‘Nil... Gavani…Selladhey’ (Tamil, Thriller, 2010)
Director: Anand Chakravarthy
CAST- Anand Chakravarthy, Dhanshika, Gautham, Lakshmi Nair, Jagan
After producing ‘Vennila Kabadi Kuzhu’, a film appreciated by both critics and the audience, Anand Chakravarthy turns director and hero in his second venture ‘Nil...Gavani...Selladhey’. It’s a thriller centered on the horrifying experience of five friends who undertake a road trip to a small village in Andhra Pradesh. The film offers the audience a different viewing experience.
The cast of freshers and little-known faces has uniformly performed well. The script gives each character space, the female actors too getting due importance. Dhanshika, after Peranmai, gets meaty role which she handles with competence. The debutant director sustains the momentum and performs with confidence. The technical crew has coordinated effectively.
As for the plot, it’s déja vu again. It is borrowed from the dark and brutally violent English film, ‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’.
The director has faithfully followed the graph of the plot and its narrative style. The early part depicts the friendship among four youngsters, Sam and his girlfriend Joe (Anand, Dhanshika), and their friends Arun and Milo (Goutham, Jagan). These scenes are youthful and light-hearted. Joe’s friend Priya (Lakshmi) arrives from London to research on temples.
And when she expresses her desire to make a trip to an ancient temple at Thellur in Andhra Pradesh, the friends decide to join her.
As the five make the road trip in a car and near the place, they give a lift to a girl on the road. Incoherent in her speech, and obviously having undergone mental and physical abuse, she warns them of ‘wicked people’ ahead. Pleading with them to return, she shoots herself.
As they drive further through the deserted landscape and try to get help, the holiday turns into a nightmare. On a parallel track is the police investigation into the mysterious disappearance of people in the Thellur region. Graphically violent, this gory tale of mental depravity and insane sadistic violence would interest fans of the slasher-film genre.
But the faint-hearted better keep away from it.