Now back to the movie, Nitya Menon was at ease in her character and her eyes spoke more dialogues than she got to. Dulquer was good but Nitya was natural. The chemistry between the lead pair is riveting and keeps the film gripping. I think the prior Mani mishaps were partially due to lack of chemistry between the lead pair in Ravan, Guru, and Kadal. Loved the fact Mani went back to first principles and did not do multiple shoots of the same film in different languages with different stars but resorted to good old fashioned dubbing. The film’s premise is not novel but the treatment was fresh. It does look like a distant hangover to Alaipayuthey with Praskah Raj being the Arvind Swamy who made his appearance right from the very beginning. Got to love the way Mani glosses over some of the details where Adi goes missing for two days keeping the viewer guessing instead of throwing in clichéd melodrama. Loved the squabbles which creep into any happy relationship and the dialogues were entertaining even in the wake of tense situations. OKK was a mani ratnam thoroughfare with all the usual trains, India gate, bike rides, gypsy on sea shore and even the house where they stayed Neo-classical. I love how Mani like Woody Allen picks a city (Bombay) and makes it a character in the film (Delhi in Mouna Ragam). Though this time around he did not do justice to Bombay.
PC Sreeram cinematography shone in the Jami Masjid in Ahmedabad scenes showcasing the Indo-Islamic architecture. The church intro scene with the hallow light effect accentuates Nitya’s eyes. There was a conspicuous overuse of red light/filter in some of the scenes.
ARR has always delivered for Mani no matter how the film fared. Mani has always been classical heavy right from the Yamunai Atriley to Alaipayuthey Kanna. Not sure if I had given ARR a chance for his songs to seep in before I watched the movie. But overall I felt the music complemented the film more even while doing justice as a standalone album. Kaara Attakara being wasted on the title track with the video game graphics was a disappointment. The red blooded male in me misses the item numbers that Mani tastefully threw in when he saw the chance (Sonali Bendre in Bombay). naane varugiraen gives me goose bumps at times when I listen to it.
A satiated fan slept well that night, knowing that the creator is back in business.
