Film: Nannbenda
Cast: Udhayanidhi Stalin, Nayanthara, Santhanam, Karunakaran, Sherin, Pooja Ramachandran.
Director: Jagadish
Every ten minutes or so, the actors themselves laugh pathetically on-screen. Maybe that's sarcasm turned upside down. They are going to laugh at us and we, innocent people, sitting on the other side of the screen have no option but to bite our nails and chew our dead minds to sit through this film or walk away ten minutes into the film and come back just before the end credits show up. Even then, there's nothing much you'd have missed.
Udhayanidhi Stalin has fallen in love with Nayanthara. It's what any person would call it love at first sight. He gets his friend, Santhanam, to roam the town so that he can find her again and ask her to marry him. Oh, if you consider that rambunctious, Udhay does it uncharacteristically well at the bank where Nayanthara works. Nayanthara is obviously bemused by this stranger's confession. There are no twists and turns in this shoddy plot. Just throw in a bunch of actors - Karunakaran, Manobala, Rajendran, Pattimandram Raja, Lollu Sabha Manohar - who are of no value to the plot and voila, 'Nannbenda', is ready.
The real sad part is not Udhay. It's Santhanam. He seems least interested to play a second fiddle to Udhay. His one-liners fall flat. His comedy has somehow walked out of the room. The bit involving Sherin as Santhanam's girlfriend is also poorly constructed. When Santhanam lets us down, the real problem begins. Genuine laughs are a handful in this film. The biggest is the one with Tamannaah's cameo. The two-minute scene floats above the rest.
Nayanthara is the only reason you should be able to tolerate this film apart from Harris Jayaraj's melody "Oorellaam Unnai Kandu". The success of this song should go to Vairamuthu's soothing lyrics as well. It's a break from the crass drama. Just when Deepika Padukone's 'My Choice' is garnering controversies from all quarters, 'Nannbenda', points a finger at male chauvinism. Nayanthara is a "Good Girl" because she doesn't drink. So, girls who stay away from alcohol are good? It's our choice to throw tomatoes at the script. Also, the suspenseful past of Nayanthara's character is supposed to be funny. No, it's not funny. It's hideous.
An actor or two not giving their best is acceptable. 'Nannbenda', on the other hand, is an example of a basket of rotten eggs.
Comments
0 comment