Under The Spotlight: Iru Mugan

Iru Mugan... The trailer alone was enough to give us all goosebumps.. Vikram is a man who knows no end in pushing himself to the limit. The trailer revealed that there will be two Vikram in it, one being a bearded looking Vikram who seems to be a cop in an undercover operation with Nithyaa Menon being is cop partner and Nayanthara being his love interest. It also shows another Vikram which looks to be a transgender criminal and thus why the film is called Iru Mugan ( 2 Faces)

Story Review

The film takes off right away with an attack on the Indian Embassy in Malaysia. Just that this didn't look right a regular terrorist because a 70 year old man manage to take down a bunch of police force single handily. That's right a 70 year old man takes down cops and he does it with just a puff of an Asthma inhaler.

After reviewing the CCTV footage, they identified that the mastermind behind this attack is an individual named "Love" which was believed to be dead 4 years ago thanks to one of their agent named Akilan portrayed by Vikram.

The film moves forward with Akilan having glimpse of his past and how he killed Love before and is unsure if Love is really alive or is someone else using Love's network to organised this terrorist attack. Nevertheless he is determined to bring the mastermind down. Akilan is shown to be a man with no remorse and emotions and he is only focused in bring this mastermind down.

A series of event leads to Akilan discovering who Love really is and a major plot twist spices up the film. From this point the film moves forward with Akilan trying to bring Love and his grand plan down and a Vikram vs Vikram climax battle  ensures the end of the film

Rating: 3.0/5.0

Director Review

Anand Shankar

Would you believe that this is just Anand Shankar's second film only. Huge credit to him for coming up with a proper entertainer. It is a very bold move by such a new director to come up with a script revolving a transgender criminal. Not many would have dared to so and huge credit to him.

I enjoyed how he tried to connect his fictional story to actual historical events and exploring the darker side of Malaysia like movie piracy, prostitution, corruption and fake medications.

The strength of the film is the natural rawness which is portrayed by Akilan and the pace of the film from the moment go. The film was intense and it was nice to see a proper cop vs criminal movie unlike those normal commercial entertainers. 

The downside of the film for me comes down to three points

• Censorship
• Timing of the songs
• Pace change in the second half

The film was brilliant until when they started cutting things off the film which really disrupted the flow of the film. The worse part was when the build up to the hospital scene. I had no idea who where they searching or why are they even going to the hospital. Took me a couple of scenes later to connect with the film again. This I wouldn't blame the director for it.

For me it was very clear that the film was written with songs into it. Personally I felt that the director just tried to fit in the songs into the film because all Tamil film's needs songs. The film would have been stronger without any songs in it except the last one.

The intensity of the first half was brilliant. Got me glued to the screen. Although I anticipated some of the twist of the film but the director did well to keep it wrapped. But something just seems to have happened in the second half and the pace seemed to have drop and lost it's grip on the audience 

Rating: 3.0/5.0  

The Cast

Vikram

Is there any role that this guy can't do. Vikram never fails to amaze with every film he does, he loves to push himself to the limit. This man is the symbol of effort and dedication. His portrayal of the character Love will go on and gain him applause for sure. I think he portrayal as a transgender was more convincing than an actual transgender. The way he changes his body language, the way he speaks and his mannerism. Magical stuff.

But what impressed me more was his role of Akilan in the darker shades.

I enjoyed how he portrayed a character with no remorse and emotions. He was all out to capture Love and it was so convincing. He held the character well and went all out to ensure that he gave two very very distinguished performance.

 Rating: 4.5/5.0

Nayanthara & Nithya Menon

Again it was an easy selection to choose Nayanthara for the role of Meera. I don't know anyone else better to pull off an action girl role. She was amazing in Billa and she was amazing here again in Irumugam.

Her character had a lot of potential to develop into many direction but I was dissapointed the director did not utilize it and choose to focus more on the Vikram vs Vikram portion

On the other hand, I felt Nithya Menon's character could have been given to a new face. Not that she is not good, in fact it was the other way round. She is an amazing actress and this character was a waste of her talent. I don't know why she decided to take it up. She has bags of potential and this film did not come anywhere close to fulfill her potential.

The rating won't be too high as there wasn't  much of a significant contribution to the film by the actress .

 Rating: 3.2/5.0

The Music

Harris Jeyaraj

I truly enjoyed "Helena" the most. It was peppy and lovely and the songs gets you going whenever you hear it. Meanwhile "Irumugam Settai" was a fast number I enjoyed. The balance two songs were also good but I felt other than "Irumugam Settai" none of the 3 songs had a place in the film. Good songs but wrong film I would say

Another credit to Harris would be the BGM. Right place right time and it keeps you connected to the film. Also note that whenever a character uses "Speed" and when they move there will be those little cyborg machine sound. I think that's another fantastic touch by Harris

 Rating: 3.3/5.0

Final Verdict: Irumugam, a refreshing take on Special Agents vs Masterminds but needs a little more polishing

Final Rating: 3.4/5.0

It's Time To Let Go

It easy to be angry on an individual and hold on a grudge towards them. We all have experienced this in at least one phase of our lives or maybe we might be holding on a grudge onto someone right now.

Why do we do that? Because that is the easiest way to handle the issue.

I too have been in this scenario in my life time. Maybe even one too many times. Yet among all, there is this one grudge which I used to hold on to is what I regret the most in my life. It was a tough time back at home that time and things were at an all time low emotionally and mentally for me. I was a state where I was so weak and vulnerable towards the happenings around me.

Those who I expected to be there during those times of crisis were no where to be found and looking at things around me happening, I got so angry and upset and went on to hold on a grudge which would last for a couple of years.

What I gained from this grudge? Nothing.... Absolutely nothing! In fact I have lost out more than I should have. Of cause, at that point of time I was deeply upset and hurt but I should have learned to let it go. I didn't and I ended hurting people and losing people.

Eventually over time I learnt to let things go and forgive people in my mind, but letting go of grudge shouldn't end just there. Make things up before things are too late. Usually we wait and wait until death befalls upon on of us before we regret of not making up.

Why must death be the ultimate reminder to us to learn to let go and forgive people. This is still a work in progress to me and I am still working on how I can make up to people who I have hold on a grudge for many years.

What triggered me into writing this was when I saw a couple of young kids over social media fighting and humiliating each other over the smallest of issues. But it didn't stop there, even once the storm have calmed and the issues have seemed to have passed by, they still seem to hold the grudge and put up insults and humiliates the person they have a grudge on indirectly. Shameful I tell you.

I wish the younger generation learns to let go of their grudge and be the bigger person to forgive and forget. Make up for lost time, smile and be happy. There is this saying "A minute of anger is 60 seconds of happiness lost". It is ok to be angry and upset, but learn to let it go. Forgiving someone and making up to things can go a long way into making both life wonderful.

I won't blame the younger generation of doing this because it is easy to be in such position. I myself too was once doing it. I have learned to let things go but I had to learn it on my own. How I wish I had someone back than to advise me that. Maybe I would have matured up and learnt to forgive people much earlier. I did not have that, that's is why I am hoping this post serves that person.

"IT IS OK TO LET GO OF YOUR GRUDGE AND FORGIVE PEOPLE"

The Short Story Series: Episode 3: After When James Meet Amanda

Link to Episode 1: When James Meets Amanda

Link to Episode 2: When James Actually Meets Amanda

This is a day I will never forget in my life. The day I learnt that I will never have Amanda in my life anymore. She has moved on and found someone better in life. Why did I bump into her today? My life was good until the moment I saw her today.

Seeing her today gave me a glimpse of hope that maybe we could make up for lost time and work out a relationship, only to know at the end that she is with Mike. It hurts, it hurts so bad than the time we actually broke up before.

As she left I immediately left the mall to go back home. I wasn't able to think straight and felt I just needed to sleep things off and hope this never happened. As I reach home trying to put my thoughts aside to get some sleep, hoping I will just forget that I met Amanda today, I somehow just couldn't do it. Her smile, her eyes, her warmth and her voice was all lingering in my mind.

I grab my car keys and drove to the nearest pub downtown. I thought maybe with a couple of drinks, I would be able to get some sleep tonight and not think about Amanda. I had my usual Jack Daniel's on the rocks sitting on the counter pondering on how things could have turned out for me.

After having one too many drinks, I was starting to feel the world around me being a little light. I knew I already had enough to drink and would call it a day to go home and sleep. As I was about to enter my car, I begin to hear some sound coming towards my right, a couple of meters away from me.

Initially I wanted to ignore it, but than I heard a lady shouting "I have had enough of you David! I can't take this anymore" followed by the guy screaming "You know what Jessica, get the fuck out of my place tonight! That's it I am leaving you! We are over!" and goes on to slap her!

Usually I would just ignore this situations when it happens. Being an introvert that I am, I hardly would bother to interfere into another person's personal issue. After all scenes like this is normal at a pub. So much so no one at the pub even bothers to get themselves involved in it.

Yet on that day, for reason I don't even know, I had the urge to step in and do something about it. I don't know who this girl was or what is the issue between them, but I just had the feel I should protect her. And so that is what I did.

"Dude back off man, don't you go hitting a woman" I said, in to which he replied "Who the fuck are you, are you sleeping with my girl. This is my girl, I'll slap her or I'll kiss her it's none of your business so back off!" Honestly I was stunned, I felt stupid getting into their problem. He was right, who am I to get into their problem. So I thought it was best I just left the scene.

"What do you mean your girl? Seconds ago you just broke up with me and chased me out of the house and now you are saying I am your girl? No way David. I am fucking done with you and your bullshit. I am leaving" She said and she continued to me, "Would you mind giving me a lift away from this place. I just need to get out of here." "My pleasure. I will drop you where you need to go" I said.

"You know what Jessica, go ahead, go with any random guy you see. You can sleep with him for fucks sake. We are done" he screamed as he stormed off in his car". I was amazed with the way he dealt with his girlfriend, well in this case now who his ex girlfriend.

To break the awkward silence, I introduced my self to her, "Hi I am James, I live around the neighborhood. I am going to grab a quick bite. Do you want to follow me for a bite else I will drop you where you want to go."

She said, "Since he wants me out of the house so that means as of this point I am actually homeless haha. Yeah sure lets grab a bite and I'll figure something on the way. By the way I am Jessica and thank you so much for stepping in just now or else I don't know how it would have gone down tonight. Thank you for liberating me from his clutches James."

We drove towards a nearby cozy cafe which I usually go for my supper bites. It was a little late but since I was a regular, the shop owner entertained us although he was preparing to call it a night. He took our orders and went off to prepare our meals.

Me and Jessica begun talking and I felt an instant connection towards her. It was as if I knew her for many years and it was very easy to open up to her. We finished our meals and the shop owner told to just pulled the shutter down when I am leaving before leaving. Well it is not the first time he has done this, since I am a regular here he often asks me to close the shop up for him as I come in for my late suppers so that he can head home first.

With the place for ourselves we went on talking and talking without realizing the clock was running away. I started to open up to her about my relationship with Amanda and my encounter with her today morning. Meanwhile Jessica spoke about the struggles in her relationship and why it didn't work out.

Just like that, an amazing bond was born between us. Up to few hours ago we were total strangers and now we are talking about our relationships in a cafe up to 2 a.m. Realizing it was getting late, we decided to leave the place as I closed the shutters down and made our way towards to car.

Jessica asked me if I could drop her a couple of blocks along the way to a friends place for her to put a night before she plans about her next decision. I was happy to do so and drove her there. I dropped her off and she leaned in to give me a peck on my cheeks and thanked me for everything today

With that she made her into her friends place and disappeared into the house. I drop off there to my place with such light and happy feeling in me. It was something I never felt since I was with Amanda. I knew I had develop a crush over Jessica. It is true they say, food bonds people.

It was only at that point I realized that I never asked Jessica for her number to call her out on a real date. How could I be so stupid and forgotten date. Well I wasn't the smartest person in the dating world and this sums it up. I knew it will look very weird if I were to drive back to her friends place just to ask for her number so I couldn't do that.

But something told me that this wouldn't be the last time I meet Jessica. I know for a fact that somehow I will bump into her soon and that time I will take her number. After all, thought becomes things and that's the law of attraction.

For the first time in a very long time, I went do bed with such happy feeling  and fell into such deep sleep. Why? Because I knew tonight was going to be the beginning of a beautiful story called "When James Meets Jessica".

Compilation of "Under The Spot Light"

The Kabali review post marks my 8th film review post on my blog and I felt its time I made a post compiling all my film review post under one article and rank it from its lowest ranking to the highest ranking

At the same time I would like to say a big thank you to those who reads my films reviews and has constantly ask me to write a film review whenever a film comes up. It's your support that has help me kept going writing reviews despite many people on social media mocks people who writes reviews. Thank you so much guys

I will post links to each film review I have written  at the beginning of the post and do a short paragraph about the film again

8th. Romeo Juliet (2.7/5.0)

Click Here To View Romeo Juliet's Movie Review

What was meant to be a romantic comedy film turned out to be one of the film I will always despise. The film had nothing special and was sent out to show how woman are after money and looks in a relationship. The climax of the film was perhaps one of the worse I've seen including very degrading towards the female gender. 2.7/5.0 seems to be a higher score for a film of such quality

7th. Mass (2.96/5.0)

Click Here To View Mass's Movie Review

Surya is a fantastic actor no doubt but after Varnam Ayiram, his director selection has been extremely bad.. Films like Singam and Anjaan would serve well with the commercial audience but the film was just agonizingly painful to watch. Things never got better with Mass as well. Venkat Prabhu is a director I rate so poorly and Mass justified why I feel so. The director seemed more lost than the audience in the film. How on Earth Surya was convinced to act in a Venkat Prabhu film is perhaps one of the greatest magic trick I've seen

6th. Theri (3.4/5.0)

Click Here To View Theri's Movie Review

One of the biggest blockbuster of 2016, surprisingly ranks a low 6th on my review list. When I saw the film I absolutely loved it especially because it is a Vijay film. Vijay is an actor I rate very highly and there is more to him than just commercial films. Everything seem right in the film except one thing, the story it self. Despite the directors best effort to make the film racy and entertaining, it was nothing more different than you average commercial film plot. Things were predictable from the moment go and that is what pulled down my rating for the film. A particular highlight of the film was the father-daughter scenes.

5th.  Uthama Villain (3.65/5.0)

Click Here To View Uthama Villain's Movie Review

Honestly if I were to writen a review for Uthama Villain today, I would rate it much higher. It took me a couple of months to truly understand what this film is all about. It is indeed a great masterstroke by Kamal in terms of the story. Original when I wrote the film, I rated the "Uthama Villain" portion extremely lowly. Boy I was wrong and it surely deserves a much higher rating. This film will go down as one of Kamal's under appreciated film in years to come just like Hey Ram and Anbe Sivam

4th. Idhu Namma Allu (4.1/5.0)

Click Here To View Idhu Namma Allu's Movie Review

The first of 4 films to hit the 4.0 above rating in my review. Idhu Namma Allu was perhaps one of my favorite movies of the year due to it's light hearted and easy going content of the film. I was never a fan of Simbu except for his film in VTV, but in this film he shows that there is a quality performer in him. The only downside of the film was the unnecessary extension of film in the second half after Nayanthara, Simbu, Andrea and Jai meets up. If the film were to have ended there I would have given it a much higher rating. Everything else from that point onwards was painful on the eye to watch

3rd  OK Kanmani (4.4/5.0)

Click Here To View OK Kanmani's Movie Review

OK Kanmani was the 1st film review post I wrote on my blog and it was due to the good feedback from that post that got me going on writing film reviews. Mani Rathnam is a genius and he shows it why in this fil.m. He captures the essence of today's youths relationship touch on a taboo topic on in living relationship. Both bold and genius Mani Rathnam is. His ability to bring the best of his cast is why this movie was rated highly by me. It's an extension of Mouna Ragam and Alaipayuthey.

1st. Papanasam (4.5/5.0)

       Kabali (4.5/5.0)

Click Here To View Papanasam's Movie Review

Click Here To View Kabali's Movie Review

Joint first are both Papanasam and Kabali with the highest rating of 4.5. It is no surprise that it is the movies of two of India's biggest actors, Kamal Hassan and Superstar Rajinikanth. Papanasam was a remake of a Malayalee film which touches around how a simple family deals with the prospect of murder and how far would a father go to defend his family realistically. Kamal and Gauthami was immense in the film. The plot and pace was fantastic and keeps you glued to the screen

Kabali was Thalaivaa's latest film and it will always be one that stays close to my heart as it honestly captures the struggles of the Malaysian Indian Community. Although it was expected to be a out and out gangster film, Kabali was actually the story of a man who had lost 25 years of his life in prison, comes up to reconcile with his family and at the same time protect the welfare of Malaysian Indians. I will always call it as a mature version of Baasha. It was Thalaiva's best performance in many years as an actor

That wraps up my post. If you feel that I should write a review about any past films, please do comment and I will do my best to watch the film again and write a review even if it is an old film.. Thank you for support guys, you people have been amazing readers

Under The Spotlight: Kabali

The moment we all been waiting for has arrived! Rajini is back on the big screen and the little kid in me was screaming in joy being able to see Rajini once again. I for one knew that this was not going to be your regular Rajini film, but this was going to be an out and out Ranjith film and boy was I right. Nevertheless I was waiting eagerly just to catch a glimpse of Rajini, his trademark walk and of cause his glorious smile. Every time Rajini laughs or smile and I just lose my mind. So much style so much grace from the big man.

Without much delay below is my review and I will try to keep the Rajini fan in me and do my best to give an unbiased review. If you haven't watch the film please stop reading this post and come back after you have watched it as I wouldn't want to spoil it for you

Story Review

Despite the hype around the film after the teaser was released and the comparison people was making of Kabali towards Baasha, I knew for a very fact that we are going to get a very different Rajini in this film and that was what happened

The film hits out with a little backstory of who Kabali is and who are his rivals are. With that the tone was set for the film as how this film was going to pan out. Upon his release from jail Kabali was quickly caught up with the struggles the Malaysian Indian community are facing today and how the mafia world is evolving today and those dominating it are his arch rival.

As gangster would do to remind people that they are back in the business is to send out a loud and clear message to the rival and Kabali does that in superb style. I for one was not expecting that to happen. Kabali wasn't just the do good be nice gangster but he was someone who would fight for his community and would have no qualms for shooting or killing someone when it comes. Just like how a real gangster would.

The film that shifts the rivals trying to get back to Kabali by employing an assassin and how Kabali tries to rebuild his gang back again. At the same time Kabali spares time for the school which takes in school dropout and young gang members which tries to reform them before sending them back to the community

In a way that is Kabali's dream, that the Indian community are in a decent position, away from drugs and gangs. What seems to be his ideology is that he has to walk down the dark path and get things cleaned up in order for the future generations to stay away from it and be successful

What follows next is blast to the past of Kabali where he learns some facts about his family and how he tries to make things up for the death of a friend. With the films builds towards the climax which would be between Kabali and his rival.

The biggest win of the film is the realism factor in it. If you are a Malaysian, you cannot deny the scenes shown were not true. Even the way Kabali carries himself or how the fights happen and all makes perfect sense as if it was real gangsters were to do it.

Reading it here may not some as fantastic as it was watching the film in real but trust me if you put the Rajini fan of you out and went in to watch a quality film, you are in for a treat. This is not a film tailored for the Rajini fans. You won't see Rajini flying around fighting 20 goons at one time, you won't see much punch dialogues from Rajini, you won't see Rajini romancing a young heroine

Whatever typical things you expect in a Rajini film, you will get the minimal of it which is what makes it even great film to be watch. This is a film made to show the world the struggles and difficulties faced by Malaysian Indians and the dark side we are left to face with.
  

Rating: 4.7/5.0

Director Review

Pa Ranjith

Who would believe that this guy is only 3 films old in terms of directing. What an honor would it have been for this guy to direct perhaps the biggest actor in the world in only his 3rd film.

It would have been so easy for him to cave in his normal style and just make a film utilizing the commercial elements of Rajini and it would most likely be a big hit and seal his status as a top director

Instead I praise this man for doing just the very opposite. Instead of fitting his film into Rajini, he made Rajini fit into his film. That it so gutsy especially for a young director. He stayed loyal to his usual crew and principal in terms of the story and convinced Rajini to get into the role that he wants

Another praise Ranjith deserves is for his extensive research and study of the Malaysian Indian community. Through out the film a lot of small elements were infused in to make it so realistic. For example he made Rajini speak Malay is certain dialogues, the fact that gangsters control through 3 main outlets; parking lots, drugs and prostitution. He goes a great length to ensure even the food served looks like Malaysian dish.

He was excellent to highlight the plight Malaysian Indians faced from back than today. For example the inequality in wages, the demolishing of temples, the struggles students faced to enter government universities and the drug element among youths.

The only drawback for me was the pace of the film, certain parts of film could have been shorten or simplified. One scene that comes to mind was the search of Kabali's wife. It was long and draggy but I never mind a single bit of it because those sequence of scenes was well used to express Rajini's emotional side of acting. One he was largely criticized in the past of not having it. Pay close attentions to those scenes and you would see what a wonderful performer Rajini is

Ranjith was absolutely wonderful and he was the real star of the film. Thank you Ranjith for going great lengths to show the world the struggles we have been facing. You have done something our entire government have been trying to deny. And there is no stronger voice to highlight our plight other than having Superstar to be our "Leader"

Rating: 4.8/5.0 

The Cast

Superstar Rajinikanth

Whatever stereotype or accusations that has been thrown at him in the past have been broken in this film. I remember critics telling that he is old and he should doing a role of his age, how can he be fighting huge groups alone, he is so poor when comes to emotional scenes and he should not be romancing actress of younger age.

Guess what, he broke that all. Here you will see an old age Rajini who is aware that he is now old and only has a limited time left. He can't go out there and fight people like he used to and will need people for it. At both young and old Rajini, he never once is shown romancing his heroine.

In fact the chemistry between him and Radhika Apte was fantastic. Even the scenes where he talks about her or thinks about her were brilliant. It was another side of Rajini that has been hidden for a very long time. The bond he shares with his gang and his daughter was a treat to watch.

The way he communicates to the students of the school and how he faces upon his rivals were all different. Each time he is on screen with a different set of cast, you see a different shade of him. The Rajini that speaks to his rival is not the same Rajini that speaks to his gang, He has that variations which so many underestimate

My favorite scene of his has to be the climax scene where he delivers the following dialogue to the villain. I swear I had Goosebumps. It was amazing and uplifting with the feel of Rajinism

After all he is the Superstar and there is a reason why he is in such position. Thalaivan Da!!! He is the people's champion

 Rating: 4.9/5.0

Radhika Apte & Dhansika

Prior to this film, I have no idea who Radhika Apte was and had no idea what to expect from. But from her first scene of hers I felt in love with her character. I will remember her as Kumudhavalli rather than Radhika Apte more and that was because the strength of her character. The scenes where she speaks boldly to Kabali, scolds and of cause the scene she seems after 25 years. Wow that was some amazing performance

On the other hand, Dhanshika played a very bold, brave young gangster girl. Just like how her daddy is. It was hard for me to like her and I guess that is because of her hairstyle lol. As an actress she was fantastic and the scene showing her closeness and rapport with Kabali was her best performance.

 Rating: 4.2/5.0

The Rest

So many other actors in this film deserves lots of credit for their performance. It's a film with a large cast and yet nearly everyone had enough screen time. I was so impressed with Rosyam Nor's performance. He was awesome as one of the mafia. I hardly knew that "Jeeva" was actually Dinesh, huge credit to him for his transformation for the role. John Vijay gave a solid performance along with the villains. Although I felt Kalaiyarasan could have had more screen time and importance

Rating: 4.0/5.0

The Music

Santosh Narayanan

I would be honest here, when the songs were first released, the only song I enjoyed was Nerrupa Da and I found the rest as average at best. After hearing a couple of times I started to develop a liking for the songs but I never felt confident how Ranjith would fit the songs into the film.

How wrong could I ever been. The particular highlight for me was the "Maya Nadhi" song. The build up to it, the emotions of the cast and the timing was perfect. These things happens only when the director and music director are in sync.

Meanwhile the timing of the Nerrepu Da songs was brilliant. It will get your blood pumping with excitement when the songs comes and the whistling BGM with Rajini screen presence was another highlight.

 Rating: 4.3/5.0

Final Verdict: Kabali Is A Film Dedicated For Malaysian Indians. Truly Nerrupa Da. It's A More Mature Baasha

Final Rating: 4.5/5.0