Uyarthiru 420 Tamil Movie

Feature Film | 2011
Critics:
This tale of deception cons you into believing that Uyarthiru 420 is worth the price of your ticket.
Aug 14, 2011 By Rohit Ramachandran


I've said it once and I'll say it again, screenwriters are an endangered species in Tamil cinema. Sure, anyone can put an idea on paper. Anyone can write screenplays with contrived plots, uncharacterized characters and stale dialogue. The dialogue of Uyarthiru 420 is penned by Radhakrishnan- a man who has a way with words. He has written them with quick, sharp wit and it is commendable. His collaborator, screenwriter Premnath has conceived an obscure plot with himself lost in the middle of it.


Thamizh is a con man. The first half of the film builds his character by showing how effortlessly he wins the confidence of people, only to leave them devastated. Director Premnath really knows this guy. Instead of being appalled by him, he's fascinated. The character intrigued me as well, I wanted Thamizh to defraud someone of a huge sum of money and get away with it. My appreciation goes out to the lead actor, Snehan for that. However, that desire simmered down quite soon. Thamizh's likeability reduced as he was being consumed by the Tamil hero image. Suddenly, he starts beating up people, saves a woman from rowdies and decides to be an unmayaana nanban. The extent a con man goes to do good to people around. The film, just like its character is over ambitious.


When a film is about con men, twists are welcome. The trick that works best in such a premise is conning the audience. It'll stick with us. Premnath knows that. Yet, the film went in many opposing directions at the same time and lost its footing. It begins to charm us, gains our confidence, sneaks up on us and then blacks out. Failing to imprint itself in your memory is owed to faulty moves taken by the film before its cop out closure. In spite of enough evidence of creative juice flowing in Premnath, the film isn't a sum of its parts. This is where the film succeeded with the conning act- by conning me into thinking that it would be better than it is. Instead of leaving its mark, it concludes by asking you to stop being a nallavan and start being a vallavan.


This tale of deception cons you into believing that Uyarthiru 420 is worth the price of your ticket.

Rohit Ramachandran

   

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