Attakathi

Whenever I've seen a good movie, I have always wanted to write a movie review. Here's my first review. The movie Attakathi, is a Tamil movie, set in the suburbs surrounding Chennai. It is about the love life of the hero Dinakaran, who is lovingly given various nicknames throughout the movie.

The movie is funny, I enjoyed the humorous and mostly pathetic situations that the hero finds himself in as he pursues one girl after the other. This movie is different in the way it portrays the hero's love. Unlike other movies where heroes love just one woman or at the most two, here the hero pretty much falls for any woman who even accidentally happens to glance in his direction. His life's ambition is to have a love marriage, so he tries really hard.
Every single attempt of his to win the heart of a girl, fails miserably. Even as the hero suffers insult after insult, the audience will love the humor in the situation at the expense of the poor guy. I have to say I was quite repulsed that the hero kept jumping from one girl to another and just as I was beginning to lose interest, the hero completely renounces his love life. He also forbids his friends from falling in love, which obviously doesnt go down well among his friends and eventually a rift happens between them.

Now comes the part, which I truly enjoyed the most. The hero becomes a bad boy in college.He goes from being called 'Attakathi' to the name 'Routu Thala'. Routu Thala means he is the leader of his particular bus route. Everyone looks up to him and he lives a carefree life.
Right at this point, a blast from the past, walks back into his life, in the form of the heroine, Poornima.She had years ago rejected the hero's advances and now she befriends him and really becomes a caring friend. The hero once again softens and begins making changes in his life for her sake. He dreams of rekindling his his love for her. The rest of the story revolves around whether she reciprocates.

The heroine, Nandita is a good, pretty find. It is only fitting she is called Nanditha. I didnt know her real name while watching the movie, but throughout I kept thinking how she resembled one of my favorite actresses, the talented Nanditha Das. The heroine even has teeth just like Ms.Das.

This movie is carried fully on the shoulders of Dinesh, the hero. He has excellent body language and expressions. Even though it is his first movie, he delivers an amazing performance, perhaps owing to his theater experience. But whatever the reason, Dinesh has acted as though his life depends on it. I love the scene where he tries to feel sad because a woman has rejected him, fantastic. When he walks in as the ring leader, he has great screen presence. Seeing him lift his collar and walk across the screen was like watching Karthik in Mouna Ragam.

The director has delivered a movie to which anyone can relate portions of their life to. Attakathi means cardboard knife. That's what kids would play with: it would provide great amusement but it would be harmless, at the same time.

This 'Attakathi' provides amusement and food for thought, as well, without preaching.
All in all, Attakathi- sharp!