Having worked with Shankar, Gautham Menon, Murugadoss and KV Anand, editor Anthony steps into the realm of direction. His debut venture Oru Naal Iravil is a remake of the acclaimed Malayalam film Shutter. Many a director tampers with the original to the detriment of the remade version. But Anthony has remained largely faithful to the original just tweaking it a tad which in no way mars the feel and mood.
Most of the film happens over a two-day period behind the closed shutter of a shop. Within the confined space, lessons are learnt and prejudices given up. The film centres on a family man who succumbing to temptation lands himself in a situation ,uncomfortable and compromising. The screenplay has subtle humour weaved in and is multi-layered. Sathyaraj plays Shankar an NRI, conservative in his outlook and rigid in his views. There is this scene where he berates his college-going daughter for being on friendly terms with her male classmates. Hastily arranging her marriage to a family friend’s son, his move alienates him from his wife and daughter. But a humbling experience would soon bring a drastic change in his attitude and mind set. It’s yet another landmark film in Sathyaraj’s career. Consummate actor that he is, he plays Shankar with perfect understanding.
The rest of the characters are well fleshed out and the casting is apt. Like Anumol who plays the hooker with a matter of fact precision. She is delightful to watch in her coquetish demeanour; in her puzzlement at what she thinks is Shankar’s weird behaviour as she patiently waits for the man to make his move; and in her kind gestures as she gives some tips of life to the man she had grown to understand in a couple of days behind the shutter.
An interesting character is that of the auto driver. A confidante of Shankar, it’s his eager-to-please ways that lands Shankar in a soup. Debutant Varun plays the role with confidence. Yuhi Sethu’s role of a veteran film director who had fallen on bad times is convincing. Destiny brings these characters as touching points to each other’s lives and resolves a problem that could otherwise have landed Shankar in a deep mess.
Anthony has managed to capture the essence and the mood of the earlier version. Engaging in its scripting and treatment, humorous and poignant in turns, Oru Naal Iravil offers a different viewing experience for Tamil audiences.