Wonderful character development!
... View MoreGood concept, poorly executed.
... View MoreDid you people see the same film I saw?
... View MoreIt’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny
... View MoreOne of the best Tamil movies ever made. Gives a clear picture of the brutal reality of the life of the Indian poor, Indian women and the class and gender divide that gives rise to this reality. Raises awareness about something that polite people generally avoid talking/thinking about - Acid attacks on women. An obnoxious part of the dark underbelly of Indian patriarchal society is brought out in all its harshness. A must watch.
... View More"Vazhakku en 18/9" is a tight slap on the moral values of the present- day society where money, power, treachery & voyeurism rules the roost. There is no place for truth, honesty , love or innocence. Balaji Sakthivel's third movie after his brilliant "Kadhal" & high-quality "Kaloori" , "Vazhakku en 18/9" is a gem among all the neo-realistic movies that grace Tamil cinema these days. The effortless ease with which Balaji is able to engage in the social commentary in each of his movies is staggering.Balaji , known for the raw emotions that he is able to bring in to the narration , does it one more time. The tension, the pain, the anguish, the anger..... are some of the emotions which every one of us who watch the movie will surely go through the last half an hour of it. Though justice delivered partially, when the viewers vacate the theater they do so with heavy heart. It does bring in shame, sorrow, and guilt in most of us who introspect on the state of the society we are part of & contribute to.The narration is effortless in an uncomplicated flashback mode , easy to follow. Balaji has kept it as straightforward as possible. The dialogs are simple yet at the same time hard-hitting at appropriate places. He has the knack for casting unknown people in suitable roles who end up etched in one's memory for a long time. Here Chinnasamy as Chinnasamy & Muthuraman as Inspector are those memorable ones and both these actors have done a tremendous work.All the four in the lead Sri, Manisha yadav ,Urmila Mahantha & Mithun Murali have done promising work. Sri is brilliant as the innocent Velusamy who stays innocent throughout the movie (not like your routine innocent hero who turns gutsy & vigilante all of a sudden in the climax). Manisha Yadav as a naive middle class girl who falls for the temptations of the contemporary societal peer-culture is good with all her emotions & lip-sync. Urmila Mahantha's eye are so expressive they do all the acting . She hardly gets to mouth 3 or 4 lines in the whole movie but her emotive eyes do the rest. Mithun as a cool & suave spoilt rich kid who effortlessly changes his emotions like a chameleon is another promising find.All the other supporting cast , be it the boss of Velu or the Rosy akka or the one who does the mother's role of Jothi , have done a tremendous job.R.Prasanna's background score is adequate, supports the narration to some extent. But movie of this stature do deserves a better background score.Vijay Milton's captures director's vision onto the screen in a simple yet striking manner. Movie is crisp, runs for under two hours.Though couple scenes do drag a bit & in couple of instances amateurishness rears its head, overall "Vazhakku En 18/9" is a brilliant piece of work. One of the best movie in recent times, it deserves more than a solitary watch & all the encouragement possible. One can be proud that movies like these do get made in Tamil now & then.Bottomline : Outstanding
... View MoreIndian government system is corrupt. In India there is a distinct class divide - rich and poor. Poor in India suffer in the hands of rich. These messages that the movie tries to communicate, so self-righteously, are not news to anybody in India.The movie tries to make up for its weak story line with melodrama and provocative visuals. Story randomly jumps from showcasing one evil to another evil in Indian society. Not sure if its based on a true story ( as no such claim were made ) but the incidents shown in the movie looks believable.Perhaps, a documentary around the subjects(if true) would have been better. Actors have done a good job in an otherwise disappointing and distressing movie.
... View MoreKadhal and kalloori fame Balaji Sakthivel has once again proved that he is one of the best story-tellers in Tamil cinema.Plot – As the title suggests, the story is about a crime and its investigation which unfolds an eternal love. The movie is brilliantly scripted and well executed. The whole shoot took 53 days which clearly emphasizes the brilliance of the script. The stunning part is cinematography by Vijay Milton who has used canon 5d and 7d for the making. The movie features all new faces and it is an added advantage. Every scene in Vazhakku En 18/9 is so perfectly planned and meaningfully placedGorilla shots used in this movie are fantabulous especially when the lead character expresses his rage. And it is the only scene where the anger of lead character is depicted. The director has also made us to think about the present situation of society through the eyes of the characters.The last half n hour of Vazhakku En 18/9 leaves us speechless with its enduring emotions and love. This movie proves that a director doesn't need 3 hours to dump the feel of love into audience but he can make the feel to sneak into them in just 2 minutes. Every aspect in the filmmaking is attempted from a different perspective including the solo track which is very beautiful to watch and hear.Do not miss this genuine piece of a gem produced by UTV Motion Pictures which always gives the society promising world class cinema.
... View More