Vazhakku Enn 18/9 (2012)

Touches You

Just perfect...

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

One of the best Tamil movies ever made. Gives a clear picture of the brutal reality of the life of the Indian poor, Indian women and the class and gender divide that gives rise to this reality. Raises awareness about something that polite people generally avoid talking/thinking about - Acid attacks on women. An obnoxious part of the dark underbelly of Indian patriarchal society is brought out in all its harshness. A must watch.

"Vazhakku en 18/9" is a tight slap on the moral values of the present- day society where money, power, treachery & voyeurism rules the roost. There is no place for truth, honesty , love or innocence. Balaji Sakthivel's third movie after his brilliant "Kadhal" & high-quality "Kaloori" , "Vazhakku en 18/9" is a gem among all the neo-realistic movies that grace Tamil cinema these days. The effortless ease with which Balaji is able to engage in the social commentary in each of his movies is staggering.Balaji , known for the raw emotions that he is able to bring in to the narration , does it one more time. The tension, the pain, the anguish, the anger..... are some of the emotions which every one of us who watch the movie will surely go through the last half an hour of it. Though justice delivered partially, when the viewers vacate the theater they do so with heavy heart. It does bring in shame, sorrow, and guilt in most of us who introspect on the state of the society we are part of & contribute to.The narration is effortless in an uncomplicated flashback mode , easy to follow. Balaji has kept it as straightforward as possible. The dialogs are simple yet at the same time hard-hitting at appropriate places. He has the knack for casting unknown people in suitable roles who end up etched in one's memory for a long time. Here Chinnasamy as Chinnasamy & Muthuraman as Inspector are those memorable ones and both these actors have done a tremendous work.All the four in the lead Sri, Manisha yadav ,Urmila Mahantha & Mithun Murali have done promising work. Sri is brilliant as the innocent Velusamy who stays innocent throughout the movie (not like your routine innocent hero who turns gutsy & vigilante all of a sudden in the climax). Manisha Yadav as a naive middle class girl who falls for the temptations of the contemporary societal peer-culture is good with all her emotions & lip-sync. Urmila Mahantha's eye are so expressive they do all the acting . She hardly gets to mouth 3 or 4 lines in the whole movie but her emotive eyes do the rest. Mithun as a cool & suave spoilt rich kid who effortlessly changes his emotions like a chameleon is another promising find.All the other supporting cast , be it the boss of Velu or the Rosy akka or the one who does the mother's role of Jothi , have done a tremendous job.R.Prasanna's background score is adequate, supports the narration to some extent. But movie of this stature do deserves a better background score.Vijay Milton's captures director's vision onto the screen in a simple yet striking manner. Movie is crisp, runs for under two hours.Though couple scenes do drag a bit & in couple of instances amateurishness rears its head, overall "Vazhakku En 18/9" is a brilliant piece of work. One of the best movie in recent times, it deserves more than a solitary watch & all the encouragement possible. One can be proud that movies like these do get made in Tamil now & then.Bottomline : Outstanding

Indian government system is corrupt. In India there is a distinct class divide - rich and poor. Poor in India suffer in the hands of rich. These messages that the movie tries to communicate, so self-righteously, are not news to anybody in India.The movie tries to make up for its weak story line with melodrama and provocative visuals. Story randomly jumps from showcasing one evil to another evil in Indian society. Not sure if its based on a true story ( as no such claim were made ) but the incidents shown in the movie looks believable.Perhaps, a documentary around the subjects(if true) would have been better. Actors have done a good job in an otherwise disappointing and distressing movie.

Vazhakku Enn 18/9 (U/A)-------------------Rating: 5/5It is a realistically taken with all stuffs used in today's world... no songs but the story is inspired by true events.... It is must watch movie by all... DON'T miss it....Vazhakku Enn 18/9 is a tamil drama thriller film and the movie is about the present city teenagers who fell in love, the problems faced by them & how they react to it.'Vazhakku Enn' has moments that leave a lump in your throat. It needs a man with conviction like Balaji Shakthivel to come up with such a convincing film. Hats off the whole team for a splendid show! A must-watch this summer...Cinematography by Vijay Milton is the hallmark of the movie. Shot in soft lens, every frame speaks for itself on screen. Specially the scenes where Aarthy comes to know about Dinesh and his motives, how she manages to get his memory card are picturised well.Prasanna's background score is something that lends solid support to Balaji Shakthivel's sincere efforts. Complimenting the whole unit's good work is slick editing by Gopi Krishna.