His earlier forays into tamil cinema had been far from successful. But this time Shaji Kailas returns with a proven subject. 'Ellam Avan Seyal' is the remake of the director’s successful Malayalam film 'Chintamani Kola Case', the Suresh Gopi-Bhavana starrer.
The central character is a high profile lawyer LK, who disillusioned with the loopholes in the legal system, which allows hardened criminals to get away scot free, finds a way to mete out his own form of justice. LK defends criminals accused of horrendous crimes, gets them off the hook, only to secretly execute them later. It was a role that was tailor made for the Malayalam superstar, with a dramatic tone to the performance, a high level decibel tone to the dialogue delivery, and a liberal sprinkling of rhetoric in English. Playing it here is RK, in his first lead role, who makes a valiant but futile effort to match up to it. Comparatively, it’s a much better show from him than what we had seen him do in his earlier couple of films (Thoondil). But RK needs to polish his acting skills.
LK’s constant refrain was that he was the instrument of God, and that LK stood for License To Kill (007 has a competiton here!). His new case seemed a simple one. Nine NRI students, the ‘Mirchi girls’ of a prestigious medical college, had been accused of mercilessly ragging and tormenting Chintamani a fresher, in an attempt to force her to leave the college. So that the coveted medical seat which she got on merit, would go to one of theirs. And when the missing girl’s body was found , its parts scattered across a stream, the girls become the prime suspects. An eye witness’s testimony against the girls, made it an open and shut case. LK approached by the parents to defend the girls, gets them off the hook. But the case was not that simple as it seemed.
With her soft homely looks, Bhama the Lohit Das discovery (Nivedyam), fits in suitably as Chintamani. Among the ‘Mirchi girls’, the spoilt brats, (the likes of which we have seen in films), Manasi as Serena gets prominence. Loosely based on the Michael Douglas- starrer The Star Chamber, the film is an almost faithful remake of its Malayalam version.
The Vadivelu comedy track is the new addition here. An unwanted distraction, it’s mercifully terminated, albeit abruptly, when the case takes a serious turn. There is no romantic angle here, and so no inane song-dance numbers.
Despite its flaws, the film’s intriguing plot line, well maintained suspense, and it’s fast pace keeps a viewer engaged. And for Tamil audiences, it’s a different viewing experience, far removed from the routine pot boilers.
expresso@epmltd.com