Casting, ARR Music, Cinematography, Gripping screenplay, Action episodesCasting, ARR Music, Cinematography, Gripping screenplay, Action episodesLengthy running time, Maniratnam style missing
Ace director Maniratnam had a horrible outing last year, with his silver jubilee flick Kaatru Veliyidai which was trashed by critics, ending as a forgettable dud. This time around,after an year, the director has made a silver screen return with a biggest multistarrer featuring the biggest and most promising names of the industry, with Chekka Chivantha Vaanam releasing today. Here's team AP Herald's exclusive first on net Chekka Chivantha Vaanam review.
Senapathi(Prakashraj) is the crime kingpin of the city,and he lives with his wife and 3 sons. The eldest, Varadan leads a double life, as a rising gangster, with his wife Chitra (Jyothika) as well as a secret love with Parvati. Arun Vijay (Thyagu) and Ethi(Simbu) too have gangster aims, and all the three brothers aim for the throne of Senapathi, and consider themselves the next. Enters cop Rasool(Vijay Sethupathi), a friend of Varadan, and a close person to the gangster family, and sooner consequences lead to death of Senapathi, and with this, the family reaches a war, with the brothers being lead to the suspicions on each other of killing their father for the throne, and now its a war between brothers themselves, with Rasool too playing his cards to rise the hate and rivalry between the brothers in a subtle manner, and its time for bloodshed, revelations, and more shockers, leading to the ultimate showdown between the real betrayer and the revenge seeking gangster.
Who ultimately won the battle of the brothers, what was Rasool planning all along, was Ethi able to unravel the mystery and complete retribution for his losses and the breaking of the family, and who ultimately won Senapathi's throne is what the violent and entertaining Chekka Chivantha Vaanam is all about.
Simbu as Ethi is a live wire, and be it the romantic portions or the rage mode action episodes, the exhibits a never before seen stunning act, and he is closely followed by Vijay Sethupathi who excels with his calm demeanor and his casual swag as the silent and scheming, funny and thinking cop Rasool. Arun Vijay looks dapper and fit, and scores whenever he gets an opportunity and his showdown scenes are terrific.
Veteran Arvind Swamy is massy and looks every inch a gangster, and his chemistry with the excellent Jyothika as well as the saucy Aditi are perfect, with both Jyothika and Aditi performing well in an intense manner. Aishwarya Rajesh is adequate, while Dayana Erappa is sizzling. The rest of the cast including veterans Prakashraj and Jayasudha, Thiagarajan, Mansoor Ali Khan are aptly cast.
The background score by AR Rahman offers terrific goosebumps moments, with the interludes elevating the heroes, especially Ethi and Rasool, and matching the dark tone of the movie perfectly, while of his songs, Mazhai Kuruvi, Sevanthu Pochu Nenje and Hayati are good. Cinematography by Santosh Sivan is top notch, with some of the action episodes being showcased in a terrific manner, and the movie is well presented visually with each of the heroes being showcased well. Sreekar Prasad's taut editing ensures, there's never a dull moment in Chekka Chivantha Vaanam.
After the disastrous milestone outing last year with Kaatru Veliyidai, Maniratnam is back on screens, this time with a huge star cast lending support, and with an interesting plot filled with wide range of emotions and action. Justifying the title, the director has opted for a blood shed action drama set at the backdrop of a gangster family of brother vying for the throne, and a cop who joins them with a plan.
Maniratnam has placed perfect elevation scenes for each of the heroes, and with the fair share of twists and turns, keeps the first half engaging with suspense factor intact, leading to the second half, which moves at break neck speed with the shocker of revelations, and with several terrific twists which excite the audience, leading to the final showdown, Ethi and Rasool - Simbu and Vijay Sethupathi keep the audience glued to the screens in awe, while Arvind Swamy and Arun Vijay score whenever possible in a subtle and appealing manner, and the whole cast gets to entertain effectively, with the stunning screenplay so uncommon of Maniratnam exciting and keeping the audience at edge of seat for most parts.
With a rich technical team including a scintillating BGM and terrific songs by AR Rahman,slick visual delivery by Santhosh Sivan and taut editing by Sreekar Prasad making Chekka Chivantha Vaanam a techical finesse filled movie with strong content, and a gripping and racy pacy screenplay, Maniratnam has ensured that he has a winner this time that is sureshot at the box office. All said Chekka Chivantha vaanam is your perfect weekend popcorn entertainer, that offers ample dose of entertainment and is a superb goosebumps loaded action entertainer.
Arvind Swami,STR,Arun Vijay,Vijay Sethupathi,Jayasudha,Jyotika,Aishwarya Rajesh,Aditi Rao Hydari,Mani Ratnam,Subaskaran,A.R RahmanManiratnam returns to form in style with this biggie, of brotherhood and bloodshed
