NAGARAJA CHOZHAN MA MLA MOVIE REVIEW

Amaidhi Padai released in 1994 talked about the emergence of an ordinary man in the world of tricky politics. Nagaraja Cholan, M.A., MLA picks up from where Amaidhi Padai left and chronicles the happenings in Nagaraja Cholan’s political life where he is the power centre for regional politics.

Nagaraja Cholan becomes significant for two reasons, firstly it is the 50^th directorial work of Manivannan and secondly it is the 200^th film of veteran artist Sathyaraj.

Undoubtedly, the highlights of the film are its razor sharp dialogues and the crackling chemistry between Sathyaraj and Manivannan. This is a different school of performance but hits the bulls’ eye. Dialogues dipped in sarcasm, reflecting the current political scenario occupy the centre stage of Nagaraja Cholan. And there could be no better artist than Sathyaraj who can deliver such emotion nonchalantly with an air of arrogance; it’s a breeze for this veteran. His body language and the timing sense elevate the character of a seasoned, corrupt politician to a higher notch.

Manivannan plays the perfect foil for Sathyaraj. Having brought Nagaraja Cholan to limelight, Mani knows him inside out and in a way, the characters are made for each other in pulling the other down. There is one more character in the form of Sathyaraj’s son played by Raghu Manivannan who is adequate in his role.

In the world of politics, there is nothing called honesty or ethics which has been clearly brought out in the film. Betrayal, backstabbing, weakness for women and money are some of the features that are dealt with in Nagaraja Cholan in a very objective manner. There is also the aspect of selling of our nation to foreign forces by politicians, displacement of Tribals and their livelihood and the Naxal forces. The scenes associated with the Tribals putting up a fight are the least convincing in the film.

Although expectations were raised with the introduction of the CBI officer Sathyaraj, he does not have much of a role to play in the film. Seeman as the socially conscious individual becomes responsible for the unintentional laughter when he mouths powerful dialogues as stoically as possible. There are many women characters but none of them make a mark. Varsha Ashwathi who made an impression in Neer Paravai is reduced to an item girl in Nagaraja Cholan.

There are plenty of dialogues taking abundant digs at the present political scenario from power cuts to freebies to Vijaykanth. These are the enjoyable moments of the film.

Technically camera work is neat and functional and James Vasanthan’s music is not anything that you will recall when you leave the theatre.

Although the dialogues and chemistry of Sathyaraj-Manivannan combo are the positives of the film, the strong punch that should have been created due to these factors is missing in Nagaraja Cholan. The movie does not grip you for the 150 odd minutes, nor does it bore you. There are dips but they are not much felt mainly due to Sathyaraj and Manivannan.