Film: Gouravam
Director: Radha Mohan
Cast: Sirish, Yami Gautam, Prakashraj, Nasser, Sricharan, Kumaravel.
It’s a team that has always tried to present movies that are slightly off the beaten track but clean wholesome family entertainers. And now the producer-director duo of Prakashraj-Radha Mohan return with Gouravam. While the director’s earlier themes were urban-centric, this time he has set his story against the backdrop of a caste-ridden village where crimes are committed in the name of family honour and tradition. More serious than his earlier ones, this film centres on the crucial issue of ‘honour killing’.
A bilingual (Tamil, Telugu), the film marks the acting debut of Allu Sirish, brother of popular Telugu actor Allu Arjun. The actor is adequate as Arjun, who is willing to put his life in danger to trace a missing college friend. Paired with him is the graceful Yami Gautam (of Vicky Donor, and the Malayalam Hero) as Yalini, a budding lawyer who supports Arjun’s cause. The film opens with Arjun who, passing a village after an official trip, decides to look up Shanmugam, an old college friend. After stony silences and evasive answers from the villagers, Arjun learns from Shanmugam’s friend Maasi (impressive work by Kumaravel) that Shanmugam had eloped with the village elder’s (Prakashraj) daughter. As he tries to trace the whereabouts of his friend Arjun realises that there is more to it than meets the eye. The film reminds one a lot of the Hindi flick Aakrosh.
The plot is an old one. Of lovers defying caste barriers and paying the price for it. It’s the treatment of the theme that is different. It begins as a suspense thriller, as Arjun tries to solve the mystery of his missing friend. Commendable is the angle where, constantly attacked by cops and goons, Arjun mobilises the student community to support his cause. But slipshod are the related scenes after the students and the media swoop down on the village. While Yalini roams freely around the village actively supporting Arjun and his cause her father, a forthright union leader (Nasser), makes almost zilch contribution to it. There are a couple of good moments, like when the guilt-stricken village elder berates his son for his wrongful act. But what the film lacks is the punch and grit that one would associate with a film centred on such a crucial issue. There is no real moment that is powerfully evocative or intensely gripping. However, the team’s effort to move away from routine fare and offer viewers meaningful cinema is laudable.