BANGALORE NAATKAL MOVIE REVIEW

What invokes a filmmaker to do a remake? If a movie brims with charm, that's his/her sign. Lately, Malayalam industry seems to be producing all the charm. Has  Bangalore Naatkal, the remake of one of Malayalam industry's biggest hits of 2014, Bangalore Days, managed to recreate the charm of its original? Read on…

 

Bangalore Naatkal is the story of three cousins, played by Arya, Sri Divya and Bobby Simha, their relationships, struggles, adaptation and pursuit of a congenial way to survive.

 

Despite its breezy outlook, Bangalore Naatkal has a strong storyline and is high on emotions. However refreshing it might be to look at lead trio onscreen, one might feel the emotion filled sequences, which form the core, are a bit too bland. Same is the case with Rana Daggubatti who is reprising Fahad Fazil’s role in this film. The well built actor scores better in the scenes involving Samantha, with his rugged persona and carefree attributes.

 

Parvathy and Saranya Ponvannan turn out to be the top scorers of the lot. Parvathy reproduces her charm perfectly of her character from the original and Saranya Ponvannan, so incredible that she is, has given an electric performance, filled with humour and high spirit. Proved performers like Samantha and Prakash Raj have very brief roles and they vanish before creating any impact.

 

A major drawback in the film is its screenplay. Some pivotal scenes don't have appropriate closure; the effect being abrupt shifts and lack of communication of the intended emotions to the audience.

 

While it is a common belief that actors must be able to accommodate themselves into the shoes of any characters, it is also important in some situations that the actors must characteristically share few traits of the roles they play in order to stay connected. Overall casting is a serious issue in Bangalore Naatkal that the director could have put in more thoughts into.

 

Gopi Sundar's songs and background scores are refreshing. Guhan's cinematography is apt, particularly the race sequence is a job definitely well done. However, same couldn't be said about the editing. Although functional in most parts, Marthand K Venkatesh's work is jumpy in a few places - to point out one, the black dips in the close up shots involving Arya during an emotional sequence in the end. Dialogues too fail to connect with the audience, owing to its juvenility and artificiality.

 

Overall, despite its lively storyline, Bangalore Naatkal is let down by the treatment and casual performances.