A beautifully crafted tale, ‘Vimanam’ strikes a chord with its portrayal of willpower, passion, commitment and hardwork. It is all about chasing a dream and the hurdles that has to be overcome to fulfil it. Such themes can get formulistic. ‘Vimanam’ does have its share of such clichés. However it soars high. We sure can see the prototype – the passionate boy, the difficulties that comes his way, his consistency and willpower, the people in his life who boosts him up in times of need and the triumph above all odds. But the way director Pradeep M. Nair has conceived the movie is brilliant.
The movie narrates Venkadi’s climb to the Padma Bhushan winner Dr. Venketeswaran (Prithviraj). The movie begins in the 70s and moves to the present. As a seven year old, Venkadi has this dream to fly like a bird. He has an elderly friend Roger, played by Al Ancier, to whom he confides everything. For Venkadi, this was not a fantasy of a child, but a passion that flamed his very being. With the help of his maternal uncle, played by Sudheer Karamana, he embarks on his decades long journey to make his dream a reality. The movie shows the dexterity with which he builds a working prototype of an aircraft in which he hopes to fly.
More than the success or failure of his dream, ‘Vimanam’ is actually a love story. The building of a prototype is often a backdrop to a sweet romance. Venkadi’s lady love is Janaki (Durga Krishna) and their story makes up for most of the screen time. This is the very aspect that makes the movie an emotionally appealing one. On one hand, the movie is a motivational and inspiring tale; while on the other hand it is a soulful romantic story. There are many moments that touches us. It is Venkadi’s dream to fly with Janaki. Does this dream materialize? Flying and Janaki – as the narrative progresses we get the twin passions of Venkadi and we get immersed in this.
Prithviraj emotes brilliantly as Venkadi. Different stages are shown of the character and he has done the ages beautifully. The mannerisms he portrays of a passionate youth is well presented. Durga simply shines as Janaki. She presents such a natural acting. The way her eyes communicate is a pleasure to watch. The love sequences of Venkadi and Janaki are convincingly portrayed. Al Ancier and Sudheer Karamana lend solid support to the lead character. They have also done admirably well. All the other supporting cast too have done well.
The art works and VFX are perfect and the building of the aircraft is well depicted. Camera by Shehnad Jalal also soars with the characters. The frames are eloquent and the passion of Venkadi is conveyed through the camera lens evocatively. Music is a huge plus in the movie. Gopi Sunder has ably captured the essence of the narrative in his tunes. The BGM is especially good. The tunes stay with you even as the credit rolls. This is Pradeep’s directorial debut and he pitches the movie competently. He sure knows what he wants and delivers a well crafted movie.
‘Vimanam’ soars high with its romance lifting the emotions and chasing a dream lifting the spirit. The movie is at once romantic, motivational and inspiring.
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