Nagaram Movie Review

Starring: Sundar C, Vadivelu, Anuya
Direction: Sundar C
Music: Thaman
Production: Kushboo Sundar

Sundar C must have missed direction during his hiatus that he put to use to carve a niche for himself in masala movies as a lead man. What with the gap (in direction), Sundar also seems to have drifted away from his comedy-action entertainer franchisee to get experimental with Nagaram.

As a result, Nagaram is a gritty tale of a man whose frightful past as a henchman wrecks his intention to lead a normal life inordinately. It’s also a tale of betrayal in friendship, greedy and corrupt cops, how ugly rivalry in illegal business could get and how ghosts from the past are capable of wreaking havoc in a man’s life despite his willingness to lead a normal life.

The movie opens with Sundar C being stabbed in the Chennai Central Station whilst trying to flee from the city with his fiancée Anuya and their baby. It opens up in flashes as Sundar, the protagonist, recounts his experiences in the city and what pushes him to take the decision to quit trying to lead a normal life and run away from it.

Sundar C and Bose Venkat are best friends. Like good old best friends in Tamil movies, one ends up in jail as a petty criminal while the other lands up in a cop-job. Turns out the petty criminal (Sundar) has the heart of gold and the cop (Bose) is crooked as hell. In effect, after Sundar’s release from the prison, Bose, the cop, uses him for his heinous and unlawful activities including drug trafficking. Sundar loves his friend and is naïve enough to fulfill those deeds for the sake of friendship, mainly because he thinks his friend would not bring him any harm.

But soon enough, all is not well in the drug trafficking business. One of the business dealings go awry and Bose crosses paths with another dreadful criminal and makes do with his crores-worth narcotics. He doesn’t have the nerve to part with the booty that is worth crores of rupees and tricks Sundar C into believing that what he did was right. Things take an ugly turn with another cop double crossing Bose and making Sundar realize that he was being used. The betrayed Sundar is dejected and decides to leave the city with his girlfriend but the ghost of his past follows him.

Characteristically, Sundar is unpretentious in his intentions. While choosing a story of a wronged man wanting to lead a normal life, he hasn’t compromised on the commercial aspects of the movie. No matter how serious the narrative gets, there is Vadivelu with his howler antics to lighten up the proceedings with his often lewd dialogues delivering it with funny intonations. Of course his fans are going to love it. After all, it’s been a while since Vadivelu has had a field day and this might just be one.

That apart, Sundar, Bose Venkat and the other characters of the movie form layers of the narrative blending with its flow. Other than their neat performances, the takeaway is the unassuming and pretty Anuya who seems to have decided to shed a few layers of her costume for the benefit of her career (or her fans as the case may be). Taman’s music reminds us of the prodigy he is, in a couple of songs (one of which has Anuya soaked wet in rain).

Sundar has managed to pack a punch with the narrative style of the movie and the climax tugs at your heart. Besides, he has also diversified from his style of movie making to take up a serious subject of friendship and betrayal. On the whole, but for a few glitches here and there, Nagaram is not bad a watch.

Verdict: This city is gritty!