Film: Nambiar
Director: Ganeshaa
Cast: Srikanth, Sunaina, Santhanam, John Vijay, Jayaprakash
Using the MGR-Nambiar characters as analogy, the director drives home the point how negative thoughts can overpower a person and deviate him from his goal.
It’s an interesting concept, where the protagonist’s self-destructive thoughts are given a physical identity. With Santhanam playing the latter, it seemed like the film would be a laugh riot. But only the first half manages to sustain interest and the second turns out to be a tiring affair.
The film begins promisingly, the romantic portions slightly different. Coincidence brings Ram and Saroja to the same places, the duo oblivious of each other’s presence. But the moments are misconstrued by Saroja’s father who thinks there is something between them. The inevitable happens with the duo falling for each other. Srikanth plays Ram with easy assurance. Sunaina returns to the screen after a long hiatus, and her Saroja the perfect foil to Ram.
Mild humour is generated when Santhanam pops up as the hero’s alter ego Nambiar. Instilling negative thoughts in him, he goads Ram to indulge in acts that alienate him from his family and his girlfriend.
With Santhanam sharing almost equal screen space, one expected a lot of humour. But the character is limited probably because of the boundary it has to work in. Ram at a point decides to bring his life back on track, but his negative form pops up again to distract and mislead him. The moments where Ram creates a mess of his life is intolerable. Nambiar is an interesting concept which couldn’t quite be translated on to screen.