What is the common thing about Rajiv Menon, Gautham Menon, (late) director Jiva and director Jayendra? They are all ad film makers who turned into feature film directors at some point in their career; along comes the class and a stylish craft. 180 is also directed by Jayendra who has directed a number of ad films (about 500??) before landing on ground zero.
The first thing which struck me about the movie was the richness it carried with it and the stylish characterization. It has been shot in exotic locales with some eye catching angles. Watch out for the first song (Rules Kidayadhu), shot using a phantom flex camera which is a character by itself and brings in life with the ultra motion captures.
The director has some story to narrate, but then he misses the trick with the screenplay. The first half manages to move without much stress by constantly moving back and forth on a flash back tour and hinging on 'something' which is to be revealed. But in the second half, when the cat is out of the bag, the story falls flat on the audience and we really feel the pain.
Another problem is that it has a-la-Gautham Menon movie stereo types like people chatting in English at length, rich costumes worn by most of the characters, scenes like the hero kneels and asks "will you marry me?"... how would a common man relate to these? It is strictly not targeted at the B & C audiences (very well revealed by the sort of words used by some of the guys who were seated beside me in a Trichy Theater and that too it was 2nd class!!).
Casting was pretty decent, though there were some hiccups. Sidharth must be in 99% of the frames, but to be honest, his seven years of exile in Tollywood has not done him any good.... still I cannot see him as an actor of substance. He tries to carry the entire story on his shoulders and stumbles big time. Nithya Menon is truly refreshing; good to see a female lead trying to tickle a few nerves. Priya Anand has been given a stronger platform and has made use of it. Others in the movie help it get along.
Music in general is ok. 1 or 2 numbers are hummable. Songs are acting as speed breakers in the second half and could have been scissorred. A good attempt by debut music director - Sharreth.
Overall, the movie can be enjoyed in bits and pieces especially because of the cinematography; it should be watched in a multiplex theater, with good sound system, decent audience, on a lazy Saturday afternoon, with some time to kill. The alternative would be to wait for a while, download a decent blu ray rip of the movie and watch it in your home theater system, just to relish the cinematography. I would go with the latter.
Verdict: 2/5 - Go for it only if you have some good amount of time to kill and with less expectations !!
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