Coming Soon - Mozhi

Mozhi has a few things going for it. Though a movie without a big hero or an established director, it has generated quite a bit of hype recently, mainly on account of Jo. It is releasing this weekend, making it 2 weeks in a row that I'll be catching my favorite heroine on the big screen.

The biggest reason to look forward to Mozhi is ofcourse Jo. This is the swan-song for the actress and if reports about her performance as a deaf-mute are to be believed, she is all set to make a big splash before her exit. She looks simple but great in the trailer and everybody at the audio release raved about her performance. With her marriage and a number of successful(both commercially and critically) films recently, she has been on a roll and if Mozhi too turns out to be a hit, she will definitely be going out on top. The rest of the cast isn't bad either. Prithviraj, who managed to avoid getting stereotyped after that superb debut in Kanaa Kanden, has acted in 2 hits so far and Prakashraj is always a reliable performer. Swarnamalya went nowhere after a dream debut in Alaipayuthey but could surprise us here.

Inspite of stumbling with Poi, which his guru KB directed for him, Prakashraj has a good track record as producer. He has produced small but different films like Azhagiya Theeye and Kanda Naal Mudhal and his risks have paid off since the films were modest successes and earned him a good name. Mozhi is another soft film from his stable. The director is Radhamohan, who gave us that little gem Azhagiya Theeye. In his follow-up Ponniyin Selvan, he seemed to struggle between his own simple story and the need to project a completely unsuited Ravikrishna as a regular Tamil cinema hero. This time he's back to Prakashraj, who has probably given him a free hand and so we can hope for another honest effort from him.

Vidyasagar and Vairamuthu have together delivered a fantastic album for the film. While the latter has written simple but imaginative lyrics for almost all the numbers, the former's simple melodies have let the meaningful words sink in without burying them under loud music and bad diction from the singers. Kaatrin Mozhiyil... sees Vairamuthu at his best as he finds mozhi in almost everything before stating that love needs no language (my favorite lines: uNmai oomaiyaanaal, kaNNeer mozhiyaagum; peNmai oomaiyaanaal, naaNam mozhiyaagum). After a long time, this is one song I'm listening to over and over again just for the lyrics. The other song that benefits from its lyrics is Pesaa Madandhaiye.... It sounds like its sung to Jo and Vairamuthu makes the most of the situation with some great lines (vaarthaigaLaal kaadhalithaen; jaadaigaLaal saagadithaai). Jassie Gift's unique voice makes Sevvaanam Selaiyai... a fun song. SPB, sounding as young as ever, sings Kannaal Pesum Penne... about a lover asking forgiveness from his gal. Looks like this song is being sung to Jo too and it has some fun lyrics (kaarappaarvai vaendaam; orappaarvai podhum). The bit songs like En Jannalil... and Aazha KaNNaal... make us wish they were full songs.

Inspite of the slowly-building hype, not much is known about the movie so far, including its genre. Lets hope it turns out to be a pleasant surprise and a big hit. If nothing else, Tamil cinema's cutest actress deserves a great send-off :-)