Brindhavanam Movie Review
Review Overview
Performances
Screenplay and Direction
Technical Aspects and BGM
A simple, heartening slice-of-life drama!
Brindhavanam is a simple, heartening slice-of-drama which is packed with some poignant moments that either leaves you laughing or ruminate about the particular aspects of life.
Cast: Arulnithi, Vivek, Tanya Ravichandran, MS Baskar, Subbu Panchu
Director: Radha Mohan
Cinematography: MS Vivekanand
Music: Vishal Chandrasekhar
Editing: TS Jay
Produced by: Vansan Movies
Brindhavanam is a simple, heartening slice-of-drama which is packed with some poignant moments that either leaves you laughing or ruminate about the particular aspects of life.
Set in the backdrop of Ooty, the film revolves around Kannan (Arulnithi), a speech-and-hearing impaired hair stylist, who finds joy in being honest, truthful and helpful to his neighbors by running their errands. How Kannan’s life changes after he meets his idol actor Vivek (who plays himself) forms the plot.
Radha Mohan has always demonstrated his audacity as a writer by penning scripts with minimal setups, a handful of relatable characters and touching dialogues, courtesy Pon Radhakrishnan. And, he has proved it again in Brindhavanam that a well-written story need not have any extravagant gimmicks just for the sake of it.
Arulnithi has always shown his penchant for choosing meaty roles, and he has again excelled in an author-backed character. His simple expressions and natural body language elevate the role of Kannan.
However, it’s Vivek who steals the show with his witty one-liners and sharp critiques. He is a cut above the rest of the cast and aces the role with some genuinely funny moments and shines in emotional sequences. Tanya Ravichandran has delivered a terrific performance and comes across as a natural actor, very unlike her debut flick Bale Vellaiya Theva where she had nothing much to do.
Although narrated in a realistic manner, Brindhavanam feels contrived on a few occasions, and the backstories of characters pretend to be non-existent. The climax stretch is a long, drawn-out affair and takes the cliched route for closure.
After a long time, it’s good to see a lighthearted film with lovely laughter moments without any dominating body-shaming dialogues or female-bashing instances. Like the most films of Radha Mohan, the treatment is mostly catered to the urban audiences.