‘Inidhi Inidhu’ (Tamil, Campus, 2010)
Director- KV Guhan
Cast- Aadith, Reshmi, Benaas, Vimal, Narayanan, Sharran, Sonya, Giyaumar, Abhishek, Sunny, Krishna, Anjala Zaveri
Set against a college campus backdrop, ‘Inidhu Inidhu’ follows the bitter-sweet experiences in the life of a bunch of youngsters. It spans from their first year in college to their final year.
Cinematographer KV Guhan (‘Mozhi’, ‘Vellithirai’) apart from handling the camera here, takes his first step into direction. He blends captivating visuals with a brisk, enjoyable narrative. A remake of the Sekhar Kamulla-directed super-hit Telugu film ‘Happy Days’ (that had catapulted Tamannah), ‘Inidhu Inidhu’ introduces a huge group of debutant actors- vibrant and energetic- essaying their roles with spontaneity.
The first year at college, the ragging and bullying by the seniors (there is even an aggressive T20 cricket match between the two groups), love and heartbreaks, ego problems, tiffs and jealousies, are all narrated with humour, and a feel of realism. There are some touching moments too.
The characters are colourful and well etched. There is Sidhu a college fresher who befriends classmate Madhu who is coveted and harassed by an obnoxious senior. Love would follow later and misunderstandings too.
Tyson the lanky geek, childlike and emotional falls for a senior and wears his heart on his sleeve, while Vimal the naughtiest of the group gets infatuated with his English lecturer (Anjala Zaveri, a la Sushmita Sen in ‘Mein Hoona Na’), to the irritation of his best friend Appu. The latter realises that she is in love with him. And there is the selfish ambitious Shankar in love with Sangita, who refuses to believe his buddies that she is two timing him.
The songs are peppy (Mickey J Meyer had scored for the Telugu version too). The lively picturisation goes well with the mood, one of them a tribute to the late pop icon Michael Jackson. Towards the closing scenes, the script becomes stretched and the narration slackens.
‘Inidhu Inidhu’ from Prakashraj’s Duet Movies, is a warm classy film that should go down well with the young urban crowd.