R.Parthiban directorial Iravin Nizhal is an experimental film which is said to a single-shot attempt for the whole movie. Read on to know has the film stayed up o its expectations or not.

Premise

Portrays the life of a mysterious man named Nandu, played by Parthiban himself whose real purpose is revealed only in the end. His sour past, the pain he faced, what short path he took to succeed and what he is up to now forms the story.

Writing/ Direction

The theatrical version of the first half showcases the making of the film. Truly a remarkable achievement by the whole team, every single person from all the departments has to be at the perfect meter to pull off something like this. Beautifully registers the stupendous effort too. The crux is appreciable, also revealing it in the climax makes more sense. But the screenplay isn’t tight enough to hold for 100 minutes, engages to an extent at places but predominantly because of the storytelling style and wacky voice-overs. Because of choosing the single-shot making pattern for a non-linear narrative, there are certain restrictions and they’ve been conveniently corrected by bringing in a first person explanatory angle. There are quite a few clap-worthy moments, humour dialogues in Parthiban zone were very much enjoyable. Plenty of characters cross in the lead character’s life, despite the immense potential, somehow the delivery isn’t as powerful as it should be, considering the impact they all made on the central character. The film picks up well towards the end as the drama becomes relatable and the subplots which opened up earlier get a solid closure. Matching to the narrative pattern, the craftsman has incorporated some smart elements that cheer the audience at times.

Performances

Parthiban has enacted his part pretty well, though there are places where his performance goes overboard, his dialogue delivery is great, and gets a big round of applause for placing certain quirky words at frequent intervals. Varalakshmi Sarathkumar and Robo Shankar are the other two known faces in the film, their characterization is weak, so their presence missed out to stand apart. There are plenty of unknown artists who have done a fabulous job by adapting to the format, thus the neat presentation.

Technicalities

It’s definitely a challenging film for everyone involved, the cinematography team gets a Himalayan task done with easing grace. Pure wonder by the people behind the camera to have made this impossible thought possible. Delightful score by A.R.Rahman, he has worked as the pillar of support and made sure its a differently sounding film as well. Songs have a nice variety and carry some soulful tunes with meaningful lyrics. What an innovative way to give credits for the art of editing, by mentioning ‘Without Editing’ in the title card.

Bottomline

There are certain lows in the screenplay that pulls down the engagement value and the film is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. Yet manages to hold to an extent and surely a fascinating attempt. Making is the King here, an outstanding representation of new-age cinema. Kudos to the team effort.

Rating - 3/ 5