'Nawab', starring an array of actors, is a crime saga directed by Mani Ratnam. Dubbed from Tamil, it hit the screens this Thursday. Here is our review of the technically-superior film.
Story:
The story opens with Bhupathi (Prakash Raj), a crime baron who luckily escapes an assassination bid. His family, the crime world and the cops are clueless as to who made the daring attempt on the don's life.
Inside the family, there is a simmering rivalry between the sons, who are not-so-secretive about their ambitions. Varada (Arvind Swamy) sees himself as the heir apparent while Thyagu (Arun Vijay), the second son, is a cold-blooded calculative personality openly eyeing the throne. The third one, Rudra (Simbu), who nobody minds much, also returns to stake his claim. The shady cop Rasool (Vijay Sethupathi), the childhood friend of Varada, also seems to be in the fray.
A bloody war intensifies after the interval. The four contenders have their own flaws and share of tribulations. Who emerges the winner is a matter of suspense till the end.
Analysis:
What works the best in 'Nawab' is the perfect casting. The intense scene set on a ship in Dubai where Simbu taunts and tempts Arun Vijay to join forces is charged. With an ordinary cast, you can't entertain the audience with such scenes. Similarly, every time Arvind Swamy and Vijay Sethupathi come together, the air is pregnant with impending doom. There is a crowd-pleasing scene between Vijay Sethupathi and Simbu. As promised, the most remarkable aspect of the film is the climax twist that few would have seen coming the way it does.
Mani Ratnam after a long time has gone back to his favorite genre, the crime drama that has shades of both 'The Brothers Karamazov' by Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Maria Puzo's 'The Godfather'. The characterizations are interesting, and the staging authentic.
The theme of the mistakes of the parents affecting their children in many ways is driven home with precision. There is empathy that Mani's films and their characters can never do without.
On the flip side, the film is really big till 10 minutes into the second half. There are been-there-done-that moments here and there. The way the gang wars are handled seems too ordinary, considering the man behind the megaphone.
How Varada's character becomes powerless is not told convincingly. The action scenes could have been far better. The fighting scene in Kathmandu, for example, is hardly the kind of stuff you would expect in a Mani Ratnam multi-starrer.
After a point, the vulnerability of Jyothika's character starts to bore. Arvind Swamy's helplessness doesn't evoke much sympathy. There is intrigue but it is not manifested in a gripping way through the screenplay.
Simbu's softer side attracts in the beginning where he showers love on his mother and girlfriend. Once his grand ambitions surface, he transforms into a ruthless animal who is in his elements till the last frame. Arun Vijay has put in a nice performance as the two-faced Thyagu who alternates between calm and crazy. Arvind Swamy as the eldest brother is a revelation (the one who dubbed for him comes with a heavy tone) as the hot-headed elder son who is always on the edge. Jyothika as the long-suffering wife of Varada has a meaty role to play which she does with authority. Aishwarya Rajesh as the Sri Lankan girl Renu looks very pretty and gains sympathy when she meets an unwarranted fate. Aditi Rao Hydari as the journalist and illegal lover of Varada is OK. Dayana Erappa is purely there to provide the oomph factor and for a Coppola twist in the screenplay. Prakash Raj, Jaya Sudha, Thiagarajan and Manzoor Ali Khan do justice to their respective roles.
AR Rahman's montage songs work really well. The BGM is stylish and is entirely atypical for the situations. Arun Vijay's theme song is vibrant and full of youthful energy while the other songs carry the signature of the music director. Santhosh Sivan's cinematography is another big plus and the master of lights gives different shades to the four main characters with the moving frames conveying much of the story. Sreekar Prasad, another veteran, brings in his own emphasis on the storytelling with the slow-paced cuts that culminate in the climax. The final sequence set in a moving SUV with all the four players is a lesson in technical finesse of storytelling.
Verdict:
'Nawab' comes with authentic performances and a deft technical output. There are scenes that delve into the minds of its characters. But the film could have been ambitious in portraying action and intrigue.
