Srinivasa Ramanujam
Srinivasa Ramanujam is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Hindu, Chennai, and a primary film critic for Tamil cinema. His 15+ years of work experience includes being associated extensively The Hindu, The Times of India (Chennai), The Week, ET MadrasPlus and ChennaiOnline.
All reviews by Srinivasa Ramanujam
| Director: | Abishan Jeevinth |
|---|---|
| Cast: | M. Sasikumar, Simran, Mithun Jai Sankar, Kamalesh Jegan, Yogi Babu, Bagavathi Perumal, M. S. Bhaskar, Elango Kumaravel, Yogalakshmi, Ramesh Thilak |
| Writer: | Abishan Jeevinth |
Tourist Family
Comedy, Drama, Family (Tamil)
This Sasikumar-Simran feel-good film leaves you all fuzzy
Fri, May 2 2025
In a cinema dominated by loud guns and mushy romances, ‘Tourist Family’ comes as a breath of fresh air
A family is trying to flee Sri Lanka and lands up in Rameshwaram, only to get noticed by the cops. They are picked up in a police van. The mood is sombre. But what follows is a really funny five-minute sequence that sets the tone for the entire film. It can be argued that Dharmadas (Sasikumar) is this movie’s hero, but the script does not have a single protagonist; rather, it’s this entire family of four that forms the fulcrum of the script. Director Abishan Jeevinth’s Tourist Family is all about boundaries and ways to break them. A Sri Lankan family with fake documentation has arrived in a Chennai colony, which has, among other people, a grumpy man who rarely socialises, a drunkard who keeps getting yelled at, and a girl wanting to move abroad but changing her mind. That all these characters live together and are close-knit makes things interesting. Remember director Radha Mohan’s Mozhi? The first half of Tourist Family reminds one of that 2007 Tamil film, just in terms of feeling and flavour.
| Director: | Suman Kumar |
|---|---|
| Cast: | Keerthy Suresh, M. S. Bhaskar, Devadarshini, Ravindra Vijay, Rajeev Ravindranathan, Chu Khoy Sheng, Aadhira Pandilakshmi, Rajesh Balakrishnan, Anand Sami, Ismath Banu |
| Writer: | Suman Kumar |
Raghu Thatha
Comedy, Drama (Tamil)
Keerthy Suresh stands tall in this light-hearted satire
Sun, September 29 2024
Directed by Suman Kumar, this comedy brings together quite a few interesting elements of acting, music and humour
The opening stretch of Raghu Thathatakes us back to the ‘60s. Even as the opening credits roll, we are shown newspaper clippings of important developments in that period. Anti-Hindi slogans and protests are rampant in Tamil Nadu, a state that is furiously vocal against the imposition of Hindi. Indira Gandhi has taken over as the first woman Prime Minister of the country, something that should ideally given women across the country a lot more confidence and freedom.
| Director: | Halitha Shameem |
|---|---|
| Cast: | Esther Anil, Pravin Kishore, Gaurav Kaalai |
| Writer: | Halitha Shameem |
Minmini
Drama (Tamil)
Halitha Shameem’s Himalayan outing leaves you cold
Thu, August 29 2024
Starring Esther Anil and Praveen Kishore in the lead, this coming-of-age drama needed more drama
Early in Minmini, inside a school during a chilly evening at Ooty, a candle goes off. A student offers to light it up with his candle. “When one candle lights up another, there’s no loss,” someone remarks.
| Cast: | Justin Langer, Tim Paine, Nathan Lyon, Pat Cummins, Usman Khawaja, Frank Dimasi |
|---|
The Test S03
Drama, Documentary (English)
Short, engaging peek into cricketing drama
Mon, July 29 2024
IPL 2024 is over, but here’s a chance for you to watch how the Australian cricket team went about tackling the WTC final against India and The Ashes against England
Around halfway of the second episode of the latest season of The Test, drama erupts. English batter Jonny Bairstow ducks a bouncer, the ball goes to the keeper and the batter walks out of the crease. Pretty much a normal thing that happens during a Test match, you’d think. But there’s tense music in the background, almost like you know something is going to happen.
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