Coming Soon - Pongal 2008 Releases

For the movie fan, its Pongal that officially kicks off the year, with the first big movies of the year hitting the screens. 2008 promises to be another eventful year for Tamil cinema and the Pongal releases look like they are getting the year off to a strong start.

The big one ofcourse is Bheema. Vikram hasn't had a release for 2 whole years(his last film was 2005's Diwali release Majaa) and the way Bheema was going, it looked like one would have to wait for Kandasamy to see him on the big screen. But it looks like its problems have been resolved and it will make it for Pongal. Bheema is one of those films whose continuing delay in releasing really confused me. It is headlined by Vikram, a confirmed box-office draw, and Trisha, one of the leading heroines today. Also, their last pairing was in a superhit film(Saamy). The film is directed by Lingusamy,whose last film Sandakkozhi was a big hit and who has had bonafide hits like Aanandam and Run before that. Music is by Harris Jayaraj, who has recently been delivering one hit soundtrack after another. With such a potent combination, one would expect the distributors to line up for the film eagerly and get it into theaters as soon as possible. But the film ran into numerous delays before finally seeing light of day this Pongal.

Vikram has spoken very highly of Bheema and has said that it will be a landmark film in his career. There were also reports of people who have seen the rushes talking of it reaching Hollywood standards. But the two key aspects that increase the anticipation in the days leading upto a film's release are the soundtrack and the trailer and in those two, Bheema is only 50:50. Harris Jayaraj has once again delivered a superb soundtrack with no song that makes us press the skip button. Oru Mugamo... is fantastic and just imagining Vikram striding along in slo-mo with this song in the background gives one goosebumps. After Vettaiyaadu Vilaiyaadu's Karkka Karkka..., Harris once again proves that one doesn't need to have strong beats and loud singing to deliver a stirring song. Ragasiya Kanavugal... is tops among the melodious numbers (the Irage Irage... interlude is particularly catchy) though Mudhal Mazhai... is really soft and melodious too. Siru Paarvaiyaale... is a typical Harris number that is fast and catchy but still seems melodious. On the other hand, the film's trailer is disappointingly ordinary. After all the talk of a sleek, stylish film, Vikram's role seems familiar and even the dialogs he utters are cliched. One can only hope that the film rises above the trailer.

The remaining films fall into a variety of genres. Simbhu, who didn't have a release in 2007, is back with KaaLai. Not much is known about the film but with a director like Tarun Gopi(who last directed the Vishal-starrer Thimiru) at the helm, the expectation is that it will be an unadulterated masala flick. Simbhu is paired with Vedhika, who we last saw in Lawrence's Muni, and the music is scored by G.V.Prakash. If masala is not your cup of tea, Pirivom Sandhippom is likely the first film on your list. It is directed by Karu. Pazhaniappan, who gave us the wonderful Parthiban Kanavu. He slipped up when he ventured into action territory with Sivappadhigaaram but he's back with a film revolving around human emotions and sentiments. Cheran and Sneha pair up for the film and Vidyasagar has once again delivered a wonderful, melodious album for the director. Family film lovers have another choice with Madhavan's VaazhthukkaL. Directed by his favorite director Seeman, who directed Thambi and also shared the screen with him in Evano Oruvan, the film is supposed to be in praise of the joint family. After Aarya, Madhavan is once again paired with Bhavana here. Bharath-starrer Pazhani is also supposed to be releasing but considering that it is directed by Perarasu(who seem determined to make movies as long as there are city names still left), my hopes for it are rather low.

Will Bheema, like the mythological strongman whose name it has chosen, crush the competition? Will KaaLai trample other films as it run? Will Pirivom Sandhippom meet expectations? Will Vaazhthukkal be greeted by the audience? Or will Pazhani surprise everybody and scale the BO hill? We'll know next week...