When dark humor and crime thrillers seem to be the current flavor of Kollywood, here comes a love story that was touted to be classy and poetical. Director Jeeva Shankar seems to have been in love with this script for a long time which one can make out in the way he narrates each and every frame with a gentle pace and equal poise. But has the pace and poise helped him in the cause of making it a classy one, if not poetical?
The movie opens with the protagonist Jeeva (Sathya) being taken to the court for trial. Mystery surrounds on how he ended up in prison. Soon his flashback unwinds with a slow and meticulously constructed romantic tale with his classmate Karthika (Mia George). Of course, this being a classic love story, the love birds face stiff opposition from their parents. Did they unite at the end or does their possessiveness gets the better of them remains as the bone of contention.
The story is set in the late 80s - an apt time for such a story to stamp its authenticity. With minimal gadgets to interfere, the narrative had the ability to sneak through forgotten trails of the past like communicating through postcards, desperately waiting for the landline to ring, more human interaction and subtle gestures to bestow popular taboos. All said and done, we also expect some twists and turns along the way. Even though I found the rehashed narrative somewhat engaging, the blatant part of it and its length has made it well short of being a classy one!
Among the leads, Karthika has clearly made a dashing debut in Tamil. Her cute and assertive reactions would go a long way in finding character oriented roles for her in not-so-many female centric subjects. She has a natural charm and it was well captured on screen. The same cannot be told about Arya’s brother (Sathya). His reactions for almost all the scenes were similar and did not even attempt to make an impression. The supporting cast was surprisingly solid with unknown names - especially the stepfather of Sathya, the inspector, the psychiatrist and the friend who betrays.
Music and BGM by Gibran was good enough. ‘Deva Devadhai’ was my favorite number and has been shot well in the cold locales of Ooty.
Cinematography by Jeeva Shankar himself was another major highlight. The pixels were yearning for attention and the angles were awesome - especially the top angle shots during the romantic interludes were brilliant and ushers in that feel of tender love that tends to transcend boundaries.
There was also a flash of brilliance during the action scene towards the climax which was choreographed in slow motion with a classy tune at the background. But the movie falters once again during the climax with a not-so convincing finish and can only be declared as a good attempt!!
Verdict: Worth a Watch, but NOT a Must Watch!!
Rating: 2 / 5
.jpg)