Movie : 'Valimai'
Cast: Ajith Kumar, Karthikeya, Huma Qureshi, Raj Ayyappa, Achyuth Kumar and others.
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja - Ghibran
Cinematography: Nirav Shah
Editor: Vijay Velukutty
Producers: Boney Kapoor
Writer-Director: H Vinoth
After a long gap, Tamil star hero Ajith Kumar is arriving with a slick action thriller titled 'Valimai'. Though the promotions weren't done heavily, Ajith's star image was enough to pull the crowds in Tamil Nadu. The film generated a decent buzz in Telugu too and it was dubbed with the same Telugu name. With Pawan's film arriving on Friday, they released 'Valimai' on 24th February and let us see how this film turned out.
Story:
Arjun (Ajith) is a police officer who gets himself transferred from Vijayawada to Vizag. Upon his arrival, he notices that there are a lot of gold robberies and murders. Also, many youngsters are seen getting addicted to drugs. Though every crime seems to be different from one another, the same group of criminals are doing them. Arjun finds it and gets the responsibility of catching them. Who is the person behind all these? Will Arjun put an end to all this crime? These questions will be answered on the big screen.
Analysis:
'Valimai' is a Tamil word and no one in Telugu knows its meaning. The makers did not try to explain it during the movie which leaves the audience confused. 'Valimai' means 'Power' and we can find it on Google. It would have been a lot easier if the makers put a minor effort into giving the film a Telugu name of similar meaning. Looks like they felt that the Telugu audience will watch this film irrespective of the title. There used to be a huge craze from Tamil movies till a few years back but it is not the case nowadays. Previously, Tamil cinema used to be different as they came up with unique subjects all the time but the Kollywood stars are catering to the masses a lot these days. They are churning out routine mass entertainers one after the other.
The mass movies are not getting appreciated by Telugu film lovers lately as our heroes are trying to come up with interesting content all the time. The Tamil audience are going gaga over the same old masala entertainers with a routine story but the Telugu viewers are not liking them anymore. Rajnikanth's 'Annatthe' ('Peddanna' in Telugu') is the best example. It got huge collections in Tamil Nadu but failed badly in the two states. Keeping in mind of the current trends, director H Vinoth still made a film with the same old story named 'Valimai'. He included huge action sequences and hero elevations to please the fans.
Handsome hero Ajith has been doing up out-and-out action entertainers for the past couple of years. He is catering mostly to his fans and masses. But the collaboration of Ajith and Vinoth attracted everyone. Vinoth made a near-perfect film like 'Khakee' with Karthi and his 'Valimai' with Ajith is expected to be an interesting one with a strong plotline. Though he showed his prowess in showcasing the villain and the crime racket, he dished out a regular story that consists of a super-strong hero and an equally brilliant villain who challenges the protagonist. After some interesting fights and mind games, the hero wins the battle ultimately. But what sells in 'Valimai' are the high octane bike action episodes and depiction of the crime world. The film is nearly three hours long and half of it is filled with action. The stunts and action sequences are made on a Hollywood level and there is no exaggeration in it. You get awestruck while watching them and the director used Ajith's bike racing experience in a perfect manner. The interval and pre-climax portions are just amazing and keep you on the edge of your seat. The villain hiding his identity is also presented quite well. The initial scenes are quite good and make you invested in the film. 'Khakee' director's mark can be seen during the initial part.
After that, lead actor Ajith came onto screen things start taking a bad turn. Though the mass intro makes the fans whistle, it takes you away from the main plot. The director showcases the other officers as mere caricatures, the hero solving the crime within a few minutes and other silly scenes take the film far from reality. Director started to compromise since then and he did not do anything different than expected. Though the first half is okay with good action parts, the latter half had nothing great. Targeting the hero's family, taking away his job and a sentiment thread on top of everything makes it a tough watch.
The lengthy runtime may also work against the film as a lot of scenes could've been chopped. We need to see how the Telugu audience embraces this action entertainer film 'Valimai'.
Performances:
Ajith looks bang average in this movie. He does not look like a cop as the usual cops we look at in movies are quite fit and ripped with muscular body. His looks do not match with the stunts he performs. He did an okay job regarding the acting as he has nothing much to do in the film. He should be commended for performing his own risky stunts.
Huma Qureshi looks good on screen but her character is not properly written. Karthikeya looked good and carried his role perfectly. He even dominated the hero at times and Raj Ayyappa gave a good performance as the hero's brother. The rest of the actors who played a key role are quite okay. There are a lot of Tamil artists in this flick.
Technicians:
'Valimai' is flawless on the technical front. Nirav Shah's cinematography is class. He produced some wonderful visuals and reminded us of Hollywood films. The action choreography is just wonderful and it is the biggest strength of the film. Ghibran's background score has elevated the scenes to a whole new level and Yuvan did a decent job with the songs. The production values are top-notch and Boney Kapoor spent a lot on this film.
Director H Vinoth who showed a lot of promise with his 'Khakee' has disappointed everyone with 'Valimai'. Though a few portions are quite good along with wonderful action episodes, he did not write a proper story and relied on Ajith's mass appeal. After starting on a strong note, Vinoth lost his grip on the movie gradually and ends up doing a not-so-great job.
Verdict: 'Valimai' - High On Action, Low On Content
Rating: 2.5/5
Cast: Ajith Kumar, Karthikeya, Huma Qureshi, Raj Ayyappa, Achyuth Kumar and others.
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja - Ghibran
Cinematography: Nirav Shah
Editor: Vijay Velukutty
Producers: Boney Kapoor
Writer-Director: H Vinoth
After a long gap, Tamil star hero Ajith Kumar is arriving with a slick action thriller titled 'Valimai'. Though the promotions weren't done heavily, Ajith's star image was enough to pull the crowds in Tamil Nadu. The film generated a decent buzz in Telugu too and it was dubbed with the same Telugu name. With Pawan's film arriving on Friday, they released 'Valimai' on 24th February and let us see how this film turned out.
Story:
Arjun (Ajith) is a police officer who gets himself transferred from Vijayawada to Vizag. Upon his arrival, he notices that there are a lot of gold robberies and murders. Also, many youngsters are seen getting addicted to drugs. Though every crime seems to be different from one another, the same group of criminals are doing them. Arjun finds it and gets the responsibility of catching them. Who is the person behind all these? Will Arjun put an end to all this crime? These questions will be answered on the big screen.
Analysis:
'Valimai' is a Tamil word and no one in Telugu knows its meaning. The makers did not try to explain it during the movie which leaves the audience confused. 'Valimai' means 'Power' and we can find it on Google. It would have been a lot easier if the makers put a minor effort into giving the film a Telugu name of similar meaning. Looks like they felt that the Telugu audience will watch this film irrespective of the title. There used to be a huge craze from Tamil movies till a few years back but it is not the case nowadays. Previously, Tamil cinema used to be different as they came up with unique subjects all the time but the Kollywood stars are catering to the masses a lot these days. They are churning out routine mass entertainers one after the other.
The mass movies are not getting appreciated by Telugu film lovers lately as our heroes are trying to come up with interesting content all the time. The Tamil audience are going gaga over the same old masala entertainers with a routine story but the Telugu viewers are not liking them anymore. Rajnikanth's 'Annatthe' ('Peddanna' in Telugu') is the best example. It got huge collections in Tamil Nadu but failed badly in the two states. Keeping in mind of the current trends, director H Vinoth still made a film with the same old story named 'Valimai'. He included huge action sequences and hero elevations to please the fans.
Handsome hero Ajith has been doing up out-and-out action entertainers for the past couple of years. He is catering mostly to his fans and masses. But the collaboration of Ajith and Vinoth attracted everyone. Vinoth made a near-perfect film like 'Khakee' with Karthi and his 'Valimai' with Ajith is expected to be an interesting one with a strong plotline. Though he showed his prowess in showcasing the villain and the crime racket, he dished out a regular story that consists of a super-strong hero and an equally brilliant villain who challenges the protagonist. After some interesting fights and mind games, the hero wins the battle ultimately. But what sells in 'Valimai' are the high octane bike action episodes and depiction of the crime world. The film is nearly three hours long and half of it is filled with action. The stunts and action sequences are made on a Hollywood level and there is no exaggeration in it. You get awestruck while watching them and the director used Ajith's bike racing experience in a perfect manner. The interval and pre-climax portions are just amazing and keep you on the edge of your seat. The villain hiding his identity is also presented quite well. The initial scenes are quite good and make you invested in the film. 'Khakee' director's mark can be seen during the initial part.
After that, lead actor Ajith came onto screen things start taking a bad turn. Though the mass intro makes the fans whistle, it takes you away from the main plot. The director showcases the other officers as mere caricatures, the hero solving the crime within a few minutes and other silly scenes take the film far from reality. Director started to compromise since then and he did not do anything different than expected. Though the first half is okay with good action parts, the latter half had nothing great. Targeting the hero's family, taking away his job and a sentiment thread on top of everything makes it a tough watch.
The lengthy runtime may also work against the film as a lot of scenes could've been chopped. We need to see how the Telugu audience embraces this action entertainer film 'Valimai'.
Performances:
Ajith looks bang average in this movie. He does not look like a cop as the usual cops we look at in movies are quite fit and ripped with muscular body. His looks do not match with the stunts he performs. He did an okay job regarding the acting as he has nothing much to do in the film. He should be commended for performing his own risky stunts.
Huma Qureshi looks good on screen but her character is not properly written. Karthikeya looked good and carried his role perfectly. He even dominated the hero at times and Raj Ayyappa gave a good performance as the hero's brother. The rest of the actors who played a key role are quite okay. There are a lot of Tamil artists in this flick.
Technicians:
'Valimai' is flawless on the technical front. Nirav Shah's cinematography is class. He produced some wonderful visuals and reminded us of Hollywood films. The action choreography is just wonderful and it is the biggest strength of the film. Ghibran's background score has elevated the scenes to a whole new level and Yuvan did a decent job with the songs. The production values are top-notch and Boney Kapoor spent a lot on this film.
Director H Vinoth who showed a lot of promise with his 'Khakee' has disappointed everyone with 'Valimai'. Though a few portions are quite good along with wonderful action episodes, he did not write a proper story and relied on Ajith's mass appeal. After starting on a strong note, Vinoth lost his grip on the movie gradually and ends up doing a not-so-great job.
Verdict: 'Valimai' - High On Action, Low On Content
Rating: 2.5/5