Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe is branded from the moment it begins.
Credits roll.
Pia Bajpai’s name appears first, followed by newcomer Shabeer’s.
I smile.
This is a Lakshmy Ramakrishnan movie.
*****
There are no glamorous introductions in the world of Lakshmy Ramakrishnan. Pia Bajpai (as Maya) walks in almost undetected, as does Shabeer. This is not a star-driven project, Ramakrishnan tells us right at the beginning. Or simply perhaps, that’s the way women-filmmakers function. There exists a distinct dichotomy between the movies that Ramakrishnan and her ilk of directors make – and the ones churned out by their male counterparts.
There are no exaggerated shots here; no abject celebration of the female body, nothing unrefined.
Not a hair out of place.
*****
But it is a road movie alright. One that serenely chugs past dusty highways; across Trichy and Karaikal, picking up a ride here and shrugging one off there. That’s how Lakshmy Ramakrishnan introduces you to her protagonists. As passengers who hitch a ride aboard a truck; fellow sufferers of a nasty petrol crisis: a run-away couple, some friends, and a seemingly innocuous Thambi Ramiah, no less. Manned quite effortlessly and fittingly by Shabeer (who makes a charming debut) as the convincing truck-driver. He ambles into a tea-shack with a cool swagger; gestures authoritatively for a glass of tea, dirty lungi tucked in at the waist. He swings himself in and out of the driver’s cabin with practiced ease, and eyes the rest of the populace with disdain. He’s a truck-driver alright. The world lies at his feet. Or at least, several feet below.
Nerungi Vaa… is more a slice-of-life story; there’s nothing by way of a rigid tale here (the traditional listener in me does ache for one, though). It drives you past several families, randomly chosen from different walks of life, and speaks of their ritual everyday occurrences. But it also has a dash of mystery and intrigue all the same, and an unexpected interval block that reinstates faith in the second half.
*****
Recommended
The movie touches upon many subjects: parental love, crimes against women, societal prejudice, friendship and love, trust and betrayal. But it’s cautious all the same; almost as cautious and stern as a parent can be, dithering every now and then when there’s a whiff of romance. It’s a film where love is conveyed in words, where romance doesn’t go beyond holding hands, where women are tastefully clothed, but nothing beyond, and where a single mother pursues a flourishing career.
It also gently reprimands; the couple who runs away from home is quite lovingly asked to ‘finish their education first’, the wayward son is made to realise his folly, and the errant daughter is taught to respect her mother.
Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe is a movie made by a parent. And is probably the first unproclaimed ‘family entertainer’ out there.
*****
The Nerungi Vaa Muthamidathe review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have an advertising relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.