The Rajiv Menon- Rahman combo has finally returned after a long break of 18 years .And we are presented with the type of visceral musical film that we missed since Minsara Kanavu (1997) KanduKondain Kandukondain (2000) that the duo are famous for during the late 90s. This time Menon has chosen a traditionally offbeat topic that is unlike any of his previous films - the topic of classical music itself (undoubtedly, a topic he would have chosen if he had continued making movies in the last decade). Rajiv Menon FIlms always had a cultural / or traditional element to them in the past be it acting or music, we had seen flashes of this aspect in his movies alongside postmodernist themes, and this time it is amplified.
The music for the film, scored by AR Rahman, shines in parts with some brilliant pieces occasionally (though admittedly, a notch below the times of Kandukondain Kandukondain or Minsara Kanavu). The duo has presented some of the finest background scores in tamil cinema in their previous ventures.The only gripe is that the background score is almost non existent throughout this movie.
The acting performances are terrific as with previous Rajiv Menon films. While the story as a whole is engaging to say at the very least, we miss seeing the star studded cast of Kandukondain Kandukondain and Minsara Kanavu. The cinematography is typical rajiv menon who uses the new advances in visual technology to great effect as he had done in his previous films. The camera is natural to begin with the usual close up and wide shots in Menon's films . I have always admired the prowess of Rajiv menon's cinematography in his earlier movies but Ravi Yadav has done a pretty good job with natural lighting and keeping up with the newer trends like sync sound and digital cinematography that became common in the 2000s.
Overall a great film and Rajiv menon's best , a magnum opus filled with aspiration and hope.
