Hey..Hi th.er.. *cough* *cough* *removes cobwebs*. Sorry. Hi there..I can see this place has been devoid of any human activity for a long time, mostly because I didn't feel like writing about anything. (I actually wanted to write about some movies and cricket but couldn't find the inspiration get them done, was happy enough with my new found liking for twitter).
NOTE : Being a fan of Selvaraghavan and Dhanush (No, not because of Kolaveri) my views on the movie might seem to be biased, but they are not. At least I have tried not to be.
As I had decided earlier after watching Pudhupettai, I finally got tickets for a first day show of a Selva movie, Mayakkam Enna. For me, Selvaraghavan has always been one of a kind. His trademark has always been the rawness with which he tells the story. Even though all his films are to be categorised as dark, he has somehow managed to bring in new levels of intenseness in to the scenes. One thing which separates these elite directors from the rest, is the way in which they push the actors to their limits and bring out the best in them. Selva has done it in every one of his films and more importantly he chooses the perfect cast for the characters in his mind (Dhanush in Kadhal Kondaen and Pudhupettai, Parthiban in Aayirathil Oruvan were master moves). Mayakkam Enna is no different, it is an intense ride with Selva stamped all over it.
The essence of Mayakkam Enna is the importance of relationships, and the difference they can make in our lives, be it friends or a supporting wife (Im guessing selva has taken a few pages out of his own book). The first half of the film is racy, fast moving with all the elements for a film to be enjoyed in a theater.(now I know what it is to dance in front of the screen). Dhanush is at this cool best and is a treat to watch. But its the second half, that makes the movie a "Do not watch in theaters". At least not in Kaasi theater for a first day show, with the guy next to you shouting "Pesudi...pesu..ethavuthu pesu", during those glorious moments of silence which usually bring out the best in a selva movie. The story, like in other selva movies is kept simple and at times cliched. But as usual, thats not where he scores. He plays to his strength, intensifying every scene as they come. Those innumerous stares and glares between Richa and Dhanush throughout the movie, prove to be powerful. Although there were some cliched parts in the movie like [spoiler-highlight to read] the way in which Dhanush is cheated by a big shot photographer, or the climax in which a series freakish events give Dhanush the break he has been waiting for, all his life. [/spoiler]. It is to be understood that, even though these are indeed integral parts of the story, selvaraghavan generally doesn't care about them. For him they are just gateways to enter a phase where he tries to tell what he had set out to and when he is done, he finds another one which allows him to finish it off as quickly as possible (remember pudhupettai's climax when kokki kumar goes to moorthi's place?). Selva is so obsessed with the core of the film that he chooses to overlook other finer aspects, like for eg the CG or the even the originality of the pictures that Karthick (Dhanush) is supposed to have taken (looks to be sourced from Google images, I hope its not). But I wonder if that is the secret ingredient which makes him unique. Given the space of a room and a couple of actors, Selvaraghavan would be my choice to direct a movie. (Shankar might cross question if he can paint the room green and use it, no he cant)
Richa's performance as Yamini is laudable. With Vinnai Thandi Varuvaya, Gautham Menon has shown that dubbing is the way to go for tamil cinema, where good movies (Muran for eg) are constantly affected by the heroine's "enko tamil koncham koncham theryum" syndrome. The character of Sundar's dad is memorable and proves how powerful yet so simple a scene can be. GV does a neat job with the music, with bgm matching the fervour of the scenes. The songs are entertaining and do justice to the situation.
Having said all this, I am genuinely surprised by the extremely rave reviews the movie is getting. The film is great if you look at it from Selva's perspective, but in the end Mayakkam Enna still suffers from over sentimental/dramatic scenes in the second half which gives the impression of being a bit lengthy.
For best viewing experience watch the first half in theater..dance..comeback..wait for the original dvd and watch the whole movie again.
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NOTE : Being a fan of Selvaraghavan and Dhanush (No, not because of Kolaveri) my views on the movie might seem to be biased, but they are not. At least I have tried not to be.
As I had decided earlier after watching Pudhupettai, I finally got tickets for a first day show of a Selva movie, Mayakkam Enna. For me, Selvaraghavan has always been one of a kind. His trademark has always been the rawness with which he tells the story. Even though all his films are to be categorised as dark, he has somehow managed to bring in new levels of intenseness in to the scenes. One thing which separates these elite directors from the rest, is the way in which they push the actors to their limits and bring out the best in them. Selva has done it in every one of his films and more importantly he chooses the perfect cast for the characters in his mind (Dhanush in Kadhal Kondaen and Pudhupettai, Parthiban in Aayirathil Oruvan were master moves). Mayakkam Enna is no different, it is an intense ride with Selva stamped all over it.The essence of Mayakkam Enna is the importance of relationships, and the difference they can make in our lives, be it friends or a supporting wife (Im guessing selva has taken a few pages out of his own book). The first half of the film is racy, fast moving with all the elements for a film to be enjoyed in a theater.(now I know what it is to dance in front of the screen). Dhanush is at this cool best and is a treat to watch. But its the second half, that makes the movie a "Do not watch in theaters". At least not in Kaasi theater for a first day show, with the guy next to you shouting "Pesudi...pesu..ethavuthu pesu", during those glorious moments of silence which usually bring out the best in a selva movie. The story, like in other selva movies is kept simple and at times cliched. But as usual, thats not where he scores. He plays to his strength, intensifying every scene as they come. Those innumerous stares and glares between Richa and Dhanush throughout the movie, prove to be powerful. Although there were some cliched parts in the movie like [spoiler-highlight to read] the way in which Dhanush is cheated by a big shot photographer, or the climax in which a series freakish events give Dhanush the break he has been waiting for, all his life. [/spoiler]. It is to be understood that, even though these are indeed integral parts of the story, selvaraghavan generally doesn't care about them. For him they are just gateways to enter a phase where he tries to tell what he had set out to and when he is done, he finds another one which allows him to finish it off as quickly as possible (remember pudhupettai's climax when kokki kumar goes to moorthi's place?). Selva is so obsessed with the core of the film that he chooses to overlook other finer aspects, like for eg the CG or the even the originality of the pictures that Karthick (Dhanush) is supposed to have taken (looks to be sourced from Google images, I hope its not). But I wonder if that is the secret ingredient which makes him unique. Given the space of a room and a couple of actors, Selvaraghavan would be my choice to direct a movie. (Shankar might cross question if he can paint the room green and use it, no he cant)
Richa's performance as Yamini is laudable. With Vinnai Thandi Varuvaya, Gautham Menon has shown that dubbing is the way to go for tamil cinema, where good movies (Muran for eg) are constantly affected by the heroine's "enko tamil koncham koncham theryum" syndrome. The character of Sundar's dad is memorable and proves how powerful yet so simple a scene can be. GV does a neat job with the music, with bgm matching the fervour of the scenes. The songs are entertaining and do justice to the situation.
Having said all this, I am genuinely surprised by the extremely rave reviews the movie is getting. The film is great if you look at it from Selva's perspective, but in the end Mayakkam Enna still suffers from over sentimental/dramatic scenes in the second half which gives the impression of being a bit lengthy.
For best viewing experience watch the first half in theater..dance..comeback..wait for the original dvd and watch the whole movie again.
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