NRD - A Laughter Riot!

Kamal Hassan was absolutely right when he said "Comedy is a serious business".

The year was 1996. I was just 9 years old studying in my 4th standard then. Still this is one of my most indelible memories in my 28 years of existence on this planet. It was already 620 pm. The show was due to start @ 630 pm in Udhayam theatre. My cousins and I made a lightning 100m sprint to the theatre. We were just entering the theatre when the screen was displaying the title of the film "Ullathai Allitha". We heaved a big sigh of relief that no scenes were lost because of our delay. Saying a big thanks to God, we occupied our allotted seats. What ensued for the next 150 minutes was sheer rib tickling humor. The storyline belonged to the Tipu Sultan era! It was kept very simple but the true power of the film was in the screenplay. Sunder C's hilarious screenplay was such that the full theatre was in stitches. Even the climax fight sequences evoked serious laughter from the crowd! When I left the theatre, I felt I had a complete entertaining experience replete and satiated with good acting, decent songs and extremely amusing slapstick screenplay. Since then, we have had some mind blowing and amazing full-fledged comedy films like Avvai Shanmugi, Kadhala Kadhala, Panchathanthiram, Mumbai Express, Vasool Raja MBBS, Tenali, Soodhu Kavvum, NKPK, TVSK, OK OK, Boss Engira Baskaran, SMS, Kalakalappu, Tamizh Padam, Saroja, Chennai - 60028, Moodar Koodam etc. Joining this elite list is none other than NRD - Nanum Rowdy Dhaan which got released on Ayudha Pooja.

When I saw the movie's official trailer for the first time, my initial reaction was "What the! The director has plenty of guts in spilling out the entire 150 minute story by the time our favorite maggi noodles could be cooked!". Usually, a teaser and trailer always captures the interest of the audience by revealing as less as possible with all the good scenes packed within the duration of the teaser or trailer. But, here was a trailer which was daring and breaking all the conventions of a normal trailer by disclosing the story in its entirety and that too in 2 minutes. It was simply dare devilry when Vignesh had let cat out of the bag even before the film was released. I had to literally laud the director's extreme confidence in his script. It caught my eye that it was not going to be a normal movie. I decided to catch up with this film even though "10 endrathukulla" starring Vikram was also getting released on the same day. I thanked my stars that I did not take the wrong decision after I heard negative reviews for 10 Endrathukulla from my friends. 

So, here goes the review for NRD. Of course, no story would be given away as it has been ensured by the director himself! :)

When Vijay Sethupathi's (VS) younger version was sitting in a police cell and wrote police as his ambition, the things began to get underway slowly. But when Rajendran convinced him that it's better to be a rowdy than a police and the manner in which the letters in police transformed beautifully into rowdy, I knew this movie was more than different. It was going to be something special like Pizza, NKPK, Soodhu Kavvum not only for VS but for the audiences as well. 

First, VS - OH MAN! This guy is not only talented but also extremely versatile in his expressions, body language and voice modulation. Like how Atlas supports the heavens in Greek Mythology, VS carries the complete movie on his shoulder. He simply rocks throughout the movie especially in the climax scenes where we are left in splits on seeing the tussle between Parthipan and VS. I will come to Parthipan in a while. Let's focus on the other important character in the film - Nayanthara. Gorgeous. Ravishing. An absolute delight - be it her costumes, makeup or her strong performance. The scenes between Nayan and Anand Raj - the entire theatre was chanting red shirt along with her!! It was indeed stellar. Nayanthara stole the show along with VS in this roller coaster comedy ride. RJ Balaji with his quick and funny one liners - "Murder panna vandha eduthula idhungaluku games kekudhu, thu!". I was actually glad that the director did not rope in Santhanam to reprise this role. It would have been a memorable and an unforgettable cataclysmic disaster. The Rowdy Shop set up was eye-catching with all the a la carte painted fluorescent on the walls of the den. It was downright and outright funny. Just when you feel the film is going a bit slow, Parthipan comes and dishes out things in his unique style. He was menacing and humorous at the same time. The pre-climax and climax sequences were a tribute to his exemplary acting prowess. Even Mansoor Ali Khan, Anand Raj and other supporting actors contributed and delivered meaty performances in this highly fun filled rowdy drama.

Anirudh's sounds is an additional big pillar of this movie. His rockstar music punctuated with power packed BGM which was immensely head shaking and foot tapping along with well-placed songs in proper sync with the script was yet another highlight. Cinematography was spectacular and simply stunning - be it the beautiful Pondi or the night scenes. The scenes were visually pleasing and a treat for the eyes. But the biggest strength was the casting and the director's extra sensitive attention to details especially in the post climax where the movie ends by saying it is better to be a police than a rowdy!

NRD - Quirky, Wacky. Out of the ordinary. Laugh a minute. Light hearted. Entertaining and a thoroughly satisfying tryst with VS and co.

Laughter is truly the best medicine!