Nagarvalam Review

When Janani’s father learns about her daughter’s love affair the family opposes it and Kumar is beaten up heavily by Rathinam’s thugs. But Karna who is so affectionate towards his sister decides to safeguard Kumar from Rathinam.

What happens to Kumar and Janani? Do Karna’s efforts to unite them succeed? These questions are answered in the rest of the film.

With a done and dusted storyline, Markx’s has managed to engage the audience to some extent. The first half despite not having anything new to offer keeps the audience entertained. Two clever decision by the director has helped him in this regard. One is the inclusion of Bala Saravanan and Yogi Babu who give ample laugh worthy moments largely in the first half and sparsely in the second half. The other one is using Ilaiyaraja’s songs as a common taste of the lead characters and this makes the love portions somewhat engaging and pleasant.

However the real crisis for the film stars only in the second half. Just for the purpose of giving a shock during the interval we get an accident sequence and post interval it does not have any relevance at all. The family’s opposition to love of their daughter may be a very old idea for a crisis but the conflict between the Karna and Rathinam that arises out of Janani’s love affair is something interesting. But sadly the director fails to utilize the potential of this interesting angle in the story. The happenings in the climax look highly contrived and hurried and this drags down the film from Average to Below-Average.

Balaji who has made a comeback with this film after ‘Kadhal Solla Vandhen’ in 2010, still looks the same young lad. He also makes a good impression with his performance as a guy next door and his expressions are apt. Newcomer Deekshitha is an apt choice for her character and age and her looks and performance are likeable.

Sequences involving Bala Saravanan and Yogi Babu provide a good deal of comic relief. Muthukumar as Karna has done a neat job so does ‘Anjathae’ Sridhar who comes as a trusted ally of Karna. Marimuthu, Namo Narayana and Ravi fit the bill.

Pavan Karthik’s songs are youthful and pleasing on the ears. Re-recording is passable. Tamizh Thendral’s cinematography is realistic and suits the setting of the film very well.

Verdict: ‘Nagavalam’ has some good romance and comedy sequences, performances and music. It could have been a recommendable film if the director had concentrated better on the script, especially the second half.