1.5 / 4 STARS
DIRECTOR: RAVI
ACTOR: VIJAY
ACTRESS: RICHAA BALLOT
MUSIC DIRECTOR: MANI SHARMA
STORYLINE:
Ashok (Vijay) is a young man who spends all his time bringing lovers together. He's already brought together 24 couples, and is scouring for his 25th.
Meanwhile, he is in love with Uma (Richaa Ballot), a young girl in a nearby college. He sight-adikkus her, and spends all his time dreaming about her.
Then, he is introduced to Raju (Krishna), a young man who is also in love with Uma, except he calls her by a different name -- the name of Mahi. He asks Ashok to get Mahi and him together. Ashok, without knowing he is setting up his own lover, brings Raju and Mahi together.
In the end, he discovers the truth only at their wedding. Then he must sacrifice his love so that she is happy in life.
COMMENTS:
Vijay's best movies have involved him giving up his love for something or someone ("Poovae Unnakkaaga," "Kaadhalukku Mariyaathai"). Does Shah Jahan follow the trend? Not a chance. It's a classic masala film that Vijay fans will love and everyone else will be utterly bored by.
Vijay fights, dances, fights, dances, fights, dances, his way through this film. In the middle, a raunchy and not-very- funny comedy track involving Vivek and Kovai Sarala is thrown in. And the end is a purely sentimental tear-jerking ending that is taken straight out of what should be a Murali film.
The acting? Vijay acts adequately. Not well, just adequately (besides, he really only gets one scene in which to emote). Newcomer Richaa Ballot is just kind of there. No actor leaves an impression.
The fighting? Okay, Vijay has done some extensive impressive stunt-work in the fight scenes, and has even done some wire work (obviously somebody in Kollywood saw "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" a little too seriously).
The dancing? Vijay's always great in the dancing, and in this film, it's not an exception. The group dances are well-organized, well-done. Is it just me, though, or are they getting repetitive?
The sentiment? Overdone, overblown, and ultimately, fluff. When (spoiler!) Vijay gets stabbed in the end and still pushes his lover and her lover onto the train, I rolled my eyes instead of reaching for a handkerchief.
You won't be bored watching this movie. You just won't be enjoying it, either, unless you're a Vijay fan. Then you'll be whistling your way through, having a great time.
NOTE ON THE MUSIC:
Telugu music director Mani Sharma has scored the music, and there are several great songs. My favorites are "Mellinamae," "Minnalai Pidithu," and "Manitha Manitha" (only a small portion used in the film). He does need some work on background music, though, because he included some overblown music in some areas not so serious.
RECOMMENDATION:
Watch it on video. If you really aren't a Tamil movie fan, skip it altogether.
VIJAY VANNIARAJAN