Annanukku Jai Tamil Movie
The title says it all - a movie whose backdrop is politics. It's more rooted to the lower political tiers like the ardent followers within a party, who, with their dedication and hard work trying to climb up the power ladder. We've seen such things explored in the past. "Pudhupettai" though holds the crown, "Amaidhi Padai" set the trend. So, it is an established genre that requires a skilful director and an equally good dialogue writer to get the audience excited.
Produced by Vetrimaran and directed by debutant director Rajkumar, "Annanukku Jey" attempts to be a political satire. Matta Sekar (Dinesh) and his father (Mayilsamy) lead a humble life and make their living out of selling toddy. They get dragged into the ugly political power game and rivalry where Sekar finds himself behind bars for no fault of his. Then he comes out and climbs the power ladder with a screenplay that made it look so easy on the screen like the "Suriya Vamsam" song which made Sarathkumar an entrepreneur.
I loved the way Dinesh portrayed himself on screen as the "dumb" boy next door who doesn't mind getting mocked and kicked time and again by his girlfriend and even her mom. Also, he plays the perfect underdog with weak and lame emotions. Even Mayilsamy as an experienced toddy seller held to his character and feelings.
The power struggles in the lower political rings were brought forth quite well and with some satire. The problem with the movie was the confusion that loomed large with the nature of the narrative. It struggled to be a political satire and an emotional drama. It didn't satisfy either of the genres.
The core turn around of the movie that happens to take place around the interval kept things interesting. Moreover, from thereon, thematically the film was doing fine, but the narrative became a drag. Notably, the transformation of Dinesh to a political mass puller was not at all convincing.
The technicalities and music were average at best. The movie benefits from subtle satire that happens to cross every once in a while and the twists in the proceedings made it quite passable. Otherwise, it was a stale affair, and one could give it a miss!
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