Prakash Raj is back in Tamizh cinema, and its his second directorial venture in Tamizh. A trilingual project, 'Un Samayalaraiyil' is an official remake of the 2011 Aashiq Abu directed super-hit Malayalam film 'Salt N' Pepper', which had Lal, Shweta Menon and etc in the lead. Backed by 'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraaja's music, and some good co-artistes, can Prakash Raj deliver an endearing and emotional rendition, of a script which has love and food as its theme ?
Prakash Raj is in his elements playing, a singleton 40-plus archaeologist and does a neat job. His reactions and expressions are repetitive and predictive, but that's due to the large number of films he has done, over the years in roles of similar stature. Sneha, creates a decent impression with her acting prowess. She has dubbed herself for her role and the character, suits her pretty much. Newcomers, Tejus of Telugu descent and Samyuktha Hornad of Karnataka origins, passes muster with their performances. There seems to be some serious issue with lip sync, thanks to the multiple number of shots done, for three separate languages. The rest of the cast such as Oorvashi, Aishwarya, Thambi Ramaiah, Elango Kumaravel and have done what is required from them, though no one leaves a very distinct mark, in the film.
S.S Vasu's costume designing complements the artistes' characters. Prakash Raj and Aiswarya's khaki based clothing, reflecting their archaeological backgrounds and Sneha and co, sporting a pretty, contemporary Indian wardrobe. Art direction plays a big role, especially for the amount of props used to decorate the home of the protagonist. K.Kadhirr has given plenty of attention to detail for the works on Prakash Raj's character's home, which is filled with unique antiques and not to forget, the elaborate cooking utensils. Editing is taken care of by a newcomer JO.NI Harsha. The editing work was simple and pedestrian, but it fits the flow of the screenplay. Nothing gimmicky with the effects, but the necessary output was there. Preetha's cinematography works just makes us salivate on all those delicious food and snacks, so tastefully shot and projected on the silver screen ! Its hard not to feel hungry after watching the shots of film, and if you have doubts on it, do watch the elaborate sequence, on the making of Joan's Rainbow cake ! Preetha's lighting and color tone usage, gives the film a warm and fuzzy atmosphere, which complements the mood of the film.
'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraaja's score has its own specialty but the songs are average, considering the extreme standards he has set for himself. The pick of the lot, "Indha Porappudhan" is a Qawali song on food, which has plenty of cut-shots on some of the famous food and snacks of Tamil Nadu. Be ready to salivate, while watching the video clip which has the opening credits as well ! "Eeramai Eeramai" is a montage song, shot on Prakash Raj and Sneha, developing their relationship through phone calls. "Therintho Theriyamalo" was shot primarily on Tejus and Samyuktha Hornad. There were some montages, shot mostly in up-market areas such as malls and cineplex, interspersed with lovely shots of the pair, in a deep woods, with autumn like scenario. The bright splash of orange sunlight effect, adds beauty to the song. Also, a rain set was also built for the song, with minimal props, which Preetha has dealt well, especially with the lighting. The final song, "Kaatru Veliyil" is a situational song, which highlights the separation between Prakash Raj and Sneha, which has montages on them. 'Isaignani' Ilaiyaraaja's background score sounds brilliant in some sequences, and goes silent in most. Raaja sir could have filled them up with beautiful bytes.
Modifiying the original story and screenplay, which was written by Shyam Pushkaran and Dileesh Nair, Prakash Raj's screenplay was very direct and linear, apart from a minor flashback. Viji and T.J Gnanavel duo takes care of the dialogues portion, and though most of them are dull and pedestrian in nature, there are one or two odd gems and a couple of quirky, funny dialogues. The real problem with the film, happens to be Prakash Raj's direction. The film heavily lacks the emotional connectedness with the audience. There are no character development, nor any explanation on how the main lead pair came to love food. Audiences are not able to root for any of the pair's love emotions, because of the lack of depth in narration and everything is passed off in the songs, to convey the plot development. The film fails to establish itself in a genre and dilly-dallies between light comedy and emotional drama. Also, there's an absolutely unnecessary sub-plot involving an elderly Tribal man, which is a waste of time ! And something hard to digest in the story, is the fact that the younger pair, who were cruelly selfish in jeopardizing the older pair's true love and affection for each other, for their own self-interest, walk away freely with no whatsoever of guiltiness, after they are busted !
'Un Samayalaraiyil' - Soulless cooking in a confused kitchen !
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
After a year's absence, Radha Mohan makes his return with a bilingual, which has been produced by none other than his best buddy, Prakash Raj. The director is known for his sensitive and clean scripts such as 'Azhagiya Theeye' and 'Mozhi'. This time though, he has chosen a rather controversial but topical theme of honor killing, as his base, for his story. Working with debutantes, can Radha Mohan deliver another winner, without any hitches ?
Allu Sirish, the younger brother of Telugu star Allu Arjun, makes his debut as a hero, through 'Gouravam'. Though its not fair enough to compare him with his more illustrious older brother, Allu Sirish, is miles behind from being recognized as an actor ! He tries earnestly to perform, but sadly his expressions, body language and dance & stunt performances were contrived, rather than natural. He looks too stiff and rigid and the sense of awareness of the camera, is clearly visible for the audience. Yami Gautham, who made a splash in Bollywood with 'Vicky Donor' makes her debut in Tamizh. She looks good and performs neatly, but she does look out of place and is a miscast, sort of. Also, her role was pretty weak and was way too stereotypical. Elango Kumaravael and Sricharan were the better of the supporting casts and there's a big group of artistes, including seasoned-veterans and newcomers such as Prakash Raj, Nassar (who was completely wasted), L.B Sriram, Harish, Anupama Kumar, Brahmaji, Lakshmi Priya Chandramouli, Swaminathan, Muthukaalai, Pavithraa Lokesh and etc, who were adequate. But kudos to the acting crew, for getting their lip-sync spot on, especially by the lead pair, who's dubbing was taken care off by Vasu and Mahalakshmi.
The technical crew has put in an average work, into the film. S.S Vasu's costume designing was spot on, especially for differentiating the various classes of castes in a village and also for the pretty dresses of Yami Gautham. Silva's stunt choreography was just nice, especially the one done in an orchard. K.Kadhirr's art direction was simple but neat, especially the tightly erected village houses, and the aftermath of a riot set-up in the village. The interiors of the houses, were well done, in detailing. I.J Alen's editing was not bad, though he could have spotted some obvious mistakes in the film, and trim them out of the narrative. Preetha's cinematography was quite ordinary, but appreciation for her work on the stunt sequence, shot in an orchard.
S.S Thaman's musical score, goes along with the script, and complements the story and style of presentation of the film. "Oru Graamam" is a situational song, used twice in the film, which has montages of flashbacks, presented in quick-cuts. "Mannadhachu Panthu" is a well written song by Madhan Karky, which was shot on dancers and the lead characters, with the backdrops of villages, hill-top, lakeside and etc. "Ondraai Ondraai" is an 'youth-anthem' sort of, with the dancers and extras, along with the lead artistes, dressed in denims and khakis. The locations were mostly within the village surroundings, with barren lands, and plantations, as well as quarry locations. "Maname Maname" song was only used as a background score in the film. As the same with the song, Thaman's background score too, was complementing the script, quite well.
Radha Mohan, who is aided by his close associate Viji, in the dialogues department, is known for his cute and charming story narration and sequences, interwoven into the script. 'Gouravam', is an antithesis of that elements though, where the film is just full of melodrama and outdated scenarios. Viji sparkles intermittently, especially for the humor-laced dialogues which were cheeky, but sadly the rest of them is too mundane and boring. There's no freshness in the presentation, with plenty of outdated shot compositions, being implemented ! There were unwarranted lecturing and explanations, throughout the film, which makes the proceeding to bore, for the audience. The story development was very cliched as well, and its appalling to notice Radha Mohan's film to have many silly mistakes and loop-holes littered, here and there. The film moves in a very casual-pace and only picks up some kind of momentum, late in the second half.
'Gouravam' is a decent film, with low engagement factors ! It is certainly nowhere near the league of 'Mozhi'.
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
