Double Weekend - Vaanam & Ko

Yes, its been long before my movie review since Endhiran. In between these days, we watched many movies - Yuddham Sei, Siruthai, Mynaa to name a few. Those movies have done fairly well at the Box office, and were not bad, but nevertheless it did not provide me the trigger to blog about it. Not to mention, I had a forgetful experience watching the horrible Gautam Menon Movie.

Came the end of Week17'11, and already there was talks about Simbu, rechristened STR, his decision not to act in Ko and his prophecies on Vaanam. Well, we decided to see what is so special about Vaanam. First day night show - Destination: Innovative Multiplex - Not because its so good, but just because it strains a little less on your card, and fuel for my car.

VAANAM
The title music of Vaanam was quite good, and the beginning of the movie - Bharath's Rock song, gave an indication that Simbu's character is little downplayed. After the first song, came Simbu's intro, a little elaborate comic action trick sequence with Santhanam. You must be pretty familar with the story (courtesy: numerous reviews on the net). So, I am not diving into it. However, here's a brief sketch of the various sub-plots -

Plot1: Bharath, aiming to become a rockstar,
Plot2: STR, looking for Rs. 40000 to get a ticket for an elite party.
Plot3: Saranya, looking for Rs. 50000 to get her son freed from a greedy money lender.
Plot4: Prakashraj, searching for his brother who had run away after a rub with a rough police
Plot5: Anushka, looking to come out of her captive

The moments I liked
1. Title song (not when titles are displayed, but sung by Bharath) - Deivam Vazhvathu Engae, Deivam Vazhvathu Engae.. Thavarugalai Unnarum Manithan Nenjil..
2. Simbu returning money to Saranya and the old man, and the show of emotions by the actors there on. Simply awesome.
3. Prakash raj saving the life of the terrifying POlice inspector.

My Take on Vaanam
Vaanam is a different story, with commercial ingredients nevertheless, revolving on 5 different plots, and how all turns up for everyone, in a rivetting climax spread over 30 mins. The movie lacks logic at some places, but is an emotional drama about what prompts changes to one's attitude and behaviour. You must watch this to experience this.

The night's sleep was filled with reflections on Vaanam. At the same time, wanted to try out Ko, as there were good public reactions and critics citing it as better than Ayan.

We decided to book a ticket from Innovative, rather than booking online. So, grabbed the tickets, went to More megamart (for some quick shopping) and then back to Innovative by 4:15PM, in time for the 4:30PM show.

KO
Well the movie began sans the rousing noise for Vaanam. The titles were pretty slick, with clips of important journos over the last decade. Yes, it a journalist's journal sort of:-)

The initial scene of bank robbery and the subsequent chase by Jeeva are well pictured, to give an indication as to how the movie would be. The movie is based on the plot of a journalist, investigating a mystery over a state assembly polls. What keeps you engrossed is the numerous twists and turns and the 2 songs - Ennamo Yedho & Venpaniye.

The climax is a bit predictable though, but is interesting with a soft mature twist towards the end. Overall I liked it because of the presentation and racy nature of the screenplay. Its the New age Commercial Cinema, the likes specialised by very few - Maniratnam, Rajeev Menon & Gautam Menon.

Ko vs Vaanam

I've ventured to compare some aspects of both the movies, and provide my rating for these 2 movies.

Freshness
Vaanam bring in a new genre of multistarrer to tamil cinema
Ko is a commercial entertainer, but the story & screenplay make it novel.

Acting Skills
Vaanam requires the characters to display the right emotions at the right times, and all except Bharath have done well. Simbu doesn't dissapoint his fans, yes he overacts at many places, but the one place where he returns the money to Saranya, is for the purists.
Ajmal has stolen the show and so is Jeeva. Jeeva has more footage, and be it romance, action, stunts or dialogue delivery, he has done a fab job. Kartika has disappointed, esp. her 6'2" and vertical eyebrows, it really is the only damp fit.

Camera
Wo wonder its Ko here all the way. Breathtaking action sequences and teh venpaniye song picturization standout.

Music
Ko leads the way. Vaanam's overhyped songs do little to keep the viewers engrossed. The lyrics in the Vaanam title song is very good indeed.

Entertainment Quotient
Its Ko.

Emotional Quotient
Its Vaanam.

Intelligence Quotient
Its Ko

Engrossment Quotient
Ko keeps you on your seat. Only the last 30 mins of Vaanam is good. YOu must be a patient guy, if you had the guts to wait for the Climax.

Masala Factor
Well in Vaanam, there's masala throughout, expected as its a Telugu movie remake. Some make you feel irritated.
I tend to not use the word Masala for Ko, nevertheless its a commercial entertainer. Lot of the scenes blend with the screenplay (if not for the story), and keeps you guessing and entertained.

The Simbu vs Jeeva Factor
Can't understand why this STR rates himself so high. One can feel the thimuru in him thoroughout the movie. I could not see a joint interview by Bharath & Simbu on screen, but Jeeva & Ajmal seemed to have gelled well in the making of the movie.
Its STR who dropped Ko, and I must say, Jeeva made ample use of the opportunity.

My Marks
Ko - 80
Vaanam - 50