Mynaa Movie Review : This bird does soar!!!

Director Prabhu Solomon has always been known to make films which are different yet within the commercial space. Be it a King, Kokki, Lee or a Laadam, his intentions have been very clear- entertain and yet make the audience feel that they have been given something new in terms of subject or treatment. Ever since his latest film Mynaa was ready it has been in the news for a lot of reasons. Be it for the various compliments the film has been receiving from most of the Industry members who had seen it or for the controversy created during the audio launch of the film, there has been a lot of talk about the film. That the film held promise was also becoming clear with the distribution rights being jointly taken up by AGS Entertainment & Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Red Giant Movies. Most importantly I was quite surprised to see them opting for a Diwali release (November 5th, 2010) where it was being pitted with films like Uthamaputhiran and Va Quarter Cutting.

Of course later on while watching the movie I realized that the release time couldn’t have been any better as the festival itself was being represented in the movie as an element or character. Well I’ll come to all that later but before that I certainly need to tell you what the film is all about. The film starts with the main plot involving Suruli (Vidharth) and Mynaa (Amala Paul). Theirs is a fairy tale kind of romance that starts from childhood. Suruli drops out of school and works hard to make a living. When he sees Mynaa and her mother in trouble, he takes them under his wing and becomes part of their life. As they grow up Suruli and Mynaa’s affection for each other only increases and Mynaa’s mother keeps referring to Suruli as her son-in-law (marumagane). But one day when Mynaa’s mother sees Mynaa & Suruli sharing a private moment, she decides to get Mynaa married off to someone working in Dubai.

Enraged at this Suruli threatens to kill Mynaa’s mother and she in turn complains to the cops who put him behind bars for 15 days. But on the 14th day of his sentence (the day before Diwali) Suruli gets to know that Mynaa is to get married the next day (Diwali) and hence escapes from Periyakulam jail. This situation then makes the jailor Bhaskar(Sethu) and a constable Ramaiah (Thambi Ramaiah) to go on a mission, to bring back Suruli to the jail by the end of the next day (Diwali). There is a sub plot as well in the movie, that of Bhaskar and his family. It is Bhaskar’s thala deepavali (first diwali after wedding which as per Tamil customs is to be spent at the in-law’s place) and his wife is eagerly looking forward to go to her family and celebrate the festival there with them. As Bhaskar and Ramaiah go about on their mission to bring back Suruli, Bhaskar’s wife and her brothers are constantly trying to reach Bhaskar and wanting him to get back soon to celebrate the festival together.

The movie then goes on to become a journey in the lives of Suruli, Mynaa, Bhaskar and Ramaiah for the duration of a day. Though basically a love story, Mynaa is much more than just a typical romantic film. For a major part of the film it’s a road movie and even keeps you hooked to your seats as you are waiting for something defining to happen any minute. Though you always know that the main plot and sub-plot will merge somewhere, the way it happens will still surprise you and leave you gasping. That is one of the best things that Prabhu Solomon has managed to achieve through the film. Another aspect of the film that needs to be praised is the choice of locations- the relatively virgin Kurangani ( near Bodi in the Tamilnadu-Kerala border ) and Munnar, the hill station in Kerala add a completely interesting dimension to the film.

M.Sukumar’s camera work is wonderful not just in the vibrant outdoor shots in the hills but also within the village interiors as you are actually transported right into the middle of the location. But for me if any one individual has surprised me with his work in the film, it has to be the music composer D.Imman. Known for his characteristic loud and mass numbers in film after film, the soulful songs and the BGM in Mynaa come as a pleasant surprise from him. Be it the playful ‘Kichu Kichu’ , the melodious ‘Kaiya Pudi’ and ‘Neeyum Naanum”, the naughty ‘Jingu Chikka’ or the title song ‘Mynaa Mynaa’, all of them are a joy to listen to and work wonderfully for the film.

Coming to the performances Vidharth who has been associated with Koothu Pattarai ( a well known theatre group based in Chennai ) is very effective as Suruli. Watch him in the scene inside the prison cell where he’s playing with a ball and later talking to Ramaiah and you’ll probably get an idea of how he does justice to the role. Amala Paul who was earlier seen in Sindhu Samaveli (featured as Anankha) and had made a mark with her role there, once again shows that she is a talent to watch out for. Bhaskar as Sethu the jailor puts in a sincere performance as well and brings out varied dimensions to the character easily. Thambi Ramaiah who has been seen in small roles till now gets a plum role this time & makes full use of the opportunity. He’s the one who provides the much needed light moments in between and keeps the tempo going.

It’s not just the main characters even some of the supporting characters have also been well portrayed especiallySevvalai who plays Mayi, the father of Suruli and the lady who portrays the mother of Mynaa. Also very effective is the lady who plays the wife of Bhaskar as she catches your attention in the very first scene of the film. It’s not all that tough for a movie to catch your attention before the release by various means but to justify the kind of expectation raised early on isn’t possible for the majority of the films. Mynaa however is a film where you walk away with bitter sweet thoughts and keep thinking about for a long time long after you finish watching it. First time producers can take the example of John Max the producer of Mynaa who has believed in Prabhu Solomon & the strength of the film.

“Love pannunga sir, life nalla irukkum” (Fall in love sir, life will be good) says Suruli in the film- an innocent statement, but it can be really profound as well sometimes. You will realize this only after you watch this film.

Trailer

Originally published in PFC-

http://passionforcinema.com/mynaa-movie-review-this-bird-does-soar/

Easan Movie Review: There’s light at the end of this tunnel

Warning- Spoiler Alert M.Sasikumar and Samudrakani had teamed up in 2008 to deliver one of the most successful and critically acclaimed Tamil movie in recent times- Subramaniapuram. While Sasikumar wrote, directed and produced Subramaniapuram and with Samudrakani playing the negative lead in the same, the roles were reversed in Nadodigalwhich released in 2009. This time around the film was written and directed by Samudrakani and Sasikumar played the main lead. In between Sasikumar also went on to produce Pasanga which was directed by Pandiraj and is certainly one of the better children’s films made in India recently. So after Nadodigal the next project from this team was eagerly awaited and when news came out that this time it will be a film to be directed again by Sasikumar, it was met with a positive response. What was also surprising was that it was announced that this time around Sasikumar would be only working behind the camera (writing, producing & directing) and not in front of it. Nothing much was disclosed about the film titled ‘Easan’, except that the film was to be urban centric unlike the other films from the team and that Samudrakani would play an important character.

Though I tried hard to know more about the film there wasn’t much information available and after a while I just told myself that the wait will be better if I remained in the dark about the film’s plot etc. Roughly 2 weeks before the film’s release the first look and the trailer was unveiled. In fact I was not sure of the release date and when the cinematographer of the film, S.R.Kathiir told me that it would be 2 weeks later ( 17th Dec,2010 ) I was taken aback for a while. For these days it’s usually a minimum period of a month that is taken for promoting the film before the release. But when I realized that the film was getting very good theatres with such short notice, I couldn’t help but admire the strategy of the team. Also the past record of the people associated with the film certainly helped. WithKamal Haasan’s Manmadhan Ambu being pushed ahead by a week (initially to release on the same day as Easan), things became even more favorable for the film with a lot of additional screens being made available.

So what is Easan all about? Well at the very outset I’d say that in terms of the basic construct or the genre it’s actually a revenge drama, but not of the type that’s usually seen on screen. The film starts with establishing a range of characters- Chezhiyan (Vaibhav) is a carefree youth and son of a corrupt minister Deivanayagam (producerA.L.Alagappan). Chezhiyan hangs around with his group of friends and keeps crossing swords with Sangayya (Samudrakani), Assistant Commissioner of Police. We then see Chezhiyan falling in love with Reshma ( Aparna Bajpai ), the daughter of Shivaraj a business magnate (modeled on Vijay Mallya). In true cinema style Shivaraj doesn’t initially approve of the alliance because he considers himself to be on a higher pedestal than Deivanayagam. But situations change and reluctantly Shivaraj too approves of the alliance between Chezhiyan and Reshma. So alls well and its party time and just when we are wondering where the story is gonna be heading, Chezhiyan goes missing. And there comes the intermission point.

Is it all hunky dory as it appears here?

While one would expect the rest of the film to ideally be a sort of thriller and try to uncover the mystery behind the disappearance of Chezhiyan, the 2nd half of the film is all that and a lot more. While the 1st half of the film is a complete ride into the nightlife of Chennai what with discotheques, pubs, bars, rave parties and beachside revelry of a different kind, the 2nd half completely treads into a different territory. It’s an area slightly more familiar for Sasikumar and team, not that they get the nightlife part wrong. The film works primarily due to the casting and characterization. Samudrakani as Sangayya, the ACP and A.L.Alagappan as Deivanayagam, the corrupt minister lead the show and rightly set the tone for the film.Namo Narayanan as Gopal the man friday of Deivanayagam is also extremely good.

Malayalam filmmaker Blessy plays an important character and the voice of M.S.Bhaskar goes down very well for the character of Karupaswamy. Dushi as Easan and Abhinaya as Poorani are extremely effective. Their characters actually hold the 2nd half in good control and sustain the interest level. Vaibhav as Chezhiyan is good and the role is a marked departure from what he has portrayed in films like Saroja and Goa. But there are also one too many characters and though some of them are well etched and enacted including that of Rao Ramesh, they do not really add to the overall tenor of the film. There are a lot of interesting moments in the film like the scene where Deivanayagam is discussing the industrial proposal with the businessman, but continues to undress/change his clothes or the scene where Sangayya is at Shyamala’s home and interacts with her husband. These are just examples and there are many more such moments in the film. James Vasanthan’s music may not be as popular as that of Subramaniapuram but certainly scores in terms of variety. Be it the peppy Meyyana Inbam or the folksy Jilla Vittu or the breezy Kannil Anbai, the songs go with the flow of the film.

Along with Sasikumar’s writing and narration the other highlight of the film is S.R.Kathiir’s cinematography. Be it in the nightlife of Chennai captured in the various party zones or in the temple festival portions, the visuals are simply interesting. To talk about specific moments or scenes would spoil the fun for those who are yet to watch the film.A.L.Ramesh’s editing helps especially in the later part of the film and Tapas Nayak’s audiography shines especially be it in the energetic party number at the start of the film (Meyyana Inbam ) or the climax. For those who may complain about the length of the film, it’s already been taken care of. With the original length of around 3 hr 10 mins being shown only in the 1st two days, around 20-25 mins have gone on to be chopped from the film. While I have seen both versions and prefer the longer version, at least what is welcome is the fact that the forced editing does not impact too much on the flow of the film’s narrative.

There are moments when you might feel that Sasikumar is trying hard to be different this time around and show that he’s adept at portraying the more urbane and hip side of the society as well when compared to his previous film. But you cannot also but appreciate the fact that the detailing has been fairly good. For those who would compare this film with Subramaniapuram or Nadodigal there could be disappointment in store. But if you are looking at the film with an open mindset and willing to wait till the end of the film before passing your final judgment, it could well be a interesting film indeed. Three cheers to Sasikumar and team for their pursuit to continue to make films of their kind, yet which appeal to people.

Originally published in PFC- http://passionforcinema.com/easan-movie-review-theres-light-at-the-end-of-this-tunnel/