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OMG! (Oh My God!) |
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| Behindwoods
Movie Review Board |
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Starring:
Santhanam, Ganja Karuppu, Jyothirmayi, Madhumitha, Rajesh,
Ilavarasu, M.S. Baskhar, ‘Thalaivasal’ Vijay,
Delhi Ganesh, Madan Bob, Kuyili
Direction: Simbhudevan
Music: Vidyasagar
Production: ‘S’ Pictures |
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Simbudevan’s
Arai En 305il Kadavul, produced by director Shankar’s
S pictures, is an attempt to explore the theory of existence
of God through a comedy! The film seems inspired by the Hollywood
comedy Bruce Almighty which starred Jim Carrey and Morgan
Freeman.
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Unemployed
Santhanam and Kanja Karuppu find themselves suddenly
thrown out on the street in the middle of the night
because the Mansion manager, M.S. Baskar, refused to
be burdened by their rental arrears anymore. However,
their friendly neighbors take pity on them and request
Baskar to postpone their ousting till morning. Having
been granted mercy for a night, the frustrated duo swears
in distress, hurting the Almighty’s sentiments.
God (Prakashraj, who else?) himself appears before them,
but is subjected to their denial and mockery, questioning
his authenticity. A few tricks and avatars (costume)
later, the astonished friends are at His feet.
Prakashraj agrees to stay with them for a week and reveal
his secret of running the world. He shows them his hi-tech
galaxy box with which he communicates with his teammates
(the folks in heaven, to be precise) and explains to
them that whoever is in possession of such an asset
will be bestowed with all the wealth in this world.
Having been provided with sufficient inspiration and
information, our young friends steal the Galaxy box
from God, reducing him to a human being!
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Left with no choice but to make His way in the world, Prakashraj
(aka God), begins leading a normal human’s life, while
the duo make merry with the help of the Galaxy box. Prakashraj,
however, teaches the duo a few life-lessons about simplicity
and virtue as he follows them around. Will God ever regain the
Galaxy box? Will the duo find everlasting life and happiness
after acquiring the Galaxy box? The answers, now, are in the
hands of Fate – because now, ironically, even God is subjected
to fate. |
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Arai
En, as anybody can gather, is a social satire that
intends to preach a lesson or two without trying to
be judgmental. The lesson is mostly about God’s
existence, and what His ideal contribution to current
society ought to be. Although funny in parts, the
movie is unable to sustain its flow with a script
so serious that it forgets to amuse and entertain.
For the same reason, the dialogues between Prakashraj
and Rajesh on the topic of God’s existence seem
like they jumped straight out of some debate show
on television.
Prakashraj’s role as God does not emerge as
meaty as it sounds and is anything but challenging
for the actor. Having said that, it is also difficult
to imagine another actor in his shoes and the choice
couldn’t have been better. Santhanam deserves
a
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special mention for largely underplaying his character without
going overboard with the customary earsplitting dialogues
he is usually identified with. Kanja Karuppu isn’t
too bad either.
Rest of the cast worth a mention include Thalaivaasal Vijay,
Madanbop, V S Raghavan Rajesh, M S Baskar, VMC Hanifa, Madhumitha,
Jyothirmayi and Kuyili. Baskar, Manobala, and Hanifa lighten
up the somewhat dreary screenplay with a few laughs. Kanja
Karuppu’s police station comedy also provides a little
respite from the ‘God or No God’ preaching.
Vidyasagar’s Aavaaram Poovukkum sung by Shreya Ghosal
is the catch of the album and the duet number Thendralukkuu
Nee is also worth paying attention to. It is evident that
the editor found it difficult to trim the canned scenes,
and so can’t be blamed for the length or the sluggish
pace of the movie.
Simbudevan
seems to have begun making an attempt to classify the movie
- either into a children’s movie or a full-length
all-class comedy entertainer- and then given up in the end,
leaving his comedy with an identity crisis.
Verdict - Get ready for some preaching!.
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