Movie: Tata Birla
Cast: R.Parthiban, Koundamani,Rakshana, Manivannan
Music: Vidhaya sagar
Director:C.Ranganathan
Language: Tamil
Full Movie
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Review:
Mindless comedies, when they work, can be very entertaining. Once in a while, it is nice to check our brains out at the door and laugh at a film without any concern about its logic. Director Ranganathan had a golden oppurtunity with Parthiban and Koundamani, both of whom, when given the right script, can evoke guffaws with just their dialog delivery. But he squanders that chance with a movie that is funny occasionally but fails to evoke even a smile most of the time. Both Parthiban and Koundamani valiantly try to extract maximum mileage from the script but we just end up feeling sorry for them being saddled with a script that rarely works.
Even if not keeping us in splits, the movie would have atleast to managed to be entertaining if it had maintained its silly comedy till the end. But inexplicably, it takes a turn for the emotional with one of the characters sacrificing his life to save the heroine. Even if the movie returns to slapstick after this, the comic tone is damaged irreparably and it never recovers. The scene definitely belongs in another movie (another genre actually!) and is proof as to how much a single scene can damage an entire movie.
Ramanathan(Manivannan) has cleverly positioned himself as an affectionate uncle to his niece Priya(Rakshana). His gameplan has been in effect ever since she lost her parents when she was a kid and the will decried that her wealth would go to an orphanage if something happened to her. So he has pretended that she was all that mattered to him (even refusing marriage so he can take care of her) and the ruse has worked very well since Priya now thinks the world of him. Now that she owns her wealth, he blackmails Raja(Parthiban) and Ranjit(Koundamani), a couple of petty thieves, into killing her. But Raja naturally falls for her and turns saviour, trying to protect her from Ramanathan.
Parthiban and Koundamani have fun trading 'lollu' comments at each other and everyone around them as they meet and then get hired by Manivannan. Their first visit to Rakshana's house is one of the scenes where the script works well to generate laughs (like the Jyothilakshmi-Jyothimeena comment). The movie is at its best when the two of them are talking to each other. Their solo interactions with others does not have the same effect. But many of Parthiban's dialogs with Rakshana, like their conversation in the car, step into vulgar, double entendre territory.
The scene where Rakshana saves Parthiban without any concern for her 'maanam' is the first hint we get that the director does not hesitate to resort to sentiments right in the middle of a comedy sequence. But it is still an unpleasant surprise when the movie almost turns serious with 'Venniraadai' Murthy's sacrifice. His injury and hospitalisation, before this scene, bring back images of the hilarious sequence in Poove Unakkaaga where the comedian is hospitalised. But Murthy's situation in this case is used in aid of sentiments. Since he cannot talk, he has to sacrifice his own life so that people would believe him. The sequence reeks of sentimental manipulation right from the beginning with everyone jumping on Murthy unnecessarily when he does not allow Rakshana to eat the cake.
Looks like the director has not bothered about loose ends since it is a comedy. The biggest of these has to be the murder of the financier. A photograph incriminating Parthiban and Koundamani in the murder is what Manivannan uses to get them to do his bidding. But though the news is big enough to headline the newspaper the next day and the photo still exists, the topic is never touched upon. No closure there.
Parthiban and Koundamani do what they do in all their movies. Manivannan was a leading comedian by then and his teaming with Koundamani could've generated even more laughs. Unfortunately, he is portrayed as a villain which effectively smothers his chance at comedy. Rakshana didn't have much of a future in tamil movies and its pretty obvious why. She doesn't make much of a mark in either acting or dancing in her limited role. I feel Vidyasagar is one of the most underrated music directors in tamil cinema (he is now the most sought after music director in Malayalam!) but there's nothing to prove that here.
Mindless comedies, when they work, can be very entertaining. Once in a while, it is nice to check our brains out at the door and laugh at a film without any concern about its logic. Director Ranganathan had a golden oppurtunity with Parthiban and Koundamani, both of whom, when given the right script, can evoke guffaws with just their dialog delivery. But he squanders that chance with a movie that is funny occasionally but fails to evoke even a smile most of the time. Both Parthiban and Koundamani valiantly try to extract maximum mileage from the script but we just end up feeling sorry for them being saddled with a script that rarely works.
Even if not keeping us in splits, the movie would have atleast to managed to be entertaining if it had maintained its silly comedy till the end. But inexplicably, it takes a turn for the emotional with one of the characters sacrificing his life to save the heroine. Even if the movie returns to slapstick after this, the comic tone is damaged irreparably and it never recovers. The scene definitely belongs in another movie (another genre actually!) and is proof as to how much a single scene can damage an entire movie.
Ramanathan(Manivannan) has cleverly positioned himself as an affectionate uncle to his niece Priya(Rakshana). His gameplan has been in effect ever since she lost her parents when she was a kid and the will decried that her wealth would go to an orphanage if something happened to her. So he has pretended that she was all that mattered to him (even refusing marriage so he can take care of her) and the ruse has worked very well since Priya now thinks the world of him. Now that she owns her wealth, he blackmails Raja(Parthiban) and Ranjit(Koundamani), a couple of petty thieves, into killing her. But Raja naturally falls for her and turns saviour, trying to protect her from Ramanathan.
Parthiban and Koundamani have fun trading 'lollu' comments at each other and everyone around them as they meet and then get hired by Manivannan. Their first visit to Rakshana's house is one of the scenes where the script works well to generate laughs (like the Jyothilakshmi-Jyothimeena comment). The movie is at its best when the two of them are talking to each other. Their solo interactions with others does not have the same effect. But many of Parthiban's dialogs with Rakshana, like their conversation in the car, step into vulgar, double entendre territory.
The scene where Rakshana saves Parthiban without any concern for her 'maanam' is the first hint we get that the director does not hesitate to resort to sentiments right in the middle of a comedy sequence. But it is still an unpleasant surprise when the movie almost turns serious with 'Venniraadai' Murthy's sacrifice. His injury and hospitalisation, before this scene, bring back images of the hilarious sequence in Poove Unakkaaga where the comedian is hospitalised. But Murthy's situation in this case is used in aid of sentiments. Since he cannot talk, he has to sacrifice his own life so that people would believe him. The sequence reeks of sentimental manipulation right from the beginning with everyone jumping on Murthy unnecessarily when he does not allow Rakshana to eat the cake.
Looks like the director has not bothered about loose ends since it is a comedy. The biggest of these has to be the murder of the financier. A photograph incriminating Parthiban and Koundamani in the murder is what Manivannan uses to get them to do his bidding. But though the news is big enough to headline the newspaper the next day and the photo still exists, the topic is never touched upon. No closure there.
Parthiban and Koundamani do what they do in all their movies. Manivannan was a leading comedian by then and his teaming with Koundamani could've generated even more laughs. Unfortunately, he is portrayed as a villain which effectively smothers his chance at comedy. Rakshana didn't have much of a future in tamil movies and its pretty obvious why. She doesn't make much of a mark in either acting or dancing in her limited role. I feel Vidyasagar is one of the most underrated music directors in tamil cinema (he is now the most sought after music director in Malayalam!) but there's nothing to prove that here.
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