Kalloori Movie Review

Balaji Shakthivel does it again !!!

Watching movies has become my favourite pastime now. I ve been watching a movie almost everyday & suddenly this brainwave of writing reviews for movies hit me. Today I watched the movie Kalloori and decided to step into this new avatar of writing reviews starting with this movie.

To be honest, it was because of Tamanna, that I was lured to watch this movie. The promos claimed it to be an ode to friendship and love, and they didn't disappoint me either. Director Balaji Shaktivel has once again carved out a realistic story in the form of Kalloori. If Kaadhal, his earlier movie, was considered good, he goes one step further in Kalloori. The maturity and experience that he has gained is clearly evident in all the scenes. Casting the right people is always a difficult task and the director pulls it off with ease in this regard. All the characters, seem like real life characters that we see in our day-to-day life. I guess this is probably the reason why the director went for such never-seen-before faces. All of them seem to have done justice to their role. Tamanna's casting is probably the director's master-stroke as she fits into the bill perfectly. Having seen her in a more glamorous and metropolitan kind of roles earlier, I wondered whether she would fit into the plot. My apprehensions were put to rest after watching the movie. Had any other current actress in the Tamil Industry being pitched in, instead of her, I don't think they would have carried out the role properly. Her fresh face suits that of a girl out of school and ready to enter college.

The very first scene stuck a chord in me. My gang of friends (10 as in the movie) too had the same wish - all of us joining the same college, but having had to take up engineering, our dreams still remain a distant dream. In this movie though, 9 students from class XII of Govt. Higher Secondary School get into the same course BA History in the same Govt. Arts College. Each one of them, being of different nature - a morally strict person, a glutton, a gullible person and so on. Circumstances force the Bangalore bred Shobana ( played by Tamanna ), an IAS aspirant to enter Govt. Arts College in a remote district in Tamil Nadu. The somber and sullen looks sported by Tamanna initially and the reason she states for being so moves you. Touched by the kind gestures and warmth her fellow classmates exhibit towards her, Shobana develops a rapport with the remaining 9 members and there begins a strong friendship amongst them.

Ramesh played by Bharani is the standout artiste amongst the new faces. His timely dialogue delivery and expressions has you in splits during the first hour of the movie. Muthu ( played by Akhil ),the hero who plays a sprinter in the movie, has very few dialogues but his performance, on the whole is good. The trauma that he undergoes when deciding between friendship & love has been brought out well by the director. The head-banging by the old man in the introduction number is also worth mentioning here. The cultural event where Muthu's friends perform the western & Bharatnatyam dances are rib-tickling. Ramesh's Bharatnatyam jig, in particular where he forgets the steps, and does the dappan-kuthu movements are a delight to the viewers.
The inseparable duo, who appear in the movie raise a smile on your face but they could have underplayed a little during their introduction scene. Certain scenes seem a bit monotonous and on a few occasions, the inexperince of all the artists is pretty evident as well. One particular scene where Shobana arrives almost immediately after Muthu misses the bus and offers him a lift, could have been portrayed in a better manner. Also the scene where Muthu lifts his performance on the track after hearing that Shobana was waiting for him seems a bit artificial.

Scenes like the one preceding the climax, where Shobana speaks her heart out to KayalVizhi and the scene where Salima loses her father had me in tears - particularly the latter. Why I liked the movie is because I was able to corelate the scenes of the movie with incidents amongst my friends. I had gone to the movie without reading any reviews, as I felt that it would dampen the expectations. The director, I should say, has definitely exceeded my expectations.

The storyline is very simple and natural. The dialogues deserve a special kudos. Cinematography by Chezhiyan is good as well. Sasikumar's editing is probably at its best in the Sariya Idhu Thavara number. Joshua Sridhar's music complemented well with Na. Muthukumar's lyrics captures a place in your heart. It is the lyrics that keeps the music alive. Lines like "Unnakul Olindhirukkum Unadhu Thiramaigalai Natou Inam Kandu Uyarthumey . . ." ( meaning the hidden talents in you will be brought out only by friendship ) in the June July number stand out.

Just when you think that this is going to be yet another . . . "And they lived happily ever after" kind of ending, the director springs a surprise in the climax scene. The climax scene, which blends well with the story, leaves a huge lump in your throat and you will feel that chill race during your spine during the climax sequence. Today was one of those very rare days where I was in tears after watching a movie. So realistic !!!

Amidst a plethora of movies today, which are merely a conglomeration of action, romance, sentiment, meaningless punch dialogues, unnecessary item numbers and obscene scenes, Kalloori is definitely a cut above the rest.