Mundasupatti (Tamil, 2014)

It is very tough to convert a short film into an entertaining full length feature film and one has to say that in spite of the slow pacing, director Ram kumar has succeeded in doing just that. His effort in getting the Coimbatore slang and the positioning of the dialogues has lifted the film many notches. Hats off for coming up with the rip-roaring one-liners especially, “துருப்பிடிச்ச துப்பாக்கிக்கு எதுக்குடா தோட்டா”.

Vishnu in a full-length comedy role for the very first time, plays the photographer Gopi. He effortlessly glides through scenes with seemingly minimal effort and his expressions in the love portions are top notch. Even with minimal dialogues between them, Gopi’s equation with the heroine, Nandita is fantastic and they complement each other very well.

It would not be wrong to state this film rests on the broad shoulders of Kaali Venkat (who plays the role of the hero’s sidekick) and Ramadoss who plays the role of Muniskanth, a wannabe actor. Their subtle one-liners keep the audience in splits and they have performed exceedingly well. Their body language &dialogue modulation are a class apart and they are here to stay for a very long time in Tamil cinema. The guy who plays the village priest also makes his mark.

Sean Roldan’s background score although repetitive and a bit too high at places making it tough for the audience to hear the dialogues, is definitely catchy and the songs are impressive too. All the songs are montages and have been captured beautifully highlighting the vibrant village colors, by the cameraman P.V.Shankar. His lighting & slow motion shots are also ones to savor.

Gopi Anand’s art direction and James Abraham’s retro costumes transport us into the 1980s setting. The props associated with that period have been aptly shown. The shirts worn by the male members are eye-catching literally and figuratively.