Friday Aug 29 2008, Chennai

‘Nayagan'- Worth a watch!

Directed by - Saravana Shakthi

Produced by - V.K.Vijayakumar Reddy

Music by - Maria Manohar

Casts - J.K.Riteesh, Ramanaa, Sangeetha, Keerthi Chawla, Anita, Radharavi, Pandiarajan, Vijay Babu, Anandaraj, Vaiyapuri, Sreeman, Santhana Barathi, ‘Crane’ Manohar, ‘Scissor’ Manohar and Devipriya.

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Director Saravana Shakthi comes out with an OK kind of entertainer in ‘Nayagan’, which has J.K.Riteesh, Ramanaa and Sangeetha in key roles.The story begins when a gang kidnaps Dr.Sharada (Sangeetha of ‘Uyir’ and ‘Pithamagan’ fame) and tortures her at their hide-out.

  Poor Sharada isn’t even aware as to why, what for and by whom she had been kidnapped.  A ‘useless’ telephone, ditched by the gang leader (Anandaraj), comes to Sharada’s rescue.Dialling several numbers at random, she finally manages to connect to Shakthi (Ramanaa), who makes a comeback with this film.  She tells him, amidst sobs, that she has been kidnapped and requests him to rescue her.  Shakthi, meanwhile is on his way to safety after eloping with his sweetheart (Keerthi Chawla), and that too from the marriage hall where she was just going to be married to someone else.

But Sharada’s panicky tone makes Shakthi think of helping her out despite his own precarious situation and thus he approaches the nearby police station.  The tough cop Guru (J.K.Riteesh), who is in charge of the police station, was just about managing a huge riot outside his station when Shakthi comes to him.  In the melee that prevails, Guru is unable to take immediate action in Sharada’s case, Deciding to take matters into his own hands, Shakthi moves ahead, purely on humanitarian grounds.

  Whether or not Shakthi succeeds in his efforts, whether he could marry his sweetheart, whether Sharada was rescued from the clutches of the gang and whether Guru involves himself in the rescue effort, etc.are all revealed in some interesting turn of events.Though a rehashed version of the Hollywood movie ‘Cellular’, director Saravana Shakthi has managed to package ‘Nayagan’ neatly and put in the right kind of ingredients needed to make it appealing.The film is full of chases -some group or individuals keep on chasing the other group or individual.  When the secret behind Sharada’s kidnapping is actually revealed, the drama gets more intense, making the viewers sit glued to their seats, not even thinking of moving out of the hall to get their mandatory cigarettes or coffee.

Riteesh and Ramanaa vie with each other for screen space and act out their respective roles with confidence.  For Riteesh, who tasted bitter failure with debut film ‘Kanaal Neer’, ‘Nayagan’ could hit the bull’s eye at the box-office.  The talented Ramanaa also might benefit from the film’s success.  Sangeetha, Sreeman, Keerthi Chawla, Anandaraj (in a dual role), Devipriya and all others have done their parts admirably.  For a dedicated actress like Sangeetha, the role is tailor-made for her and she cakewalks through the role with her fine portrayal.

Action sequences are filmed in an excellent manner, with both Riteesh and Ramanaa coming to the party with some gripping action.  Anandaraj’s double role, however, doesn’t look natural and appears a forced one.The director seems bent on presenting Riteesh (who is just on to his second film only) in a stylish manner in many sequences, boosting him the way Rajnikanth is boosted.This was definitely unwarranted and could easily have been avoided.Maria’s music and Abu Shah’s cinematography are the highlights of this fast-paced action drama.

  Songs are okay and serve as a relief amid the high-octane action dishes.‘Nayagan’ is definitely worth a watch!