Monday Nov 12 2007, Chennai

ATM: Vijay brand entertainer.

Directed by - Bharathan

Produced by - Appachan

Music by - A.R. Rahman

Casts - Vijay, Shriya, Ashish Vidyarthi, Santhanam, Sayaji Shinde, Namitha

Banner - Swarga Chitra

Azhagiya Tamil Magan (ATM) has quite a few ingredients to make you feel entertained.It has stylish Vijay, sensuous shriya, amazing Rahman, scintillating Namitha, to and Santhanam and co to provide an entertainer.Director Bharathan has pledged all his hopes on Vijay and packed the entire film accordingly.Vijay hasn’t disappointed him.  The movie is a package of usual romance cum comedy cum action cum dance.

The director has tried to make it look new by adding a new dimension in the form of ESP (Extra Sensory Perception) power of the protagonist.The ESP twist and the entry of second Vijay save the film from becoming a boring fare.  Business management student Guru (Vijay) is an athlete.He sacrifices his title for the sake of securing a job for the contender.Abhinaya (Shriya) is impressed and falls for the hero.

Her father is a business tycoon (Ashish Vidyarthi).Vijay wins his heart by his straight forward and no nonsense approach.  Then the charming Abhi, in turn, convinces the parents of Guru.Meanwhile you get to see the young pair dancing in spectacular locations for the tunes of A.R.

Rahman.  Guru in the meantime, starts visualizing things in his mind.The gory images do happen in his life.The psychiatrist says he has ESP.Guru is disturbed, as his ESP experiences are proving to be real.

He is in for a shock of his life when he sees an image of him killing his beloved Abhi.  Guru is shattered.In the pursuit of avoiding such a horrible incident, Guru runs away from Abhi to save her.  He lands in Mumbai where he sees a person who looks alike him.He fears that the image might have shown this person, who would kill Abhi.

Prasad (Vijay), the look alike of Guru, is a financier.He comes to Chennai and Abhi mistakes him for her Guru.Prasad, sensing a golden opportunity, acts as Guru and gets closer to Abhi.Guru comes back to Chennai to save his lady love from the wicked Prasad.He is struggling to make others believe his identity, as he is outsmarted by Prasad in all respects.

The rest of the movie narrates how he comes out of the predicament and saves Abhi.ATM belongs to Vijay.His timing sense in comical scenes, fierce action in stunt scenes, and alluring dance in song sequences are amazing.He has shown the difference for the second role with his mannerisms, style, and dialogue delivery.Shriya’s beauty is another asset of the movie.

The curvaceous lass generously flaunts her body.She also shows improvement in emotional and romantic scenes.Namitha serves the purpose of setting the screen on fire.The post interval portion opens with the sizzling duet involving Vijay and Namitha.The girl simply rocks.

Santhanam has provided the comical relief and Ashish Vidyarti, Geeta, Shakeela, and Ganja Karuppu have done their respective parts well.A.R Rahman’s music is top notch.Valayapatti, Nee Marliyn Monroe, and Maduraikke Poggathadi are outstanding while the remix version of Ponmagal Vanthal is enjoyable.Cinematographer Balasubramanian has done remarkably well.

Director Bharathan has executed many scenes well.The ESP imageries and the duel role scenes stand out.He has worked well to utilize Vijay’s charm to provide an entertainer.But the romantic sequences and the gimmicks played by the pair to convince the parents leave much to be desired.The first half lacks excitement.

Despite these flaws, ATM does entertain.Vijay’s charm, Rahman’s music, Shreya’s glamour, and a racy second half save the film.