Film Review – Remo

I looked up to Dhanush during early 2000s. He had a unique demeanor. He was not the typical white-skinned or six-pack guy who would enthrall the first row to last row audience with his smashing fight sequences, romance sessions or emotional outbreaks. And today, he is one of the most sought after actor in Tamil and Hindi Cinema with huge openings at the Box Office every time his film releases. The next in line, I hope is Siva Karthikeyan. A young lad from small town Trichy who started doing comic performances on Tv, went on to have the largest movie cut-out in Tmail Nadu, just like his idol Superstar Rajnikanth. Yes, Siva made it to the top of the publicity screen outside Sathyam Cinemas in Chennai ahead of his latest release Remo right after the poster of Thalaivar for Kabali. This means a lot to him. I saw the film after three weeks of release at PVR at noon. The theatre was half full (I am being an optimist here!) which is not bad at all, given that pirated DVDs are out within 24hrs of a movie release. The film was a breeze over 150 mins of its screening, with little or no vulgar overtones which are akin to most small budget Tamil cinema today. Perhaps, a section of audience enjoys it too. And so the film makers do so. Probably. Perhaps.

Remo opens with an aspiring actor who wants to make it big in Tamil Cinema. The scene on the car outside Sathyam where the hero looks up at Kabali poster and says one day we will be “there” reminds us of a similar scene from Om Shanti Om. And there are reminisces of various movies in Remo, which I hope are not a parody in the mind of the script writer and director. It’s an out and out Sivakarthikeyan film with the hero in 90% of all the scenes. A typical widowed mother who wishes her son gets big in life, well portrayed by Saranya Ponvannan. This lady is amazing. What a journey she has walked. Hats off.

Keerthi Suresh is a typical happy go lucky heroine in the film with equal footage and screen presence in the movie. Unlike a few of per contemporary peers, this girl actuals knows the nuances of acting. No over reacting, neither a subtleness in performance. Just the right ingredient. Good luck girl for a bright future.

Music and Background score by Chennai boy Anirudh is inspiring. This kid has a bright future and time and again he goes on to prove it. Most of his movies till date have been commercial masala movies and he has done a good job in Remo too. The songs have been chartbusters with Siva & Anirudh crooning two songs.

Cinematography by PC Sriram – I am not going to write about this here. Honestly, I was following the story keenly and hence missed out on this architect’s work. Will see the film again and write about it.

The film has a good screenplay and a predictable ending but what makes it different is the way Director Backiyaraj Kannan has moved the script frame by frame. At some places, he has overdone with reminders of Avvai Shanmughi but I will still give it to him for all the effort that Siva has put in those frames as the nurse. Overall, a good family outing with some pop-corn and Pepsi for company. If you haven’t seen it at a cinema nearby, don’t worry, it will be on Tv for Pongal.