Madrasapattinam (2010)

Period films have been sporadic in Tamil cinema for the past two decades and not many directors are daring enough to give a fling at such genres. But the young director Vijay breaks the mould and comes up with an artistic portrayal of pre-independence Madras. In fact, he succeeds in his attempt with utmost ease.The plot of "Madarasapattanam" is quite simple. It deals with the romance between a brawny Madarasi wrestler and an aristocratic English belle at a time when the Freedom Movement was at its pinnacle. Arya, as the young wrestler (Parithi) is impeccable. His penchant for offbeat roles is evident from his choice of movies. Amy Jackson, as the royal damsel (Amy) allures you with her innocent and snowy charm. The way she has acclimatized to the Indian pattern of film making is quite amazing. Kochi Haneefa, who plays Amy's interpreter, manages to tickle you in his typical style. All the actors including Nasser (Parithi's father), M.S.Bhaskar, RJ Balaji (tourist guide), Jeeva (of Lollu Sabha fame), Kumaravel (taxi-driver) and the actors who play Parithi's friends make their presence felt.The narration smoothly swaps between the modern day Chennai and the 1940's Madras. Thanks to some crisp editing by Antony. Cinematographer Nirav Shah guides us through a virtual tour through the streets of vintage Madras. It is fascinating to see the Madras of the yore adorned by trams, bullock-carts, the crystal-clear Cooum, the dhobi ghats of Washermanpet, and a busy Buckingham Canal! Art Director Selva has to be commended for recreating the yesteryear Spencer's and the Central Station. But at times the back-drops seem to be like wallpapers, which could have been avoided. G.V.Prakash Kumar seems to have inherited a lot from his uncle (A.R.Rahman) which is very much evident in his "Pookal Pookum" number. And his background score blends well with the period flavour of the movie. Vijay's dialogues are note-worthy.Traces of "Lagaan" and "Titanic" can be felt here and there. Especially, the wrestling match between Parithi and the Englishman, and the aged Amy searching her love with the necklace ('thaali') reminds you of the yesteryear classics. Nevertheless, Vijay manages to trigger the spirit of Madras by showcasing the rich cultural and historical heritage of our city in this poignant love story. He leaves us yearning for the glorious Madras of the past.A must-watch for all Chennaiites. Come, and cherish the vintage Madras.- Deepak Kumaar Manoharan.

I went to this movie with absolutely no expectations, Arya isn't that big an actor,The director hasn't made any exceptional movies, and so on.But the movie was really good.It showed a great deal of teamwork and effort, and more importantly it was all well used and portrayed.Chennai portrayed to the best as in the year 1947. The heroine - Amy Jackson is beautiful and has done a really wonderful job.Her eyes show lots of experience, for a girl of her age.The story line is similar to that of Lagaan, and many scenes remind you of both lagaan and Rang de basanti, yet the movie has its own originality and inspiration.Arya isn't portrayed as a hero who fights for freedom,he is portrayed as one who fights for Love.Editing was awesome, Direction was good. The only negative point of the movie is the songs and BGM. songs don't get in sync with the movie too well. BGM isn't much original and doesn't give the full effect at various scenes.Still overall the movie is watchable. The reason i rated it 8 was because of the good acting, direction,screenplay,no unwanted comedy or action or songs, and mainly because there was some originality/reality in showing a historic adventure.( something that Ayirathil oruvan lacked ).The movie may seem a bit lengthy, but don't worry cause it wont bore you out.Overall - Good movie( don't miss it)

The movie is all about a British Girl falling in love with a Dhobi from Madras, who is also a brave Kusthi(wrestler) fighter, set in pre Indian Independence era just as India is about to gain its independence.First of all the director Vijay must be applauded for having attempted to give a period film to the Tamil film industry that produces clichéd films. There were a few films like Paruthiveeran, Subramaniapuram, Aayirathil Oruvan that have attempted to break away from the clichéd movies that are produced. There are reviews about Madrasapattinam that Vijay has been inspired from movies like Titanic and Lagaan.This movie, though has shades from Titanic - like the 80 year old woman narrating the story, it is quite very much different in-terms of screenplay from that of titanic. Here the eighty year old woman comes to Chennai from Britain to find here long lost love, from whom she had got separated on the Day of Indian Independence. The movie shifts back and forth from past to present depicting the nostalgic feeling of the old Amy Wilkinson (Amy Jackson) as she comes across similar happenings in the present Chennai that had also occurred in her life during her past teenage days in Madrasapattinam.Though the movie is good in parts, the director has divulged from the main plot in the first half, where he has tried to concentrate more on the Indian British rivalry rather than trying to portray a subtle romance between the leads. Amy is forcefully engaged to the then Inspector Robert (Alex) who is selfish and ruthless, whom she hates to such an extent that she thanks the man Parithi(Arya) who accidentally helps her in removing the engagement ring. And from then on starts a series of happenings involving Amy and Parithi which finally culminates in Amy falling for Parithi. These events have been stretched too much and the screenplay slacks deteriorating the pace of the movie.Coming to acting part, Arya is good as a rough and tough wrestler portraying the right facial expression, but when it comes to the romantic part, he fails to impress and Amy steals the show with her innocent charm. For a foreigner to give the right emotions in a native film is asking too much of her and she seems to have done it with ease and is a big positive in the film. Nasser and Cochin Haneefa are good as usual in their supporting roles, though the director has overdone the Cochin Haneefa part that leads to a diversion from the plot.The sets of the old Madrasapattinam have been well crafted, but we get to see only Madras Central and the River in front of it that is used for ferrying. Sets of old Mount-road is a big letdown and fails to create an impact. Cinematography by Nirav Shah is good with distinctive shades for the past and the present, but he still is yet to outperform his previous best Billa. Back ground music by GV is the best he has scored until date and creates a mood for the period film.Another thing the director has failed to look into is the Tamil dialect during the pre Independence period. The characters seem to speak the same slang in the present and the past.On the whole the movie is a different attempt in the Tamil film industry and is worth watching.

If Tamil films were all about fulfilling your expectations that you had while watching the trailer and with good songs and star caste provided with a touching climax.. Well Vijay has achieved all of the above in form of his masterpiece - Madrasapattinam. There were a lot of scenes in the film that recalls itself in our mind even after coming out of the theatre.Especially Arya's introduction and when Amy talking in Tamil for first time.The buzz found in the first half was quiet missing after interval.May be it was intentional..!People were able to relate a lot of scenes with Titanic, Lagaan, Mangal Pandey, and even Apocalypto.But the way I see it - Such an experience was never there in a Tamil movie all these years.Makes you proud watching it and has never left you boring at any point.So now Please, stop reading this and go and see it. You won't regret it. And I recommend this movie to any Tamilian in the whole world..