Friday, December 21, 2007

ORE KADAL


This is a film that turns out to be significant not merely for its singular plot, but for the tower house performances of its leading cast as well. It starts off with a series of vivacious shots of its protagonist making love; and in conversation, looking harried and a tad jaded. Mammootty lets go of an alleged reticence and is at ease being the unfussy womanizer; the slipshod gait or the unyielding gaze as he words those hazy lines in an outlandish accent lingers around as a trademark of a seasoned actor who knows his way about a job that he simply loves.Meera builds up her feat not out of grand gestures, but out of countless subtle little moments of growing love; the frenzy and the fury of a hapless woman caught in the midst of a surge of passion that leaves her devastated has been dexterously captured. Bela is an otherwise uncomplicated persona that should throw no fresh challenges to the fantastic actor in Ramya Krishnan. But the kind of anguish that she carries somewhere deep inside reflects particularly in her hazel eyes that refuse to shed a tear. The obstinacy and sturdiness of a bruised heart is all too evident in a staunch stare or a casual smirk.

Naren as the mystified spouse confidently underplays his part to perfection as well.The vital tale simply glows and demands a genuine attention to the nuances of voice and gesture. This is an account that could so easily be vulgarized, could be reduced to obvious elements of seduction, sex and melodramatic parting. Mammootty and Meera weave a spell, and it is based on that particular knowledge of love and self that transcends all ages and time.

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