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The movie opens in the lab of Arya, who is a scientist in the year 2065 who has invented a Time Machine, to demonstrate its safety he sends his dog in the machine to 2015 and automatically returns to 2065 in a few seconds after taking some pictures. Right in that first scene, the debut director &  writer Ravikumar R impresses us with the amount of detail in the graphics showing the Time Machine and the future. This attention to detail continues throughout the film and that’s what makes Indru Netru Naalai (இன்று நேற்று நாளை) a delight to watch.

In the opening scene one of the lead characters Pulivetti Arumugam (played by Karunakaran), an astrologer is in an astrologer’s certification exam. Showing Astrology in a sci-fi movie is a nice contrast, the director has been careful not to upset the belief in Astrology, but makes fun only of the people who cheat in the name of that study. The scene where the Time Machine appears in front of Pulivetti and the hero of the film Elango (played by Vishnu Vishal) has been choreographed carefully, with clues left for us to decipher, answers for which are revealed in the climax. To handle the issue of how two ordinary folks will operate a time machine, they are joined by a local science enthusiast Giridhara Parthasarathy (played by T.M.Karthik), who earns his living by freelancing as a mechanic fixing kitchen mixies. After they encounter the Time Machine, they stumble upon a mechanism to shrink it, making it easy to carry around, the design imagery of this exceeded my expectation for a Tamil film.

The plot on how they make use of the Time Machine has been kept simple and believable, for Elango & Pulivetti it’s not about taking over the world, they are simply not capable of thinking that big, but it’s about leading a comfortable life. When they travel to pre-independence Madras, the hues get restricted to black ‘n’ white, a nice touch to the storytelling. In every time travel film whether it’s Back to the Future or The Time traveller’s Wife, it’s a given that the Protagonist encounters his past or future self, in this film too there are such encounters, but they have been scripted to be uncomplicated and brief.

இன்று நேற்று நாளை (2015)

இன்று நேற்று நாளை (2015)

Vishnu, Karunakaran, Mia George, Jayaprakash, Sai Ravi and T M Karthik are perfect casting for the roles they play. Kudos to Vishnu & Karunakaran for a fine performance, Mia George fits well the rich girl lover character, the chemistry between Vishnu & Mia George is palpable too.

In an SCI-FI movie, it’s easy to stray from logic, get carried away by graphics, and convolute the plot, but Ravikumar doesn’t take the audience for granted in any scene. From the first scene, the humour sustains itself as background music, never straying far into slapstick type. Throughout the film, the writer has worked hard in every scene for the plot to reach the audience and earn their appreciation.

Overall, Indru Netru Naalai is a fantastic movie that’s sure to entertain all its viewers. It’s a must-watch.

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