Making sense with a little silence

I overheard a conversation between two fellow movie audience members during the break --  "this movie has been shot in a short film style. It doesn’t look like a full length feature film". I personally feel it doesn’t matter. The movie is yet another interesting attempt by burgeoning movie makers and of course Balaji Mohan is to be observed closely going forward, because one cannot fake it for the second time :-P. Vaayai Moodi Paesavum is quite a witty take on several important serious issues in the society today. They've tried to wrap it around the most forgotten, extremely essential message - "Just shut the trap. Talk  what is right at the right time". How often do we forget when to close our mouth? Whether it makes sense or not, whether it is called for or not, whether it affects someone or not, we continue yapping. Most of the ruckus around can be cleared  with just minding what one speaks and speaking the right thing at the right time. yes, I'm happy about the moral of the story. And I should say that the crew has done justice to the way it has been written and shot. There was a clear, detailed definition of the lead characters in the movie. Dulquer Salmaan is fresh to Tamil cinema. What brings a relief is that he has dubbed in his own voice and his accent does not have a Malayalam influence to it. Nazriya who is most often trapped in a bubbly-young-girl image has tried the flip side in this movie. The contrast between the lead characters and how they come along is written in an interesting manner.

 

Apart from the main plot, the sub-plots keep the rhythm going. The sustained silence brings out the most precious in each of the characters. There was realization and discovery in each of them portrayed, right from the artistically inclined kid to the non-forgiving old couple.  It would be absurd not be intrigued by the name “Vedanthangal Veedu” (“Annai Illam” and “Siragugal” are the most repeated when it comes to Tamil movies. It was such a relief to see something different.). Just shows how thoughtful the creative team had been. The obvious spoof of the media TRP drama and hunger strikes cannot be forgotten. what makes it all the more funnier is how “Javvu mittai” makes and breaks relationships ;-)

 

The challenge  when it comes to this movie was the half an hour of the film of complete silence-the non-yapping zone. In fact it made me feel it would be awesome to have something like that in reality. For a movie, it is a risky attempt. You might lose the audience if they do not understand what you are trying to convey or if they are simply bored. Balaji has tried to use simple gestures and easy to understand conversations (of course without opening the mouth) to keep it simple. The re-recording definitely deserves an applause for this half an hour. The music helped in conveying the message better when everything else was silent. It wasn’t overpowering neither was it underplaying. To keep up with the funny tone set right from the beginning, the usage of back ground music similar to that of "Silent movie era"(yes, I got reminded of Charlie Chaplin movies) has helped. Though not all the songs caught my attention, "Kadhal ara onnu vizhundhuchu" is in my playlist. Muthamizh has come up with some interesting metaphors in this song. ShakthiShree Gopalan need not have been roped in for this number. Any singer would have done justice, a talent as unique as Shakthishree was not required. "Sundaralingam sir" quick cut song was creative. Usage of fresh faces always delights me. Good acting skills is more than a plus. Apart from the introduction of fresh faces, this movie has brought back some of the experienced artists after a long break. Madhu Bala and Vinuchakravarthi are not to be forgotten. Lovely MadhuBala in specific has come back with so much grace. I would love to look as young and lovely as her when I’m in my forties;-) Her character portrayal was also very special. People will definitely remember her for this role.

 

I would say there was message overload for one movie. Too many takeaways  at one go. But my best bet was “A little silence could stir things up to the level of re-discovering or transforming oneself bringing the best to the surface. Shouldn’t hurt to try it sometime”.