VELAIKAARAN (TAMIL) (2017)

If Thani Oruvan saw director Mohan "Remake" Raja reinvent himself as a fine director of a remake-worthy original feature, his sophomore attempt in this quest cements the credentials he had earned with his previous venture.

Make no mistake. Despite getting packaged as an entertainer, Velaikaaran is a message movie that tends to get preachy. Yet, if it works for the most part, it is because of some smart writing and directing that sincerely attempts to raise the bar for the mundane masala flicks that are dumped on us on a weekly basis. 

Sivakarthikeyan fits the role like a glove with a convincing performance (perhaps, his best work yet) and this film should see him hit a new high in his rapidly soaring career graph. Rest of the ensemble cast including the excellent Fahad Fazil making his debut in Tamil (excellent diction), Nayantara, Sneha, Prakash Raj, Rohini, Charlie, RJ Balaji and others acquit themselves competently in their cameos. 

While it has its share of flaws including certain formulaic cliches, lectures and some flab in running time, the movie has its heart in the right place and tells a story with sincerity that strikes a chord with the viewers without succumbing to too many compromises or cheap thrills.

WORTH A WATCH !!

RATING - 3.5/5

THONDIMUTHALUM DRIKSAKSHIYUM (aka THE EXHIBIT & THE EYEWITNESS) (MALAYALAM) (2017)

Director Dileesh Pothan who made an impressive debut with Maheshinte Prathikaram has returned with another charming slice-of-life drama. When newly-wed couple Sreeja (Nimisha Sajayan) & Prasad (Suraj Venjaramoodu) are travelling by bus, a thief (Fahaad Faasil) steals Sreeja's gold chain. However, Sreeja catches him swallowing the gold chain and hands him over to the nearest police station with the help of co-passengers. The rest of the movie narrates what happens thereafter.

Nimisha Sajayan as the housewife who is distraught and angry at her loss along with Suraj Venjaramoodu as the husband driven to his wits, Alencier Ley Lopez as the ASI Chandran on the brink of retirement bring an effortless authenticity to their roles while Fahaad Faasil nails his part as  he transforms into a slippery smalltime thief shrouded in mystery. 

There is an inherent  beauty to the narrative which flows like a gentle stream with minimal gush, yet capable of captivating the viewer with its steady flow. It draws us in very early and makes us totally invested in the story which keeps us wondering what next. The fact that Dileesh is able to bring out the beauty in the banal routines, seamlessly weave in multiple strands which add texture to even minor characters or happenings without disturbing the flow of the main narrative stand testimony to this helmer's confidence and control. He is emerging as a director with a distinct signature style and somebody to look forward to in the future.

Kudos to the director who has marshalled an excellent cast and a brilliant technical team including ace cinematographer Rajeev Ravi, music director Bijibal and others in presenting a simple, subtle, yet absorbing story with a good dose of humour and garnished with just the apt level of thrill and suspense. 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED !!

RATING - 4/5

THEERAN ADHIGAARAM ONDRU (aka THEERAN - CHAPTER ONE) (TAMIL) (2017)

After a long time, A VERY SATISFYING action thriller. Director H. Vinoth (of Sathuranga Vettai fame) has presented a well made action movie which ticks almost all the right boxes of the genre with minimal compromises.

The movie, which is based on true incidents, recounts an episode in the life of a tough cop from Tamil Nadu who sets out with his team to capture a dreaded gang of thugs that was involved in multiple gruesome, armed robberies and murders in Tamil Nadu as well as other states.

Karthi fits the role of the daring cop and breathes life into the character in every frame. Abhimanyu Singh and his gang are utterly convincing as the brutally intense baddies.

The pulsating score by Ghibran, cinematography by Sathyan Sooryan, nifty editing by Shivanandeeswaran and well executed action sequences choreographed by Dhilip Subbarayan elevate the impact of the proceedings.

Director Vinoth deserves praise for his skillful combination of commercial elements with detailed research, stunning action set pieces and for shunning the regular trappings of super hero machismo and melodrama.

While the movie has its fair share of blemishes including its run-time resulting in some drag and some logical pole vaulting, for the most parts, it remains a riveting watch. I hope more such chapters are added to this cop story which has the potential to evolve into a franchise.

AN EXCELLENT WATCH !

RATING - 3.5/5

ARAMM (aka GOOD DEED) (TAMIL) (2017)

Debutante Director Gopi Nayinar narrates an episode in the life of a young and idealistic collector Mathivathani (an excellent Nayantara) who has to deal with a crisis situation involving a kid trapped in a deep bore well.

It is pertinent tale for our turbid times steeped in growing inequalities and institutional apathy especially when dealing with those unfortunate to dwell at the bottom of the pyramid. 

The movie's main strength is its leading lady played by Nayantara who brings an earnest approach to her role. The director is successful in creating an authentic milieu and relatable supporting cast which engages us. On the downside, it gets tedious when it is overtly melodramatic and downright preachy. 

Yet, the sincerity in effort to stand out from the crowd and succeeding to a large extent in flagging issues which are  largely ignored or dumbed down by mainstream cinema is appreciable.

A DECENT WATCH !

RATING - 3/5

THOR - RAGNORAK (ENGLISH) (2017)

Thor Ragnorak is a fun addition to the MCU.

While I liked the dark and serious tone of Civil War, this flick with a healthy dose of humour is more in the mould of Guardians of the Galaxy.

Both Chris Hemsworth and Mark Ruffalo sparkle, revelling and discovering the lighter side of the superheroes - Thor and Hulk. Academy award winner Cate Blanchet is rocking as the sinister sister of Thor, Hela.

Kiwi director Taika Waititi comes as a breath of fresh air to the MCU and hopefully would continue to explore new and exciting dimensions along with worthy peers like James Gunn and the Russo brothers.

SOLID BLOCKBUSTER FUN !

RATING - 3.5/5

SECRET SUPERSTAR (HINDI) (2017)

In Secret Superstar, debutante director Advait Chandan presents the story of a school-goer Insiya Malik (Zaira Wasim), who is a talented singer chasing her dream of making it big in the music world. She is hobbled by multiple challenges, prime among them being her conservative and boorish father Farooq (Raj Arjun). Supporting on her uphill journey to realise her dream, are her loving mother Najma (Meher Vij), best friend at school Chintan (Tirth Sharma), a loud & maverick music director Shakti Kumar (Aamir Khan) and YouTube. 

While the movie traverses the familiar path of the genre and has its share of cliches and melodrama, director Chandan's treatment ensures that the film has its heart in the right place and elevates it from being run-of-the-mill fare to an extra-ordinary experience through excellent performances across the board from the cast as well as exceptional music from Amit Trivedi.

Zaira Wasim who impressed everyone in Dangal as the young Geeta Phogat and won a well deserved National award for Best Supporting Actor for her performance in that role is back with a superlative performance - the best I have seen this year - as Insiya which is all heart and makes an instant connect with the audience. She is a natural and rides the roller-coaster of emotions effortlessly and has an awesome presence radiating oodles of warmth in every frame. Going by sheer talent, she is a star performer and this movie heralds her arrival on the big screen BIG TIME.

She is surrounded by an able supporting cast who ace their respective roles. Meher Vij is a joy to watch as Najma - a loving mother who is prepared to go any distance to nurture and nourish the dreams of her daughter, even risking the wrath of her abusive husband. Raj Arjun is Farooq is absolutely chilling as the domineering despot and controlling husband/father. Aamir Khan has a blast playing the flamboyant and eccentric music director. The rest of the cast including Tirth Sharma as Insiya's best friend Chintan and even those playing minor roles like the kid playing Insiya's younger brother are pitch perfect.

Music director Amit Trivedi's winning album with the stirring vocals of Meghna Mishra and memorable lyrics from Kausar Munir are assets that accentuate the movie. Advait Chandan acquits himself as a competent director with his simple, subtle, yet proficient style of story-telling.

Secret Superstar is another testimony to the ability of Aamir Khan to back worthy projects which could be critical as well as commercial success and in feisty, Zaira Wasim, he has unearthed a gem who, given the right projects, has the potential to sparkle on Indian screens for years to come. 

Go watch it. It may be formulaic fare and may not have anything novel; But, it is manifest proof that even the mundane when executed well with sincerity could make it magnificent and even memorable.

AN EXCELLENT WATCH !!

RATING - 3.5/5

Mersal (Tamil) (2017)

Far from the tortures like Sura or Bhairavaa..

But, not quite in the league of entertainers like Shankar's Gentleman or even Murugadoss' Ramanaa  ..

This Attlee film is a welcome addition to the blockbusters of Vijay who seems to be his usual self (read this as you may) in three roles.

Besides Vijay, Nithya Menen, Vadivelu (welcome-back) and S J Surya make a mark which is quite something in a star vehicle.

While the film has all the trappings and technical finesse, one would expect, the songs as well as the (very) high decibel score from AR Rahman is a major disappointment.

Director Attlee who had rehashed Baashaa as Theri seems to be progressing on his learning curve with this film which is an over-long (almost three butt-numbing hours) stylized rehash of multiple earlier hits from the genre.

At best, a benign one-time watch !

RATING - 2.5/5

NEWTON (HINDI) (2017)

Director Amit V Masurkar's Newton is a black comedy on the Indian electoral process as it is put to test in the treacherous leftist rebel infested jungles of Central India. Rajkumar Rao plays, nay, is Nutan Kumar aka Newton - an upright clerk working for the government and is assigned the duty of being the presiding officer of an polling station deep in the jungles of Dandakaranya. 

The movie narrates his travails as he strives to conduct a textbook election with his rag-tag team of three officials even as he is challenged by reluctant commander of para-military forces Atma Singh (a brilliant scene-stealing Pankaj Tripathi),  an indifferent tribal populace who are simply too tired of being cannon fodder and collateral damage in what appears to be an unending war of attrition.

The supporting cast of Raghubir Yadav, Anjali Patil and Sanjay Mishra in a minor cameo play their parts competently. 

The movie raises multiple pertinent questions on the much celebrated mechanics of the Indian electoral process, the media circus that surrounds it, the meaning of democracy to a populace seeking to stick on to their simple-living roots, exploitation and corruption which lurk in the garb of development and political empowerment without being preachy or boring.

Masurkar mines the laughs with amazing regularity in the most unlikely situations and ensures that the narrative moves along on a brisk pace. The movie has already received several accolades in the Berlinale where it premiered and is a worthy contender from India in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the Academy awards.

A MUST WATCH !!

RATING - 4/5

THUPPARIVAALAN (aka THE DETECTIVE) (TAMIL) (2017)

Mysskin presents our own homegrown Sherlock Holmes sorry in his inimitable style with most of his trademark elements. Vishal plays the protagonist Kaniyan Poongundran with Prasanna as his sidekick Mano -a la Watson (albeit in much minor part). The above average mystery unfolds in a linear narrative which keeps you hooked. Vishal fits the role for the most part as the emotionally remote, brainy detective and is convincing in the kinetic action set pieces. The rest of the cast including Prasanna, Vinay, Andrea, Bhagyaraj and John Vijay are apt in their minor parts. After Pisaasu, once again, Arrol Corelli impresses with his background score which elevates the proceedings. Overall, while it is definitely not a masterpiece by any measure, is flawed and could be leaner, the auteur in Mysskin succeeds in making an engaging thriller which has the potential for becoming a fabulous franchise.

A PRETTY GOOD WATCH !! RATING - 3/5

DUNKIRK (ENGLISH) (2017)

Ace auteur Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk is based on a daring rescue of allied soldiers from the French coast where they were pushed to the brink of annihilation/capture by German army which had surrounded them on the land, Luftwaffe fighter planes that rained bombs and fire from the skies and U-boats that torpedoed any approaching rescue vessels. 

With as many as 400,000 soldiers stranded on the shores and hopes of their survival growing slim as every passing hour found the German army testing their weary resistance and every sortie of the Luftwaffe slaughtering these sitting duck soldiers by the dozens. Only a miracle could have saved those men. 

Indeed, a miracle did happen and it was made in the way that best of miracles are made. It was made by ordinary men who performed extraordinary feats and dared to push the horizons of the faintly probable into the firm shores of the possible. In narrating this story, Nolan too weaves a miracle of sorts as he keeps us hooked to the suspense and thrill throughout its duration even when we are familiar with the history of this monumental evacuation of nearly 300,000 men which was one of the crucial turning points of the war.

A sense of foreboding permeates every frame like a fuse that is lit with the very first frame threatening to blow everyone to smithereens at any moment. Nolan brings his trademark twist to a genre by bravely desisting from the time tested template tropes of war movies such as creating backstories for characters which help the audience connect to them and root for them, bloody war sequences, tense discussions of a war-room, rousing speeches from leaders and villainous enemies. 

Without resorting to any gruesome imagery or ever showing a single enemy soldier, he strikes terror with the perennial threat of deadly attacks and the attacks that strike at the most unexpected moment. Again, despite abstaining from any backstories to any of his characters, he forges a near universal connect between the  faceless group of us - the audience - and the group of hapless, near strangers fighting together as soldiers for survival on that blighted beach. We root for their survival through a gruelling battle that spans land, water and air and witness those near nameless boys graduate in the tough school of war and become men.. That is.. If they don't end up as bodies. 

Once again, we find Nolan showcasing his mastery in seamlessly weaving together multiple timelines - in a la Inception mode - where he sets these timelines to tick at different paces; a week on the shore; a day on the waters; and an hour in the skies, thereby elevating the sense of urgency. 

A cast consisting of of largely unknown/lesser known actors with cameos by Tom Hardy (once again behind a mask for the most parts), Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance and Kenneth Brannagh deliver competent performances. Besides Nolan, the real stars of the movie are the excellent technical crew that he has marshalled. They are lead from the front by music director Hans Zimmer who pounds you with a ticking, thudding time-bomb of a score that at once sees you quivering on the shores, bouncing on the waters and soaring through the skies and cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema who cans the stupendous aerial action sequences which make your eyes stretch wider than the IMAX widescreen. Editor Lee Smith comes out with flying colours, in what must have been one of the toughest jobs, as he brings together the multiple timelines into a smooth narrative.

Nolan has delivered another masterpiece that is like no other. Within a few moments, with a masterly sleight of hand, enlists each of us in the audience as a private and transports us to those treacherous shores of Dunkirk, desperate for survival for nearly two hours. And.. that is his successful inception. 

A heady cocktail of a riveting suspense thriller, a superlative spectacle, an immersive and nerve racking experience of war as never before. If one looks beyond the gripping war drama and digs a little deeper, we might find some resonance with contemporary issues of Brexit and swelling waves of refugees as well.

A TOUR DE FORCE !

A MUST WATCH (in IMAX) !!

RATING - 4.5/5

Jagga Jasoos (Hindi) (2017)

Director Anurag Basu goes back to the palette used in his previous feel good venture - Barfi - and creates a whole new universe of a breezy caper. The movie is a quirky, comical  adventure presented as a musical, aimed mainly at the young (& young at heart) audience.

Ranbir Kapoor is in top form as the  stammering amateur - Tintin-esque - detective and is ably supported by the rest of the cast especially Saswata Chatterjee.

Music director Pritam and lyricist Amitabh Bhattacharya have delivered aces in the form of excellent background score and catchy songs which enliven the proceedings.

Ravi Varman  has crafted beautiful frames with his cinematography capturing the beautiful vistas of the North-East as well as West Africa.

On the flip side, Basu's film suffers from his over indulgence results in avoidable bulk in running time as well as some parts which are unconvincing as well as tacky.

Nevertheless, it is an interesting and first of its kind experiment in Bollywood that almost succeeds and the entire team deserve kudos for that.

WORTH A WATCH !!

RATING - 2.5/5

Kaatru Veliyidai (Tamil) (2017)

 A self-centred macho fighter pilot;

An angelic, bold, yet, thoroughly smitten army doctor;

Kashmir on the brink of Kargil war;

A cinematographer (Ravivarman) who captures the snow-capped peaks, drab mountainscapes, colourful weddings and intimate indoor shots in spectacular visuals which are breathtaking in equal measure;

The Mozart of Madras bringing his A game and delivering aces;

A turbulent romance which has the potential for being a mature and captivating drama;

A master auteur who despite relying on several of his time-tested template tropes can present them in a refreshing manner that few could manage;

Sounds like the perfect recipe for an epic romance... Right ...?

Alas... If only life was so predictably rewarding...

Aditi Rao Hydari gets it pitch perfect across the entire spectrum of her emotional journey as Dr. Leela with just the right notes of confidence, madness, love and vulnerability. She is all grace and glows (perhaps, a tad too much) in every single frame in resplendent manner. 

Karthi brings in a valiant performance as the cocky, self-centered fighter pilot who could oscillate unpredictably between the extremes of a romantic to a ruthless, even cruel, chauvinist with smirk in those aviator shades. However, one could sense an undercurrent of unease in his portrayal of VC as if it is not a perfect match or perhaps, he couldn't convince himself of pulling this off.

One feels something is amiss and is lost in the process of translation from the written words to the wow-inducing visuals. The evolution of the romance as well as the character arcs, especially Karthi's is unconvincing and as a result, you are not connected to the characters or care for them, as you should.

Further, the entire stretch of scenes set in Pakistan appear contrived despite some well written voice-overs.

Ultimately, the movie could neither stir the emotions in you nor soar into the pantheon of great movies.

By the time the credits start rolling, it leaves you in a breathtakingly beautiful, albeit, an empty breezy expanse (kaatru veliyidai) - seeking more even as you find it is just a middling venture that has gone with the wind.

All that glitters...

A GOOD WATCH (which could have been so much more) !!

RATING - 2.5/5

RANGOON (HINDI) (2017)

Rangoon is set in 1943, when the British colonials in India were fighting the advancing Japanese and Netaji Bose's Azad Hind Army on the country's north east along the Myanmar border and a resurgent freedom struggle under Mahatma across the country. On this wide and raging canvas, Vishal Baradwaj crafts a love triangle involving a clutch of plucky characters. Rusi (Saif Ali Khan) a Parsi aristocrat and an erstwhile action hero whose career was cut short by an accident where he loses a hand and becomes a movie producer. Nawab Mallik (Shahid Kapoor) is jamadar in the British Indian army. And, then there is Miss Julia (Kangana Ranaut), a daredevil movie star who complements the incomplete lives of both these men. 

  

Kangana is fabulous as the pioneering action star of her times and is able to ace a role which is physically as well as emotionally demanding. She owns this part and explores its innocence, action, romance, confusions, arrogance, vulnerability as well obsession with aplomb. Shahid is excellent as the sincere jamadar Nawab Mallik who is torn between his mission and his love for Miss Julia. Saif is a natural as a bruised aristocrat who is driven to desperation to salvage his life and love slipping away. Of the competent supporting cast, the notable performances are from Saharsh Shukla as Zulfi, Miss Julia's make-up man and confidante and Richard McCabe as the British General Harding with a taste for Urdu poetry.

After completing his spectacular trilogy of Shakespearean tragedies with Maqbool, Omkara and Haider, in Rangoon, Vishal Bharadwaj presents an ambitious period drama set against the second world war and packs in a potent mixture of love, action, jealousy, deceit and more through lush visuals of Pankaj Kumar. 

Vishal Bhardwaj also excels as the music director as he delivers a background score that accentuates the moods of the movie even as continues his fruitful collaboration with Gulzar and the duo have come up with some wonderful songs. 

Rangoon, thus, presents quite a heady cocktail of fine performances, several stand-out sequences such as the conversation between Kangana and a captured Japanese soldier, both glib in their own languages, trademark humour, some great dialogues, superb songs and captivating cinematography. Yet, one feels that there is something amiss which stops it short of being a masterpiece that it seeks to be. The romance does not exactly set the screen afire, the narrative fabric couldn't consistently weave together the multiple strands, the length could have been a tad trimmer or perhaps, the finale could have been much more nuanced.

But, BLOODY HELL ... it, still, is a GREAT WATCH !!

RATING - 3.5/5

CLASH (aka ESHTEBAK) (ARABIC) (2016)

What is the essence of democracy ? Is democracy the best system for all countries at all times ? What happens if a democracy is denuded to a state where it is merely a form of majoritarian rule with scant regard for the rights and aspirations of its citizenry and especially, those of the minorities ? In such a case, would it be any different or better than an authoritarian regime ?

After almost three decades of dictatorial reign, when the government of President Hosni Mubarak was overthrown by the events following Tahrir Square in  2011, popular elections brought Mohammed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood to power in Egypt. However, his radical religious agenda drove a deep wedge in a multi-ethnic society and after a popular, violent uprising by his opponents in 2013, the army took control. This pushed the country on the brink of civil war. Egypt became a chaotic crucible and was enveloped in a season of daily protests on the streets between supporters of Muslim Brotherhood who felt that their democratically elected government was unfairly unseated and supporters of the army who sought an end to the fundamentalist regime of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The film captures one such day when protests break out in various parts of Cairo between these opposing factions. The entire movie is set and has been filmed within the confines of a police van which has been deployed on the street. While it starts with the arrest of an Egyptian born journalist working with the Associated Press covering the clashes along with his local freelance cameraman, the van is quickly filled up with a motley assembly of people cutting across the spectrum of age, economic status and owing their allegiance to either side of the ideological divide. Tempers fray with the supporters of Muslim Brotherhood and the pro-army group find themselves at each other's throats and find that their strength of ideological conviction is put to a litmus test by this sticky situation. As the cops try to shepherd the police van to safety traversing through treacherous streets of midtown Cairo filled with rioting mobs, the van - literally as well as figuratively - becomes a simmering cauldron ready to explode.  

While at an apparent level, it is a clash between competing factions which seek to wrest power, at another deeper level, it is equally a clash between ideologies that we espouse, which tend to define us and appropriate our entire identities with the basic ethos of humanity which resonate across competing and often contrasting ideologies, geographies or for that matter, any other divides. Thus, despite being set in Cairo, the movie strikes a near universal resonance, especially given the politically charged climes that we inhabit.

Director Diab's ambitious narrative is replete with frenetic riot sequences, sniper shootings, stonings, water canons, laser strobe lights and tear-gas clouds which are captured in full blooded intensity from within the confines of the van by cinematographer Ahmed Gabr's adroit handheld camerawork. Despite being a serious movie set to the pulse of a racy thriller, it incorporates a healthy dose of humour in the interactions and the inherent contradictions between the ideologies professed and the behaviour forced by the circumstances. It also underlines the enduring nature of humanity that triumphs over all obstacles like a stubborn plant which challenges and survives on the rock face even as there are undercurrents of anxiety which are lurking just below the surface and which are capable of unleashing the inherent animal instincts which are susceptible to be stoked by mob mentality. Diab populates the movie with engaging characters which we could connect to and the fact that his narrative shuns siding with any particular group enhances its universal appeal.

While the constricted confines of the police van creates a claustrophobic atmospheric through the entire movie, director Mohamed Diab ensures that the setting adds far greater value than merely being a gimmick. In a way, the confined space of the police van in Clash is also a stark metaphor of a country which stands on a precipice with little room to maneuver. A country which finds that a much vaunted political spring after decades of repression has failed to heal the fissures that divide the society. This has, in turn, resulted in deep distrust in each other, a sense of hopelessness and frustration which feed into a vicious cycle of acrimony and chaos that permeate this society. The movie is also peppered with instances where the occupants of the van display rays of kindness, humanity and humour which shines through the clouds of conflict that threaten to eclipse their inherent goodness. 

Clash presents a heady concoction filled with multiple ingredients that have come to define the times that we live in - chaos, hopelessness, frustration, mistrust and humanity which has the potential to shine through even the thickest veneers of ideological convictions that seek to derail our rationality.

Thanks to the universal appeal, Clash has received multiple laurels at film festivals across the world. It was screened as the opening movie at the Un Certain Regard section at the Cannes 2016 and was the winner of Best Film and Audience Award at the recently concluded International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK),  2016. It was also selected as the official Egyptian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards.

In conclusion, I couldn't agree more with Tom Hanks who has praised the film by saying - 

"If there's any way you can see Clash by Egyptian director Mohamed Diab, you must. You simply must. The film will break your heart, but enlighten all."

A MUST WATCH !!

RATING - 4.5/5

PELLICHOOPULU (TELUGU) (2016)

Chitra has just completed MBA and aspires to pursue further studies in Australia and become an entrepreneur. Prashanth is forced to pursue Engineering course by his father though he aspires to be a chef. He is also too lazy to chase his dream and seeks shortcuts to settle down in life. The movie takes off when the two protagonists meet accidentally during a pellichoopulu (a common Indian ritual where potential groom and bride meet along with their families). What follows is a narrative that presents a predictable story in an engaging manner with oodles of humor and very relatable situations.

Vijay Deverakonda is authentic in his portrayal of Prashanth who is used to the daily taunts from his father and would prefer to laze around seeking simplistic solutions without a care. Ritu Varma, with her sparkling presence lights up every frame and is pitch perfect as the ambitious Chitra who is at ease in conveying a wide range of emotions. They share an easy chemistry and are ideal foil for each other which make them instantly likeable and keeps the viewers invested in how they fare. Besides the leads, the movie benefits from a competent set of supporting cast who register their presence even in the smallest of roles and adding to the funny situations. Composer Vivek Sagar has provided some good songs and adds value with his background score. 

Debutante director Tharun Bhascker Dhaassyam has made a breezy romcom which checks almost all the right boxes a genre which is mostly messed up in  narratives that are mired in melodrama or mindless action or other "masala" elements. His competence as an engaging storyteller is evident in the way that he strikes a fine balance in presenting the multiple threads of understated romance,  aspirations of girls which are often ignored or even trampled upon as well as the casual attitudes of a section of youth Wei fail to follow one's dreams due to their lethargy and seeking easy solutions, family bonds without getting preachy or melodramatic and constant flow of jokes which do not feel forced.

With an entertaining first feature, Tharun has announced his arrival as a film maker to look forward to. 

AN EXCELLENT WATCH !!

RATING - 3/5