Kaththi - Knife

Farmers' suicides, malnutrition among kids, corporate greed, consumerism, hardships of emigration, rural-urban divide, old age homes, yellow journalism, corruption, unemployment, and communism. (Perhaps the movie might have grazed a few more issues too.) Intersperse this material with the nuts and bolts of a commercial movie template like friendship, romance, mother/sister sentiment, dumb heroine, foolish police, comedy, mindless songs and jarring dance numbers, 1:50 stunts, betrayal, sacrifice, villain wearing dark glasses, etc. You get Kaththi. Yet director A.R.Murugadoss has managed to add one more hit to his kitty, proving once again he is a neat hybrid of Shankar and K.S. Ravikumar. ARM has acquired the message-giving gene (a very strong one) from the former, and the emotional gene (also a dominant one) from KS. Kaththi, taking the lead from his earlier movie that was dedicated to the army men, is dedicated to the farming folks. The movie is about how the hero outwits a corporate giant from buying out a (dry) village that has a huge ground water potential, thereby saving hundreds of farmers and their farmlands. 

The script takes you into the movie right from the word go. But very soon it veers into the vapid territory where the heroine functions as a set prop to add glamour to the the oddly placed, loud songs. ARM's earlier creation Thuppakki (2012) too had the same problem of plentiful songs in the first half. But certain hooks and pinches embedded in the early stages ensure that you endure boredom and wait for that thing to be revealed. And when it is revealed in the form of a stage introduction made during an award function, it moves you. Full marks to Vijay for the flashback episode. He has performed. I cried. But here is where ARM falls short of joining the league of the big guys like Maniratnam or a perfectionist like Shankar. ARM does not bother to spend his time to tweak the dialogues as per the local slang, nor he cares for the finer details. The director's broad-brush approach also ends up in compelling the movie to touch base with the host of things like consumerism to old age homes. But here again, Vijay impresses with his performance during the media interaction scene and conveys every single thing the movie claims to stand for. (though shades of the statistician Capt.Vijayakanth can be felt when Vijay sincerely spits out various numbers on Tamil Nadu taken out from wiki)  Shatish has delivered a neat support to Vijay; not as loud as Santhanam nor as innocent as Sathyan. 

Some action blocks and the climax stunt heroism are noisy, yet they have the capacity to make you yawn. I enjoyed the sound tracks of Anirudh at home, but in the movie somewhere down the line the magic is lost. The tunes seem repetitive. Not much effort has gone into the background score; probably he was happy with that single, nice piece he got. The same tune comes again, again and again.(Theme music?) Refreshingly, Vijay does not have his usual intro songs like neeyum naanum brotheru, namakku edhukku botheru etc. Instead it is a neatly shot rap in Chennai airport. There was probably no great challenge to the cinematographer and he has fulfilled his mandate. But certain graphics remind us that, well, it is not real but only graphics. 

Yes, it is another watchable and to an extent enjoyable movie from ARM, filled with enough diverse material like Bengalis and African goondas and a Bollywood guy as the villain, fit for a pan-India release with Salman or Akshay very soon. ("Prisoner"?) The movie also has a solid central message that needs to be told. But how long can such format-oriented creations stay above the thin line that separates the blockbusters from mega flops?

Recent cinemas...

Tamil cinema is in safe hands. That is what I felt after seeing Sathuranga Vettai, made by the first-time director, H.Vinoth. One can say the ending is cliched and nobody wants to hear a "message" these days. But I don't think there is any other way to end the plot, within the tolerance limits of the audience. Natty has given an amazing performance as a glib-tongued fraudster, Gandhi Babu. It is surprising to know he is an ace cinematographer, who has movies like Black Friday and Parineeta to his credit. But the major plus of the movie is its detailing. The spark of the movie could have been anything from those unbelievably nice mails saying you have won an international lottery and you just need to deposit Rs.20,000 as processing fee to claim the amount, to the widely popular MLM schemes. But whatever it was, the director has taken his job seriously. Be it the enjoyable and intriguing snake fraud or the mega fraud of "rice pulling", the maker has sketched the game plan with a fine brush, till the last stroke. There is no glossing over or glaring gaps in logic. In fact, things have been presented so convincingly well that you get a feeling that if this guy Babu were to talk to you, even you might fall for the bait. The director also needs a special pat for the dialogues. As a whole, SV scores very high on creativity and execution. Looking forward to Vinoth's next show. 

But my feeling on Tamil cinema, probably, was not only due to this movie. Over the past few months, I had also seen movies like Yaamirukka Bayamey, Vaayai Moodi Pesavum, Mundasupatti and Jigarthanda. So, in a sense, the feeling was a culmination of all this. The last movie on the list, starring Siddharth in the lead role was impressive right from the word go. There is a lot of talk that the plot has been lifted from a Korean movie, though that does not take away the brilliance of the movie. And full marks to Siddharth, for agreeing to do this film in which he does not have much role. Hats off to his confidence. The movie is about a Madurai goon Sethu. Bobby Simha as Sethu hogs the limelight. Simha carries the movie on his shoulders with a natural gait and it is quite a delight  to watch him. Truly stellar. Full marks to the director for transforming this cute, chubby boy of Soodhu Kavvum into a middle-aged rustic goonda, who instills terror even through his silence. The background score and songs by Santhosh Narayanan take the movie to a higher plane. Karthik Subburaj has followed up his successful Pizza with a grand Jigarthanda,with a taut script loaded with unexpected turns. Way to go! 

Probably it has to do with their internships with Mani Ratnam, just like Siddharth, Karthi too has agreed to pay the second fiddle in the first half of Madras. Directed by Pa. Ranjith, Madras is about the how big, dark world of politics sucks guileless souls into it and yes, how finally the good overcomes the evil. Set in north Chennai, in the backdrop of football, friendship and love, the movie traces the rivalry between two groups over a prime publicity wall that symbolises power. Though slow-paced at times and living with a predictable end, the script shines in its visual narrations of the opening scenes, montages at the middle and twists around the interval. K.Harikrishnan as Anbu has grabbed the meaty role offered to him with both the hands. Karthi as Kaali takes over in the second half, though we see shades of Naan Mahaan Alla. There is a lot of blood and songs in the second half. At least one of the two could have been avoided. The love portion is enjoyable. and we have a fresh find in Catherine Tresa as Kalaiarasi. In this movie too, Santhosh Narayanan adds fresh life with his music. The movie stands out in its authenticity but irresistibly Pollathavan comes to your mind. Extra care for the Chennai slang would have made the flow smoother. Overall, Madras should be a welcome break for Karthi after a string of legends like Saguni, Alex Pandian, Biriyani, etc. It is a good relief to see this immensely talented actor find his rhythm and perform as an artist, rather than assuming the role of a mindless mass hero of the mid-80s. Hope to see this Paruthiveeran back - without the company of Azhaguraja.