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The staleness haunts - Sila Nerangalil
Genre: Thriller/Romance
Director: Jayaraj
Cast: Vincent Asokan, Navya Nair, Raghuvaran
Storyline: An amnesiac has dreams of being murdered in her sleep, which might be memories of her past life.
Bottomline: DéjÀ vu. And not in a good way either.
A lot of things are wrong with ‘Sila Nerangalil,’ but it’s the staleness of its theme that’s most disappointing. To say that the reincarnation concept and lovers being reborn (looking the same way they did in their previous b
irth) has been done to death is an understatement. Couldn’t the first-time producers, four young techies based out of the U.S., come up with something a little more original?
Still, sometimes an age-old theme can be reprised effectively and given a new shine. This is not one of those times. ‘Sila Nerangalil’ is about a young woman (Navya Nair) who has lost her memory and is haunted by a recurring dream of being killed in her sleep. She ends up in the care of Joe (Vincent Asokan) a muscled do-gooder who works with the physically and mentally challenged in Udayagiri. Gopalakrishnan (Raghuvaran), a hypnotist who lives conveniently nearby, offers to help her regain her memory.
Of course, he uncovers her memories of her past life under hypnosis (forget taking her back few years and figuring out who the poor girl is; he just goes straight to her past life.) And so begins a series of flashbacks to the 1960s when Thamarai (Navya) marries the possessive Chidambaram (Vincent) in Madurai.
Hackneyed plot
In spite of its hackneyed plot, the movie does have potential — there’s jealousy, intrigue, a 40-year-old murder mystery, etc. Unfortunately, it’s let down by a clumsy screenplay that shows its cards far too soon — you know exactly what’s coming and the ‘big reveal’ after intermission is almost a joke. When the murder mystery finally does hot up late in the second half, the dramatic momentum is ruined by a ridiculous song that has Navya in a kimono and Vincent looking suspiciously like Rajnikant’s animated Sultan as he fights off ninjas.
The flashback works better than the present-day sequences — Vincent is far more effective as the conflicted Chidambaram, playing with the right mix of passion and menace; his portrayal of the uncomplicated Joe is rather forced. Navya simply lacks the acting chops to carry off this role, but is slightly better as the innocent Thamarai than as the dying-duck-in-a-rainstorm amnesiac. Raghuvaran is… well, Raghuvaran. He tries, but his character never really gets off the ground until the climax (which, incidentally, is the most satisfying part of the movie). Vineeth does well as a playback singer in the 60s, literally transforming into a yesteryear hero.
Clichéd dialogue, annoying dubbing glitches, several loose ends and uninspired music further bog down this film. Please, will some one ban reincarnation movies? It’s about time.
DIVYA KUMAR
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Friday Review
Bangalore
Chennai and Tamil Nadu
Delhi
Hyderabad
Thiruvananthapuram
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