Synopsis: A bus conductor and driver accidentally hit a person on road and get involved in a murder mystery. Will they be able to clear their names?
Remaking the Malayalam film Ordinary, Karu Palaniappan gives us yet another family entertainer with a multi-star cast. The film, as the director tells in a voice over at the start of the film, is a journey into the lives of two characters — bus driver Karuppu ( Parthepan) and the new conductor Subbu ( Vemal) — and the characters that they encounter during their daily bus trip from Palani to Pannaikadu, a hillside village with a motley bunch of characters. Given that they have to spend the nights in Pannaikadu to make the return trip to Palani in the morning, they become almost a part of the village. Subbu even falls in love with one of the villagers, Kalyani (Manisha), who is also a regular passenger on their bus.
But, one day, an unknown man falls down in front of their bus and the duo thinks they have accidentally hit him, and send him to the nearby hospital on a jeep that happens to pass by. But, soon, Subbu is arrested for murdering the person, who is revealed to be Shiva (Sanjay), the son of Vinayagam (Rajesh), a respected man in the village, and the fiance of the school teacher Nirmala David ( Poorna).
Jannal Oram starts off as a routine village drama, populated with some interesting and some not-so-interesting characters. There is Saami ( Vidharth), an orphan who does odd jobs for everyone in the village, Justin ( Ramana), a teacher who has a soft spot for Nirmala, a church Father, a drunkard, a tea shop owner and his girl who flirts with Karuppu, an idler and so on. We get introduced to these characters and see the dynamics of the various relationships here. So, when the murder happens, the director provides us with many suspects, which helps to hold the suspense.
Overall, the film is competently put together and somewhat interesting but you cannot escape a lingering feeling that it should have been a little ambitious and much better. Too much time is spent in getting us familiarized with the characters that for large stretches in the first half, we wonder when the director will get to the story. The songs, which are shot indifferently, only add to the length. The second half is better paced but even here, some of the actions of the characters are cinematic and the beats feel a bit too familiar — Subbu's secret getting out, Karuppu chancing upon the jeep driver, the final revelation. But sometimes, familiarity can be comforting and in that aspect, the film delivers.
Rating:***
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/Jannal-Oram/movie-review/26649086.cms
Remaking the Malayalam film Ordinary, Karu Palaniappan gives us yet another family entertainer with a multi-star cast. The film, as the director tells in a voice over at the start of the film, is a journey into the lives of two characters — bus driver Karuppu ( Parthepan) and the new conductor Subbu ( Vemal) — and the characters that they encounter during their daily bus trip from Palani to Pannaikadu, a hillside village with a motley bunch of characters. Given that they have to spend the nights in Pannaikadu to make the return trip to Palani in the morning, they become almost a part of the village. Subbu even falls in love with one of the villagers, Kalyani (Manisha), who is also a regular passenger on their bus.
But, one day, an unknown man falls down in front of their bus and the duo thinks they have accidentally hit him, and send him to the nearby hospital on a jeep that happens to pass by. But, soon, Subbu is arrested for murdering the person, who is revealed to be Shiva (Sanjay), the son of Vinayagam (Rajesh), a respected man in the village, and the fiance of the school teacher Nirmala David ( Poorna).
Jannal Oram starts off as a routine village drama, populated with some interesting and some not-so-interesting characters. There is Saami ( Vidharth), an orphan who does odd jobs for everyone in the village, Justin ( Ramana), a teacher who has a soft spot for Nirmala, a church Father, a drunkard, a tea shop owner and his girl who flirts with Karuppu, an idler and so on. We get introduced to these characters and see the dynamics of the various relationships here. So, when the murder happens, the director provides us with many suspects, which helps to hold the suspense.
Overall, the film is competently put together and somewhat interesting but you cannot escape a lingering feeling that it should have been a little ambitious and much better. Too much time is spent in getting us familiarized with the characters that for large stretches in the first half, we wonder when the director will get to the story. The songs, which are shot indifferently, only add to the length. The second half is better paced but even here, some of the actions of the characters are cinematic and the beats feel a bit too familiar — Subbu's secret getting out, Karuppu chancing upon the jeep driver, the final revelation. But sometimes, familiarity can be comforting and in that aspect, the film delivers.
Rating:***
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/Jannal-Oram/movie-review/26649086.cms
