Power Pandi

This is the first directorial venture of Dhanush.  Dhanush is no accident. Has worked very hard, to come upon his own. He has experimented. He  is a world class professional, who has produced world class films and has now is in a major French production. His success is no accident. We are proud of him. 

Given the calibre and track record, of Dhanush,  you expect, something atleast above average.

Power Pandi is pure trash, neither a Gran Torino nor an avatar(Rajesh Khanna). Neither a bhagbaan nor a thavamai thavamirunthu. Imagine the performances of Raj Kiran, in thavamai thavamirunthu, nandha, pandavar bhoomi or sandai kozhi. Not sure if I will ever be gaga about the character of Raj Kiran in this film.    While the director would like to believe he is in search, I thought Raj Kiran was lost and so was Dhanush the director and writer.

Mocking the audience is the greatest sin of an entertainer and Dhanush will have to live with it.

What I do not understand is that when people produce kaka muttai and visaranai, how can they even think of conceiving such pure trash.

Katru Veliyidai (KV), Revisited

I saw KV on Friday. I kind of agreed with Baradwaj Rangan's review almost completely, but was kind of taken aback by a public outcry. I just wanted to recheck if something was seriously wrong with my sensibilities. The director seem to have responded to some of the criticism by chopping about ten minutes of sequences of involving Delhi Ganesh and the interactions with Aditi's parents. While I did love the sequences, I guess may be chopping of did not do too much harm and may be the second half whizzed past.

Not only Mani but also Karthi seems to have taken a beating. I have never watched a movie so seriously.

I am personally relieved and enjoyed every bit of the artistry that has gone into the making. The maturity of the craft is evident in this most poetic love story, a love story that makes all other Mani's love stories juvenile, save perhaps, the love story of Kannathil Muthamittal and may be Ravanan.

Karthi's, partly impetuous, partly obstinate, partly affectionate, partly hot headed, partly dominating, partly flamboyant, partly cowardly, partly indecisive, partly awkward, driven by an adrenaline rush and jingoism, drowned in passion is as fascinating as only he can be. It is Karthi's character that makes KV stand out.

The resultant interactions with a uni-dimensional, mostly affectionate, committed and a strong female can never result in pleasant interactions.

Aditi is a treat and so is her ward robe. Her costumes add so much more elegance and to the feminine grace. She is a class act.

Against a backdrop of vast expanse and a riot of colours( Mani seems to have an uncanny knack of discovering more than seven colours at all points of time!!!!), the story unfolds at a delectable pace, with Rahman's magical music enhancing the experience.

The narrative is all poetry, as we are transported into the beautiful snow filled valley, we get to vicariously enjoy the romance unfold .

In one of the sequences, The yellow airplane flies in the snow filled valleys, dives into freezing lakes, and then takes off to fly above the cumulus clouds and arc off into a sunset with the skies painted in orange. What a joy to behold!!!

When somebody makes a movie with so much of care and taste, the least we can do is NOT  to scoff at it.

I am sure KV will grow over time and I intend to have a copy of the DVD as a part of my library.