Attakathi Review – Attakathi Movie Review, Attakathi Movie Rating, Attakathi Tamil Movie, Attakathi Cast and Crew
Cast: Dinesh, Nanditha, Aishwarya, Velu, Meenakshi
Direction: Pa Ranjith
Genre: Romance
Duration: 2 hours 26 minutes
Attakathi Movie Review:
Synopsis: Dinakaran (Dinesh) is a roadside Romeo who can't help falling in love with girls at the hint of their smile. Still, true romance is something that eludes him. Will Dina find it in Poornima ( Nanditha), the girl who had rejected him once but is now moving a bit too closely with him?
Movie Review: For the happy-go-lucky Dina, who tries too hard to impress girls but always comes a cropper in his efforts to woo them, rejection doesn't spell dejection. He clearly knows that sorrow isn't his style and in one of Attakathi's many chuckle-inducing scenes, he goes to watch a T Rajendar weepie (Rayil Payanangalil) to get into the pathos mood! And even that grief lasts only until he sets sight on the next girl and then, he cheerfully goes through the same routine (daredevilry on the bus, fist fights, flirting and the works).
It is these first 10 minutes of Attakathi that offer a glimpse of first-time filmmaker Pa Ranjith's prowess as a director. In this very short time, he not only establishes the unabashedly flirtatious character of his lead (Dina even dallies with two coquettish girls at the same time) but also sets the tone of the film closer to his lead's character. The buoyant score by Santhosh Narayanan, peppered with raw gaanas and a jaunty accordion theme, acts as an effective counterpoint to the rawness of the visuals and adds to the liveliness.
But, despite its lighter, playful tone, Attakathi isn't a humorous film. It is fun but not funny. Ranjith uses humour only as an ironic device to establish and reinforce time and again the fact that his protagonist is unheroic and almost quixotic. And, Dinesh finds the right pitch to portray this character; Dina, dubbed with the unsparing moniker Attakathi by his friends on account of his innumerable flop shows, might not be a serious character but he isn't a joker either. This is what makes the character — and the film — refreshingly different.
The film begins in the year 2000 when we see Dina as a young man awaiting his higher secondary arrears exam (he has repeatedly failed in English) but who introduces himself as a BA History student. We get to know his equally hopeless friends, his quirky, dysfunctional family and of course, his 'failed' romances — with school girl Poornima (who calls him 'Anna'), neighbour Amudha (who ends up marrying his brother) and the double whammy of employed girls, Nathiya and Divya (which ends in a fist fight). The fact that the actresses playing these romantic interests are girl-next-door types (and not stunning) adds a realistic touch to the whole affair(s). And, all four perform with a fair amount of competency that only makes them more believable.
Later, we travel along with Dina through his college years (circa 2002-04), which also marks the re-entry of Poorni (Nanditha) in his life. Even as he tries to avoid getting snubbed yet again, much to his bewilderment, Poorni starts sending out 'positive signals'.
It is in this segment that Ranjith shows signs of indecisiveness; scenes linger a little longer than needed, seem repetitive and at times, even unwarranted (Dina succumbing to temptations and getting physical with a woman on the bus!). The climax is a bit of a cheat as the director repeats a trick that felt much more plausible in the earlier segment involving Amudha. While it is evident that Ranjith is only trying to be realistic in keeping with his hero's character, he could have foreshadowed this twist, which leaves you with the feeling of having the rug pulled from under your feet. Even the film's tone alarmingly gets close to being all too serious, but by then, we have been won over by this character that we are ready to forgive the lapse. And, thankfully, Ranjith too gets his groove back and gives us a delightful epilogue to end the film in style.
