Our very own `E' man - E
BOLD ATTEMPT: E
Genre: Action
Director: Jhananathan
Cast: Jeeva, Nayantara, Pasupathi
Storyline: The avarice of a doctor who tries to cause disaster in the slums.
Bottomline: Interesting!
Without appearing juvenile or pedestrian, writer-director Jhananathan takes up a theme you would generally witness in a Hollywood film and treats it with a certain amount of finesse in Supergood Films' `E' (U). In the context of the recent outbreak of hitherto little known illnesses — Chikungunya, for example — the subject of `E' gains relevance. Jhananathan focuses on the imminent fears, rumours and ruminations about biological weapons and their annihilating capabilities. The downtrodden masses of the third world make perfect guinea pigs for experiments and scientific study. And when the educated fraternity, in their greed, make the habitats of the poor too risky, it spells doom for these people.
It is sheer gumption that has made Jeeva take up such a role. Anti for the most part, E turns a formula hero only in the last 20 minutes of the film. For desi cinema this E man is indeed new!
The unscrupulous doctor Ramakrishnan (Ashish Vidyarti) selects his `patients' from the poor and the backward and injects them with viruses for experiments. Under the payroll of big powers overseas, Ramakrishnan fearlessly carries on his clandestine operations. Nellai Mani (Pasupathi), a medical college drop out whose mission is to hunt and gun down these killers, is after Ramakrishnan. Amidst all this action is E (Jeeva), an orphan and a roadside rogue, brought up in the slums, by an old woman. And when Mani and E converge, murder and bloodshed become inevitable.
Coming a long way
With stained teeth, unkempt hair and grimy outfits, Jeeva emerges credible in the title role. Unashamed and unrepentant, E shocks you with his callousness for the most part of the film. And he shines in the sequences at the police station. Jeeva's nuances in expression and demeanour win him credit — surely the young man has travelled quite a distance from his `Thithikkudhae' days.
For once, the heroine is more than a mere glam doll. Nayantara has scope to perform and she does a neat job of it. It is heartening to see Pasupathi in a meaningful role. Hopefully he's out of the formula villain stuff he was doing for some time. The old woman who plays E's grandma is easily one of the most natural performers you've come across. And Karunas is another actor whose enactment draws your attention.
Srikanth Deva shows some restraint in his use of sound in `E.' The `Orey Murai' number appeals. N.K. Ekambaram's camera that caressed the scenic seaside in `Iyarkai' does equally splendid work in `E.' Apt lighting sets the right mood for the scenes. (You can forget the CG gimmicks that appear rather childish.) Abruptly ending scenes, especially in the initial hour, are puzzling. It is apparent that maker Jhananathan of the national award-winning `Eyarkai' has worked hard on a new thought. That in itself warrants much credit.
MALATHI RANGARAJAN
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