Bommalattam also provides an insider’s look into the
world of cinema. Nana asks the female lead of his movie for
an ‘emerging out of the sea’ scene. However she
refuses reasoning that her pedicure was done recently and
the salt water could damage her cuticles. After much prodding
she agrees but with a condition – she will wet her feet
only in bottled mineral water. Same way, Vivek and Manivannan’s
characters also tell a lot about the menaces a crew has to
face during outdoor shoots.
Nana’s acting needs no elucidation – he fits perfectly
into the shoes of a patient director, who is exasperated at
the snootiness of his film’s lead and devastated at
the murder of his allies. Arjun plays an intelligent and neat
CBI officer and delivers a subtle performance, quite atypical
of his usual deliver-a-kick-and-leap-into-the-air roles.
The songs Va
Va Thalaiva and Check Check proclaims Himesh’s prowess
in tuning catchy numbers. Mandy’s background score
deserves a special mention, especially for its subtlety.
Kannan’s camera captures the proceedings in perfect
angles and assists in enhancing the movie’s flow.
On the downside,
the movie largely seems to cater to the Hindi speaking audience
– given the locale and the milieu in which it is set.
Irregular lip-sync of actors also reveal that the movie
is in fact dubbed into Tamil after having been shot in Hindi
directly.
All
said and done, Bommalattam is a perfectly crafted and executed
investigative thriller. The surprise factor being Bharathiraja’s
tautly woven screenplay – it negates the chance of
tedium, even for a fraction of a second.
Verdict – Bommalattam – Hold on to your
seats!
