ANNAKODIYUM KODIVEERANUM MOVIE REVIEW

Bharathiraja, the man who revolutionized village-genre in Tamizh cinema, is back in the limelight after a 5-year hiatus from his last, a brilliantly-themed 'Bommalaattam'. 'Annakodiyum Kodiveeranum' has the premise of Bharathiraja's forte, and it made a big noise with the launch and the consecutive cast-changes. Parthiban, Ameer, Iniya, all made their names checked and then dropped for reasons, known only to them and the director. The film saw the daylight with a newcomer, as the protagonist and Karthika Nair, doing her second film in Tamizh after 'Ko'. So, does Bharathiraja enthrall us with his village-themed film, without losing the sensitivities of current film-making styles ?

Lakshman Narayan, makes his debut in Tamizh cinema. As the gullible and innocent young village chap, he tries his best to be comfortable and confident with his first outing. But a lot of improvement is definitely needed, if Lakshman thinks of pursuing his career as an artiste. Karthika Nair, carries her role much better, thanks to her experiences (and possible tips from her veteran mother, Radha). She tried her best to shed her urban body language, and has succeeded to some extent, especially in the second half. Some bold scenes are thrown out in the second half, and Karthika has handled it quite well. Manoj Bharathiraja was the real scene stealer, with his willy and funny antagonistic role ! His expressions, dialogue delivery and voice modulation, brought out the best in him, in the best-written role of the film. The rest of the cast such as Manojkumar, Rama Prabha, Meenal, Subiksha, Angusamy Sundaramahalinga Thevar, Vairamala, Veerasingam, Malaysia Sivaganesh and etc had little screen space, but fails to leave any significant mark in the film.

Shankar's costume department delivered an apt output, but more detailing could have gone into Karthika Nair's make-up. Its pretty much unconvincing to see a 'smooth' and 'refined' looking dame, as a rustic village girl ! Do village girls actually have such perfect make-up touches ?? 'Super' Subbarayan's stunt choreography was done neatly, keeping in mind the abilities and limitations of the two important male leads. Palanivel's editing kept the film to a tolerable pace and duration, for a village subject. His montage portions could have been more smoother during the transitions. Salai Sahadevan's cinematography was adequate and functional.

G.V Prakash Kumar handles the soundtrack of the film and has delivered quite a few numbers here. "Kolavalai Edungada" is the opening credits track and has a few montages, showcasing some village festivals shot. "Aavaram Kaattukulle" is the first love melody of the film and was shot on the lead pair, romancing playfully each other in the village setting, with a few montages thrown into. "Porale" is an emotional, situational song shot on the three main characters of the film, and appears during a critical point of the script, with some dramatized weather effects, utilized for the song. "Pinnaaru" is a bit-song, which highlights the lead pair reminiscing each other during their separated lives. "Pothivachaa" also follows the same track with some more montages, but with a pleasant mode instead. "Nariga" is a conventional village duet song, shot on the lead pair, in a simple village house set, with elaborate village costumes for the lead pair. "Anname" and "Usure Uruvi" are two situational bit-songs, appearing during crucial climax portions. The background score of the film is handled by the Sabesh-Murali duo, and they leave their mark in the film, with re-recordings of their own touch, instead of mimicking G.V Prakash's songs.

Though Bharathiraja was the pioneer for village-based films in Tamizh cinema, times have drastically changed. Though rural themed films are welcomed, the style and presentation of the current generation directors are way different than what Bharathiraja has done with his latest depiction. Especially when you have watched path-breaking films such as 'Paruthi Veeran' and 'Aadukalam'. The nativity and authenticity were well brough out, but the story telling is not compelling and has a deja-vu feel to it. The script has a good resemblance to the director's classic '16 Vayadhinile', in terms of characterization and plot setting. The director has still tried to instill some 'bold' elements into the script, which comes in the second half. But its not enough for an actual film-lover to be hooked up with the film. The themes and issues handled in the film is certainly not topical, with old school framing and sequence setting and if it wasn't for the performance of Manoj, the film would have fallen flat. Worse still, its appalling and highly unfathomable to have Karthika portrayed as a prepubescent girl !  The emotional content is too shallow and the script is filled with too much of mushy and melodramatic moments. R.Rose Mugilan's dialogues, were very much in-tune with the milieu, the best lines were reserved for Manoj.

'Annakodiyum Kodiveeranum' - Archaically outdated and wrongly treated !


Ratings: 1.75/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL