This is Ajmal's first film as an out-and-out hero or as the protagonist. It is quite evident that he has performed sincerely, though his reactions do tend to go overboard at times. Probably, more experience could have helped him to be more composed. But kudos to him for attempting to play two diametrically different roles and has worked well, in displaying the difference between both the roles, which are set in different eras. Ajmal shows some promise and with more films, he can scale the heights of stardom. Aparna Bajpai would have probably bagged this role, thanks to her role in 'Eesan' which she did long time back. She too has the opportunity to perform in two roles but sadly, her roles were not sketched out properly, nor do they have any significant importance to the film. Her sweet smile and pleasant appearance, is a plus for her, though. M.S Bhaskar handles the comedy portions of the first half, and he was good with his dialogue delivery and modulation. Meanwhile, its Jagan and Srinath, who takes care of the humor quotient in the second half. Jagan, was pretty good, particularly with his dialogue delivery and expressions, whereas Srinath was too loud and irritating. A big troupe of supporting artistes are there, such as Devadarshini, Chetan, Ganesh, Alex, Mahadevan, R.S.G Chelladurai, Balasubramaniam, Prem and etc, and many of them have left their mark, wherever they could.
The technical output of the film was not bad, surprisingly. Vasugi Bhaskar has done a good job, on a low budget, especially when it comes to the fashion styles of the 70's and the current generation. But more work could have done to make the characters of the village folks of the 70's to look more authentic and believable. Abdul Razak's make-up sufficed the needs of the artistes. 'Rock' Prabhu's stunt was simple and cleanly executed by Ajmal. Production designers, Vengal Ravi and Veeramani should be lauded for their simple, yet efficient art direction. The props and background were convincingly done to represent the specific eras portrayed in the film. The interiors and props for the 70's era, was the highlight, together with the sets for the songs. B.Lenin's editing was just perfect for the film, without making it too draggy. Santhosh Sriram and Sanjeevi Sathyaseelan, handled the cinematography department very well. The camera movements and framing were perfect, as well as the clarity in their works, especially for the village portions.
Kannan's tunes for the film was average and not really hum-worthy. "Kannamma" is the first song, which is a bit song, picturized on village girls, celebrating the festival, by playfully pouring turmeric-contained water on men. It has good camera movements and nice black-and-white tone to it. "Oh Indira" has Telugu actress Archana doing a dance jig with Ajmal, in a simple, yet flashy club set. The lighting was particularly bright, which captured the essence and mood of the song quite well. "Naughty Raja" had very bright and colorful lighting in the set work, which resembled the 70's hippie disco backdrop. The editing for the song was neatly done, so that it resembles similar type of songs, picturized in those days. "Karuppampatti" is a typical village song, with the Pongal celebration as the backdrop. It had plenty of dancers and the colorful festivity mood, in the air, especially with the big number of sugar canes used for the song. "Adaleru Kaalai" is another celebratory village song, this time glorifying the victorious state of the protagonist in a bull-fight. It too has similar colorful ambiance and plenty of dancers, with plantation fields, serving as the backdrop. The background score was just normal, and there's nothing much to discuss about it.
Tha. Prabhu Raja Cholan, must be credited for earnestly trying to be as original as he could, wherever the script necessitates. For example, the liberal use of French during the Paris portions, the non-stereotyping of villagers as the supreme good human and the usage of black-and-white tone for the flashback sequences. The detailing is evident, but it is not enough, in terms of his script writing. We are not given enough justification or rationale explanations on why the senior Ajmal was averse to his fellow villagers, though he is one among them. Some characters just vanish without leaving any mark on the screenplay and the the junior Ajmal's comfortable assimilation into the supposedly, "alien" village, is too good to be true. And the integration of all the characters into the village once again, was just too simple. All these only showcase the lazy writing of the director. Its puzzling to note how the director can leave out a simply detail in the dialogues portion, especially for the younger Ajmal, who seems to be uttering more English, instead of French ! He grew up in Paris, didn't he ? The director has set his sight in capturing the family audience's attention, but the script lacks the zing and the intensity of the emotional quotient, needed for such family dramas. Perhaps, Tha. Prabhu Raja Cholan would have intended for a light-hearted, simple film yet, it fails to fully engage us.
'Karuppampatti' is watchable in bits and pieces. A more deft, script-writing could have helped the film, to achieve its actual intention.
Ratings: 2/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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