Arima Nambi Review: Stylish Thriller

Arima Nambi is all about action. Slickly executed action, aided by RD Rajsekhar’s camera that moves with alacrity, from brightly lit pubs to dingy lodges, spiraling through narrow streets and dashing around malls. It’s difficult to take your eyes off the screen when the chase is on. But the plot is familiar though – a hero hard on his heels to save the heroine from a cagey enemy. A bit of Gilli and Daud, but the difference lies in the packaging – stylish, riveting and clever.[quote align=’right’] It’s obvious that Anand Shankar is no novice – from the confident execution and the taut writing. [/quote]

The movie opens at Hard Rock Café, where Arjun Krishna (Vikram Prabhu) is having a drink with his friends. Enter Anamika, the heroine; quickly followed by Arjun falling for her. Drummer Sivamani (who marks his debut as a music director) goes ballistic with pitched percussion (drums, octaban and goblet drums), so much that one can actually visualise him in the background, drumming his heart out. That his attempts at melody (“Idhayam”) fall flat is at least partly due to the blandly executed song sequences.

We find out quickly that Arjun is a well-mannered chap with honourable intentions. As Anamika who agrees to go with him on a dinner date the very next day notes, he’s the guy who holds doors open for the lady, eats without making noise and insists on paying the bills. She even plays FLAME to check out their compatibility (Is it still around?). So on their first date, they share a drink and nobody makes a big deal out of it. He even gets invited to her apartment for a bottle of vodka.

[quote align=’left’]The difference lies in the packaging – stylish, riveting and clever[/quote]But Arima Nambi is all about action. So backstory is cursory at best, an excuse to get to what the director really wants to showcase: the thrilling chase and the high adrenalin action sequences.

And so Anamika gets kidnapped, barely 20 minutes in.

It’s left to Arjun, with some support from an honest police constable (MS Bhaskar) to trace her and unravel the mystery. What follows is a tautly written game of cat and mouse; with ample measures of thrill and suspense; wily mind games and ruthless power play. The editing is spot on, particularly in the first half.

It’s obvious that Anand Shankar is no novice – from the confident execution and the taut writing. His hero, Arjun Krishnan is today’s guy; someone who thinks on his feet. He has strong convictions and integrity; but he does not hesitate to commit a crime so he can get his girl back.

The villain ( JD Chakrvarthy) is all black, menacing yet predictable. Even though he is introduced with much fanfare (and style), his character is not developed well, perhaps because he is pure menace and nothing more than that. There are also a horde of a mini villains that make fleeting, yet impactful appearances – the deadpan body guard of JD, the henchmen, Arjun’s greedy friend. There are hints left around that make sense later on: why does Arjun want to save a girl he met only a day before? Anamika too is no mere eye candy, bravely standing up with Arjun in his fight.

Vikram Prabhu seamlessly makes the transition from a soft-spoken boyfriend to a shrewd action hero. His chemistry with Priya Anand is crackling and a few scenes stand out- like when he excuses himself to go to the bathroom before their first kiss, thrilled yet anxious; preparing himself with mouthwash but wondering if things were going too fast. Priya Anand does a capable job and looks flawlessly turned-out throughout the movie. Even after some grueling action.

During an interview with Silverscreen, Anand Shankar had said-“We made sure the camera was always in the zone of heat.” He was spot on.

The Arima Nambi 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.