Yennai Arindhaal [Movie Review]

I have been a fan of Gautam Menon’s female leads. Mostly. Be it Maya in Khakha Khakha, Aradhana in Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu or for that matter even Jessie in Vinnaithaandi Varuvaaya, they all have a sense of contemporariness in them. Maya and Aradhana (both played by Jyothika) came alive in Yennai Arindhaal in the form of Hemanika. Wonderfully played by Trisha who looked stunning to say the least (and voiced ably by Krithika Nelson), this character had just enough screen time to make it a memorable appearance.

Arun Vijay, the son of ‘Nattamai’ Vijayakumar, has been an unlucky actor for quite while (I’d say close to 18-20 years). He seemed to have some decent movies on and off, but nothing that was a big break! Fortunately, Yennai Arindhaal has space for his performance and he doesn’t disappoint. Playing Victor, who again seems a mishmash of Khakha Khakha’s Pandian (played by Jeevan) and Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu’s Amudhan (played by Daniel Balaji), Arun makes the best out of this outing. While Jeevan and Daniel Balaji did not seem to have many big releases following their respective movies with Gautham Menon, I sincerely hope this is the break that Arun Vijay was waiting for. And Gautam (un)subtly tries to portray him in either white or black. And yes, he’s become one more inspiration for me to get fitter! :P

Billa (2007) was my last favourite movie of Ajith Kumar. Having become that mass hero, Ajith rarely has had a fun outing in the recent past (you may say Mankatha, but no that wasn’t one for me!). Embracing his salt and pepper look (which suits him very well), Ajith takes a role of a character who is in his late thirties, and he mostly succeeds in it. While he lacks the grace of Surya’s Anbuselvan character, there is definitely an influence of Kamal’s Raghavan character in many a way. His pairing with Trisha is spot on and it is difficult to believe that the pair has grown so gracefully in ten years since Ji!

With these three actors and their characters and some more, Gautam Menon tries to come out with yet another chapter in a policeman’s life. With his intentions all in the right form, Gautam Menon tries to interpolate his storytelling from the first two movies assuming that it will have the required effect. But what comes out in the end is mainly nostalgia, thanks to Khakha Khakha and Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu. It is not that Yennai Arindhaal does not have its moments, but every bit of it is either predictable or employed in another Gautam Menon movie. This includes the father sentiment with Nasser (in a wonderful performance) and wanderlust, both like in Vaaranam Aayiram. With yet another influenced soundtrack (with a couple of good songs) and uninspiring background score from a complacent Harris Jayaraj, Yennai Arindhaal could have been much more, especially considering that Gautam Menon had two able screenplay writers!

Dear Gautam Menon, I think you should take a break from these cop movies and love stories and make a movie with two or more female leads, like what Rajeev Menon did in Kandukonden Kandukonden (an adaptation of Sense and Sensibility).

Sincerely,
Your fan from Minnale days.

A soul departs, the voice remains....

Not many would have missed the female voice in the Rangeela track - Hai Rama. A voice, that along with the versatile Hariharan, made a thumping impact on the audience, and give Urmila Matondkar a new voice on-screen. It was Swarnalatha, a singer who made quite an impression on the music lovers in the country by this track.

The music fans in South India knew her as the singer of 'Aattama Therottama', a popular number from Captain Prabhakaran that was made lively onscreen by Ramya Krishnan. In a very unconventional yet charming voice, Swarnalatha achieved a breakthrough in the early 90s with her rendition of Poovoma Oorkolam, and there was no looking back. She was also the female vocal lead for the song Raakamma Kaiya Thattu (Dalapathi) that went on to become one of the top songs in a poll conducted by BBC.

As a Rahmaniac, I've listened to a lot of her songs ever since A.R.Rahman came into the limelight. Starting with Usilampatti Penkutti in Gentleman till Kummi Adi from Sillunu Oru Kadhal, Swarnalatha has been an integral part of his albums for more than a decade. Listing a personal favorite among them is a difficult task, however the two songs that will remain closest to my heart are Evano Oruvan from Alaipayuthey and Poraale Ponnuthaayi from Karuthamma. She also won a National Award for the Best Playback Singer - Female for the latter song. A few of her popular tracks include Mukkala Mukkabla (Kadalan), Maya Machindra (Indian), Kadhalenum Thervezhudhi (Kadhalar Dhinam), and Kuchi Kuchi Rakkamma (Bombay).

Though I am not a music expert, it was clearly evident that Swarnalatha was one of the very few female singers who could reach the higher octaves with ease, especially in songs such as Mel Isaiye (Mr. Romeo). And she voiced for my favorite actor Jyothika in Poovellam Un Vassam for the song Thirumana Malargal Tharuvaya, too! And, one song that I loved after repeated listenings (thanks to Sun Music) is 'Maalaiyil Yaaro', and I still feel no one else could have done justice to that song other than Swarnalatha.

It was from A.R.Rahman that I got to know that this singer with a unique voice and a humble nature was no more. It was a moment of sorrow for me in an otherwise joyous 'once in a lifetime' experience of an A.R.Rahman concert. You will be missed by us, but your songs will remain etched in our hearts for the years to come!

In her own lines,
'Andha Kuzhalai Pol Azhuvadharku, Athanai Kangal Enakillaye'

(From Evano Oruvan - Alaipayuthey, which translates to, I just have two eyes to cry, unlike the flute with many eyes (referring to the holes in the flute)).

A few of my favorite tracks featuring a few popular ones and a few unnoticed gems (as always):

Evano Oruvan - Alaipayuthey
Ulunthu Vedaikaiyile - Mudhalvan
Kuliruthu Kuliruthu - Taj Mahal
Thirumana Malargal - Poovellam Un Vaasam
Poraale Ponnuthaayi - Karuthamma
Senyore Senyore - Kannathil Muthamittal
Hai Rama - Rangeela
Madrasa Suthi Paaka Poren - May Maadham
Hai Rama - Rangeela
Sunta Hai Mera Khuda/Sollayo Solai Kili - Pukar/Alli Arjuna

Star On-screen Performers 2000 - 2009

Another list of the Star On-screen Actors who debuted during 2000 - 2009

Hrithik Roshan – For sure, he made a dashing debut in Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai before stealing the performance in Koi mil Gaya apart from appearing a zillion forgettable movies.

Madhavan – The boy next door in Alaipayuthey performed extra-ordinarily in Nala Damayanti (Ramji Londonwaley) and many other Tamil movies.

Vikram – An actor who was overlooked for most of the last decade, had a new lease of life in Sethu and excelled in roles including Pithamagan and Anniyan.

Surya – An unlucky actor last decade, found his luck in Khakka Khakka and Nandha before settling for ‘Vijay’ish roles in Ayan and Aadhavan.

Dhanush – For someone thin and un-heroic like him, this Kadhal Konden star has come a really long way.

Jothika – My favorite female star had eyes and expressions that could speak a 1000 words and she made the best use of it in many many memorable movies.

Katrina Kaif – Not my favorite, but she sure has lucky charm to make any movie she stars in a hit; just hope her acting gets better too!

Priyanka Chopra – Surely a star-performer including her roles in Fashion, Aitraaz and What’s Your Rashee?

Preity Zinta – Though she debuted during the last decade, she made her mark in an un-wed mother’s role in Kya Kehna and then made herself a worthy star with movies like Dil Chahta Hai, Salaam Namaste etc.

Kareena Kapoor – Will never call her a good performer except for Jab We Met, but she has survived this decade and is going strong!

Abhishek Bachchan – Probably another actor whom Mani Ratnam gets the best out of (Guru and Yuva).

Asin – Kalpana in Ghajini is probably one of the most chirpy characters in recent Tamil/Hindi cinema; hope she gets more laurels.

Konkana Sen Sharma – No one could have enacted her role in Mr. and Mrs. Iyer or 15 Park Avenue or Life In a Metro or Luck By Chance; she is a boon to Indian movies.

Ranbir Kapoor – Almost written off after a dud in Saawariya, he is now the pin-up boy after an extremely enjoyable Wake Up Sid and Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani.

Emraan Hashmi – This serial kisser had good music and decent storylines in a few of his movies and made a mark.

Mallika Sherawat – Partially responsible for giving Emraan Hashmi a successful career; and no one can break the record 17 smooches on screen.

Mozhi - A breath of fresh air

I would say my Spring break ended on a really nice note. I happened to see the Tamil movie 'Mozhi - Pesum Padam' starring Jyothika, Prithviraj, Prakashraj and Swarnamalya on 17th March in Harkin's down the Mill Avenue here in Tempe.

Having heard a lot about the movie(good things, of course), it made sense for me to spend some time and money on this movie. But it was a early show at 11:30 am, which is like 7 am for me especially on a Saturday. But this semester has seen an early Saturday for me, I hold office hours 8 am - 12 noon. I happened to rise pretty late, and fortunately was dropped by my roommate at the theater after picking up a few friends.


The theater seemed to be filled entirely except for the first two rows(which is a rare phenomenon for a Tamil movie here). It was entirely family crowd except for a few students like us.

The movie began with a village belle coming down from a hilltop temple and striking a conversation with a beggar there. It all seemed silent(without the rerecording) except for the dialogues spoken. I felt - Are they playing the right movie?. Well, the same scenes were played using rerecording and the characters Karthik(Prithviraj) and Viji(Prakashraj) were introduced as musicians assisting music director Vidyasagar. It was a nice way to introduce the characters, different from the usual opening song or fight. But the opening fight was reserved for Archana (Jyothika), who rescued a poor vegetable seller from being beaten up by her husband. Well, it was then that love struck Karthik in a comical way - Lights above his head glow up and there is the bell of Kwality Wall's icecream cart sounding. Nice way to detect if romance has struck someone.

I wouldn't want to go into the details of the story/plot, which was fairly straightforward and predictable. The music was pretty melodious and soothing, but nothing pathbreaking. I loved Katrin Mozhiye, a really nice melody and picturised well too. There were 3-4 one-minute numbers which were fillers in between and didn't hamper the flow of the movie.

Well, there was comedy in every single scene of the movie, except for the really serious scenes involving Jyothika and Prithviraj. The way Prakashraj proposes to Swarnamalya, her reaction, her parents' reaction and Prithviraj's reaction to it was really well made and was comical.

Swarnamalya was good in the movie too, in a role similar to her Poorni role in Alaipayuthey. And she did good justice to it. Hope she continues to shine this way.

Prithviraj, my current favorite after Parijatham and now Mozhi, is a good artiste who can act well and make you laugh too, esp his expression in Parijatham's fictitious 'Ponnu Paarkum' scenes were awesome. His combo with Prakashraj is something that turned out to be really good in the movie. In the scenes where he yells at Jyothika about her imaginations and also when he makes Jyothika feel music through the speakers and later proposes to her, he expresses his acting capabilities well. But for sure, this hero cannot dance too. And his antics in Kannal Pesum Pennae songs were simply hilarious. His dressing sense in the first song were atrocious with him in orange pants etc.

Jyothika, in her swansong proved what she was. And for a Jo-Fan like me, this was the perfect one to watch, after being slightly disappointed with her Pachaikili Muthucharam. She spoke no words, except when Prithviraj imagined a voice for her. As usual her eyes did all the talking, but her Chandramukhi-ish yelling in the climax scene could have been done away with. The way she says that she is deaf and dumb was simply superb. As said earlier she had a heroic entry in the movie and stayed that way. She made sure that she was the only one suited for the role. I only hope she continues to act after a while. She had very little make-up like in Vettaiyadu Vilaiyadu, Silendru Oru Kadhal, and looked good in the final scene when she was all made up.

Prakashraj as an actor was excellent with all the one-liners and his chemistry with Prithviraj is comparable to Munnabhai-Circuit combo's chemistry. He as a producer has succeeded in all his movies. I loved Kanda Naal Mudhal and Azhagiya Theeye. It is very rare to see a producer have such quality movies these days. I would say this was a a fresh breather for Tamil cinema which is filled with movies involving heroism, action, infidelity and glamour. Prakashraj needs to be applauded for this.

Music by Vidyasagar. He proved his touch in Katrin Mozhi which plays twice in the movie, once when the four have a joyous moment, and during the ending credits. Sevvanam Selaikatti is a nice number and colorful on screen too. The SPB number 'Kannal Pesum Pennae' was hilarious, but the music is jarring at times. The solo sad song is a good one too.

My favorite lines from Katrin mozhi(no idea what purinthividil means - does it mean if understood?)

Iyarkayin Mozhigal Purinthividil
Manitharin Mozhigal Thevai illai
Idhayathin Mozhigal Purinthividil
Manitharku Mozhiye Thevai illai

Comedy involving Brahmanandam-Prakashraj and MS Baskar(who is in the year 1984) were in flow with the movie and were very decent, something rare to see in movies these days.

Overall, a feel good movie and definitely in my favorite movies list. And truly a 'Pesum Padam'