U turn Tamil Movie
U-turn has a storyline and a narrative structure that could be adapted to any urban Indian setup with minor tweaks to accommodate the ethnic variations. I happen to watch the original Kannada version, which was also directed by Pawan Kumar. Of course, I know the twists and suspense elements. So, the Tamil version naturally didn't make me sit up and take note of anything outstanding. One of the reasons I still went in and decided to watch was to see how well the movie was adopted.
The movie is about the negligent motorists who ply on the Velachery flyover. A few motorists move aside the stone barricade separating the lanes on the road if they happen to take a U-turn. The moved stones lie on the way, putting the lives of others who pass by in danger. Rakshana (Samantha), an investigative journalist attempts to take this up as her project by diligently noting down the violators and educating them about safety. To her surprise, everyone who is involved with the incident dies. Consequently, Rakshana becomes the primary suspect in their deaths. Then, the real truth gets uncovered with a gripping climax.
The issue with remakes is like trying to laugh at the same joke twice. The only difference might be the person who cracks it! If that person does it with his signature style, at least we get something out of it. Otherwise, it becomes stale. In a similar vein, there was nothing much to compare between the two movies. Though Shraddha in the Kannada original infused freshness with her younger and agile appeal, Samantha brought it carefully without shredding much of her "top-heroine" tag!
I felt the scenes were much more organic in the Kannada version than in the Tamil-Telugu bilingual. The Tamil version suffers from lip sync issues as is the case with other bilinguals. The cost-cutting was evident when the minor characters on screen end up with awry lip sync at times. Also, the dialogues were rendered with a "dubbed" tone. E.g. Samantha's friend or her mother, when conversing over the phone, sound like the women who dub for a North Indian lady who manages to speak fluent Tamil.
Aadhi as the investigative cop and 'Aadukalam' Naren as his frustrated higher up who is under constant pressure to bow before the bureaucracy were excellent selections for their respective roles. Naren and Bhoomika in an extended cameo were just about average. Rahul as Samantha's pair was decent.
Music by Poornachandra Tejaswi was the primary driver for the thrilling sequences. He has done a fantastic job for the Tamil version as well. Half the film had rain in the backdrop, and most of the scenes had a dark surrounding, which by itself made it haunting. The cinematography and innovative lighting by Niketh elevated the overall atmosphere and gave the movie its unique colour. In that aspect, it was better than its original.
Director Pawan has gone for a very faithful remake of his original film. My only crit was that he could have had Shraddha play the electric investigative journalist once again as she is etched in my mind for that role, and that, I see is the case for anyone who has seen the original Kannada version. For people who are viewing the movie for the first time, in Tamil, it would still come across as a decent supernatural thriller!
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