Amma Kanakku - Visitor Review

Wunderbar Films (Dhanush) after Kaaka Muttai and Visaranai has produced Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari’s remake of Nil Battey Sannata in Tamil. A feel good drama at heart, Amma Kannaku essentially is about the relationship between a mother and her daughter while highlighting the importance of education. Amala Paul is very convincing as the passionate widower with one of her better performances on screen.  When it comes to supporting roles, the performances and the casting were average. The cartoonish portrayal of a teacher by Samuthrakani is melodramatic and doesn’t add credence to the narrative. The cinematography of the film is one of it’s biggest strengths which is tune with the mood of the film. The editing of the film didn’t quite bring out the screenplay cohesively which is also linked with lacklustre writing.

The music of the film by Maestro Ilaiyaraaja is the biggest strength of the movie. Although the songs (mini tracks), as a stand-alone album might not be very popular, they blend well with the situations. The score of the film is perfection of an art and that alone is worth the ticket price. After a long time, title score of a film is really worth mentioning. For people who might not be familiar with Ilaiyaraaja’s mastery in the BGM, this movie is an example of how the score of a film can lift and save scenes. The instrumentation and arrangement are in tune with the overall theme of the film. The Maestro scores music exactly when needed and the silences in between stand testament to his mastery. The score is nothing short of extraordinary in emotional scenes.

The dialogues are one of the low points of the movie which fail to provide the necessary impact. The character introductions and the scene set-ups were not done well which again have robbed this movie of its impact. The characterization and the dialogues also don’t match which further takes the audience away from the screen. With more script re-writes and better dialogues, this film could have turned out to be better.  The noble message at heart of the Amma Kannaku didn’t quite transform well onto the screen.