Deepavali Movie Reviews

Firstly, kudos to Deeppavali crew on giving a neat, family entertainer that does not make you crouch in your seats owing to double entendres or vouch out loud, never to watch a film with family. It is a film for all classes and all ages and has a storyline which is truly different from the rest.

If you are looking to watch a film with a plethora of bloodshed or a boisterous belly dance, Deeppavali, most clearly, is not for you. It is a poignant love story that showcases the myriad histrionic abilities of the lead pair, Jayam Ravi and Bhavana, in a storyline which is subtly beautiful and screenplay which is neat and taut. Jayam Ravi??s career graph shows that he has donned varied roles and done them all with ease. For example, his debut Jayam showed him as a rustic lad, while his second film M Kumaran, Son of Mahalakshmi showed him as a fiery kick-boxer. Likewise, his earlier film Unakkum Enakkum showed him as a happy-go-lucky NRI and Deeppavali shows him, again, in a totally different light. That??s smart choice Ravi-way to go!

Jayam Ravi has always delivered hits in his home banner and many have opined that his potential has been made proper use of only by his brother and director Jayam Raja. But Deeppavali has proved naysayers wrong, for director Ezhil has brought the histrionic abilities of the young and promising actor to the fore and his screenplay gives the lead stars ample score to perform.
As regards regional films, there has always been complaints about directors not giving ample scope for the heroines to ??perform,?? and heroines, more often than not, are mere add-ons. Perhaps, luck plays a role here. If it indeed does, Bhavana can be called lucky, for she had a great opening and received accolades for her performance in her debut, Chithiram Pesudhadi. In this film too, her performance is something to watch out for. That she looks stunning as well goes without saying! If she continues to sign films that give her room to perform, she can definitely get to heights that only few heroines have been able to reach.

Billu (Jayam Ravi) is the son of Mudaliar (Vijay Kumar). Mudaliar is much loved and respected by people of his locality and Billu is almost like a foster son to every person in the locality. Billu takes an instant liking for Susi (Bhavana) the moment he sets his eyes on her at the railway station. Susi, who has arrived from Bangalore to Chennai, is all set to stay at Sait??s (VMC Haneefa) place and Sait, who has worked for Susi??s father Chidambaram (Lal), a dreaded thug, earlier, has changed ways but retains his respect towards him nevertheless. Susi, who has been craving for love and concern since young, gets impressed with the bonding that the Royapuram residents share. Love blooms between Susi and Billu, and just when they share a light moment with Billu??s friends, the unexpected occurs.

Susi acts peculiar when a long lost friend meets her at a restaurant. She denies knowing her despite her friend Revathi??s attempts to talk to her. Feeling insulted, Revathi walks away, much to the dismay and confusion of Billu and his friends. Susi, who gets emotionally high-strung, leaves the restaurant in a jiffy too.

Susi, at this juncture, comes out with the truth to Billu. Affected with a condition called ??post traumatic event amnesia?? after an accident, Susi has forgotten events that happened in a span of three years. Billu, who takes her to the doctor (Raghuvaran), learns that this condition can be cured, but when she does get cured, Susi will not be in a position to remember whatever happened and whoever she met at Chennai-Billu included.

This disheartens Susi to a major extent and she persuades Billu to promise her that he would never leave her, even if she were to forget him due to her condition. Billu promises her that he would never leave her, come whatever may.
In a turn of events, Chidambaram, Susi??s father, thrashes Billu after making him arrive at a place far from his locality, at the outskirts. The helpless Susi travels along with her father, escorted by his men, to Bangalore.

When Billu meets Susi at her residence, he gets nothing less than shocked as she has been cured and she fails to recognize him. But Billu, who had given a word to his beloved that he would never leave her, is not the one to give up. How he tries relentlessly to convince her and what happens with Susi forms the rest of the story.

Since most part of the story is set in and around Royapuram, the slang has been given prominence and the lead artistes like Jayam Ravi and Vijay Kumar, have rendered the dialogues in the ??Madras?? slang effortlessly. The gaana song that appears when Billu and Susi travel in the fishing boat deserves special mention. It is well received by the audiences.

It should be mentioned that there is heightened excitement in the theatres when Raghuvaran makes his appearance. The seasoned actor that he is, he has done his role with élan. Welcome back Raghuvaran-we are glad to have you back!

The songs, especially Kannan Varum Velai, Pogathae and Kadhal Vaithu are not just worth listening to, they have also been picturised well. The picturisation of ??Thoduvaen?? disappoints though. Yuvan proves his mettle in the re-recording and it is particularly good in the scene in which Billu and Susi play Holi along with the residents of the area, the scene in the terrace when Susi tells Billu about her plight and the action sequences.
Sets by Selva Kumar have exceeded expectations. He has re-created the Royapuram area with a touch of class. The dialogues capture the essence of the simplicity of the Royapuram residents and the conversation especially in the butcher shop when a stranger in the locality asks about Mudaliar, sends ripples among the audiences. Also noteworthy are the dialogues that the doctor utters when he speaks to Billu over the phone. The dialogues in the climax receive applause from the audiences. Dialogue writer Shankar Dayal has done a good job.

On the flip side, the director could have had a comedy track, as the film seems to move on a serious note in most of the places.

Cinematography by Vijay Milton and editing by Sasi Kumar are good and they complement the film??s storyline to a good extent. Stunts by Kanal Kannan are remarkable. With a good plot and interesting sequence of events interwoven around it, Ezhil has proved that he is no flash in the pan.

We also wish Lingusamy continues to give us good films from his banner.

Deeppavali-Truly cracking!