Naanum Rowdy Thaan (I’m a rowdy too) - Dark chocolate!

After a seemingly rough patch, Vijay-Sethupathi is back! With a refreshed look (though it takes some time for us to get accustomed to it), `tongue in cheek one-liners and a plot that had ample room for dark humor, can it get any better for this actor whose striking versatility and quirkiness leaves us in awe, everytime when we get to watch him. Director Vignesh Sivan has come up with a decent plot that had a lot of goofy intricacies spun into its narrative. Let’s get to business.

The plot of NRT is a rehashed one, but the presentation was fresh. Pandi (Vijay-Sethupathi), the son of a nonchalant police inspector, Meena Kumari (Radhika) aspires to become a “self-taught” rowdy. Though his mom desperately wants him to join the police force, he secretly nurtures his rowdy aspirations with small time bullying with his clowny cronies. He falls in love with Kadambari (Nayantara), a deaf girl who is in search of her father. Kadambari has a sad backstory which forms the reason behind her disability. She seeks revenge against her detractors through Pandi. Did they succeed in their attempt or have they taken a bite too big to swallow? This was narrated with quite a bit of fun and sentiment.

Though the basic thread was revenge, it was handled with utmost unconventionality. Somewhere in the middle I was able to sense a dash of ‘Soodhu Kavvum’ popping up. That was primarily due to the theme of the movie. Both these movies are not only dark themed, but they acknowledge the fact that only evil can undo evil. For Vijay-Sethupathi balancing an act as that of a glorified clown while satiating the image of a hero has become a norm. He was brilliant on screen and has shared a great chemistry with Nayanthara. Though his performance leaned quite a bit on his past glories, it seemed genuine and brought in the appropriate feel for each scene.

For Nayanthara this was a sort of the regular heroine’s role, where she has to cry and laugh, but a sweet little spin by the director made it look substantial. One, she was deaf and two, her role travels throughout the movie. Her deafness was used intelligently for sentimental and comic scenes. And Nayan has dubbed in her own voice for the first time. Though some of the words were split open and dissected, she managed to add a lot of fizz to her character through her own voice. It looked authentic and a refreshing change from the usual voice-over from Savitha (whose voice is also sweet, but of late every heroine seem to be using her’s for unknown reasons).

Parthiban had the usual role where he needs to talk endlessly with a quirky fervor that he is known to adapt. The screenplay made it a plausible fair. Anandraj was given a brief space and he brought in the fun needed. The old man named ‘Rahul’ was a whacky thought from the director and stands testimony to the whackiness imbued in the script. RJ Balaji pitched in with his one-liners that tickled more often than not.

Other highlights are music by Anirudh and cinematography by George. Songs were top notch and are already a hit among the youth. The BGM sounded a bit of a rehash, but passable. Cinematography was awesome. The coloring schemes were young and vibrant. The frames were painted with some retro colors that added a dash of surrealness. The costume designer, especially for Nayanthara have to be appreciated for making her look so young and appealing. The key was that the costumes were simple, but added the sort of attitude to the character that was needed.

I wish the movie was a bit shorter and the last portions (after the fight) were chopped off. The story was goofy, the emotions were made-up but the saving graces were the screenplay, presentation and wonderful performances by the leads that made it more than a well fabricated masala.

Verdict: Worth a Watch!

Rating: 2.75 / 5