Iraivi

Iraiva means God and Iraivi means Goddess, but it should have been Iraivigal which means Goddesses. This film talks about three women, who dream how their future should be. That's the opening, but the remaining film tells a different story. In this men dominated world, what is the part of women and their sufferings revealed in its nearly 2 and half hour long run.

So like the title implies, it is about women, but from the perspective of men who influence in their life. From all this, one thing I learnt was, Indian women yet to stand on their own feet. I mean India is one of the country that allowed the equal right for women, but they are unable to take the opportunity in the hands as something is blocking their way like men or culture maybe. So this film explains some of the facts which partially inspired by a book by Sujatha, 'Jannal Malar'.

Once again, I'm very disappointed with the film length for an Indian film. It was just too long, but this is a well patched story with the twist and turns all the way till the final scene. Filled with kind of unpredictable stuffs. The script was the first best thing from it, followed by the performances by all and then decent quality production.

As I mentioned earlier about the runtime, I'm upset with the unnecessary songs and dances as well. Those music video tracks killed the rhythm of the narration. It might be okay for an Indian viewer, but if you an international audience, that's totally annoying. Same thing happened to the director's previous film 'Jigarthanda' as well. I consider 'Pizza' was his best work in that perspective, yet all his three films, including this is a great achievement, that's betters the average of the Indian cinema standard.

When it comes to the actors, it's good to see SJ Surya after a long time in his best performance. Vijay Sethu nailed his part. His character was simply outstanding and so his other co-star Bobby Simha. But in the actress section, it was Anjali who ruled alone with the par to the performances of her well acclaimed earlier films. Overall, with the next generation actors, it is one of the best multi-starrer from the Kollywood. Movies like this once again makes me watch the Tamil films as I was once a regular follower. As stated a few things I did not like from the film, yet I enjoyed watching it, so surely recommended.

8.5/10

The director has hit the bulls eye with his third film 'Iraivi' in conveying its feminist theme in a hard hitting manner.

Iraivi has a star studded cast that includes S.J.Suryah, Vijay Sethupathi, Bobby Simha, Anjali, Kamalini Mukherjee, Pooja Devariya, Radharavi, Karunakaran, Vadivukkarasi, Cheenu Mohan and many more.

This is the 3rd movie for vijay sethupathy, bobby simha, karunakaran,santhosh narayanan and karthik subburaj together.

Iraivi has something deep that is best felt than explained.

The biggest pillar of support for Iraivi is its cast.

SJ Suryah, surely proves his mettle as an actor while vijay sethupathi fits right in the bar.

The important characters like Anjali, Kamalini Mukherjee, Pooja Devariya brings their acting skills on the table.

Only karthick subburaj can bring out the best in bobby simha.

Vijay Sethupathi has nabbed a role where he has to emote all possible emotions out there.

The movie hits right in the cord and will definitely win accolades. Karthick subburaj retains his status as a cult film-maker.

Iraivi (2016): Karthik Subbaraj emerged as true gem for Indian Cinema in less time.He gave back to back critically acclaimed movies and his new movie Iraivi also got the same reception.I had huge expectations on Iraivi as I am a huge fan of Karthik Subbaraj.His movies Pizza and Jigarthanda are my favorite movies and I expected same from his Iraivi.How is it??

Plot: The story revolves around 3 men, Arul (SJ Surya), Jagan (Bobby Simha), who are brothers, and Micheal (Vijay Sethupathi) who is very close to them and considered a brother. Arul is a struggling director who becomes an alcoholic due to a fall out with his producer. This causes conflicts between him and his wife Yalini(Kamilinee Mukharjee). Jagan is a college student who frequently gets into fights and displays strong feminist views when drunk. He smuggles priceless statues every now and then, along with Micheal. Micheal, who was in a physical relationship gets married to another woman from an orthodox background. Micheal and his wife Ponni (Anjali) face conflicts due to his 'nosy' involvement in the brothers' problems. The plot unfolds as Arul's wife demands divorce, Micheal's wife becomes pregnant, and Jagan leads Micheal and a few others through another smuggling so as to obtain enough money to release Arul's film..

Plus Points:

1)Performances: Iraivi is one of the rare movies where everyone has important role to play in movie and everyone of them excelled in their respective roles.SJ Surya deserves a award as he gave brilliant performance as a struggling director who is drunkard.He shines in every scene he appears and deserves a huge applause.Vijay Sethupathi did very well as usual.Bobby Simha gave good performance and even looked handsome.From actress,both Kamilnee and Anjali gave wonderful performance.

2)Screenplay and Direction: Karthik Subbaraj deserves a special mention as he selected an entirely different theme which deals with feminism and their problems.This movie deals with men's actions affecting their wife's life.He showcased it very well with interesting scenes.Generally screenplay for these movies are hard to maintain but Karthik did splendidly well.

3)Music: Santhish Narayan never disappoints and the same happened here.He gave brilliant BGM and songs.Dhushta song is awesome and even its visual is perfect

Minus Points:

1)Many subplots: Iraivi has no specific story but it deals with lives of our lead characters.There are many subplots in this movie which is quite messy.But Karthik never let the movie become slow but this movie is not for everyone.

So Iraivi is a well crafted dark drama with brilliant performances and music and direction.

My rating 7.5/10

Firstly, I have to tell Karthik subbaraj is a genius.I could see this movie is definitely an inspiration from some Hollywood films and one film in particular which is "legends of the fall" but the director has cleverly tweaked as per tamil sensibilities and given a masterpiece of a film.The story is very unique and very relatable to the whole world.

The film has a dark feel to it and the way it has been shot is simply mesmerizing. Kudos to the DOP. His is a major contribution which makes the movie immensely likable.

SJ surya, vijay sethupathi and Anjali have given power packed performances and it elevates the film to a new level. Anjali lives the role and you cant think of anyone other than vijay sethupathi in his role which he nails it. SJ surya is the surprise packet and boy o boy he doesn't disappoint.

The most beautiful thing about this film is I was seeing what i wanted to see and it was so refreshing that i began writing a review for this film despite being the laziest person ever born in the universe.Mr subbaraj, keep them coming man. you are one hell of a talent and please make at least 2 films in a year.Then lastly music and the bgm were awesome as well.

After the horror-thriller Pizza (2012) and the gangster comedy- thriller Jigarthanda (2014), Karthik Subbaraj has become one of the most creative and talented directors in the Tamil film industry. This year, Subbaraj is back with his third venture titled Iraivi, which picks up the feminist concept. It stars S.J. Surya, Vijay Sethupathi, Bobby Simha, Anjali, Kamalinee Mukherjee and Pooja Devariya in the lead roles. Actors Radharavi, Vadivukarasi and Karunakaran play other pivotal roles.

Simply said this is a story for men about women. Subbaraj has focused on women's needs and men's priorities. Towards the end there's a powerful message about love, lust, betrayal, family life, brotherhood and the difference between men and women's behavior, needs and lifestyles.

S.J. Surya plays Arul, an alcoholic who once was a successful film director. Due to some issues with his producer his latest film has trouble to get released. Bobby Simha plays Jagan, Arul's troubled younger brother, and Vijay Sethupathi plays Michael; Arul and Jagan's friend who got married against his own wish.

The actors, especially S.J. Surya and Vijay Sethupathi has given life to their characters and have done their parts really well. We all know that S.J. Surya is a successful film director who has directed films such as Vaali (1999), Kushi (2000) and New (2004), but his acting career didn't go so well. This film in the other hand is definitely a turning point in his acting career. Vijay Sethupathi, an actor who has a household name in the industry is brilliant as always, but in this movie we will feel pity for him for all the things he goes through. Kamalinee Mukherjee and Anjali who play Arul and Michael's wives did a phenomenal job with their roles. Pooja Devariya who has the least screen time in the film does her part well too.

The film was beautifully shot by newcomer Sivakumar Vijayan and Vivek Harshan's editing is neat as always. This is the third time Santhosh Narayanan has scored music for a Karthik Subbaraj film. We all have enjoyed collaborations such as K. Balachandar-Ilayaraja and Mani Ratnam-A.R. Rahman, and these guys have proved that they are the next duo in this legendary list. The tracks ''Kadhal Kappal'' and ''Manidhi'' deserve to be mentioned. ''Kadhal Kappal'' is another funfilled Tamil folk song by Santhosh Narayanan which is mixed with old school jazz that has a catchy melody supported by guitar, strings and earthly rhythm section. ''Manidhi'' is an admirable feel-good song about hope and humanity which is played in the background in the climax scene. If you can easily get emotional, this scene will make you walk out of the theater with tears.

The only thing that I find negative about this film is its length. If they had cut out 10-15 minutes of the film, it could have kept the audience more engaging.

If you are looking forward to see another cult classic thriller film by Karthik Subbaraj, then this is definitely not a movie for you. This one is a family oriented drama, but a bold film which has a topic we rarely see in Tamil cinema.