For a film that took three years to make, "Naan Kadavul" (I Am God) surprisingly presents the flip side of moron-monks and moving mendicants’ lives and little else.
Recognizing a unique setting, maestro Ilaiyaraja has gone to town with the background score even more than the songs themselves. It is this that adds some richness to the tale. Suresh Urs’s editing is slick and neat; Super Subbarayan’s stunts echo a lot of Pithamagan.
If anything, it’s the world of the aghora sanyasi in Kasi that has been picturized superficially, considering the enormous build-up and Rudhran’s intriguing body language. And here’s where the director slips. Aside from mumbling mantras at strategic points, Rudhran doesn’t do anything much. And there’s nothing in the screenplay to indicate what exactly is running through his mind. Very little of the sharp-sightedness that’s gone in showcasing the world of beggars has gone into the mental make-up of Rudhran, and it shows. Time and again you expect some insight into the actions of the chef protagonist, but there’s very little.
The movie’s certainly a landmark for both Arya and Pooja. Though their costumes and make-up go a long way towards impressing you, it’s obvious that they’ve carried out their director’s instructions, and nothing more. And that’s when you’re reminded of Surya’s and Vikram’s astounding screen-presence: you can’t help imagining how those two consummate actors would have carried a similar role.
Naan Kadavul is definitely worth a watch for its superb secondary characters, setting and music. Now, if only the screenplay had provided the missing punch.
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