Star

Kalai (Kavin) since his childhood is encouraged by his father to be an actor. Kalai's family consists of his photographer father, mother, elder sister and bedridden grandmother. His mother worries for his future whereas rest of the family supports his dream. He joins engineering but his sole ambition is to become an actor and thus a star. His first teacher is his father and all he has learnt about acting as well as life is through him. When Kalai dedicates his time to earn his opportunity, what challenges life throws at him and how does these challenges shapes him up while his core dream remains intact, forms rest of the story.

To put it upfront, I was blown away by Elan's vision. His writing is the soul of this film and the way he conceptualize the scenes and even stages them is what left me mesmerized. The very first scene with Kavin as a kid with his father doing the makeup while the mother rushes them, a sleepy sister and a missing moustache. The scene felt like designed specifically for the father to utter the dialogue about an actor's calibre but the throwback it receives in the terrific single shot climax sequence made me sit up instantly. Cinema won right there and I have spent the last 5mins recommending this film everyone in my contact.

The film is not without it's flaws though. The second half is completely melodramatic as well as preachy and the character of Surabi played by Aditi Pohankar was deliberately written to save Kalai. She was definitely very good in her role but it reminded me of Samantha's role in Majili and to have one character worship the hero to this extent didn't work well for me. Not just her, even with the family and friends, Elan pulled the strings too tight. Sure I my eyes went numb several times but compared to the excellent first half, the second half kept falling short until the magical climax. There is an extraordinary scene with the two heroines exchanging a simple thank you and I so wished these two characters had a better arc, because they simply deserved it.

Star... it's all about the star named Kavin , what a brilliant actor he is , good found for Tamil movie . If not for him this movie would have been more boring . The movie is all about a long struggle a person undergoes to get into movie industry and most of it sounds true . The movie had one more star which made the crowd go excited was none but Yuvan, he sticks to his unique styling of doing music. While most of it sounds heard before types still it was high on energy and gelled well with the storyline . His music definitely sounds different from Arr, Ani and many... direct Dil Ke...The storyline is simple and has shades of many other movies, and to mention again it's Yuvan's music that gave more life to the scenes . The Ghazal song was a bumper . Class. Talking about the cast , they were definitely beautiful , beyond Kavin , Lal made a classic lifetime performance alongside Geetha Kailasam who comes in as Kavin's mom . Most of the times she put up a very realistic performance but at times overdid it too. Preity Mukhundan was seriously charming and putting up all possible cuteness to her character and performance . Impressive . The movie was definitely missing her in the second half and that's when Aditi Sudhir came up with her rocksolid performance ensuring to make people forget the past (Preity 🙂). The movie had lots of references to other super hit movies including the famous song from Pudhupettai which suited more to this Star than the original . Many such things ensured fun and Star movie was all about performances and super entertaining first half , and it happened . The interval block , then the movie went bizarre and it was seriously dragging and at times depressing which was unexpected . Sure , that's where the viewers would have lost interest and started a desperate wait for it to end . Director Elan still tried hard to get the movie on the track with few promising scenes , still couldn't save the drag . Editing and Trimming of the movie length was much desired there . If it had happened , sure Star would have been a Super-Star. Missed. Good for OTT. Overall Star, Dimming.

Kavin's performance in "Star" shines brightly, capturing the essence of an artist's struggle with a compelling narrative that resonates deeply. Directed by Elan, the film is a poignant portrayal of ambition and resilience, set against the backdrop of the Tamil film industry. Yuvan Shankar Raja's music elevates the emotional core of the story, while Lal's portrayal of a supportive father adds depth to the narrative. The film's surprises and twists keep the audience engaged, culminating in a satisfying climax that leaves a lasting impression. "Star" is a testament to the power of dreams and the unyielding human spirit. Overall, it's a must-watch that scores a solid 5/5.

RATED 6/10 Language: Tamil Source: Amazon prime

The movie has all potential including cast, director, music and nice touch on story, but still failed as a movie. Its very unfortunate to fell short of to orchestrate this great assembling... Totally missed opportunity.

1: They failed to convey the struggling of hero to become star... just roaming around Bombay streets without money not at all add any value 2. Two heroines and both of their love and separation was handled very badly... moving from one pair to another pair is just like tuning one page to another page.... 3. Lot of places you can still feel the serial drama making and cliche dialogs and run off the mill scenes...

The only good point I can see that the connection between first and last scene... it was ultimate. Its really touched and I rated 6 just because of this scene...

Expected to see a fun, coming-of-age drama related to the struggles of an aspiring actor, ended up seeing more of a sentimental journey with its share of ups and downs (~unfortunately more downs than ups). Both the love stories in the film, while neatly performed, had problems in the writing. The "acting" struggles barely scratch the surface, and the screenplay rushes through these parts to focus on the protagonist's personal, physical, and mental hardships. While the writing feels somewhat derivative, the production design and locations carry a lived-in feel.

Lal puts in a worthwhile performance as the protagonist's father, even when his dialect seems to be a persistent bother. Kavin gets to showcase more of his acting chops here and proves he's ready to be moulded in the hands of Tamil cinema's capable filmmakers. The leading ladies (Preity Mukhundan and Aditi Pohankar) have good screen presence, and I'd love to see them featured more (in better scripts, i.e.). Aside from Kavin, the real star of the film is Yuvan. The songs and the score blend seamlessly with the visuals.