Mankatha :My review

The last time I wrote a review was way back in 2007 and that was for Billa. Being a fan of Ajith, I couldn't resist the temptation of watching the movie here in Mumbai. Here goes my review...

First and foremost, congrats to 'Thala' for his milestone of fifty movies. It is indeed a terrific achievement for a self-made man who has inspired many (me included) with his self-confidence and 'never give-up' attitude. Let me try to write this review not just like an Ajith-fan but also a matured movie lover.

Mankatha is all about Ajith. Thala's screen presence is enormous and its just to the likings of his fans all over the globe. But, Venkat Prabhu needs to be credited to cast Ajith in a negative role like this. He has indeed introduced the noir genre to tamil cinema (where every character has grey shades and deals with treachery, paranoia, cynic etc and everything revolves around money, selfishness, violence). This is indeed something new for tamil audiences who have been brought up on a steady diet of a 'good' hero bashing up a baddie and saving the world/his muse. The first-half drags a lot. Screenplay moves very slowly and the movie length definitely needs a trim for sure. Post-interval it gets racy leading to the climax with a nice twist. The fight sequences are one too many and lasts really long and boring at times. There is the thala-signature car chase and bike chase sequence which is hot and racy!

VP has casted most of his famed-team of Prem, Vaibhav, Premji etc. He has blended action with subtle comic-sense in his usual style. Prem's role is flat. Vaibhav and Premji has got good meaty roles and they should be grateful to share much screen-space with a top hero. Premji is a let down and he has become monotonous in all his movies. He fails to evoke laughter sans 2/3 scenes. Trisha's role is small one and she has made most of it. Lakshmi Rai get a wink and look role which doesn't warrants a review on her performance. She adds in the oomph-factor to the movie. Other 2 girls are just a fill in.

The movie scores when you start relating yourself with thala's character. He is devilish at his best. He carries us along the plot which otherwise was let down by a loose screenplay. Arjun needs a special mention and he has done a great work. His cat and mouse game with Ajith is really exciting.

This is definitely a fresh and bold attempt by a front-line hero like Ajith to come out of the usual framework meant for mass-heroes. I am sure this would inspire other peers of his to follow suit.

Mankatha = a win-win gamble for Thala!

Billa : My review

Its been a long time since I blogged. Infact there was no mood and topic for blogging! Yesterday happened to watch Billa. Here goes my review of the same...

The storyline is the same as that of the Rajni's Billa. But the look and feel of the movie has been taken to a different level altogether. The movie starts with an amazing introduction of 'thala' Ajith. The first half is racy and adrenaline pumping. The director has made sure he has got all the hollywood action movie elements in place. Some of which are car chase sequence shot using high speed cameras, monochrome ambiance(black and white used superbly), distant roving camera shots, designer clothes, crisp dialogues, very low EQ (emotional quotient), using computers and so on.

Hats off to VishnuVardhan, the director of the movie, in his ability to bring the creamy look to the film and the guts to remake the yesteryear blockbuster without tweaking the plotline. The main hero of Billa seems to be Nirav Shah, the cinematographer of the movie. His work is excellent and comparable to the best in the business. The movie rides on the charm and charisma of Ajith and if you are an Ajith fan it can't get better than Billa. Ajith performance cannot be said the best but his looks are amazing in this movie. He rocks in his Armani suits and never has tried to imitate Rajini or SRK.

Yuvan has done a decent job with music. Though none of the songs linger in our mind much; the title track and background music is truly awesome. Next up, Prabhu has played his part well as a cop and so is Rahman. The other cop (dont know his name though) has also done quite well.
Santhanam's comedy looks out of the box and is injected for commercial purpose. The film seems to be a bit longer though esp. the second half. The over-use of sunglasses by each and every character in the movie could have been avoided.

The second half of the movie slightly slackens with its screenplay. The item song with a new girl completely puts one off. :-( Namitha has tried hard to bring the oomph factor but has failed miserably at the hands of Nayanthara. 9thara looks amazingly sexy and the TombRaider Lara Croft look fits on her nicely. She has flashed her cleavage to good effect in billa's success :-D

People looking for a twist in plot are in for some disappointment as this is a honest remake of the original. The main feature of the movie is; you won't be able to recall a single sequence of the movie easily after watching which itself gives you the experience of watching a high-end holly flick. One can always complain what is the need for imitating hollywood, but ain't we bored with the usual stuff??

Overall, we can enjoy Ajith's Billa much more if we dont carry the baggage of Rajini's Billa in our mind.
Billa = Visual Treat!!!