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…

Mess of a message Oru Oorla Rendu Raja is that inefficient employee in the company you are uncomfortable about firing because he is such a well-meaning fellow otherwise. The film arrives close on the heels of Kaththi with its anti-corporation sentiment. To make the package appealing, the film has a love angle, a comedy track,…