Thread: Neyyattinkara Gopante Aarattu ~ An Opinion

Venue ~ TCR Ragam
Showtime ~ 11:15 AM
Status ~ Housefull (50%)

Neyyattinkara Gopante Aarattu or in short Aarattu is a movie where the makers have a clear regarding idea. Its a loud mass masala hero-centric movies which we are used in Tamil Cinemas during a period until the entry of Udaykrishna - Sibi K Thomas team. Director B Unnikrishnan has clearly promoted (in interviews & trailer) that its an unrealistic ride which initially seems to be a dig at current new gen movies but later seems to be the genre of the movie.

Neyyattinkara Gopan (Mohanlal) makes an entry at a village with intentions. Now this one line is something you have heard millions of times and now the focus is on presentation. So B Unnikrishnan and his writer, Udaykrishna, clearly intends to make use of Mohanlal's onscreen energy at max level, which was missing for a period (eventhough we saw a bit of it in Ittymaani) including his much hyped Lucifer, Odiyan, Marakkar etc . Just like any commercial mass masala, if the hero is presented well, 75% of the job is done. Now the director, who got a great track record in presenting Mohanlal, continued to show his good form. Now as far as script is concerned, its a typical Udaykrishna script where loud commercial ingredients come at regular intervals. Now here, if you don't like a mass masala movie, this is not your cup of tea and there is no use of going to theater. As far as visuals are concerned, its rich filled with crowd & colors all indicating what the genre of the movie is. I personally enjoyed the references where most are being spoofed especially Chandralekha. This seems to be fun especially when the lead actor is part of such spoof moments. Now regarding negatives, its like singing the same tune which is associated with such genres.

The technical side comprising of cinematography by Vijay Ulaganathan gave a rich feel to the onscreen experience and the editing by Shameer Mohammed was racy. Except for the theme song, I was not impressed by Rahul Raj's work. I enjoyed Rahman's Mukkala more than any of the songs. The action sequences are over the top yet not lengthy and I wished the climax fight was lengthier.

Now why there is a big cast in the movie comprising of Late Nedumudi Venu, Sreeraman, Rachana Narayanankutty (who got a good role considering screentime), Kochpreman, Late Kottayam Pradeep, Ashwin Kumar etc etc...But when you have Mohanlal unleashed in full energy onscreen, rest all simply fades out. He simply sets screen on fire with his unbelievable energy (without considering his age) which underlines why he is the biggest star for last 36+ years. Now there are scenes which is poorly written and we see the makers clearly depending on Mohanlal to save them and most often, he does that. And all those queries regarding expressions disappearance act....I believe its all been answered. Only Siddhique seems to be the actor who was able to get some attention during the Mohanlal show. Shraddha Sreenath really didn't have much to do while Vijayaraghavan & Saikumar did their roles well as expected. The casting of A R Rahman was extremely smart.

Being a Mohanlal fan, it was quite fun to see him energetic onscreen in a movie which is aimed at audience entertained by mass masala movie (As long as its not reserved to any actors). I understood why B Unnikrishnan clearly mentioned why this won't work in OTT...Its requires a Big Screen...Pop Corn and Large Crowd!!!

Ratings ~ 8/10

Originally Posted by Spark

Thanks intex. I was doubtful about the movie till I read your review.

U should be aware about the writer's earlier works, the way the movie is promoted and what you are expecting to see. Mohanlal's onscreen energy is the highlight of the movie!!!

He looked more brilliant the Lucifer IMO!!!!