Coming Soon - Thotti Jaya, A Aa

   
Two big releases, Thotti Jaya and A Aa, are lined up for this Friday and the two films have a few things in common. They both have promising directors, non-good-looking(to put it mildly!) heroes who are coming off of big hits and soundtracks that have become popular. Both movies have also faced several troubles(of different kinds though) in their journeys to the theaters and their fate will finally be decided over the weekend.

Manmadhan was a turning point for Simbhu. While his performance proved that he could actually act (not to be confused with simply swishing his finger in a vain attempt to become the next Rajnikanth), his screenplay earned him respect. So it is natural that Thotti Jaya, his next movie, is raising more expectations that his previous releases. He is bearded in this film(which makes him look even more like his dad!) and is supposed to be playing a strong and silent-type role. Paired with him is Gopika, who has not had much success after Autograph but is definitely a popular actress. Behind the camera is Durai, who, with the underrated Mugavari and the disappointing Kaadhal Sadugudu, now has a fifty-fifty success rate but has never directed an actioner before. Harris Jayaraj’s soundtrack has only a couple of good numbers but good picturization and choreography could make the folksy numbers popular too. From the story outline the film looks like yet another dada movie and we have to wait and see if Durai can give it a new spin.

S.J.Suryah has a diverse set of movies on his resume so far. Vaali was a thriller, Kushi was a love story and New was a sci-fi tale. Only two things were common to all three – a liberal sprinkling of sex and glamour, and box-office success. The controversy-loving director is once again acting as hero in his next release A Aa and is introducing a new heroine Nila. The film’s soundtrack by A.R.Rahman is a big hit and will almost certainly guarantee a good opening. The film’s core idea of giving form to the thoughts of the hero and heroine seems like a very interesting and creative idea and we have to see how Suryah has handled it.

At this point my money’s on A Aa. Suryah has proved (thrice!) that he can craft an interesting screenplay (IMO, the most important aspect of a film) and give the viewers what they want. And that’s usually what matters in the end.