Starting off with the lead pair of the film, debutantes Gautham Karthik and Thulasi Nair were very much natural and perfect. It is something truly unbelievable that Gautham's father, Karthik and Thulasi's mother, Radha made their debuts together in Bharathiraja's 'Alaigal Oivadhillai' 32 years back, and now their offspring are making their respective debuts under Mani Ratnam, and that too in a coastal based film ! Gautham was truly remarkable in his performance and it is hard to believe that this is his first film ! Apart from possessing good dancing and action-based skills, Gautham, scores big in the emotional quotient as well and has performed very maturely. This chap definitely has a big and promising career in Tamizh cinema. Thulasi was lively and chirpy and has good dialogue delivery sense. More coaching can do wonders for her career, as well. The other lead 'pair', the two veteran Arjun and Arvind Swamy were impeccable in their roles. For a change, Arjun dons a character of truly black shades and pulls it off with ease. Its pretty evident that he enjoyed doing the role, and 'Kadal' will definitely be an important film in his entire career. Way to go, 'Action King' ! And what a comeback from Arvind Swamy. His charming and sincere performance is the actual scene stealer. With a variety of emotions on display, Arvind Swamy proves why he is an all-time favorite of Mani. 'Kadal' surely belongs to these two, gentlemen ! Lakshmi Manchu plays a small role, and though it was a good performance, her presence was wasted. The film has a big star cast such as Ponvannan, Somasundaram, Singampuli and etc doing small roles, and all of them were natural and authentic for their roles.
When it comes to a Mani Ratnam film, technical aspects have always been top-notch and it follows with 'Kadal' as well. Eka Lakhani and Sai's costume designing was perfect and kudos to them for the well-done research on the background of the fisher folks from a particular dialect-speaking region. Everyone looked their part and credits must definitely go to Eka and Sai. Tapas Nayak's sound designing deserves appreciation, especially for the stunt scenes and sequences involving the sea side area. Action choreography by Kanal Kannan and Kecha Khamphakdee of the Jaika Stunt from Thailand, was well choreographed.The fish market fight sequence and the climax fight sequence on the storm-hit boat are the main highlights. Shashidhar Adapa, who works for Mani for the very first time, has done a brilliant job with the set work. The dilapidated church, the fish market and the boat set which appears in the climax, were too good to be true. Truly brilliant ! Sreekar Prasad's editing was flawless as usual, and as a veteran of Mani's camp, his work complements the narrative setting of Mani Ratnam. Rajiv always reserves his best for Mani and in 'Kadal' some of the shots were just too beautiful and magical. The dark blue- storm skies, the dry and barren sandy seaside, the beautiful beach, everything was simply superb. Rajiv's specialty is his slow, poetic and soft cinematography with no tinges of glariness and blazing color tones and he applies the same to 'Kadal' as well. Exquisite work, indeed !
A.R Rahman is back after a three-year gap in Tamizh cinema (the last of his Tamizh score was for 'Endhiran'). The songs are typical Rahman, where one needs to spend time listening to them over-and-over again for liking it. "Chithirai Nila" is a slow, melody number which was used sparingly in the film, in accordance to situations, usually for some particular scenes. "Adiyae" is a refreshing song from Rahman which blends folk and jazz in a Christian gospel-type song. But the picturization was little awkward as it suddenly springs out like a dream song and the choreography by Brindha, reminds us of the evergreen "Nenjinile" song from 'Uyire'. Some might find it as weirdly picturized song, but it was definitely a different attempt. "Moongil Thottam" is a soothing , romantic number, picturized on the lead pair. The beautiful images of the crystal-clear sea, dark forest, pristine beach and etc complements the camera movement. A song on the ranks of "Pachai Nirame" in terms of visual ! "Elay Keechan" was shot in a lively manner, with full dance and vigor. The coastal areas and the fish market set was captured well by Rajiv, and the rain portion in the end, brings more charm to the song. "Nenjukkule" was shot in montage style amidst dialogue sequences between the Gautham and Thulasi. "Anbin Vaasale" appears during the end credits, with cuts between the sequences of the lead pair getting back together and Arvind Swamy being featured in a lively church procession. "Magudi Magudi" appears during the opening credits, and also in the middle of the film, with plenty of montage sequences being used. The background score was good but there are no standout pieces, as one can listen in previous collaborations of Mani and Rahman.
Mani Ratnam has joined hands with writer Jeyamohan and adapted his novel into a screenplay. The story, a major part of the screenplay and dialogues, all belongs to Jeyamohan. Mani handles only the direction department and made some contributions in the screenplay writing as well. Usually, we get to see characters of grey shades, which presents us different dimensions, in a Mani film. But in 'Kadal' Mani has split the white and black from the grey and gave it each to the two important artistes, Arvind Swamy and Arjun, respectively. The main focus of the film is the battle between "good and evil", which is between Arvind and Arjun here, but it gets to be played in the form of the protagonist Gautham. As the film moves on, the focus swings from the personal battle between the duo and of Gautham's travails and love-life. As the focus shifts back-and-forth, the length of the film gets a tad too long and the pace gets even more slower, especially in the second half. Also, the actual crux of the film is the personal duel between Arjun and Arvind Swamy, and sadly this angle was not exploited to good use. A few questions were left unanswered/unexplored, which should have been rectified. The dialogues are steep in Christian vocabulary and one might find alienated if they are not accustomed to such terms or phrases and the dialect is an added challenge to us. There are lots of subtle but hidden themes/symbols sprinkled throughout the film, and only those who pays close attention, can identify them. Mani does not spoon-feed every single explanations on the "whats" and "whys" of the film, and only by good analytical skills, one can comprehend the true essence and meaning of some of the sequences and also to admire the directorial skills of Mani Ratnam.
'Kadal' might not be in the league of some of Mani's classic films but its still "A Mani Ratnam Film". One does not get to see regular mainstream cinema at its best, with high-quality, glossy outputs and fantastic execution of a script.
Ratings: 3.25/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Mike..i just fil dat muvi is overrated... i felt d muvi is jz normal la.. well..i wud giv 2.5 la.. my personal view la..
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