A film based on schools and children is not new, but its been quite some time since we saw a good one, notably after 'Pasanga'. M.Anbazhagan, a former associate of Prabhu Solomon has come up with one and this time, the attention is on a dilapidated, old rural school. Produced by his mentor, M.Anbazhagan has chosen a towering presence, in the form of Samuthirakani, in order to play the revolutionary and visionary teacher, who is hell bent in making a change to the fate and life of the schoolchildren.
The biggest strength of the film is the role of Dayalan, played by Samuthirakani. His powerful, yet subtle performance comes in for big praises, because he raises above the mediocre and less substantial other characters involved in the film. He fits in to the role, beautifully and his dialogue delivery is superb. Eager to see more of him in acting roles ! Thambi Ramaiah as the antagonist was sadly an irritation, with his over-acting and high pitched dialogue delivery, and also with a ridiculous wig ! 'Junior' Balaiah makes a comeback through this film, and has portrayed a neat role. 'Black' Paandi does what he can do best, with his funny and loud comedy sequences. Yuvan, Mahima, Swasika and the rest of the cast fills up the big casting list, essential for such a script.
For a small budget film, this movie has some decent technical outputs. P.R Ganesh, has done well with his costume work, especially in highlighting Samuthirakani differently, to make his character standout from the rest of the cast. M.K Leen's stunt was good enough for the script. Vairabalan has done quite well with the art direction department. His props and setting of a very poorly managed school. Be it the old and creaky props or the more decent and presentable cultural show and felicitation ceremonies, his art work was very natural and fulfills the requirement. R.Nirmal was okay with his editing, but he could have done better with in the climax and pre-climax build-up, which was a little jerky. M.Jeevan's cinematography work, brought out the true mood and color of the rural-school setting, and also good close-ups to capture the emotions and expressions of the characters. D.Imman, who has a good combination with Prabhu Solomon, does a decent job for Prabhu's associate as well. "Adi Raangi" is a good emotional number, with most of the song shot in montages and based on Yuvan's character yearning for the heroine's attention. There were many close-ups, good angles with good sceneries as the backdrop, which captures the mood of the song well. "Nanba Vaa, Nanba" is a montage song featuring the character played by Samuthirakani, in his reformation process, in educating the school kids. The song has plenty of locations and sequences, which highlights the life and times of rural school students. "Andhurundai" is situational song, shot on the backdrop of a cultural event, taking place in the rural school portrayed in the film, with many students performing amateur dances. "Sahayane" is the pick of the lot, a soothing, melodious song sung by Shreya Ghoshal. It was picturized in a montage sequences, from the point of view of the heroine's infatuation with the hero. "Jada Jada" is the situational climax song, with montages featuring the school students preparing to face the examinations.
M.Anbazhagan, should be appreciated for bringing up such a theme, which highlights the downfalls of today's society, in relation to the education sector, in precisely, rural-schools. His dialogues are big plus because without substantial and powerful dialogues, no actor can bring out a good performance and M.Anbazhagan has placed Samuthirakani on a very good platform, to perform. Some of the scenes, where well brought out but was definitely a little overdone. The message M.Anbazhagan intended to convey through this film, is noble but it goes very preachy at times and gives a more sentimental and melodramatic moment rather than a thought-provoking touch. The director could have worked out better with his characterizations because, in order to glorify the role of Samuthirakani, the rest of the cast were subjected to lesser importance or of substance and depth to their character. It would have been more compelling if the others were given proper roles to play.
'Saattai' is a decent film with a decent message for the viewers, when it comes to the education quotient of current school-going kids, especially in the rural side. Not bad for a time-pass.
Ratings: 2.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Srikanth, makes a comeback through 'Paagan' under the directorial debut of Mohammed Aslam, a former associate of Ameer. This is indeed a crucial project for him, as it can salvage his career as a hero in Tamizh cinema. Along with a relatively small cast, this film promised us a decent comedy with some sentimentalism attached, to make itself appealing for the mass audiences. Will 'Paagan' save Srikanth, who had a decent outing in 'Nanban' ?
Srikanth, is a good performer but he needs solid script and acting scope, if at all he wants to make it bigger. Sadly, in 'Paagan' he has nothing much to offer, other than being comical throughout the film and being emotional in certain scenes. He is a total miscast in the film because and this proves to be one of the biggest drawbacks of the film. He looks too polished and refined for a character who hails from the village and is an out-and-out rural folk. Also, his costumes did not help to counter-balance the effect, because it is illogical to see him wearing neat and tidy attires, which contradicts with the character he plays. Other than that, there is nothing much to speak about his performance. Janani Iyer makes her second appearance on screen after 'Avan Ivan' and this is a proper heroine role for her, though it was strictly just a Tamizh-cinema conventional heroine. Looking pretty and petite, it is refreshing to hear her dub in her own voice and adds authenticity to her character. Soori and 'Black' Paandi appears as sidekicks for nearly throughout the film, with each of them performing in styles which they are popular for. Some sequences do evoke laughter but majority of them fell flat and was boring. Kovai Sarala was in her essence but it was a little too loud and over-the-top. George, Anu Mohan, director A.Venkatesh makes small appearances in the film, though they have nothing much to contribute to the flow of the film.
The technical team of the film was just functional and none of the department was outstanding in their work. 'Supreme' Sundar's stunts were a little innovative since it involves bicycle chase sequences and the usage of the bicycle as part of the stunt choreography. N.K Rahul's artwork was simple and natural, with the village house props and bungalow house props noticeable Kevin's editing could have been better since the movie moves at a very slow pace and also the climax portion should have been better. J.Laxman has captured the essence of Pollachi and Tirupur quite well with his camera, utilizing the lush greenery of the former and the industrial backdrop of the latter. Also, many shots were taken with the camera mounted on the bicycle, to get the feel of the ride of the protagonist. James Vasanthan's music was melodious and soft but it was boring ! None of the songs were hummable or interest-evoking. "Thatti Thavi" is a sequential song, featuring the 'bonding' of the protagonist with his bicycle and featuring many bicycle shots, obviously against picturesque Pollachi. "Poonthendral" is a typical heroine introduction song, featuring Janani Iyer prancing around with a couple of dancers and this too was shot against a lush and green Pollachi. "Simba Simba" was shot on a market set featuring the main casts of the film, minus the heroine and featured few cut-shots. "Ennai Mannipaya" a sad song shot on the lead couple, uses the Jimmy Jib quite well along the high terrains and hill-side areas. "Ippadi Oar" a typical dream song, was shot along temple lakes, with soft and breezy color tone and ample usage of the Jimmy Jib. The background score of the film was just functional and hearing all these poor scores, makes us wonder what happened to the man who gave beautiful scores in 'Subramaniapuram'.
Mohammed Aslam, who is in charge of the writing and direction department. As a viewer, one has no idea who Aslam wanted to project as the protagonist of the film, is it Srikanth or himself (since he gave the voice-over for the bicycle). The direction was poor because none of the character were believable and the direction of the script is also confusing because the viewers have no idea whether is this a full-length comedy film with little sentiments or the other way around. None of the events in the film looks serious and there are big gaps in the screenplay with many questions left unanswered. The climax too was a perplexing because, the viewers have no clue, why the sudden turn of events are taking place and it has nothing to contribute to the story as well !
'Paagan' is a poor product from Aslam, as there's no good direction, proper characterization or even story to tell in the movie.
Ratings: 1.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
