Santosh Sivan, the only personality from Asia Pacific to be awarded a membership in the prestigious American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), is known for his visual masterpiece. As a director, he has directed a few films and his 'The Terrorist' is a critically acclaimed film and even included in Roger Ebert's best films ever list. For the first time, Santosh Sivan has tried his hands in directing a commercially entertaining film meant for the masses. Though its for commercial purpose, the novelty factor is still there in the shape of historical fantasy. Originally made in Malayalam, the film was altered for Tamizh cinema yet it attracts audience because of its subject matter and also for the impressive star-casting. Its even impressive to know that the film was shot in a record 65-70 days with a big cast and that too a historical subject.
Prithviraj, who co-produced the film, gave out a good performance. As the brave Chirakkal Kelu Nayanar, he handled the stunt sequences very well, especially with the usage of the urumi. Though he was portrayed as an angry young man throughout, his minute expressions and emotions in love portions was good. Prabhu Deva as Vawwali was the funnyman in the film. His body language and comedy timing was flawless. His episode with Nithya Menon was naughty and cute and his dialogue delivery was perfect. Arya, was menacing as Chirakkal Kothuwal and carried good body language though he should have improved more for the tribal leader Thangappan role, especially with the dialogue delivery. Genelia D'Souza was a revelation as Arackal Ayesha. We get to see some stunt performances from her and she rendered a reasonably good performance as the young angry woman. Nithya Menon was cute and subtled as Chirakkal Bala, the princess. Her naughty behaviour and expressions was well brought out. Vidya Balan makes a cameo as a sorceress and as an NGO representative. The National Award-winning girl plays both roles very well and the former was the better one. Amole Gupte was efficient as Chirakkal Thampuram and his character's voice was well dubbed by Naran. Jagathy Sreekumar was excellent as the minister, who was cunning and at the same time carried effeminate qualities in him. M.S Bhaskar pulled off a good job in dubbing for Jagathy. Tabu makes a short cameo appearance in a song.
The biggest asset and USP of the film is the technical aspects of the film. For a average budget, this film carries fantastic work. Ranjith Ambady's make-up should be appreciated for his work on the artistes, especially on Jagathy and Amole. Eka Lakhani's costume was brilliant though it did not represent the era portrayed in the film, accurately. Yet, all characters were dressed accordingly and their costumes made them look apart from each other and helped the artistes to have their own identity. Genelia and Prithviraj's costumes are the testimony. 'Anal' Arasu' action choreography was splendid and he should be applauded for his unique choreography for each characters which suits their body language respectively. Though Prithviraj and Prabhu Deva plays the roles of friends, they have their own styles of self-defense which enhances their characters more. Anand Babu and Rajakrishnan's sound designing was good, especially the final battle sequences where each weapon's sounds, especially Prithviraj's urumi, was well utilized. Sreekar Prasad made the film look racy though it runs for nearly 2 hours and 20 minutes and the battle scenes were edited well with no gimmicks. Art director Sunil Babu did a fantastic job with simple, elegant yet detailed art work and that too in a limited budget. The abode of Chirakkal Thampuram and the props were well used and also the village sets were believable. The battle ground episode too was well portrayed and kudos to Sunil for pulling off a wonderful job. The man, Santosh Sivan weaves his magic as usual and the film is a visual opulence. The choice of locations and the usage of mist and rain throughout, gave the film a beautiful look. Nearly each and every scene looks like a portrait and it just shows the wizardry of Santosh. Kudos to his assistance Anjuli Shukla as well.
Music by Deepak Dev is soothing and very much apt for the script. "Vadakka Vadakka" was used situationally with not much emphasis given. "Yaaro" is the pick of the lot and the slow-motion shots, together with mist and cool color, picturized on Prithviraj and Genelia was beautifully and aesthetically shot. "Chinna Chinna" shot on Nithya Menon and Prabhu Deva, had good utilization of the glow of oil lamps and tight close-ups on the artistes. The naughty Nithya and naive Prabhu Deva brought-out the mood of the song very well. "Kondaadu Kondaadu" brought out the brilliance of Santosh Sivan in making use of rain drops and mist. Picturized on Prabhu Deva and Prithviraj, with a cameo from Tabu, the song had minimal art work which was a effective move. "Aararo" was also used as a situational song and weaves into the story smoothly. "Chalanam Chalanam" had Vidya Balan performing her 'sorcery' and her costumes complemented her look and the character she portrayed in that song. Santosh made excellent use of mist in this song.
What's pleasing of the script is that, its pretty much straight-forward and there were no big build-ups nor overtly-dramatic sequences. The narration was pretty simple and the script has scope for further exploitation. Its applaudable that Santosh and writer Shankar Ramakrisnan, made good research on the subject and infusing realistic fictional elements into the script, efficiently and smoothly. The movie pretty much did not deviate from its core focus point, apart from the songs and some small love scenes. Sasikumaran, the Tamizh dialogue writer deserves a pat for his sharp and hard dialogues.
'Urumi' is a simple and neat historical fantasy. Honestly written and technically well-made, it made the producers proud and might serve as an inspiration for upcoming directors to come up with similar ventures.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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