NAVEENA SARASWATHI SABATHAM MOVIE REVIEW

Message oriented movies are generally brushed away as ‘preachy’ if they turn out to be too serious but when made with liberal doses of comedy, the attempt has a good chance of gaining the public’s acceptance. That’s exactly what debut director Chandru tries to do, with Naveena Saraswathi Sabatham (NSS)

Jai is back as the main hero in this tale about four friends who are stranded in an island off Bangkok, after a night of wild partying.

The similarities to the plot of ‘The Hangover’ were addressed in the trailer itself and brownie points to the director for trying out something original. His idea of moving his tale through the Gods is appreciable and their abode is one which is in tune with the current times. We have Shiva and Parvathi conversing in English, Ganesh burning some fat on the treadmill, Murugan playing ‘Temple Run’ on his iPad, Narada using colloquial Tamil words, Saraswathi being addressed as Saras and stuff like that. These moments are enjoyable but have been overdone.

Panchu Subbu, Mano Bala and Devadarshini must have enjoyed playing Gods, all decked up in grand costumes and jewels. Subbu and Devadarshini make a good pair and carry off their roles well.

There are some hilarious scenes revolving around Jai and his dad Chitra Lakshmanan’s profession as Siddha doctors who specialize in sex-related issues. There is an element of spoof in these scenes and it works.

VTV Ganesh is the biggest takeaway from the movie and he moves the second half forward with his antics on the island. The portions where he speaks chaste Tamil in his hoarse voice are a riot. Jai’s shrill voice has been his USP all along and he comfortably delivers what was expected.

Sathyan and Rajkumar as the other two friends play their roles with ease and fit in with the group. Niveda Thomas appears in exactly two scenes and two songs!

Venkat Prabhu makes few fleeting appearances in the movie and the references to his previous movies such as Goa and particularly Mankatha bring about a loud cheer in the crowd.

There are a couple of melodious numbers and a Gaana Bala special too, in Prem’s music. All the numbers have been filmed well but don’t necessarily gel with the movie’s flow.

At 2 hours and 20 minutes, NSS is lengthy too.