Tamil
Puratchikaran
Offbeat theme
In Puratchikaran, Velu Prabhakaran once again dwells on his pet topic of atheism, that religion is the cause of all evil in society. He has drawn up a story of a devout Brahmin turning into a rebel and a terrorist who fights religion and its Godman who is a front for a zamindar who has usurped land in the forests.

Prabhakaran enacts the terrorist and the film’s strong points are the actor’s dialogues plus some thought-provoking visuals like the wastage of money and food in the name of religion while millions of people starve or the Muslim fakir, Hindu swami and Christian priest not agreeing on a single God who will give salvation. Sathyaraj makes a cameo appearance as an atheist and revolutionary.

Arun Pandian, as the cop on the trail of the terrorist, is unimpressive but Roja, as his wife and journalist, is natural. Music by Vidyasagar and camera by Udaysankar are average. Prabhakaran gives a good account as the terrorist while Giridharan as the Godman steals the show. Radha Ravi, as the zamindar, is his usual self, while Radhika, in a guest role, is striking.

Anbudan
Arun Kumar impresses
T Indrakumar, the debutant director, has done a good job in presenting an offbeat subject of a girl with bad looks committing suicide because she does not want her loverboy, who has not seen her, to feel dejected and stop loving her.

Arun Kumar has done a fine job as the loverboy in search of the girl who loves him. Arun Kumar, a student of arts, lives with his sister and mother. His estranged father is Anandraj. He has a friend in Rambha, a model. His drawing appears in a weekly which is seen by a girl who contacts him on the pager. He wants to meet her but she remains elusive till the end. Finally, he gets a message that she is committing suicide because at one place where she was present in front of him but he had overlooked her and asked some of the good-looking girls who were around for their identities. This had made her realise that love and beauty go hand in hand. She did not want to hurt his feelings for her and was taking the easy way out by committing suicide.

Arun Kumar excels in emotional scenes and also proves to be adept in dancing and action. Camera by KG Srinivas and music by debutante Jai are average. Meena comes in a song sequence to add glamour to the film. The songs picturised on Rambha are also well choreographed.

Vanathamizhpatu
Prabhu excels
P Vasu and Prabhu together have given some good films like Chinna Thambi nd Senthamizhpatu. Music has been the base of these successful films with the rustic backdrop. The duo has once again used this formula in Vanathamizhpattu to come up with a lively entertainer.

Vyajayanthi, the daughter of Radha Ravi, a rich zamindar, in order to ward off the eveteasers in college, says that she is engaged to Prabhu, the son of the owner of the college. Yet,the eveteasers kidnap her. Prabhu saves her and to keep her reputation intact, he ties the mangalsutra. The hitch is that Prabhu’s father (Prabhu in double role) tells him that Radha Ravi hates anyone having a love marriage and that he can stay in the house only if Ravi gives the consent. Prabhu poses as a servant and goes to his wife’s house and wins over Ravi’s heart but on knowing the truth comes, he commissions goondas to kill Prabhu. Anandraj, a friend and hubby of Ravi’s sister, intervenes and narrates the real story to pacify Ravi, who finally accepts Prabhu as his son-in-law.

Rajkumar’s music is the mainstay of the film. Vadivelu’s comedy enlivens the proceedings. Vyajayanthi has not much to emote. Ditto for Manichandana (debut) as the younger sister of Vyajayanthi. Yet another actor, who has nothing much to do is Vishal (cameraman Asok’s son) who enacts the role of the son of Anandraj. Camerawork by Vijay is average.
Ayyappa Prasad

TELUGU
Chirunavvu Tho
Predictable love story
It looks as though Chirunavvu has been made to showcase the dancing and fighting abilities of youngster Venu because the storyline of the film lacks novelty. Venu’s maiden production, Swayamvaram, had set a good precedent that films with novel plots can win the appreciation of the audience but by churning out a highly predictable love story this time, those expectations have been belied. Venu’s rivetting performance, good comedy and richly mounted songs tuned by Manisarma are likely to draw the crowds instead of the theme. New girl Shaheen looks pretty but Prema is wasted in an inconsequential role.
Chandramohan brings up his orphaned nephew Venu and fixes the marriage of his daughter (Prema) with him. She elopes on the day of marriage since Venu is a cook. Venu comes to the city seeking a job. He stays with his uncle’s son Prabhu and his friends. He often visits Prabu’s book stall inside a star hotel and one day saves Shaheen (in an inebriated condition) from thugs and she plants a kiss on his cheek. Venu falls in love with her and he befriends her. Before he discloses his love for her, she springs a surprise by inviting him for her engagement function with Prakash Raj. Shaheen is shocked to know that Venu is in love with her and chides him for assuming her friendship for love. But still Venu loves her and dreams about her. She starts observing him and finds him a matured individual and understands his respect for women. Venu comes to know that it was Prakash Raj who cheated her niece Prema but doesn’t disclose it to Shaheen. A day before the marriage, Shaheen requests his parents to cancel her marriage with Prakash Raj and rushes to Venu’s house on her marriage day. Venu fixes a deal with Prakash Raj and offers him a crore of rupees to walk out of the marriage. Finally, Venu marries Shaheen.
BVS Prakash

KANNADA
Ghalate Aliyandru
A comic caper
This film will keep the audiences in splits all the time. It is a humour-packed bonanza for the starving Kannada audience. The noted producer HD Kumaraswamy has once again expressed his strong niche for good quality Kannada films. With high production value, the film will be a feast to the eyes of the audience.

It is the remake of the top grosser Tamil film Ullitha Allitha starring Karthik, Rambha and Goundamani.

An happy-go-lucky Manu (Shivrajkumar) escapes from his strict father’s barricade to Mauritius. He finds a friend in a petty thief. Manu is bowled by the irresistible Indu (Saakshi Shivanand) and that takes him to an opulent family. There Manu works as a car driver in disguise. But soon his friend Nandu (S Narayan) reaches that place as a would be son-in-law of the house. Actually, it was Manu who was to come in his place but was not aware of it. Now his friend Narayan takes lead. With both the original and duplicate would-be sons-in-law residing in one house results in a laugh riot. The situation takes a different turn with Manu’s father, a butler at Military Vishwanath’s, comes to Mauritius. There is also a replica of the head of the rich family who is actually a goonda out of prison after serving a long period. There is one grim looking secretary who has chalked out a master plan to get hold of the property. Confusion, tension, titillation, tussle finally leads to a good transformation.

Superstar Shivrajkumar has performed well in this film. He not only acts in an electrifying style but also dances with ease. S Narayan as the friend of the superstar shows the exact temperament of a comedian. His sense of humour is quick and passes tickles. Doddanna results in noise pollution. Shobaraj gives good support. For Mukyamantri Chandru, Mandip Rai and Karibasavaiah, comedy is a routine affair.

Even after 100 films, actress Thara, appearing in paltry and pointless role, has nothing much to offer. Saakshi Shivanand’s first venture in Kannada is not a right selection. She is too flashy and taller than Shivrajkumar. She has spent more time in exposing her lengthy curves of her body with pin up dresses. She has a long way to go in acting. Bollywood sensation Deepti Bhatnagar appears only in a song number and only ends up repeating what Urmila Matondkar does in Hindi cinema. She is a waste and does not boost up the image of the film. This is one of the many scenes where the director S. Narayan could have used scissors.

It is a good re-production made lavishly and worth a dekko, with the family.
Made under the banner of Channambika Films, it is produced by HD Kumaraswamy. With screenplay, dialogue and direction by S Narayan, it has music by Devaa, cinematography by R Giri, lyrics by Kalyan and S Narayan. The film stars Shivrajkumar, S Narayan, Saakshi Shivanand, Doddanna, Mukyamantri Chandru, Thara, Shobaraj, Mandip Rai and Karibasavaiah with Deepti Bhatnagar in a guest role.

>>Vashistha