Alphonse Putharen’s Neram begins with an unusual dedication, a thank-you to the director’s “ex-girlfriends (especially the last one).” Just what might a Freudian make of this, given that the heroine, here, is kidnapped, bound and gagged, and tossed into the boot of a black Ambassador? The opening scene is even more unconventional, a riff on the butterfly effect, wherein a plutocrat, in the US, suffers an episode of flatulence, resulting in Vetri (Nivin Pauly), in Chennai, receiving the pink slip. After Soodhu Kavvum and Neram, is it too soon to say that we are slowly beginning to say goodbye to the one-size-fits-all film for family audiences? Perhaps yes. But at least, we seem to be opening up to cinematography that’s more than just brightly lit master shots – there’s texture, grit, mood in these frames. And we seem to be welcoming heroines who look like they belong in this universe and who speak the language. A cautiously optimistic wolf-whistle may be in order.
Neram lives up to its title from the opening credits, which appear over a variety of time-indicating devices. Elsewhere, too, there are signs of time. It’s three weeks before Veni (Nazriya Nazim) agrees to Vetri’s proposal. And then, when her father assents to their getting married, Vetri asks for time to look for a new job. Months elapse. Meanwhile, he needs money for his sister’s wedding. So he goes to a bling-loving loan shark named ‘Vatti’ Raja (Simhaa), who threatens him with dire consequences if the repayments don’t arrive on time. And the timeframe of the events in the film? One day – the day an installment is due. Neram, therefore, is a ticking-clock thriller hinging on whether Vetri will settle ‘Vatti’ Raja’s dues within a specified period of time, but there’s a more diffuse aspect of time the director sets out to explore: its capacity to usher in fortune and misfortune. (In other words, nalla neram, ketta neram.) No one can accuse Putharen of lacking ambition.
Or attitude. A defining characteristic of these films is the tongue tucked firmly into cheek, and we have, as ‘Vatti’ Raja’s henchmen, Karuppu and Vellai, who, between them, occupy the ends of the complexion spectrum. Then we have the world-cinema instructor who refers to Bicycle Thieves, made, apparently, by a filmmaker named Victoria D’Silva. (It’s terrific how this joke is slipped in with little regard to whether the “common man” will get it.) And how can we forget Manick? His name, really, is Manickam, but the abbreviation points to his Anglicisation – he prefers to speak in English. The scenes with Thambi Ramaiah (as Veni’s dyspeptic father) and John Vijay (as a sub-inspector with an unprintable name who may know less about Carnatic music than he thinks he does) are gems, crafted not with silly one-liners but with deeply eccentric humour. Even the songs are one-of-a-kind, employed not as brakes to bring the movie to periodic five-minute halts, but to infuse jolts of electricity into dynamically filmed chase sequences. (The background, at other times, spins variations on Beethoven’s Für Elise.)
The leads are great together, and the supporting characters circle around them – and each other, and the locality of Mandaiveli – beautifully, showing up just enough to remind us of their existence, never overstaying their welcome. Almost everything is perfect on paper. But something is lost on screen. We feel we should be laughing more, and that there are a few too many flat passages. The conveniently plotted (and dismayingly tension-free) concluding portions don’t live up to the promise of the beginning, and by the time Nasser shows up as a big shot with a tendency to use the word “awesome” (his version goes “aa-sum”) and break into song in hospitals, we wish that, under these sprinklings of humour, there had been more meat. I wasn’t rooting for anyone in particular by the end – though you may say, and rightly so, that the point of these modest productions isn’t emotional investment but entertainment. And that we get… most of the time.
An edited version of this piece can be found here.
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Bharath Ram
May 18, 2013
Well written review sir…
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JPhilip
May 19, 2013
I was leaping in delight when I saw you had reviewed a Mallu movie,then shrugged it off when I figured you were extolling the Tamil twin/dub .Neram,in Kerala (and in the native lingo)is doing great business and continuing this resurgence of believable characterisations (as with Annayum Rasoolum that you saw).Do catch Lijo Jose’s ‘Amen’ if you haven’t yet .
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anupama kumar
May 19, 2013
Mr Rangan, my name is Anupama Kumar and i am an actor in the Tamil Film Industry. Read you review of ‘Neram’ just now and felt compelled to write to you! Looking forward to watching the film.
Every sunday I look forward to reading your film reviews. Often they are more interesting than the films themselves! The reviews are literary masterpieces and you do the films “poetic” justice, dare I say :).
It is simply “aa-sum” :).
Best regards
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Sanjay Shankar (@sanjayshankar)
May 20, 2013
I was hoping that the movie would get exactly this sort of review from you.:) That way, it stays on my watch-list without having my expectations increased. Perfect!
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Dillu
May 21, 2013
“…Do catch Lijo Jose’s ‘Amen’ if you haven’t yet .” – Though ‘Aamen’ might be a fairly interesting watch, it is far from anything great. May be watching with ordinary expectations might help.
But the best malayalam movie of recent times would be ‘Mumbai Police’ , which is incidentally currently playing in theatres. It is something definitely to watch. Take my word for it. 🙂
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ShobaGeo
May 21, 2013
Dillu :Take my word for it
And the other guy who recommended Amen,we disregard him?
And you are ?
Lesson in good manners:don’t diss another person.Ever.You think this movie is great,so be it.Let the other guy have his opinion:we dont know either of you so will probably just make our own opinions .Take MY word for it! 😉
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JPhilip
May 21, 2013
Oops ,a mini war in my name.
@Dillu my reference to and recommendation of ‘Amen’ was in keeping with my/an appreciation of the revival of realistic characters/darker themes/black humour/non linear narratives/atypical themes/unconventional leads in Malayalam cinema .’Amen’ is no classic but attempts all of the above.Mumbai Police,which you clearly liked ,I havent seen yet but will .I hear great things about it but it does not fit any of the things I listed above.Well made thriller it may,but it is conventional commercial stuff.I don’t see it being analysed at the FTII….
‘The best Malayam movie of recent times’ ?Surely we can all allowed to make our own minds about such superlatives .
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Dillu
May 22, 2013
@ShobaGeo : Arre, why you have to get so worked up all about it. I was just talking to B.Rangan there.
I just mentioned an opinion I had for a movie, but where did I diss another person. I didn’t even mention his name or said his opinion is bad or anything. Maybe the movie that he liked, I didn’t like that much and just said that.
This is a place for film discussion and you got to understand such comments are usual where there may be differing opinions about a movie. If you had been a regular in this site, you would’ve known this section has always had very heated discussions in the past.
‘Amen’ movie was a kind of disappointment for me after i’ve gone in after hearing some good things about it. That’s why I just mellowed down the expectations for BR here. (though its not as if BR is gonna actually see any of these movies) .
Now anyone can come and tell here ‘Mumbai Police’ was crap, if they felt so, why should i ever take it as something against me ( ofcourse provided one is not personally targeted ). So maybe before taking lessons in ‘manners’, you first grow up. 😉
@JPhilip : Didn’t intend to demean your opinion, if you ever felt so.
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Kiruba
May 22, 2013
Dillu: ‘best Malayalam movie of recent times’ really? It’s a good thriller with a terrific twist yes, and it is quite commendable of Prithviraj to have played that role, but overall I found it unconvincing. Perhaps it tried a bit too much to look slick and stylish?
There has been an onslaught of good films in Malayalam in the past few months (even Emmanuel, which was panned by critics was quite good), but Amen is my personal favorite this year so far.
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Venky
May 22, 2013
Mandaveli?? Have to see this movie just to see how my locality has been shot. That makes me wonder, Why do we never get to see tamil movies highlighting local areas in Chennai? The hard-core Mylaporean lover in me is also distressed that there aren’t any movies lately which showcase Mylapore The last time I remember seeing Mylapore was in KB’s movies back in the 80’s and 90’s
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Dillu
May 26, 2013
Kiruba: I felt it(‘Mumbai police’) to be atleast the best of this year so far. It wasn’t even near perfect and I too found some of it not so convincing, but the movie and its idea/thought-process that went behind it, thought it was simply brilliant.
‘Amen’, didn’t really excite me as much as I hoped for before watching . Felt it was more of like an ‘old drink in a brand new(-generation) bottle’ type.
Here is a detailed and wonderfully written piece that i happened to see about this movie.
http://www.madaboutmoviez.com/2013/03/amen-malayalam-movie-review/
I do disagree with some of his points , but it surely makes for an interesting reading ( especially the part regarding the “Avial” – a keralite dish- was hilarious ) .
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brangan
May 28, 2013
Venky: Well, we did have ‘Puthupettai’ 🙂
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Venky
May 28, 2013
We do. But we have never romanced places like Dilli 6. Mylapore, to me, is the perfect yin to the yang of Dilli 6. I saw the movie. It was entertaining despite the first-half, which I felt too contrived. Thanks to my friend,I got to see the short-movie version as well. The short-movie is so slick and neat, you wonder what happened when these guys began to make the big version. Vijay Sethupathi plays “Vatti Raja” in the short film and he simply steals the show! Although, Simhaa was quite convincing in the big screen version too
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Rajeev
July 18, 2013
Completely agree with you Mr.Rangan . A little more humour + A lack of tedium would’ve done the film a world of good . Nonetheless , it’s a fairly laudable effort . And I , for one , am interested to see Putharen’s evolution as a director .
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