We love movies; they are the best way to sit back, do nothing and still enjoy. But the industry, however, thrives on critical acclaims. While everyone has matured to reality, there still are many of those fantasy movies that work the magic. Most often, these are love tales, told with a twist. And here comes from the director of 'Naan', the story of an immortal masterpiece. But how much a masterpiece it is, falls under the lens.
Story
High school love triangle. That pretty much sums it up all. Jeeva and Karthika love each other. Jeeva's friend Balaji tries to interlude and mislead the two, as he has feelings for Karthika. How innocent love story takes a life threatening twist and whether or not the two get to hold hands again, is the story of 'Amara Kaaviyam' in a nutshell.
Screenplay
For every story to strike the right chord, it has to be aided by a convincing screenplay, and Jeeva Shankar sure has managed to present one such. The spacing and sequence of events are as good and justifying as they can be, for the story. Sathya is not new to the camera, and he has emoted well as Jeeva in most of the scenes especially the ones where he is madly in love and is blinded to sense, by his own commitment. Mia is making her debut in Tamil through this movie, and she has displayed her potential very well. The team, as a whole, has collaborated and worked well together.
Experience
Irrespective of the story of any movie, what appeals to us best, as audience, is the emotional connect the movie establishes with us. And two of the most important contributors to this are cinematography and music. Given that the film is set in late eighties, it could have easily gotten away with the musical genre typical of the yesteryears, but Ghibran made it a point to make it sound contemporary and his tunes for the film is truly beautiful. The composer has matched up to his album with equally good score, making it a soothing auduo experience. And the director's own cinematography of beautiful beyond description! One must watch to experience the pristine beauty of nature captured on roll. Costume designs have also been done tastefully.
The Plus
Certainly, music, cinematography and the lead pair's acting skills take the front seat and hog the limelight. Choice of music and motion for the penultimate fight sequence, have been done intelligently. Overall flow of the movie is also clear, though predictable almost throughout.
And the not so good
To begin with, the story is a tad too unrealistic; especially that parents seeming to be this lineant is too much to take and inappropriate. The story is nothing but a lot of eccentricity around love and how the couple (mis)handle it and ultimately (mis)understand each other to a miserable point that ends the story. This fails to impact audience first hand. While most part of the costumes were chosen carefully, somebody seems to have missed the shoes that have nothing to do with 1980s. It is alright to retain the photo of crush/love in secracy, but how one would get access to blown up portfolios is a mystery. The fight sequence in slow motion is a novel idea, but the team could have considered a retake, as it blatantly stares out as fake. Adding to the anomaly are school kids getting to ride motor vehicles on a regular basis, finding a bike to maneuver around in an all-new city, and many such other details.
Love stories are far and wide the flavour of Indian cinema, and the ones based on real incidents are received even better than the others. But 'Amara Kaaviyam' is a far cry from realism. There is love and a bit of reality in it which cannot be denied. But, the picture would have stood out as a movie, if only it had more of convincing stories, than be credited solely for the immaculate camera and impeccable music. Overall, the film is about love in abundance, which sadly fails to appeal in practicality, given the incoherent eccentricity.
Rating: 1.5/5 Verdict: Great technicals, but a sad story that fails miserably
