Raman Thediya Seethai

I've been out of movies for quite a while (20 days perhaps but that's too big a duration for me) and Raman Thediya Seethai (RTS as they call it) has been the ice breaker that brought me back into the magical world.

I was under a determination that I should not post many movie reviews in my blog (partly because of the feedback from my friends and partly because it tends to fill the space) but it'd be an injustice if I don't write one for this movie. A meaningful Tamizh movie after a considerably long break, I'd say because Subramaniapuram (the last sane Tamizh movie I saw) was good too but it was more of a character based entertainer than a story-based, theme-driven movie.

A simple story line and a powerful screenplay are the biggest plus points of RTS. Cheran's character and the incidents that happen in his life are so neatly intertwined without the cinematic masala; and the director deserves a special applause for framing such a good sequence of incidents. Pasupathi has also done an excellent job as ever and his body language fits just so neatly into the Nedumaran character. You can never spot a peck of blemish in the way he walks, talks, his sniffing mannerisms, the way he plays a piano or anything he does. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, he is one of the unsung heroes IMHO. Cheran has done a great job too but if you are looking at the film from a reviewer's angle, you could see that his performance has some occasional hiccups. The heroine on contrary has acted so well and it was a pleasant surprise to see a character based heroine role enacted by someone who can really act. :) Another department that deserves a special mention is the camera. The backgrounds, the editing and the frame coloring for the songs as well as the scenes are just so superb. I also enjoyed a few interesting visuals like a girl crossing a depressed Cheran, busily talking over phone while a pair of youngsters are involved in the usual romantic chit-chat when the lyrics read "Ulagam yennai vittu suttrudhae...".

The last 15-20 minutes of the movie were dragging I should say. The unnecessary last song and Cheran's inability to understand a girl's love (when she becomes so dull knowing that Cheran is planning to meet another girl) were all fillers as I'd put it. The moral of the story however seems to be partly true and partly wrong. For an individual who lacks perceptional abilities, 5-10 mins couldn't be of great help in understanding someone. But for a person who can read one's eyes and the body language, it isn't too hard to understand the kind of person he is talking to given 20 mins of conversational freedom.

Overall positives: Story, screenplay, Star performance, Camera
Overall negatives: Slightly lengthy second half, Unnecessary last song and very poor match between the heroine who looks like a stallion and Cheran who is so puny.

I'd say RTS is a must-watch movie though it is not completely picture-perfect.