Naan Avanillai - Review

By: Settu Shankar
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
Naan Avanillai is the first remake of a movie in the past four decades and it has become a pioneer for the remakes of more movies in Kollywood.

It is not an easy job to give a modern look to old classics like Naan Avanillai, a stylish product of veteran K.Balachander in 70's. However Selva, one of the disciples of KB hasn't damaged his mentor's name much and has made this movie as an enjoyable remake.

The original version had started with the court scene. But in the remake, Selva starts the film with the police hunt for a womanizer.Annamalai (Jeevan), a village innocent (a wise young man) is arrested and produced before a court on charges of making tall claims and marrying unsuspecting innocent women and later cheating them and running away with their money and jewels. The Judge (Lakshmi, who appeared as one of the heroines in the original version) listens to all the allegations in the crowded courtroom as Priya (Malavika), Ammu Kutty (Jyothirmayi), Radha (Keerthi Chawla) and Monica (Namitha), say that Annamalai had attracted them with honey- coated words and later married and conned them. For each of his victims, he had a different name, getup and the proclaimed profession.

The judge's daughter Anjali (Sneha), who had also been tricked into parting with some cash by the con man, takes a fascination for him as the case progresses. Meanwhile the police officer (Raj Kapoor) investigating the case finds out that he is none other than Joseph Fernandez, an intelligent student who due to bad influences has taken the easy way out by becoming a fraud and a trickster. To all the charges against him, the cool, smooth talking and confident Annamalai has only one constant answer- Naan Avanillai! (I'am not him - is it a correct translation?!). But the police team fails in proving allegations against him and the judge gives the benefit of doubt to Annamalai and asks for his release. After this verdict, there is another twist in the climax that thrills the viewers.

The image of 'Thiruttu Payale' has helped Jeevan a lot to excel in this character. He handles all his 5 characters (which he used to deceive the girls) with ease and style. He deserves all the praise for his dialogue delivery, improved body language and dedicated work.

All the 5 heroines have performed well; particularly it is Nameetha who steals the show with her glamourous looks and impeccable acting. Sneha just appears on screen as an ardent fan of Annamalai and the other girls have also performed well in their roles. Raj Kapoor have done his part with a professional touch.

Writer Pattukottai Prabhakar has penned apt dialogues for the situations. Particularly the climax summary of Jeevan wins the applause of the viewers. U.K. Senthil Kumar's camera and Suresh Urs' editing are some of the high points in the film. The remake of Classy 'Radha...Kadhal Varadha' by Vijay Antony irritates the viewers. Other songs also slow down the tempo of the somewhat racy script.

But one should accept a fact that the movie is pleasing to the viewers and make the film is a successful remake of an earlier classic.