL, for he has promised us that his last match would be in Chepauk, for the people who have loving adored their Thala.