Film: Naan Than Bala
Starring: Vivek, Swetha, Nassar
Director: Kannan
Producer: JA Lawrence
Banner: SSS Entertainments
Music: Vidya Saagar
Starring: Vivek, Swetha, Nassar
Director: Kannan
Producer: JA Lawrence
Banner: SSS Entertainments
A highly-anticipated film can turn out
to be a dud and the most unexpected low-budget movie can rake in the
moolah. Vivekh-starrer "Naan Than Bala", which dares to explore an
uncharted territory, faces a similar fate at the box office as it
doesn't feature all the necessary elements to please the entertainment
deprived audiences of Tamil cinema.
Stepping out of his comfort zone as a comedian, Vivekh dons a very serious role of that of a temple priest in the film.
When Poochi, a man Bala has never met in
his life, comes forth to help him free his aged father from jail for a
crime he never committed, he decides to spend the rest of his life in
his service. Bala believes Poochi is the reincarnation of god and it is
his duty to serve him till his last breath.
But Poochi is a paid assassin, one who
has murdered many for a price and helped Bala free his father from the
money he received for killing someone. Bala confronts Poochi and
convinces him to surrender to police by turning approver and turn
against his boss.
When most comedians are turning heroes
to cash in on their popularity, Vivekh attempts to inspire his fans with
his earnest effort. With utmost sincerity and dedication, he transforms
into a priest, recites shlokas in impeccable Sanskrit and still has his
sense of humour intact and uses it occasionally in the film.
We see the best of Vivekh in "Naan Than
Bala" that we haven't witnessed in a very long time, not even in his
most successful comic roles. He makes us root for the actor who has been
concealed under the comedian in him for ages.
The problem is not with Vivekh's
decision to don a serious role, but the film's treatment of the subject
at hand. Some of the important dialogues are not in sync with the
present era, while the melodrama reminds us of television serials as it
makes you sympathetic but fails to strike an emotional chord deep
within. The use of Sanskrit verses more often in the film is also a turn
off because audiences seldom appreciate its intent. Also, the reference
to the tale from Mahabharat comes too late when it should have ideally
been used to develop the film's story from the beginning.
Despite Vivekh's noteworthy performance,
the movie suffers overall because of its sluggish narrative and
mediocre performances by the rest of the cast. No matter how hard Vivekh
tried to shoulder the film singlehandedly, it fails to keep us hooked
when other actors take the center stage and perform poorly.
Shoddy writing and direction makes "Naan Than Bala" a boring film despite good intention.
