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 Nivin Pauly starrer Mahaaveeryar (Malayalam) directed by Abrid Shrine,released in theatres this week on July 21st. An ancient king has a bothersome health condition that prevents him from leading a normal life. He orders his men to find a beautiful dancer who he feels is the only person who can save him from his malady. Cut to another scene where a saintly mendicant ( Nivin Mauly) is in court for stealing a statue. How are these two stories from different time zones, linked together?  The mainstay of the film are the performances of the talented star cast of Nivin Pauly, Siddique, Asif Ali, Shanvi Srivastav, Lal and others who together keep you engaged and rivetted to the screen.  Elements of satire and dark humor are sprinkled in the early parts but a bit of a lag sets in during the courtroom scenes.  The time travel storyline is neatly stitched together by Chandru Selvaraj's camerawork. Mahaveeryar  comes across as an attempt to touch upon a socially relevant theme,  laced with

 White Carpet Films' and PG Media Works' Arulnithi starrer Dejavu, directed by debutant Arvindh Srinivasan, released on 22 July. The film has music by Ghibran and the DOP is PG Muthiah. A writer (Achyuth Kumar) approaches the cops with a strange narrative. Apparently, he finds that crimes he has written about in his works, are actually taking place.  In the meanwhile a senior cop's ( Madhubala) daughter is missing.  Enter Arulnithi as a special cop Vikram assigned to discover the truth. Can he find the missing girl in time? What is the mystery behind the writer's claims and the series of strange crimes ? Debut director Arvindh keeps up the momentum with a gripping storyline and screenplay with adequate twists to keep the viewer guessing and engaged. The movie moves at a crisp pace sans unnecessary frills and diversions. However,  though there are places where lags slow down the pace , overall the film retains an edge -of - the- seat suspense feel.  Arulnithi is perfectl

 Nadhi starring Sam Jones and Anandhi is directed by Thamarai Selvan. The music is by Dhibu Ninan Thomas  while Mas Cinemas produces. The movie,  is centred around  2 young college students in Madurai,  Tamizh ( Sam Jones) an auto driver's  ( Munishkanth) son and Bharathi (Anandhi) a politician's (Karu Palaniappan) daughter, who fall in love. But amidst their dreams of a bright future together,  caste and status related issues crop up and create havoc in their lives. Do the duo get over the problems created in their lives, to fulfil their dreams? The lead cast have done their bit convincingly (and Anandhi's performance especially  stands out) as have the supporting cast members like Munishkanth, Karu Palaniappan, Mic Set Sriram Kodangi Vadivel and others. Dhibu's music adds to the atmosphere of the film while the camerawork adds value with its well composed frames. The downsides could be said to be the villainous portrayal given to the supporting actors like Vela Ramamu