Sudhir Srinivasan

Nerkonda Paarvai: Ajith’s integration into this remake is to mixed results

“Bharath makes horizontal figures of dozens of vertical men, as a fountain gushes in the background (symbolism?). He then snarls at a powerful politician, “Bayamurutharavana bayamuruthardhu en pazhakkam.” And to think his clients, those three poor women, were worried about this guy?”

Dear Comrade: An equal romance full of heart and sensitivity

“It’s beautiful that in this film about the power of togetherness, the emphasis is on the importance of confronting personal demons. This is why Bobby won’t settle for a changed Lilly, who has lost her zest for life.”

Kadaram Kondan Movie Review: This technically excellent remake lacks emotional strength

“He’s a master manipulator, a skilled fighter who can bend situations to his will. In a poetically exaggerated sense, you could say he has the measure of Malaysia. Hence the film’s title, a reference to the Chola conquest of Kadaram (as the capital city of the country was once called). “

Aadai charmed and confused me in equal measure

“There’s a lovely top angle shot as she finally steps out into freedom, while it is raining buckets. It feels like an ode to The Shawshank Redemption, with Andy Dufresne stepping out of his prison of decades. It’s a different sort of prison for Kamini, with her single day inside her office, feeling like Dufresne’s decades.”

Gorilla: A strange mish-mash of genres in this preachy dud

“The heroine does a sudden turn and falls in love. And you learn this barely a scene after she seems thoroughly annoyed by his existence. This time, she stands with a vague expression on her face, when something like a blush passes on her face.”