Film: Ramanujan
Starring: Abhinay Vaddi, Suhasini, Kevin McGowan, Bhama
Director: Gnana Rajasekaran
Producer: Srivatsan Nadathur, Sushant Desai
Banner: Camphor Cinema Production
Music: Ramesh Vinayakam
Starring: Abhinay Vaddi, Suhasini, Kevin McGowan, Bhama
Director: Gnana Rajasekaran
Producer: Srivatsan Nadathur, Sushant Desai
Banner: Camphor Cinema Production
Music: Ramesh Vinayakam
The story of "Ramanujan" can be found in
almost every Indian household. It's not the story of a genius, but one
about how we treat a genius, how we want to change a genius into an
ordinary man, how we expect a genius to be jack of all trades; master of
none, how we want to prove that a genius is equivalent to being crazy
and how we fail to celebrate a genius.
That Ramanujan is a mathematics wizard
is a known fact, but did you know that he struggled to earn two square
meals a day for many years in his life because he couldn't earn a
suitable job.
But the problem was not with a suitable
job, it was with those people who failed to understand him, his
unmatchable intellect and talent.
The problem started from his family. All
that his father wanted from Ramanujan was a college degree, a secure
job that will relieve him off the responsibilities of a breadwinner for
the family.
Not surprising. Because in the country,
it's often noticed that once a person turns 60, he wants to retire.
Ramanujan's father was no different. He least cared about his son's
outstanding talent with the numbers.
In the high school, Ramanujan was denied
scholarship. He was told that the management is happy with mediocre
students in all subjects, instead of a genius in one. He faces similar
reaction from mostly everybody around him, except a few who truly treat
Ramanujan as a genius.
These aforementioned moments from the
initial years of Srinivasa Ramanujan make up for an inspiring story and
provided if one knew how to package them.
National award-winning filmmaker Gnana
Rajasekaran certainly knows the art and succeeds narrating an inspiring
tale, but his work doesn't resonate deep within.
This is so because the director merely
recreates several important episodes from Ramanujan's life - from his
school-going days to the minutes leading up to his death at 32 - on the
screen while ignoring the need to build a screenplay to keep the viewers
hooked.
One tragic episode after another makes viewers feels sorry and miserable for Ramanujan.
The highlight of the film is that it has
a talented debutant playing Ramanujan to the hilt. You could see
Ramanujan in Abhinay, literally, and his portrayal of the genius is
nearly flawless.
Suhasini Maniratnam as his
over-protective mother, which she pulls off with aplomb, fittingly
supports him. You can find shades of grey in Suhasini's role and some
sarcasm too, but she's the way she is for a reason and when that's
finally revealed, you empathize for her.
Other notable performances come from Nizhagal Ravi and Y.Gee Mahendran.
While efforts are taken to portray
Ramanujan as a genius, who is rejected by the society, ther's also a
mention that he hallucinates regularly..
In an important scene, in Cambridge
University, students of Professor Hardy, ask him why he helps Ramanujan
who believes that god gives answers to his mathematical questions to
him. To which, Hardy replies that it's that belief that has kept the
genius in him alive and therefore he doesn't want to disturb it.
It's a brilliant scene because beliefs are what we made of, and when that's broken we become hollow inside.
Of the few things to like about
"Ramanujan", Ramesh Vinayakam's music is life affirming. It is in sync
with the era in which the film is set, oscillating between classical
music and tunes of strings.
A refreshing bhajan by Vani Jayaram in the beginning is one of the best tracks of the album.
With tighter editing, "Ramanujan" would've been engaging despite its sluggish narrative.
