“Anniyan”

 

            A couple of years ago, when I wrote an article on Shankar’s films, I used this term, “realistic fantasy” to describe his best works (“Indian,” “Gentleman” and “Mudhalvan” in that order).  What I meant by that term was that those films, in spite of being centered on larger-than-life characters, also had the kind of attention to realistic details that lent those features a sense of urgency.  While “Anniyan” belongs to that genre, it is nowhere near in the league of those films because it was as though Shankar, in the middle of his scripting sessions, walked towards his window, threw realism out of it and then got back to work!  The result is a product that is fast-paced and entertaining but is in equal parts improbable and unsubstantial.

 

            “Anniyan” is the story of “Rules” Ramanujam, a low-profile lawyer who is pained by the lack of social consciousness, awareness and civic sense that pervades the nation.  The only light of his life is Nandini (Sadha), a pragmatic Brahmin girl who keeps him at a distance.  His close friend Chari (Vivek) is the assistant of an upright police officer (Prakashraj) who is assigned to solve the gruesome murders committed by a mysterious man who calls himself ‘Anniyan.’  Meanwhile Nandini rebuffs Ramanujam’s love for her and instead falls for Remo, a flamboyant model.  How these three tracks crisscross each other is what the central thread of “Anniyan” is all about.

 

            My biggest disappointment with “Anniyan” is the amateurishness of the Prakashraj investigation.  For no rhyme or reason, he appears in all sorts of guises and does not make a single deduction worth remembering.  True, the Vaishnavism portions are novel but they really do not change the course of his investigation.  All this coming from the director whose handling of the CBI investigation in “Indian” was probably the best of its kind.  “Indian” was gripping because parties on both sides of the law were intelligent and were constantly outwitting each other.  The lack of that intelligence was one of the weak points of Silambarasan’s “Manmadhan” and it is even more glaring here because “Anniyan” does not have the dramatic punch of “Indian” to make it easy for the viewer to overlook flaws.  Shankar’s directorial flourishes have always been on full display in his flashback sequences which usually lend tremendous impetus to the drama but here in “Anniyan,” the flashback involving Vikram’s kid sister feels rushed and this is one of the reasons why the film never really grips us with a sense of purpose.

 

            The fact that the movie is so removed from reality definitely takes a lot of sheen off it.  While I could make up a whole list of logical blunders and improbable scenarios in the movie, I will save your time (and mine) by simply stating that a pale imitation of one of the best scenes in “Indian” (the one where “Indian” murders “Nizhalgall” Ravi on television) turns out to be one of the worst in “Anniyan.”  In “Indian,” Shankar took pains to make a highly improbable scenario look ‘real.’  And the fact that Sujatha’s dialogues sizzled with sharpness and intelligence ensured that it was one of those great movie moments.  But here in “Anniyan,” the scene set in the stadium is a long-drawn sequence that could exist only in Shankar’s fertile imagination!  The setting is so ridiculous that I could hardly bring myself to pay any attention to the dialogues which again were reminiscent of “Indian” (especially the comments on Singapore and Japan) and “Mudhalvan” (the lines about taxes and social awareness).  And, the fact that he tries to justify some totally unwarranted murders (especially that of Charlie’s) irked me a lot.

 

            As you can see, it is probably my strong liking of Shankar’s previous, more focused efforts that is preventing me from viewing this movie on its own terms (like Roger Ebert says, phenomenal success can sometimes be an “albatross” around a filmmaker’s neck!).  But I have to admit that in spite of my rant in the last couple of paragraphs, I enjoyed the movie a lot!  Three hours pass by quickly because Shankar is a master of moving a story briskly with multiple tracks.  The first half has some charming scenes involving Vikram and Sadha, with Vivek (in top form) contributing in no small measure with his hilarious one-liners.  The whole sequence in Thiruvayaar is a delight, with Vivek’s comments on Vikram’s “love letter” invoking thunderous applause in the theater.

 

            Shankar raises the tempo in the second half, blending in the stories of Remo and Anniyan.  Remo’s love for the Sadha character confirms my belief that Shankar has absolutely no idea how to script a sensitive love story.  With Vikram gleefully chewing scenery in the role of Remo, the portions are campy fun but theirs is a love story without a soul.  The sequence at night where Remo clears the roof of her house pales in comparison to the beautifully conceived “Nila Udayavillai” sequence in “Kudaikkull Mazhai.”  But one of the strengths of “Anniyan” is the sustained intensity of the concluding portions.  Again, Shankar takes preposterousness to new levels in many a sequence but Vikram’s performance saves the day for him.  Be it rapidly alternating between his ‘avatars’ or projecting a certain earnestness as Ambi, Vikram never fails to convince us, even when in the midst of some unbelievable settings or while spouting lengthy monologues about the utopian society of his dreams.  His scenes with Nasser (in a small role as a psychiatrist) and Prakashraj bring out the expressive actor in him. 

 

            The supporting cast features capable performers but none of them have been given fully fleshed out characters by the Director.  Sadha lacks the looks or the acting chops to be a leading lady.  She hardly has any scenes worth remembering.  Prakashraj, Nedumudi Venu and Nasser are all wasted in insignificant roles, especially Prakashraj, who has been crafting several varied characters of late.  It is only Vivek who lends able support and comes up with one-liners that crackle with wit, whenever the pace begins to flag a bit.

 

            Technically too, the movie belongs to the good-but-not-great category.  Harris Jeyaraj’s score for the movie is of the foot-tapping variety with cool numbers like “Iyengar Veetu Azhagey,” “Remo” and the extremely catchy “Kannum Kannum Nokia” but the track on the whole is not a memorable one.  The song sequences in this movie are grand but not especially appealing.  The “Kumari” song is shot in the midst of millions of flowers but does not have the simple beauty of the close-up shot of a solitary rose at the beginning of the “Kadhal Rojave” song in “Roja” (A Roja is a Roja is a Roja!).  The sets for “Iyengar Veetu Azhagey” looked like pieces stolen from a T. Rajendar set!  And the grating “Randakka” song features some gaudy art work too.  But the one song that has all the trademarks of a slick Shankar song sequence is “Kannum Kannum Nokia.”  Shot at the airport in Malaysia, the song is elegantly choreographed, marvelously lit and imaginatively decorated (the water-bed, for instance).

 

            In conclusion, “Anniyan” fails to enlighten us but does not fail to entertain!