Before I begin, this is me making it as clear as the English language could possibly allow, that this post is my personal opinion and also contains spoilers.
I was quite thrilled that a new movie in Tamil(!) by a director that I have come to love, Gautamn Menon, was a thriller. Not just any thriller but a psychological thriller. Being an ardent fan of psychological crime movies and TV shows, I was overjoyed. At this point I am going to take time to inform you all that I consider myself the biggest fan of Silence of the Lambs, the movie that shaped my interest and possibly my life as well.
Back to my point, so as overjoyed I was, I couldn't help but watch Nadunisi Naaygal. The movie started off quite interestingly with some good twists but turned out to be more predictable than a Karan Johan film. Was the movie different: yes. Yes, because it was good for a change to see a movie that did not have to do with the hero running on a moving train or spurning out outrageous one-liners. Mind you that I am not snooty to think lowly of commercial cinema. While I do prefer Cannes film selections, I have enjoyed really good commercial movies in the past such as Saamy or Enthiran or Dhool. But Tamil cinema has stooped to a point where I couldn't figure out if a fight sequence happened in one movie or the other. Even the good directors that I have loved since I could understand basic Tamil have let me down. I would watch Naayagan or Anjali or Mouna Raagam or even Alaypayude over and over again, but not Raavanan. Given the state of Tamil cinema, I could say yes, the movie was different.
Was it a 'good' different? Not really. Anyone could walk to work with a clown costume and call themselves different. But it takes more than just a costume to make it tasteful. While the movie does explore a very touchy subject of child sexual abuse (CSA), the way the abuse or the repercussions are portrayed are overly dramatic. Sometimes, saying less is saying so much more. Manirathram understood this. All it takes is probably just a montage, not elaborate scenes. Leave it to your viewers mind, it creates a much higher impact.
Another point that pretty much drove me up the wall - Multiple Personality Disorder. Really??? Again! It was fun and had the desired effect when Shankar did it in Anniyan. But please do not do what Hollywood did to MPD. I confess that I have watched almost all MPD movies in not just English but also Japanese, Korean, Thai etc., which probably makes it hard for me to watch any more of this. However, I must highlight that some of the movies give you a final twist such as The Tale of Two Sisters (Japanese). Nadunisi Naaygal killed it for me. Well it is charming that even 'Meenakshi Amma' is another personality which probably shocked some viewers but nopes, that is not enough to make it enter the wall of fame.
Finally, to imagine that someone compared this movie to Sigappu Rojakkal. You have got to be kidding me! Bharathi Raaja shook Tamil Nadu with the movie. It was intriguing, highly sexual, psychotic and most importantly, a legend. To compare Nadunisi Naaygal to Sigappu Rojakkal is to compare maggi to creme brulee. Even though Kamal Hassan played a sexual psychopath in the movie, I fell in love with him (well, that is the point of a sexual psychopath). Here, the lead actor, as good as he was, did not play the part too well. The movie was twisted, yes.. especially his attraction towards Meenakshi Amma but it somehow lacked the effect that makes a viewer pause for a minute and explore their darkness.. even if it is just for a minute.
I was quite thrilled that a new movie in Tamil(!) by a director that I have come to love, Gautamn Menon, was a thriller. Not just any thriller but a psychological thriller. Being an ardent fan of psychological crime movies and TV shows, I was overjoyed. At this point I am going to take time to inform you all that I consider myself the biggest fan of Silence of the Lambs, the movie that shaped my interest and possibly my life as well.
Back to my point, so as overjoyed I was, I couldn't help but watch Nadunisi Naaygal. The movie started off quite interestingly with some good twists but turned out to be more predictable than a Karan Johan film. Was the movie different: yes. Yes, because it was good for a change to see a movie that did not have to do with the hero running on a moving train or spurning out outrageous one-liners. Mind you that I am not snooty to think lowly of commercial cinema. While I do prefer Cannes film selections, I have enjoyed really good commercial movies in the past such as Saamy or Enthiran or Dhool. But Tamil cinema has stooped to a point where I couldn't figure out if a fight sequence happened in one movie or the other. Even the good directors that I have loved since I could understand basic Tamil have let me down. I would watch Naayagan or Anjali or Mouna Raagam or even Alaypayude over and over again, but not Raavanan. Given the state of Tamil cinema, I could say yes, the movie was different.
Was it a 'good' different? Not really. Anyone could walk to work with a clown costume and call themselves different. But it takes more than just a costume to make it tasteful. While the movie does explore a very touchy subject of child sexual abuse (CSA), the way the abuse or the repercussions are portrayed are overly dramatic. Sometimes, saying less is saying so much more. Manirathram understood this. All it takes is probably just a montage, not elaborate scenes. Leave it to your viewers mind, it creates a much higher impact.
Another point that pretty much drove me up the wall - Multiple Personality Disorder. Really??? Again! It was fun and had the desired effect when Shankar did it in Anniyan. But please do not do what Hollywood did to MPD. I confess that I have watched almost all MPD movies in not just English but also Japanese, Korean, Thai etc., which probably makes it hard for me to watch any more of this. However, I must highlight that some of the movies give you a final twist such as The Tale of Two Sisters (Japanese). Nadunisi Naaygal killed it for me. Well it is charming that even 'Meenakshi Amma' is another personality which probably shocked some viewers but nopes, that is not enough to make it enter the wall of fame.
Finally, to imagine that someone compared this movie to Sigappu Rojakkal. You have got to be kidding me! Bharathi Raaja shook Tamil Nadu with the movie. It was intriguing, highly sexual, psychotic and most importantly, a legend. To compare Nadunisi Naaygal to Sigappu Rojakkal is to compare maggi to creme brulee. Even though Kamal Hassan played a sexual psychopath in the movie, I fell in love with him (well, that is the point of a sexual psychopath). Here, the lead actor, as good as he was, did not play the part too well. The movie was twisted, yes.. especially his attraction towards Meenakshi Amma but it somehow lacked the effect that makes a viewer pause for a minute and explore their darkness.. even if it is just for a minute.
2 comments:
I've been seeing a lot of mixed reviews about this one. Mostly ones that were Aghast and refused to believe that this was a Gautam film, whereas some were just shocked. :D I guess i'll skip this one for now, not really in the mood for psycho thrllers....
Hi Test
Post a Comment