Isai tamil movie review

Isai  tamil movie review

He directed, wrote scripts, penned dialogues, produced, then took the big step in acting, and finally did something inevitable composed music. Yes, the man in the limelight is SJ Surya without a doubt. The title of the music itself triggers a lot of hype, “ISAI” is a musical thriller probably the one of its kind and with SJ Surya at the helm, Sathyaraj plays an equivalent role full and foremost with a dawning negative shade, probably the ones we long to see him play. So what is musical about Isai? And what is this musical thriller? Let’s find out.

Music, Love, and more:

A musician is at his best when he has his mind as crystal as water. SJ Surya is Shiva, one of the most wanted musicians in Kollywood and this single line depicts his character in the movie. Add a pinch of chaos and his mind wanders haywire into the lost jungle. There is a single line that Sathyaraj says in the movie; when the horse trots ahead with its blinkers, it just trots ahead. But remove the blinds and see what happens. This is exactly the milieu in which Isai sinks in, and forms a theme with the lead characters.

As a leading musician, Sj Surya takes pride in finding music in little known things like the chirp of a bird, buzz of the bee, nature’s best rhythm’s and that’s how he finds a place on the top. With age getting the better out of him, without variety and innovation Sathyaraj plays a yester year musician who blames the rise of SJ Surya to be his downfall. Through the first half the character of Shiva essayed by SJ Surya surfaces as the jolly good musician who falls heads over heels on Jenny a chirpy villager, and as usual the double meaning dialogues and oomph is there as a signature effect of the director. Glamour and Love are two important aspects in SJ Surya and as usual he does not let his fans down by putting enough steamy scenes before romance bubbles out.

And there is the psychotic Sathyaraj who seethes at the mere mention of the word Shiva and scavenges a devilish plot to wreck his music career. The role of Sathyaraj is etched out pretty hardcore, as a man who simply doesn’t want to murder but gets deep inside their mind and break it. The negative shade that he presumes is rather stunning and no words to laud his acting. The second half races gets the audience hooked with enough twists and turns before finishing off to a climax that makes you scratch your heads, well not in the wrong way though.

 

The Positives:

Three things to be precise; the script, twists, power packed performances. SJ Surya comes back after a long hiatus to shell out a stellar performance in directing, screenplay and acting. He dwells into the character with ease and puts up a fine show especially through the second half. But it’s Sathyaraj who steals the limelight, with his usual “Nayyandinakkal”, sinister cracks; the man is a magician when you put him in a villainous role, just WOW! The talk between him and KanjaKaruppu is sure to be remembered for a long time to come. Sulagna explodes with glamour, and does not let you down when it comes to acting too, a new find here. Cinematography from Soundarajan deserves a special mention; he captures the true essence of the director’s intention.

The Negatives:

1. Too often do the directors succumb to the length of the movie, they take too much time in building up the characterization that by the time you realize its already 190 minutes.

2. Music is a big letdown, for a movie titled as “Isai” the movie surely misses the Holygrail of its plot even though the BGM offers some solace.

Minus these negatives, Isai is a grand comeback for SJ Surya without a doubt. Sathyaraj’s role thumps the movie home.

Puli' tamil movie on a 'grand' scale

Puli' vijay new movie 2015 on a 'grand' scale

The highly-anticipated Vijay starrer 'Puli' has been the talk of the town since Day 1 its shoot commenced - something we're all quite familiar with any Vijay film. Likewise, to meet the aura of a Vijay film, especially when the stakes are high and the film is said to be a fantasy action-adventure affair.
There hasn't been a single scene description or a first look made known to us till date. And yet the movie is already hyped up as one of the biggest ventures of the year. In order to make the film as appealing and satisfactory, the filmmakers are currently shooting the film at Adityaram Studios here in Chennai, which is also being called as "a dream place for directors".                                                
These are the same studios where many blockbusters including Kamal Haasan's 'Dasavatharam' and Karthi's 'Aayirathil Oruvan' were once shot. Currently, a huge extravagant set for a song sequence has been erected and more extravagant sets such as a street set, a temple set, a church and a mosque set are to be erected soon. 
                                                                                       'Puli' has the prestige of being shot here now.
Let us wait and see how grand 'Puli' will look on screen. We sincerely hope it beats our expectations.

Anegan (U) 2015 Tamil movie Review

Anegan (U)  2015  Tamil movie Review                                     

EXPECTED RELEASE DATE: Feb 13 | 2015

Director :

K.v Anand

Producer:

Kalpathi S Agoram

Cast:

Dhanush , Amyra Dastur, Karthik Muthuraman, Ashish Vidyarthi, Jagan

Music Director:

Harris Jayaraj

More Review Coming soon

Yennai Arindhaal 2015 Tamil Movie Review

Yennai Arindhaal  2015 Tamil Movie Review

EXPECTED RELEASE DATE: Jan 29 | 2015

Director :

Gautham Menon

Producer:

A M Rathnam

Cast:

Ajith Kumar, Anushka Shetty, Arun Vijay, Vivek , Trisha Krishnan, Daniel Balaji

Music Director:

Harris Jayaraj

	More review coming soon

Aambala Tamil Movie Review

Aambala Tamil Movie Review

"Aambala", which directly translates to masculine, is like film made by "Singam" fame Hari Gopalakrishnan, who is known for making films with flying objects, say cars and throws in some humans too occasionally.

Maybe Hari was hired to direct the action portion because Vishal as the producer may have felt that nobody else can do justice to his action avatar. So when Vishal makes a grand entry in a scene seated on the bonnet of a car about 30 feet above the ground, you know he's quite right about Hari because he's Tamil cinema's Rohit Shetty when it comes to action, while Sundar is known for churning out some great comedy, the kind audiences in B and C centres will guiltlessly lap up.


Vishal's (who plays Saravanan) political leanings are very evident in "Aambala", at least in the initial few minutes where he impresses a local politician and is subsequently asked if he'd like to enter politics. Saravanan replies, "Why would we take your place, if you do your job well?" Not that it's so important, but this line reminds us of a recent incident between Vishal and a senior actor, who heads a film body. This is Vishal's subtle way of letting everyone know that he's happy being an actor. Otherwise, the film turns out to be a cliched rehash of several family stories with adequate dose of action and nauseating comedy.

A southern filmmaker's idea of a commercial family drama is becoming very formulaic. Most of these stories are about fixing a broken family, reuniting with long separated family members and endorsing inter-familial marriage (in 21st century, really?). Here, three pairs of cousins plan on getting married. And the whole idea of the family reunion in "Aambala" is so dumb.

When three sisters banish their brother from their family, the latter sends his three sons, many years later, to woo the daughters of his sisters. Imagine how simple life would've been if all family tussles were ironed out by making its members marry each other (doesn't matter even if you were to kidnap someone and marry)? This pattern of storytelling was started in the 1980s and it's disappointing to see that it's still being milked dry.

Another problem is the size of these families, which usually feature more members than a cricket team (including non-playing members). Why can't family stories be about, say a family of two or three, like the older couple in Telugu film "Mithunam"? There's no hard and fast rule that it should be about a smaller family but the same applies for stories featuring bigger families as well. In "Aambala", the additional characters in the family may have been included just to give hero Vishal an opportunity to prove he's got more relationships to fix besides his own and his brothers'.

This is the third time Hansika has collaborated with director Sundar, who by now has proved she's got much more to showcase than her acting chops. Santhanam on the other hand, who is still capable of carrying the weight of a film singlehandedly, has started to get extremely nauseating with his funny one-liners that are mostly offensive and racist. Sundar's choice to cast Ramya Krishnan came as a surprise but her role not so much as she plays a toned down version of Neelambari from acePadayappa".

It's still tough to understand why Vishal would do two back-to-back masala entertainers after experimenting with films such as "Pandiya Naadu" and "Naan Sigappu Manithan", which performed well commercially at the ticket window. Maybe he underestimates his own talent and trades it for garbage like "Aambala", which is unarguably the worst product to have come out of Sundar's factory.

If masculinity is all about making Vishal drool at the slip of Hansika's pallu, her back and when she slips her mobile into her blouse (while on a video call), the makers have got everything right. Otherwise, there's nothing masculine about "Aambala".

Meagamann Tamil Movie Review

Meagamann Tamil Movie Review






Just like in the game of chess, how a move by your opponent might totally catch you off guard, the proceedings in Magilzh Thirumeni's impressive action film "Meaghamann" achieves that.
Interestingly, most of the film's characters are inspired by chess pieces -- king, rook, bishop and pawn. In the climax, when Siva (Arya) locks horns with the villain, Jothi, played by Ashutosh Rana, he slyly whispers in his ear "checkmate". Both Siva and Jothi are kings in their own world and that's what makes them equally strong, unlike stories in which the hero always has the upper hand.


In chess, rook is considered the most important piece, a heavy piece to be precise, after the king. In the film, Chitti is next in hierarchy after Jothi. In another scene, Jothi is shown playing a game of cards on the road, and he repeatedly ends up picking up the king to symbolically highlight that he's the king. A small character of that of a Bollywood actor, who appears exactly in two scenes, wears a t-shirt reading 'pawn' the first time we see him on screen. These touches by the director are impressive and it shows Tamil filmmakers are gradually avoiding regular cinematic stereotypes.

Arya plays an undercover policeman in a drug cartel. A man on a mission, he has no distractions even when the heroine desperately tries to know more about him. The film would've worked better even without a romantic track but this is Tamil cinema, and we're used to the idea of having a heroine just for the heck of it even if it's not necessarily needed.



Hansika plays Usha, whose father runs a hotel named 'Usha Bhavan', and this joke is probably the dumbest moment in the film. In an impressive action film devoid of the genre cliches, instances such as these really makes one wonder what's wrong with the director. But Magilzh makes up for his silly mistakes by keeping the romance one-sided. Arya is an extremely busy man, so he doesn't waste time in singing duets with Hansika. But there's one intimate number as part of a figment of Usha's imagination.



The action is realistic; especially the pre-interval scene. But Meaghamann is more brain than brawn. In a standout scene, when Arya's operation is called off by the police department and he's wanted for the killing of over a dozen people, it's quite natural to think it's all over or expect the story to follow the path of a regular hero-centric action film.



What follows is the exact opposite and that's where I think the director proves he doesn't like to follow the herd. Magilzh impresses in similar fashion at regular intervals and almost lets us down in the climax, at least to an extent. But there couldn't have been a better climax.

Magilzh's narrative style isn't the best, considering how many times he goes back and forth to reveal crucial moments in the story. Although he does it convincingly, it isn't easy to appreciate the screenplay without pointing out a few flaws. It's a fresh approach and it's perfectly alright to not appreciate if one doesn't like it but he can't be discouraged.



It's such a relief to see Arya in a serious role after a slew of comic characters in recent times. He plays his part subtly without trying to be an action hero for once. Rana and Sudhanshu Pandey are decent in their respective roles, and the best part is that they don't speak Tamil in some fake accent even though the film is set in Mumbai and Goa.

"Meaghamann" is an almost satisfying action film going by Tamil cinema standards

Darling Tamil movie 2015 Review

Darling Tamil movie Review




Director: Sam Anton
Producer: Allu Aravind, K. E. Gnanavel Raja
Production Co: Geetha Arts

Music Director: GV Prakash kumar
Cast: GV Prakash kumar, Nikki Galrani Srushti Dange, Karunas, Bala Saravanan, Sujith  Complete Cast & Crew

G. V. Prakash is all set to make his debut as a hero in his first film 'Darling'. Nikki Galrani will be playing the female lead with GVP himself providing musical score for the movie. The upcoming Tamil horror film is being directed by debutant Sam Anton and produced by Allu Aravind and K. E. Gnanavel Raja of Studio Green.

'Darling' is said to be a remake of the 2013 Telugu film 'Prema Katha Chitram' which was received well by the critics and audience alike.

Darling also has Srushti Dange, Karunas, Bala Saravanan and Rajendran in supporting roles with cinematography being handled by Krishan Vasant and editing by Ruben.

So, grab your popcorn and have a fun scary time this Pongal.

I (Ai) Movie Review

I (Ai) Movie Review






Shankar, who wears his commercial tag like a medallion, has an addiction for making big commercial films. While he's been quite successful at it all these years, it has slowly started to have an adverse effect on his films to the extent that even the presence of a bankable star, say Vikram, doesn't add much value to the output.

In his much anticipated film "I", Shankar proves that only he can take a wafer thin story and turn it into something outlandishly beautiful yet complex, leaving you with an afterthought -- "Why can't he ever make smaller films for a change?"

Mostly known for making message-oriented films in which the hero singlehandedly takes on the system, Shankar attempts to tell a romantic tale in his latest offering, said to be made at a budget of over Rs.100 crore.

Vikram plays a bodybuilder, Lingesan, who idolises Arnold Schwarzenegger and supermodel Diya, played by Amy Jackson. If the posters of Arnold decorate the walls of his lower middle class home and his gym (which is named after Arnold), there's a box full of women's products endorsed by Diya in his bedroom.

In a funny scene, when he's caught red-handed by his friend and asked what he is going to do with all the products (holding a pack of sanitary napkin), Lingesan nonchalantly says he will use it as a pillow.

In these refreshing initial moments, Shankar helps us understand that Lingesan has extreme liking for Diya but doesn't love her yet because of their social and cultural divide. There's a wonderful scene where Lingesan's mother asks his friend what's wrong if her son is fond of a model he sees on television, newspapers and hoardings?

In any other film, he would've stalked her to the point she eventually gives in. Here, Shankar doesn't tread that path and that's a big relief. Then, the story takes a detour when Lingesan turns overnight into model Lee, soon becoming a sensation in the glamorous world of advertising and earning the wrath of a few. It is from here that Shankar's "I" ends up becoming a big budget mess and an old-fashioned revenge drama.

Shankar likes to take his audiences to vast, unknown locations even if it's not required. This time he travels to China, shoots in some picturesque locations and makes Vikram feature in a well choreographed action sequence. It's here he makes Vikram and Amy fall in love.

He feels the need to create a love triangle and introduces a gay makeup artist, played by Ojas Rajani, who lusts after Vikram. It's a shame that Shankar resorts to playing with the sensibilities of a gay character, openly mocking at the sexual orientation.

Vikram may have worked tirelessly gaining and losing weight for his role, but that doesn't make the film any less disappointing. In both the roles, as a body builder and a hunchbacked man, he makes one take notice of his potential and how far he can go for cinema.

Amy Jackson chips in with a surprisingly decent performance and has worked hard on her lip sync, at least in some crucial scenes. Upen Patel, Suresh Gopi and Ramkumar come across as misfits in their respective roles. There are far more good looking local actors who could've played Upen's part convincingly.

Given the lavish budget, "I" is visually grandiose and that's not a surprise. But the visuals don't make up for the weak script. Even A.R. Rahman's music doesn't make much of a difference but for remaining mostly soothing and melodic. Returning after a gap of three years, Shankar should've gauged the pulse of the audiences who now prefer short stories over a three-hour film.

All that's big may not necessarily be great. Hope Shankar realises that much better films can be made on a smaller canvas and much lower budget.

LINGAA Tamil Movie Review

Linga movie review

Release date:-  november 2014

Director :- Ravikumar 

Cast :- Rajinikanth, sonakshi sinha,Anushka

Lingaa is an tamil action movie direction by K S Ravikumar. The movie starring with Superstar Rajinikanth, Sonakshi Sinha and Anushka in lead roles. Cinematography is handled by Randy and A R Rahman is composing music. The movie is written by Pon Kumar. Movie Pooja happened at Chamundeshwari Temple in Mysore on May 2nd, 2014.

Kochadaiiyaan Tamil Movie Review

Kochadaiiyaan Movie Review

Release date: 23/May/2014

Director:- Soundarya Rajnikanth

Producer:- Eros International & Mediaone Global Entertainment

Music Director:- A.r. Rahman

Cast:- Rajnikanth ,Deepika Padukone , Sarathkumar R, Jackie Shroff, Aadhi , Sneha , Shobana , Nassar ,

Maan Karate Tamil Movie Review

Maan Karate Review

Following five back-to-back hits, actor Sivakarthikeyan seems to have become the star of escapist cinema in Tamil filmdom.

Thanks to his stardom, several wannabe filmmakers are banking on him to make films that are usually targeted at the masses. This explains why he is not considered an 'actor' anymore but merely an 'entertainer', who would work in a film only with the sole purpose of entertaining his fans.

In "Maan Karate", we see the transformation of Siva from an actor-performer to an entertainer, but at the cost of his potential going down the drain.

On a trip to a remote hill station, off Chandigarh, five friends come in contact with a saint who can foresee future. The saint hands them a newspaper from the future and every news story published in it unfolds in real life. One of the articles from the paper is that of a boxing championship with prize money worth Rs.2 crore, and the article reveals that a boxer called Peter (Sivakarthikeyan) from Royapuram will win the tournament.

To claim the prize money, the friends should befriend Peter, who turns out to be least interested in boxing. It is now the responsibility of the five friends to find reasons that will convince Peter to take boxing lessons and participate in the tournament.

"Maan Karate", which begins as a fantasy story and slowly moves into the commercial space and later gets turned into a sports drama, doesn't do justice to the multiple genres of the narrative. Filled with loopholes, the film's story by filmmaker A.R Murugadoss, known for writing films such as "Ghajini" and "Thuppakki", disrespects boxing and desperately attempts to evoke laughter by creating a caricature version of the sport on screen.

While it is understandable that all this is done for commercial reasons, but true boxing enthusiasts would find this silly attempt discouraging.

The entire boxing episode only attracts criticism. Although there are scenes where you hear the crowd cheering for Peter as he lands a punch on his opponent, but most fights, except for the final one, are extremely boring to watch.

Without even training for a day, Peter manages to find a place in the finals of the tournament. Apparently, it is through a series of accidents such as an accidental knockout punch or the disqualification of one of his opponents, Peter makes it to the last round where he has to lock horns with defending champion, also named Peter.

Here, the filmmaker expects us to cheer for the underdog Peter, who gets beaten to pulp by the champion, in the last fight. But you don't feel like cheering on because by then you have lost interest in the film and the last fight also turns melodramatic with a lot of cheesy lines.

Siva's recent film "Ethir Neechal", which also had a sports angle to the narrative, at least managed to inspire the viewers even with its share of flaws, but "Maan Karate" is the exact opposite.

While the makers present the film as an out-and-out commercial entertainer and that's what it is, you still find "Maan Karate" meaningless because debutant Thirukumaran only tried to do justice to the hero's image by comprising on the plot.

He also takes the audience for granted and gives them a film under the assumption that they will embrace it because it has been written by Murugadoss.

Sivakarthikeyan is at his usual best in his tailor-made role, but he needs to realize that the time has come for him to take up different roles.

We don't see much of a performance from Hansika, who is nicely dolled up to play a role she's been playing ever since she turned heroine in films. While Sathish manages to generate laughter at regular intervals, Soori's cameo turns out be highly irritating.

If you want to see the entertainer Sivakarthikeyan, "Maan Karate" is for you. But if you want to see the actor Sivakarthikeyan, then you're better off away from this film.

Nee Enge En Anbe Tamil Movie Review

Nee Enge En Anbe Review

Sekhar Kammula, known for churning out light-hearted campus love stories, treads a path no other filmmaker would dare to walk on. In this process, he attempts to prove himself in a genre one could never imagine to see him make films in.

Although he struggles to emerge victorious on the chosen path, he makes us take notice his willingness to go against the grain with the Tamil remake of Bollywood film "Kahaani", titled "Ne Enge En Anbe". This is not a solid remake of one of the best thrillers in Indian cinema, yet there are moments that will persuade you to watch it.

You know for a fact that Kammula never tried to capitalize on the success of "Kahaani" because he decided not to include the pregnancy part in his story, but he still manages to surprise viewers with something equally unpredictable (as long as you don't pay attention to details).

There isn't much change in the story and akin to the original, a wife (Tamil Brahmin) lands in Hyderabad in search of her missing husband with whom she hasn't spoken to in over two weeks. She seeks the help of a local policeman, who also happens to be a Tamilian, because she can't speak Telugu.

They start investigating the case, trying to put all possible clues together to see if they can find something solid that will reveal what had happened with her husband. Will they or will they not find her husband?

Kammula was hell bent on convincing us that his version of the film is not a frame-to-frame copy of the original. It isn't for most part of the film, but all those who watched "Kahaani" are likely to be disappointed because the names of most characters are not changed in the remake. The senior police officer is Khan, the terrorist is Milan Damji and the assassin is Bob.

Whenever you hear these names in the remake, you automatically tend to compare these characters with the ones from the original and realize their performances were not satisfying. No matter how hard you try not to compare both the films, you are forced to whenever you hear these names.

Old Hyderabad becomes a crucial character in the story. Kammula does his best to capture the flavour of the local culture when his lens zooms through the small alleys of the city, from the preparations of a Durga Puja to the busy and densely populated markee.

Here's where you respect and appreciate the craftsmanship of the director for making the best use of his setting and making us realize the importance of the location from the story's perspective.

Another reason to commend Kammula is because he ensures that most of the important scenes are shot separately in Tamil. However, he seems to have ignored the fact that it's a Tamil film and has used too many Telugu dialogues, much to the disgust of the audience.

Subtitles were only used for the Hindi dialogues. How can you expect Tamil audiences to understand Telugu dialogues even though the film is shot in Hyderabad? This was one of the biggest turn-offs in the film.

Nayantara as Anamika does her best in the titular role, but she's no match to Vidya Balan. Here's a woman who is struggling to find her husband in a new place with a language barrier, yet we see her with make-up and eyelashes in close up shots. She fails to get into the skin of her character which was very important for the story. Vaibhav and Pasupathy play their parts well but the fake English accent used by the latter could've been avoided.

Keeravani's resonating background score keeps the tension of the story alive throughout. The slow first half is strongly complemented by a solid second half, but will audiences sit through the second half after a dull start?

"Nee Enge En Anbea fails to be a mother of an adaptation.

Damaal Dumeel Tamil Movie Review

Damaal Dumel Review

Close in the footsteps of dark comedies such as "Soodhu Kavvum" and "Moodar Koodam", comes "Damaal Dumeel", which unlike its contemporaries, may not be exceptional but still has what it takes to be applauded for the effort.

The film is based on a series of accidents that pave the way to humour at regular intervals. Each of these accidents is interconnected and the film explains why one accident leads to another and another and so on until there's one last accident in the climax.

The series of accidents start when a box full of money is wrongly delivered to Moneykandan (our hero who is a firm believer of numerology), who has just lost his high-paying IT job, with his sister's wedding in the offing.

Why was the box delivered to Moneykandan in the first place? Actually, the box was supposed to be delivered to someone in flat number F6, but it gets delivered to E6 (after a cricket ball hits the E and it breaks and become an F). That's our first accident. When two men come searching for the box and break into Money's house, it leads to the second accident. The third accident happens when two more men come searching for the first two men. One accident leads to another and it eventually leads to one big accident in the climax.

I haven't seen a better Tamil film in the recent past that managed to use a single point of reference (the accidents) so effectively to narrate a story. Even though it doesn't have an impressive story, it manages to keep us hooked with its quirky narration, at least partly. It is engaging because it's as short (118 mins) as its contemporaries (all recent dark comedies in Tamil were under two hours), and therefore, never leaves room for a dull moment and even when you feel one, it's gone even before you realize it.

There's not a single unwanted scene in the film. We keep hearing and seeing the hero's mobile phone ringing every now and then, but it is not until the climax we appreciate its importance in the story, especially its ringtone which leads to the final accident.

Similarly, we also randomly see children playing cricket in a scene and we realize the significance of this scene when the cricket ball sets in motion the series of accidents. Here's where you want to appreciate director Shree, who, I agree may not have delivered an outstanding film, but has proved the difference young filmmakers like him can bring to the industry.

Vai Moodi Pesavum Review

In his second directorial "Vaayai Moodi Pesavum", Balaji Mohan tells us that if you know when to speak and when not to, then most of our problems are easily resolved. He has a brilliant premise to convince us with exactly what he wants to deliver through the film, which undeniably is a smart romantic-comedy (much better than several films in the same genre in the recent past), with spurts of humour and satire at regular intervals to keep us entertained.

It's an almost brilliant film that contradicts itself at several junctures for reasons that are never explained and left to be figured out by the viewer.

When an imaginary disease called 'Dumb Flu' plagues the inhabitants of Panimalai, forcing everybody to stop speaking because it aggravates when you do, the fate of a few characters that have issues with communication is tested.

The first half of the film, which I think was brilliantly executed, harps on the importance of speaking at the right place, at the right time and at every given opportunity. The course of the events during this half has the spotlight on characters that either struggle to express what they want to or on those who won't stop speaking.

It focuses on a writer-turned-housewife who struggles to tell her husband that she wants to write again, a young doctor who can't tell her possessive boyfriend that she doesn't like to be controlled and a school boy who fears telling his parents that he's more passionate about drawing than studies.

Interestingly, all the aforementioned characters belong to the same family. Throughout the first half, efforts are made by the director to push these characters to open up and express what they want to. You appreciate this effort because you connect with these characters that are so real that you might find them in your own life.

It is in the second half that you feel the film contradicts itself. Contrary to the first half, the characters are made to stop talking because of 'Dumb Flu'. There are absolutely no dialogues (but for some voiceovers) and the narrative style is akin to Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times".

The director, who urges us to speak throughout the first half, suddenly asks us to shut up. The director, who said most of our problems are resolved when we sit and discuss, wants us to shut up. Doesn't that contradict the very essence of the film that was built intelligently in the first half?

Nevertheless, you don't complain about the film because it dares to address several sensitive issues with a pinch of salt. From how Tamil cinema is being constantly attacked by fringe groups to dirty politicians and politics, Balaji slaps everybody in the face and makes them shut up. Of course, all this is done by striking a perfect balance between humour and satire.

Heavily inspired by Woody Allen's style of storytelling, Balaji presents a kind of narrative that Tamil audiences are not used to. Still, they cheer for it because it's creative. He keeps making brief appearances throughout the film in a very funny role of a news reporter, eventually proving how crooked and TRP-oriented the media is in this country.

On the acting front, debutant Dulquer Salmaan is a treat to watch. He earns extra brownie points for dubbing in his own voice and speaking flawless Tamil. Nazriya comfortably slips into the shoes of a character so contrary to the ones she has played in the past. The supporting cast featuring Arjun, Abhinav, Vinu, John and others played their respective roles to perfection.

Sean Roldan keeps the film alive with his music and knows how to use it as a narrative, especially in the second half that hardly has any dialogues. Tighter editing was required in the second half which becomes a little tedious to sit through due to the slow narrative.

To enjoy "Vaayai Moodi Pesavum", just shut up and watch it!