Varun (Karthi) is a fighter pilot. He has a carefree attitude and doesn't take anything seriously. On the other side, Leela Abraham (Aditi Rao) is an army doctor who is very strong inside but looks sensitive outside. In some different circumstances, both of them cross each other's paths and they decide to live together. But both of them differ in so many things. At this point of time, Varun is captured by Pakistan army and he stays away from Leela while she is pregnant. What happens next? Will they meet again to live together forms the rest of the story?
Karthi is seen as Officer Varun in the film. The transformation he underwent has been phenomenal. Karthi is too good in the film and tried his best to come out with the other side of him. His looks, dialogue delivery and performance is top notch. All the girls would love him in the film.
Aditi Rao Hydari is seen as Dr Leela Abraham. Aditi has done her best in the film and she made an impressive debut down South. Aditi Rao is surely has a long way to go. She successfully convinced the audiences as a Mani Ratnam heroine.
K. P. A. C. Lalitha played a good role in the film. Kannada actress Shraddha Srinath is seen in an impressive role. She impressed everyone and we wish she gets a good debut in Telugu and Tamil soon.
Rukmini Vijayakumar, Delhi Ganesh, RJ Balaji and Sivakumar Ananth are impressive in their limited roles. All of them did well. The other actors like Girish Reddy, Vipin Sharma, Harish Raj, Mir Sarwar, Amritaa Singh, Dhyana Madan and Ekansh Kumar are ok in their roles and made their presence felt.
Analysis:
The film has the pure class of Mani Ratnam and the romantic elements that we expect from him. The exceptional cinematography of Ravi Varman is an asset for the movie Cheliyaa. AR Rahman's music added as energy to the entire film. With so much of brilliance in the technical departments, the film failed to impress the audiences as the film falls flat in terms of narration and screenplay. The attractive story is missing in the movie. We may end up liking it in parts but can not decide that the film is the best from Mani Ratnam.
The technical aspects of the film are good. Ravi Varman's cinematography is impressive. The first half of the film came out so well only because of that. But we may not find any solid reason to watch the film for the second time because of the lack of proper story in the film. The songs are good and they are picturised in a nice way too. The background score of the film failed to impress. The director has tried parallel screenplay technique for the film but it failed to attract.
Many scenes in the film will remind us Mani Ratnam's previous films but the freshness that we expect from his films are missing completely. As a director, Mani Ratnam failed with the film to make the audiences engaged. The writing of the film is also bad. The slow narration literally tests the patience of the audiences. Mani Ratnam film is known for film-making. These days, the story of the film is missing in his films and the same is repeated in Cheliyaa too. Though there is the richness in the making, the film fails in revealing a gripping story.
Merits:
- Cinematography
- Music
- Wonderful Visuals
- Dialogues
De-merits:
- Story
- Screenplay
Music:
AR Rahman is the music director of the film and he has come up with some brilliant music but at the same time, at times, his music turned uninspiring for the scenes on the screen and this is a drawback of the movie.
Others:
The dubbing is good for all the artists. Shraddha Srinath deserves a special mention for her role in the film.