Friday Oct 19 2007, Chennai

Katrathu Tamil: Going overboard

Directed by - Ram

Produced by - N. Sivaprasad, Saimara Mohammed Sharef

Music by - Yuvan Shankar Raja

Casts - Jeevaa, Anjali, Karunas, Azhagam Perumal

Banner - M.R. Film Production

Debutant director Ram has got the components – cast selection, performances, execution, cinematography, and music – right.It is the concept, based on which the script is built, makes the film look awkward and ineffective.Prabhakaran (Jeeva) is a postgraduate in Tamil.He is struggling to settle in his career just because he chose to study Tamil.He has a strained past as his mother was killed in an accident.

He also loses track of what happened to his girlfriend Anjali (Anandi), his childhood sweetheart.To make things worse, he gets punished by a police officer for no fault of his.He decides to end his life but his attempt goes in vain.He then becomes a maverick and turns violent, giving vent to his anger against the unjust social set up.He miraculously finds his girlfriend and redeems his childhood.

However, he once again finds himself at the wrong end. The theme has potential to be made as an engrossing experience on celluloid.Director Ram succeeds in creating a sort of intensity.He has executed the scenes well.The depiction of the mansion, police lock up, and the remote village of Maharashtra are quite realistic.

The film looses the grip, as the director goes overboard on portraying the plight of the protagonist.The turn of events after the protagonist is arrested lacks credibility.This makes the ensuing scenes and their intensity look awkward and less appealing.The director launches an onslaught on the social order created by globalisation in general and software boom in particular.He does it without proper homework and reasoning.

Comparing one field with another is basically an immature approach.Each field has its own pros and cons and one should be aware of those when he or she chooses a field.Moreover, the director has overlooked the basic fact that if you carefully pursue your career in any field, including Tamil, you will get immense chances to bolster your career.The director wants us to believe that Prabhakaran suffers just because of his love towards a language that has 2000 years of rich tradition.But if you go by his script you would easily find that he suffers because of a few accidents, mishaps, and unprofessional approach towards the career.

Hence, the 'victimization' theory falls flatter and the audiences could not identify themselves with his feelings.Performance wise Jeeva comes out with flying color with an outstanding performance.He gets a sumptuous role and does full justice to the role.His body language, expressions, and dialogue delivery are quite impressive.He sports three different looks and looks natural in each looks.

This is easily his pest performance thus far.Newcomer Anjali looks pleasant and acts well.She handles her role with ease.Karunas has rendered a wonderful performance.He impresses in a role, which is not a typical comedian role.

His response with varied emotions to the whole story of the protagonist is quite effective.Azagam Perumal in a small role makes his presence felt.S.R.Kadhir’s cinematography is marvelous.

Yuvan Shankar Raja has gone to another level in music, especially in background score.His musical skill lifts the impact of the scenes.The songs are tuneful.Pick of the lot is the one sung by Ilayaraja (Paravai).Overall, Katrathu Tamil has a potential to be an engrossing fair but comes a cropper due to imbalanced approach.

The performances, music, cinematography, and the fine execution might save the film from being drowned.