Annaatthe is a film written and directed by Siva, and bankrolled by Kalanithi Maran under the banner Sun Pictures. The film has Superstar Rajinikanth, Nayanthara, Keerthy Suresh in the lead roles while Meena, Khushbu, Soori, Sathish, Sathyan, Jagapathi Babu and others play supporting roles. The film has music by D Imman and cinematography by Vetri Palanisamy.
Rajinikanth is a name that has reached every village, street and household in Tamil Nadu. It is not just his commercial success that has made him the star that he is, but also the kind of films he chooses. And it is films like Annaatthe, through which, people look at him as one among them, and at the same time, a superstar. While you look at a tree and see how high it's leaves and branches have grown, Rajini reminds you that it is also necessary to look at the roots and see where you've come from. And by doing exactly that, Rajini gets an elevation from the superstar status, to a phenomenon.
The film has a very simple plot. Rajini plays the role of Kalaiyyan, the Village President of Soorakottai in Thanjavur, and has extreme love for his sister Thanga Meenakshi, played by Keerthy Suresh. When Keerthy Suresh gets married and moves to Kolkata, she faces a lot of trouble, and it is upon Kalaiyyan to save her. How he does it forms the plot of the film.
Annaatthe is the kind of the film that we call as a template film. The first half consists of scenes that establish the bond between Kalaiyyan and his sister Thanga Meenakshi, while the second half is dominated with a series of action blocks. Director Siva's strength is in creating emotional scenes out of thin air and it is these scenes that save the film apart from the superstar's unparalleled charisma and brilliant acting. His antics and acting in the first half are enjoyable, and the scenes alongside Prakash Raj are the pick of the lot.
The film almost has the same technical elements as Viswasam. D Imman's background score comprises of a proper mix of folk beats for the action scenes and melodies for the emotional scenes. Vetri Palanisamy's visuals in the Kolkata portions remind you of the lighting in Mumbai portions of Viswasam. But both the visuals and music complement the narrative well.
The issues mainly begin with the pacing which is slow. For instance, immediately after Keerthy Suresh is introduced, we expect the scenes involving her and Rajini to begin immediately. But the film spends time in exploring the romantic angle between Nayanthara and Rajini which doesn't have any pay-off till the end. However there's not much to complain about, when compared to the second half. A fight sequence based on a Thiruvizha alone seemed exciting on paper.
Another issue with the film is the dialogues which reeks of melodrama. They're highly predictable, and that's mainly due to the repetitive nature. Jagapathi Babu comes off as another stereotypical villain but looks menacing. However in the action scenes, none of the villains seem to excite you because of their weak characterization. Keerthy Suresh and Nayanthara have good screen space in the second half, and a lot of Soori's jokes work.
Overall, it's a template driven formulaic film that's high on brother-sister sentiment. One unique aspect is that the film doesn't want to entirely depend on Rajinikanth. The director wants the sentiment to work out, with Rajini being a medium for it. Whether it's successful or not is a question for another day. But for a festival film, this might be a good option to celebrate with your family members.
1. Annaatthe Annaatthe
Singer: S.P.Balasubrahmanyam
Lyricist: Viveka
The legend lives on, as we end the first anniversary of his death, the genius of SPB continues to live on, and it is not just a zillion of his old songs but new ones which are getting released like this one here. There can be only one SPB in South Indian movies if not the whole of India, and just none can match the style and oomph factor of him especially when it is a song featuring Superstar Rajinikanth in the lead role. The song has an amazing combination of trumpets and synth programming with a chorus singing ‘Thalaiva’, and all this sets the perfect tone for what is about to come. SPB singing the title and you feel goosebumps, and these 2 seconds are enough to show how insurmountable he was. The lyrics are penned by Viveka and the words are spectacularly larger than life and that is exactly what the masses want to experience. Keba Jeremiah’s guitars are in play here especially the bass. The Indian percussions we hear are arranged by Kaviraj and make us feel like the days of “singanadai pottu sigarathil eru” are back. Maxwell’s trumpet is excellent right from the beginning but the harmonies comprising of solid singers like Santhosh Hariharan, Deepak, Shenbagaraj, Aravind, Srinivas, Narayanan, Vignesh Narayanan, Veena Murali, Sowmya Mahadevan, Deepthi Suresh, Abinaya Shenbagaraj, Ala B Bala, Soundarya, Nandakumar. The interlude has a female chorus and has a moment where the notes suddenly drop like you wouldn’t expect. The stanza is nicely composed as expected from Imman and it traverses a path carrying the melody forward. The kids' chorus consists of Neha, Idhazhika, Dhanyasri, Shivathmika, and Sahana. The entire album is mastered by Shadab Rayeen with assistance from Pukraj and Milan, while Imman mixes, composes, records, and arranges every track in it. The percussions are played by Babu, Pradeep, Raja, Balu, Manoj, Saravanan, David, Chiranjeevi, and Azhagiri. The track will be the new anthem for all Rajini fans and be prepared to hear it wherever you turn around in tea stalls, auto-rickshaws, and dance shows.
2. Saara Saara Kaatrae
Singers: Sid Sriram, Shreya Ghoshal
Lyricist: Yugabharathi
Imman gets two monumental singers of today in this track viz. Sid Sriram and his most dependable Shreya Ghoshal. The track is set in Sindhubhairavi raagam and that becomes quite evident from the get-go itself. We have Yugabharathi on the lyrics and he becomes the emotion of love to great effect here. It is only in Imman’c composition that we get an elaborate Pallavi and Anupallavi and that too with so many variations and believe me a lot of songs these days would end right here without any scope. Shreya Ghoshal kills this one and it is probably one of her best for Imman and Sid also plays the role of the perfect companion. The Chennai Strings Orchestra is in full flow in this track conducted by Yensone Bagyanathan with Violins by Rex Issac, Ramachandran, Sasi, Murali, BG Venkatesh, George, Mohan, Dhayalan, David Ling, Samson, Prabhu, Ruben, Bhaskar, Vijayabhaskar, Jayakumar, Selva, Shiva, Sekar, Seenu, Narayana Rao and Manoj. The Violas are played by Sebastian, Balu, Hemanth, Girijan, Selva, Gopi, Chandran, Anita, Joseph, Cyril, Dinakar, Vinaykumar. The Cellos are played by Sekar, Somnath, Francis, and Seenu, while Basses are played by Bidhyut and Suresh. This song will be your favorite in the album if you love a meandering melody.
3. Marudhaani
Singers: Nakash Aziz, Anthony Daasan, Vandana Srinivasan
Lyricist: Mani Amuthavan
How can there be a superstar movie without a dance song involving the entire family? Well here it is and it has two iconic singers suited for this genre. Anthony Daasan is a pro while the other being Nakash Aziz is climbing up in this world. Aziz has carved a name for himself and he can sing many languages with great diction. In the female lead vocal role, we have another dependable singer in Vandana Srinivasan. We already have 3 different lyricists for the first 3 songs as this one is penned by Mani Amuthavan. The percussions are the sidekicks for this song with the enchanting Nadaswaram. Keba’s guitars are fabulous right through and especially in the charanam, as they provide solid support even as the lead singers keep shifting and changing the lines. The second interlude on the Nadaswaram is a treat to listen to. The line in which Aziz sings “mannu thaan, vetha onnu thaan” sounds a lot like “Sindhinen ratham sindhinen” from the super hit Ilaiyaraja song “Oora therinjukitten” which was also from Superstar's movie.
4. Yennuyire
Singer: Sid Sriram
Lyricist: Thamarai
The pathos song which is essential for any Rajini starrer is here and Imman ropes in Sid Sriram to sing the song and he excels. I sense that there is some influence of Rasikapriya raagam in this tune as we are reminded of Imman’s own blockbuster hit “Uthira Uthira”. Thamarai is the lyricist for this one and gets the words and emotions spot on. In what sounds like the electric Veena followed by some strings and woodwinds. The flute and Veena make solid interventions in the charanam. The female version has the nightingale KS Chitra and it is just incredible how she can still deliver with ease any song she is offered. In my opinion, the female version gets a leg up purely because of the superstar singing it.
5. Vaa Saamy
Singers: Mukesh Mohamed, Nochipatti Thirumoorthi, Keezhakarai Samsutheen
Lyricist: Arunbharathi
Mukesh Mohamed, Nochipatti Thirumoorthi, and Keezhkarai Samsutheen are solid together and in their individual lines as their vocals are despite being at high decibel levels never hurt the ear once thanks to the immaculate delivery and production. The song is like an anthem with solid folk percussions and during the charanam, there are fragments that probably are inspired by Hamsanandhi raagam. The song is heavy on adrenaline and one can’t wait for the visuals to match the audio.
6. A for Annaatthe
Singers: Arivu,Superstar Rajinikanth
Lyricist: Arivu
This is definitely Rajini’s revenge song as the vibes we get and lyrics we hear are perfect for that setting. Arivu writes and sings this in his own style and it is increasingly heart-warming to see Arivu get chances in mainstream Tamil Cinema. The whistles and the rhythm make a great team especially with Arivu’s constant rap and singing.
7. Thalaivar Rampage
This theme music reminds me of the 1990s when Rajini would walk and it would feel like the stage and screen is setting itself on fire. The electric guitars and trumpets make a solid combination. The male humming has become traditional in Rajini BGMs ever since the heydays of Thenisai Thendral deva.
8. Village Kuthu
This is a simple percussion-loaded piece, but a perfect recipe for fans to dance on FDFS.
9. Yennuyire Instrumental
This instrumental piece has synth programming in the background, but it is all about the Nadaswaram played by KP Kumaran from Jaffna, and this one is soul-stirring matching the vocal versions.