'Ilaignan' (Tamil, 2011)
Director: Suresh Krissna
Cast: Pa Vijay , Meera Jasmine, Khushboo, Vadiveu and others
Set in the year 1959, the story revolves around a ship construction yard. 'Ilaignan' is about a youth, Gorky, who fights for the rights of his coworkers against the ill treatment of his owner, Rajanayakam.
The film, scripted by Kalaignar Karunanidhi, is his 75th effort. Lyricist Pa Vijay as Gorky (his second outing as an actor after Gnyabagangal), is earnest and gets his expressions right. The female leads barely leave their mark as their characters lack in depth. Meera Jasmine who plays Rajanayakam’s foreign returned sister, is sympathetic to the worker’s cause.
Ramya Nambeeshan is Gorky’s lady-love. The intensity of the mother-son bonding, a crucial element in the story, is never really flushed out by the director. And Khushboo, who is usually a committed actor, is lackluster here.
Vadivelu’s antics stand out like a sore thumb.
The movie has a cast of hundreds of junior actors. And what is appreciable is the way the director has managed the scenes involving crowd. The huge set of the shipyard with a ship under construction (an amazing set by Thottatharani), and the workers engaged in various stages of ship building, give the film a realistic feel.
But the director’s handling of the rest of the scenario, like Rajanayakam scheming with his mistress (Namita) to get control of the business, and getting the workers to do his bidding, is stagey.
As in 'Uliyin Osai', Kalaignar has once again comes up with a twist, but not as ingenious as in the earlier one.
The director has failed to maintain his consistency and has treated the crucial junctions in the film superficially.
'Illaignan' is neither a seriously meaningful film, nor an engrossing commercial entertainer although the script boasts of a good potential.