Atayalangal
A movie with a debutant is a tough sell and that too directed by a filmmaker who has a renowned name in the documentary film sector is really a tough sell. But Valluvanandhan movie's first production has got 5 state awards before it got released and it did quite decently in the theatrical release too. so with lot of expectation i sat down to watch the movie in IFFI as it is one of the movies selected in the Indian panorama section.
Did the movie live up to the expectation? i have to say it did. the movie being a biography of the renowned writer Nandanar (1926- 74). The movie follows the writer's early days on how he was involved in the war, his love, his pain, his family, and his problems. The protagonist, Gopi, 19 year old son of a Kathakali performer, happens to join the army for livelihood even though he hates war. He falls in love with a mysterious Meenakshikutty, who instills enough confidence in Gopi and motivates him.
The director proves that he is a documentary film-maker as the flow of events, scenes which is documented does make you feel that you are watching one. But Nandanar's life was exactly like a documentary, all he faced was defeat which led to the tragic end of his life but the director skipped his death scene which could have elevated the movie to new levels. Or maybe the director is thinking of making a sequel to Atayalangal? I definitely hope not. As any debutants work this movie too has its share of pluses and minuses, the main plus for the movie was M. G. Sasi's thought process, there are a few scenes which would evoke ghoosebumps, like the scene when the protagonist's dead father with his kathakali outfit grace Gopi to bless him. But most of the other sequences look too theatrical to be enjoyed fully. The Seductive scenes could have been much better portrayed on screen and the scenes of Baskara Kurup needed much more weight-age but it was sidelined.
The screenplay is made vulnerable thanks to the half baked direction of Sasi and quite low production values. Even the editing needed to be more crisper as the 93 minute movie seemed much longer than it is, many unwanted scenes spoilt the flow of the movie. The cinematography by M J Radhakrishnan is one of the highlight of the movie as it is pictured so artfully. The music by Vaidhyanathan is soulful but the back grounds score is quite unbearably loud at times.
Now coming to the Acting department, Soorya the debutant as Gopi, looks smart and does show Spark here and there but should definitely work on his emotions, if he did he can give a run for the money for most of the actors in the industry now. All the other from T G Ravi, Sathi, Sreeraman did their job with conviction. Jyothirmayi as the seductive Meenaxikutty was excellent, she oozed sexuality something which was needed from her.
Overall Atayalangal was a decent visual documentation of the life of Nandanar, but which had the potential to be a much better movie. The producers should be applauded for believing in such a art-house movie which had so less commercial value.
Atayalangal – A musical, theatrical documentary
Rating – 2/5
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