Movie Review – Aadai

A surprise stunner

It’s one of the movies I never intended to watch, for the same reason why many would have wanted to watch. But thanks to my dear friend raving about it, I thought of giving it a try. It had all the elements for a cringy masala movie disguised in the form of a rebellious movie. The trailer too was such a turn off. I didn’t want to watch another fake feminism movie where the girl is left to shame. But fortunately, the movie was made superbly. Even though at the back of the mind, we constantly keep thinking about the nude incident, it was still terrifically made. In addition, I had a horrible experience with ‘Meyaadha Maan’ so that’s another reason to not being interested in ‘Aadai’.

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The director, Mr. Rathna Kumar told in interview that he tried to do something with the limitations, I was wondering what really was he trying. But here he has tried a lot both with style and substance because it had back to back interesting scenes. When the film opens with an animated story, it makes us sit upright and watch with attention and then proceeds to a scene where we see a killer in the form of Amala Paul trying to kill a lone man in a subway. It had a superb horror film set up. Soon we get to know that it’s a prank. In spite of not being a big fan of prank show, it still made me watch the happenings without letting me read the opening credits. So that’s a success right away to the director.

The second thing is the casting. If he could make Amala Paul act this well, he can make any actor act. If someone like Radhika Apte had been there in the movie, it would have been a normal movie, everyone would have of course appreciated Apte but there wouldn’t have been any surprise. In a film where the entire focus is on the skin barring act, its important how you build a scene towards it and it shouldn’t look like something added in the beginning just so that we get a definitive length to the movie.

I in fact looking forward to the first segment more than the nude act because even if it had been a false feminism film, the glamour would have satisfied my appetite. Surprisingly the first act was really good. The director knows how to make films with the youngsters. He generates a good vibe in the film. The jokes are crude and funny too, just like how young people talk. Thankfully he doesn’t finch with the making and makes a film for adults and get that in the rating too. Amala Paul too does a really good job. Only Vivek Prasanna was irritating. No matter what he does, all that we get reminded of is ‘Meyaadha Maan’.

The film proceeds in a good pace and gradually goes to the interval block where they all are high on alcohol and mushroom fried rice (if you know what I mean). Another great episode. Wish Ratha Kumar does a proper adult comedy in the line of ‘American Pie’. It would be a treat to watch. Also, all the ‘A’ jokes worked here. Thanks to the unflinching writing. We know what’s going to happen next but the lead to it was nice. Also, Kamini’s (Amala Paul) characterization of a bold woman with attitude worked.

Second half has a subject which could easily pull down the movie. Come on, how long can you keep Amala Paul running around naked that too in front of the Indian censors where you can’t show what you had to. But the movie doesn’t take an outright serious tone. When have you last watched a person in dire situation playing ‘Temple Run’? So that’s how you stay true to the characterization. Things don’t happen suddenly. It’s a well written story. She’s the same woman who doesn’t want to be in news so tries to come out on her own. In any other film she’d have begged police, either the police would have harassed her or been a man with heart of gold. But here its important for her to not become headlines unwantedly.

Ideally, I expected her to run out naked and fight the world which says dignity is more important than life but the film takes an interesting twist in the end with one of the pranked persons, Nangeli (Ananya Ramaprasad) showing her how it feels. Again, her reaction to it was nice and not unwarranted. Ananya Ramaprasad totally steals the show in those few minutes.

The final dig too was well made. It’s a film where sarcasm works, jokes are funny. It’s not flawless with the whole nude chapter and the what it was trying to prove through it but it works as a great message movie shot in an interesting way.

Movie Review – Sillu Karupatti

Love in the time of pollution

I read a series of short stories some time back and was thinking why a collection of short stories never work like a novel does. In fact it should work better because the author has conveyed so much in so little pages. Similarly I think why anthology films never get appreciated like feature films even if they’re interesting. The answer would be, whenever we read a novel or watch a full length feature film we compare it with other novel or films and come to a conclusion but when it comes to short stories or anthology films we compare it with each other and get disappointed with one or the other. Only if all the short stories or all the short films are good, only then we’ll be amazed by it, otherwise we’ll end up only being underwhelmed. So it’s a rarity to be amazed. Until and unless it’s a Sujatha story or a film like ‘Wild Tales’ it’s really tough to be truly amazed.

So with all these skepticism I went to watch Sillu Karupatti but what a pleasant surprise it turned out to be. Pradeep’s voice makes you sit back and relax first up, if you haven’t already done yet. The opening is a little bit wannabeish trying to find love in the dumps of waste but it soon suits. A little bit of over the top acting by Baby Sara but that’s how she’s even in reality. The story unfolds seamlessly. The dialogues were tougher to understand due to the slang and fast pace. I don’t know why but ‘Kakka Muttai’ dialogues where loud and clear but here it wasn’t. Anyways there was a bit of humor and a lot of feel good factor. Except for the one scene where the protagonists mother says that someone had got a disease because of broken syringe, there wasn’t any sense for sympathy. They live in their own life happily.

The next story was better than the first. It had a certain ‘Before Sunrise’ feel. It had everything which could make a soupy love story. A cancer diagnosis, a marriage break up and cash crunch. In spite of all that it evolves into a beautiful story between the two leads, Manikandan and Nivedhithaa. What a terrific actor Manikandan is turning out to be. I liked him in Kaala but here he was even better. Especially the crow scene where he says to Nivedhithaa that it must be put up in Guinness. The scene was so real. Superbly written and astonishingly acted.  Nivedhithaa on the other had was truly sexy and suited the role to the tea. Another terrific actor whom I spotted in ‘Magalir Mattum’. Instead of being a tear fest, it was a mild love story which brought a smile out of everyone.

The third story was for me the most disappointing one. That felt like something which was forced. Having handled a kid’s story and a youngster’s story, the director somehow wanted to fix an elderly love story too which didn’t work. Was the VTV house intentionally used? Anyways that was a good touch. Making Leela Thompson a miss rather than a missus made me cringe. I didn’t expect a toast of morality in this film. Why not Leela could have been missus and Sree Ram be single. It’d have added some dimension. The director could have her own logic for it but for me it was a drawback. The romance too didn’t work and so were the scenes. The acting and situation looked forced. Except for that one ‘dignity’ scene I could hardly point out any glimmer of hope.

The director has reserved her best for the last. A great story of a family of five, not four. I liked that welcome change first up. Sunaina looks lovely after a while. Samuthirakani could do this role even if he’s drugged. I don’t like his style of acting but he keeps the audience in splits. There are of course few jokes which were written keeping men in mind but its Sunaina’s part which was more intriguing. Especially her dialogues in kitchen on how she keeps hearing only the water droplets and clock ticking sound was horrifying. Like the climax of ‘3’. It was something very scary. The quietness of the scene hallucinated for a while in theatres.

It was a tough task to pick up the best of the lot. On any other day I’d have liked the second story best but not sure whether it’s because of the situation or the directors finesse I liked the last story best. So my order would be Turtles < Pink Bag < Kaaka Kadi < Hey Ammu