THE TIMES OF INDIA
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/tamil/movie-reviews/Vazhakku-Enn-18/9/movie-review/12995387.cms
The Times of India, they gave it 4.5 out of 5, the highest rating ever for a Tamil film.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/regional/tamil/movie-reviews/Vazhakku-Enn-18/9/movie-review/12995387.cms
Critic's Rating:
Cast: Sri, Urmila Mahanta, Mithun Murali, Manisha Yadav, Muthuraman
Direction: Balaji Sakthivel
Genre: Drama
Duration: 2 hours
Listen to the album on gaana
The Times of India, they gave it 4.5 out of 5, the highest rating ever for a Tamil film.
Tami
M Suganth, TNN, May 4, 2012, 04.54PM IST
Story : Velu (Sri), a
worker at a street-side food shop, falls in love with Jothi (Urmila), who works
as a maid at Arthi's (Manisha) house. Meanwhile, Dinesh (Mithun), the
school-going son of a minister's concubine, is trying hard to charm Arthi. What
happens when Arthi comes to know of his ulterior motive, and how does this
affect the lives of Velu and Jothi?
Movie Review: After a mediocre debut with Samurai, Balaji Sakthivel bowled us over with the trendsetting Kadhal. The subsequent Kalloori was largely an over indulgent exercise but now, Balaji Sakthivel has bounced back and how!
Thematically, Vazhakku Enn 18/9 begs comparison with this year's Oscar-winning Iranian film, A Separation, which managed to be a relationship drama, a whodunit, a social commentary all rolled into one. As in that film, here too, it is a maid who is victimized, but the comparison ends there. Unlike the acclaimed Iranian film, in which the morality of the characters remained ambiguous, here, we are provided with a set of characters whose motivations are very clear, save for one - inspector Kumaravel (Muthuraman), who keeps you guessing about his intentions as he handles the case.
The film begins with this character trying to interrogate the victim (Jothi) and later, unfolds through his interrogations of the prime suspect, Velu, and the voluntary witness, Arthi. Throughout, Kumaravel remains a willing listener, always amiable, making the two confide in him without much prodding. Muthuraman plays this part with such nimbleness, leading us to believe in his quest to find the truth. That is why, when the character turns devious, you are not only shell-shocked but repelled by the trick he has played on his unsuspecting victims.
Call it nitpicking, but Balaji could have very well done away with the back story of how Velu ended up in Chennai. These scenes appear early in the movie, and while they serve to make us empathise with his character, they also make you dread that we are in for yet another Angaadi Theru. Thankfully, the director shifts the focus from Velu to his romance, which might, on paper, appear to follow the recent trend of a ragamuffin and his attempts at wooing his girl (who, in fact, thinks of him as a scum) but, as he did with Kadhal (which could have been summed up as just another rich girl-poor boy romance), the director presents this in a manner that feels very real and refreshing. He is deft while handling the other track between Arthi and Midhun as well, bringing to the fore the vacuous nature of their relationship.
And, the director is also able to extract wonderful performances from his entire cast. While Sri, as the good-hearted but misunderstood Velu, and Mithun, as the lecherous Dinesh, are totally convincing, it is Urmila Mahanta's understated performance as Jothi that is the film's pivot. Until the climax, you mostly glimpse the character in the background or along with the other characters, and she rarely speaks, but Urmila, with her low key approach, makes sure that you take notice of Jothi every time she is in the frame.
With Kadhal, Balaji seemed to have found his style, which you could call cinema verite and you wouldn't be wrong. He seems to relish in making his films look and feel as real as possible and here, his technical team is up to his challenge. Cinematographer Vijay Milton often takes a fly on the wall approach and that only makes the film very direct. And despite shooting with a digital camera, he nearly manages to replicate the luster of film using natural light to dazzling effect. The suitably effective score, by guitarist Prasanna (who makes his feature film debut as a composer), is punctuated by two heartrending songs which do not feature any instrument in the background but brilliantly underscore the poignant moments of the film. We still have a long way to go before the year ends, but you can confidently bet that Vazhakku Enn 18/9 will be the film of the year. It is a bravura piece of filmmaking that will leave you stunned - and even invigorated - by the time it ends.
Movie Review: After a mediocre debut with Samurai, Balaji Sakthivel bowled us over with the trendsetting Kadhal. The subsequent Kalloori was largely an over indulgent exercise but now, Balaji Sakthivel has bounced back and how!
Thematically, Vazhakku Enn 18/9 begs comparison with this year's Oscar-winning Iranian film, A Separation, which managed to be a relationship drama, a whodunit, a social commentary all rolled into one. As in that film, here too, it is a maid who is victimized, but the comparison ends there. Unlike the acclaimed Iranian film, in which the morality of the characters remained ambiguous, here, we are provided with a set of characters whose motivations are very clear, save for one - inspector Kumaravel (Muthuraman), who keeps you guessing about his intentions as he handles the case.
The film begins with this character trying to interrogate the victim (Jothi) and later, unfolds through his interrogations of the prime suspect, Velu, and the voluntary witness, Arthi. Throughout, Kumaravel remains a willing listener, always amiable, making the two confide in him without much prodding. Muthuraman plays this part with such nimbleness, leading us to believe in his quest to find the truth. That is why, when the character turns devious, you are not only shell-shocked but repelled by the trick he has played on his unsuspecting victims.
Call it nitpicking, but Balaji could have very well done away with the back story of how Velu ended up in Chennai. These scenes appear early in the movie, and while they serve to make us empathise with his character, they also make you dread that we are in for yet another Angaadi Theru. Thankfully, the director shifts the focus from Velu to his romance, which might, on paper, appear to follow the recent trend of a ragamuffin and his attempts at wooing his girl (who, in fact, thinks of him as a scum) but, as he did with Kadhal (which could have been summed up as just another rich girl-poor boy romance), the director presents this in a manner that feels very real and refreshing. He is deft while handling the other track between Arthi and Midhun as well, bringing to the fore the vacuous nature of their relationship.
And, the director is also able to extract wonderful performances from his entire cast. While Sri, as the good-hearted but misunderstood Velu, and Mithun, as the lecherous Dinesh, are totally convincing, it is Urmila Mahanta's understated performance as Jothi that is the film's pivot. Until the climax, you mostly glimpse the character in the background or along with the other characters, and she rarely speaks, but Urmila, with her low key approach, makes sure that you take notice of Jothi every time she is in the frame.
With Kadhal, Balaji seemed to have found his style, which you could call cinema verite and you wouldn't be wrong. He seems to relish in making his films look and feel as real as possible and here, his technical team is up to his challenge. Cinematographer Vijay Milton often takes a fly on the wall approach and that only makes the film very direct. And despite shooting with a digital camera, he nearly manages to replicate the luster of film using natural light to dazzling effect. The suitably effective score, by guitarist Prasanna (who makes his feature film debut as a composer), is punctuated by two heartrending songs which do not feature any instrument in the background but brilliantly underscore the poignant moments of the film. We still have a long way to go before the year ends, but you can confidently bet that Vazhakku Enn 18/9 will be the film of the year. It is a bravura piece of filmmaking that will leave you stunned - and even invigorated - by the time it ends.
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