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MOVIE -- NINAITHALE INIKKUM ( TAMIL , 2009 )

Director : G N R Kumaravelan

Cast : Prithviraj , Karthik Kumar , Priyamani , Shakti , Bhagyaraj

Now , how many movies have we seen , based on college nostalgia , meeting up old college friends at a reunion etc ? This is another movie added to that genre , which pretends to send you down memory lane reminding you of your college days when you watch this movie. At least , that is what this movie pretends to do , but in reality , seems half-baked.

The movie is almost entirely based on a flashback , when Shiva ( Prithviraj ) , visits his College for a function 8 years after he left college. Shakti and Prithviraj are best friends . Then there is Meera ( Priyamani ) , who happens to be Shiva's love interest . Vasu ( Karthik ( Evam ) ) is shiva's bete-noir in college , and both always have an excuse to bash each other . Now , through a series of events , Priyamani and Prithviraj get separated romantically , thanks to an evil plot schemed by Vasu. Let me stop with the story here , as there is nothing much more to be written about it.

This movie inspite of it's good intentions , made me yawn . It is largely due to the numerous songs thrown in , when they are completely unwarranted . The story too has the least bit of novelty , and seems to be a half-baked mix of Mystery , Romance , College Drama etc. Sadly , what turns up is hardly delectable fare.

Quite a few scenes , even though well intended , fail to keep the viewer engrossed in the proceedings. The Director chooses to bombard the audience with an overdose of melodrama at regular intervals , mainly through the character of Bhagyaraj , who portrays the role of Shakti's father. Dialogues hardly make any impact at all , and are met with laughter from the audience , thanks to their sheer silliness . Cliche ridden at the outset , the dialogues hardly add any value to the movie.

The so called "comedy" scenes in the movie seem to be Directed by some 3rd Grade School student. God , have not we seen enough Classroom humor ? a Professor lamenting about his bunch of unruly students .. The ridiculous scene in which there is an attempted spoof of "Kaathal Kondein " , is so badly taken , it actually makes you laugh at the stupidity unfolding on-screen , rather than at the actual comic factor. And there is another horrendous attempt at Comedy , when Prithviraj and his friends go to watch a movie , only to be unknowingly caressed by eunuchs , which they don't realize until the lights come on ... countless movies contain this scene , and you simply cannot digest it any longer .

The fight scenes however are well shot , and thanks to the intensity portrayed by Prithviraj and Evam Karthik , they stand out. Songs are absolutely unwarranted and only a couple of songs are worth listening to . Add to it the obnoxious background score , which sounds amateurish to say the least. Oh , speaking of songs , wonder who choreographed the sequences . Shoddy dance steps .. I generally never tend to focus on Dance sequences at all when I watch movies , but there were some preposterous dance steps in this one which made me take notice , and the rest of the audience along with me , who had a good laugh at the choreographer's expense.

Acting is probably the saving grace of this movie. Prithviraj has come up with a very good portrayal of the tempered Shiva , who is aggression personified . Evam Karthik is the best among the lot , even though he does not have as much screen space as I would have liked , but still comes up with an excellent performance in a role which offers limited scope. Priyamani has nothing much to do. Shakti tries his best at acting , but , son , sorry to say this , but you gotta hone your skills even more , especially when you are teamed with people like Prithviraj who is an established Malayali actor , and Evam Karthik , who is easily a fine performer. Bhagayaraj resorts to melodrama , but I guess that is his trademark , and comes up with a dignified performance , even though some of the dialogues which he uses generate unintended laughter from the viewers.

Screenplay is this movies' Achilees Heel. Every scene seems to be extended beyond reasonable limits , and add to it some unwanted sequences , amateurish humor , and you have one of the worst first-halfs I have ever seen . Too slow , you just cannot wait for the Interval , so you can stretch and relax a bit , after being subject to such stupidity on screen. The second half is by no means good , but I guess anything is much better when compared to the ludicrous first-half. The second half shows some element of credibility , and there is a twist towards the end , which might surprise you , and comes as a welcome respite.

Melodrama , unwanted songs, horrid humor , and silly dialogues--- These are the elements which pull down the movie the most. There are some excellent moments though , thank God. But very few in number sadly. The movie definitely has it's heart in the right place , but I only wish it could have been executed much better.

I will go with a rating of 2 out of 5 for this movie , which is a remake of the Malayali film "Classmates" , which many people say is an excellent movie , and apparently has none of the elements which pull down "Ninaithale Inikkum".

VERDICT --- 2 / 5 ( Hardly Average ).