NEDUNCHALAI MOVIE REVIEW

N.Krishna, the former associate of Gautham Vasudev Menon, known for the candy-floss melodrama 'Sillunu Oru Kadhal', is back with a different project. A period film, 'Neduchalai' has been in the making for quite some time, and the promos have been promising, with its gritty and dark look. A good plot setting and a young cast and crew, can N.Krishna pull it off this time ?

Aari, who last made an appearance in 'Maalai Pozhudhin Mayakathile', makes a stunning entrance into the film. His toned physique and rough & tough demeanor, shows his hard-work and commitment towards the demands of the role. His controlled dialogue delivery and apt expressions makes him inseparable from the role he essays. Great going, Aari ! Debutante Shivada Nair is no less impressive either, as she is a wonder as the talkative, bold and loud Manga. Her voice and accent suits the role pretty much and she is just flawless in her dialogue deliveries. A little more composure, and she is a talent to watch out for ! National Award-winner Salim Kumar plays a comical and scheming character and is a riot, with his dialogue deliveries. The high-point of his performance is the nuanced balancing act of the comical and villainous facets of his character. The main antagonist, Prashant Narayanan of 'Murder 2' fame, rocks as the weed smoking, dirty cop ! His casual body language and measured performance adds zing to screen. The rest such as Thambi Ramaiah, Ashwin Raja, Sevvazhai, Kishore Kumar, Dheeraj Kher, Thavasi, Sree Raam and etc are adequate.

P.R Ganesh's costume designing sufficed the needs of the script, especially with the detailing, pertaining to the era portrayed and the people belonging to various socio-economic classes. Meena Prang's costume for the final song, works out beautifully too. The stunts have been handled by the father-son duo of 'Super' Subbarayan and Dhilip Subbarayan. The action choreography is riveting, especially with the highway chase, and the bonfire fight sequence was excitingly staged. Apt and measured choreography ! T.Santhanam takes care of the art direction and his works are quite interesting, especially with the set properties. The rundown auto rickshaw used by the protagonist was impressive ! Also, the 'dhaba' setting and the rural homes are well detailed. Kishore T.E's editing though flawless, has its little minus, especially with the duration of the film. The film moves at a slow pace in the second half, and with more tighter approach in the editing, the film would have been even more racy. Rajavel Olhiveeran's cinematography stands out for the excellent framing and picturesque shots. The shots have its purpose and Rajavel's picturization is in sync with the mood and need of the script. The vision and purpose of the director, is well resonated on screen by the cinematographer !

C.Sathya's music score is good and is definitely one of his better scores. The title track, "Kadal Thaandi" comes as the introduction background score of the protagonist. The highway chase & robbery was splendidly shot by Rajavel. "Vaigai Nadhi" plays throughout the mini-flashback portion, which chronicled the childhood days of the protagonist and had a red-color tone throughout. "Nandooruthu" is an item song featuring the sexy Rachana Maurya as the item girl and had Salim Kumar and Prashant in the act as well. The song had good lighting using fire elements against a night backdrop. "Ivan Yaaro" is a bit-song coming at a crucial point in the female lead's scene and was shot in a slow-motion manner, with a well set up court background. "Thamirabarani" highlights the love episode of the lead pair and had plenty of postcard worthy shots, mostly canned in and around beautiful rural sceneries. "Injaathe" was the best shot song, though the picturization does not warrant a place in this film's gritty context, with some flashy dream-song like setting to it. C.Sathya, also does well with the background score, which gels well with the story and sequences. 

N.Krishna, has come out with well-written characters, who all comes with a grey shade, including the heroine. The binary feature of having both good and negative sides to each characters, adds more realistic touch and a also a gritty element to the script. N.Krishna keeps us engaged with the screenplay, with enough twists and surprises in his story, which is claimed to be inspired by a real life character. Also, his detailing of the eras he portrayed in the film is noteworthy, especially in the way he incorporates it, such as the reference to M.G.R's demise and Kamal's popularity due to 'Nayagan'. Admirably, he constructs his film, (which has all the tailor-made elements of an 80's tearjerker), in a very contemporary style. He avoids all the unnecessary sentimental cliches, always associated with such period films, which is another welcome relief. And aiding N.Krishna's contemporary take is R.S Ramakrishnan's dialogues, which are concise and in sync with the needs of the script. But the script has its drawback, especially with the inconsistent non-linear screenplay, which takes out the fizz, along with a stretched running time. The film could be a tad too simple for some viewers, but still N.Krishna must be applauded for keeping true to his vision and approach with the script.

'Nedunchalai' - A surprisingly good and engaging, B-grade film !


Ratings: 2.75/5 STARS

BY:TAMIL