VISITOR COLUMN

Raja Rani gained widespread attention when a prank involving a wedding invitation of the lead pair was revealed. This promo-cum-prank has definitely stirred the curiosity of the audience regarding the film. Directed by Atlee, Raja Rani featured Arya and Nayanthara in the leads for the second time after Boss Engira Bhaskaran with a host of excellent performers such as Sathyaraj, Santhanam, Jai, current heart-throb Nazriya Nazim and Sathyan. 

 

The film is about a couple, John (Arya) and Regina (Nayanthara) who agree to get married just to please their loved ones with both of them concealing their tragic relationships from each other. The events that unfold after their marriage and their flashbacks form the rest of the film. Arya and Nayanthara nailed their respective roles brilliantly, be it the flashback sequences or the unhappy post-marriage scenes. Sathyaraj as Nayanthara's uber-cool dad has done a neat job, something which we have not seen before from the veteran actor. The staple in Arya's recent movies, Santhanam impressed as usual with his one-liners and timing reactions and shone the emotional scenes with message-laden dialogues. The scenes (although short) involving Santhanam and Rajendran are one of the highlights of the comedy portions. Jai, as a cowardly call-center agent and Nayanthara's ex-lover did a role tailor-made for him while Nazriya as Arya's ex-lover portrayed her usual bubbly-character which fit the bill well. Other minor actors such as Manobala, Sathyan, Singamuthu and Swaminathan provided additional comedy quotient.

 

The film is technically sound. The DoP, George C.Williams has done a good job with his lenses, satisfying the requirements for a romantic comedy. Every frame looked rich and colourful. G.V.Prakash's music is also one of the plus-points of the film. His brilliant background score reflected the mood of the scene aptly. Even the editor, Antony Ruben did well to throttle the pace of the narration, which is surprisingly quick for a film of this genre.

 

Raja Rani is not a new, refreshing take on romance but it is something which every one of us have experienced or can relate to in real life. The film has its own share of logical flaws (airport scene) but can be overlooked as the film is a high quality product from the débutante director Atlee. Raja Rani is one film which can make us laugh and shed tears (for some) during the emotional and tragic scenes. A brilliant start for the director and his upcoming film will be highly anticipated.

 

Rating: 3.5/5