Manigandan KR
Chennai, 27 Jan 2018 11:14 IST
Ace cinematographer Priyadarshan's film Nimir is the Tamil remake of the Malayalam superhit film, Maheshinte Prathikaaram. The film's cinematography is its biggest strength.
Ace cinematographer Priyadarshan's film Nimir is the Tamil remake of the 2016 Malayalam superhit film, Maheshinte Prathikaaram.
Like most other Priyadarshan films, this film too has class stamped all over it. It is a simple yet lovely story that is told with all sincerity and without any unnecessary drama or hype.
Selvam (Udhayanidhi Stalin) runs his father's (Mahendran) National Photo Studio in a small, but picturesque town of Tamil Nadu. A content man, Selvam's world revolves around his father, a brilliant photographer who has now retired, and the photo studio that he built. There is one other person special to Selvam and that happens to be Valli (Parvathi Nair). The childhood sweethearts plan to get married soon.
All is well until one day Valli’s parents choose to get her married to a wealthy police officer. Valli initially seems confused about the offer. But when her mother points out that her life would be more comfortable and settled with the police officer, she chooses to ditch Selvam for the other guy.
Selvam is heartbroken. But like a true gentleman, he doesn't stand in the way of her decision.
Almost at the same time, a strange set of developments result in a situation where Selvam is forced to fight a problem maker called Vellaiyappan (P Samuthirakani).
Vellaiyappan, a welder by profession, gives Selvam a sound thrashing for no fault of his. Selvam is humiliated in front of friends and well-wishers. The thrashing is so bad that Selvam vows to use footwear only after returning the beating he has received at the hands of Vellaiyappan.
Unfortunately for Selvam, Vellaiyappan leaves for Dubai soon after to take up a job there.
Then, one day, a college student called Malar (Namitha Pramod) turns up at Selvam’s photo studio and asks him to shoot a good picture of her, which she says she wishes to send to a magazine as part of a competition. The winning picture, she says, will be featured on the cover of the magazine.
When Selvam shows her the picture he has clicked of her, she stuns him by telling him that he does not know photography.
The truth in her statement stings Selvam, who gets offended. He immediately starts making an effort to understand his profession better. He starts paying attention to details and at one point, ends up clicking a few pictures of Malar without her knowledge. He mails these pictures to a magazine that is more than happy to publish it on their cover.
On seeing her picture adorn the magazine, Malar is impressed. She meets Selvam and soon, their acquaintance turns into friendship and then love.
Just when Selvam thinks of marrying Malar, she tells him that she is the sister of Vellaiyappan whom Selvam has pledged to give a good thrashing.
The film's cinematography is its biggest strength. Ekambaram’s cinematography is outstanding. Be it capturing the simple, rustic countryside or the pleasant flowing rivers, Ekambaram’s visuals often speak louder than the dialogues in the film.
The angles, the lighting and the choice of colours are all exceptional. The picturisation of the songs also deserve a special mention. To be honest, this was not totally unexpected as the film's director is an ace cinematographer himself.
The film has some wonderful performances. Udhayanidhi Stalin seems to have evolved into a much better actor with Nimir. The actor’s simple, natural reactions as Selvam makes his character a highly likeable one. There are no unnecessary sequences that glorify the character and Selvam is very much the boy-next-door.
Parvathi Nair as Valli does a good job as well. She comes across as being cute at first and then turns into the calculative deal seeker so convincingly, that you actually feel outraged over her decision.
Namitha Pramod as Malar steals the show with her performance. Be it showcasing her character’s naughty side or portraying Malar’s mature nature, Namitha is awesome. Samuthirakani as Vellaiyappan is perfect. The man gets into the skin of the character of Vellaiyappan with such elegance that he makes it seem effortless.
MS Baskar as Sada is the one who actually breathes life into the film in the initial stages.
The film has two music directors and both of them have done a fairly decent job.
In short, director-cinematographer Priyadarshan seems to have delivered yet another enjoyable film.