Eeram

Eeram

Movie Eeram Director Arivazhagan Producer Shankar Music Thaman Cast Nandaa, Aadhi, Sindhu Menon, Saranya Mohan

By Moviebuzz

Director Shankar always makes the right choice when it comes to picking people to direct his home productions. His latest discovery Arivazhagan too has made a decent debut with his Eeram, a supernatural psychological thriller laced with romance, sentiments, revenge and well etched characters with motives. Water and rain is the motif around which the film flows. In all scenes in the film water is there in the background and it is either raining or after the rains giving it a cool look and the title. But for a supernatural thriller it moves at a sluggish and leisurely pace (2 hrs 45 minutes), making the audiences restless. Not much of a story as the director is concentrating more on presentation and style and providing the dread in the minds of the characters and as well as the watcher. Vasu (Aathi) is an ACP and is called to investigate the “suicide” of Ramya (Sindhu Menon) who lives in an upper middle class apartment in Chennai. It looks like an open and shut case as she has left behind a suicide note taking up the responsibility of her death. But Vasu goes emotional and nostalgic on seeing the body of his ex-lover! The story proceeds as flashback scenes are intermixed along with the police investigation into her death. Vasu and Ramya met each other in Tiruchy during their college days and love blossomed at the local bus stop and her sister Divya (Sarnya Mohan) played cupid. But due to opposition from her dad, the marriage never took place. Ramya marries a businessman Bala (Nandha), and they look like leading a happy life till she “commits suicide.” Vasu whose heart still aches for his ex-flame suspects “foul play” as key people in the apartment building end up in watery graves. Finally his investigation leads to some startling facts as he starts seeing the ghost of Ramya! Is he hallucinating or is there a supernatural power play? For all the answers you have to watch the film. But after being initially being wired up you begin to feel weary. Why? After great first half, post interval the film plods, the same scenes are reworked to create dread. Logic and reason takes a backseat and the suspense element is revealed at an early stage. You can see the red herrings repeated and as the film winds down to its finale, there is a sense of déjà vu. However what works for the film is its lead actors, packaging and technical wizardry. Its unfamiliar twists and confusing turns are likely to baffle you along the way. The new star cast is what makes the film watchable. Aathi is a revelation, he has come out with a power packed performance without going overboard and fits the role to a T. Nandha in a negative role shines, especially in scenes where his friend (Srinath in an impressive cameo) brings out his suspicious and doubting nature. Sindhu Menon is lively and does her character with a heart- warming dignity. The music of Thaman is passable and his background score is the backbone of the movie. However it is Manoj Paramahamsa’s camera which is the real hero of the film. As a cameraman he is able to give the entire film the hazy blue look using Cyan color by the removal of red from white light for the first time in Tamil cinema, creating the eerie atmosphere and stillness against the continuous beating of the rains. Eeram is cool and chilling, but would have been better if it was trimmed by atleast 15 minutes. Anyway Shankar can be proud of his new discovery- Arivazhagan, the film is worth a look. Verdict- Good