Reviews

I saw the movie Urumi (Malayalam) couple of weeks ago in my PC, courtesy Moserbaer Home Video. After watching the movie, I was very much impressed with the movie for various reasons. First, the director (Mr. Santosh Sivan) has mixed history and fiction in right proportion and has delivered the goods with clear narration. The story of man called Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese explorer, and his intention in traveling to Malabar Coast were very well depicted. Second, casting of the movie by Mr. Sivan was perfect to T. There is no body as hero or heroine except the story. The plot of the story unveils the character as it progresses. Prithiviraj, as always, has done justice to his character except for the mundane voice he carries throughout the movie. The action sequences involving Prithviraj looks good except for climax fight which prolongs for a while. Prabhu Deva the actor as "Vaavali", Prithviraj's Muslim friend, is quite an revelation. Why does Tamil directors (he being multilingual director) didn't use his acting potential I don't understand. Prabhu done a neat job of his character. The special mention is the scenes involving him and Nithya Menen, which is of romantic-comedy genre. Genelia is another good cast of the movie. She depicting the character of Arakal Ayesha the Warrior Princess is nice. Congratulation for Genelia for boldly doing action sequences with great élan. The closeup shorts of Genelia looks ravishing and I really admired her. She looks innocent, brave, and sensuous (rather a unheard combination). Nithya Menen is the scene-stealer of the movie as she oozes seducing intonation for which everyone will definitely fall for (Nithya keep a watch on your weight as it may sideline you). Nithya is really a good-find for Mollywood as well as Indian cinema (she does act in all south Indian languages). Other supporting cast be it Vidya Balan (debuting in Malayalam), Jagathi Sreekumar, and Arya (latest heartthrob of Tamil cinema) all have done their role with full justice. (I don't no why Tabu came in for blink-and-miss scene, which you can even not call as cameo. Actor of her caliber can be given a more stronger role even if it is shorter.) Finally, the parallel narration by which he connects the past and the present is quite good and new for Indian cinema. Coming to Santosh Sivan, we know that he is a great cinematographer with great International acclaim. I have also seen is movie "Behind the Rains," which was good. I guarantee that Santosh Sivan is one director who can make a good, neat, sensible film with minimum budget (no pun intended) without compromising on technical aspects as well as on story. Urumi being a combined production of Prithviraj and August Cinemas (Sivan's production house) is an quality cinema which is engaging and entertaining and you know to learn about the history of modern India. Great and bold attempt. Keep the good work going!!!

Mayakkam Enna is adept portrayal of an individual who follows is heart. Maverick film director Selvaraghavan once again does what he is best known for (playing with human emotions). Dhanush (Karthick Subramaniam) plays the complex role (photographer with shades of psycho)to a T. Richa Gangopadhyay (Yamini)as one of the friend's girlfriend and later as Dhanush's wife is a great revelation and commendable. Sunder Ramu (Sundar) as Dhanush's close friend and Richa's boyfriend does a neat job. The entire team of the friend's gang in the movie did a good job and looks realistic. At first, the voice (Deepa Venkat) of Richa's looks flat, but later the confidence of the character is strongly felt and looks distinct. Both the lead actor had emoted well throughout the movie with subtlety, which is worth mentioning. The real 'genius' (Karthick's name in the movie) is GV Prakash (Composer). The re-recording of the movie riveting and top-notch (hope the combo of GV and Selva continue for long time). The photography by Ramji is superb. The editing by Kola Baskar can be made sharper if the song sequence can be deleted (tribal song). The second half looks quite slow-paced, but the director has managed to convey the message through emotion (expression). Overall, the movie is an short episode in the life of an commoner who follows his instincts and guts but not preachy. Once again, kudos to Selva for doing a sincere and heartfelt movie.