BEHINDWOODS COLUMN

CAUTION: If you have not watched Anegan, please do not read further. Heavy spoilers ahead.

Most of us would have seen Anegan as a pacy entertainer in the trademark KV Anand style. I personally liked the movie a lot, primarily because of its tight screenplay, which made me watch the movie again. Although I obviously knew the twists and suspense elements when I watched it the second time, I still enjoyed the film and my respect for KV Anand and the writers Subha simply got a step higher.

My second Anegan experience gave me the opportunity to concentrate on the layers in the movie that KV Anand and Subha had skillfully worked on.

For instance, I realized why Dhanush (Ashwin) was portrayed as a new joinee in Karthik’s gaming company. 

After the elevator accident, Karthik asks Dhanush if he had met him earlier. He also asks him his age. A lot of us might not have realized the significance of these lines in our first watch as we would naturally think that Karthik is enquiring about him as he is a new joinee and there are very little chances that he would have met him before. 

A few people like me would not have even recollected Karthik asking this. Still wondering? Watch the movie again.

KV Anand appears to have this affinity towards deceiving people on who the real villain is. We have also seen this in Ko and Ayan. Although Mukesh Tiwari’s innocence can be predicted after a particular point, Ashish Vidyarthi’s part in Karthik’s knavishness cannot be judged till the end.

The team has also concentrated on minute elements that appear in the backdrop. There is a shot where a boy makes somersaults in a green matte setup wearing  motion capture track points, in a combination scene involving Aishwarya Devan, Jagan and Dhanush. Such details actually enhance the director’s vision of creating a complex tale without hindering its genuineness. 

I came across people who thought the manner in which Karthik is killed in the movie is slightly below par. But, I somehow feel that it is not unconvincing.  There have been instances in real life where people have had preposterous deaths. A quick skim through wikipedia disclosed to me a real life incident where a Chinese chef lost his life after being bitten by the severed head of a cobra that he had cut off about twenty minutes earlier. Another interesting death is that of an old man who tripped off his own 4.5 feet long beard and broke his neck. On that grounds, a man dying from a sharp knife falling on him from a decent height is definitely not hyperbolic. 

Many accuse the movie of having resemblance to many other films that they might have watched in the past. From my point of view, pulling off a commercial flick with so many interesting layers, connecting reincarnated lives with appropriate mass elements, is no mean task. Right from Munaruna to Kaali to Ilamaran to Ashwin - KV Anand’s intent to churn out an engrossing tale is clearly justified.

- Abhishek Krishnan

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