Director Sargunam is back with a fresh, period film after the sleeper hit Kalavaani. Sargunam should be praised for handling a difficult subject in his second film itself, though this was his first script. He is known for the minute detailing, which was evident in Kalavaani and his earthy comedy portions. He teams up with the same team which delivered Kalavaani apart from few artistes and technicians.
Vimal continues his good run here, this time as an aspiring teacher. He got all his emotions and mannerisms right. He could have dealt more with the voice modulations and dialogue delivery because it sounds the same in all his movies. Apart from that, there's nothing else to complain about him. The debuting heroine Iniya aka Shruthi, who made an appearance as Cheran's sister in "Yudham Sei" has impressed us with her emotions and body language. She scores in the scene where she pours her heart out to Vimal and getting disappointed with the end result. Sargunam has etched out the heroine's role very well but her mannerisms are more contemporary and does not look like someone who belongs to the 60's era and that too from a remote village. Anyways, she should he applauded and it's a good chance missed for Amala Paul who was the original choice for that role. The supporting casts like Bhagyaraj, Thambi Ramaiah, Ponvannan, Thennarasu, Suri and etc are life-like and very natural. Kumaravel should be accounted for special appraisal for his role as the old "Kuruvikaarar". The group of small kids are natural as well and they make the scenes more lively.
Vaagai Sooda Vaa is of high-quality product when it comes to the technical aspects. Cheenu, the assistant of Sabu Cyril has done a wonderful job in recreating a whole rural/rustic village of the 60's from scratch. All the detailing from, the hut houses, to the properties on the set, the vehicles used, everything drips in hard work and minute details. Cheenu has certainly made his mentor proud. Debuting music director Gibran scores very well in both soundtracks and background score department and certainly raises the question of why he was not used in films before this. The songs are very contemporary yet it suits the period film very well."Senga Soolakaara", "Porane Porane" and " Sara Sara Kaathu" are the pick of the lots. Gibran has a very bright future in Tamizh cinema and looking forward to seeing him coming out with more film soundtracks. Cinematographer Om Prakash adds weight-age to this film and Vaagai Sooda Vaa will be one of his best works in his career. He gives the right sepia tone throughout the film to match the sets created and to bring the barren, dry looks of the hot land. "Sara Sara Kaathu" song was picturized beautifully and each shot was done in a very poetic manner. The fish going up the tree shot was brilliant. Editor Raja Mohammed could have done better in the first half to make the movie move faster. Costume designer Natraj's work was also natural and he should be commended for doing a hard research. KP Sasikumar's make-up especially on Kumaravel was brilliant.
Sargunam has a very good and tender message to convey through this film but it takes a long time to deliver the message, especially with the lengthy first half and the songs in the second half slow down the proceedings even more. Sargunam's detailing is very evident throughout the film. The settings, the society of that generation, the culture, the beliefs and customs, the communication style, everything was done in detail and class with no mistakes or faults. He has included lots of smile-worthy scenes such as the maths riddle between Vimal and Thambi Ramaiah, Vimal's problem with a particular goat, the kids' apprehension towards a new teacher and their mischievousness, Iniya's interest in Vimal and etc.
In conclusion, Sargunam has dished out a neat, decent, thoughtful movie with pleasant emotions, wonderful music and in-depth perfect detailing. It would have been better if the screenplay was trimmed a little.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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