Naan Rajavaga Pogiren Movie Review

Sometimes when you are regaling your friends with a story, you tend to be a bit long winded about it, until your friends tell you to stop taking a detour and get to the point. Something like that happens with the telling of 'Nan Rajavaga Pogirein' .  Director Prithviraj Kumar  comes up  with such an elaborate tableau that he takes nearly two and half hours to tell the story. This is a film about love, but it takes a detour  around activism, about genetically modified crop,  about goondaism and street fights  and a few other things as well.  Like Jeeva (Nakul) who sets off from Himachal Pradesh with the aim of reaching Chennai, but makes an impulsive stop in Bhopal, the director begins well and sets up the suspense angle well, but  he  stops here and there to focus on minor characters.

Jeeva slinks out of home after leaving an note for his mother (Seetha) and heads to Chennai, in search of Raja, a kick boxer during his college days , who falls in love with a law college student activist Valli (Chandini). But his best friend Reema ( Avani Modi) is in love with him. A nice triangle, you think, when suddenly the director spins a 'carrom ball' your way. Valli's life is in danger, because she  questions the alleged suicide of  Kamaraj Manivannan), an activist  against genetically modified crops. Isakimuthu (A Venkatesh), who is all for GM crops,  pays hired killers to get her. On nearly half a dozen occasions, Raja manages to keep a step ahead of the goons, and when he is unable to, he bashes them up. But there comes a time when he is badly beaten up and knifed as well.

What happens to Raja and what is the role of Jeeva in getting the better of the goons, and which of the girls get Raja  are interesting turns . Nakul pulls off what is required of him, but sadly, we cant say the same of the two heroines. Avani's  lip sync is off key many times, while Chandini doesn't  yet have the ability to pull of emotional scenes.

GV Prakash's back ground music rolls,  roils , gentles and thunders as the situation demands,  but the flow of the story is marred by the songs, although a couple of them in the first half are enjoyable, with some  good, signature  choreography by Brinda  . The item number  by Zarine Khan which though not bad tests your patience no end  because of its timing.  Velraj's camerawork is praiseworthy, specially in the fight scenes (good stunt work there) and some of the rain shots are not too bad either. Vetrimaran's dialogues are good most of the time, but some have the flavor of a 'medai pechu'.

The only problem with the film is that it is good only in places . Had the director trimmed the screenplay, and fielded fewer characters, this might have been more enjoyable. In its current form it is as enjoyable as the noontime Chennai weather.

Verdict : Could have been better

Stars : 2.5 /5