Cast: Nani, Amala Paul, Ragini Dwivedi, Sarath Kumar, Nassar, Vennela Kishore, Tanikella Bharani
Banner: Vasan Visual Ventures
Editor: S N Fazil
Cinematography: M Sukumar – M Jeevanv
Music: G V Prakash Kumar
Producer: K S Sreenivasan
Director: Samuthirakani
Avg User Rating : 2.5/5
Tagline: Janda pai Kapiraju – The flag flies at half mast reiterating ‘change begins within’.
Plot:
Arvind (Nani) goes by the rulebook. He takes the path of truth and righteousness in every act. This causes ire among many government officials who cross his path. Arvind tries to expose their corruption but falls on the receiving end where he is framed for no fault of his. He comes out the situation and dons the hat of a vigilante to fight against the tainted system. Indu (Amala Paul) is his love interest and couldn’t bear his trauma, so walks out of his life at a crucial juncture. How Arvind with the help of other honest officials and media hatches a plan to pull down the corrupt forms the rest of the story.
Performances:
Nani: He plays the role of Arvind with aplomb. As a high spirited individual fighting for the society, he delivers an intense performance. He is extremely convincing in close-up shots and pulls of every emotional sequence with poise. The feather on the cap is his dual role as Maya Kannan in the latter half. He is also seen mouthing many languages and wears a different attitude for that role. His emotion and modulation stand out.
Amala Paul: She gives a feel of a girl next door and gets her act right. Along with Vennela Kishore, she garners few laughs poking into the behavior Nani’s character.
Vennela Kishore: He plays the role of the best friend of Nani and accentuates the comic quotient to an extent in an otherwise serious drama.
Ragini Dwivedi: She is restricted to a song and dance number in the second half.
Sarath Kumar: His character is also short-lived as it appears just before the interval and disappears in no time. Anyways, it’s a well deserved cameo from this actor.
Tanikella Bharani: He plays the main antagonist and rather than wearing a menacing look, he puts on a comical shade all through the film.
Direction:
Director Shankar changed the way we look at South cinema. Most of his films are embedded with strong social messages. This serious commentary is piled on multiple layers of masala moments. Samuthirakani’s Janda Pai Kapiraju is that entire message sans masala. Many movies falling in this genre ends with a message but this film begins with one and takes off from there.
The first half of the film sets the right momentum as how a small issue snowballs into a bigger problem that sucks in the common man. The director beats the drum to put forward his point of how it’s difficult to be true to oneself. He manages to steer the intrigue till the interval where it leaves many unanswered questions.
The problem creeps into the script in the second half where to follow certain dramatic conventions several redundant episodes get on board. Even the climax stays heavy on the palate. This could have been toned down a little to accommodate the percolating message in narration. When you blow the horn relentlessly, the audience gets a jarred feeling of forceful acceptance of facts.
Merits:
• Nani’s performance that stands as the nerve centre of the film.
• The extravagant canvas of corruption that forms the main plot.
• The message that makes the audience think about the current status quo.
Demerits:
• Second half couldn’t match to the intriguing first half.
• Few force-fit commercial elements droop down the momentum.
• More of a social commentary than a cinematic evolution.
Music:
G V Prakash has little to do in terms of songs. However, he breathes life with his riveting background score.
Others:
The locations and actors are apt to the follow of events.
Verdict:
At times, Janda Pai Kapiraju looks like an assortment of editorial columns from newspapers. It sends the right message by taking an uncanny route. The performances and dialogues stand as high points for the film. Time and again, like every film operating in this genre, it reiterates the fact the every individual can be a vigilante in putting the criminals at bay and we are the catalysts of change. A few checks here and there might have promoted this noble attempt into the top league.