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

Top 10 Songs of The Year - Tamil

Its that time of the year where you make lists of what was good and bad in the year gone by. And lets start with a top 10 songs list, this time in Tamil. There were several chartbusters this year and here are the 10 best songs among them. 

10. Yaar Intha Penthaan (Boss Engira Bhaskaran)

Music - Yuvan Shankar Raja
Lyrics - Na. Muthukumar
Singer - Haricharan
Featuring - Arya, Nayanthara, Santhanam
Director - Rajesh

A lovely number from the hilarious Boss Engira Bhaskaran, this song had Arya falling in love with  a gorgeous Nayanthara over the course of his brother's weddings with loads of light moments. Yuvan Shankar Raja's music, and lyrics by Na Muthukumar together created a memorable melody. 

9. Naan Pogiren (Naanayam)

Music - James Vasanthan

Lyrics - Thamarai

Singers - SP Balasubramaniam, KS Chitra

Featuring - Prasanna, Ramya Raj

Director - Shakti S Raj

Every time the legends SPB and Chitra sing a duet together, it is magical. 'Naan Pogiren Mele Mele' from Naanayam was no exception. Composed by James Vasanthan who gave the smash hit Subramaniyapuram and the lovely Pasanga, this beautiful melody had SPB and Chitra at their romantic best. The lyrics was by Thamarai who is an expert at writing romantic songs and she didnt let us down in this one also. The song had beautiful visuals as well, and featured the talented Prasanna and newcomer Ramya Raj. 

8. Pookkal Pookkum Tharunam (Madharasappattinam)

Music - GV Prakash Kumar

Lyrics - Na Muthukumar

Singers - Roopkumar Rathod, Harini, Andreah Jeremiah

Featuring - Arya, Amy Jackson

Director - Vijay

A beautifully composed melody which takes us back to the British era, this song can almost be called a haunting melody, with its chorus part being the best. It had amazing vocals by veteran singers Roopkumar Rathod, Harini and the young and talented Andreah. The English portions sung by Andreah were similar to that of Vasundhara Das's portions in Lagaan's O Rey Chhori in both the composition and visuals. The lovely chemistry between Arya and the ethereally beautiful Amy Jackson romancing around the glorious old Madras, also worked wonders for the song. 

7. En Kaadhal Solla (Paiyya)

Music - Yuvan Shankar Raja

Lyrics - Na Muthukumar

Singers - Yuvan Shankar Raja, Tanvi

Featuring - Karthi, Tamannah

Director - Lingusamy

Another chartbuster from Paiyya, another Yuvan song, with the composer being the singer himself. Again featuring Karthi falling in love with Tamannah, this song had an irresistible hook in the part which goes 'Un azhagaale'. Tanvi was also part of this song giving backing vocals. Cinematographer Madhie captured Tamannah's beauty in all possible ways on one side and Karthi longing for her on the other side. 

6. Aval Appadi Ondrum Azhagillai (Angaadi Theru)

Music - Vijay Antony

Lyrics - Na. Muthukumar

Singers - Vineeth Sreenivasan, Ranjith

Featuring - Mahesh, Anjali, Pandi

Director - Vasanthabalan

One of the best movies of the year, Angaadi Theru had 2 composers giving music for the film - GV Prakash Kumar and Vijay Antony. While GV Prakash composed 4 songs for the movie, Vijay Antony did 2. And it was Vijay's Aval Appadi Ondrum which became the biggest hit in the soundtrack. Multi-talented Malayalam singer Vineeth Sreenivasan got his big break in Tamil with this beautiful song which celebrated love. Ranjith also made his presence felt with Vineeth behind the mike. The visuals had the young and fresh faces like Mahesh, Anjali, Pandi and others experiencing love for the first time, during their working hours at a terrible workplace. The movie also had another beautiful song composed by GV Prakash  and sung by Naresh Iyer, Haricharan and Shreya Ghoshal called 'Un Perai Sollumbothu' which was also very popular. 

5. Thuli Thuli Thuli Mazhaiyaay Vandhaale (Paiyya)

Music - Yuvan Shankar Raja

Lyrics - Na. Muthukumar

Singer - Haricharan

Featuring - Karthi, Tamannah, Sonia

Director - Lingusamy

Another fantastic song from Paiyya, which was also its most popular song. A beautiful melody rendered by Haricharan, this song had Karthi searching for Tamannah all over Bangalore city. Tamil movies are seldom shot at Bangalore, so the locations and visuals from garden city were refreshing. Again, Yuvan was able to give a great hook to the song in its chorus portions which makes it click instantly. The song is still as popular as it was during the movie's release. 

4. Usure Poguthey (Raavanan)

Music - AR Rahman

Lyrics - Vairamuthu

Singers - Karthik
Featuring - Vikram, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Director - Mani Ratnam

The visually spectacular song, had many legends coming together. Mani Ratnam, AR Rahman, Santosh Sivan & Vairamuthu along with Vikram, Aishwarya Rai and the superbly talented Karthik as the singer. And as an end result, we get a stunning song, both visually and aurally. Karthik's rendition of this song deserves nothing short of a National Award. Rahman's experimental tune worked wonders, so did the soulful lyrics by Vairamuthu. The visual of Aishwarya Rai falling off a branch of a huge tree is sure to stay with you forever. The song had mesmerizing visuals by ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan in the lush forests near the Athirappilly waterfalls in Kerala. This song was perhaps the best portion of Mani Ratnam's Raavanan which received mixed reviews upon release. The song also had a Hindi version which had some great lyrics by the legend Gulzar. 

3. Neela Vaanam (Man Madan Ambu)

Music - Devi Sri Prasad

Singers - Kamal Haasan, Priya Hemesh

Lyrics - Kamal Haasan

Featuring - Kamal Haasan, Caroline

Director - KS Ravikumar

An absolutely brilliant song penned by Kamal Haasan & composed by Devi Sri Prasad, this beautiful track from Man Madan Ambu shows tells a tragic love story in reverse. Shot innovatively where all the action is going in reverse, except for Kamal's singing, which is perfectly in sync, this beautiful song stands out because of Kamal Haasan's soulful rendition, perhaps his 2nd best work as a singer in a non-Ilaiyaraaja song (the best would surely be Anbe Sivam). The song comes at a very important point in the movie and is definitely one of the highlights of the movie. This has to be Devi Sri Prasad's career best composition. 

2. Kilimanjaro, Kaadhal Anukkal, Irumbile Oru Iruthayam (Enthiran)

Music - AR Rahman

Lyrics - Pa.Vijay, Vairamuthu, Madhan Karky

Singers - Javed Ali, Chinmayi, Vijay Prakash, Shreya Ghoshal, AR Rahman, Lady Kash n Krissy

Featuring - Superstar Rajnikanth, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Director - Shankar

It is difficult to pick one song from the blockbuster soundtrack of the all time hit Enthiran. Hence I've picked 3 songs which are almost equally good and put them together at the second position. Kilimanjaro was shot at the breathtakingly beautiful Macchu Picchu and had Superstar and Ash grooving to Rahman's tune. Chinmayi's groovy rendition is the highlight of this song which has an addictive 'Aaha Aaha' chorus portion. Kaadhal Anukkal was a beautiful and breezy romantic melody shot at another breathtaking location in Brazil. Superstar and Ash looked their best and Vijay Prakash and Shreya Ghoshal together brought magic in the song. Irumbile Oru Iruthayam was an insanely addictive song with some funky and futuristic lyrics by Vairamuthu's son Madhan Karky. AR Rahman sang for the Superstar while lady rappers Kash n Krissy brought in a whole lot of freshness through their rap for a super-hot Aishwarya Rai. Shankar's epic visuals, Rahman's extraordinarily catchy music and the great vocals from all the singers made these songs also go down as part of history along with the film. 

1. Mannippaya, Aaromale, Hossana, Omana Penne, Anbil Avan (Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya)

Music - AR Rahman

Lyrics - Thamarai

Singers - Shreya Ghoshal, AR Rahman, Alphons Joseph, Vijay Prakash, Blaaze, Suzanne, Benny Dayal, Kalyani Menon, Devan & Chinmayi

Featuring - Silambarasan, Trisha

Director - Gautham Vasudev Menon

Another AR Rahman album from which it is difficult to pick one track as the best. Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya would certainly be up there as one of the best albums by AR Rahman ever. The maverick composer teamed up with ace director Gautham Menon for the first time and what we got was magical. Mannippaaya was a haunting melody by the wonderful Shreya Ghoshal and AR Rahman himself. Aaromale, an unusual soft rock track which had Malayalam lyrics by Kaithapram and vocals by Malayalam composer Alphons Joseph is the best composition in the album and became a cult song immediately. Vijay Prakash, Blaaze, Suzanne made Hosanna a heavenly experience. It feels like Benny Dayal was getting as much joy as his listeners while singing the beautiful Omana Penne along with veteran singer Kalyani Menon who pitches in some Malayalam lines. And the incredible fusion of both carnatic and western music comes alive in the wedding song Anbil Avan with energetic vocals by Devan and Chinmayi. The songs were used perfectly in the movie which had extraordinary cinematography by Manoj Paramahamsa and terrific performances by Simbu and Trisha. VTV is definitely the album of the year. 

So the clear winner is AR Rahman with his 2 albums and one track topping the charts. Yuvan Shankar Raja closely follows suit with the blockbuster soundtrack of Paiyya and the song from Boss Engira Bhaskaran. He also had other major hits in the form of Goa, Naan Mahaan Alla, Kaadhal Solla Vanthen, Thillalangadi, Baana Kathadi, etc. GV Prakash impressed with wonderful songs from Madharasappattinam, Angadi Theru, Aayirathil Oruvan and more recently, Va Quarter Cutting. Devi Sri Prasad continued his home run with the hit tracks of Singam and has Man Madan Ambu lined up next. Mani Sharma's Suraa had some hit tracks as well. Maestor Ilaiyaraaja's music is supposed to be the soul of Mysskin's Nandhala (I havent seen the film or heard the songs yet). Tracks like the spoofy Oh Maha Zeeya from Thamizh Padam and Vaada Vaada Paiyya from Kacheri Aarambam were also very popular. 


So that was my list of the top 10 songs in Tamil this year. The lists in Hindi and Malayalam are coming up next. 

Madharasappattinam

Movie - Madharasappattinam (Tamil)
Director - Vijay
Producer - Kalpathi S Aghoram, Udhayanidhi Stalin
Cast - Arya, Amy Jackson, Nasser, Alex O'Neill, VMC Hanifa, MS Bhaskar, Kishore, Jeeva, Jack James 
Music - GV Prakash Kumar
Cinematography - Nirav Shah
Editing - Anthony
Art Director - Selvakumar
Stunts - Manohar Verma
Story, Screenplay, Dialogues - Vijay
Release Date - 9th July 2010




Priyadarshan would be proud. His protege Vijay has not only made a very good period film in Tamil (like his grand Kalapani/Siraichaalai), he has also been 'inspired' by 2 huge blockbusters in the period genre. Vijay who has done only remakes so far in Tamil (Kireedam, Poi Solla Porom), ventured into a very tough project as his third, and he has succeeded in making it his career-best work. Its been ages since a period film came in Tamil (other than Imsai Arasan 23am Pulikesi) and out of the few period films in Tamil, even fewer films featured the Indian independence struggle. But here, Vijay does not tell the tale of the independence struggle. Instead, he narrates an endearing love story with the Indian freedom struggle as a backdrop. 

85 year old Amy Smith is suffering from a blood clot in her brain and has to be operated almost immediately to avoid serious consequences. But before her operation, she makes a decision to go to India to find the whereabouts of a man named Parithi. Cut to the past, where Amy Wilkinson (Amy Jackson), the daughter of the Governor of Madras, has just arrived in India. Amy meets a young man Parithi (Arya) during her stay in Madras, and slowly falls in love with him, much to the displeasure of her parents and fiancé Commissioner Robert Ellis (Alex O'Neill). Robert, along with the Governon also have plans of snatching the land of Parithi and his fellow villagers who all make a living by washing the clothes of those foreigners. The past and present come alive through the eyes of Amy (Doraiamma to Parithi) in her journey to find Parithi. 

The structure of the screenplay is religiously borrowed from James Cameron's blockbuster Titanic. From the first scene till the last scene, the influence of Titanic is very evident and in your face. And the other film which has influenced him majorly is Ashutosh Gowariker's Lagaan. Arya's introduction, learning the language, the rain song, VMC Hanifa's character and finally the gusti match between Parithi and Robert with their land as the prize money; along with costumes, art direction, etc. are all out of Lagaan.  Taking scenes from movies which almost everyone has seen and making them work again is a tough job, and Vijay handles it quite well actually. But in spite of these obvious inspirations, Vijay still manages to deliver a pretty good film. 

What works for the movie is the romance and its old world charm. The movie takes the audience through the Madras of yore and suddenly gives images of the new Madras, which is now Chennai, in striking contrast. And in between all the land issues, indpendence struggle and tension, a lovely romance blooms between the lead pair Arya and Amy Jackson, which is truly endearing and one of the best aspects of the film. The romantic portions are narrated with a tinge of humour making them much more enjoyable. The second half gets a little long, but catches pace with the chase scene at the Central station and surroundings. 

Arya is very good as the 'brave man' Parithi. He has very little dialogues, but still manages to charm you with his act. Comedy as always, is his forte, and he shines in the comic scenes. His beefed up look has helped him a lot in the action sequences. But the movie belongs to Amy Jackson. As the beautiful Doraiyamma, she wins your heart immediately. Her Tamil is wonderful and she looks exotic when she comes dressed in a pudavai. She slightly resembles a young Aishwarya Rai in her looks, and is a very good actress as well. The old lady who played her part in the present timeline, was very poor and did not match up to Amy's skills. Alex O'Neill is menacing and has done his part well. This might perhaps be VMC Hanifa's last movie. The great character actor passed away this March. He looks very unhealthy in the movie and his voice seems like it has been dubbed partly by him and partly by some mimicry artistes. But still, he gets some hilarious lines and scenes and he plays it to perfection. Nasser is superb in a short role. The rest of the cast, especially the villagers are very good and they are responsible for all the wonderful light moments in the first half of the movie. 

Recreating the Madras of 1940s is no easy task and Vijay's team has done some extraordinary work towards it, transporting us back to that era. Nirav Shah's cinematography and Selvakumar's art direction go hand in hand and are certainly award-worthy material. Even though some of the houses look straight out of Priyadarshan's Kanchivaram, the art director has shown in skill in creating the atmosphere for the movie. A completely clean Koovam river which people used as a source of water is itself an amazing sight. There are trams, old buses, government buildings, the Washermanpet, nameboards, the old Spencer's building, Central Station, etc. Everything has been recreated wonderfully through sets and CGI. Anthony's editing between the past and the present (shot in different colour tones by Nirav Shah) works very well, but he could have trimmed the second half a little bit. Stunts by Manohar are very good as well. 

GV Prakash has gone his uncle AR Rahman's way in Madharasappattinam, scoring some classy, old world music for the movie. This is perhaps his best work after Veyil and Aayirathil Oruvan. 'Meghame Meghame' by the legend MS Vishwanathan, superstar Vikram and Nasser is shot a la 'Ghanan Ghanan' from Lagaan. But is still a great song. 'Pookkal Pookkum' is a beautiful romantic duet between Arya and Amy and the Lagaan inspiration creeps in here also with Amy dancing in a red dress singing English lines like in 'O Rey Chhori'. 'Vaamma Doraiyamma' is an endearing song in which Arya shows Amy around Madharasappattinam, showing us all the landmarks of Chennai during that period. With some hilarious English translations by VMC Hanifa thrown in for good measure. The sad song in the second half could have been avoided but its a good song nevertheless. It was a surprise to see Amy Jackson lip-syncing to Tamil lyrics much better than the usual Tamil movie heroines. Background Score is also excellent, with a lot of inspiration from Rahman's style of composing. 

On the whole, Madharasappattinam is a pretty good movie which transports you back to the Chennai during the last days of British rule in India, and tells a nice love story set in that period. If you're ready to forgive the obvious inspirations from Titanic and Lagaan, there are chances that you might end up liking this movie. The title card of the movie is innovatively done on the Madras presidency map and the end credits show the Madras of yore and the Chennai of today's times. The audience do not leave the hall till they see the last frames showing the old Spencer's building and the new Spencer's Plaza. Vijay has proved that he is a talented director and someone to look forward to in the future, with Madharasappattinam. 


Rating - 3.5/5