Film: Rubaai
Director: M Anbazhagan
Cast: Chandran, Anandhi, Kishore Ravichandran, Chinni Jayanth, Harish Uthaman
Chandran and Anandhi, who had put up an impressive performance in Prabu Solomon’s Kayal, are back as a pair again in Rubaai. This time the director has turned producer, while Anbazhagan is at the helm. There are a few similarities one could identify with Kayal, though. This film, too, has Chandran, who plays Bharani, falling in love with Anandhi’s character at first sight. He has a close friend, this time, too. Babu (debutant Kishore) and Bharani are youngsters who confidently think themselves as ‘muthalalis’ as they are self-employed. They have a lorry, which earns them their daily bread.
Kunguma Raja (Chinni Jayanth) is shifting his home and seeks the help of Bharani and Babu. Bharani falls in love with Raja’s daughter (Anandhi), and she, too, starts reciprocating during the course of their journey to the new home. Meanwhile, a ruthless criminal (Harish Uthaman) successfully robs a bank and is on his way to hand over it to the person who had assigned him the task. The cops who have been alerted about the same are on a hunt for him. He manages to escape from getting caught by putting his money bag wisely on Bharani and Babu’s lorry. However, his plan misfires as he fails to trace their vehicle. With the help of a person who was asked by a businessman to seize the duo’s lorry, the criminal sets out in search of them.
Tamil cinema has for sometime now tried to borrow iconic villains from the West but has not been too successful. Take, for example, Naren, whose Joker impression in Mugamoodi garnered more winces than claps. In Rubaai, we get our own version of Anton Chigurh, one of the greatest villains Hollywood has produced this side of the millennium. Manisharma (Harish Uthaman) steals two crores worth of money and during this robbery, he is found out by the roving security guard.
After overpowering the guard, he then proceeds to strangle him and tries to do this as noiselessly as possible. But enter a distraction in the form of Kungumaraja (Chinni Jayanth) and the villain now has to take the Chigurh route with a powerdrill headshot.
The buildup to this particular scene is so meticulous that when it eventually unfolds, it feels very organic and plausible. You see, Kungumaraja may be auspicious in name, but always brings bad luck to everyone around him; so much so that the neighbourhood celebrates with fireworks when he leaves home. The man is also obstinate that loans not be returned and chastises his daughter, Ponni (Anandhi), for doing so. The lead characters, Bharani (Chandran) and Babu (Kishore Ravichandran), who have to pay off loan sharks. Everyone’s need for money is a recurring and important theme in the film.
Such a mix of oddball characters with similar ambitions requires sharp writing to keep the audience engaged, and for much of the movie, there is enough evidence to suggest that. But the songs and their needless placement really breaks the rhythm.
The lead pair is also rather underwhelming, as a result of which there is little emotional investment. That these portions serve as a function of moving the story forward isn’t in question though, and D Imman’s background score does help a lot. But the problem arises when you get distracted from the overall point of the film. Also, the sound editing is all over the place with a lot of supporting characters seemingly engaging in a shouting match.
Although the film falters towards the end, the director has to be commended for not being as overtly advisory about the message he wants to convey. There are clever subversions throughout this film, which rides on the shoulders of Chinni Jayanth and Harish Uthaman.
Perhaps with better lead actors and sharper dialogues, this film could have been a real paisa vasool. In its present form, it’s just all right.
