Had the time today to take off to the nearest theatre where they screened Vishal’s “Sathyam”. It was a big surprise considering that apart from Rajni and Kamal, no other actor here has a decent audience and very rarely are films of other actors screened here in Cincinnati/Dayton/Columbus. This was proved in full measure by the crowd of 11 people today at the theatre (YES, it was just 11 including yours truly!).
Sathyam is a film that is technically stylish and well crafted but is badly executed. The audience are subject to quite a few irritating moments onscreen with fights that drag on forever, comedy that does not push a smile onto your face and the bad placement of the songs (songs were very good though) which prolonged the irritation. The film has its good and very good moments though with some interesting events leading us to expect whats going to happen next. But what proceeds is a big dampener to our expectations and thats what makes this a below average film. Since the film is also released in Telugu, quite a few scenes were shot in Telugu and have been dubbed into Tamil which stands out sorely. The characters talk in telugu and it doesnt look good to have them dubbed. This tactic wont work in Tamil mainstream cinema.
As I said above, all technical aspects of the film are well crafted. The camera is superb (R.D.Rajashekar who also directs this film; why does it say “A.Rajasekar” for director in the credits?) and it captures a car chase scene in breathtaking fashion. The editing is crisp in parts though it could have easily done away with at least 20 mins of the film (I hear that 20 mins have been cropped in Chennai screens; how I wish it had happened here?). The background music is good to hear though it is nothing new from Harris (the word ‘new and different’ doesnt seem to exist in HJ’s dictionary). The costumes and sets are all adapt and fit the film easily.
Coming to the performances, there are some really good ones but also ones where the characters are wasted in insignificant roles. Actors like Kota Srinivas Rao, Upendra, Premji Amaran, Sudha Chandran, etc are all wasted in their roles. They deserved better roles for their stature. Upendra puts in a very good performance but his role is pretty miniscule. Wonder why Sudha Chandran took up this role? Is she in financial stress? She again plays a woman with a leg problem (in real life, she doesnt have one leg). All the Telugu characters do their part fittingly. There was lot of build up for Nayanthara and the role that she had in the film. Though it was not a bad performance from her, her character was nothing to boast about. She tries her hand at comedy and falls flat (well like how she fell in the movie in cartoonish fashion!). She looks damn hot in the ‘Chellamay’ song and her chemistry with Vishal in that song is one of the best in Tamil cinema (you dont get to see such closeness too often). They look like a couple in love.
Vishal puts in a performance that is totally undeserving of the film that he acts in. His performance is truly outstanding. He lives the role of a straightforward cop, but he has chosen a very wrong script to put up this much effort. One big thing is the way he has built up his body to look a cop. According to me, no cop has looked this lean, fit and handsome in Tamil cinema (my opinion!). This film should win him a huge number of female fans. His acting has always been impressive and there is nothing new from him in this department. He can maybe work on his dialogue delivery when he speaks out dialogues in a fast tone, because clarity is voice is a little bit missing. Other than that, a knockout performance that the film absolutely doesnt deserve.
P.s: Vishal seems to be a hardcore Vijay fan. His dialogue “Naanga illana un thala irukathu” was in clear reference to Ajith and the word “naanga” shows a clear fact that he sides with Vijay in the battle with Ajith. I liked the dialogue, though I dont support Vishal doing it so early in his career (why build enemity?).
Overall Verdict: Fails to met expectations
Overall Rating: 4/10
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