Quick Review: Nerkonda Paarvai
By Rinku Gupta
Nerkonda Paarvai, (the remake of the Hindi film Pink starring Amitabh Bachchan) is produced by Boney Kapoor and directed by H Vinoth, starring Ajith Kumar as the lawyer played by Amitabh in the original.
As a remake, the story is fairly well known. 3 girls ( Shraddha Srinath, Abirami and Andrea) stay together in a flat. One evening they go to a party where they meet 3 boys. After dinner and a few drinks, when one of the boys tries to molest Mira ( Shraddha) , she breaks a bottle over his head leading to a grave injury. This angers the rich brat Adhik, who now gets into revenge mode. He , aided with his friends, puts a case against Mira, and she lands in jail. The girls try their best to get her out but even her lawyer sides secretly with the rich boy's well connected father ( JP). Help comes from an unexpected quarter, in the form of ace lawyer Bharath Subramaniam ( Ajith Kumar) who had left his profession due to a personal tragedy involving his wife ( Vidya Balan). But one thing leads to another and Bharat is drawn into helping the girls out of thier predicament. How he goes about it, in the face of all odds, is the story.
The length of the film has been increased from the original by about half an hour, adding a touching flashback portion for Ajith ( with a beaurifully picturised song) and an outstanding action sequence which would give Ajith fans every reason to rejoice. Ajith can be seen in a stellar performance, the menace in his eyes enough to make villians shudder, a controlled demeanour, a baritone voice that weighs each word and renders every crisp sentence he utters, even more meaningful.
Espousing the cause of women, dealing with the issue of consent, ( when No means No), showing a mirror to society on thier judgemental , patriarchial line of thought, are all impactfuly brought out in a majestic performance by Ajith. The court room drama, with its strategic pauses and measured dialogues, heightens the tension of the scenes, aided by superbly mature performances of Shraddha Srinath , Abiirami and Andrea. Kudos to Ajith for taking up such a role and giving space to every character to perform.
Rangaraj Pandey makes an impactful acreen debut as the prosecution lawyer. One of the highlights of the film is also the way director H Vinoth has chosen every supporting actor with care be it JP as the powerful protective dad, Delhi Ganesh as Mira's father, the judge, the houseowner, the doctor or the villain and his friends ( director Adhik being one of them). Their natural performances lends the film an air of credibility. The crisp dialogues sans preachy rhetoric are another plus.
On the flip side, the courtroom scenes with constant interchanges back and forth may require patience from those used to histronics tinged with melodrama.
H Vinoth deserves full marks for a convincing remake, keeping the soul of the original, while adding the regional flavour in just the right mix, without undue 'commercial' touches , pulling off a compelling, must watch film
Ajith lending his powerful star vehicle and voice to bring the spotlight on the need to reflect on archaic, patriarchial , and prejudiced mindsets concerning the modern, working, professional woman with the twin messages of ' dont be judgemental ' and ' No means No' in a non- starry, dignified, subdued yet impactful manner is most commendable.
Nerkonda Paarvai, (the remake of the Hindi film Pink starring Amitabh Bachchan) is produced by Boney Kapoor and directed by H Vinoth, starring Ajith Kumar as the lawyer played by Amitabh in the original.
As a remake, the story is fairly well known. 3 girls ( Shraddha Srinath, Abirami and Andrea) stay together in a flat. One evening they go to a party where they meet 3 boys. After dinner and a few drinks, when one of the boys tries to molest Mira ( Shraddha) , she breaks a bottle over his head leading to a grave injury. This angers the rich brat Adhik, who now gets into revenge mode. He , aided with his friends, puts a case against Mira, and she lands in jail. The girls try their best to get her out but even her lawyer sides secretly with the rich boy's well connected father ( JP). Help comes from an unexpected quarter, in the form of ace lawyer Bharath Subramaniam ( Ajith Kumar) who had left his profession due to a personal tragedy involving his wife ( Vidya Balan). But one thing leads to another and Bharat is drawn into helping the girls out of thier predicament. How he goes about it, in the face of all odds, is the story.
The length of the film has been increased from the original by about half an hour, adding a touching flashback portion for Ajith ( with a beaurifully picturised song) and an outstanding action sequence which would give Ajith fans every reason to rejoice. Ajith can be seen in a stellar performance, the menace in his eyes enough to make villians shudder, a controlled demeanour, a baritone voice that weighs each word and renders every crisp sentence he utters, even more meaningful.
Espousing the cause of women, dealing with the issue of consent, ( when No means No), showing a mirror to society on thier judgemental , patriarchial line of thought, are all impactfuly brought out in a majestic performance by Ajith. The court room drama, with its strategic pauses and measured dialogues, heightens the tension of the scenes, aided by superbly mature performances of Shraddha Srinath , Abiirami and Andrea. Kudos to Ajith for taking up such a role and giving space to every character to perform.
Rangaraj Pandey makes an impactful acreen debut as the prosecution lawyer. One of the highlights of the film is also the way director H Vinoth has chosen every supporting actor with care be it JP as the powerful protective dad, Delhi Ganesh as Mira's father, the judge, the houseowner, the doctor or the villain and his friends ( director Adhik being one of them). Their natural performances lends the film an air of credibility. The crisp dialogues sans preachy rhetoric are another plus.
On the flip side, the courtroom scenes with constant interchanges back and forth may require patience from those used to histronics tinged with melodrama.
H Vinoth deserves full marks for a convincing remake, keeping the soul of the original, while adding the regional flavour in just the right mix, without undue 'commercial' touches , pulling off a compelling, must watch film
Ajith lending his powerful star vehicle and voice to bring the spotlight on the need to reflect on archaic, patriarchial , and prejudiced mindsets concerning the modern, working, professional woman with the twin messages of ' dont be judgemental ' and ' No means No' in a non- starry, dignified, subdued yet impactful manner is most commendable.
