Naalai - Movie Review
Main reason I wanted to watch this movie was for Karthik Raja's melodious numbers which had already got some good acclaim. Plus, this Richard guy has always intrigued me. Kaadhal Virus was the only movie I have seen him before but he seemed to me as someone who could do a lot better, provided he gets the right script. And Naalai seems to have given him just that. He is very impressive in his role as Justin in the movie. But it was Natraj, the cinematographer turned actor, cast as Nattu, who turned out to be the surprise package of the movie, with his natural acting & dialogue delivery throughout the movie. Well, except in the climax where he flops miserably. All the others in the cast have done their part pretty well. Nasser has been doing many unimportant and not-so-impressive roles of late and hence, his meaty role here is heartening to see since it kind of reminds us of how capable an actor he is (though it is something we do not need to be reminded of). The photography was awesome, with the 'different shades of colors for different scenes' concept and the action sequences in particular have been picturized very well. The other thing I am noticing in Tamil movies is the way they picturize scenes involving gun fights. I feel that we are still in the fledgling stages of shooting such scenes, since almost everybody clearly show their naiveness when it comes to handling a gun. I had noticed the same even in Kaakka Kaakka and more recently in Thalainagaram too.
Couple of the songs - Oru maattram & Naalai indha - tuned in by Karthick Raja are so melodious that you don’t want to stop listening to them. Vintage Karthik Raja. And the Oru maattram song was picturized very beautifully and it reminds you of the classic Ilangaathu veesudhe. Karthik Raja was phenomenal in the background score throughout the movie. It is truly a case of 'genes running in the family'. How else could one explain the beautiful background efforts of all of Ilaiyaraja's protégés, Bhavatharini included? Out of the 5 songs, 2 gel perfectly with the flow of the movie and hence its a treat to watch them. Fortunately for us & Karthik Raja, those 2 songs happen to be the best of the album. The other 3 songs were one of the main reasons which made me lose interest in the movie. In an otherwise decent movie with a smooth screenplay, why insert these 3 irrelevant songs? The problem with these unnecessary songs is this - everyone associated with the song tries their best to show off their talents & skills. Like the hero does his best in dancing, the camera man provides us some amazing shots, art director comes up with awesome sets and the choreographer gives his best by innovative steps. But you know who the loser is at the end of this all? Poor we, the audience. These unnecessary songs not only make the movie less interesting, they also test our patience levels. The movie runs pretty smoothly for the most part but it is in the last 30 mins, the director seems to be clueless as to how to end the movie and thus ends up spoiling much of the good work that he had done through the first 3/4th of the movie. But overall, a decent watch.
Highlights - Karthik Raja, Richard, Natraj
Couple of the songs - Oru maattram & Naalai indha - tuned in by Karthick Raja are so melodious that you don’t want to stop listening to them. Vintage Karthik Raja. And the Oru maattram song was picturized very beautifully and it reminds you of the classic Ilangaathu veesudhe. Karthik Raja was phenomenal in the background score throughout the movie. It is truly a case of 'genes running in the family'. How else could one explain the beautiful background efforts of all of Ilaiyaraja's protégés, Bhavatharini included? Out of the 5 songs, 2 gel perfectly with the flow of the movie and hence its a treat to watch them. Fortunately for us & Karthik Raja, those 2 songs happen to be the best of the album. The other 3 songs were one of the main reasons which made me lose interest in the movie. In an otherwise decent movie with a smooth screenplay, why insert these 3 irrelevant songs? The problem with these unnecessary songs is this - everyone associated with the song tries their best to show off their talents & skills. Like the hero does his best in dancing, the camera man provides us some amazing shots, art director comes up with awesome sets and the choreographer gives his best by innovative steps. But you know who the loser is at the end of this all? Poor we, the audience. These unnecessary songs not only make the movie less interesting, they also test our patience levels. The movie runs pretty smoothly for the most part but it is in the last 30 mins, the director seems to be clueless as to how to end the movie and thus ends up spoiling much of the good work that he had done through the first 3/4th of the movie. But overall, a decent watch.
Highlights - Karthik Raja, Richard, Natraj
posted by Filbert at 8:43 AM
3 Comments:
Karthik Raja is the one who is more like his dad in his compositions. Remains a mystery on why he hasnt been as successful as Yuvan. Looks like the director of Naalai has teamed up with Karthik Raja again for his next movie. That's good news. Richard is a lot better than the likes of Srikanths & Shaams...Hope Naalai fetches him better offers in the hands of abler directors.
the movie's biggest drawback was that it felt so much like 'pattiyal' - from the start to the tragic end. otherwise, it was pretty decent flick with the director showing nice style... i loved 'oru maatram' both for the song and the picturization. i don't remember 'naalai indha' though. when did it occur?
Very true, Balaji. But until I read your comment, it didnt strike me that it reminded so much of Pattiyal. Hope you remember my post about how Pattiyal was ripped off that Thai movie. So, that being the case, I had totally wiped off Pattiyal from my memory :) May be that's why I didnt notice Naalai's close similarity to Pattiyal.
The 'Naalai Indha' song comes right when the movie starts. Its not really picturized as a song as it comes in the background during the first few scenes.
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