Top 10 13/3/08

thotta movie review

Cast: Jeevan, Priyamani, Raghuvaran, Livingston, Mayilusamy, Santana Bharathi, Mallika, Sabitha Anand, Vagai Chandrasekar, Vishnupriyan

Direction: Selvah

Music: Srikanth Deva

Production: Ram New Light Productions Ltd.
It is obvious that Jeevan is in the path of shedding his earlier image of crookedness on screen with this blend of action and sentiment. However, director Selva’s Thotta offers nothing new and is a hodgepodge of all commercial ingredients that includes a past-its-sell-by date plot and other inevitable elements such as songs, stunts, love, sentiment, and sacrifice. Priyamani, and a sub plot involving her desire to become a cop, is what makes the movie a little interesting.

Jeevan’s mother is beaten to death by his father,Rajkapoor, and Jeevan is driven away from home. The kid finds shelter in a shady cop’s arms, Sampathraj, who eventually trains him under the auspices of another thug to raise him up as a ferocious hoodlum. Jeevan grows to become a terrifying gangster. However, when he is given orders to throw acid on Priyamani to disfigure her, he falls in love with her instead.

Priyamani aspires to become a cop and Jeevan helps her fulfill her wish. In the process, Jeevan brings her to Sampathraj who demands that she sleep with him to help her get the job. Jeevan comes to blows with his mentor and takes a vow to get Priyamani the job without his help. In an unprecedented climax, he helps Priyamani prove her mettle in the shooting test eventually gaining her the job and fulfilling her ambition.

Jeevan is at ease playing the thug and proves that he can emote well- watch the scene when he takes revenge on his father for his mother’s death. The script has scope for nothing more than a typical action hero’s antics and Jeevan pulls it off successfully. Priyamani has all it that takes to be the next bombshell. She scorches alongside Jeevan with skimpy outfits in songs and plays her part to perfection in other scenes where she’s required to act.

Other performances worth mentioning are Sampathraj, Livingston, Saranraj, Rajkapoor, and Chandrasekhar. Mayilsamy’s comedy doesn’t blend with the flow and is tiresome in places.

Balamurugan’s camera flips from frame to frame to provide the scenes with the necessary action-flick effect. T. Ramesh’s dialogue strikes the right chord in a few places. Srikanth Deva’s music is deafening, typical of an action-masala flick.

All said and done, Thotta seems to be director Selva’s attempt at reviving the 80s mindless action adventure flicks with an overdose of mother sentiment and sacrifice.


Verdict: Mindless action flick saved by Priyamani

vellithirai movie review

Starring: Prithviraj, Prakash Raj, Gopika, Lakshmi Rai, M.S. Bhaskar, Sampath, Srikanth and others.

Direction: Viji

Music: G V Prakash

Cinematography: Panneerselvam

Production: Prakash Raj

A witty satire of the perils of stardom in Indian cinema. Though Vellithriai, the Tamil remake of Malayalam’s Udayananu Tharam, lacks the original’s brilliant touches, it is still entertaining to an extent. Vellithirai brings back the successful duo of Prakash Raj – Prithviraj together and the combination works well, if not as superbly as the legendary Mohan Lal - Srinivasan combo in 'Udhayananu Tharam'.
Saravanan (Prithviraj) is a struggling assistant director. He lives in Kodambakam, where there are several other hopefuls and wannabes: friends and rivals struggling together. Saravanan’s dream is to make his own film and he has a foolproof scheme to achieve this goal: write a sure-fire script and insist on directing it himself. His roommate, Kannayan (Prakash Raj) a sly, struggling and untalented actor hatches a plot to steal the script, pass it off on his own, and insist on being the star of the film. One day Saravanan pitches his story to Trisha (playing herself) and is shocked to discover that Trisha already knows the story. His dreams shattered, he turns to the famous actress Mythili (Gopika), for help. Can Saravanan outwit Kannayan who has now become a big star?


We won’t elaborate more on the plot that takes interesting turns except to say that the climax borrows from the Hollywood satire about moviemaking, Bowfinger. Prakash Raj in an interview to The Hindu said, “Don’t call it a remake. Call it an inspiration.” The Tamil keeps the outline of the original’s plot but changes many details, including the dialogue, which is written with an eye to a Tamil audience. Vellitherai deftly satirizes commercial cinema: and in the process indicting Indian stars and their nearly fascistic behavior on and off a film set. The most pointed dialogue is when Prakash Raj says to his friend, 'Mustafa turning into Hanuman is possible only in tinsel town'. The satirical portions in the film have been crafted deftly, especially the scene between director and star about the absurd age factor of Indian movie heroes.

Prithviraj is wonderful in this role. He doesn’t stereotype the struggling artist but gives the character doubt, integrity, and compassion. Prakash Raj is flamboyant and complex as the bad actor who has to act to save his life. A challenge for any actor: how does a good actor play a bad one? His over the top stylish makeover as the star in the second half may make him look funny, but that is the point: to make fun of this pompous man. Gopika as expected is quite natural. Though the film’s focus on the personal problems of a heroine makes for good viewing, her extended mushy act does get a bit tiresome.



Everyone in Vellitherai has worked hard to make this resemble a movie about a movie as much as possible. M.S. Bhaskar playing the manager’s role, and Charlie as production manager illustrate this best. Cinematography by Paneerselvam is top notch. One of G.V.Praskash’s melodies is really foot tapping: 'Kanavugal' canned at several beautiful locations is a visual treat. But his background score does leave lot to be desired.

The choreography and sets for the songs are tasteful, even ironic. They are at once mocking and sincere, suggesting that commercial cinema is always a compromise: something a serious filmmaker like Saravanan is forced to contend with on his road to success. Viji, the debuting director, who had earlier scored handsomely for his dialogues in movies like Mozhi and Azhagiya Theeya, seems to be learning the ropes in the direction front. Climax for one could have been shaped up better. Overall, movies about movies are rare enough in Tamil cinema and a new addition to the genre is always welcome and the attempt is much appreciated.


Verdict: Good, but not as good as the original.

Shreya has a proud call

Having spotted by Hollywood producer Ashok Amrithraj for his Indian-American movie, Shriya is seemingly becoming the apple of International Indian directors’ eyes. Last heard, she has been roped in for a significant role in Mira Nair’s next venture. Mira Nair’s choice of Shriya gains prominence since she’s usually smitten only with actors whom she thinks can deliver substance.will shreya live up to the xpectations.??????????????

Lingusamy in new hunt

Looks like Lingusamy has moved on from Bheema and is busy with his newfound passion – production. After getting Paruthiveeran Karthi to sign on the dotted line for his next movie under the Tirupathy Brothers banner, Lingusamy is also producing movies directed by Balaji Sakthivel and Priyadarshan’s Assistant Roshan Krishna.

Vasool raja remakes jab we met

Director Saran is famous for remaking the smash hit Hindi film Vasool Raja MBBS in Tamil. This film, with Kamal Haasan in the lead, had the cash registers ringing. According to Saran, Moser Baer Films is contemplating a remake of another Hindi hit, Jab We Met with Dhanush and Trisha in the lead. In all probability, he will direct it if everything goes right.

Malavika shuts up

Malavika is one actress who has always been lashed at for accepting glamorous roles and item numbers. Well, she seems to have no qualms over it. This actress, recently married, proudly states that she has four movies lined up, and she plays the lead role in three of them.

Making it clear that she does not solicit roles but accept what is being offered to her, she said that the comments that she accepts items numbers are unjust because she is being offered only those. She also emphasized that if the directors consider her suitable for a role and believe in her capabilities, then she would naturally be offered other kinds of roles. Is this enough to stop wagging tongues?

Jayam ravi discloses his love

Ten-movie old “Jeyam” Ravi forayed into the film industry with the smash hit Jeyam. The film’s success saw to it that the prefix stuck to his name. Having established himself firmly in the industry, it is now time for him to answer queries about his personal life. The issue that is being raked up by the media time and again is about his marriage. Dispelling all rumors,the actor made it clear that he is not keen on a love marriage. He also indicated that his wedding will be arranged by his parents.

Peraanmai, the movie that he is presently associated with, is being directed by Jagannathan. Playing the role of a forest officer in this film, he said that it is about tribal people living in the mountains. Accentuating his stand that films should espouse good principles, Ravi added that he would focus on such films in the future.

Surya thinks different

While many actors believe that churning one film after the other will keep them aloft the rest in the industry, Surya thinks otherwise. Presently busy with Gautham Menon’s Vaaranam Aayiram, Surya said that he is focused on acting in quality cinema; therefore, quantity doesn’t matter.
Speaking about VA, he said that it about a military officer. And as like his previous venture, Kaakka Kaakka he seems to have done his homework well, as Surya has put on weight for that army look.After VA, Surya has two other ventures on hand, one each for K.V. Anand and Murugadoss. The main criteria that this actor is looking for in his films are: good story and scope to perform.

Rahman maintains the secret

Maestro A.R. Rahman’s appearance in public events, leave alone press meets, is a rare occurrence. And when he called the media to address them, it was indeed a surprise The occasion for this is the inauguration of his music school – KM Conservatory of Music. Addressing the media, Rahman said that this school would be for students wishing to pursue music courses either as a profession or a vocation. When the reporters quizzed him on the why he had named the school KM, the maestro refused to divulge it and said the explanation behind the title will remain a secret close to his heart.On composing music for the films of the Superstar, Rahman said he had worked with him several times earlier; his current projects with Rajini are Sultan the Warrior and Robot.