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
After more than a year hiatus, Dhanush hits the ground running with by teaming up with acclaimed ac advertisement film-maker Bharat Bala, known for his classic "Vande Maatharam" video clip, teaming up with A.R Rahman. One of the most eagerly anticipated films of 2013, 'Maryan' tells us an inspired tale of three Indian workers being abducted in Sudan, and the protagonist being one among them, and how and why he landed in Sudan in the first place. Backed by a fantastic acting cast and a brilliant technical crew, did 'Maryan' blew us away ?
Dhanush has been doing a balancing act between doing out-and-out commercial 'masala' entertainers and well-scripted films. His acting prowess needs no extra introduction as his National Award speaks on behalf of him. In 'Maryan', Dhanush delivers another masterclass performance and is slowly raising the bar higher and higher among the younger lot of Tamizh heroes. His emotional outbursts, intense agony, shone through his expressive eyes, and the extreme physical difficulties he had to endure for challenging scenes, all paid big time for him. The emotional projection by Dhanush of Maryan, was simply brilliant. Awards galore, is certainly ticked in Dhanush's planner for 2014 ! And keeping him company would be Parvathi. She has given Dhanush a very tough competition in the acting department. She's neck-to-neck with Dhanush in delivering emotional sequences and also for grasping her character of Panimalar, very well. Her dialogue delivery is brilliant as well, and her timing is perfect. Its such a pleasure to watch an A-class performance from an actress in a main lead role, after a very, very long time ! Fellow National Award winners, Salim Kumar and Appukutty, alongside Jagan Purushottam, Uma Riyaz Khan, Vinayakan T.K, Ankur Vikal, Immanuel Annachi, Hari Krishnan and etc have done decent jobs with their limited scope of screen time presence. The African cast such as Christopher Minnie (the antagonist), Dogbe Tweh, Barry Mydou and etc were pale in comparison with the Indian cast in terms of acting, but they are ought not to be blamed, since they are not professional artistes.
The stunt choreography has been well handled by Dhilip Subbarayan and 'Action' Prakash for the Indian episode, while Kareen Noorist handles the African portions. The action sequences were well shot and conceptualized and adds strength to the emotional core of the script. Sheenu and Ingrid Bergman's costume designing for the Indian and African episodes, respectively, was functional and fulfilled the nativity factor needed. Vivek Harshan's editing quality is a mix-up, as his works in the melancholic songs were pretty good, but the overall film editing was a little less smooth. Especially with the non-linear mode of story-telling being implemented, here. Bharat Bala's line productions have taken care of the production design and their detailing for the fishing village of the fictional Neerodi and the interiors of the character's small hamlet-style houses, were intricate and precise. One among the three pillars of the film is the cinematographer. Mark Koninckx AFC, BBC from Belgium, known for his works in the French film 'Johnny Mad Dog', has given an outstanding output from his camera. Fantastic wide-angle shots of the coastal sea areas, dry and brazen desert, and the beautiful close-ups of the artistes, which captured the intense and lovely emotions of the performers, are dazzling piece of works. A real celluloid poem !
As for the second pillar of the film, it has to be none other than the music composer, A.R Rahman ! He has created magic with his compositions, which were actually reminiscent of his earlier works of the 90's. The tunes were simple but the mastering of the instrumentation, brought the level of the songs, several notches higher. "I Love My Africa" is a theme music for the African episodes, used sparingly for certain situations, especially during the opening and interval sequences. "Sonapareeya" is a celebratory song, shot in the coastal areas of Kanyakumari and Nagercoil, featuring the lead pair and also some of the character artistes. "Enge Pona Raasa" is a montage song, showcasing the agony of the heroine not knowing what has happened to her hero and the sense of longing for him, which has some poetic rain shots. The song also appears briefly, just before the end credits. "Innum Konja Neram" is a melody song, shot on the lead pair , also in montages, picturing them falling in love and their romantic escapades in their village. Some of the shots taken in the interiors of the house, are brilliant. "Netru Aval Irundhal" was the best picturized song in the film, with shots oozing in splendor and beauty, which comes right after the interval. The wind-angle canvass was wonderfully utilized for this song, shot on the lead pair. "Kadal Raasa Naan", a chart-busting song was the most disappointingly picturized song, of the whole album. The opening of the song, though emotional, falls completely flat, and fails to capture the actual mood and feel of the song. The dual visual tracks of the coastal flashback and the current African desert, is of no help either. "Nenje Yeazhu" is the other best shot song of the film, with the harsh, plain deserts, with Dhanush as the focal point, wonderfully shot by Mark. The background score by A.R Rahman is a huge complementary factor to the screenplay and for most of the time, aides the artistes in bringing out the true essence of script.
Bharat Bala's vision and direction is astute and focused. His conceptualization of the scenes pertaining to the actual core point of the script, the love portions of the lead pair, is top-class. The struggle of the hero, the sorrowful departure from the heroine, the abrupt and painful loss of friends and the intense yet beautiful love portions were all well scripted. The poetic nature of the story telling brings the script further forward and the romantic scenes ties up our attention. But, when the story shifts gear to other elements, especially the abduction and torture episodes, the script loses the intensity and this is where Bharat Bala's story starts faltering. The same detailing in the love scenes, were not devoted to other other portions, which is the main negative point of the film. A main reason was the weak characterization of the African antagonists role, whom doesn't thrill or shock us, nor were the characters being convincingly, terrifying enough. A powerful villain could have done wonders to the role, alas the weak screen presence of the African artistes, played foil though they were actual child soldiers. The non-linear screenplay by Bharat Bala and Sriram Rajan, does not help either, as the languorous pace tests our patience at certain points. R.N Joe D'Cruz's dialogues were functional, though not memorable and powerful enough to be etched in our memories forever. Some continuity mistakes are there, especially with Dhanush's appearance in the African episode. A complete, stronger plot would have done great wonders to the overall script, with more punch and style.
'Maryan' - Intense acting, poetic cinematography, soul-stirring music. The actual and only three pillars of the film.
Ratings: 3.25/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
