Director: H. Vinoth
Three independent, working women are living their best life when they come across three men during a music festival. Meera Krishnan (Shraddha Srinath) hits Aadvik (Arjun Chidambaram), the son of a politician on his head with a bottle and escapes the place with her two other friends Fami (Abhirami) and Andrea. The girls then face a series of threat from the boys including the abduction and molestation of Meera. That is when lawyer Bharath Subramaniam (Ajith) steps in to help the girls put across the importance of a simple yet powerful word – NO.
This is definately one of the most important topics to discuss in our society today. The word no means no, it needs no explanation, no reasoning, nothing. NO just means NO. The power of that word was strongly brought out through the Bollywood film PINK. PINK was a massive success because it was something that needs to be heard. However, H. Vinoth has managed to give a remake as powerful as the original. For once, a director has successfully managed to recreate originality without taking away the essence. Also, to the Tamil audience, it is a sensitive issue which no director has dared to touch upon. The movie has been reeled in a manner that makes every layman understand the depth of consent.
Vinoth further touches upon just through mere frames the importance of a woman’s freedom. He also questions the character assassination of a “modern woman” who chooses to drink, smoke, laughs and makes friends with men. Like Bharath rightfully adds, “Smoking and drinking is injurious to health despite gender difference. But, it is unacceptable to ruin a woman’s character and not a man’s because they drink.”
Vinoth has beautifully captivated every frame and with the help of his talented cinematographer Nirav Shah, every frame seems to be powerful. The screenplay beautifully paces as the impactful courtroom drama begins.
Ajith as Bharath Subramaniam wins hearts. The only concern of the film as the trailer released was whether or not, Ajith, a man with a large fan base, could create an impact or would he just make it commercial. But, he simply nailed it. With his impeccable dialogue delivery during the court room scenes, he manages to deliver a crucial message to an audience who has never been exposed to something as imperative as consent. The fighting scene is an addition to this version but it does not distract the storyline, although we wish there were lawyers who knew to fight physically. Yuvan’s background score adds to the pace of the film.
Shraddha Srinath manages to do a decent performance but Abhirami performs exceedingly well as Fami. Rangaraj Pandey as Lawyer Subramanian has given a very good performance too and the audience would enjoy watching his argumentative self come alive even as a fictional character. Andrea and Arjun do justice to their parts as well. Vidya Balan does a memorable cameo!
It’s high time, directors make remake of films that matter to the society. It is appreciative of a commercial hero like Ajith to take up something as sensitive as this and also do a good job at delivering it. Its high time actors do a role that passes on progressiveness in the society.
Verdict: A crucial film like this must be watched until the heart and mind understand the importance of it.
Rating: 4/5
