Aadukalam is a must watch!!

Movie - Aadukalam (Tamil)
Director - Vetrimaaran
Producer - Kathiresan
Cast - Dhanush, Tapsee, Kishore, Jayabalan, Jayaprakash, Nareyn
Music & Background Score- GV Prakash Kumar
Cinematography - R Velraj
Editing - Kishore TE
Art - Jackie
Stunts - Late Rambo Rajkumar, Rajshekhar
Sound - T Udayakumar
Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Vetrimaaran
Release Date - 14th January 2011

Dhanush and Vetrimaaran came together in 2007 for the first time to give a mindblowing film called Polladhavan which was a completely new experience to Tamil Cinema viewers. The experiment stayed within commercial cinema constraints, yet had a distinct style and approach which was new to Tamil Cinema. It was lauded as Dhanush's career best performance, and now, with the same team, Dhanush has outshined his own career best though KP Karuppu in Aadukalam. A brilliantly made movie which would satisfy fans of both commercial and realistic cinema, Aadukalam is one of the best Tamil movies to have come out in recent times and the clear winner among the Pongal releases. 

Pettaikkaran (Jayabalan) and the cop Rathnasamy (Nareyn) are arch rivals in the rooster fight competitions that are the life and soul of many people in Madurai. Dhorai (Kishore) and Karuppu (Dhanush) are Pettaikkaran's trusted aides and they have been doing extremely well in training roosters for fights. Rathnasamy is from a family which used to be known for its victories in rooster fight tournaments since the time of his ancestors. But for a very long time now, Rathnasamy has been losing out on every damn rooster fight against Pettaikkaran. He wants one last fight with Pettaikkaran's roosters to prove his honour in front of his dying and ever-complaining mother. Pettaikkaran on the other hand had decided to stop having rooster fights with Rathnasamy. In the meanwhile, Karuppu meets Irene (Tapsee) during one of his escapades and falls head over heels in love with her and slowly tries to woo her in every possible way he knows. The story then proceeds through a lot of twists, turns, jealousy, betrayals and lot of high voltage action. 

Vetrimaaran must be lauded for taking up a subject which is strikingly different from the regular fare we're used to seeing. And he has also managed to make Aadukalam stand out from the so-many Madurai based movies that have been coming out since the success of Paruthiveeran and Subramaniapuram. Rooster fights is an interesting concept that no director has tried before and this sets the backdrop for Vetrimaaran's tale of relationships, jealousy and betrayal. Despite being Chennaiites, both Dhanush and Vetrimaaran have created a Madurai which is as real as it can get. Vetrimaaran's script is strong and tight and explores relationships with a microscopic view, staying within an entertaining format. The rooster fights make you bite your nails with anxiety, and the second half the action transfers to the trainers from the roosters. The characterizations are done brilliantly, and so are the dialogues. Even the climax of the movie is extremely different from conventional endings. Another fact which deserves special mention is that Vetrimaaran has included filmography and bibliography of films and books that have been useful for reference in making this film, ranging from Amorres Perros to Virumaandi and Thevar Magan. Now, not many directors do that. 

Dhanush delivers his career best performance as the lovable KP Karuppu. He is definitely one of the best actors in the country. He may not have six pack abs or Greek God looks, but every single person who has seen his work can blindly say that he is a stunning actor. Dhanush gets the Madurai lingo flawlessly right and slips so naturally into the character that it is hard to imagine that he was performing as that character. Watch out for him in the romantic scenes and the one scene where he talks to Tapsee after a tragedy in the second half. He is mind blowing. Tapsee is one of the cutest things I have seen on screen in a long long time. Each time she appears on screen, she just lights it up. Her acting is not bad and has a wonderful screen presence. The only problem was her lip sync in an otherwise decent act. Kishore, as we all know is a fabulous actor and he reinforces that fact with his performance in this film. Looking drastically different, his Dhorai is one of the pillars of the story. Jayabalan as the manipulative guru Pettaikkaran is brilliant and extremely natural. Nareyn as the cop Rathnasamy was also very good, but his character loses prominence in the second half. The wonderful Jayaprakash makes a fleeting appearance as well. The rest of the supporting cast, most of which comprises of newcomers are extremely natural and effective. 

GV Prakash's music was a chartbuster since the audio release of the film. 'Yathe Yathe' has been on loop on almost everyone's playlists and that song is just too good and no words can describe the experience of listening to that song. 'Otha Sollala' is another beautiful kuthu song where Dhanush breaks into an impromptu jig in the middle of the Madurai roads, his mind going wild with love. 'Ayyayyo', a beautiful song by SPB is also wonderfully picturized showcasing the nightlife of the ordinary, in Madurai. The Porkkalam rap is also juxtaposed well into the narrative. GV Prakash has also excelled with the background score of the film. 

Aadukalam has a very strong technical side as well. Cinematography by Velraj is painstakingly realistic and the kind of shades he has given to the visuals completely complemen the raw treatment of the film. Kishore's editing also keeps the film going in a steady flow. Stunts by Rambo Rajkumar & Rajashekhar are bloody real. Art by Jackie and Sound by Udayakumar are also effectively handled. The computer generated rooster fights are also very effective and realistic. The rooster fight sequence just before the interval is one of the highlights of the movie. 

On the whole, Aadukalam is a definite must-watch for Vetrimaaran's deft handling of a very interesting subject, Dhanush's flawless performance, an adorable Tapsee and some great music by GV Prakash. Its hard to find such a realistic film within the commercial format. Its completely different from Polladhavan, yet almost as good as it. The film can boost Vetrimaaran up to the big league of directors in the Tamil industry. Tamil Cinema has opened with a bang in 2011. Do not waste any more time, go watch Aadukalam!! 

Rating - 4.5/5

The hilarious second half makes Uthamaputhiran very entertaining!!

Previously published on nowrunning.com 
(http://www.nowrunning.com/movie/7492/tamil/uthama-puthiran/2804/review.htm)

Movie - Uthamaputhiran (Tamil)
Director - Mithran R Jawahar
Producers - M Mohan Apparao, T Ramesh
Cast - Dhanush, Genelia, Vivek, Bhagyaraj, Ashish Vidyarthi, Ambika, Rekha, Karunas, Rajendran, Srinath, Jayaprakash Reddy
Music - Vijay Antony
Cinematography - Balasubramaniam
Screenplay - Gopi Mohan
Release Date - 5th November 2010.


Uthamaputhiran is a remake of last year's Telugu superhit Ready, starring Ram and Genelia. It is Dhanush's third association with director and friend Mithran R Jawahar in a Telugu remake. Their first outing Yaaradi Nee Mohini proved very successful for the duo, but their second film Kutty failed miserably. But this time around, they have a winner in their hands. Uthamaputhiran after a slow and uneventful first half, has a very entertaining and hilarious second half, which makes the movie immensely watchable. 

Shiva (Dhanush) is a happy go lucky young guy who is ready to do anything for his family and friends. (He is never seen going for any work, whereas every other member of his family leaves the house for work every morning wearing executive costumes). He kidnaps a girl from her marriage for his friend, who supposedly loves her. Only when he takes her to him does he realize that he brought the wrong girl. The girl happens to be Pooja (Genelia) who already wanted to run away from her wedding since she wasnt interested in it. Pooja's family starts chasing them and some scenes later, Shiva decides to take Pooja to his house. Pooja gels well with Shiva's family and falls in love with him in the meanwhile. But then, Pooja's uncle Periya Gounder (Ashish Vidyarthi) takes her away. Both her uncles including him and Chinna Gounder (Jayaprakash Reddy) want to get her married to their sons to get their hands on the 200 crores which she is entitled to. Shiva lands in Tuticorin and makes plans to marry Pooja with everyone's permission, making one Mr. Emotional Ekambaram (Vivek) a scapegoat. 

The film's first half does not have much to offer than the charm of both the leading actors. Both Dhanush and Genelia are at their charming best. The entire first half is about Dhanush's family and friends and the entire milieu is established quite well. But other than a few moments, there is nothing memorable about the first half. But the movie changes gears with the entry of Vivek as Emotional Ekambaram in the second half. He brings the house down with his act, and his chemistry with Dhanush plays a major role in that. The story actually has some movement only in the second half. Instead of going in the routine song-dance-fight-sentiments routine, the makers have handled the entire movie in a light-hearted manner stressing on family values, through humour. 

Dhanush is wonderful as usual. There is something genuinely likable about this actor. Even in a terrible movie like Padikkathavan, it is hard not to like him. He plays Shiva with consummate ease. Watch out for his chemistry with Vivek in the second half. Genelia reprises her role from the Telugu original. She looks adorable and her character is best suited for her bubbly self. But after seeing her in Bommarillu and Jaane Tu, it is difficult to accept something less bubbly and vibrant from her after those two. :) She is wonderful. But the star of the movie is Vivek. Returning back to form after a long long time, Vivek shines as Emotional Ekambaram and makes us forget about the boring first half instantly. He hasnt given such a good performance since Sivaji. Bhagyaraj is as always, dependable and does his part well. Ashish Vidyarthi finally learned to move his lips in Tamil and has done quite well too. Even Jayaprakash Reddy was decent. Karunas was good in his effeminate character. Srinath desperately tries to ape Santhanam with no effect. His jokes are terrible. Rajendran comes to get beaten up twice by Dhanush. Ambika and Rekha make their presence felt in the second half. Shriya Saran makes an appearance, looks gorgeous and then disappears. 

Vijay Antony is not at his best here with the music. There is a strong absence of chartbuster songs even though there was ample scope and space for such songs in this entertainer. Only 'Usumu Larasey' and the duet in the first half are impressive. Background Score is apt for the movie. Cinematography by Balasubramaniam is wonderful, especially in the first half. Though some of the shots look overly saturated (might be overdone DI), the cinematography is generally very good. Art Direction, Editing and Action are done according to the movie's requirement. 

All in all, Uthamaputhiran is a decent entertainer, which takes time to entertain you. :P Vivek is the star of the movie along with its lead pair Dhanush and Genelia. The movie is getting remade in Hindi also. Aneez Bazmee is making it in Hindi with Salman Khan and Asin in the lead. But they really have to work on the first half to make the Hindi remake work. Watch it if you want to have some good timepass. 

Rating - 3/5