Long in the making and after quite an delay, newbie Venkatesan.R's debut, 'Nalanum Nandhiniyum' has officially released. A former associate of Venkat Prabhu, Venkatesan.R's story is a countryside-based family entertainer, with the hero and heroine being the central theme. Can Venkatesan.R, make Venkat Prabhu proud ?
Playing protagonist is debutante Michael Thangadurai of Vijay TV's 'Jodi No.1' reality dance program fame. Since dance is his forte, he doesn't seem to have any problem performing in songs, but when it comes to acting, he is no where near being good enough to hold the attention of the audience. He lacks the screen presence and does not show much variations in his emoting, especially in emotionally charged scenes. Meanwhile, Nandita has done a good job with her role and looks completely at ease in performing. She suits the role to a T, and shows good promise. The film has a host of character artistes such as Jayaprakash, Azhagam Perumal, Renuka, Soundara Rajan, Soori, Chaams, Madhumitha, Rinson Simon, Janaki, Rekha Suresh and etc, who have limited screen timing, with roles of unimportance.
Costume designing is by Sivakumar and Santhosh Kumar, and their work was apt for the necessity of the script. The costume designers have kept in mind of the characters, sociological background and comes up with a clean work. B.Thyagarajan's action choreography is functional and Gopi Anand's art direction, sufficed the needs of the script. His properties for the middle-class home setting and also for the rural background, was good. I.J Alen's editing was simple and plain but not flawless. The cuts for the flashback was jerky and could have been much better. Nizar Shafi's cinematography is pretty much functional, but his lighting gave the film a better look, throughout the entire duration.
Musical score is done by newbie Ashwath Naganathan and shows some promise. But the unnecessary number of bit songs in the film, kills the magic of the original full-length songs. "Sivagangai Cheemai" is an introductory song for the characters of the film, and has montages of all the character artistes involved. "Gummunu Varuguthu" is a typical village festival dance number and has good lighting work by Nizar and Michael shows his prowess and comfort in dance, with this folk number. "Thoongama" is a pathos song, shot on the lead pair and presented in montages, which has some good scenic views of Erode. "Vaadagai Koodu" is a duet song, shot on the lead pair and has a middle-class home as its setting and once again Nizar's framing gives the song a good picturization. "Kodi Neeyadi" is situational bit song, and "Sala Sala" is the final song of the film which depicted a film shooting process, throughout. Ashwath's background score is not bad, but he should avoid inserting bit songs, which impedes the flow of the screenplay.
Director Venkatesan.R's intention of delivering a neat and clean family film, deserves appreciation, but his execution falls flat, especially with the screenplay. The film's dramatic moments and episodes are all too cliched for contemporary Tamizh cinema, though they are not overtly melodramatic. It somewhat reminds us of the Tamizh serials being aired in Tamizh satellite channels. There are too many characters in the film, and most of them are not given proper importance nor any good scenes to act, especially when you have top notch artistes like Jayaprakash, Azhagam Perumal and Renuka. The director's film scenes fail to invoke any sympathy nor empathy from the audience, and the plot too doesn't keep us glued to our seats, due to the predictable nature of it.
'Nalanum Nandhiniyum' - Good attempt but too old-fashioned for contemporary standards.
Ratings: 2.25/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
After the critically-acclaimed and National Award-winning film, 'Thenmerku Paruvakaatru', Seenu Ramasamy is back with 'Neerparavai', a film portraying the life and times of the fishing folks. Interestingly, this film is produced by Udhayanidhi Stalin, through his Red Giants Films banner, which is a new turn for him, who is used to produce big-budget films, with top notch stars. Collaborating again with Vairamuthu and N.R Raghunandan, and incorporating rock-solid cast, can Seenu Ramasamy, strike it again ?
As mentioned, the film does have a rock-solid casting and all of them have done justice to their roles, be it major or minor. Starting of with the protagonist, Vishnu does very well with his body language and dialogue delivery. Not to forget, the fantastic expressions, which are necessary for non-dialogue portions. With more such good films, the actor in Vishnu can grow into a solid performer. But Sunaina steals the spotlight from him with a restrained and fantastic performance ! The de-glamorized look and her expressive eyes works well for her role and this film has the best performance for her so far, in her career. Well done, Sunaina ! Nandita Das, plays the older version of Sunaina, and also has the more heavy-duty portions, though its bewildering why Seenu has to opt for another actress when Sunaina can handle it well. Deepa Venkat's dubbing for both Sunaina and Nandita was pitch-perfect. Close on the heels were, 'Poo' Ram and Saranya Ponvannan, who excelled in their roles. The casting was perfectly done and each artistes, such as Samuthirakani, Vadivukarasi, Thambi Ramaiah, Azhagam Perumal, Aruldass, 'Black' Paandi, Yogi Devaraj, Imman Annachi, Anupama Kumar, Varsha Ashwati, Nandagi, Seenu Ramasamy himself in a cameo and etc were a perfect choice for their roles !
V.Moorthy's costumes were fitting for each character, especially for the changeover of Vishnu from a wastrel to an hardworking chap. 'Super' Subbarayan's stunt choreography was well choreographed, and the props usage such as boats, oars, nets and even the fishes were handled well ! It is indeed nice to see him choreographing decent and not over-the-top kind of fight sequences. V.Selvakumar's art direction was functional, especially for the props in settings such as sea shore houses, the small church and other small venues. M.Kasivishwanathan's editing is flawless and smooth, eventhough the pacing is a little slow. His work in the song sequences, were good. The biggest asset of 'Neerparavai' is the cinematography by Balasubramaniem. His shots and frames are beautiful and pleasing to the eyes, be it the sandy beaches, or the rural homes. His handling of angles and color saturation setting were splendid, especially in the songs and in the beach fight sequence. 'Neerparavai' is definitely a milestone in Balasubramaniem's career.
N.R Radhunandan's music complements the script as well, with perfect tunes and soothing instrumentations. The male version of "Para Para" song is a sheer delight for the eyes, with beautiful framing and color tones used by Balasubramaniem. The sunset beach, the rain drops, everything works out very well for the song. "Ratha Kanneer" is a situational song, highlighting the struggle of the protagonist in getting out from alcohol addiction and was picturized him struggling in the rehab centre. "Yaar Veettu" is another situational song, in flashback mode, picturing the introduction of the protagonist as a child and his upbringing. Some beautiful shots of the sea features in this song. "Meenukku" is a romantic song picturized on the lead pair and has very bright lighting, thanks to the scorching sun. The song has some good framing from Balu. "Devan Magale" is another romantic song, with intimate montage sequences featuring the lead pair which purportedly has Vishnu giving '100 kisses' to Sunaina ! The female version of "Para Para" song is a situational song as well, capturing the agony of the heroine, not knowing the fate of the protagonist who is missing, and also used just before the end credits, picturized on Nandita and the sea. N.R Raghunandan's background score is just as pleasant as the songs as well. Looks like Seenu Ramasamy, N.R Raghunandan and Vairamuthu has forged a solid partnership !
Seenu Ramasamy's script is not as powerful and emotionally stimulating as his previous 'Thenmerku Paravukaatru' but what makes us engaged with 'Neerparavai' is the characters, which are portrayed in the film. The characters look very real and non-cinematic in any manner and variety of complexities they show throughout the film, holds our attention well. Seenu's narration is a little slow paced and the plot line is quite thin, but it does not affect the film since the rhythm pattern of the film, is maintained consistently, throughout. Important questions and social issues are brought up in a very neat manner, without being overbearing and the comedy portions are weaved smoothly in the screenplay. Dialogues, jointly written with popular writer Jayamohan, are brilliantly penned. Another element Seenu should be appreciated for is the designing of characters which are not portrayed in 'black or white' format, keeping us from being judgmental towards the characters.
Kudos to Seenu for coming out with a matured and articulative film ! Though it might not be as emotional as 'Thenmerku Paruvakaatru', 'Neerparavai' is still a pleasant watch of emotional human dramas and pertinent issues.
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
Thangar Bachan, whose films are touching tales of human relationships, especially among rural and township folks, is back after a 5-year hiatus, with his 'Ammavin Kaipesi', an adaptation of his literary work. Thangar promised an emotional and heart-wrenching story which would appeal to all sections of people, especially to the ladies. With a young lead pair in Shanthanoo and Iniya, will Thangar deliver a good, solid film like his 'Azhagi' and 'Solla Marandha Kadhai' ?
Inserting Shanthanoo in this type of film, is an interesting casting by Thangar. It is different to watch Shanthanoo play a typical, rural boy. He has delivered a clean and neat performance. The body language and dialogue deliveries are better than his previous films, and shows that this chap can act in serious roles, too. Kudos for his earnestness-filled portrayal ! Iniya was fine, but she is in a danger of being typecast as a village girl, if she chooses to do more such films, like this. Thangar essays a role as well, and his' was the most toughest to perform since it involves a variety of expressions and intense emotions. Meenal is adequate but she too is in the danger zone of being typecast as suitable for only village woman roles. The rest of the cast such as Revathi, Azhagam Perumal, Nagineedu, NSK Senthil Kumar and etc are okay.
Technically, this film has nothing much to offer or to be spoken about. N.K Rahul and Loghu's art work was simple and and sufficient enough for the script, especially with the interiors of houses. Karthi's stunt choreography was natural. Kishore T.E's editing could have been better, because the film suffers due to the very slow pace. Thangar Bachan himself has wielded the camera, and his cinematography is functional with some good frames in the initial portions. Rohit Kulkarni's music was sadly, uninspiring and boring. The "Thalai Mudhal Paadham Varai" theme music was shot in a orchard with glamour girls and folk dancers doing some dancing jigs. "Enna Senji Pore" is a romantic number shot on the lead pair romancing alone in the house, with some shots taken in outdoors such as in lakes and caves. "Nenjil Eno" is a situational song, shot in montage sequences, whereas "Podu Thillaale" was shot on Thangar and Meenal, happily dancing at hill side, and around their village, which unfortunately is a torture to watch. The background score is just pass-worthy.
Thangar Bachan has made this film which might appeal to the ladies, but its too melodramatic and the story telling looks pretty outdated. The narration is very slow, which tests the patience of viewers and to have lots of sentimental and melodramatic moments constantly, will do no good for the film. The screenplay has no proper continuity and leaves some big gaps, which was not looked into and rectified. Moreover, the revealing of some suspense elements earlier in the film, spoils the mood of the viewers. Thangar's motive of capturing the rural nativity and portraying a story around that factor can be appreciated, but without a strong and powerful script, the film will suffer a lot, and that too a one, which has minimal commercial elements. The emotional outbursts, especially of Revathi's and Iniya's were handled and portrayed well. The literary work could have been a better product compared to this film version, but the presentation of the film is definitely out of tune and will not appeal to the current cinema-goers.
'Ammavin Kaipesi' - certainly no match for Thangar's previous films. Hope he makes amends with his long-in-the-making, 'Kalavaadiya Pozhudhugal'.
Ratings: 2/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
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