Review Overview
Performances
Narration
Cinematography & BGM
Bowls you with laughter
Cut from the same cloth as films such as ‘Soodhu Kavvum’ and ‘Moodar Koodam’, the humour in Badri’s film may not be dark but it’s refreshingly creative. There are hardly any instances where you feel the humour is force-fit. Or maybe in just a scene or two, but that shouldn't be a problem as the film is mostly funny.
Cast: Karunakaran, Vijayalakshmi, Simha, Balaji Venugopal, Naren, KS Ravikumar (Cameo) & Others
Cinematography: Dwarkanath
Editing: Venkatramanan
Music: Sean Roldan
Written & Directed by: Badri
Produced by: Upshot Films
Release Date: 09-09-2014
Run Time: 02:02:00
‘Aadama Jaichomada’ has the kind of comedy Tamil audiences most enjoy. It’s partly slapstick, but mostly situational and that’s a delight to watch. Cut from the same cloth as films such as ‘Soodhu Kavvum’ and ‘Moodar Koodam’, the humour in Badri’s film may not be dark but it’s refreshingly creative. There are hardly any instances where you feel the humour is force-fit. Or maybe in just a scene or two, but that shouldn’t be a problem as the film is mostly funny.
Revolving around cricket betting, the film focuses on a bookie, Dhayalan (Balaji Venugopal), who’s the mastermind behind the spot-fixing business. He’s been on the police radar for a long time and when they come to learn that he’s planning to rig a player in the upcoming semi-final match in IPL, the case is handed over to Bhoominathan (Simhaa) by the commissioner (K.S Ravi Kumar).
Two days before the match, with a large briefcase full of money, Dhayalan sets out to meet the player. He hires a taxi, chauffeured by Karuna. During the course of the car journey, both of them get acquainted very well and Dhayalan offers to help Karuna upon knowing that he’s neck deep in a mountain of debt. But Karuna’s happiness is short-lived as Dhayalan is killed mysteriously, and he becomes the prime suspect.
‘Aadama Jaichomada’, at two hours, which I think is the film’s biggest strength, attempts to be a crime-thriller as well as a sports-based comedy. It succeeds as the latter comedy and doesn’t quite do justice to the other genre it deals with. But considering how efficiently Badri has used the comedy angle in his story, one shouldn’t mind about this minor flaw.
Badri’s Thillu Mullu was a decent film, but since it was a remake of an eponymous cult classic, explains why it was not received well. He doesn’t repeat his mistake with his latest film, which despite being based on a controversial subject shows how successfully humour can be used to address a bigger issue without being preachy. Most importantly, neither does Badri blame the sport nor takes any names of the players who’ve been involved in spot-fixing.
Karunakaran is on a roll. The ease with which he makes even the most serious scene look funny is exceptional. He’s promoted as the film’s lead but it’s best to not get carried by that. Vijayalakshmi plays his pair and she has this cute role that was probably not etched well enough. The way she dreams of living in a house with an attached bathroom will leave you in splits, especially when she tells Karuna that’s her sole condition to get married. Simhaa chips in with an equally funny role. But audience’s favorite has to be Ravi Kumar’s role as the police commissioner. The ‘nattamai’ story in the film is unarguably one of the best and funniest moments to look forward to.
If only the two boring duets were avoided along with some crisp editing and subtle music, “Aadama Jaichomada” would’ve definitely been a winner. It still manages to entertain from the get-go.