Nedunalvaadai Review
Star Cast : Poo Ramu, Anjali Nair, Elango
Director : Selvakannan
Debutant director Selvakannan’s Nedunalvaadai is an authentic rural drama which highlights how one person’s sacrifice and love contribute for the development of an entire family. In everyone’s life, there will be at least one soul who would have sacrificed a lot of things for our progress, Nedunalvaadai talks about them!
Chellaiah (‘Poo’ Ram) stands in a state of shock as he sees his daughter who had eloped long back falls on his feet in front her two kids. The old man takes her daughter and the grandchildren home but his own son (Mime Gopi) is against his dad’s decision.
Now Chellaiah takes the responsibility of raising up his grandchildren, as he believes that if his grandson Elango studies well and gets a job, he will take care of his family! But Elango’s falls in love with the bold and daring Amudha (Anjali Nair), and this makes him lose focus on his goal.
In major areas in Tamil Nadu, sons are the default heirs to their father’s property so girl children move out of the family once they get married. Selvakannan has explored this untouched topic which deserves applause. While the first half of the film is brilliantly staged by capturing earthy characters and authentic Tirunelveli milieu, the second half turns cliche with the usual scenes including the brother turning villain for her sister’s marriage and how Chellaiah walks the extra mile by losing his self-esteem to ensure that his grandson should settle down in his life.
However, Selvakannan scores well in most of the scenes. A good film is all about capturing the lifestyle of the earthy characters and narrates the story which stays true to the milieu, Nedunalvaadai scores big in that aspect!
Nedunalvaadai belongs to ‘Poo’ Ram and Anjali Nair, two amazing performers! The film also deserved a better male protagonist as Elango is just adequate. Selvakannan also glorifies the ‘Thevar’ community with symbols like Muthuramalinga Thevar, Subash Chandra Bose and playing Karthik songs in the background.
But he should have also avoided dialogues demeaning other castes. Nedunalvaadai would have created the same impact without these caste references and it’s high time, filmmakers understand the needlessness of it!
Soul stirring songs of newcomer Jose Franklin and the hard-hitting lyrics of Vairamuthu are the other two big plus points for the film. Overall, Nedunalvaadai is an earnest rural emotional drama which captures the real characters and their lives. Had the director avoided cinematic cliches in the second half, this film would have worked much better!
