Review: Kurangu Bommai

Kurangu Bommai is a fantastic crime thriller that has just about an adequate dose of cute romance in it. The film, which exhibits so much class, has been made by a debutant called Nikhilan, whose only experience in filmmaking comes from making a few short films.

To get on with the story, Vidharth is a call taxi driver working in Chennai. His parents, played by veteran director Bharathiraja and actress Rama, live in his native place. Vidarth’s father works in a timber store run by a person called Ekambaram (played by producer P L Thenappan). The store for wood works is just a front for Ekambaram whose primary business is smuggling antiques.

Although Ekambaram is a ruthless smuggler who instills fear in the hearts of all others, he has a soft corner for Vidarth’s father, a naive and trustworthy employee who has been with him right from the time he was a youngster. The bond that the master and his employee at the timber store share is special. And though Bharathiraja is his employee and Ekambaram himself is involved in a lot of illegal activities, he does not involve Bharathirajaa in any anti social activities.

Vidarth, however, disapproves of the fact that his dad works for a gangster and a smuggler. He keeps insisiting that his dad sever all ties with Ekamabaram. But then, Bharathiraja finds it hard to part ways with his employer. He hopes to slowly distance himself from his employer and then one day, part ways.

His desire now is to see his son get married. So, one day, he and his wife start looking out for prospective brides for their son. As part of their search, they call on the family of a prospective bride (played by Delna Davis). For a while, it seems like as if both families like each other. However, things change in a matter of minutes. While Delna and Vidarth take a liking to each other, their parents end up fighting with one other. The reason for the disagreement being Ekambaram. The bride’s father says he cannot give the hand of his daughter in marriage to a man whose dad might end up being arrested for anti-social activities. A bitter fight ensues and the two families part ways.

For a while, normalcy resumes and life goes on. It is under these circumstances that one day, Ekamabaram gets a precious antique piece, the price of which in the black market is Rs Five crore. The statue has to be taken to Chennai where it has to be handed over to a middleman ( Elango Kumaravel), who in turn would hand it over to the buyer and pay Ekambaram the money.

Ekambaram knows that this is a price catch but he is unsure who he must send on this errand. He cannot trust the precious statue to any of the regular guys he sends on these selling trips. He wonders whom he must send and after a lot of thought decides that such a costly piece can only be entrusted to a loyal employee like Bharthirajaa. Bharathirajaa too decides to head to Chennai as per the instructions of his boss. So, without informing his wife and son one night, Bharthirajaa leaves home carrying the smuggled piece in a bag that has a picture of a monkey smiling on it. What happens next is what the film is all about.

The film has some extraordinary performances. Bharathirajaa as Vidarth’s father and Producer P L Thenappan as Ekambaram do a fantastic job. Both live their roles. Their expressions are so perfect and appropriate that it makes a viewer believe he is watching a real life incident. Cameraman Abhinav Sundar Nayak and his director Nithilan seem to have understood the value of these expressions and have made the most of them by keep close up shots of both these individuals in crucial sequences. Three others also have contributed vastly with their acting skills. The first of these is Vidarth, who, for some reason, hasn’t got the recognition he so richly deserves. The man just nails it with this performance. The next in the list of good performers is Delna Davis. The young lady, who has got the girl-next-door look, makes her eyes do a lot of the talking and catches your attention with her splendid performance. The last but not least in this list is Elango Kumaravel, who showcases a completely different facet of his in this film. Kumaravel, who has already established the fact that he is a good actor, shows what exactly a talented artiste can do when a role that has scope to perform is given to them.

Ajinish Loknath’s music is just about right for the film. But it is the dialogues that really stand out. Full marks to Madon Ashwin who has penned the dialogues of this gripping crime thriller that keeps you on the edge-of your seat right till the time it ends.

On the whole, this Kurangu Bommai (Monkey Toy) is one that deserves to play in theatres for a very long time to come!