24- Visitor Review

Not just as an actor, but as a producer as well, Surya has elevated himself to the next higher level by producing a magnum opus, ‘24’. In order to achieve a target of delivering a movie like ‘24’, an actor of Suriya’s stature should possess an extraordinary conviction, determination and hunger. Obviously, from the outcome of the movie, one can easily perceive that Suriya possesses all such traits.

Suriya has the tendency of selecting movies belonging to different genres. But, right from ‘7aum Arivu’, his movies did not offer him the much needed scope for the kind of prowess and calibre in acting that the actor in Suriya possesses. The movie, ‘24’ has provided such a kind of scope to a certain extent. Suriya has brought in ample variations between the mannerisms, body language and the dialogue deliveries of the three roles that he has rendered in this flick. Portrayal of Suriya as ‘Manikandan’ tends to be a reminiscent of the depiction of his previous works. But, the way in which he has represented the roles of ‘Athreya’ and ‘Sethuraman’ is unique. Suriya as ‘Athreya’ has spearheaded the acting arena of ‘24’ and in the way, he positions himself in the electric wheelchair is eye-catching. Via his menacing act as ‘Athreya’, Suriya has given a tough fight to the awesomatic ‘My Twin Brother’ theme that has been composed by A.R.Rahman. Suriya should have been provided much more scenes for him to portray the villainous ‘Athreya’.

Whether it is her acting or her demeanour, in ‘24’, one can witness the unpretentious version of Samantha. The role of Samantha is not a game changer. But, it is a signature contributor. Portions involving Samantha provide lighter moments in an otherwise a gloomy cinema.

As a caring mother of a baby and as a loving wife, Nithya Menen has done a quite decent job.
One doesn’t get bored of watching Saranya Ponvannan playing the role of a mother. In ‘24’, she gets to play the role of a foster mother, ‘Sathyabama’ to Suriya. There is a scene in the second half of the movie, which involves Saranya and Suriya, where she expresses her motherly rights on Suriya, to him.

Ajay as Mithran tends to be a loyal assistant to his boss, ‘Athreya’ and travels with him throughout the movie.

Girish Karnad, Sudha and Mohan Raman have been provided with minimal roles and have offered what their roles demand. A scene where Saranya Ponvannan meets her family after a long time gap is where everyone involved, have invested their efforts.

The movie, ‘24’ doesn’t demand the inclusion of a mainstream comedian. But, it needs humorists who could travel with the flow of the movie. Actors like Sathyan and Appukutty fit this bill.

‘Aararoo’, ‘My Twin Brother’ and ‘Kaalam En Kadhali’ score over the other tracks of the album and blend with the course of the movie well.

Top-notch visual effects are one of the strong areas of ‘24’. Tirru’s cinematography has rendered fresh visuals. In most parts of the movie, a brown colour tone has been coated over the visuals. There are a number of small elements such as the key that is meant to unlock the case in which the ‘Project 24’ watch is placed and the words that are etched at the back of the ‘Project 24’ watch, which play a significant role in this movie. Such elements have been closely captured in a number of shots. These shots have been scissored effectively by Prawin Pudi. Thereby, such elements get registered in the minds of the audience well. Scene that is placed just before the ‘Kaalam En Kadhali’ song has been executed well. This clip deserves unanimous thumbs up. Editing seems to be patchy in ‘Naan Un’ song.

Vikram Kumar has not just opted for an out-of-the-box storyline but also has devised a set of ideas to make the narration interesting and has done a decent execution. In the first half of the movie where Suriya does a set of actions to test the functionalities of the ‘Project 24’ watch is interesting. All the set of actions that Suriya does, in no way sets a bad example. In a scene, the director has sown the practice of a good habit to not spit the chewing gum on the road. Jocular sequences involving Suriya, Samantha, Saranya Ponvannan and Appukutty have been executed well. Repetition of certain dialogues of Suriya could have been avoided in these portions. Light-hearted ending to the movie provides us a good feel. In the earlier part of the second half of the movie, Saranya Ponvannan’s family names Samantha as ‘Sathyabama’ as Saranya has left the family 26 years ago to take care of Suriya who was a baby then. But, in the climax, the younger version of Samantha is addressed as ‘Sathyabama’ when Saranya Ponvannan is still with them. Placement of songs in the first half of the movie doesn’t bother the flow of the cinema. But, emplacing ‘Naan Un’ song in the second half further upsets the course of the already sluggish screenplay.

Tamil film audience have always been ready to accept experimental attempts in Tamil Cinema on a condition that the movies need to entertain them in the best way possible.

When an experimental attempt is done, financially on a larger scale, then the target set should be to impress all the set of audience. ‘24’ is such an experimental attempt. It is up to the audience to make this movie do wonders at the box office. Following suit, other filmmakers will also plunge into experimentation. Ultimately, it is going to do favours for the Tamil Film Industry.