Sandiyar Movie Review
Director: Chozha Devan
Cast: Nayakam, Paandithurai, Kayal, Jagan, Singham Puli
As the promos suggested, ‘Sandiyar’ is a raw, rustic movie set in the rural backdrops of Tanjore & its outskirts.
Directed by debutant Chozhadevan, this movie deals with powerplays, drama and romance in equal dosage.
The plot is woven around two central characters Paandithurai and Nayagam (both debutants) who detest each other and are at loggerheads all the time. The fathers of the respective youngsters remain friends through thick and thin. Things go haywire when Paandithurai feels Nayagam abducts the chairman post of the village from him. What follows is a series of feuds between two groups and how one tries to falter the other. Also involved in the plot is the romance between Paandithurai and Kayal (another debutant) who belongs to the Nayagam camp.
The director takes the cake for the setting of the movie and making all his actors follow the dialect of the region to perfection. The lead performances are a mixed bag. Paandithurai is convincing in the lead part where he gets a good amount of screen time. Kayal needs to improve her acting skills and Nayagam fits his part well. The supporting cast has helped this movie to a greater deal. Singam Puli chips in with a few jokes.
Technically, this movie is not perfect. The camera work is a bit inconsistent and the editing could have been a lot crisper. Music by Yathish Mahadev is passable with ‘Un Kadhal’ standing out as the best track from the rest of the album. The re-recording has propelled the movie a great deal though. The interval point is particularly well etched out and the twist just before the climax takes us by surprise as well. The melodrama quotient of the movie could have been toned down.
On the whole, Sandiyar is a well written script that could have been well executed even more had the technical side been a little more perfect. Kudos to the director for opting to offer something different from the run of the mill.
