Vivaramana Aalu
Mumtaz scores

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A typical Sathyaraj film with comedy and satire as well as oomph in plenty. However Mumtaz, the oomph queen, in the role of a mentally-retarded girl shows that she can act and is not just a glamour girl.

Sathyaraj, a conman who married Devyani for the money given by the organisers of a mass wedding conducted for the poor runs away and now as a fake doctor is planning to marry Mumtaz, daughter of a rich man. Mumtaz playacts as a mentally sick girl to unite her quarrelling parents. Vivek, another conman eyeing Mumtaz’s wealth, uses Devyani who comes to the city in search of her husband to break the proposed marriage between Sathyaraj and Mumtaz. Finally Sathyaraj realises that Devyani’s love for him is sincere and accepts her. Vivek and Sathyaraj’s slanging match is a treat to watch.

Red
Good effort

Ajith, who plays the title role of a don in love with a girl who hates violence, has added yet another feather in his cap. Executing the difficult action scenes and going all out in the dance sequences, Ajith scores in the emotional scenes as well.

An orphan who grows up in the streets of Madurai, Red is a dada who steals from the rich to feed the poor. Salim Ghouse, a rival dada, who lives off the poor is his enemy. Rajesh and Ravi, the two writers from a weekly, see Red and follow him. They fictionalise the character and keep writing every week about the works of the dada. Ajith falls in love with Priya Gill, the daughter of Manivannan who sells eatables on the beach. Ajith sells his house to send Priya to USA for further studies. He even mends his way for her. He is, however, forced to come back to the streets to recover the money of the victims who brought him up from a chit company. This angers Salim Ghouse who sents men to burn Red alive. Instead of Ajith, it is Manivanan who is torched alive. Priya blames Red for her father’s death. Ravi, one of the writers, gags Rajesh and strikes a deal with Salim but it backfires. However, Raghuvaran, the editor of the weekly on the trail of his missing writer, is able to reveal to Priya the facts. Ajith after killing Salim is badly hurt and bleeding. Priya comes to his rescue.

Priya Gill who comes to Tamil screen for the first time does a neat job as the innocent girl and fits well with Ajith. Cinematography by Rajshekar is above average.

Azhagi
Mature treatment

Cameraman Thankar Pachan who turned director with Azhagi has avoided the pitfalls that other cinematographers do when they turn directors. He has underplayed cinematography and has focussed on the screenplay and performances by the lead artistes Parthipan, Nandita Das and Devyani.

First love is never forgotten. That is just the story of this film of how the first love of a youth comes back to his life after he is a father.

Nandita Das and Parthipan, during their school days, liked each other. Year’s later, Parthipan is a doctor and marries Devyani, a working woman and has two kids. Nandita Das meets Parthipan in the city. She works as a maidservant as her husband is dead. She enrolls her son in a school. Though Parthipan is not able to hide his feelings for her but she realises that it’s dangerous to get closer to him and withdraws. Devyani loses her cool when she knows that Nandita and Parthipan were once in love. She fixes up a job for Nandita in another house and offers to continue with the son’s education. Nandita, who overhears this, vanishes with her son. Guilt stricken Devyani and Parthipan manage to get the son back from an orphanage. Parthipan continues to live in the hope that one day his first love will return to see her son and probably reunite with him.

A very subtle performance by Parthipan and Nandita with effective screenplay by Pachan has brought the feelings of the adult love, which went unsaid in the childhood days. The trauma of a wife who knows that her husband is not wrong but cannot rest in peace, a boy who loves Parthipan’s family but is not ready to accept Parthipan as his foster father are handled well.

Haunting melodies from Illayaraja is yet another factor that sets the mood of the film.

Punnagai Desam
Entertainer

Punnagai Desam is all about four struggling youth who achieve their goals. Director Shahjahan has woven a story filled with melodrama and romance to cater to the youth.

Good-for-nothing Kunal, Thamu, Hamsavridhan were thrown out from their homes and they come to Chennai and stay in a one-room tenement. Here they take up odd jobs. Tharun is sent by his mother to see his rich cousin (Sneha) whom he is to marry in the future. The rich uncle throws him out and roofless he lands up in the house where the three youth stay. When he knows that they are suffering, he sells his gold chain and clears their debts and starts an eatery stall. The three youth now start progressing. Through various sacrifices by Tharun, the three guys realise their ambition and become famous. The youth, in turn, now bring to public the love of Tharun for his cousin Sneha who too is in love with him but never revealed.

Youthful music by Rajkumar and cinematography by L Mathi add to the slickness of the film. Tharun scores in the role of the sacrificing youth while Sneha does not have much to do.

Pammal K Sambandam
Laugh riot

Needless to say it’s an all out Kamal Haasan film. The film is a laugh riot right from the start. Stunt man, Kamal Haasan, is a brahmachari but gets involved in the love marriage of his friend Abbas with Sneha. Simran, a doctor who helps the lovers marry brainwashes Sneha that she should dominate her husband. This leads to martial discord and Kamal Haasan advices on how to counter Simran’s moves. Finally the couple is separated. Simran who once treats Kamal Haasan for an injury accidentally stitches up the wound with her watch inside. To get Kamal to come once again to the operation table to take the watch out, Simran fakes that she is in love with him. Kamal believes her and the two even get engaged. Simran dopes Kamal and operates him and removes the watch. She then tells him that she never loved him. Hurt Kamal walks away and his granddad on hearing the news dies. Meanwhile Abbas and Sneha patch up and decide to get married once gain. It is now Abbas and Sneha who change Simran’s mind and after a hilarious climax, the lovers are united.

Simran’s performance is one of her career best. Deva’s music and Arthur Wilson’s cinematography with able back up by director Mouli and dialogue writer Crazy Mohan, the film is an all out entertainer.

—Ayyappa Prasad