So the movie I spend 2 hours watching is Avatharam, starring Nasser, Bala Singh, Revathi, Delhi Ganesh and Vidhya in a smaller role. This is Nasser's directorial debut and Bala Singh's acting debut.
Delhi Ganesh is the head of the village koothu pattarai that employs Bala Singh(Baacha) and Nasser. The womanizing Baacha assaults some of the women in the village and is kicked out of the troupe by Delhi Ganesh.
It's a new day and time to put on the next naadagam. Delhi Ganesh is to go on stage but is found dead by Nasser. Nasser takes his place and the show is a success. But his death has caused unrest. One of the actors in the troupe gets an earful from his wife for counting on acting to earn a living and failing to provide for the family. Resigning to the obvious, he apologises to the troupe and quits. What follows is the resignation of the rest of the members of the troupe for similar reasons. Nasser is now the only one left with faith in the profession. He decides to move to the city to become an actor and asks Ponnamma (Revathi) to come with him. Once in the city, he goes in search of a contact who his friends back home have asked to help Nasser in search of a career in the movies. Lost and out at night, they meet Vidhya who gives them food and shelter for the night. He also runs into Baacha who seems like a changed man. Nasser and Ponnamma leave with Baacha who promises Nasser to introduce him to a movie director. Ponnamma expresses fear and unease at the thought of staying at Baacha's house but Nasser refuses to listen. On the day of the introduction, Baacha drops Nasser off at the shooting spot, comes home, sees Ponnamma having a bath, rapes and kills her. He approaches a friend and police officer to save himself. It's the end of the day and Nasser is home, where he finds Ponnamma, clothes askew and with blood on her legs. Baacha and the SI enter and Nasser is arrested on grounds of rape and murder. Baacha testifies in court of Nassers's supposed womanizing nature. Nasser is sentenced to time in a mental rehab center. Nasser then escapes to Vidhya's house where she calls the police on him. He escapes and goes in search of Baacha. His fellow actors from the troupe are now in the city to help Nasser. They get in touch with Baachi to tell him that Nasser wants to talk to him. Baachi goes to the police with information on where Nasser is hiding - Vandaloor forest. Baacha, Nasser's friends and the police go to the forest and split up in search of him. Nasser meets Baachi and the latter admits to raping and killing Ponnamma. Baacha is then chased through the forest, all the while being teased by fleeting appearances of Nasser's garishly painted face. At one point, Nasser's face is transmogrified into that of a lion's(Narasimha) to hint at the way Baachi was about to be killed. The arrogant Baachi is now scared and prepares to fight Nasser. He takes shelter in a cave of sorts but Nasser catches up with him. In the end, Nasser smiles ever so lightly, after which it fades into sadness as the music of Thendral Vanthu Theendum Bothu plays in the background.
The movie has many chilling scenes like Baacha spying on Ponnamma bathing, Nasser's dream sequence which convinces him to avenge Ponnamma's death and the court ruling that cements Nasser's confinement to a mental health institution. The bizarre Thendral Vanthu Theendum Bothu, by Illayaraja is one of the most beautiful songs of Tamil cinema. As a personal favorite, I recommend watching Rajesh Vaidya's veena version of the song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQb_FptYvWw
TVTB in the movie is a sad/sweet song. Surprisingly, Rajesh Vaidya's veena version seemed uplifting and even cheerful at certain instances.
Revathi does a decent job of playing a blind woman. Bala Singh is good as he always is in the role of the villain, something that he proves in numerous roles after Avatharam. Having seen those first, his performance comes as no surprise. He gets everything right, from the sweaty brows to the frizzy hair to the sleepy scratching of his side boob when he's talking to Nasser's friends. Now I'm conflicted because it now seems like it's not all Bala Singh's talent, but his natural looks that help him play such convincing roles. Nasser, sadly, could definitely have done better.
What is commendable are the roles given to actors who usually play funny men in mainstream cinema. I guess when the director isn't making a commercial movie or when the director is this new guy, you can expect interesting stuff.
I am big fan of the proper usage of Tamil in cinema and Baachi's dialogues are certainly interesting. I love hard-hitting dialogues. Considering the snuff that comes out of actors' mouths these days, it really is a splash of refreshingly cool water over your brain when you hear quality(for lack of a better word) Tamil words in dialogues.
Now to the sad bit - I thought 70% of the movie made sense; it was entertaining and it was a whole new concept. I guess it's obvious that Nasser was trying to pay his respects to drama and plays because all the climax scenes had that naatak feel to it, esply. the crescendo during Baacha's chase scenes and the pseudo-surreal transmogrification. But employing these tactics in a movie, in my opinion, didn't work out that well for Nasser. This doesn't mean Avatharam is not worth a watch though.
Delhi Ganesh is the head of the village koothu pattarai that employs Bala Singh(Baacha) and Nasser. The womanizing Baacha assaults some of the women in the village and is kicked out of the troupe by Delhi Ganesh.
It's a new day and time to put on the next naadagam. Delhi Ganesh is to go on stage but is found dead by Nasser. Nasser takes his place and the show is a success. But his death has caused unrest. One of the actors in the troupe gets an earful from his wife for counting on acting to earn a living and failing to provide for the family. Resigning to the obvious, he apologises to the troupe and quits. What follows is the resignation of the rest of the members of the troupe for similar reasons. Nasser is now the only one left with faith in the profession. He decides to move to the city to become an actor and asks Ponnamma (Revathi) to come with him. Once in the city, he goes in search of a contact who his friends back home have asked to help Nasser in search of a career in the movies. Lost and out at night, they meet Vidhya who gives them food and shelter for the night. He also runs into Baacha who seems like a changed man. Nasser and Ponnamma leave with Baacha who promises Nasser to introduce him to a movie director. Ponnamma expresses fear and unease at the thought of staying at Baacha's house but Nasser refuses to listen. On the day of the introduction, Baacha drops Nasser off at the shooting spot, comes home, sees Ponnamma having a bath, rapes and kills her. He approaches a friend and police officer to save himself. It's the end of the day and Nasser is home, where he finds Ponnamma, clothes askew and with blood on her legs. Baacha and the SI enter and Nasser is arrested on grounds of rape and murder. Baacha testifies in court of Nassers's supposed womanizing nature. Nasser is sentenced to time in a mental rehab center. Nasser then escapes to Vidhya's house where she calls the police on him. He escapes and goes in search of Baacha. His fellow actors from the troupe are now in the city to help Nasser. They get in touch with Baachi to tell him that Nasser wants to talk to him. Baachi goes to the police with information on where Nasser is hiding - Vandaloor forest. Baacha, Nasser's friends and the police go to the forest and split up in search of him. Nasser meets Baachi and the latter admits to raping and killing Ponnamma. Baacha is then chased through the forest, all the while being teased by fleeting appearances of Nasser's garishly painted face. At one point, Nasser's face is transmogrified into that of a lion's(Narasimha) to hint at the way Baachi was about to be killed. The arrogant Baachi is now scared and prepares to fight Nasser. He takes shelter in a cave of sorts but Nasser catches up with him. In the end, Nasser smiles ever so lightly, after which it fades into sadness as the music of Thendral Vanthu Theendum Bothu plays in the background.
The movie has many chilling scenes like Baacha spying on Ponnamma bathing, Nasser's dream sequence which convinces him to avenge Ponnamma's death and the court ruling that cements Nasser's confinement to a mental health institution. The bizarre Thendral Vanthu Theendum Bothu, by Illayaraja is one of the most beautiful songs of Tamil cinema. As a personal favorite, I recommend watching Rajesh Vaidya's veena version of the song.
TVTB in the movie is a sad/sweet song. Surprisingly, Rajesh Vaidya's veena version seemed uplifting and even cheerful at certain instances.
Revathi does a decent job of playing a blind woman. Bala Singh is good as he always is in the role of the villain, something that he proves in numerous roles after Avatharam. Having seen those first, his performance comes as no surprise. He gets everything right, from the sweaty brows to the frizzy hair to the sleepy scratching of his side boob when he's talking to Nasser's friends. Now I'm conflicted because it now seems like it's not all Bala Singh's talent, but his natural looks that help him play such convincing roles. Nasser, sadly, could definitely have done better.
What is commendable are the roles given to actors who usually play funny men in mainstream cinema. I guess when the director isn't making a commercial movie or when the director is this new guy, you can expect interesting stuff.
I am big fan of the proper usage of Tamil in cinema and Baachi's dialogues are certainly interesting. I love hard-hitting dialogues. Considering the snuff that comes out of actors' mouths these days, it really is a splash of refreshingly cool water over your brain when you hear quality(for lack of a better word) Tamil words in dialogues.
Now to the sad bit - I thought 70% of the movie made sense; it was entertaining and it was a whole new concept. I guess it's obvious that Nasser was trying to pay his respects to drama and plays because all the climax scenes had that naatak feel to it, esply. the crescendo during Baacha's chase scenes and the pseudo-surreal transmogrification. But employing these tactics in a movie, in my opinion, didn't work out that well for Nasser. This doesn't mean Avatharam is not worth a watch though.
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