Movie: Kaashmora
Direction: Gokul
Cast: Karthi, Nayantara, Sri Divya, Vivek
Music: Santhosh Narayanan
Cinematographer: Om Prakash
Editor: V J Sabu Joseph
Genre: Fantasy, Horror
Rating: ∗∗∗½
What is it about: It’s Fantasy-Horror-Comedy, where a pretentious ghostbuster gets hunted and dragged by a Ghost in order for it to get liberated in to the after world. What happens with that ghostbuster forms the crux of the story directed by Gokul.
Why it’s disappointing: I would not ponder much on the negatives for this film. For one reason being the honest attempt in bringing something new to the audience. Yes I do agree that the film was quite draggy here and there, which if at all taken in to a tight spot would have been one hell of a racy and adventurous film. Apart from that, which didn’t much favour the film was Santhosh Narayanan’s music on songs front. Where the tunes hardly gets registered.
What to watch out for: Festivals are a time, when the Film industry tries to cash in with blockbusters which fills the screens with colourful masala flicks. And during that period if someone decides to release an experimental film, many would call that a gamble and I would say courage. The producers of this film are great who decided to bring this out at the right time.
Gokul, who is venturing in to his third directorial venture, had great nerves of steel in pulling off a film which not only had star value but was complimented with a great content. The film has multiple variations, in terms of characters and the shift in the story. Everything was taken care with a niche approach, which has taken everyone by surprise. Because his previous films were totally on a different turf. This factor made Gokul stand strong as a director.
Karthi is very well known for his impeccable comic timing laced with strong performance. And he goes up a notch in this film, playing a dual role, which had a grave difference in the shade. Which worked out really well for him, giving us a witty “Kaashmora” and a spectacular “Raj Nayak”. These two characters compete with each other and Raj Nayak comes out a winner, which had an amazing aura filling up the screen with dynamic screen presence. Once again a commendable performance by Karthi.
Many said Nayanthara had a small stint to play in the film and were disappointed. I wonder why the disappointment, a female lead doesn’t have to be there the whole time to mark her territory. With good etching of a character the time given itself makes a mark. As “Rathna Mahadevi”, she did a great job and fit the attire perfectly.
Sri Divya, did her part well. Agreed a less scope for performance wise. But she was apt for the character. Then comes Vivek, who was seen in a good role after a long gap. And that was perfectly supported by Sharath, Madhusudhan Rao & Jangiri Madhumita.
The film had an amazing cinematographer in the name of Om Prakash. He was great and did a spectacular job in establishing the scenes in a grandeur manner. Loved the tone he had maintained throughout the film, especially during the period section. The editing was precise by Sabu Joseph.
The music may have been a let-down by Santhosh Narayanan, but the background score was pulsating and once again the period section ruled.
The VFX was great for Tamil feature film, it was little smudgy at places but it had sequences which made it up. And the work was great, which when you stay back for the credit roll, get to see the number of companies worked on the film. The result was good. And that was perfectly enveloped with a crisp sound mix.
Verdict: Gokul proved to be a good director, who have set a bar for the directors who are as old as he’s in the industry and the bar is quite high. He facilitated a great transition which went really smooth with the lead characters. That flavoured the film, leaving a good taste. And most definitely proved that it doesn’t matter how much is spent on a film, as far as it’s channelled in to the right direction the number doesn’t matter. Definitely worth a watch, don’t miss it on the big screens.
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