Entering the Internet fray

AVM has come up with a 55-minute-film, titled Idhuvum Kadandhu Pogum, completely for the Net

November 23, 2013 04:43 pm | Updated 06:52 pm IST - chennai:

Idhuvum Kadandhu Pogum

Idhuvum Kadandhu Pogum

Yet another pioneering effort from AVM — Idhuvum Kadandhu Pogum — a 55-minute film will roll out of its stable soon. And holding the reins this time isn’t M. Saravanan or his son M.S. Guhan, but Gen-Next, represented by the young and confident fraternal twins of the family, Aruna and Aparna Guhan. With this film AVM enters the Internet fray. “The content is completely for the Net because we find its reach incredible. It’s the medium of today and tomorrow,” chorus the sisters. They are the producers of AVM’s Idhuvum Kadandhu Pogum (U). “We are looking at YouTube, Amazon, Netflix, etc., to upload it,” says Aparna. Aruna and Aparna had pored over several stories for more than six months before settling for Srihari Prabhaharan’s line that’s simple, yet strong and poignant. “We zeroed in on the directors Anil Krishnan and Srihari after watching their 10-minute short, Kasappu Inippu , on the Net.”

In tune with the times

Traversing unexplored terrains isn’t new to AVM. “The production house has made 176 films till date, introduced the concept of playback singing in cinema ( Nandakumar ) and came out with the first dubbed version of a film originally made in another language ( Harischandra ),” said director SP. Muthuraman, in his welcome address before the show. And now, Aruna and Aparna enter the scene to innovate and keep pace with the times! “We are testing the waters with IKP … doesn’t mean we’ll only be making content for the Internet. We plan to get into feature films too,” says Aparna.

As the title suggests, IKP starts off on a tragic note and travels back and forth to then and now. The young pair Gautam (Shivaji Dev) and his fiancée in the U.S., Ramya (actor Shilpa Bhatt), exchange endearments at midnight little aware of the disaster that is to strike in a few hours ... It isn’t easy for Gautam to come out of the trauma that hits him hard.

Spontaneous performances

After lukewarm outings such as Singakutty and Nandanam , Shivaji Dev should be happy for this opportunity from the AVM banner. The Net connect should augur well for his career. Dev shows that he can pull off emotions, both subdued and vociferous, with élan. Another actor who stands out through an excellent underplay is Ravi Raghavendar, as Dev’s dad. Sad and surprising that the veteran’s potential has remained untapped for so long! IKP could change the tide in his favour.

The best part of the direction is the spontaneity in the display of emotions by the various characters. The true-to-life outbursts and subtle changes in the expressions of Berkin Johns, who plays Gautam’s elder brother, is an example. The screenplay is another commendable aspect, if you can forget the lag that sets in for a while, half way through the narration. Lens man Saleem Bilal draws notice in the outdoor sequences, but could have worked better in the close-up shots, like in the scene where the camera shifts from Shivaji Dev’s face to Anusha Varma’s (the other heroine), in a mundane manner. The movements hurt the eye.

Dev’s poser, “Enna Matter?” that is repeated around half dozen times in the first 15 minutes of the film, tends to get exasperating. Srihari (dialogue) seems to have realised it because the query doesn’t occur again till the end.

Story that has substance, treatment that’s natural and performances that are decent, Idhuvum Kadandhu Pogum should garner enough and more hits for AVM’s debut Net catch.

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