Vandhan Vendraan

So finally - my first tamil movie in a theater - Vandhan Vendran (He Came, He Won)! 

Definitely not a good pick for a first timer, but then I had been warned enough so my expectations were pretty low - I was more excited about the experience of watching a tamil movie in a theater in Chennai - and that was quite enjoyable - so the movie itself is pardoned :D. (I have seen better tamil movies but only on TV/DVD and with sub titles.)

I swear I have never seen such enthusiasm and cheering and hooting and whistling in any other movie I have watched till date - People tell me this is nothing compared to the roaring applause and vocal support that movies with Rajnikant, Surya and others get - So till I am able to vouch for that first hand - this movie tops the list :).

Now you might wonder how I - a non-tamil speaker managed - Simple, I seated myself next to one of the most patient person in the group who painstakingly translated the movie to an extent that I could fully understand not only the story line but the double meaning humor (and as they say, the punch) too. 

As for the "watching experience", didn't you already know I am a fast learner - So when Jeeva entered, and Nanda graced the screen, when Tapasee made her appearance and Santhanam made an entry, I took the cue from my neighbors and clapped my hands and joined in the hooting (it's a pity I cannot whistle) - and believe me I had super fun. I also cheered (super loudly) when certain dialogues were spoken in hindi - what was that saying - "when in Rome, do as the Romans do" :P :P.

I feel inadequate to really critique the movie, so no rating but here's my opinion on it - The story line was not at all compact - it was too flawed and long winded with all the nested and never-ending looped flashbacks. The movie itself could do with a lot of editing!
There isn't much to talk about the cinematography, though I must mention I loved the Kerela shots. 

As for the music - quite pleasant to the ear...Infact I took an instant liking to the closing credits song:

Coming to the cast - I absolutely fail to understand why Tamil directors cast these north indian actresses - who cannot speak the language, cannot emote, cannot act, cannot dance and do not even look pretty! What's the point - fair skin doesn't buy you an audience - hasn't that been proven time and again at the box office? Are none of the beautiful tamil "ponnus" interested in Kollywood? And that's all that I have to say for Tapasee!

Having had grown up on an overdose of Hollywood and Bollywood, I like my actors to be good looking - and that's where Jeeva fails - he is very average - can't say much for his acting - I think he did an overall okay job. In comparison, I liked Nanda a lot - he was convincing as the bad boy (and scored a notch higher in the looks department too).

Santhanam made a reasonably decent comedian - His south indian hindi was really hilarious, especially in certain dialogues, and so was his acting - I enjoyed watching him and his antics!

Like I said - sorry, no recommendation or final verdict on this one - Vandhan Vendraan will remain special for being my first tamil movie in a cinema hall!

[Image Source: Google Images]