Credible plot, filmi end -- Agaram
TALE OF VENGEANCE: Agaram
Agaram
Genre: Action
Director: T. Nagaraj
Cast: Nandha, Archana, Vivek, Biju Menon, Sukumari, Seetha, Ajay Ratnam, Hardeep Singh, Raj Kapoor, Ilavarasu.
Storyline: The hero becomes a marked man with just four days for the deadline to expire, but turns the tables on his tormentors.
Bottomline: An engrossing storyline with a convenient ending.
How does the common man cope with a death threat from cut-throat criminals? This is the theme of Sree Bhuvaneswari Pictures' recent release.
Thiru (Nandha) is a young Airtel employee, who has just moved into the family's new house in Tuticorin, with his sister (Varshini), mother (Seetha), and grandmother (Sukumari). Their happiness is tinged with the grief of Thiru's father's recent demise, before the construction could be completed.
Fate decrees that the entire family be placed in jeopardy when Thiru has a dust-up with Pasupathy, brother of the dreaded don of the waterfront mafia, Varma (Biju Menon) during the local elections.
The enraged don swears to kill Thiru, agreeing to spare his life for just four days till the election ends, at the request of his politician crony (Ilavarasu), who is all set to become the MLA.
The family flees, but is captured and brought back to face the atrocities unleashed by Varma's goons. Until this point, the plot is credible, the pace is racy and director Nagaraj, also in charge of story and screenplay, proves that he can tell a story and tell it well. But just when events are ripe for that crucial twist in the tale that can empower the hero, the screenplay opts for a filmi solution.
The hero's mother delivers an inspiring speech that converts him into a superhero who takes on Varma and his entire gang and wreaks vengeance. While the message that the ordinary citizen can and should fight back is inspiring, the solution seems too simplistic.
Apt casting is one of the definite strengths of the film.
Nandha makes the most of his opportunities to emote, fight and dance.
Decorative role
His love interest is new-comer Archana, who is slim, pretty and emotes reasonably well. However, her role offers no scope to be anything other than decorative.
Maturity and experience mark Seetha's and Sukumari's portrayals and solidly anchor the family scenes.
Biju Menon has a blast as the arch villain, keeping his reactions brutal but controlled until the hero humiliates him in public.
After that, it is all red-eyed rage and animal snarls to sustain the momentum towards a bone-crunching climax.
Vivek in his role as Thiru's friend creates a comedy track that elicits a spontaneous smile, with his take-off on SIM cards, gypsies and cats. What is the connection? In his usual tongue-in-cheek manner, he somehow manages to establish one.
Yuvan Shankar's Raja's music fits the bill without trying too hard.
`Unnai naan' is a melodious number that could catch on with repeated listening.
N.P.Vetrivel's camera captures lovely vistas during this duet and mellow interior shots of the house. Super Subbarayan has worked hard on the fight sequences.
KLT
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