Saturday Dec 13 2008, Chennai

Return of the Master!

Directed by - Bharathiraja

Produced by - Therkathi Kalaikkoodam

Music by - Himesh Reshammiya

Casts - Nana Patekar, Manivannan etc

Starring - Arjun, Kajal Agarwal

‘Bommalattam’ is a loud and clear retort to those who have been thinking that Bharathiraja’s best days in the industry are over.

It chronicles the life and times of a film director who dedicates his whole life to making good cinema.

Usually, films of this genre depict the life of an actor or an actress. Director Bharathiraja’s courage in showing the life of a director and casting Bollywood’s Nana Patekar in the role and extracting excellent performance from him are quite commendable indeed.

Rana (Nana Patekar), a director known for his bad temper, embarks on a search for a heroine for his new film. And when he finds his heroine, he takes utmost care to keep her identity concealed, from the public and from the media.

On the day the movie is released, media people go on hot pursuit after the car in which the actress and the director travel. Rana ditches them and consequently ‘stages’ an accident making the car carrying the actress fall off from a high cliff while ensuring that he escapes unhurt. The ‘murder’ of the actress is probed first by the Police and then by the CBI.

The CBI officer (played by Arjun) in charge of the probe connects it with two other ‘mysterious deaths’ that had already taken place at the shooting spot of Rana’s film. He even suspects Rana of having committed the triple murder.

And then we are led on to a totally enthralling and unexpected climax. (Tamil Cinema has never witnessed such a powerful and stunning climax sequence for a very long time.)

The climax sequence of ‘Bommalattam’ is a loud and clear answer to those who have been thinking that Bharathiraja’s best days in the industry are over. The veteran director has re-iterated his grip over the medium with an absorbing screenplay and an outstanding climax. The way he uses flashback sequences interspersed with the investigation process is commendable. There is a touch of class in the characterization of Rana, a character with many shades. The dialogues are short and powerful. Bharathiraja takes utmost care not to get dramatic.

Nana Patekar, known for his subtle portrayal, has delivered a mind-blowing performance. It’s indeed a privilege to watch in Tamil screen the immensely talented actor, who has given riveting performances in films like ‘Parinda’, ‘Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman’, ‘Tirangaa’, ‘Khamoshi’ and ‘Agnisakshi’, to name a few. The way he acts out the different aspects of his character- his perfectionist attitude in his work, his anger, pent up feelings, happiness, casual attitude etc- is simply amazing. The manner in which Rana goes about his job of directing the film after an angry outburst at him by his wife (Ranjitha), that too in front of the crew, speaks volumes about the actor’s talents. ‘Nizhalgal’ Ravi has done a fabulous job dubbing for Nana Patekar.

‘Action King’ Arjun appears in the film as the CBI officer, but of course sans his usual riveting action sequences. He too has done a fairly decent job. Newcomer Kajal Aggarwal (she was a newcomer when she started acting in ‘Bommalattam’, but is no longer so as her ‘Pazhani’ and ‘Saroja’ got released earlier) looks pretty with her big, beautiful eyes. The surprise package, however, is Ruckmani Vijayakumar, who excels in the role of an aspiring actress, striving at all times to meet the expectations of Rana.


Ranjitha, who was introduced by Bharathiraja in his ‘Nadodi Thendral’ more than 15 years ago, dazzles in her brief role as Rana’s wife. Others including Manivannan, Vivek etc have done their respective parts well.

Cinematographer B.Kannan, who is known in the industry as ‘Bharathiraja’s eyes’, has again done an excellent job. Himesh Reshammiya’s background score and art work by Sabu Cyril are among the strong points.

Films based on films and film artistes generally don’t enjoy a great run in Tamil cinema. ‘Bommalattam’ is all set to shatter that jinx.

- R.S. Karthik