Enga Nee Kootti Pora?

Debutantes hailing from cinema families. Arvind Swamy returning after 13 years. Arjun in a negative role. An amazing team of technicians. The grand brand name, Mani Ratnam. Colossal hype. That was the public emotion towards Kadal, starring Gautham Karthik, Thulasi Nair,as it hit screens last week.

Bergmans, vows to take revenge against goody-goody Sam who gets him 'thrown out' of his seminary, for his misbehaviour. Sam, who moves on with life, becomes the priest of a small fishing hamlet and takes up the young orphan Thomas, an outcast, under his wing. He meets Bergmans again in a twist of fate, and how the life of these three men get intertwined in a battle between light and dark, forms the rest of the story.

Arvind Swamy is back, and how. More than a decade since he appeared on screens, and the man has still not lost his touch, as he wows audiences with his performance. Paralleling him is Arjun, who delivers a power-packed performance as the sinister Bergmans. Gautham, and Thulasi have performed commendably enough in this dream debut of a film, but they still have a long way to go. One of the very few pluses in this film, is the cast, where each and every person fit their role to the optimum.

There are only a handful of composers who can be credited as magicians, rather than musicians, and definitely, by all means, A.R.Rahman is one of them. With a completely wonderful album, he takes the movie to a different level, by means of his background score. While the experimental treatment of 'Adiye' seemed a bit ridiculous, the songs have undergone a beautiful visual treatment. 

This is not a Mani Ratnam film. No, it does not have his class, it does not have his usual delivery. But this is Rajiv Menon's masterpiece. The cinematography in this film has been exemplary, and several interesting angles, and frames make it a complete delight for the viewers. 

The film, is snail-paced, a fact that could be attributed more to the slow screenplay than Sreekar Prasad's editing. The movie goes places, and puts the audience in a conundrum, as it does not portray a clear picture of the story. The dialogues, though interesting, sounds very alien, and adds to the confusion. While the movie is worth a watch, it is sadly, a disappointment from the legendary Mani Ratnam.

Aditya Baskaran