Pachaikili Muthucharam

Another stylish movie from gvm but slightly disappointed Sarath fit for his role but my choice is Kamal or madhavan...andriya perfect role & perfect acting...jothika asusual done his job..other characters also good.. music is the strength.. Harris bgm awesome songs another plus..cinematography another plus... climax is the main disappointed.. but engaging entertainer

As a Sarathkumar fan, this movie will always remain special in my heart. A great performance from the supreme star. Jyothika and Andrea also acted well. Millind Suman was good however, he failed to spark in this film as a villain despite getting a huge opportunity to show his talent. Suman overcame his lack of acting skills by his fame and charm. Although the movie is filled with many plotholes and scarred by weak direction, it is Sarath and Jyothika who carry the movie and make it a cult. The dialogues were mind-blowing, the screenplay was decent, pacing was appreciatable. Enjoyed the songs. The climax scenes were a bit disappointing. Overall a great experience.

Going into this movie, I guess most people are attracted to the fact that this is a "Gautham Menon" film - the director who brought us "Minnale", "Kaakha Kaakha" and "Vettaiyadu Villayadu". Most people like the first two, and I find people divided on the last (personally, I found the movie very interesting until maybe the last 25-30 minutes, but still worth watching, if you ask me). The director certainly has laurels to attract an audience, but he comes up quite short here.

A quick synopsis of the story - Venkatesh (Sarath Kumar) is a happily married man, comfortable in his middle-class existence with wife and child, until his family life begins to go south when his son is diagnosed with juvenile diabetes. He can't connect with his wife the way he used to, and befriends Geeta (Jyothika) on his daily train commute. How his life comes crashing down afterward forms the rest of the story (I have to admit, it sounds much better on paper than it translates on screen).

I appreciate the fact that he cast Sarath Kumar, who typically doesn't play to a Gautham Menon audience, and he brings a lot to the role, but the screenplay leaves a lot to be desired, and I don't see this movie connecting with the Tamil audience (and apparently it didn't, it flopped quite badly from what I hear). What irks me the most, though, is that Gautham Menon thinks he can copy off Hollywood movies and pass it off as original and fresh in India. Wake up, Mr. Menon, everyone watches Hollywood movies - I didn't even have to see "Derailed" (starring Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston) to know that this was a rip-off - I only watched the trailer! Even "Kaakha Kaakha" had its climax scene ripped off of the David Fincher directed "Seven" (which is quite good, recommend checking it out).

And what's with the score? The same tune is played over and over again throughout the movie, and its repetitive and annoying. Not to mention the fact that, again, one part of the score is ripped off of the Hollywood movie "Forrest Gump" - listen to that movie's theme music and you'll know what I mean. I find it hard to believe that we Tamilians cannot come up with some original ideas.

Choosing to remake a known book/film which was panned in Hollywood (With reported box office earnings of $35,945,749) is tough. Making it work in Tamil is even tougher. The theme is mature and unconventional as far the average Tamil audience would like to see on screen. And a tad bit uncomfortable for the average macho or 'happily married' audience. Credit must be given to Gautham to have thought that he could pull it off. But he doesn't.

a. The average Sarath Kumar fan is disappointed - he is not larger-than-life in most part. There is no vintage 'Super-Hero' Sarath Kumar present in the movie. Gautham tries to salvage this with some extended fight scenes towards the end but doesn't really pull it off.

b. The newcomer Andrea is not quite there yet, especially with some lip-sync problems (may have been a technical issue). There is nothing special about her presence on screen apart from that she looks attractive in some scenes.

c. Jyothika does a neat job in the first half of the movie as Sarath's love interest. But as one of the villains in the piece, she is reduced to a caricature and reprises her 'Chandramukhi' brand of glowering in some of the scenes.

d. Milind Soman (aided amply by Gautham's voice) acquits himself creditably, managing to appear 'coolly menacing' without going over-the-top.

d. The music, which sounds like you have 'heard it before' is saved only by the title piece (the violin solo) which is again part of the now-usual hit combo of Harris Jayaraj and Bombay Jayashree. Apart from the song 'Unakkul Naney' which has received quite a lot of airtime on radio, the rest of the numbers are forgettable.

e. The songs were presented quite unimaginatively and the grim reaper sequence was downright absurd. For all the 'DI/super35' buzz the producers and director tried to generate prior to release, there was nothing to show for it. Arvind Krisha does an average job at best, aided by excessive color-correction (which has been apparent in Gautham's movies since 'Vettayadu Vilayadu') in post.

f. The script meanders towards the end of the movie with extended scenes inserted for fights and songs. Logical progression and conclusion has been sacrificed, presumably for box-office success.

g. The film didn't generate enough buzz post-release, despite all the money that was pumped into the hoardings and tie-in promotions. It died a natural death, with an average rating from the box office. The box-office collections were however, healthy enough for the producers, it is said.

All that said, Sarath Kumar has delivered an understudy that will prove to a lot of cynics that he is capable of subtlety. The tentativeness that he portrays (he appears, very convincingly, unsure of "taking the next step") all through the early part of his relationship with Jyothika's character up to the turning point is palpable.

But that is about the only saving grace. The box-office and cinemas are a merciless place sometimes. And you are only as good as your next movie! Gautham has tough task on his next venture, which is rumored to be another 'remake' or 'inspiration'. From a Hollywood HIT, this time.

We'll have to wait and see how that turns out in Tamil.

Vanakkam!

The climax was a bit disappointing with the action scenes....but as the previous reviewer mentioned....this is an Indian movie! the director had to compromise if he still has a chance to make this movie a success.

but the fight sequences were suspenseful as well. given gautham's capability of making movies with a tragic ending (kakkha kakkha), you never could guess what was in store!

this is one of the best Tamil movies I've ever seen. unfortunately, i am forced to agree with the previous comment. i don't see it being successful for a typical Indian audience. in fact. even a major section of the audience i saw it with here in Chicago hated it! maybe they weren't really able to relate with it. i think the theme is a bit too mature for an average teenager or a guy in his early 20's to relate with. maybe the movie should come with a PG 25 rating! :)

a pity...but I'm not sure if a typical college going kid will be able to relate with this movie.

but, if you think Tamil movies don't have class...see this one. and pardon gautham for the action sequences at the end. without that, he dint have a ghost of a chance to make this a success! the camera work was superb...it wasn't about special effects, but about brilliantly capturing the life of a typical upper middle class person in tamilnadu...the close up shots were amazing. distinctly different from anything at least i have seen before.

and Andrea...ooomph!

brilliant performances. never knew that even sharath kumar can act! don't miss this. but if you are expecting a typical run of the mill entertainment...save your money and see pokiri...:)