Debutante Atlee, a former assistant to director Shankar, has made his directorial debut with ‘Raja Rani’. There was a huge buzz surrounding the film before the release, thanks to the innovative promotional strategies adopted by its makers. The movie stars Arya, Nayanthara, Jai, Nazriya and Santhanam in the lead. Has this romantic entertainer lived up to the buzz? Read on.
Plot
The movie starts on an interesting note, as John (Arya) and Regina (Nayanthara) get married to each other, but without much interest. They live together, but do not make a happy couple. It is told in flashback that Regina was in love with Surya (Jai) and John was in love with Keerthana (Nazriya) before. What happened to Surya and Keerthana, and will John and Regina start a life together, forms the rest of the story.
Performances
Nayanthara outperforms all other actors in the film. She is brilliant in her role and it is so heartening to see her emote so well. Watch out for the scenes when she breaks down in the car and when she gets a seizure attack. Jai is equally impressive in his role of a soft-spoken person. He does keep the first half alive with his mannerisms and dialogue delivery.
Arya has given a very subtle and matured performance. He also keeps the audience in splits when he shares screen with Santhanam. Nazriya, the Neram girl, has given a credible performance as a charming girl. It is a good follow-up role for her after ‘Neram’. Santhanam is present almost throughout the movie and he is at his usual best. The good part is that he has stayed away from double entendres and concentrated more on the timing sense. Sathyaraj looks very youthful and aces up in the role of a modern-day dad. Rajendran of ‘Naan Kadavul’ fame is seen in a different avatar altogether and Sathyan has done his part well.
Technicalities
GV Prakash Kumar’s background score is one of the major highlights of the movie. It adds up to the fun mood of the film. Among songs, ‘Chillena Oru’ is melodious, while ‘Hey Baby’ is an interesting and experimental number. Cinematographer George. C. Williams has done a fabulous job. The visuals look elegant and picturesque, especially the songs and the introduction wedding scene. Anthony’s skillful editing keeps up the movie’s momentum, in spite of the long running time of 2 hours and 44 minutes. However, the second half could have been trimmed slightly.
Script and Direction – Atlee
Debutante Atlee, much like his mentor Shankar, has given a lot of importance to the presentation. Many of the scenes command applause from the audience for their freshness and poetic nature. Jai – Nayanthara scenes are hilarious and look very earthly. However, Arya – Nazriya love portion do not impress much, as it is predictable. The movie’s dialogues are sharp and impressive. For instance, Nayanthara says ‘Porakkum bodhu yaarum ‘Made for each other’ eh porakardhu ila Surya, ellam vaazhndhu kaatradhu la dhan’.
The movie is devoid of any vulgar dialogue or crass item number, much to the delight of family audience. Kudos to the director for keeping the film clean! On the flip side, the second half could have been better and at times, reminds one of the cult classic ‘Mouna Ragam’.
Rating:4/5
