Film of fun, friendship and friction
Hello Friends,
A delightful film full of events that a viewer can relate to and empathize with! The protagonists are straight out of a middle class milieu, and they talk and behave exactly so. In fact the hero is a step lower and is a thug trying to set up a bar and make it big. However, it is a film that does not romanticize any of the emotions in a big way, be it love, vendetta or action. All of these emotions exist fully within the film but none of them overpowers the other. They complement each other well and brings forth an healthy amalgam fraught with loads of fun, an healthy friendship on the brink of love against a backdrop of goondaism and IT uncertainities. Yet another good movie that manages to survive without Tasmac, item numbers and contrived comedy. Hats off to Nalan Kumarasamy and team!
Plot:
It is a fairly simple plot about two diametrically opposite people who come together as neighbours. A beautiful bond blossoms between the two mainly owing to their respective circumstances. Yazhini (Madonna Sebastian) a small town girl shifts to Chennai to take up an IT job much against her parents’ wishes. Just when she begins to enjoy her first taste of freedom loses her job and has to move to a lowly neighbourhood and ends up being Kathir’s (Vijay Sethupathi) neighbour. Kathir a jail bird is keen on setting up a bar and hence hangs around with the local don. He is aimless, jobless and at times even helpless. Despite their differences and initial riff raffs, Yazhini and Kathir become friends. Whether they fall for each other and live happily ever after is not stated but its left for the viewer to interpret, as the story ends at the exact point when Yazhini is truly grateful for Kathir’s all-time support and is desperate to see him. And that’s just when Kathir attempts to kill another henchman and ends up getting stabbed.
Costumes:
Madonna’s chic salwars are marvelous and they are so typically an office goer outfits. Kathir who is forever in track pants and floral shirts looks amply lazy and bored in these outfits. Supportive cast fit into their respective roles and outfits easily. Most of the screen space is hogged by the hero and heroine so we get to notice their costumes more than the others.
Décor:
A lower middle class apartment is well captured including the Kunindhu Sellavum warning.
Acting:
If Vijay Sethupathi steals your heart with his ‘I have forgotten the camera exists’ acting them Madonna warms the cockles of your heart with her ‘close to life’ acting. Both of them have given us excellent portrayals. Specially the scene where the Vijay Sethupathi buys time inside the interview room is outstanding. And also when he takes pity on his sidekick and lets him off the hook and takes the onus of the murder on himself is touching and poignant. Vijay Sethupathi is redefining Tamil cinema most certainly with his realism movies and consciously moving away from the stereotypical formula films. And rightly so, as he has got the stature to carry the entire film on his shouders.
Cheers
Bhuvana Rajaram
