This flavour - really - is the reason for the film’s existence, for entire stretches of screen time are devoted to nothing else. (He’s named Paruthi Veeran, after all.) It’s when this song came on that I realised how completely the director (Ameer) had succeeded in immersing me in his (fictional?) Paruthiyoor. Yuvan may have chosen this number - one of his father’s loveliest creations - to underline the mood of the moment, but it’s too urban, too silken a song for Karthi’s coarse-cotton hero. There’s a staggering amount of detail here - dancers in exotic costumes, loudspeaker announcements, cattle with balloons tied to their horns, card players oblivious to the ear-shattering noise around them, eunuchs singing the praises of a local big shot to the tune of Gangai karai thottam… These opening frames so completely transfer us to a different world - thanks also to the burnt yellows of the cinematography and Yuvan Shankar Raja’s magnificently earthy score - that much later, when the hero discovers love and when Kaadhalin deepam ondru plays on the soundtrack, it comes as a shock. People who’ve actually grown up (or lived) in villages may or may not find these depictions accurate, but for those of us from the cities, it’s a whirlwind tour of the rites and the rituals and the traditions that make up rural Tamil Nadu. It begins with scenes from a thiruvizha - I would have said “folk fair”, but given the rustic context here, that just doesn’t sound right - and this is possibly the most bravura stretch of atmospheric filmmaking since the manjal neeraatu vizha in Kaadhal.
#PARUTHIVEERAN KARTHI MOVIE#
– IF FLAVOUR WERE TO DETERMINE THE WORTHINESS OF A MOVIE Paruthi Veeran is a classic, one for the ages. Based on real-life incidents, this action thriller of a movie is also recognized equally for its music.Sivakumar’s younger boy debuts in a showcase for how good filmmaking can (almost) overcome mediocre material. Karthi's tryst with vengeance, violence, and Chennai, however, began with Naan Mahan Alla, a Suseenthiran directorial. This epic romantic drama was directed by Ameer. The film that started it all for Karthi, Paruthi Veeran is undeniably mentioned whenever Karthi's best work is in question. The movie marked Siva's directorial debut in Tamil besides stamping Karthi as a 'perfect entertainer'.ħ. Ranjith.īaahubali's part dream-team of Vijayendra Prasad (writer) and Tamannah (female lead) were on Siruthai, a masala film that had Karthi playing dual and polarized roles. Theeran Adhigaaram Ondru (2017) Īn investigative thriller inspired by the real-life world of crimes, the movie is an ode to the hard-working Tamil Nadu police, and Karthi throughout the movie is realistic yet terrific.Ī film that speaks about class differences, caste politics, betrayal, and friendship, Madras is another one of Karthi's critically acclaimed performances where he plays a temperamental youngster caught in power-play over a wall in their locality. He plays a convict named Dilli who is out on parole and his journey to meet his daughter for the first time gets disrupted by circumstantial hindrances.Ī remake of the French buddy dramedy The Intouchables (2011), Thozha gained prominence for the bromance Karthi shared with actor Nagarjuna on-screen and the movie maintained its repeat value for its feel-good vibe and breezy entertainment.Ĥ. One of his more recent hits, Kaithi directed by Lokesh Kanagaraj takes place within a span of one night and gained Karthi an overwhelming amount of critical acclaim. The movie which was about an adventure to trace the last of the chozhars was re-released in 2019 and Youtube now flanks videos of fans apologizing to director Selvaraghavan for letting him down on the film's actual release. Paruthiveeran may have given Karthi a dream debut but the movie that his fans look back to this day as one of his finest works is the fantasy drama Aayirathil Oruvan. Interestingly in the 19 films that he has acted, Karthi has never worked with a director twice, which is a rarity in successful Tamil cinema careers.ġ. For the occasion of actor Karthi celebrating his 43rd birthday today, here is a look at some of his best work that the lockdown/quarantine audience can revisit on OTT platforms.