Movie Review : Blue Star
Ashok selvan as Ranjith
Shanthnu Bagyaraj as Rajesh
Prithvi as Sam
Keerthi Pandian as
Anandhi
Bucks as Immanuel
Divya Duraisami as Thenmozhi
Arun Balaji as Gopalan
Lissy as Susila
Kumaravel as Ranjith's appa
Blue Star, is a rivetting sports drama on the surface but explores inter personal relationships between two youths and the different backgrounds they hail from. How they find a uniting force and more in common than they envisaged, is the story.
Ranjith ( Ashok Selvan) and his brother Sam ( Prithvi) live with their parents (Lissy and Kumaravel) who work hard for their living. The brothers love cricket and play with their friends in the local playground which is also the hang -out of a rival community group of Rajesh (Shanthnu) and his friends who are pretty good at cricket too.
Ranjith is in love with Anandhi (Keerthi Pandian) who gives him tips about cricket which brings them closer.
As things are going fairly okay in their lives. a cricket rivalry crops up between the rival group leading to a face-off match between the two teams.
Immanuel ( Bagavathy Perumal) who works as a gardner at a prestigious cricket club, lives nearby and watches the talent of the rival groups, sharing cricketing tips with them seeing their potential to take on biggies.
One day, due to a series of circumstances, the two rival groups find themselves uniting, to play against bigger teams at the cricketing club.
With hopes of proving themselves, they put their socio-economic differences aside and try to beat the big boys. But there they discover, a different type of stereo-typing, other forms of class wars and strong rivalries.
Does this fiery, talented underdog team set their remaining bias and rivalry aside and get over their anger at being treated differently, and win the trophy? What lessons do they take away from the circumstances they find themselves in? Does the rivalry turn into deeper understanding and bonding? What happens to Ranjith and Anandhi?
As with Pa Ranjith's ( who has presented this film, directed by his former assistant Jayakumar) films, there is the focus on equations between certain oppressed sections vs the higher echelons of society. But this time round, the tonality shift is looking towards a positive future, with a slow learning and shift in perspectives and a focus on the sugnificance of sports being an important factor in the building of character, and blurring the lines of socio-economic differences.
The highlight of the film is the casting and performances of each and every actor. For Shanthnu, this is a meaty role and he bites into it with full vigour, resulting in a layered, impactful performance as the arrogant guy who slowly turns into a more responsible, thinking character. Shanthnu brings a gravitas to his performance that makes it hard to think of anyone else being able to pull it off.
Ashok Selvan as the fiery young man whose anger against opressors simmers below a controlled surface, pulls off a superb act in a seemingly effortless manner. Every expression, smile or frown is pulled off with subtlety.
The scenes between Shanthnu and Selvan are to watch out for.
Prithvi is Sam is a hidden gem performance-wise, and comes to life in the second half, with an unforgettable act, be it as the younger brother, on the cricketing field or in the cute romantic scenes. Kudos to the makers for bringing out the best in these fine actors.
The fact that they all play cricket in real life too, shows on screen and adds to the film.
Keerthi Pandian pulls off a fine act and her presence adds to the story. The sweet chemistry between Ashok Selvan and her is visible. The climax scenes are to watch out for.
The performance of Bucks aka Bagavathy Perumal is top notch. The actor seems to convey expressions and his thoughts with every part of his face without even uttering a word.
The camerawork of Tamil Azhagan and Govind Vasantha's bgm and songs are another highlight of the film.
The cricket scenes are realistically shown, the dynamics between the teams keeping you rivetted. The actors of the snooty club teams are well chosen and do a convincing job.
The Arakkonam setting and local dialect is well portrayed, adding to the realistic feel.
The flip side could be the extended matches which may not interest a few.
Overall, Blue Star is a rivetting sports drama with superb performances and a positive message of sports being an equalising factor that could shape lives for the better.
