Movie Review – Jai Bhim

Rings the right bell, almost

Probably one of the most impactful film of recent times. It’s good to see big actors breaking the shackles and going into roles like this. Between the concept, I’d rate ‘Nerkonda Paarvai’ better than this, not only because it had a bigger star but it’s far tougher and uncomfortable movie. But as a film, ‘Jai Bhim’ was better made. ‘Jai Bhim’ for most part keeps us in the grips, if not for the minor flaws. But it’s not easy to make a film on a definite subject. The director would always be confused on which route to take between documentary and traditional film making. This film too suffers somewhat in the process but doesn’t fail, thankfully.

Not a big fan of Surya, but he was at his scintillating best in ‘Jai Bhim’ with a serious character, much closer to his personality. Thankfully he need not appear as a rough guy shouting his guts out, in the process of appearing raw. The characters that best suit for him would be like that of ‘Ayan’ or ‘24’. A charming lad getting in the midst of action. That’s where he appears at home. Other characters, it just feels like he’s trying too much. With only exception being ‘Pithamagan’, easily his best and totally unexpected of him. People would think ‘Nandha’ was on the same lines, but that character felt mechanical. Vikram having aced ‘Sethu’ and ‘Pithamagan’, Suriya’s character in Nandha felt like it was more conscious to not imitate what Vikram did in those films, than to bring its own flavors in the film.

Coming to the film, the film was on point right from the first scene. We get to know what we’re going to witness, so it was just a matter of time before it was going to get hard hitting. Even though Rajakannu (Manikandan) and Sengeni’s (Lijomol Jose) part was short lived, it was sweet and makes us want more. Many a time, I used to see Nari Koravar’s and wanted to research/make a film about them, so I was happy to see something on the lines of that in the film, but the film was more about the injustice they face than about their lifestyle. Happy that my subject was not touched upon, but I’d have really loved to see about their life before their plight.

Within quick succession Rajakannu gets caught by police and the investigation starts. Adv. Chandru (Suriya) comes to fore. His introduction was dramatic and needless but otherwise he did a fair job. Thankfully the makers didn’t do any prosthetic make up to make Suriya look like Chandru, because that was not the point of film. But every other actor barring Prakash Raj, didn’t make any impact. With only exception being Lijomol Jose, what an actor! Except for that one shot where she sits in rain with her kid, her scenes were lit. Be it the pride when walking to her place by not getting on jeep or when talking to Suriya with sympathy about gold in her thaali, she was lovely and a pleasure to watch. Even though she appears throughout the film, the way she makes herself small and even invisible is a trait of a great actor. In a way the director achieves to show how small and unfilled their community is, in the midst of civilization.

Having the likes of Guru Somasundaram, M. S. Bhaskar and wasting them in such small roles was a disgrace. In fact, even Rajisha Vijayan doesn’t have any role. It was the second time I was seeing her character wasted. First in ‘Karnan’ and now this film. She was one of the actors whom you’d wish to remember to be the character you love, than as an actor. Just like how Emma Watson would always be remembered as Hermione. But she broke it and came out in flying colors in ‘The Perks of being a Wallflower’. I thought Rajisha would do a similar thing in any one of the films, unfortunately she doesn’t. I’d have been happy to remember her as ‘June’ and never saw her afterwards.

For all the good things, why were there so many songs in the film. especially the romantic song in the middle which comes as a flashback was so so needless. Spoils the flow of our film. Its unacceptable to mention that it was added for a commercial value. It’s not a film which you’d do adjustment. If the songs had been removed and the film had been trimmed by twenty minutes, it would have been even more impactful. Thankfully except for the scene where Sengeni (love the name) and her kid get drenched in rain during climax, there was not much of dramatic scenes.

It was not a flawless film, the narrative was dodgy, there were too many scenes depending on shock value, but the attempt altogether feels like a decent, impactful film. Wish the making would have been on the lines of ‘Pariyerum Perumal’ to have made it a more complete film.

Movie Review – Joker (2016)

Tries too hard

As impactful as the movie could, it tries tad too hard to exhibit what is necessary. In addition, it quivers between here and there and not really sure, what stand it tries to take. Thanks to its deeply melancholic nature and some sarcastic scenes, which we could relate too, it sells. Otherwise, it is not really relatable. As much as the message out there is necessary and prevalent even now, it could not bring to fore what exactly it wants to say. May be it would have worked for a short film but as a full length feature it feels as such a drag.

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Mannar Mannan (Guru Somasundaram) is a villager who declares himself as the President of India who goes to police first for Usain Bolt, a hurt goat and then for a hurt child. For the first one he had raised a case on a person who mines sand illegally and for the latter, a case on a local school owner. Even though the cases are important, it doesn’t get registered in the mind. All our focus is only on Mannar Mannan who goes about protesting for all the misdeeds. Beyond a point, it becomes all monotonous.

Through the flashback we get to know what led to him becoming, the president of India. Guru Somasundaram does a good job and it is his mentor Bava Chelladurai, who comes across as a security, who effortlessly does a fabulous job. It is his ideology, which Mannar Mannan takes up, but he couldn’t do it as convincingly as Bava Chelladurai. He effortlessly lives, exhibits and dies without even leaving a trace. That is the mark of a genius actor. Mu Ramaswamy as ‘Potti Case’ Ponnoonjal on the other hand delves on a similar line but could not do it with necessary impact.

Mannan falls in love with Malliga (Ramya Pandian) who even though does not like him first, starts to get liking him because of his innocence. But not ready to marry him because there is no toilet. The crisis is so effortlessly explained in one scene, which for me is the standout scene, where Bava and Mannan come by cycle and all girls get up, what I thought was a mark of respect was actually a crisis. We understand that only when Bava scolds a person going by bike with his headlights on. He immediately tells them to be careful, as the roads are not good. A number of things are established here like the lack of proper toilet, lack of good roads and lack of humanity too. Wish the whole movie had been done subtly like this instead of being so lound and on the face.

He of course dies in the climax. I thought Malliga too would, once she hears the news. Thankfully, she does not. The last speech by Ramaswamy felt totally needless. It spoils even a little bit of curiosity the film leaves. A silent room would have told you more stories than an old man narrating the state of the nation would. He breaks the fourth wall and talks to us but again goes down as a un-impactful scene.

Movie Review – Dharala Prabhu

Sandwiched between a good and a bad movie

‘Dharala Prabhu’ was not at all in my list, strictly not. Because I loved ‘Vicky Donor’ so much, the experience of it still being fresh in my memory I wasn’t even thinking of watching its remake. I precisely remember during ‘Vicky Donor’ release, I went to watch some other movie and had absolutely no clue about the film. So ‘Vicky Donor’ was a riot, it was totally unexpected. I felt the same freshness of that of ‘Band Baaja Baraat’. Similar to the latter, the former too had excellent leads, they seemed to me made for this role. Having seen the Fair & Lovely girl first time on screen, I became a huge fan of Yami Gautam post that. She had done an excellent job in the film. Needless to say, Ayushmann Khurrana too was so charming and Annu Kapoor was fantabulous. Just the way he says ‘sperm’ in that diction was a treat to watch.

At that time, it was unimaginable to even think of such a movie in Tamil but in a span of around eight years things have changed. ‘Pink’ was remade as ‘Nerkonda Paarvai’ that too with a big star like Ajith. And now ‘Vicky Donor’ to ‘Dharala Prabhu’. The director has to be appreciated first up for making a film which doesn’t end up being sleazy but something everyone could watch. Then the casting. Vivek was terrific, in fact he holds the whole film together, yet couldn’t match up to Annu Kapoor level because it was one of his best roles. Harish Kalyan was a really good choice for Ayushmann Khurrana’s role. He could do romantic scenes with ease. Only the frustration could have come better. But Vivek manages for Harish’s shortcomings. Disaster was Yami Gautam’s role, Tanya Hope was so out of place.

The movie luckily was not a scene by scene remake. Also, it tried to be sensible with the things here instead of going all out ROFL. A couple of main twists, here Prabhu (Harish Kalyan) is a football player who wants to get into a government job, with a window seat in third floor and looking at the mount road. It didn’t work for me. I’d have expected a passionate person who wanted to go to the football field but the fact that it was written without any sort of guilt for Prabhu character was a good thing to have happened. He proudly says that he goes through sports quota, he has a ‘gethu’ (pride) in saying so. That’s the closest a movie character can come to being practical.

Another scene was the one where Nidhi’s (Tanya Hope) parents come to talk to Prabhu’s parents about marriage. The fact that she’s divorcee would be known to the groom’s parents only during that time in Hindi but here it’d have been known already. Another sense of practicality. Because of both these junctures, the sequences are mellowed down but film gets a more rooted approach. Here people look serious and it jumps to the song, in Hindi people would be laughing when the talk goes on. Drastically different but Hindi one works like a charm. Here it’s just a normal scene. In fact, even the grandma here was mellow, in Hindi she was a Rockstar. But Sachu does a great job for that role.

The problem with the film was that, it was not so bad to shoo it off, neither was it so good to laud it. I watched the movie in two parts. Once till interval and the second part the other night. Ideally it should not happen but usually when it happens, either you are so keen to complete the second part or so disinterested to do so. But with this film I was truly in between. Neither was I interested nor was I disinterested. It was just like turning to another chapter in a book causally. I guess that’s what made the film a casualty.