“The problems in this love story are contained among its main characters. There’s no external aggressor like in most of our Tamil love stories.”
“Given the lack of suspense over the killer’s identity, this horror film’s main draw then is to entertain you through thrills resulting from his pursuit. Can the visually challenged hero, Gautham (Udhayanidhi Stalin), do what the police aren’t able to? Can the damsel in distress, Dahini (Aditi Rao Hydari)—who doesn’t show the slightest effort to save herself—be saved by her ‘daredevil’ suitor?”
“The Bose Kalai (Sarathkumar) family is a horrible one to be in if you are a woman. Chandra, it seems, has made her disgruntled peace with it. She knows her husband won’t consult her before unleashing violence that will haunt the family for decades. She realises that her son won’t consult her either before engaging in assault and going to jail.”
“The efficacy of such films is decided by the individual moments within, and whether or not the highs and the lows of the film impact you as they should. Remember when Devasena feels instinctively, in her bones, that her son is close? Remember what you felt as Baahubali runs to his mother in chains, his enemies behind him, as music and slow-mo visuals combined to deliver a classic mass moment? The problem with Pattas is that its highs don’t overwhelm you, its lows don’t shatter you.”
“Halitha Shameem’s second film is the equivalent of a pat on your shoulder, and someone saying, “There, there. As long as there’s love in the world, you will be fine.””
“His Aaditya Arunasalam is a fairly hands-on cop, defined by his willingness to put himself in harm’s way first. But I suppose that’s because he’s a bit like Breaking Bad’s Walter White in a sense. He is not in danger; he is the danger. Notice that opening underwhelming introduction scene as he descends on rowdies from above, literally—this ‘god of commercial cinema’ armed with a trademark Murugadoss weapon (of which there’s a more inventive variety that comes later on in the film). Aaditya is shown to be revelling in these murders—that are shot like video game kills. He calls himself a “baaad cop” (a reference to Annamalai, of course). The newspapers, meanwhile, more accurately, call him a ‘mad cop’.”
“In Hero, Moorthy (from Gentleman) has become older and lost faith in his ability to change this country. He needs younger blood. It’s a passing of the baton, in a sense. A Robinhood to a Robin, if you like.”
“Among Vetri Maaran’s recurrent themes is loyalty to a teacher figure and consequent betrayal from either party. We have seen this in Polladhavan, Aadukalam, Vada Chennai, and now, in the flashback sequence of Asuran as well.”
“Narasimha Reddy is introduced to us as an almost mythical character who was born dead, but is resurrected by the forces of nature—a thunder, to be specific. This is a film that labours quite evidently to try and be an epic.”
“Arumpon himself notes the irony that relatives who are capable of causing great joy, are also those who cause great anguish. This is a fairly deep observation to make of blood relatives. And boy, does Arumpon have relatives.”
“Kaappaan is what you’d ostensibly get if you fed the ‘necessary ingredients’ of a commercially successful film into a computer, and it spat out a script.”
“It’s a film that has been—and will be—mainly talked about for its chief conceit of having only one cast member, and for being shot in a single room, but there’s more.”
