What’s Hot

  • Director Jeeva Sankar (of Naan fame) has to be lauded for a few things – Right at the top of that list is the fact that he has made a school-love themed film with a deft-touch, mature characters & devoid of unwarranted commercial elements/vulgarity.
  • The film’s screenplay is tight – stays with its core element for the entirety & uncompromising to the ‘fast-pace’ whimsical needs of the modern movie-goers.
  • The film’s lead Sathya (brother of actor Arya, producer of this flick) has come up with a strong showing with a neat character that underplays well. If he chooses his films carefully, he is in for a long haul. The heroine Mia George, for a change, is not the debonair diva dolls we get to see in films, yet, is adorable and plays her role quite well.
  • The supporting cast deserves a special mention – It is one of those rare films with a limited set of characters (not more than 10), each one having significant scope & the cast members (right from the hero’s guardian dad to the psychiatrist doctor) have looked the part and have performed admirably well.
  • Ghibran’s inspiring background score is part of the film’s core & he doesn’t let down with the songs as well – There are a few hummable montage songs that captivate.
  • The director is the film’s cinematographer too & that always presents the invisible sync. The beauty of the Nilgiris captured to perfection.
  • Good attention to detail has been paid to suit the period the film represents (1988 ) examples being the MilkBikis cover, Horlicks bottle, the poster of the quintessential film of that year (Sathya) Poster etc.

What’s Not

  • The way the love gets established & the intensity of it is not shown very well. It is just a number of repetitive ‘I Love You’ scenes which present a few moments of sag in the first half.
  • A few clichés have seemingly been unavoidable (The lover who comes in the end; the slow-mo fight are examples).

Badges

Verdict

Verdict Stamp

Amara Kaaviyam may not be the immortal epic its name translates to, but is nevertheless a honest film that stays true to its core for its run-time and makes for a definite non-regrettable watch for the sincere efforts of the cast & crew.