Rajapalayam and Then Mala - The(a) Vera Level Trip

Another trip with my KONE gang after more than a year. All my previous trips were "Krishna's Wedding Trip", "Dharun's Wedding Trip", "Muthu's Wedding Trip", but no wedding this time and this trip is called "The(a) Vera Level Trip" organized by Mano, co-organized by Ram. First of all, I didn't even believe this trip would happen even on Thursday when we are supposed to start on Friday night. We fixed the date months ago, but didn't even talk about it. And, I have even decided to go on another trip with my Visteon friends on the same date and that's when Ram pinged and reminded about this trip. Then, we even got lucky with Tatkal tickets to Rajapalayam and five members grew to eight and we were set to go.

After Gramathil Oru Naal

First surprise Ram reached the station before all of us, which was certainly once in a lifetime for him. And, when the train started these guys started their dinner and it went on even after we crossed Chenagalpattu. And, I didn't know this would be the theme of the whole trip. Eating.

Right after reaching Rajapalayam everyone wanted some Vadai with Tea. But, we settled for "muttakos" bonda, Bhajjis, Banana and Coffee. Little did I know this would end up as my breakfast. From station, we went to R. Mano cottage, our organizer's house. On the way, we stopped quite a few times to purchase, charcoal, fish, chicken, masala items, etc and finally reached his house. I thought these guys were joking when they said they are gonna be barbecuing, but they were really serious with the purchases, even bought a barbecue grill and started seasoning the chicken and fish right after reaching his home.

So, we decided to go to our first destination "Thalaianai". On the way, we plucked some leaf to eat, then stopped to get some lunch, where we had some "Pearl Millet porridge" (ya googled) and kinda finished everything he had and got some parcels of Parotta, omelets, and gravy and finally reached the destination. And, then the twist in the tale was it was closed and no one was allowed inside. Then, we tried someplace near only to find a pump set and a thatha. And, we had a DSLR and the memory card we had didn't suit, so the DSLR was useless. Then, when we decided to eat the parotta, we found that the gravy and omelet cover was missing.

After these series of unfortunate events, thanks to that thatha in that farm we started bathing in that pump set and guys started barbecuing in that hot sun, thinking it's going to be easy. Meanwhile, our organizers found the river nearby that farm. It was wonderful, the flow was too good and nobody was there. We spent enough time then finished the remaining things to cook and took some photos in that lush green and started to Then Mala. Thanks to that thatha to help cook it fast and also for giving us the gravy he had. So, that's the end of our Gramathil Oru Naal and I won't forget having Parotta with curd.

Then Mala: On the way stopped for a tea and had that Vadai which we were looking for in the morning, then some murukku, omelet which we lost, some parotta as well and ended with the tea which we were supposed to have. And, reached Then Mala and went to have the dinner and back to the room. The dormitory was so hot and we thought of switching to AC room, but they said, the "mist" will reach by 12:30 and it would be cooler later. And, it did reach it seems cause it got cold later in the night.

Next day, the morning we decided to go to Mekkadu falls, Isfield Estate which we missed during my last trip. So, Once again it was closed, but thankfully there was an old man who opened the gate after we bought tickets. It was a small, but wonderful falls amidst rubber trees and since it's a private falls, nobody was there and no one came until we left as well.

Isfield Estate, Mekkadu Falls

Then after the breakfast and some tea and fruits and some mixtures, we went to the adventure zone in Then Mala. It was fun all the way, and one man Joseph really became a child and enjoyed every adventure ride there. He was planning to take his family there, but I am sure he's gonna enjoy more than his kid. And, if he attends police selection, I think he will pass them with flying colors. The Flying fox where we crossed the river in the air and Ball Roller were too good and too much fun.

Flying Fox, Ball Roller, etc

After finishing the remaining oranges and apples, we went to have the "kulukki" sharbhat which I had the last time. This time there was a different shop, but the taste was not great. And, some buttermilk, pineapples, mango, amla and one awful fruit called "bubbly mass".

The next destination was "13 kannara bridge" where Tamil M A climax was shot. Last time we crossed this spot without knowing its significance. And, Ram, came out from his 96 "Life of Ram" and became "Prabha" of Tamil MA here.

Ram as Prabha

After spending too much time we started to "Border Parotta". On the way, we stopped to have some "Pathaneer" for 1000 RS, (konjam overa than poromo). Since we need some time before we eat in Border Parotta, we went to that place called Courtrallam which was near that Border Parotta. But, that doesn't stop us from trying some "ilai" halwa, nentharam chips and chilly bajjis. After, clicking some pictures in front of that gigantic falls we went to border parotta to finish the early dinner and ended it with a sweet beeda and decided this is the last item we would be eating before leaving from this trip.

From there we reached Rajapalayam playing antakshari in some two hours and much earlier to our standards. We had more than an hour left before boarding the bus. But, I have never played Antakshari like this before thanks to the judge Mano. He does not just give the starting letter of the song, he even sings a song and both the teams have to just repeat it. He was playing antakshari with himself. And, also shared some funny story about his friend who might be the inspiration behind Vijay Sethupathi's character in iDhaba.

The return journey was awful, I took the last sleeper seat on the bus and I was literally flying up and down. And, the driver was asking 5K from us to fill the diesel. Finally, he managed to reach Chennai on time to end our trip. I must say it was like a movie I went in without any expectations and without even knowing the genre. I really liked the twists and turns it had and it was really "The(a) Vera Level Trip".

I might have missed some food items so do check this post as well: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=726331854395163&set=a.127282824300072&type=3&theater

Vada Chennai - Epic

Another excellent addition to Tamil Cinema this year after Pariyerum Perumal, Ratsasan and 96. And, we get an epic Vada Chennai from Vetri Maran after his terrific Visaranai.

Everyone was hearing about this Vada Chennai from Vetri Maran for quite some time, years actually. Dhanush, Simbu, Vijay Sethupathi, Jeeva and finally with Dhanush as an actor and a producer as well. I thought this film would never see the light of day just like Marudhanayagam, but I am glad it did. And, even more, glad that they didn't go for a U or U/A certificate and went with A certificate to make this movie as raw as possible with a lot of swear words not getting muted.

If we see the story in just Anbu's pov, he was just a good carrom player and wants to become a national level player, but destiny had other ideas and he gets linked to too many things unknowingly which changes his life completely.

Vetri Maran, once again he proves himself as one of the best screenwriters in recent time. Each and every character were so detailed. Even this first part itself could have been made into two different films since I was ready to know more about Kishore, Samuthurakani, Pawan, and Andrea.

The best thing about Vada Chennai are the characters. Each and everyone was unique and you don't get bored seeing anyone on screen. Right from Kishore, Pawan, Samuthrakani, Daniel Balaji, Aishwarya Rajesh, Andrea, Ameer, and Dhanush, everyone fits perfectly for their roles and their performances were so natural. I really wish to see Kishore in more movies.

Dhanush has shown enough varieties during each phase as a carrom player, then in the jail and towards the end as a gangster. And, Aishwarya Rajesh and Andrea were terrific too. After the poetic much-loved heroine entry of Jaanu in 96, here comes an absolute shocking intro for a heroine, Aishwarya Rajesh because of her very first dialogue.

The whole jail set was just terrific and looked very original. And, each and every area gives the much-needed authenticity to the story and everyone belongs to the story so we never feel anything was artificial.

Once again I say this year belongs to SaNa in terms of music. After, Kaala, Pariyerum Perumal he's back with a bang here as well. It was a fitting 25th movie for this composer. Those two themes which were already part of the audio release were terrific and elevates the scenes perfectly. Especially it fits very well for the Rajan character (Ameer), whose portions were the highlight of this first part. As Vetri Maran said in one interview, I will be glad to see a prequel for this about the Rajan character alone.

So, coming back to Vetri Maran, he turns a revenge and a gangster saga into an epic with his terrific characters. Though I guessed what could be the basic plot, Vetri Maran had enough surprises and twists which unveils whatever I have guessed. And, also the pace the story was unveiled was good as well. The story is nicely set up where the one line of the second part could be close to Kaala, but here the trouble is not external. So, waiting to see more about Anbu, Chandra (Andrea), etc and their plans.

Vada Chennai, lives up to the expectation and hype it created since I've been hearing about this movie for ten years. And, it was totally worth the wait and it was just an intro to Anbu and looking forward to the next parts. 

96 - பேரன்பே காதல்

மாற்றங்களே வினா. மாற்றங்களே விடை.

What-ifs are always beautiful. Everyone has at least one moment in their life where they would still think what-if I've done that differently. 

That's a hat-trick of good movies in Tamil cinema I've seen in a week. This is rare, a very rare phenomenon. And, the hat-trick is 96 after Pariyerum Perumal and Ratsasan. It's not necessary that you should be a Ram and have a Jaanu in your life to enjoy this. Ram and Jaanu story itself was so beautiful we can very well feel the love. 

96, right from the title design we know it's going to kindle our 90s memories. And, even the story and what we can expect was pretty clear from that teaser and a trailer. And, also it was evident that the music was gonna play a bigger role. Never ever in Tamil Cinema, I've seen a musical piece receiving the applause as much as this "Kadhale Kadhale" musical bit got right when the credits rolled or when Trisha introduced. The third hero apart from VJS and Trisha is obviously Govind Vasantha and his violin.

The story starts with "Life of Ram" song, where we see him travel around lonely and ends with a long shot of him writing his name and I think "Jaanu" too in a beach. So, that's Ram, unmarried, single, wanderer, who still loves Jaanu. So, who's this Jaanu? When Ram accidentally crosses his hometown, he visits his school and where he wanders around, but I was expecting them to cut to the flashback, no, the director didn't. So, it rekindles his memory and that leads to the get-together of 96 batch after 20 years. When Ram hears Jaanu's name, we get the much-awaited flashback and get to know that Jaanu. And, also a night Ram and Jaanu get to spend together after 20 years.

Jaanu, short for Janaki Devi, who is a good singer, sings only S. Janaki's songs. These school days portions are cute and we see the innocent love that develops and how the friends find out and help them. And, Ram kept forming waves in his hands asking his friends to tell Jaanu to sing Yamunai Aatrile, but she keeps singing other Janaki songs which are subtle message to Ram. And, she does sing Yamunai Aatrile, but not when he expects her to sing.

After seeing Jaanu in the flashback, everybody was expecting Trisha and there she comes after almost an hour with the much-loved BGM, the whole theatre erupts. I don't remember any of the heroine introduction this much loved like this in recent times. Then, like the famous red-velvet scene in Premam, we have a fried-rice scene here where Govind Vasantha once again just elevates it with his beautiful music. Another scene, where they go through his suitcase with his memories which contains his school uniform shirt, her dupatta which oozes "palaya vasanai". And, that end shot too, so good where her jeans and dress goes into that suitcase and this night too as a memory.

Ram and Jaanu, both the young actors and VJS, Trisha have done wonderfully. And, their friends as well, Divya Darshini, Aadukalam Murugadoss, and Bhagavathi and their younger version actors as well. Also, nice to see Janagaraj in a small role.

And, half the credits and praise for Jaanu goes to Chinmayi as well for her dubbing and singing all the songs. Not just the songs in the album, those beautiful Ilayaraja songs as well, Thendral Vanthu and Yamunai Aatrile. Everyone clapped instinctively after her Thendral Vanthu rendition at the reunion. And, whoever sang for the younger Jaanu as well.

So, Premkumar makes an excellent debut and also amazing screenplay to keep you hooked for nearly three hours with just two characters. A very natural VJS and Trisha, Govind Vasantha's music and songs help big time. And, so many beautiful shots around Chennai in that night by the cinematographer.

And, the most beautiful part of this movie is even here there's a 'what-if' portion that comes in the second half where Jaanu narrates her imaginary story of VJS's proposal to VJS's students. Both, of them, know that was a big moment which changed both their lives. 'What-if' Jaanu had seen Ram or 'what-if' Ram have waited and met her in person. So, we get Jaanu's version of 'what-if'. No other visual could have justified the "Kadhale Kadhale" song as well. That was literally the best part of this movie for me. I wish the movie ended right there I could have just imagined Ram and Jaanu are now together in some other parallel time.

Ratsasan - High Intense Thriller

Not often you get to see back-to-back great movies in big screen. And, it happened this week. After Pariyerum Perumal, here comes another contender for movie of the year Ratsasan. Director Ram Kumar is back after four years with Vishnu Vishal, Kaali Venkat and Munishkanth again after Mundasupatti. And, oh boy, this is completely different and vera level.

Ratsasan, right from the trailer we are clear that we are in for a treat if we love this genre involving Psycho serial-killer. And, yes those who love this genre are gonna enjoy this much, just like me. I felt like I forgot to breathe for the most part of the movie. I don't remember watching a Tamil movie with this much intensity right from the first scene till the very end. And, in these kind of movies the intensity could be missing once we get to know the identity of the killer, but director Ram Kumar made sure it doesn't slip even after we know the killer.

So, the story, hero Vishnu was an aspiring filmmaker who wants to make a movie based on a serial-killer, but he couldn't get the green light from any producer. After struggling for years and due to his family pressure, he joins as an SI in the police department. And, then a murder happens and because of his research, he thinks it's a serial-killer. And, how he convinces his colleagues, who were not ready to take orders from "nethu-vantha-unnakku-ennada-teriyum" SI, especially his lady chief officer and proceeds to find the killer is the story which was told without even wasting a single second. Even the heroine character was not the typical love story which runs parallel to the main story, the director somehow involves her as well.

The two pillars of this movie are Ram Kumar's screenplay and Ghibran's music. It was absolutely spine-chilling. He just turns simple shots to a different level with his work. Those BGMs still rings in your ears even after you have left the theatre. This is not a horror movie, yet you have the constant fear of what's 'bad' going to happen.

This is director's second movie after four years. I think he took so much time in perfecting the script and rewriting so many rough draft before locking into this perfect script. Even the title written on a piano has a significance and all the gift boxes as well.

Vishnu looks perfect as a policeman, but it is Munishkanth who impressed me a lot with not just his laughs, but also in emotional scenes, what a changeover. Even Vishnu's egoistic chief police officer was good who couldn't let herself to accept Vishnu is right. And, there was a creepy maths teacher as well. Whose character is to make people aware of whom might be around us.

I feel this kind of film doesn't need a soppy flashback to justify the actions behind the psycho killer, but at least it wasn't cliched or boring as well. The only logical question I have was how did the police department get that hearing aid of that girl? I don't think the killer would have packed the girl with that hearing aid or even the police don't know where the murder took place. But, it is just me nitpicking in an otherwise flawless thriller. 

Ratsasan, a well-researched movie with a gripping screenplay which doesn't lose it intensity and doesn't have any unwanted comedy track or love track or unwanted songs. Keeps you hooked and it will make you follow Vishnu for the clues in finding the killer and also in a constant fear of what might happen.

Pariyerum Perumal B.A B.L

After a disappointing first half in 2018, Tamil cinema is giving us some best movies with some entertaining and important movies like CoCo, Merku Thodarchi Malai and this. And, this, Pariyerum Perumal is the best movie of this year 2018. Not just because of what it talks, but also how it talks. The "how" was far more interesting than most of the commercial movies. It never gets into the brooding Bala movie mode and also doesn't compromise like Ranjith's commercial mode as well. It was a well balanced bloody good movie, even if you don't care about the message. I usually think we should see a movie as just a movie, but definitely not for this one. This one shows us the reality and it's ugly.

Mari Selvaraj starts the movie with a gory murder of Pari's pet Karuppi. It will literally shock you and make you feel his pain and also register Karuppi with an awesome song by SaNa. And, yes our hero knows who's behind, but doesn't want a revenge, he knows what's more important, he joins law college to study and become a doctor (yeah, watch the movie). He introduces himself as Pariyerum Perumal BA BL, mela oru kodu, whose only aim is to study. He doesn't want to get into any fight and just want to study. He was literally 0 in English and was ridiculed in his class and heroine Jo (Ananthi) helps him learn. He wasn't against English, he just needs someone to teach him. Also we get some good back stories about how he passed English in his 10th, 12th and also why he took Law. And, like Jo some of us may wonder "wow, he has a story behind everything", unlike us where we just did what we are told to do.

Jo is obviously from an upper class and she develops love feelings over Pari. She invites him to her sister's wedding. Where we know what's going to happen and it did happen. Jo's relatives beat him for accepting her invitation for coming to the function. He just saw her as a classmate, but her relatives don't. From, then on everything changes with Pari, he asks himself "Naan Yaar", with a soaring song from SaNa and then begins to ask himself, why he's not allowed to attend that wedding? why he can't sit in front of the class? He distances himself from Jo, without telling her the actual reason, even to his friend played by terrific Yogi Babu.

Wonderful performance from Kathir as Pariyerum Perumal. He was just terrific, we can easily feel his anger, pain both physical and emotional. Aanandhi as Jo too with a cute performance. Yogi Babu is having a terrific year and he's growing high in every movie and with a fantastic character which never ridicules his appearance to make fun.

Mari Selvaraj in his first movie has asked a lot of troubling questions, just like his song Naan Yaar. But, what made me more surprised was the hero's father character. Haven't seen anything like this in Tamil cinema before. And, an old man who does murders thinking he's doing a service. The principal who understands what he's going through and also his dialogues, "room la thooku maati savurahukku bathila sandai pottu sagattum", "avungala thirutha mudiathu la, ivana mattum ethukku adakka ninaikureenga". I would say this was even better than Pa. Ranjith's Madras or Kabali or Kaala. And, SaNa was terrific with the songs and BGMs. That one scene where Karuppi comes back to wake up Pari at the railway track with SaNa's Naan Yaar prelude, literally had goosebumps. SaNa's collaboration with Ranjith always produced better songs, here even though he was a producer, not a director. The visuals, editing, dialogues everything was just perfect.

And, obviously, Jo and Pari love doesn't succeed, but did Pari really love her? He never confessed that he loves her or not. The climax was so good that leaves you heartbroken without any tragedy. You cannot say this as a negative climax, like what Bala does, but still, it will leave you with a heavy heart, especially Pari's last dialogue to Jo's father.
"நீங்க நீங்களா இருக்குற வரைக்கும்.. நாங்க (நாயாக) தான் இருக்கணும்னு நீங்க நினைக்கிற வரைக்கும் இங்க எதுவும் மாறாது". What's most troubling in this line is that நீங்க, it not only represents Jo's father, even Jo's generation, her brother and cousins the current generation as well. That's more troubling, how many more generations it will take to change these?