There’s so much to talk about Nedunalvaadai — a rare and unpretentious depiction of village life that stays grounded to achieve its purpose — whose core is about the separation — of a man and woman, and a grandfather and his grandson.
It begins with the introduction of Chellaiah (Poo Ramu, in a remarkable character), an aged farmer who feels the absence of his grandson Elango, settled now in Singapore. Selvakannan establishes their relationship in an over-long yet effective flashback. About half-hour into the film, we get a sense of their world. Elango, his mother and sister are left to survive on their own, after the untimely demise of his father. They’re forced to return to their village. In a heart-warming stretch, Chellaiah looks at his wailing daughter and quickly takes her family into his, even though hers was a inter-caste marriage.
Even those alien to the milieu this film is set in, will be able to admire the hyper-realistic portrayal of its characters. The film manages to achieve this despite having a storyline that sticks to a tried-and-tested formula which begins with: “Oru azhagaana graamam; adhula oru anbaana thatha..”
Selvakannan gets a lot right.
Children in this film are innocent and fight over mangoes and chalk pieces. It’s relieving to see them desist from giving life advice to adults. The portrayal of the rural woman is refreshing and progressive. They are upright and bold; they speak their mind and sometimes, even swear (without the customary censor beeps, thankfully). At no point in the film are they moral-policed by the men. The film also touches upon caste, and the struggles faced by farmers, without ever turning preachy. The screenplay remains focussed on the main characters.
The absence of an antagonist adds more beauty to Nedunalvaadai with the only villain here being ‘society’. It is a society that makes Kombaiyya (Mime Gopi) develop venomous hate towards his sister; it is what pushes Chellaiyya (Poo Ramu) to fear for his grandson’s future; it is what separates Ilango (Ilango) from his girlfriend.
It’s hard not to notice the detailing in every scene. Be it the Nellai dialect in which they refer to atrocity as ‘odi sandi thanam’, or minute details like the increase in the number of chains worn by the initially bare-necked Pechiyamma (Sendhi) as the film progresses, the film shines. There are constant reality checks throughout the film, and whenever, say, a love scene seems to be getting out of hand, co-actors speak for the audience when they say something like, “Loosa pulla nee?”
The performances of Poo Ramasamy and the debutant Anjali Nair hold this film together and stops us from paying attention to its weakest point, the story or rather wwthe lack of it. It felt so good to see a female actor convincingly pull off a character that is both vivacious and sensible at the same time. Poo Ramasamy comfortably gets into the skin of his character, be it the scene in which he looks at Ilango’s report card and says, “Nee puthagatha eduthu padicha madhriye therlaiye pa,” or the one in which he hands over his property to Pechiyamma and says,“Enna ippo setha, thooka naalu paeru vara maatan. Adhanaala enna?” He really steals the show.
The casting choices help the film enormously. Unlike our mainstream miscast North Indian heroines. Anjali Nair is very relatable to the story and the place the film is set in. Elvis Alexander is adequate for the role of Ilango. But there are scenes which make one wonder if the film would have been more impactful had it had a better protagonist. However, despite, all its shortcomings, Nedunalvaadai is definitely a pleasant surprise this month.
With the brilliant performance of Poo Ramu as an ageing farmer and the engaging writing of Selvakannan, Nedunalavadai, starring many newcomers, is definitely a surprise this month. Watch the film for its story and performances.
