EVANO ORUVAN -UNGALIL ORUVAN

Nishikanth Kamath’s 'Evano Oruvan', a Tamil adaptation of Marathi film Dombivily Fast by the same director, tries to focus on the disgusting anomalies of the system.

The film opens with showing the routine of a family that lives in the outskirts of Chennai. The routine is full of struggles for various things like water, space in a train, time to relax, and of course, money.

Sridharan Vasudevan (Madhavan) is constantly disturbed by the corruptive and insensitive system. He is too sensitive to tolerate these things. He is too honest to indulge in dubious methods to fulfill his desires.

Result? He becomes unfit in the society. He is humiliated by everyone. His honesty is perceived as weakness by his wife (Sangeetha). The submissive man is provoked by his wife. Provoked by his colleagues. Provoked by the shop keepers.

The pressure grows. It gets more and more intensified by each passing day. One day he bursts into action. He turns violent.

The violence puts him in more isolation. He swings into impulsive action whenever and wherever he sees injustice. He is now chased by the police. Finally he is defeated but his actions touch the right chord in the public conscience.

Nishikanth Kamath has successfully depicted the pressure undergone by an ordinary citizen, who wants to live according to the laws and rules. The metamorphosis of the protagonist is convincingly portrayed. Nishikanth hasn’t shown him as a superman who could bring about miraculous change overnight. He has shown the power of righteous anger of an honest man and the limitations of an average middle class man. He raises sharp questions against the system on behalf of the ordinary citizen without providing any solution.

The director has conceived and executed many scenes well. The telephonic conversation between husband and wife is one such scene. The two living in two different worlds unsuccessfully trying to communicate with each other has been excellently portrayed. Seeman’s introspective conversation with his wife in the midnight too stands out. The investigation process – particularly the interrogation with the wife – is credible. The character of the beggar boy is etched out well.

The director however, slips in his approach to the script and the concept. Though Sridharan’s outburst against the shop owner is a stupid act, it can still be accepted as a natural outburst of a terribly disturbed man. But the stupidity continues and the film moves on the same path. The film struggles to move ahead. Madhavan and Seeman keep on churning out thought provoking messages. The ending is touching but not revealing.

If you look in to the concept, you feel less convinced. The focus on social deceases is not new to Indian cinema. The movie tries to approach the whole issue from an ordinary citizen’s perspective. It doesn’t offer any solution. But it shows the violence of a frustrated man. Does the director suggest that everyone should be ready to come to the streets to fight the system? But then he also advises through an old man that this method is not acceptable.

What does Nishikanth want to convey? Is he just content by highlighting the problems? Does he want to warn about a possible middle class upsurge against the system? Does he, at the same time, want to advise the middle class that violence is not the solution? Or does he just want to tell you the story of Sridharan Vasudevan?

Why can’t Nisjikanth see thousands of youth in India sacrificing their comforts to make a difference in the society? Why can’t he see many middle class citizens go beyond criticizing the society and render their services to see a better world? There is no doubt that Nishikant has made an honest attempt to highlight the darker side of our society and the system. But he has done it with some striking inadequacies.

Performance wise, Madhavan has done a commendable job as Shridharan Vasudevan. He has amazingly handled varied emotions of agony, despair, and anger. The metamorphosis of Sridharan is credibly portrayed. He has successfully underplayed the emotions in many places. His outburst in the midnight scene too is effective.

Seeman as a police officer with heart and self criticism is outstanding. He has never gone overboard. He has shown a lot of improvements as an actor. His successful rendition could well make him a full time actor.

Sangeetha has once again proved her caliber. She has handled her role as a middle class housewife with ease. Her performance is almost perfect. She excels in the scene when she blasts her husband for his inaction and the scene when she breaks down after losing him.

Te background score by P. Sameer is highly effective. The camera work by Sanjay Jadav is marvelous. The visual quality is superior and the lightings are natural. G.V. Prakash Kumar’s tune for the sole song is touching.

Madhavan’s effort in penning the dialogues is the surprise of the movie. The actor has proved his mettle as a writer too.

Overall, Nishikanth has made a sincere and commendable effort. He has executed many scenes well and extracted some top class performances. Had he worked more meticulously on focusing his ideas and the way they have been translated into a film, 'Evano Oruvan' could have been a memorable experience.