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MysteRy:
NEETHANE EN PONVASANTHAM - REVIEW



Neethane En Ponvasantham (NEP) is a love story based on the moments from Varun and Nithya’s love spanning 4 phases of their life. Neethane En Ponvasantham is directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon and jointly produced by Photon Kathaas and RS Infotainment. The song tracks by Ilayaraja are already well received by public and critics.
Varun and Nithya are school friends, meeting up with love proposals at the age of High-school and separates due to misunderstandings.

 At the age of 21, suddenly the lead pair meets up in the last days of their college in a cultural fest and there starts the journey of their love again, leading to separation for the second time. Watch out Neethane En Ponvasantham, to know whether Varun and Nithya have ever made up their love to marriage?

Towards the last 30 minutes, Gautham Menon takes full control over the proceedings and makes you root for the lead pairs intensely. Given Gautham Menon's track record of not letting the lead pairs live together, the viewers knows very well that the director is gutsy enough to steer the movie in whichever direction he wants without being held hostage to commercial compulsions. The last few reels grabs your attention and score high by partially erasing the shortcomings of lengthy and uneventful journey.

The movie is carried only by the strengths of 3 characters. Jiiva is as-usual natural and performs without any insecurities. His voice modulation and his chemistry with both Samantha and Santhanam are good. Samantha dubs in her own voice and shines with her many little expressions (sometimes repetitive). The ever-dependable Santhanam enlivens the proceedings whenever he shows up on screen. No doubt, Gautham Menon has extracted good performance from these 3 characters.
For a movie filled with sweet nothings, Jiiva and Samantha's conviction and hardwork is evident. Jiiva comes across as calm, composed, mature and practical. Jiiva lives by bullet-list of priorities and often makes logical decisions using his brain and by reasoning out objectively. On the other hand, Samantha is emotional and makes her decision driven by her heart. She reacts to the situations at the spur-of-the-moment, flip-flops and ends up regretting her decisions.

There are no villains in the form of parents who typically opposed the love nor scheming college friends. Except for a few friends, there are not many characters in the movie.

The story drags and the moments are mostly pedestrian. The movie should be crisper by cutting down by at least 20 minutes. For a movie revolving around the lead pairs, the characterization should have been more profound. Situations and scenes are sometimes repetitive. It is unclear why the director decided to shoot so many important scenes without any cuts and in wide range (e.g., interval scene). This makes you think whether the dialogues were actually written after the shots were picturized.

The dubbing choices should have been better. Samantha dubs in her own voice, which may evoke mixed reactions from viewers. Varun's father, Ravi Raghavendar's distinctively recognizable voice is not capitalized at all. His voice is overlayed by a voice artist creating some dissonance in viewer's minds. Gautham Menon himself sings a few stanzas from "Neethane en ponvasantham" song in college culturals when Varun first meets Nithya. Again, Gautham's gruff singing is a distraction and takes the focus away from the beauty of the moment. Gautham Menon has taken a huge gamble by releasing a soft romance story in between a heavily crowded big release season in Tamil.

MysteRy:
NEETHANE EN PONVASANTHAM - MUSIC REVIEW



Cast: Jiiva, Samantha
Direction: Gautham Vasudev Menon
Production: Kumar and Jayaram
Music: Illayaraja

'How to name it?' This title of Ilayaraja's 1986 fusion album strikes our mind, as we attempt to classify his work in 'Neethanae En Ponvasantham' under a specific genre.

For Ilayarajaiites it's bliss. And for non-Ilayarajaiites it's a treat. This is how the songs from 'NEP' can be described, for the maestro has drenched the listeners with his musical rain.

Saayndhu Saayndhu (Yuvan Shankar Raja, Ramya NSK)
The Rajas (Ilayaraja and Yuvan Shankar Raja) have woven musical magic in 'Saayndhu Saayndhu...' The maestro, with this modern song, proves that his music is timeless. While Yuvan adds value to Ilayaraja's composition in the first half of this song, Ramya takes care of the second half.

Kaatrai Konjam (Karthik)
The vintage Ilayaraja is in full form in this song, which takes one back to his golden era- the 1980s. In association with Ilayaraja's tune and Na Muthukumar's lines, Karthik has struck gold, one can say.

Pudikale Maamu (Suraj Jagan, Karthik)
A college song, 'Pudikale Maamu...' is full of energy and exuberance. Ilayaraja's USP lies in sensing the situation right and he is at it again in this number. Suraj Jagan and Karthik chip in with their best

Yennodu Vaa Vaa (Karthik) For those who would like to listen a song that is quite typical to Ilayaraja's heydays, here comes 'Yennodu Vaa Vaa...' The maestro's firm grip over the medium is amazing and that's the magic of Ilayaraja.

Pengal Yendral (Yuvan Shankar Raja)
Yuvan sings for his father's tune once again, this time expressing the pain of love. Though the voice is appealing and the lyrics are convincing, it's the tune and orchestration that reflects the mood well than anything else.

Sattru Munbu (Ramya NSK)
A song that is quite contrast to the earlier one. If 'Pengal Yendral...' is about a boy's unhappiness over his girl, 'Sattru Munbu...' is about a girl's disappointment over her boy. Two things stand universal in this song- they are love and Raja's music.

Mudhal Murai (Sunidhi Chauhan)
The already popular line 'Neethanae En Ponvasantham' is familiarized in this song, with Ilayaraja's music and Sunidhi Chauhan's voice adding more beauty to it. Ilayaraja, known for using violin to the best possible extent, has done just that in here.

Vaanam Mella (Ilayaraja, Bela Shende)
Finally, the 'Isaignani' himself is here to croon this song. And needless to say, it turns out to be the highlight of the album. Bela Shende has accompanied well Ilayaraja and it's a mesmerizing effect to listen Ilayaraja's voice in his own music.

It's Ilayaraja all the way in 'Neethanae En Ponvasantham', as he gives one more reason to his fans to feel proud about. Raja rules, we say.

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