The third Friday of the New Year is not exiting. As all the big Pongal releases still unable to provide a judgment at the box office, this Friday has no straight Tamil release. Two films ‘Oodal’ and ‘Sonniyakari’ are the only creatures of this week.
‘Oodal’ seems to be a stealthy back door attempt by the makers of the notorious film ‘Thappu Pannitom Mannichirunga' which was shunted out a few years ago. Bollywood bombshell Mona Chopra (now known as Sherlin Chopra) has played a controversial heroine. Now the film is attempting a re-entry highlighting Sunaina, who has played a small role. With a tagline “Sunainavin kavarchi mazhaiyil”, the film would have been best lying in the cans. An occupational hazard for the upcoming Sunaina.
‘Sooniyakari’ is the Tamil dubbed version of the Hollywood film ‘Season of the Witch’. It is a super natural action thriller starring Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman as knights who return from the Crusades to their homeland ruined by the Black Plague. A girl (Claire Foy) is accused by the church elders of being a witch and responsible for the destruction. They command the knights to transport the girl to a monastery so the monks there can lift her curse from the land. The arduous journey across perilous terrain tests their strength and courage as they discover the girl's secret and find themselves battling a terrifyingly powerful force that will determine the fate of the world. Critics say it is a "road movie and buddy film with supernatural thriller and period drama”. Got anything?
The active season for Tamil films is going to be February and that too is not going to be at respectable levels. The World Cup Cricket in March and the following IPL Season are sending shivers making the producers to look forward to the summer vacation for a break.
Things are going to be more difficult as theatre owners are planning to screen World Cup Cricket matches on big screens for supplementary revenue. These are new trends that will test the self-control strength of Tamil film industry.
