Mankatha

Mankatha is Ajith Kumar's 50th movie. Hence, there are high expectations. By watching the theatrical trailer, one's interest for the film will surely have soared. To those who came with high expectations, Mankatha did not disappoint. A well-packaged thriller from start to finish.

Mankatha is about a suspended Maharashtra cop, Vinayak(Ajith) who teams up with Sumanth(Vaibhav), SI Ganesh(Ashwin Kakumanu), Prem(Premji) and Mahat(Mahat) to pull of a heist. Hot on their heels are Special Branch officer Prithviraj(Arjun) and the Arumuga Chettiyar's(Jayaprakash)men. A cat-and-mouse chase ensues with usual double-crosses which ends with a surprise twist.

Ajith has done a wonderful job in Mankatha after disappointing performances in Aegan and Asal. After David Billa, his Vinayak Mahadevan character oozes style and substance. A tailor-made role for him. Arjun as Prithviraj is nothing new for us as we have seen him in such roles in the past. Vaibhav,Ashwin and Mahat did a decent job. Premji, as usual managed to evoke laughters here and there with his dialogues and antics. Premji's character reminds us of the 'Napster' from The Italian Job. Jayaprakash fits into the character of Arumuga Chettiyar with ease. Arvind Akash fits the bill as Faisal, Arumuga Chettiyar's henchman. Of the female leads, only Trisha and Lakshmi Rai had importance and did justice to their roles while Anjali and Andrea are wasted.

The other highlight of the film is notably Yuvan Shankar Raja's music. Vilayadu Mankatha, Open the Bottle and Balle Lakka songs stand out and went with the flow of the movie. The two songs, Kannadi Nee and Vaada Bin Laada look mis-placed. The BGM is excellent and goes well with the mood of the film. Editing by Praveen-Srikanth is perfectly executed. Sakthi Saravanan's camera work captured the chase and gunfight scenes well but the colour tone seems to be dull in the first half. Silva's stunts are just the usual stuff and nothing is eye catching. The only drawback are the stunts itself where usage of visual effects can be clearly seen. Realistic stunts could have made the film better.

In a nutshell, Mankatha is Ajith's game from start to finish. Influences of Hollywood films(RED,Italian Job) are evident but Ajith remains the show-stealer. A perfect 50th film and a wonderful treat for Thala's fans.

Mankatha – 8/10 Ajith's 50th movie certainly has exceeded the hugely speculated expectations it garnered. Like its title, it travels in a racy pace with full of twists and turns presented in a thoroughly entertaining way. Story wise, Mankatha is can be said as the best of all Venkat Prabhu's film. It is thoroughly entertaining with Ajith oozing with energy in every scene with power packed one liners. The films has many scenes at the first half which may seem irrelevant but gets all paid back with the climax explaining everything.

For the other casts, Premji and Vaibhav impresses and are at their best. Action King Arjun proves his proves his dynamic experience even in just few scene he have done. All the other female casts just does fine given that their roles are merely blink-and-miss ones.

Technicality wise, Sakthi Saravanan's cinematography is apt for the commercial action film and Yuvan's music plays as an important factor for the scenes especially the epic BGMs.

Venkat Prabhu has shown maturity in is directing with Mankatha and broke his all the stereotypical heroic roles of Tamil cinema by giving Ajith an Negative role. Kudos to the ultimate star for accepting it bravely putting his name in risk at his 50th film. All said, Mankataha proves that a film need to be artistic to be favoured by critics, but a entertaining film with intelligent twist can garner all the interest from all side.

Verdict : Ajith's show all the way

awesome film........film s full of great action and twists..... good comedy sequences... overall a superb film after a long time..The film has everything that Ajith fans would want and some more

Every actor would love to do an anti-hero role at least once in their career. From Rajinikanth to Silambarasan, there are no exceptions to this craving. Mankatha is Ajith's 50th film and the actor unleashed his charm doing a baddie in Vaali repeats the act. Director Venkat Prabhu, known for doing light-hearted films, takes up an action-packed thriller in the company of the mass hero. If cricket was the basic crux of Venkat Prabhu's Chennai 28 (his debut film as a director), Mankatha is also based on the willow game, albeit with a difference. The spotlight here is not on the field but on betting, money and the men behind it.

The actor who failed to cheer his fans in his previous flick Aasal, has managed to satisfy the appetite of his fans in Mankatha. Ajith slips into the role of the baddie whom we love to hate with élan, hogging the limelight with his charismatic screen presence. While the first half is more an extension of the director's earlier films like Chennai 28 and Saroja, the later half is dead serious, action-packed and racy. Vinayak Mahadevan (Ajith) is a suspended cop in Maharashtra police. He falls in love with Sanjana (Trisha), daughter of an influential local goon Arumuga Chettiyar (Jayaprakash). Vinayak is a man behind money. He has least respect for values in life, wants to become the richest. A suicide by a police officer investigating the betting mafia involved in Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket hogs headlines. Assistant Commissioner of Police Prithvi (Arjun) takes charge to free the sport from betting. Meanwhile, Arumuga Chettiyar, who comes to know that Rs. 500 crore betting money for the finals of the IPL is coming to Mumbai, uses his underworld links to route it through his recreation centre.

Sumanth (Vaibhav) is Arumuga Chettiyar's protégé. He hatches a conspiracy to take away the money in the company of his friends – a police officer Ganesh (Ashwin), Mahanth (Mahanth), who runs a bar, and Prem (Premgi Amaran), an IIT graduate. When he comes to know of their plans, Vinayak steps in. He promises to help the team members and divide the wealth between them. They even succeed in taking away the money and decide to wait for an appropriate time to share the fortune. In the meantime, a shocked Arumuga Chettiyar begins his hunt for the treasure though every move of him is being closely followed by Prithvi. The attention then shifts to Vinayak and the battlelines are redrawn – it is nowVinayak vs Prithvi.

After a long gap, Ajith sheds the stereotype tag. Arjun plays the Action King role to perfection. Trisha, Andrea, Anjali and Lakshmi Rai play minuscule roles. Vaibhav and Jayaprakash leave their mark on screen. Yuvan Shankar Raja's music is passable with a couple of racy tunes. Sakthi Saravanan's cinematography is a major strength. Venkat Prabhu seems to have played to Ajith's strength in Mankatha. The actor's mass appeal has given the director the liberty to add more of action and punch lines. On the flip side, the first half is too lengthy and long sequences mar the flow. All said, Ajith fans will love this film.

Mankatha is a true 'Entertainment Classic'.It is an adorable mix of Excellent Direction,Lead Performances, and Technical Perfection.Ajith,who has completed his 50th film has certainly done an excellent job and has managed to entertain his fans to the best possible way after a dull felt 'Aasal'.A big positive of the movie is that,all though Ajith's 50th film,all the actors were given ample screen space and platform to perform and the director requires a thumbs-up for boldly choosing a theme which portrays the actor in a negative shaded role,but making him the real king.The double climax of the movie has certainly proved out to be one of the best twisty ones in the recent times.A sure box office grosser,an 'Entertainment Extravaganza'.

Ajith,fondly called as Tala,simply rocked the screens with his high-on-testosterone performance and has proved that he is the real 'Tala of action'.The psychic shades which is felt at times was amazingly portrayed by him.Action king Arjun has also given his best commitment and does an excellent job making his screen presence felt in par with Ajith,and even better at times,like during his intro.Ashwin Kakumanu,Mahat Raghavendra,Aravind,Vaibhav Reddy etc does good supporting performances and Premji Amaran dons the comedy department well.Trisha,Lakshmi Rai and Anjali have done their roles well even though their performances are shaded by the male leads.

Some +ves::Thrilling Background Music,Good lead performances(All have done their parts well),Excellent climax and subsequent anti-climax. Direction by Venkat Prabhu without much loop-holes,It was nice to hear Arjun and Ajith referring to each other as "Action King" and "Thala" in the movie,respectively.

Some -ves::A little drag in the first half,Some songs(Vaada Bin Laada,Balle Laka)seemed unnecessary and dull although the others were simply superb(Vilaiyadu Mankatha,Nee Naan,Machi Open The Bottle).

Verdict::Mankatha is an example of all essential elements of a commercial entertainer-Action,Comedy,Music,Good Leads,Direction and Technical Perfection ,joining hands with each other.A must watch if you love entertainers.After all,its Mankatha Da"Ma Rating::8.5/10

-Afsal

The headline says it all. In 'Mankatha', Ajith pulls it off with his impeccable style and excellent performance, which is aptly supported by a racy script and brilliant execution by director Venkat Prabhu and his team.

If cricket was the USP of 'Chennai 28′, the director's first film, 'Mankatha' is also based on the sport but with a difference. It is all about betting, money and the men behind it.

Ajith has appropriately chosen to do 'Mankatha' as his 50th film. It is a movie that has everything his fans would want. He shakes his legs vigorously, evokes laughter, does pulsating stunt sequences and utters catchy one-liners (with some of them going mute).

The first-half belongs to Venkat Prabhu where he shows sparks of 'Saroja' and 'Goa', while the latter part is totally dominated by Ajith. As a merciless baddie behind money, Ajith oozes venom in his eyes. His body language and dialogue delivery compliments it very much. Though the movie has over a dozen characters, it's Ajith all the way. With his remarkable screen presence, he is at his coolest best.

Coming to the story, 'Mankatha' revolves around a suspended cop Vinayak Mahadevan (Ajith) in Maharashtra police. He leads a happy life with his lover Sanjana (Trisha), daughter of an influential local goon Arumuga Chettiyar (Jayaprakash).

Vinayak is a man who dares to do anything for money. But a fun-loving person, he lives his life in his own way.

A suicide by a police officer investigating the betting mafia involved in Indian Premier League (IPL) hogs headlines. Assistant Commissioner of Police Prithvi (Arjun) takes charge to end betting scandal in the sport.

Meanwhile, Arumuga Chettiyar comes to know that a sum of Rs 500 crore betting money for the finals of the IPL is coming to Mumbai. He uses his nexus with underworld in Mumbai and tries to route it through his recreation centre.

Sumanth (Vaibhav) is Arumuga Chettiyar's protégé. He hatches a conspiracy to take away the money in the company of a police officer Ganesh (Ashwin). They are joined by Mahanth (Mahanth), who runs a bar in Mumbai and Prem (Premgi Amaran), a fun-loving IIT pass out.

Coming to know of their plans, Vinayak steps in. He promises to help the team members and divide the booty between them. They even succeed in taking away the money and decide to wait for an appropriate time to share the fortune.

In the meantime, a shocked Arumuga Chettiyar begins his hunt for the treasure and every move of him is closely followed by Prithvi. All hell breaks loose when Mahanth and Prem escape with the cash and Vinayak suspects Sumanth.

Turn of events lead to Sumanth being captured by police and Prithvi forces him to turn an approver. Guns roar and losses occur on either side.

Now Vinayak takes the centre-stage and with his wicked plans goes hammer and tongs to take away the booty. A surprise awaits him in the form of Prem and Sona (Lakshmi Rai). When Vinayak locates the treasure, Prithvi breathes under his neck. It is now battle of fists between them. Who emerged the winner is narrated with an interesting twist in the climax.

All cheers to Ajith. The man after a long gap gets a role where he can perform with variety. He is at his best and his salt and pepper look is catchy and attractive.

As a suave cop, a dreaded don or a adorable lover, he leaves his charm on screen. His uttering of one-liners to Arjun evokes applause. His imitating Premgi in few scenes brings the roof down in laughter.

Arjun lives up to his Action King tag. He adds variety on screen and is cool and consummate as a police officer.

Trisha appears in a few scenes besides a song and disappears. Andrea as Arjun's wife, Lakahmi Rai as call girl and Anjali in the role of Vaibhav's wife play blink-and-miss roles. Jayaprakash gets to play a decent part in the film. At places he reminds one of Kamal Haasan's role in 'Nayakan'. Vaibhav gets a meaty character and he utilises the opportunity.

Both Ganesh and Mahanth are tailor-made for the roles, while Premgi is at his best in the film. He takes off from where he left in 'Goa'. At ease in coming out with comical one-liners, his admiration for Ajith is visible on screen.

Watch out for good cinematography in such an action-packed film. Sakthi Saravanan has given a fresh colour to it. It's Yuvan Shankar Raja's mass tunes that elevates the mood. And he has shown difference in background score too (especially in the godown-fight scene in the second half)..

Give due credit to Venkat Prabhu, the director who seems to have given a film that sits well on Ajith. He understood Ajith's strength and played it well. Who said he can only direct laughathons? With 'Mankatha', he has graduated to go higher places.

On the whole, it's job well done by Venkat Prabhu, producer Dhayanidhi Alagiri and other members of the team. If at all there is a minus, it is the lengthy first half.

I FELT LIKE WATCHING SACHIN TENDULKAR GONE OUT OF 99 WHEN ARJUN SHOOT AJITH. BUT WHILE COMING OUT OF THEATRE I FELT THALA MADE A RECORD SCORE OF 200 UNBEATEN.