- Just realized..this is my 25th review. Taken me one and half years to get here!
In the 90’s I often heard directors complaining about the audiences in India. Their view seemed to be that any deviation from the usual stereotypes were not received well. Every single time I heard these comments I used to think to myself, look at Manirathnam.
If there is one man who has blended commercial cinema with parallel cinema it has to this former employee of TVS. The plots of some of his most successful movies are definitely a good index. Nayakan (dealt with the Underworld), Anjali (about a mentally retarded Child), Roja (terrorism in Kashmir), Bombay (Riots) and A Peck On the Cheek (terrorism In Sri Lanka). No surprise then that a lot of hype surrounded the making and the release of Ayutha Ezhuthu in Tamil and Yuva in Hindi.
Manirathnam doesn’t disappoint this time.
Personally, I decided to watch the Tamil version because I felt the lead actors were better than their Hindi counterparts. Also, sensitive subjects like politics have always been treated better in Tamil than in Hindi.
The plot (as every single person knows!) is about three young men and one incident that changes their lives. The incident takes place on a bridge and is in fact the first scene.
What follows are three flashbacks following the lives of each of these three men culminating in their arrival at the bridge. The three flashbacks occupy three fourths of the running time of the movie and show the characters and lives of each man.
RED is the color scheme for Inba (played by Madhavan). He is the bad guy in the movie. I say red is the color scheme cause you have a red tinge almost everywhere he is. The walls of the police station and his house are red, his jacket and even his bandana are red. I am guessing Red here represents Anger and violence.
Inba is nothing more than a thug who craves power and is a henchman for a politician. Malayali actress Meera Jasmine essays the role of his wife.
BLUE is the color scheme for Arjun (played by BOYS hero Siddarth). Blue represents cool and Mr. Arjun is the cool dude who harbors dreams of flying to the States. With Arjun you inevitably have blue Jeans and jackets. Both the songs shot on him also have the color prominently in them. Trisha plays the role of his girl friend.
Green is the color scheme for Michael ( Surya) , a student politician who turns down the chance of working under a Nobel Prize winning scientist for his country ( no, that was not a typo!) . Michael is the most important of the three characters. We are also led to understand that Michael doesn’t believe in the sanctity of marriage. Esha Deol essays the role of his girlfriend, who later agrees to a live-in relationship with Michael.
The action starts with the very first scene where you find Inba trying to kill Michael. Fate brings Arjun to the very bridge. Manirathnam then uses 3 flashbacks (similar to that in alaipayuthey) to describe how the three get there.
Lots of work has gone into this particular scene as this one scene has been shot from various angles to depict each person’s point of view.
The Pros
- The freshness of the story line
Sick of the cliched movies. Everything is so predictable. Yes, it is entertainment but movies made with a lot of passion and heart always work. This is something that Manirathnam has always managed to do.
- The Camerawork
Stunning work done here, as is always the case with his movies. The color scheme is something to be watched out for as well. As I said before, the incident as seen from each protagonist’s point of view was amazing. The meeting of Michael and Inba on the bridge was just brilliant. Sure shot national award for Ravi K. Chandran.
- Surya
This guy just steals the show. His screen presence is good and he carries out the role with a lot of ease. His conversations with the politician are interesting.
Madhavan and Siddarth are also good but definitely not as good as Surya.
- The Songs
Not too many people like the songs, but just like BOYS this movie is based on the YOUTH. It’s not right to expect really slow or classical numbers. Besides, it merges well with the movie.
Jana Gana Mana is brilliant. One song to watch out for.
Many of my friends were unhappy that his character didn’t get redemption. I am glad it turned out this way. The way I look at it, he went after power and was ready to do anything for it. This was clearly shown in the scene with him and the politician (bharathiraja). He got what he deserved.
Cons
After putting in a lot of effort I feel the entire movie comes apart a little bit at the end. Because of the duration of each flashback ample time was not provided to glue the pieces together. Not enough screen time was given to the election campaigning of Michael and his friends. At the end it just seemed a tad superficial. Don’t think its that easy to succeed in the big bad world of politics.
The actresses were terribly underused. Feel that Meera jasmine could have been given a stronger role. Trisha and Esha had practically nothing to do but did whatever they were expected to do.
On the whole Ayutha Ezhuthu is definitely not a masterpiece. Pales in comparison to movies like Nayakan and Mouna Ragam but I will take an above average Manirathnam movie any day over some of the trash that Hollywood, Bollywood and Kollywood churn out.