Udanpaal Tamil Movie
In the mid-90s, actor Nagesh gave a unique performance as a dead body being dragged on the screen and causing a melee in the process. The scene was so well conceived and complemented the characters and their situation on screen. The same scene plays on TV in the recently released "Udanpaal" directed by the newbie Karthik Seenivasan. The director had no qualms in revealing that he has taken a thread from the yesteryear blockbuster and spun his robe!
This film has been shot on a budget, literally confining itself to 4 walls and a bunch of known actors who are known to play character roles. The story is about the conflict between Vinayagam (Charlie) and his children, Parama (Lingaa), and Kanmani (Gayathrie) who want their father to sell his house and settle them. Charlie disagrees. The incidents that follow create an emotional and comic flutter between the characters portraying their moral compass and how it swings as the situation evolves.
The script has a great idea. Not many could think of such a script and that too on a shoestring budget. The screenplay was also decent. I wish the dialogues were more spritely. I have a bone to pick with the acting and direction as well. Gayathrie, Aparnithi, and Charlie were natural and looked the part. Lingaa and Vivel Prasanna were giving their best shot at invoking dark humor.
Since the lines had very limited potential to invoke laughter, their theatrics were astray. Also, the brother-sister rivalry since childhood was well etched out on screen with a few lines. The ego war between the sister-in-law was another area where the writing excelled. The children in the movie and their lines also added spice to the proceedings.
The irony in the story is that not everyone wants to be bad, but situations force them to be. The coercion that the characters are subjected to, their little aspirations and ego, and the milieu at large have been conceived and captured perfectly. One could see the conflict within each character and how they fight it out.
Though I had some cribs with the screenplay and the writing that had fun with some limitations, the film made up with its charming outlook and a convincing story that brings out the irony of today's lifestyle. It questions the extent to which people are coerced to go to make ends meet. A well-made dark humour that is set amidst a domestic backdrop!
The movie is a direct-to-OTT feature that streams on Ahaa Tamil.
MOVIE REVIEWS