Enai Noki Paayum Thota

*I was there. Finally. Watching a movie I never planned to watch in the theater. After the debacle that the previous movie was.*

There's a scene in the movie where a gun is pointed at the hero, the trigger is pressed,  but the gun doesn't fire. The bullet never leaves the gun.  In the commotion that ensues, the gun ends up firing for real, the bullet flies, it comes close to taking out the target, even hits the hero,  but leaves without scalping the prey.

*Today was a bad day. I had to get over a lot of crap. Discussions and thoughts that crowded my mind. There was lesser crowd in that bus than in my mind. Thats when I got down and went to the wrong theater. But I used to like that director. VTV, VA.... enna padam machi, apdiye vandhu aranchamathiri... Maybe this will be a turn around for Gautam? Why isnt this auto guy going any faster, I got to get to the right theater on time...*

This movie, is much like that bullet.  A gun, a potent film maker, makes a movie and it never sees the light of day for a long time.  Finally when it does come out, it hits the screen,  almost makes an impact,  but then,  doesn't leave a mark deep enough.

*I almost missed the movie. I missed the first scene.... oh crap, I hate missing the start of the movie. Why am I watching this from the middle?*

Incidentally, that was the first scene I saw. The bullet choosing to miss the hero. Though the same luck repeats itself twice.  Fortune favours the brave and the hero whose voice over clearly states that he is going to "get in there and take the bull by the horn".  Erangi Seyyanum. In beast mode. After all he has to do it for his girl.

*For someone whom most people had written off as a two bit actor son of a director,  the hero...  Dhanush... has come a long way to give an effortless, mature performance. Sema.*

Did I say voice over? What's a Gautam Vasudevan movie where there's no voice over? There's enough of it.  Sometimes well placed and at times, excessive.

*I wonder if he uses these voices to explain what was going through his mind when he wrote... or shot the scene. It's almost an extended narration... It is an extended narration.  It's like reading a book.  In a tone that's far from the fake movie dialogue tones. It's natural. The words people normally use. At times, that reality is also taken far. Like... in this instance*

The first half of the movie, like I have started noticing of late, was amazing. Though this was originally shot a few years back, there was a lot of freshness in the movie. Dialogues were fresh. There was a subtle humor. No comedy track to take the focus off. Though thats an older style in general and though humor gets laced in these days along with the regular flow, this one had less of it. Just enough. The songs were really fresh. BGM was in sync with the mood. The songs were even woven in to be part of the narration. Never taking the focus off the story line. Talking about focus, the cinematography in some places was even unorthodox.

*VTV, VA.... NTEP... and now this. He does redefine romance in movies*

This is not a regular boy meets girl, boy has enemies, boy triumphs story. Though he is supposedly rescuing the girl from the bad guy, this has a different spin. And the romance portrayed has a heavy dose of realism. Much like his earlier movies, the focus is on the emotions that flow between the boy and the girl.

*Emotions, not melodrama. The cuteness factor, the anger, the lust, the differences of opinion... chancea illa... though lesser in this movie than the earlier ones..... its a bit off the usual romance we see in other movies.*

Megha Akash never showed signs that she is a debutant. A thoroughly professional performance, neither undercooked nor over burnt. She might be a find for the longer run, but then again, the number of debutants having long careers, among the leading ladies, can be counted with the fingers in one hand.

Sasi, as the brother and DCP, has been wasted. His cameo could have truly been a cameo if he had been used solidly for 15-20 minutes. However in this case, though he stays on much lesser in terms of screen time, he is in and out over a larger portion of the movie and doesnt make an impact. Neither the actor, nor the role he plays.

*Did I focus too much on the pop corn? What happened in the second half? Was the narrative so slick that I didnt notice? What do I write?*

The second half was patchy at best. The knots had been tied up nicely till the interval. The un-knotting was as if someone pulled the wrong string and the whole thread became a mess.

Storyline: Boy meets girl. Boy rescues girl. Bad guy takes her back. Boy is angry with the girl. Girl gets into a mess. *Boy melts. Romance returns. Rightfully.* Boy's brother tries to help while uncovering an illegal weapons deal under cover. Bad guy who took the girl back is also the weapons dealer. Boy's brother is killed and Boy takes revenge. Boy marries girl.

*Turns out, I had made it to the movie on time. The first scene I saw was the opening scene. So how was the movie? First half nachunu illa? Second half? I draw a blank*

For those who guessed what the *s meant, good on you. For those who didnt, please go see a GVM movie.

Petta engira Vetta

Petta a.k.a Vetta.

Vetta, for the non Tamilian reader, literally means hunt and Petta is a good one at that.

As I sat down to write this review, I went through my notes that I took in the theater and realized that I had put down enough words in there to make up for a entire review. These capture my first impression. I am putting them down here with additional notes.

*Amazing cinematography*
*Wonderful lighting, lot of night shots*

I have nothing more to add here :)

*Nice opening*
*Out and out Rajni opening*

The movie opens well with a touch of suspense in the air. Hooking the watcher in, right from the first shot. Set to the tunes of an old Sivaji song, shrouded in fog, night effect, silence, some dim lighting. Some thugs are getting beaten up. And then......

You have to be a Rajni fan or must have watched some of his movies that came out in the 90s or early 2000s to understand what a Rajni opening means. Watch this one. You will know.

*A role suiting his age*
*A comeback close to the Rajni of the late 90s*

*Beautiful portrayal of lost youth*
*Younger look impressive*

Rajni, of late, has been playing roles suiting his age. And though this is one such role, the director has made sure Rajni comes across as a energetic, albeit, middle aged man. No angry young man story here for sure. You feel like you are watching a younger Rajni, almost. The initial scenes are lighthearted with a sprinkling of some ageless romance from a protagonist who is well past his youth. You can almost see the pangs hiding behind the smiles. His younger look is quite impressive, thanks to some CGI and good makeup. I hope other directors take a cue. Even Sivaji or 2.0 falls in comparison.

*Movie moves with a knot in the background*
*Knot slowly unfolding*

*Something bigger looming*

*Well set up for the second half*

*Heroism in Tamil cinema is the only dampener*

Though there is not much happening in terms of a story in the first half, the movie moves ahead with a knot in the back ground. Bobby Simha's role as the bad guy briefly acts as a red herring. You know something is looming larger in the background as the plot slowly unfolds. The only thing that dampened that suspense is that the hero in Tamil Cinema, Rajni of all, will always overcome any and all challenges. Notwithstanding that, by the end of the first half, the movie very well set for whats to come. And at that stage of the movie, irrespective of what was to come after, I was clear this will be one of this best movies in the recent times and for some time to come.

*Smooth transition in and out of the flashback*

*Smattering of social messages in honor killing, casteism and sand quarrying*

*Reasonable justification for the villain, but no depth or much villainy*

*Second half is a bit of a drag*

*In the name of realism in North India*
*Twist*

Granted, it is bit of a cliche that the second half starts off with the flashback. But the transition in and out of the flashback is clean and smooth. This is where most movies lose the way, sometimes over-stating the background or sometimes under-etching it. This one though, is well balanced. There is a smattering of a social message in the form of battling casteism, honor killing and illegal sand quarrying. But the scenes stating those end faster than you would take to read this line. There is even a good justification for the villain to hate the hero to the core, thanks to his family being routed swiftly by the latter. There is however a slight lag once the flashback is over as Rajni takes a trip up north to track down the villain. Its quickly made up for by Vijay Sethupathi and the ultimate twist at the climax.

*Beautiful casting*

*Simran looks ravishing*

*Simran or Trisha would have been enough*

*Sasi's role not deep enough*

The casting is quite impressive in all. They have some good actors slotted in the right roles. Simran looks ravishing but her role is short lived. Same with Trisha. In retrospect, it might have been a good idea to cut the role played by Simran or Trisha and made the other's part meatier. Sasi's role looks promising but lacks depth. Wasted is the word that comes to my mind. But then what do you expect in a Rajni outing? His screen presence will leave the others behind in the lurch.

*Shades of Jigarthanda or even Kabali*
*Karthik Subburaj and classic cars or vehicles*

Karthik Subburaj's invisible presence though can be felt through and through. Be it the etching of characters or the gangster love or subtle romance or the raw treatment of the story. There are shades of Jigarthanda. Though, not one of his movies, there is also some heavy influence from Kabali. Nevertheless, I wish these two get together again for another movie, if not a sequel. By the way, nothing to complain about, but whats with the director's love for classic cars and vans?

*Political dialogues*

*Muslim, Land, people*

The movie is replete with punches of political dialogues. Perhaps because Rajni wants to throw his hat in the ring. Its either me over analysing it or its a well thought out move that Sasi happens to be playing a muslim. There are dialogues indicating that a sleeping giant has been woken up to save the land and its people. Something that could have been left out?

*Songs below par, BGM is good*
*Santosh Narayanan missed*
*Craziness missing*

The BGM is fantastic. But the songs are way below par. It reeks of Anirudh all over and doesn't do justice to Rajni or to Karthik Subburaj. I missed Santosh Narayanan and his the craziness his tunes carry in them.

The movie, overall, is a wonderful watch. Lightweight, no melodrama, relatively fresh, well shot, and above all, its the super star.