Movie Review : Photographer
But when his father insists he joins the business, he asks for some more time. For he has am important dream to pursue, and that is to explore the mystery of the forests if Mathikettan Solai in the hills of Kodaikanal.
He sets off in search of a golden tree that his mother had described to him in childhood, in order to photograph it. But setting foot into the forest, despite all warnings of the dangers of the mysterious forest by the villagers, that too all alone, proves more than he had anticipated.
What happens to Veera in the forest? What dangers does he encounter? Does he survive the journey? Does he find the tree?
The film slowly but steadily builds up the suspense around the forest which is the pivot of the story, aided largely by the superb cinematographof Raees Ahmed, who builds up the atmosphere with superb shots and color palettes adding to the mystery and anticipation.
The camerawork is the highlight of the film, while the sound design is another solid pillar of support. The regular eerie templates are replaced by different sounds befitting the setting, without overpowering the narrative. The music and bgm are effectively used to amplify the feel of the film.
Though a mystery fantasy adventure, the film also has large doses of sentiment, mainly seeing Veera and his mother, when he was a kid. Tbose portions, are well filmed and though they slow down the pace, they bring out the theme and message the film is trying to convey.
Ashraf Ali plsys Veera with aplomb, conveying very well the desperation, fascination, amazement and worry, in different phases of his journey.
Janani as his girlfriend makes a brief appearance while Karunakaran as his friend makes his presence felt. A good supporting cast has been well chosen but the major portion belongs to Ashraf's well enacted solo performance inside the forest.
On the flip side there are few logical loopholes, and contrived scenes which slow down the pace.
However, the film is a visual delight and an engaging attempt to explore a different theme from the usual, with layers of mystery, suspense and emotions.
Rating 3/5
Cast:
Ashraf @ Veera
Janani Samathanam @ Darshini
Karunakaran @ Kabilan
Uriyadi Siva @ Mathi
Aadukalam Naren @ Senguttuvan
Devi Mahesh @ Adini
Written & Directed by: Ashraf
Producer: Abdul Basit Syed
Co-Producer: Mohammed Feroz
Creative Producer: Chandru K.N.
Cinematography: Raees Ahmed
Music: Rajkumar Chandrasekaran
Editing: RC Pranav
Fight training: Dinesh Subbarayan
Art: P. Saravanan
Dialogues & Lyrics: Preman
Costume Design: Monisha
Sound Design: Sync Cinemas
Sound Mixing: Aravind Menon
Makeup: Arun
Stills: Komalam Ranjith
VFX & Animation: Paperplane Sanath TG – Satish CD
DI: Mango Post
Colorist: Franklin V
Public Relations: Sri Venkatesh
