Renigunta — Refreshing
Not often you stumble upon movies that you enjoy watching. I came to know about Renigunta accidentally only after a month of its release and got a chance to watch only recently and it didn’t disappoint me. The movie gets its name from the place Renigunta in Andhra Pradesh, where most of the story happens.
Renigunta, written and directed by Panneerselvam, is a surprise and a refreshing film that stands out from the regular commercial Tamil movies. It is good to see more movies in Tamil with not so big star cast. The art direction of the movie makes you feel the situation, let it be the pleasant monsoon or the scorching sun. The entire star cast are debutant and they blend well with the characters. Mazhai peiyum pothum is a pleasant and hummable song, the director could have avoided other tracks in the movie as they slow down the pace of the movie and does not blend.
The movie has few memorable scenes and the romantic scenes between Johnny (Shakthi) and Sanusha (her name is not mentioned in the movie) are cute and brings smile. Theepetti Ganesan(Dappa) steals the show. His Madurai accent and dialogue delivery makes him out do others. The other character that interests much is Manimekalai. She is not the regular friend of the heroine who just hangs around her to fill in the void. She is interesting, she has her own traits and the character follows it. Johnny’s parents make a strong entry but we forget them right after the scene they are killed. The rest of the gang members, Sanusha’s sister and her husband are also commendable.
The story is in narrative mode by Shakthi and is about young Shakthi falling into the wrong side of the society and the rest of the story is how he survives and what happens to him. Also the reason why the young gangsters, who are otherwise hard and cruel, help him is not strong enough. But the screenplay is handled in such a way that one does not have to complain about these loopholes. The movie keeps us occupied but few scenes are predictable. The movie does vaguely reminds of Veyil when he says that it rains whenever there is an important event in his life. Shakthi does not speak much, but he makes his presence strong in the scenes he is present. Equally Sanusha, who can’t speak, makes a huge impact with her eyes.
Overall the movie reminds us of certain Tamil movies of recent times but does not lose its charm. Renigunta is yet another Tamil film that makes a strong note that a movie does not need a star to make it shine, but beautiful story telling with a boy next door and a girl next door could make magic.
