Tag: Devadarshini

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Youth: A nostalgia ride worth embarking on

Leading man and director Ken Karunas does a fine job in capturing the general teenage life. The school brawls with the desperation of a girlfriend have an authentic feel. The emotional second half is the film’s biggest ace especially Suraj Venjaramoodu as the caring husband. Having said that the coming-of-age angle comes with its share of problems. The third love track turns into a manipulative device for the hero to understand his parents. This needed to be avoided.

Starcast: Ken Karunas, Suraj Venjaramoodu, Devadarshini, Anishma Anilkumar and others

Genre: Teen romance/drama

Director and writer: Ken Karus

Music: G V Prakash Kumar

Cinematographer: Viki

Producers: C Ram, Sulochana Kumar and Karuppaih

Running time: 2 hours plus

The adolescence phase is a special part of most people’s lives. Numerous stories depicting teenage have been witnessed on big screen. In spite of the many stories on this line the genre always has a fresh appeal. The latest Youth is a mixed kichadi of different slice of life films depicting adolescence. Still the movie works as a nostalgia ride elevated by strong performances.

Youth follows the journey of a wastrel Praveen (Ken Karunas). Praveen is a brat creating trouble in classroom with major focus on having a girlfriend. The mother Sarojini (Devadarshini) though has different ideas; she wants her to son to pursue IAS. Suraj Venjaramoodu is the father and the owner of a bakery. The father and son have a strained relationship. In the process of finding love Praveen falls for three different girls at various points. The third one turns out to be the more serious one. Anishma Anilkumar plays Gaganvalli a focused student with aspirations. The viewers are given the impression of Gaganvalli also loving Praveen, but things turn out to be different. This is the story in brief.

A strong aspect of Youth is the relatable characterization of Praveen coupled with Ken Karuna’s competent performance. There is a certain rakishness to Praveen, and he often comes across as unlikeable. However, there is a solid inner journey from mid second half. Ken Karus nails this in both direction and acting.

Ken Karunas also deserves appreciation for the impactful characterization of parents. The understated romance between Suraj Venjaramoodu and Devadarshini gives Youth some of its best moments. Both the actors get some solid emotional scenes and they are first rate. Suraj Venjaramoodu though makes a bigger impact. Towards the end there is a very poignant moment with the father opening up about his past and getting emotionally vulnerable. Suraj Venjaramoodu absolutely nails this portion. At the same time, he is also impactful in the scenes of anger with the son and showcasing love and affection towards the wife.

The love tracks have its share of enjoyable moments and the pre interval block is absolutely solid. Among the girls Anishma Anilkumar has the most fleshed out one. She plays a strong teenager with clarity on future. Anishma Anilkumar does well in bringing out the feistiness especially in the dramatic scenes but is somewhat let down by the characterization. There is a scene where Gangavalli puts a condition for accepting hero’s love.

The hero passes this test with flying colors and Gangavalli is about to express her love. But Praveen stops her by saying would she have said I love you even if he failed. Praveen compares her love of expectations to his parents. This leaves a bitter after taste in spite of some extremely fine acting. The actors playing Praveen’s friends are competent in their respective parts.

GV Prakash Kumar’s music is of a good order with the right mix of funky and emotional numbers. The tunes especially in the second half elevate the hero’s coming of age.

Final word: Youth is a relatable slice of life movie. Worth watching particularly for those who like breezy cinema with emotional undercurrents.

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Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam: An engrossing remake even for those who have watched the original

Director Naga does a good job in retaining the soul of Panchayat while affectively transporting the viewers into rural Tamil Nadu. The best thing about the show is that director Naga and writer Bala Kumaran don’t create a photocopy.
  • Starcast: Abishek Kumar, Chetan Kadambi, Devadarshini, Anand Sami, Paul Raj, Niyathi Kadambi and others
  • Director: Naga
  • Writer: Bala Kumaran
  • Production house: The Viral Fever (TVF)
  • Cinematography: Karthik Gopal
  • No of episodes: 8
  • Streaming site: Amazon Prime

Deepak Kumar Mishra’s Panchayat is one of the most acclaimed web shows that has come out in the recent past. The portrayal of rural life in the remote village of Pulera thoroughly engaged the audiences. The struggles of Jitendra Kumar’s Abhishek Tripathi in acclimatizing himself and the eventual bond with locals particularly the ones essayed by Raghubir Yadav, Neena Gupta, Faisal Malik and Chandan Roy was wonderfully written and enacted. The three seasons of Panchayat also addressed important social issues like superstitions with no melodrama. The earthy humor left many viewers in splits. To remake a show like this already watched and appreciated by many people isn’t an easy task, but director Naga does a very efficient job. Sure, the starting episodes take a while to warm up, nevertheless Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam finds its grove soon.

The starting episodes take a while to warm up nevertheless Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam finds its grove soon.

For those who aren’t aware of the Panchayat web series the plot of this remake focuses on Siddarth (Abhisek Kumar). The series begins with his arrival, immediately the viewers feel Siddarth’s unease in coming to a village. His anxiety and suspicions are in complete odds with the villagers easy going nature. Siddarth has been posted as the village panchayat’s secretary. For the frustrated Siddarth this is a temporary job till he passes the CAT exam and enters into IIM successfully. Season 1 focuses on how Siddarth navigates village life while dealing with the people’s idiosyncrasies. He encounters peculiar problems that vary from silly to sensitive.

Much like the original a big strength of the remake is also the situational humor. Siddarth’s interactions with the villagers are often filled with exasperation. There is an equal measure of humor and pathos. Special mention must be made of the scenes where Siddarth is forced to attend family gatherings and also give away his favorite chair in a particular situation to a random groom. Siddarth’s struggles in adjusting with no social life as such give the show some of its best moments. Abhishek Kumar stepping into Jitendra Kumar’s shoes does a very fine job. He particularly stands out in the scenes where Siddarth has to show confusion and frustration.

The supporting cast also elevate the show with their powerful acts. Chetan Kadambi and Devadarshini replacing Raghubir Yadav and Neena Gupta do complete justice to their respective parts. They have a charming chemistry; their scenes together also benefit from being a real-life couple. Unlike Neena Gupta’s Manju Devi Devadarshini’s Meenakshi Devi can read and write along with putting her signature on documents. This acts as an important change from the original. What remains the same though is the unwillingness to participate in public life. However, by the end of season 1 she does become more assertive.

Chetan Kadambi and Devadarshini share a warm chemistry.

Another significant change from the original is the aspect of caste. In Panchayat the caste of Abhishek Tripathi is very evident. Him being a Tripathi becomes a major reason for Raghubir Yadav’s character to consider him as a potential groom for the daughter. But here the dynamics play out differently. Siddarth’s surname is hardly focused on. Even when someone asks him Siddarth shows a certain indifference. As a result, Chetan’s character doesn’t see him as a potential match in spite of warming up to him.

These changes aren’t just cosmetic they enhance the show in many ways. Paul Raj and Anand Sami are also competent. Paul Raj in particular shines as Siddarth’s guide, helping him in navigating the village life. Their scenes together are filled with a lot of warmth.

Paul Raj and Anand Sami are also competent

Talking about the social issues here too Naga does a fine job in subverting the original ones and making it more rooted to the specific cultural milieu. For example, in one of the episodes you have the campaign of menstruation awareness. This portion works as a tribute to Arunachalam Muruganantham popularly known as Padman.

One of the minor issues with the series is the hype build around the village head’s daughter. The eventual pay off to this in the final sequence is quite underwhelming. The conversation between Abhishek Kumar and Niyathi Kadambi falls flat. Some of the jokes also could have done with better writing. In the first episode there is a fair amount of toilet humor which could have been avoided.

To conclude Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam is a fitting remake in spite of the minor niggles.