Today evening show in Devi Theatre, I saw Anegan (அனேகன்). Directed by popular cinematographer turned hit Director K.V.Anand. Anegan is starred by Dhanush and debut actress Amyra Dastur. Yesterdays love hero Karthik plays an important role.
For a change let me start with this – I liked the film.
Anegan is a love story between Ashwin (Dhanush) and Madhu (played by Amyra) across 3 generations. The film starts in Burma in the 1950s when Tamilians lived in large numbers there and Tamil merchants (Chetiyars) dominated the business. The Burmese scenes were shot in Vietnam and Cambodia (as per Wikipedia), leaving that technicality aside I felt the scenes to be very colourful. For a change in recent Tamil films, instead of seeing India or the US (like in all Gautham Vasudev films), Burma and their local customers appear different with a lot of life. The film starts with a Tamil construction worker (Dhanush) saving the life of a Burmese General’s Daughter (Amyra) at a trade fair. What follows is usual, but the director should be appreciated for showing the mass exodus of Tamilians from Burma after Junta rule in the 1960s as the background for the love affair not succeeding, this kindles our emotions.
Then comes the present-day love story, where Ashwin and Madhu are working in a Video game development company headed by Karthik. At the risk of deviating from multiple generations plot, the Director shows the worsening work pressure situation and medications taken by software professionals. Madhu hails from a rich family with boundless wealth managed by her maternal uncle. Then the story switches gear to go back to yet another generation. This one happens in the 1980s in North Chennai outskirts when a local painter (Dhanush) falls in love with a Brahmin girl (Amyra) and they are killed by a villain. The climax is how the love interest succeeds after struggling for many generations and the bad guys are punished. Though the climax twist is not unexpected it has been told well, it could have been better if it was a bit shorter. Though Anegan is not another 3 hour+ movie, at 160 minutes I felt it could have been shortened.
Brilliant performance by both Dhanush and Amyra, who both have played nearly 4 different roles across time periods well, they have brought the individual characters to life in their enacting. For Karthik, this is a big break and he has used it brilliantly. I thoroughly enjoyed the scene where Dhanush imitates Karthik – it shows how far as an actor Dhanush has come. Songs were mediocre, surprisingly (for me) many in the audience stood up to dance for the song “Danga Maari Oodhari“, which I couldn’t understand a word due to the loud music and all the whistle in the theatre.
The film had a great plot, bordering on fantasy and Director has used it well. Reducing a bit of heroism on Dhanush character in all generations could have made the film stand out, but that would have certainly disappointed fans of Dhanush – for that reason, I agree with K.V.Anand for having them. Overall, a thorough entertainer you will enjoy.
Anegan (2015)