Movie Review : Anbe Diana.
The story is set in the Perambur area of Chennai which has a wide diversity of residents of different communities.
C Seetha Krishna ( Pari Elavazhagan) is a sportsman turned coach, in love with Magic Diana Gonsalves (Ramya Ranganathan),an Anglo Indian girl, right from their college days. He wants to marry her but there is a problem.
Though his dad Baskar ( Chetan) wouldnt object to a love match, his mom Sarala ( Roja) is firm about her son marrying only into their own community. Also, the vast differences in culture and lifestyles between Magic and himself, eventually make Krishna give up his dream of marrying her.
What happens next? Do the duo ever unite?
The film's setting in Perambur showcases well the diversity of the comminities living there. in a realistic manner. The Telugu speaking background of Krishna and his family, the Kannada influence of Baba Bangalore (Parithabangal Gopi) and the Anglo Indian ethos of Magic and her family is well presented, in an engaging manner, taking the viewer into their lives.
The visuals and music are good while the set design and locations add to building the atmosphere of the story.
The emotional drama presented with large doses of comedy works in favour of the film. Several sequences stand out, like the fun scenes between Krishna, Baba, and friends in their local hangouts, the jolly scenes at Krishna's interactions with his parents and siblings, and the reactions of Krishna and Baba at the home of Magic, to name a few. Cell Murugan as Krishna's uncle and his interchanges with his family, add to the fun on screen. Highlights include the humourous conversations between Baskar with his son, wife and friends.
The the different stages of uncertainty, confusion longing, and reality between Magic and Krishna are brought out, adding to the suspense of whether these two can unite.
However, the confusion of Krishna and his inability to be honest with Magic, and the way he takes an easy route out to get engaged to someone else without telling Magic, along with his procrastination in telling his mother about the love, becomes tedious to watch and doesnt put the hero in a positive light. At serveral points things seems confusing and repetitive.
However, the film makes up in the last half hour towards the climax, with hilarious fun, suspense and and excellent performance of hero Pari, Gopi, Chetan and Cell Murugan.
The excellent casting of the film is its major winning point.
Pari Elavazhagan gives a neat performance all through, as does Ramy Ranganathan who is fantastic as the bold Anglo Indian girl who has a mind of her own. The family and friends of Magic also give good performances, with their own lingo and English dialect adding to the ethos of the film.
Roja returns in a strong role and makes her presence felt with a superb performance. Chetan brings the house down with many clap- worthy dialogues and is delight to watch in a fun role which is easily the highlight of the film. It's good to see Cell Murugan back on screen in a well written role, and a superbly fun performance. Parithabangal Gopi is fantastic in a meaty role to which he does full justice, keeping the laughs coming in every scene he appears in. Sudharshan Gandhi as the younger brother adds to the fun with his impactful performance. Even characters who appear in minor roles leave an impact, thanks to their dialgues and performances, adding to the slice of life feel.
Overall, the film is a hilarious and engaging rom -com for family audiences.
Rating 3/5
Cast:
Pari Elavazhagan - Sirumamilla Seetha Krishna
Ramya Ranganathan - Magic Gonsalves
Chethan - Sirumamilla Adhinarayana Bhaskar
Roja Selvamani- Sarala
Parithabangal Gopi - Bangalore Baba
Cell Murugan - Mangababu
Nikhila Shankar - Tanisha
Ismat Banu - Satyavati
Sudarshan Gandhi - Chirumamilla Chiranjeevi Shankar
Technical Team:
Banner: Million Dollar Studios, Neo Castle Creations & Era Entertainment
Production company: Million Dollar Studios, Neo Castle Creations & Era Entertainment
Producers: Sathya Karikalan, Ira Saravanan & Yuvaraj Ganesan
Written, directed, and performed by: Barry Ilavalagan
Music: Bharat Shankar
DOP: Shelley Gallist
Editing: Partha MA
Art Director: Mahendran
Co-Producer: D. Naren
Creative Producers: Shajan Kavita, Vivek Swaminathan R
Executive Producer: Ajithkumar Natarajan
Production Supervisor: Good Night R Nagarajan
Production Manager: S Manikandan
Production Coordinator: Baba Mani
Sound Design & Mixing: D Uday Kumar (Sound Vibration)
Sound Design: Ranjith Venugopal, Saravana Kumar
Costume Designer: Abhinandini M
Chief Makeup Artist: F. Sasi Kumar
Fight Scene: Don Ashok
VFX: RENDERHOOD, Anandaraj R
Trailer AI Shots: Digibrix Entertainment
Color: Kaushik K S (Studio Space Monk)
Co-directors: Rahul Balaji, Rakesh
Directed by: Karthik Veerabahu, I. Rajan, Dinesh, M. Rajan, Vishnu
Stills: V Balaji
Promotional Stills: Benunanda
Advertisement Designer: Gautam J
Creative Ads: Venkat Ramanan, Rajasekhar
Title design: Yedhu
Public Relations: Yuvraj
