After seeing Balaji Mohan, Karthik Subbaraj, Nalan Kumarasamy and a series of other short film directors making their entry into Kollywood, here is one more joining the club! It is debutant Nithilan, who has directed Kurangu Bommai starring Vidaarth, legendary director Bharathiraja, Kumaravel and others.
A bag with a monkey sticker that contains a golden statue worth five crores travels in the hands of various people and what impact does that bag leave in the lives of these people is what the core premise of Kurangu Bommai is all about. The director has shown, how severe and impactful can greediness for money be, to the lives of different people. Also, it deals with various emotions, and it is not just a money crime thriller.
The film's biggest strength is its writing by Nithilan which is smartly taken care. The way one scene gives a lead to another scene is very interesting, and it has been knit well. The film moves on a nonlinear screenplay format, but nowhere in the movie, you could find it complicated. The usage of colours to differentiate the past and present will make the viewers connect better and follow the story, which adds more power to the film's flow.
Dialogues are also worth mentioning, and we can even say the paperwork for the film has been strong enough. Nithilan is a wonderful find for Kollywood, who shows great promise, and we can expect him to deliver some quality stuff in the future.
The casting has been brilliantly done for the film, as the lead actors have lived the characters, especially Vidaarth and Bharathiraja. Vidaarth has off late been selecting good scripts, and after Kuttrame Thandanai and Oru Kidayin Karunai Manu, this film will be one more valuable addition to his filmography. He scores well in the latter half of the movie, where his emotions speak. There's a scene in the second half, where Bharathiraja tells a story to Kumaravel. That one single scene is enough to tell us what kind of a performer he is. We would see a different Kumaravel in this film, and he has boldly taken up this character. However, there's a slight artificiality in his performance, and it takes time for us to get convinced.
On the flipside, there are a few worries like the uninteresting romantic portions in the first half, a needless song towards the end. While the whole movie is very much relatable and realistic, that song, in the end, makes you get disconnected. The director has also made use of the cinematic liberties at places, which looks odd, in a film with this mood and style.The accident in the police station and Vidaarth forgetting to take the bag from the hospital are a few examples. If you could go through these, you would enjoy a quality piece of cinema
The technical work in the film has been decent, with Ajaneesh Loknath (music), N.S.Udhayakumar (DoP), and Abhinav Sunder Nayak (editing) giving ample support to the film together. Last, but not the least, you would leave the theatre in silence, as the movie leaves you with an impact.
