Movie: Oru Naal Iravil
Direction: Anthony
Cast: Sathyaraj, Yugi Sethu, Varun, Anumol
Music Director: Navin
Cinematography: MS Prabhu
Editor: Anthony
Genre: Thriller
Rating: ∗∗∗½
What is it about: The proceedings of unfortunate events which follows due to unexplainable act of Sekar (Sathyaraj) who does this in the rage due to a misunderstanding of her daughter Varsha (Dixitha Kothari) friendship with a fellow student. This rage takes Sekar through some situations unravelling the reality making him a different person. What happens following these situations forms the crux of the story directed by debutante Anthony.
Why it’s disappointing: I haven’t watched the original so can’t compare this one with that, but there are few things which seemed very stale. For example an item number which had no taste, you can argue saying it was a song being shot inside the movie, but when you’re featuring a director like Gautam Vasudev Menon directing it, should have some moolah which it lacked and seemed too down market. Then comes the premise which takes its sweet time to settle and get to the point. This in fact kind of makes you lose interest for a thriller which could keep you hooked on.
What to watch out for: The film had few loopholes, but emerges a winner due to the second half which makes it up for the mistakes done in the first half. Post interval it picks a great pace and glues you to the screen with racy events.
The character Sekar was tailor made for Sathyaraj as he performed it with great finesse. He is one among the few versatile actors in the industry who can fit in to any attire and would do justice to it.
Yugi Sethu was seen recently in “Thoongaavanam” but not as much as in “Oru Naal Iraivil”. He doubles up as dialogue writer for this flick. His acting was well timed with crisp dialogues which made this film quite interesting. He was missed for a long gap on silver screen, thank goodness he decided to get back on the wagon as he is one of the best and can churn out some great dialogues. He plays a director in his downtime and did a great job as “Sethu Barathi”.
Anu Mol a discovery from God’s own country did a great job as the sex worker, she did the role with great caution which was tastefully done with no vulgarity. We can definitely see her in challenging roles in future.
New comer Varun plays the role of an auto driver “Suri”. His character is very loyal to Sathyaraj’s character. Debut actors when choose a role of this sort mostly come up in their career as it requires little courage to share the screen space alongside experienced actors which demands good performance. Varun did really good in all sequences and delivered well.
Dixitha Kothari may have a small stint in this flick, but hers is a vital one and she did it really well. She can emote right and was spot on.
The cinematography was great by MS Prabhu, which was edited by director himself keeping it crisp in the second half. The background score by Navin was intense which set the mood right.
Verdict: Editor turned debutante director Anthony did a neat job, which presents a complicated situation with a matured resolution giving it a practical outfit. A thriller which picks up its intensity little late but when it does, it did justice to it.
