Jeeva (Tamil, 2014)

With Jeeva, Suseenthiran’s value has increased considerably. His treatment of this emotional drama with Cricket (right from gully to motta-madi to mat to turf wicket) as its backdrop is phenomenal. The films works at a different level if you imagine Cricket as a metaphor for the opportunities that life provides & how easily hard work can go waste if fate intervenes.

Vishnu Vishal who plays the titular role, is an apt choice. Being one of the genuinely down-to-earth actors around, he possesses the extraordinary ability to express realistic roles with élan. Sridivya as his pair has a well-etched role & their combination looks fantastic on screen. Her antics with Jeeva during the adolescent age are written very well contrary to public opinion, while she scores with her expressions during her college-going phase in the second half.

As he did with Munishkanth in Mundasupatti, Vishnu has magnanimously given space for supporting actors with Lakshman Narayan who plays Ranjith being the beneficiary here. Lakshman is brilliant when his eyes well-up at the betrayal & mouth spews venom at the selectors. A lovely touch by Suseenthiran when he cuts between scenes of Jeeva’s dad being comforted by his friend and Ranjith comforting Jeeva.

When deciding to forgo his drinking habit & when immediately apologizing to Charlie after berating him, Marimuthu as Jeeva’s dad shines and gets generous applause from the audience. The other supporting actors who deserve a mention are Charlie (who is almost a second dad to Jeeva), Soori (who is spectacular as the senior member of the cricket club) & Ravi (Jeeva’s coach).

Madhie’s framing during the love portions and his angles capturing the right cricketing moments are perfect. Similarly, the editor Ruben shows his skill with his precise cuts playing a huge role in the cricket action being ultra-realistic on screen. Imman amps up the second half with his stunning background score while the lyrics of each song from the Vairamuthu family match wonderfully with the onscreen situation.

It is quite easy to say that Suseenthiran should not have bowed down to commercial considerations by allowing songs in this film. In his defense, one can say that all the songs are fresh & placed correctly with the exception of the standard TASMAC song which sticks out like a really sore thumb.