Tag Archives: Gautham Vasudev Menon

Crime, Genre, Rating, Reviews, Romance, Tamil Movies, Thriller, Worth a Watch

Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada Review

Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada Review – Achcham Yenbadhu Madamaiyada is a romantic thriller released in 2016. Leela goes on a road trip on a bike with her friend’s brother. What begins to be a feel good romantic journey turns ugly when they meet with an accident.

The movie starts with a statement that it has been inspired by the scene in The Godfather. This scene should be where injured Michael plots revenge against the corrupt policeman. If you are expecting a VTV kind of a movie you would be in for a surprise as it is not a romantic drama. Only the first half of the movie is dedicated to romance and you would see all the songs appear in the first half of the movie itself. Then the second half is the inspiration part.

This is GVM’s way of movie making and story telling. You may like this or hate it but beyond everything you see a genuine sincerity in making what he believes in. There is a very casual approach in the first half as the scenes and the dialogues flow like they have been taken using a candid camera. There is also an element of surprise about the name of the lead protagonist. This is kept under wraps till the final sequence in the movie. He is passionate about riding his bullet and the initial scenes and dialogues would connect well with the biker community. Manjima Mohan is an eye candy who follows the tradition of a GVM’s heroine.

The second half of the movie is gritty and keeps you at the edge of the seat. A genre that I believe that GVM excels in. He can create a gruesome villain out of anyone. Baba Sehgal in this case.  The placement and creation of Thalli Pogathey song are beautiful and would be one of the high points in the movie. This kind of reminded me of a different opening by Myskkin in Pisasu. The hospital scene, the chase, and episode at the doctor’s house are the most engaging part of the movie. What happens to be a breezy ride on the tracks becomes a roller coaster ride. However, the big minus for the movie is the climax. When the suspense is unveiling, the story of movies Gangs of Wasseypur or RGV’s political crime drama is narrated with new characters so all the suspense built so far becomes for nothing. The non-linear editing with flashes of scenes, in the beginning, is the only knot that ties this. Still, this is not very effective. I only wished there was a foreshadowing done a bit earlier.

High Points: Thalli Pogathey song, Cinematography of the travel and the fight sequences, the hospital and final chase sequences. Picturization of the songs.

Low Points: The climax is the low point in the movie as the audience were not prepared for it.

Overall AYM is a movie which offers you many things you might like than hate. If you are able to withstand the disappointment in the climax you would be able to appreciate all other good things it offers.

For the sincere attempt and for Thalli Pogathey this one is

Worth a Watch

PS: A note to GVM and other Tamil directors, when you portray IPS officers please don’t let them sport a beard. Understand, undercover cops are allowed to have a beard, but when they take up normal duty and wear the uniform they are not allowed to have a beard.

Action, Crime, Genre, Thriller

Yennai Arindhaal Review

Yennai Arindhaal Review – Yennai Arindhaal is a Tamil crime thriller released in 2015. Thenmozhi a quality lead in a software company on her flight back to India meets a handsome man Satyadev and develops interest in him. Once she reaches India she tries to meet him without being aware of the danger lurking over her.

Director Gautham Vasudev Menon has gone back to handling cop story and he says this one completes his cop film trilogy. There has been a huge expectation surrounding the movie particularly Ajith getting on the project and also the director’s previous cop movie outings with Kaakha Kaakha and Vetaiyaadu Vilayadu being successful ones. The final output has turned out to be a crime drama rather than a cop story. This one would be rated the least compared to the previous two movies. The movie’s script misses establishing of the core conflict strongly. The movie rides on the ego clash between the two characters which doesn’t occur for major part of the movie. Also there are certain elements of Gautham menon’s cop stories that repeat here as well.

Ajith looks very smart and fits into the character very well. Arun Vijay’s has a great scope and this performance is his best performance so far. The action sequences in the movie have been done well. Vivek’s comedy sequences has worked well. Anushka has a very limited scope. Trisha steals the attention in the scenes which she appears.

High Points – Ajith’s star value, Not falling into the trap of creating mass introduction scene for Ajith, Ajith’s performance, Arun Vijay’s performance, Action sequences, Vivek’s comedy, Trisha’s visual appeal

Low Points – Weak conflict in the movie, too many loop holes in the plot, Only Ajith seems to be the able police officer who carries guns but none of the others seem to be and also they wait for Ajith to do the action which seems so unreal

Overall as Ajith says there is a thin line between the good and the bad… Yennai Arindhaal has just managed to walk on the thin line without getting on either side. So depends upon which side of the line you are seeing it from you might enjoy or hate the movie.

Watchable – only for crime thriller fans