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 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

Right from the first frame till the final frame, Ajith has lived the role of a Villain perfectly. (Who would have thought this being his 50th movie !). His evil filled laughter, his styles, his dialogue delivery and more importantly his dance moves were way too good. Thala has proved that he is indeed the "King Maker" as he himself says that in the movie. Rest of the cast just form the cast except Arjun who has portrayed a cop role in a stylish manner. Songs by Yuvan are usual to his standards. Direction by Venkat is good for the major portions of the later half of the movie. First half is slightly slower but gathers momentum as the movie proceeds. Despite few flaws here and there, we forget them at the end thanks to a great climax and a great performance by Ajith all the way. Surely a movie worth watching twice or even more.

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 an Ajith movie all the way. It is a complete action thriller that will narrate the match fixing sagas in international cricket matches.

First time in Tamil cinema history Hero playing totally negative role. Only we show on Hollywood movies.

Mankatha is a racy movie with many twists that keeps everyone glued to the screen till the end of the film. At the end of the movie the bloopers shown of the all the stars are quite a laugh riot.

Undoubtedly Mankatha music composed by the popular Tamil music director Yuvan Shankar Raja is rocking Ajith fans already.