Rating: 3.25/5
Banners: Teja Cinema, Photon Kathaas
Cast: Nani, Samantha, Krishnudu, Anupama Kumar, Ravi Raghavendra, Vivek Pathak and others
Music: Ilaiyaraaja
Cinematographer: Manoj Paramahamsa
Editor: Anthony
Story, screenplay, direction: Gautham Menon
Producers: Gautham Menon, Reshma Galata, Venkat Somasundaram, C Kalyan, C V Rao
Release date: 14/12/2012
Gautham Menon known for his heart squeezing romantic tales is back and this time he teamed up with the natural talent Nani. Let us see how good this is
Story
Varun Krishna (Nani) and Nithya (Samantha) are friends since childhood and though life takes them different ways they still keep in touch. When they enter the teens they start liking each other and it matures into love by the time they reach 24. But that’s when real life starts and Varun begins to realize that responsibilities and commitments are also part of life. This strains his relationship with Nithya and they split. However, love when it grows gets stronger by the day so does it keep Varun and Nithya away from each other? This forms the rest of the story.
Performances
Nani has adapted himself into the character and he has suited well from the school boy to the grown up matured adult. His body language was a bit stiff but his brilliance is seen during the climax episodes.
Samantha is all over the film. Yet again, her character is filled with soul and given her cute looks she has merged herself into it completely and scores wherever possible.
Krishnudu is the ice breaker in the film. His dialogue delivery, his body language and his comedy brings good amount of smiles. Though his role is brief he made his presence felt strongly.
Ravi Raghavendra was regular, the actor who did Nani’s father’s role was dignified, Anupama Kumar was apt, Vivek Pathak is neat. None of them really had scope to offer.
Highlights
- Music
- Nani, Samantha Performance
- Second half
Drawbacks
- Cinematography
Analysis
Every filmmaker has his/her own style of storytelling and it is natural that audience eventually turns into fans for that person. Gautham Menon also belongs to that school but there is uniqueness in him.
Every film of his, be it action or romance genres, runs like a poem. There is a classical touch in his scene compositions, the camera angles and above all, the intensity shown between the lead pair.
So, it takes a different mindset to understand the flavor of Gautham. And to those who understand it, his films become symphonies. The other important aspect about him is the maturity level in the script. It might just be a romantic tale but the sensibilities in the characters are quite grown. Coming to this film, not all ingredients of Gautham Menon have worked here.
The biggest damage has been done by the background score. With due respect to the musical maestro, such subjects require tremendous support from music to drive the emotion but that didn’t happen here.
Also, Gautham was not that successful in showing the evolution of love with the required intensity.
The first half is quite okay and it just passes off without much effect. The second half shows some energy but then the same fluctuations exist. But Gautham always saves the best for his last so as the film progresses it picks up the momentum and climax strikes the target.
Overall, this is not as heart squeezing or gut-wrenching like Gautham’s earlier entertainers but it does ooze the juice of romance now and then.
And to see on the right side, the phase of school wherein the girl is focusing on studies and other activities while the boy is trying to gain her attention to the phase wherein the boy becomes the girl’s world and then the boy getting into the career tension, ego growing with age has been shown meticulously by Gautham. To those who seek entertainment and time pass will find this film not going anywhere. This is because the problems revolve around only two characters and it takes only one sorry to set everything right but that takes years to come out. That’s what is shown by the director.
It may not be a surprise to see mixed reactions from audience. In terms of commercial success, few doubts are there because it appeals only to one section of audience.
Bottomline: Watch it
(Venkat can be reached at [email protected] or https://twitter.com/greatandhranews)
