Markx’s debut film, Nagarvalam , keeps us guessing for a while: is it a gangster film or a crime thriller? Turns out, it’s a love story in the end.
Kumar (Balaji), a shabby-looking water tanker driver falls for Janani (Deekshitha), a girl who is just out of school and is set to take up an engineering course. Every trip for supplying water becomes an excuse to flirt. When he realises she is the sister of a powerful gangster, Kumar goes all chicken. Janani, however holds herself steady and refuses to undo their relationship. Whether the lovers unite against all the odds forms the rest of the story.
- Genre: Drama
- Director: Markx
- Cast: Balaji, Deekshitha, Bala Saravanan, Yogi Babu
- Storyline: How a water-tanker driver and his girlfriend defend their love
Nagarvalam has brought together Yogi Babu and Bala Saravanan for the first time — both deliver splendid comic performances. What does not work though is the lean-and-lanky Balaji’s performance as the rugged lorry driver. Deekshitha, it looks like, has followed only the director’s instructions to a T; nothing more, nothing less.
Weaved into the narrative are social issues such as honour killing, casteism and violence against women. But the disjointed screenplay and lack of empathy for the lead pair undoes the efforts of other departments.
The film is mildly reminiscent of Balaji Sakthivel’s Kaadhal (2004) that handled similar themes with more finesse and vision. Nagarvalam , though, ends up being such an over-long bus journey — you would rather hop off the bus and take an autorickshaw than sit through all its stops.
