Review: Adiyae

Film: Adiyae
Writer, director: Vignesh Karthick
Star Cast: G.V. Prakash Kumar, Venkat Prabhu, Gouri G Kishan, Madumkesh, Mirchi Vijay
Producer: Prabha Premkumar
Production House: Maali & Manvi Movie Makers
Cinematography: Gokul Benoy
Music: Justin Prabhakaran
Editor: Muthayan U
Duration: 139 minutes
Rating: 3.5 stars

Director Vignesh Karthick cleverly uses the concept of alternate reality to narrate an endearing romantic drama in his film, ‘Adiye’.

The film applies a concept that has been limitedly used in Tamil cinema to a theme that has often been explored to come up with a refreshing new entertainer.

Yes, Vignesh uses the concept of Alternate Reality to narrate a sweet romantic love story in a fashion that has seldom been used just in Tamil cinema.

Jeeva (G V Prakash) is madly in love with Senthaazhini (Gouri G Kishen), a girl studying in his school.

Senthaazhini is not just good at academics, she can also sing well. On one occasion, Senthaazhini begins weeping as she believes she hasn’t sung well enough in a competition. To comfort her, Jeeva pens a letter saying that he is her first fan and that she must not stop singing.

The letter brings a smile to Senthaazhini’s face and she regains her confidence.

Some days later, a tragic accident makes Jeeva an orphan and penniless. His school friends offer him shelter and care for him as one of their own. Life turns into a struggle for Jeeva.

Years pass by and at one point, he decides to end his life. However, just as he is about to make the drastic decision, he hears Senthaazhini’s interview on television.

The girl, who is now a famous singer, opens up about a letter that motivated her and helped her rise to this position. She admits that she has a crush on the person who wrote the letter but confesses she does not know his identity.

Jeeva decides to disclose to Senthazhini that the letter she is referring to was written by him. However, when he is on his way to meet her, he gets injured in an accident and is knocked unconscious.

When he wakes up, Jeeva finds himself in a new world. In this world, he is a National Award winning music director and his wife happens to be none other than his dream girl, Senthaazhini.

It takes time but Jeeva figures out that he is in a parallel world and that this is only virtual.

He slowly begins to understand how the concept of alternate reality works. He decides he will use his proximity to Senthazhini in the parallel world to express to her his love for her. What happens then is what Adiyae is all about.

The film starts off slowly but soon picks up pace. The first half is almost flawless as the romantic portions between G V Prakash as Jeeva and Gouri as Senthazhini are realistic and engaging.

The second half has more humour than romance but is a little less enjoyable than the first half as Jeeva’s character keeps flitting in and out of the Alternate Reality world.

Strengths:

G V Prakash and Gouri G Kishen’s chemistry on screen works big time in favour of the film. Both actors deliver commendable performances and complement each other well.

Unlike films that have released in recent times, Adiyae does not look to force feminist thoughts down your throat. That comes as a big plus for the film. Also, the absence of feminist idealogies means there is no one upmanship in the relationship between the husband and wife.

The relationship between the husband and wife characters is not built on feminist idealogy but trust and therefore comes across as solid and real.

Also, director Vignesh Karthick explains the concept of alternate reality in a crisp and clean manner. That makes it easy for the audiences to follow the plotline.

This apart, Justin Prabhakaran, who is fast earning a name for himself as the master of background scores, comes up with some really pleasant numbers and an exceptional background score.

If the romance is what makes the first half of the film tick, it is comedy which saves the day for the next half. Most of the credit for the comedy in the film must go to R J Vijay who does a brilliant job of bringing the house down with his jokes.

In all, Adiyae is an engaging romantic drama that is worth your time.