'Neeyum Naanum' (Tamil, Dance, 2010)
Director- SV Solairaja
Cast- Sanjeev, Chethna, Sampath Kumar,Master Rinson, Master Sachin, Vadhan, Senthi, Singhamuthu
Set against the backdrop of a school campus, Neeyum Naanum centres on the rivalry between two students — one a spoilt brat from an elite background, the other a product of the slums. Their rivalry culminates in a dance competition where the duo fights for top honours.
The story opens with Surya (Sanjeev of 'Kulir 100') joining as a dance instructor at a school run by Sampath (Sampath Kumar). Impressed by the intelligence of Kartik, a poor boy (Master Rinson), Surya gets him admitted to the school. But Kartik faces antagonism from classmate Sidharth (Master Sachin), the pampered son of Sampath. It reaches a point where both Kartik and Surya leave the school and join another.
Meanwhile, Kartik’s mother falls ill. He decides to enter an inter-collegiate dance competition that carries a prize money to help get a proper treatment for his mother. No prizes for guessing who his main rival would be, and who would take away the prize!
There is also a love angle, where Surya falls for Divya, (Chethna, a Mumbai model) who is Sampath’s neice and is engaged to the latter’s brother. Sampath’s character is not clear. He favours his son and brother, but suddenly expresses joy over Kartik’s act in the final scene.
After directing many popular serials and the feature film Nandu, this is Solairaja’s second big-screen venture. The better moments in the film are the scenes where Surya selects his team and prepares them. The dance scenes were also ably executed. Otherwise, there is nothing novel about the script or its treatment.