NEE VARUVAI ENA MOVIE REVIEW
by Vishy

If you are of the opinion that Tamil movies should stop exploring more and more angles of love, think again. Director Rajakumaran shows love in yet another angle, one that is bound to touch your heart and make you wonder about the power of love .. all over again.

First, a word of caution. The movie's first half is slow-paced and may test your patience, but it is really worth your wait. It is clear that the director wanted to end the first half with a punch (and, what a punch, it was!!), but that still does not justify the flaccid pace of the proceedings. Hope the director learns to pace the movie evenly throughout.

Parthiban is a bank manager who is finding it difficult to find a bride -- the director's reasoning here is quite realistic. He gets transferred to a small town where he is enchanted by the looks and attention from a young, playful, but somewhat mystical and demure girl, played by Devayani. While Parthiban falls in love with Devayani, the director keeps us wondering about what exactly is running through Devayani's mind. When Parthiban expresses his desire to marry her, what does Devayani tell him? The surprise here is qite powerful and almost jolts the audience from the slumber they have fallen into till this part of the proceedings. From here on, the director does a superb job, exploiting the emotions of the various characters very well, and taking the audience through a great second half. Revealing any part of the plot would be unjust to the audience as well as the director, so I will stop short of saying anything more about the story.

Once all the premises are set up right, there still remains the job of bringing everything to the proper finish. This is the part where the director has excelled, making you wonder at each step how it will finish. When it is all over, one's heart is filled with the feeling that this is the only way the movie could have ended. Superb screen-play, dialogue and direction!!

Ramesh Kanna plays a major role in the movie as Parthiban's friend, and gives good, clean fun. Not comedy of the best variety, but manages to evoke a few good laughs. Ajit plays a short, but sweet, role and energises the movie in the second half. The comedy scenes involving Ajit and his parents attending a function without each other's knowledge was great fun. Devayani has done splendidly, especially in the second half where she gets to display her love appropriately mixed with shyness. Parthiban is not his usual self in the first half and one almost wonders if this was a good role for him, but he finally gets his due share in the climax.

Music is just typical for S.A. Rajkumar. This is a movie that does not require music or anything else to prop it up, so it just doesn't matter.

A good, clean movie that is definitely worth watching.

My rating: 3 1/2 stars