EESWARAN (2021)

Critic - No.  190

Director: Suseenthiran

Produced by: Madhav Media Company, D Company

Casts: Silambarasan TR, Barathiraja, Nidhi Agarwal, Nanditha Swetha, Bala Saravanan, Munishkanth, Kaali Venkat, Stunt Siva

Language: Tamil

Music: Thaman

Genre: Action, Drama

 

SYNOPSIS: 

Eeswaran tells the story of Periyasamy (Bharathiraja) whose simple and joyous life turns into a nightmare when internal familial disputes start to emerge. Eeswaran (Silambarasan), the loyal servant of the household attempts to bring together the family who are in the modern-world race to success.

 

REVIEW:

 

Silambarasan TR who has been acting since he was 5 years old, kicked off his career with a dream start in 2002, churning out back to back blockbuster hits racing steadily into the top league of actors at such a young age. However, his career hit a speed breaker in 2015 with a disaster film ‘ AAA’ that kind of pulled him down to rock bottom and the consistent flops after that didn’t help him either to step up. However, Silambarasan went through a mental and physical transformation in 2020 and ‘Eeswaran’ was the first film that he signed after that. Suseenthiran who is known for his toned down, realistic commercial films, worked around the clock and completed the film in 2 months, just in time for the Pongal release slate. Did their hard work pay off?

From the trailers and promotional videos, we can predict that Eeswaran is a grounded family film and its intention is not to experiment but to probably treat a known genre with the right engagement level. From the word go, the film sets off with a tint of superstitions with an astrologer predicting that Periyasamy’s family will face a disastrous fate. Fast forward to 20 years later and we are introduced by the internal conflict that the family has and how the loyal servant, Eeswaran decides to keep them together despite the same astrologer guessing that the family will again face a loss this time. 

I really liked the way the film travels with no far fetched, exaggerated scenes. Even Silambarasan’s intro, though gives you the desired goosebumps, feels grounded. And that’s why the film works for me. Running for about 2 hours, the film feels sharp, engaging and entertaining as well. Scenes involving Simbu and Bala have worked big time and their comedy track helps one to overlook the flaws in the film, which comes with such rural dramas. Suseenthiran also manages to incorporate a romantic track between Simbu and Niddhi Agerwal in a cute, interesting way. Even though it doesn’t really pay off much, the track is kept short and sweet without affecting the flow of the main plot. I also liked how that track actually latches onto an important subplot (mystery) that unveils later in the second half. 

Another plus of the film is the way each character (the family comprises almost 30 people) are designed. Their conversations are organically written, giving us a feel of lingering around a real household as an observer. The way Covid-19 factor is laced inside the plot (quite significantly) should be commended. Through the well written comedy tracks surrounding that episode, Suseenthiran also throws in ample messages indirectly to educate the dangers and regulations of the pandemic. 

Thaman’s music is racy and infectiously foot tapping. The way Velli Nilavu tracks flow through the opening credits, sets you in for a nice mood to expect a relatable family affair. Veteran cinematographer Thirunavaarasu paints each frame with vibrant colours and spot lights that adds on to the positive nature of the film. 

On the performance front, Silamarasan looks like he has gone 10 years back in age, oozing with energy and oomph. The clarity and the nuances of acting that he displays are something that have been missing for almost a decade. Hope he continues with this form. Bharathiraja fits the bill well but leans towards the melodramatic tangent at times. Munishkanth and Bala Sarvanan’s comedy are effortlessly top notch while the two lead ladies, Nidhi and Nanditha, have very limited scenes in their thinly written characters.

Even though the film is crisp, engaging and neat, one can feel that it was shot in a very short period of time with just a  few locations and set ups. The rush of shoot can be felt in a few scenes which makes us ponder about the real potential of the film if it was well shot with bigger sets and scenes. Some of the segments like the pre-climax snake scene and flashback of the villain, looks forced and illogical. The villain (played by Stunt Siva) looks menacing but due to his weak set up, his character doesn’t really take off at all. Suseenthiran also ticks off all the genre tropes associated with family drama without going for any surprises or major twists which makes the narrative very predictable and one dimensional. If only the flashbacks and the conflicts were even stronger, the film would have been much more emotional in the likes of films like Pandiraj’s Kadaikutty Singam (2018).

That said, sometimes I feel that for commercial entertainers, going back to basics and telling a story neatly with realistic scenes is a safer bet than fumbling into an inconsistent territory in the name of experiment. And, watch out for the nice pun Eeswaran makes on blind superstitions at the end! - which summarises the message the director was trying to get to us. 

 

VERDICT:

Though predictable and generic, director Suseenthiran goes back to the basics to whip up a neat family drama that is colourful and engaging.

 

CELLULOID METER- 3.25/5: