The audio release of Cheran’s
Pokkisham was held on Sunday, the 19th
April at Kalaignar television studio
in Chennai. The event was telecast live
on TV and was attended by many of the
industry’s top directors who expressed
their faith in Cheran’s ability
to mesmerize the audience with his creations.
The CD of Pokkisham was formally released
and two songs were screened for those
present.
It would be an understatement to say
that what was shown on screen was a
revelation. We know Cheran as a master
craftsman who has touched the chords
of our hearts with sheer poignancy of
his creations. The emotions evoked by
Thavamaai Thavamirindu still linger.
Knowing all that and expecting nothing
short of high standards from Cheran,
one still felt that what was being shown
now was something of an elevated standard.
Cheran spoke and said that the film
is all about love. The story is set
in the 70s and the love will have all
the charm of that era; when love happened
slowly but steadily where a strong emotional
chord was formed between the two lovers
even before they confessed their love
to each other. The film will take us
through the myriad emotions that two
such lovers go through. Cheran plays
the role of a marine engineer (Lenin)
based in Calcutta and Padmapriya plays
a Tamil literature student (Nithira)
from Tamil Nadu. Their love takes form
even as they are separated by distances
and that is said to be the beauty of
the movie. “Everything that is
said and done in the movie will leave
an impression in the heart of anyone
who has ever fallen in love” said
Cheran and we believe him.
As said above, the movie is set in the
1970s and that in itself necessitates
elaborate sets to replicate the era.
However, the budget did not allow for
such liberties and Cheran had to scout
many places before deciding upon a small
area in Calcutta where the architecture
was a throwback to the past. Small modifications
to the hoarding and advertisements and
the paints on buildings recreated the
1970s and brought it alive, as was seen
in the songs screened. Cameraman Rajesh
Yadav and art director Vairabalan should
be lauded for their role in realizing
Cheran’s vision. One thing that
really surprised is Padmapriya’s
role as a Muslim girl; she seems to
have lived the character. She said at
the function that this was one of the
most challenging roles in her career.
She has done a marvelous job. Perhaps,
her previous experience of playing a
Muslim character (in the Malayalam film
Amritham) helped her a bit.
The two songs that were screened ‘Nila
Nee Vanam’ sung by Vijay Yesudas
and Chinmayee and ‘Varum Vazhi
Engume’ by Renjini, were soulful
and lovable compositions. The picturization
too is brilliant, not the regular song
and dance type, but one where the characters
embed themselves in our minds. The songs
appear to be written and composed strictly
with the script in mind and Sabesh-Murali
have done a great job of meeting the
requirements. This is the composer duo’s
25th film. Their score is soothing,
melodic and all those good things that
are so rare in our lives.
The first impression given by the audio
launch is that Pokkisham will be a film
that will stand true to its title and
be treasured by Tamil cinema lovers.
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