The sound of frustration There’s one point that the makers of Aaaah seem to have fatally overlooked. True fear is induced by the unknown, the incomprehensible… the groping in the dark. Real dread is caused by the seeming inexplicability of strange happenings, and lies squarely in the sense of foreboding that is so inherent to…

Not a grain of credibility Have you watched our reality dance competitions? Every time there’s a badly performed dance sequence that conveys a message — say, patriotism — you notice the judges squirming in discomfort at the idea of criticising it. As if a message-oriented performance, even if it’s terrible, must somehow be given some…

An ‘inspired’ film that loses steam midway It is said that hindsight is always good, an advice that the makers of Naaigal Jaakirathai seem to have taken particularly seriously. They seem to go back 25 years to the year 1989 when K-9 , a Hollywood film about a police detective who attempts to solve crime…

Works best in the comic bits Thirudan Police screams identity crisis. Like its hero, it doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. Like a thief pursued by cops, it changes directions unpredictably. It starts off hinting at a 7G Rainbow Colony type of love story, where the idle, good-for-nothing Vishwa (Attakaththi Dinesh) woos the…