Review of 2013 Tamil film ‘Neram’, a debut effort by Alphonse Putharen and starring Nivin Pauly

Neram is like watching an enthusiastic but amateur dancer appear in a professional dance competition; It has sparkle and some skill, but it lacks finesse. Its concept is clear but the design is irregular; all of Neram’s characters have the quality of being memorable, but not the essence. He would be less interested in a match between two low-ranking players, regardless of their improvement on the court, than in a battle between two top-seeded players. Neram feels heavy and clumsy at times, but admires his efforts anyway. But you want more, you want something delicious, something you can taste like sinful dark chocolate, but what Neram offers you is Milky Bar. Well, certainly, but not to make you say ‘Bow Chicka Wah Wah!’ Style axis.

My intention was not to look at Neram when I entered the Mayajaal theater hall in Chennai. Since no other movies were playing at the time (well, I had options, but it was this or the Epic animated movie or worse, a long three-hour wait for the rest of the movies), I decided to go for Neram. , just because I was pleased with the efforts that current Tamil directors were putting into their films, unlike many of their Bollywood counterparts. When I walked into the hall, the movie hadn’t “kindly stopped for me” (I couldn’t resist using Emily Dickinson’s catchphrase!), So I can’t say exactly how it started. My version started with the scene where Vatti Raja, a petty thug and moneylender scolds someone for not paying the loan like others, including our protagonist Vetri and his friend, look on nervously. The scene ends with Vetri’s friend farting and I immediately thought ‘Was that necessary?’ Several of those ornaments weren’t necessary, but Neram retained them, making the movie feel like an over-decorated Christmas tree. Like after this very scene when Vetri starts to tell about her love life and they take us back to her school days when she met her future fiancé Jeena for the first time in sixth grade, I think; the scene is cute until the movie also decides to add a full song sequence with Vetri and Jeena performing the predictable ‘foreplay in the park’ (with bubbles, this time) and the cheesiest audience says’ Ah! What a cute couple! ‘. I was impassive.

Later, when Neram gives the goofy romance a break, it works as a Tarantino-style comedy. Vitri worries about the consequences of not paying his debt to Vatti Raja, while problems also arise when Jeena’s father objects to their relationship upon learning that Vetri is unemployed. Jeena plans to elope with Vetri, but that’s when the chain is stolen; Interestingly, one of the members of the same chain thief gang steals Vetri’s money, which he had taken from his friend (I think; I’m an unreliable storyteller here, not having seen Neram from the start). A side story involves a boy (don’t ask me the name of the character or the actor who plays him. I wish Wikipedia could update his character’s biography in Neram) who keeps a ‘cool’ nickname for himself, he really likes to eat with eyes to girls (another idiotic scene in the hospital when we hear her inner voice saying ‘Oh, a lady’s voice!’ as a nurse walks into the room during an otherwise attractive scene) and also, like many others in the movie, he owes some money to Vatti Raja. The way their lives intertwine is interesting because most of the characters don’t know, even after meeting each other, how similar their problems are. All of this happens after the interval, and so many things seem to be a work of sheer chance or fate that I wondered why the movie wasn’t titled ‘Opportunity’ or ‘Faith’, the Tamil word for them.

Neram unfolds like a simple comedy, although it tries to emulate a Tarantino movie. While Tarantino’s dialogues are so fascinating and disconcerting that monologues that would be considered ramblings if heard elsewhere sound monumentally profound, Neram simply jokes with quirky characters; However, your non-linear narrative should take credit. The actors act according to their script; they are less irritating when the script wakes up, but not even one would stick with you after the movie. And who made the decision to hand over the role of Vatti Raja to Simhaa, who in no way intimidates? I understand this is comedy, but I should at least get a feel for how the characters feel towards each other to get more involved in the movie. Even a little more skill in editing would have gone a long way; take the scene when Vetri’s friend’s boss chides him for shaving his beard. He then walks in and yells at another employee, but then apologizes when it turns out to be a girl; the second part happens off screen and we could only hear the gag. According to the audience response, very few caught the joke because I heard little reaction from the audience; the gag (a bit silly of course) is not dealt with well, not enough sound for audience members to hear, and sloppy editing treatment that quickly cut the gag. I suppose the movie wanted to include as many key phrases as possible in a short time, but it timed some of them wrong. Well, maybe you will see a better result from your director Alphonse Putharen at another time.