#CelluloidCritic

Director: Mani Ratnam
Casts: Vijay Sethupathi, Silambarasan, Arvind Swamy, Arun Vijay, Jyothika, Prakash Raj, Aishwaraya Rajesh, Aditi Rao, Dayana, Jayasudha, Thiagarajan
Language: Tamil
Genre: Action / Drama
Music: A.R.Rahman

SYNOPSIS:
After a fatal murder attempt on a powerful mafia Senapathy (Prakash Raj), his three sons (Arvind Swamy, STR, Arun Vijay) aim to seat on the throne even if they have to turn against each other.

REVIEW:
Right from the announcement till the latest promo videos, Chekka Chivantha Vaanam (CCV) has made a spot on noise among the Indian film circuit. After experimenting with two light hearted films (OK Kanmani & Kaatru Veliyidai), Mani Ratnam returns to his 80s love of portraying the tricky, complex emotions in the world of gangsters.

Loosely based on Ponniyin Selvan, Mani threads a story about how three brothers who have totally different characteristics are in the race to seat on their father’s powerful throne. The film starts off with establishing the world o…

Director: Gokul
Casts: Vijay Sethupathi, Sayyeshaa, Yogi, Suresh Chandra Menon, Madonna Sebastian, Saranya Ponvanan
Language: Tamil
Genre: Action / Comedy

SYNOPSIS:
A simple man Junga (Vijay Sethupathi) turns into a quirky, miserly don to save his legacy and his ancestral property, a movie hall.

REVIEW:
Junga is one of the most anticipated film this year due to Gokul-Vijay Sethupathi’s previous combo Idharkuthaane Aasai Pattai Balakumara (2013)’s massive success and the shift it briught to comedy writing in Tamil cinema. So does Junga keep up to its expectations?

From the very scene where the police plans an encounter for a dreaded don, Junga, director Gokul establishes a black comedy that rides on a spoof tone. He uses yesteryear blockbuster scene references and pays a tribute to don films in the start. Vijay Sethupathi is introduced in a Baasha style conductor and we are taken into his brief love story with Madonna that doesn’t pay off at all. 

However, Gokul uses the first half to establi…

Director: CS Amudhan
Casts: Shiva, Iswarya Menon, Sathish, Kalairani, Disha Pandey, Chetan, Kalairani, Santhana Bharathi, R Sundarajan, Manobala
Language: Tamil
Genre: Comedy
Music: N. Kannan

SYNOPSIS:
A stringent cop, Shiva tries all the possible ways to nab a dreaded don who poses a big threat to the societyA stringent cop tries all the possible ways to nab a dreaded don, ‘P’ (Sathish) who poses a big threat to the society.

REVIEW:
In 2010, CS Amudhan introduced the genre of spoof in Indian cinema through Tamizh Padam that was embraced with open arms by the audience. It turned out to be a blockbuster but there were no films that dared to follow the spoof genre. After 8 years, with updated content and some innovative techniques, CS Amudhan and Shiva are back with a bang!

The most striking factor about the film is the well-structured story that flows from the start to an end. Unlike the first instalment, the film is more cohesive in terms of storytelling. On surface it might look simple but t…

Director: Anurag Kashyap, Zoya Akhtar, Dibakar Banerjee, Karan Johar
Casts: Radhika Apte, Bhumi Pednekar, Manisha Koirala, Kiara Advani, Neha Dhupia
Language: Hindi
Genre: Drama

Lust Stories Official Netflix Link:
https://www.netflix.com/title/80991033

SYNOPSIS:
‘Lust Stories’ presents four short films that explores love, sex and relationships in the evolving modern India.

REVIEW:
After the successful anthology ‘Bombay Talkies (2013)’, the four talented directors have joined hands again for another thought provoking entertainer that is made for Netflix this time. ‘Lust Stories’ provides an insight of each of the directors’ interpretation on the subject of ‘lust’. Presented as a triumph of feminism in modern India, the film conveys its point without being too blatant in its voice.

The film sets off with Anurag Kashyap’s story about Kalindi (Radhika Apte) who becomes infatuated with her student after a one night stand. As scandalous and uncomfortable as it sounds, Anurag employs comedy to tr…

Director: Shyamprasad
Casts: Nivin Pauly, Trisha Kirshnan, Siddique, Vijay Menon, Neena Kurup
Language: Malayalam
Genre: Drama / Romance
Music: Gopi Sundar, Rahul Raj, Ouseppachan, M.Jayachandran

SYNOPSIS:
Life takes a beautiful turn when a socially awkward, mathematic genius Jude (Nivin Pauly) and an extroverted talented singer Crystal (Trisha) become friends.

REVIEW:
The film starts off by a narration of how Jude explains that happiness is expressed by a smile. He conveys it like a theory and calculation. After the opening credits, we are pulled into the world of Jude, his fascination of oceanology, his rigid timetable routine and his OCD behaviours of how he wants his things to be. We get to see how socially awkward Jude is but also witness his tenderness through his passion towards mathematics.

With a neat progressive sequences, we get to understand Jude’s family and each of their character very quickly. Shyamprasad’s writing brilliance lies on how seamlessly he makes the characters grow…

Director: Shakthi Sounder Rajan
Casts: Jayam Ravi, Nivetha Pethuraj, Aaron Aziz, Ramesh Thilak, Jayaprakash, Vincent Asokan, Arjunan, Aarav Ravi
Language: Tamil
Genre: Action / Sci-Fi / Thriller
Music: D Imman

SYNOPSIS:
The Defence Space Division in India, hires a skilful trickster (Jayam Ravi) and travels to space to stop a destructive asteroid from hitting the planet.

REVIEW:
Shakthi Sounder Rajan is one of the most underrated upcoming director who dares to venture out into outlandish themes that are influenced by Hollywood. Nanayam (bank heist), Naaigal Jaakirathai (a thriller with a canine as a sidekick) and Miruthan (zombie) contained a definite drive to push the boundaries despite whether they are successful or not. In Tik Tik Tik, he literally attempts to soar higher, quite literally.

The film starts off with a very template style of small catastrophe that strikes Chennai which moves on to establish the main threat that is about to destroy large part of the world. People who are expos…