#CelluloidCritic

Critic - No. 192 Director : Jeo Baby Produced by: Mankind Cinemas, Symmetry Cinemas, Cinema Cooks Casts: Nimisha Sajayan, Suraj Venjaramoodu, T Suresh Babu Language: Malayalam Music: Sooraj S Kurup, Matthews Pulickan Genre: Drama   SYNOPSIS:  After marriage, a woman (Nimisha) struggles to be the submissive wife that her husband (Suraj) and his family expect her to be. The story follows her journey, as she changes herself and, even more so, changes the household.   REVIEW: ‘The Great Indian Kitchen’ , directed by Jeo Baby swoops its way into the league of my favourite 10 Malayalam films with its genuine, realistic writing and meticulous direction. The subject matter about patriarchal society is old as a hill but Jeo’s detailed visual storytelling immerses us into the world of...oh wait, we don’t know the name of the lead character here. Often called out as ‘molae’, a generic Malayalam term of endearment for girls. We have seen nameless protagonists in Kurosawa and Clint...

Critic - No. 191 Director : M Muthiah Produced by: SUN Entertainment Casts: Vikram Prabhu, Lakshmi Menon, Samuthirakani, Vela Ramamoorthy, R.K.Suresh, Singam Puli, Dheena, Bala Language: Tamil Music: N.R. Raghunathan Genre: Action, Drama   SYNOPSIS:  Pulikkuthi Pandi (Vikram Prabhu), a ruthless youngster who fights for justice, transforms into a kind and humble husband for his wife, Pechi (Lakshmi Menon). But as fate turns brutal, his patience is tested.   REVIEW: After a decent streak of 5 rural dramas, director Muthaiah has anchored his trademark and filmmaking voice within the genre. Out of his previous films, I liked his treatment for Komban (2015) and Marudhu (2016) where he has centered his story against relationship conflicts and stakes, in a very earnest manner. Despite being quite inconsistent in character building, Muthiah’s films typically work to tell a message in the end for the audience (fully convincing or not is another issue). Shot during the pandemi...

Critic - No.  190 Director : Suseenthiran Produced by: Madhav Media Company, D Company Casts: Silambarasan TR, Barathiraja, Nidhi Agarwal, Nanditha Swetha, Bala Saravanan, Munishkanth, Kaali Venkat, Stunt Siva Language: Tamil Music: Thaman Genre: Action, Drama   SYNOPSIS:  Eeswaran tells the story of Periyasamy (Bharathiraja) whose simple and joyous life turns into a nightmare when internal familial disputes start to emerge. Eeswaran (Silambarasan), the loyal servant of the household attempts to bring together the family who are in the modern-world race to success.   REVIEW:   Silambarasan TR who has been acting since he was 5 years old, kicked off his career with a dream start in 2002, churning out back to back blockbuster hits racing steadily into the top league of actors at such a young age. However, his career hit a speed breaker in 2015 with a disaster film ‘ AAA’ that kind of pulled him down to rock bottom and the consistent flops after that didn’t hel...

Critic - No. 189 Director : Lokesh Kanagaraj Produced by: XB Film Creators Casts: Vijay, Vijay Sethupathi, Malavika Mohanan, Arjun Das, Andrea Jeremiah, Shanthanu Bhagyaraj Language: Tamil Music: Anirudh Ravichandar Genre: Action, Thriller   SYNOPSIS:  JD (Vijay), an alcoholic professor is sent to a juvenile school, where he clashes with a gangster, Bhavani (Vijay Sethupathi) who uses the children of the school for criminal activities.   REVIEW:   After a long wait by the team who were ready to release the film in April 2020, have gone through various stages of struggles to finally see the light. From the time the film was announced, Master has been stirring up great pre-talks as Lokesh who is known for his distinct new age storytelling is teaming up with Kollywood’s top ‘masala’ actor Vijay. Coming from two distinctive filmmaking styles, their success can definitely pave the way for more top actors to team up with younger filmmakers in future.   The film sta...

  Critic - No. 188 Director : Dhilip Kumar Produced by:  Pramod Films Casts:  Madhavan, Shraddha Srinath, Sshivada, Mouli Language:  Tamil Music:  Ghibran Genre:  Drama   SYNOPSIS:  When Paaru (Shradda) sees a fairy tale she heard from a stranger as a child, painted across the walls of a coastal town, she goes in search of the man who painted it – Maara (Madhavan).   REVIEW:   For a person who has not seen the original version, Charlie (2016), I do not have any comparison notes in my review as I saw this film as a fresh standalone film. With various graphs of emotions, Maara is a whimsical journey that touches upon several genre conventions such as drama, romance, fantasy, and even a tint of mystery. From the first scene of Paaru’s grandmother narrating a story (with some magical animation work) about a soldier and his journey to find his fish, we are all prepped to witness a narrative that juxtaposes to the fa...

  Critic - No. 187 Director : Balaji Tharaneetharan Produced by:  Vasan’s Visual Ventures Casts:  Kalidas Jayaram, Megha Akash Language:  Tamil Music:  Govind Vasantha Genre:  Drama   SYNOPSIS:  A young couple, Meera (Megha) and Saravanan (Kalidas), are all set to get married after their parents approve of their long-standing love. But all hell breaks loose when Meera reveals a secret.   REVIEW: Balaji Tharaneetharan is one upcoming director in Indian cinema who has finely gripped on the idea of dark comedy quite well, delivering exciting ideas through his stories. Even though Oru Pakka Kathai is a film that was in cans for 6 years, the film’s originality makes it fresh and engaging throughout.   The film follows Saravanan and Meera who are madly in love with the approval of their respective families. All is well in their lives until Meera ends up pregnant but there is some mystery behind it that the family is ...