Nerungi Vaa Muththam Idathe - It's like reading a newspaper with only Headlines as content!

Nerungi Vaa Muththam Idathe – It’s like reading a Newspaper with only Headlines as content!

Cast: - Shabeer (Chandru), Pia Bajpai (Maya), Sruthi Hariharan, Viji Chandrasekhar, Thambi Ramaiah, Y.GEE.Mahendra among others

& Crew: - S/S.P/Dir- Lakshmy Ramakrishnan, Music-Medley-Blues, D.O.P-Vinod Bharathi, Edit-Sabu Joseph

Produced by: - A.V.Anoop (AVA Productions)

To read this review pl cut and paste all the 1’s, 2’s, 3,s and so forth in order and read it. I promise you it will make some sense otherwise you may end up with a psychiatrist or probably even in a mental asylum! I have followed this format so that the viewers will experience and feel the way I felt while watching this film!  

Story/Screenplay/Backdrop

1.In the stealth of the night a man pops or shall I say literally bursts out of a river. Even before he could remove his waterproof overalls is immediately and chased by the police. Place-Unknown, Reasons-unknown. (Obviously up to no good!)

2.There is a diesel crisis in the country. Life comes to a standstill.

3.Chandru (Shabeer) (the hero) agrees to drive a lorry laden with onions belonging Kaleeswaran (A.L.Azhagappan) his friend, guide, philosopher and friend in spite of a serious petroleum shortage.

4.Then comes Maya (Pia Bajpai) supposedly the heroine who is all the time sulking while her friends are partying. Where? Come on! Of course in Karaikal! How else can the hero meet her?

5.One way Rajagopalan (Thambi Ramaiah) is riding a share taxi with a couple. The girl is carrying a goat and talking over phone while the husband tries to throw the irritating Rajagopalan out of the taxi. (Will somebody please give this actor another national award to stop acting?) He keeps cracking stupid wise cracks (thanks to the dialogue writer who seems to have lost his sense of humor)

6.Bala Saravanan the hero’s friend back home is also waiting for his uncle to die! Why? Now look……..

1. Ranting & raving the terrorist now surfaces aboard a trawler which has somehow run out of diesel. So what does the poor guy do? Patience please the director will reveal later!

2.But where are the people? People have forgotten even to walk owing to their total dependence on cycles/mobikes/cars/trains and planes! Boy! This director conveys her messages directly and in no uncertain terms!

3.The hero stops on the way to talk to a roadside mother and child who is supposedly a prostitute (who entertains lorry driver to feed her baby with biscuits dipped in milk). The hero plays the good Samaritan by making her clean the lorry instead and pays her handsomely. Moral of this story – Every prostitute will be saved by a hero at the right time! All she has to do is to wait patiently.

4.Why does Pia continue to sulk?  Wait!

5.Finally Thambi Ramiah is thrown out. Why?  Because the hero has to pick him up! Why? For irritating everyone around and the viewers too.

1.Who is this guy waiting in the boat? He is an international terrorist now doubling as a spy carrying plans of the ‘Karaikal’ atomic plant! Now finally the director reveals that this guy is waiting in the trawler for the hero to deliver diesel!

2.Every now and then a news reader conveys the grave crisis of petroleum shortage. Lakshmy Ramakrishnan the director who also doubles as the petroleum minister chips in with her views on the crisis. Oh! Yes! She is always calm and composed! She is the best choice to replace Dhoni!

3.The Hero is then forced by the mother to help an eloping Muslim girl and Hindu boy. How? By offering to drop them en route AND in a safe zone.

4.In the midst of the party Pia suddenly takes off on a bike with a so called partying friend. Why? Patience please!

5.Now the hero picks up Thambi Ramiah on the way supposedly a bumbling idiot but is actually a clever con man and is working for the master mind Kaleeshwaran! What? How? Look pl stop asking questions. The director will answer at her own sweet time and place. If not pl email her.

6. Oh! Bala Saravanan! I almost forgot. Sorry! He is waiting because he will inherit money and property from an unknown uncle who is about to kick the bucket. This is comedy ‘Machi’ Comedy!

1.Why is the hero abetting the terrorist? Because he is blackmailed by the master mind!

2.The hero hates the father Y.G.Mahendran. Why? Because he treated him badly during childhood! Look. The director can’t keep spoon feeding you all the time. You should learn to use your own intelligence once in a while! And then…..

4.The friends call Maya’s mom (Viji Chandrashekar) who is a middle aged pop singer (Remember Usha Uthup). Pia’s mother is in Malaysia about to perform in front of a ‘supposedly’ sold out show. She is quite shocked to hear that her estranged daughter Pia is missing. But alas what can the poor lady do sitting in hotel room in Chennai...Oh! Sorry! In Malaysia! I was sort of fooled by the venetian blinds in the hotel room in Malaysia. It somehow reminded me of a green matte shot!

3.The angry mob is waiting for the Hindu Muslim boy and girl! Why? Come on! To separate them by ‘pottuthallifying’ the boy!

4. Pia’s friends lodge a complaint with the local police. By the way the inspector occupies himself playing video games on his mobile. Any takers? This guy needs to attend anger management classes too!

5.Now Thambi Ramiah is once again thrown out by the mastermind (villain). As the hero drives away Thambi calls the villain (mastermind)…. Wow! Another twist by the director!

3.Finally is the hero’s dad dead? No! But then why does the hero hate his real father? Look! Don’t ask too many questions! The director Lakshmy Ramakrishnan will answer all your silly questions before the film come to an end. If not u can always email her!

3.But I will help u to a certain extent! That’s all! The hero is befriended by the master mind and conned into doing his dirty work. It all ties up doesn't it! Wait! There are more bits and pieces. This director has fashioned out a jigsaw puzzle which only she can solve! But I will keep trying!

2.The police stop the truck in search of the terrorist and discover that Pia is seriously sick!

6.By the way Bala Saravanan's mother suffers from dementia of sorts. Fooled you! Comedy once again! Ha! Ha! Ha! I think I am losing it!

2.Hero drives Pia and her friend to the hospital and the doctor takes admits her in ICU only to find out that she has asthma! And a simple nebulizer does the job and she is discharged. By this she is almost in love with the hero! Makes u blush eh!

I am really sorry for being unable to continue with this review purely due to mental fatigue and disorientation of my brain cells. So I will conclude with the climax: - The Mastermind, the villain and the minister are all villains! The Muslim boy and Hindu girl live happily ever after owing to the boy’s father kicking the bucket! Pia Bajpai finally falls in love and conveys it to the Y.G.Mahendran. The minister gets arrested because the terrorist fails to get the diesel to move his trawler. The master mind’s fate is sealed. Hero’s friend continues to clean trucks. Thambi Ramaiah’s fate will be known if he is ever given another acting chance. The hero runs with his dad YG.Mahendran in pursuit. Sorry! The hero also has a mother who keeps serving idlis.sambar and chutney!

What irked me most: - Some reviewers have opined as follows: - 1. Thambi Ramaiah’s name is revealed late. So! 2. The identity of Ambika is revealed late. So! 3. Friend vanishes on the FIR being registered. So! 4. The girl in the share auto is carrying a goat on her lap and her husband is on the phone. So! 5. Pia’s mother wears stylist clothes and bright pink nail polish in spite of her age. So! Does all these inconsequential trivia make this a good film! In my opinion definitely not! This film simply fails to translate content into visuals! It confuses the discerning viewer like yours truly big time and the producer should have had more foresight to even approve such a confused narrative which simply goes all over the place and finally ends up nowhere!

Acting: - Too many actors spoil the plot!

What worked: - The camera work

What failed: - I think the music directors were let into a musical store and told to feel free. They have probably used all the possible musical instruments available in the store to compose the BG score. Jokes apart - The songs simply failed to stick!

Bottom Line: - Caste, creed & gender bias should never be used as a basis to rate a film!

A Quote: - A film does not pass if the reviewer or a film critic alone likes it! It has to be rated by the discerning viewer as a GOOD film to pass the acid test!

My Rating: - 2/5

Until Next Time,

Director Haricharan

2/11/2014