Chekka Chevantha Vaanam Review: Mani Rathnam returns to his masterful best in this intense and densely populated gangster flick

As the old adage goes, you can write the story of this movie behind a movie ticket. A don is on his death bed following an attack on his life and his three sons fight for his place. But Mani Rathnam, the master that he is, weaves a screenplay (along with Siva Ananth)  so dense that he doesn’t let you settle into a character or hang on to a moment throughout the movie. Only in the end would you be able to sit back and think about the hows and whys. By that time you are thoroughly entertained especially by the performances of its lead cast and some stunning cinematography by another master of his trade, Santhosh Sivan.

The way Mani chose to handle the power struggle within the three sons was through violence. But you couldn’t but help think about similar power struggles happening in business and political families throughout the country. In here, the writer in him wakes up to portray the complexities in relationships within those families and their friends. Personal gains take precedence over family and how it affects the whole family was shown through the women in the movie. The mother of the warring brothers is helpless to prevent it from happening while the wives take the brunt of their husband’s greed. Mani Rathnam doesn’t shy away from showing the women as weak bystanders to the men’s power struggle because he isn’t showing something that is not happening in that society. Simply showing them as strong also won’t make any sense. Among the women in the movie it is Jyothika who comes up with the strongest performance.

A multi starrer cast can be detrimental to its own good if not handled properly. But this is where Mani Rathnam comes to the fore. Of the four central characters none of them seems to have come out the stronger or the weaker. They have all had equal importance and all four had delivered performances worthy of it. Why Aravind Swamy remains the go to man for Mani Rathnam is reflected in every movie he does with him. From Collector Arjun to Varadha he has been an epitome of a typical Mani Rathnam characterization who reflects the story rather than hogging the limelight. That confession scene to Jyothika in the hospital is enough to write about his performance. Arun Vijay is an honest actor ready for the big time and it doesn’t get any bigger than Mani Rathnam. In a role which was supposed to be done by Fahad Fasil he comes up trumps with his flair. Great to see him get a level role which he has justified. Despite the frustrations that one might have with Silambarasan and his choices as an actor and a not so famous temperament, it is easy to see why he is still held in high regard. There is a great character actor in Silambarasan behind the star that is STR and this is his best performance since Vinnaithandi Varuvaya. The scenes with his mother and the climax is where he hits top form. There aren’t many actors like Vijay Sethupathi. In fact in Tamil Cinema he is the one and the only actor who could fit into any role. And it’s not like he is all method. He simply lets his personality slip through any character he plays and lets us travel with him because he reminds us of someone we know. There are not stars to him. To be honest this is not even his best work, but he is so effortless and easy on the eye that I wish the great Balachander was alive today because if he was, he would have loved to write great characters for this remarkable actor. Prakashraj is also at ease in his role as the don, a role he could have done it with his eyes closed.

Of the technicians the true standout is Santhosh Sivan with some stunning visceral work, be it the grandeur of Dubai, the beauty of Serbia or the dustiness of Chennai, Aditi’s and Vijay Sethupathi’s house and capping it all in the climax at Gandikota, the backdrop perfect for what unfolded in the end. A.R. Rahman is at his best while working with Mani Rathnam and this is yet another example. Sreekar Prasad has also done a great job in putting the scenes together not letting the galaxy of actors get to our minds.

Despite staying honest to its core of three brothers and their power struggle some of the questions regarding the women in the family remains a mystery especially of Jyothika’s fate and the killing of Silambarasan’s young wife. Also, it doesn’t escape the fact that you can still hear the sound of bullets after coming out of the theatre. Mani Rathnam is known to travel deep into his characters and yet in Chekka Chevantha Vanam it feels like he has let the guns do the talking. May be he is balancing it out as a commercial director (his own admission as one) from the previous critically acclaimed but box office duds in Raavan, Kadal, OK Kanmani and Katru Veliyidai. But despite all that he has stamped his class throughout the movie which separates it from just another gangster movie.

Avengers Infinity War Review: Marvel’s Superherogasm ticks the right boxes.

There are reasons why DC Fans don’t look too kindly at Marvel. Too non serious for their liking. But even the most ardent of DC fans have to acknowledge the fact that this Marvel’s Superhero extravaganza is a true masterpiece in how to contextualize what has been an enthralling first 10 years of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Avengers – Infinity War is the best directed Marvel movie till date behind Captain America Civil War and it is not a surprise that both are directed by Joe and Anthony Russo.

Staying true to its title, Infinity war is quite literally the war for the 6 infinity gems that which put in an Infinity Gauntlet can destroy the Universe and one of select few who can wield it, Thanos is in procession of it and on his way to earth along with his black order to retrieve the remaining gems. Standing in his way are the Avengers, fresh from feuding with themselves and scattered with no trace of each other. Will the Mad Titan succeed or will the heroes put aside their differences and stand together against the man hell bent on destroying half the universe.

It is not every day that a performance review begins with a movie’s villain. But such was Thanos’ belligerence that there is no other place he goes but to the top. What an inspired casting. The first time his name was revealed as the actor playing the mad titan a lot of fans went “Meh”. No disrespects to the academy award nominee but the news didn’t exactly set the internet on fire. But the way he has managed to understand the depth of the character giving it layers for us fans to explore is just magical. His quest does not come across as simply madness but a method behind it and an unassailable belief in what he is trying to do. It is clear that every other actor has grown into their roles so effectively that it is just a treat to see them play off each other so well. The clusters of Iron Man-Dr Strange-Spiderman, Thor and the Guardians and finally the rest of them in Wakanda is worked out to perfection. In a ensemble as large as this, it would have been forgiven if someone was forgotten in the shuffle but everybody feel important and that’s largely possible because of how well its written.

What is impressive about the Russo brothers is they kept their belief on the fans’ knowledge of the MCU and by refusing to spoon feed they have really gone for the kill in exploiting the depth of each character arcs and infusing a much needed darkness to the series. The comedy is well blend in and does not take out the seriousness of the plot unlike Thor Ragnarok which completely lost it in my opinion. The movie also gloriously stays away from being forced into it for the sake of it (Cue: Game of Thrones Season 7) There may be a lot of confused casual fans but I think it is ultimately a good thing because the thickness of the plot would only make them watch the previous movies more.

There aren’t really much to pick with what they could have done better but certainly Peter Dinklage’s Eitri is certainly one of them. The guy is so versatile that he feels a bit wasted. Also Red Skull’s role as the guardian of the soul stone feels more like a moment to make us excited for that second. Also, why waste Vision? I get it that they wanted to extract the mind stone without destroying him but it felt out of place to see one of the most powerful avenger there is not a part of the great war especially with how it all transpires for him in the end. Perhaps the biggest of them all is the climax and what happens with Thanos’ purpose. If they wanted us to believe in it a little more they really shouldn’t have gone with the way they did with which avengers they picked as victims. Even a casual fan knows that all of them has a sequel coming up and it is really not rocket science to know the plot of Avengers 4. Where have they all gone is a more mysterious one but in my opinion most likely in the space within the soul gem where Thanos meets a young Gamora just before the snap. Tell me Avengers 4 is not about the original Avengers with the help of Eitri re-forging the infinity gauntlet which now looks destroyed in Thanos’ hand to recreate the events and reclaim their younger mates in an epic battle where Captain Marvel, Thanos’ arch nemesis destroys him and restores the Universe to its rightful place. I dare you!

But where Avengers Infinity War stands out is how well the character arch’s of almost all of their central characters has been utilized, the rightful reliance of audience knowledge thereby making the plot more intriguing and proving a platform for how to finish a journey on a high.