Rajini is a girl in her teens, seeking refuge in India after being forced to leave Sri Lanka due to the ongoing civil war. She narrates the memories of her loved ones and how her life is thrown out of sorts with a few near death experiences courtesy of natural and manmade disasters, which is also the same fate suffered by scores of other victims of the war. A suspense filled depiction of her life’s events forms the core of the story.
Language:
Tamil
Running Time:
123 min
Rating:
U
Release date:
28 March 2014
Directed by:
Santosh Sivan
Produced by:
Mubina Rattonsey
Santosh Sivan
Written by:
Santosh Sivan
Zazy
Sharanya Rajagopal
Starring:
Sugandha Ram
S. Karan
Saritha
Karunas
Shyam Sundar
Music by:
Vishal Chandrashekhar
Shot by:
Santosh Sivan
Editing by:
T. S. Suresh
Distributed by:
Thirrupathi Brothers

What’s Hot

  • Sugandha Ram makes an earnest effort to essay the role of Rajini, an orphan who tries to lead a confident life in an environment filled with uncertainty and the fear of death at the hands of warring ethnic groups and armed forces. She also portrays well the romantic desires of a teenaged woman in need of solace.
  • The support cast comprising of Saritha as ‘Tsunami’ Akka, the godmother of kids orphaned in the war and Karunas are particularly well characterised. The best of the lot is S. Karan as Nandan who plays himself as an autistic boy. He mouths few of the most memorable words in the movie and contributes to the proceedings with his innocent humour.
  • The director Santosh Sivan has to be commended for taking up a sensitive issue which is still at the core of controversial world politics. He has also strictly ensured that he doesn’t deviate from the original intention of narrating a story of the refugee. He does not make an attempt to justify the actions of the warring parties, which enables to lay more emphasis on the gravity of the situation at the ground level.
  • The sky high expectations from the lens of Santosh Sivan are not to disappoint anyone. The ample scope provided by the forest backdrop used in guerrilla warfare is captured in amazing detail with the help of the rich resources of flora and fauna available in the jungles.

What’s Not

  • One would expect the background score to play an important role in a narrative filled with violent encounters. But the BGM is quite ordinary and plain at many places which puts undue burden on the visuals to bring out the complete mood of the scenes being depicted.

Badges

Verdict

Verdict Stamp

An honest and artistic narration of the story of a refugee from a war stricken nation, which hits you hard with the brutality of war without sowing any seeds of bias or prejudice.