- Date of Release: 28 July 2023
- Genre: Drama
- Language: Tamil
- Watch On: Jio Cinema
Appatha
Introduction
Onto the final release of the weekend and I finished watching the new Tamil film Appatha which is now streaming on Jio Cinema. One reason why I was willing to give the film a chance was because it is directed by Priyadarshan who was absolutely on song in the 90s and early 2000s. There is a definite sensibility to the man that makes him a genre filmmaker who is known to tap into different genres with ease. Yes, lately he hasn’t been in much form producing one dud after another but Appatha made me believe that he did have a thing or two up his sleeves as far as human emotions were concerned. Other than that, thr film marks the 700th appearance of Urvashi as an actor and that is such a staggering number beyond imagination. So with quite a few things going in its favour, does Appatha manage to impress, lets find out.
Story & Screenplay
Appatha follows the story of an elderly woman who finds herself in an odd place with only a ‘terrifying’ dog for company. Will she be able to cope up with the new environment? The story here is heartwarming in parts but one of the biggest letdowns in the script is that it is all over the place. A focused tale around the woman would have had a far bigger impact than what it serves here. The screenplay standing at a shade under 2 hours did seem slightly too long given its premise and there were a few lags along the way. It did have a few moments but overall felt a tad too long.
The drama has a sweet little premise with the introduction of the protagonist, an elderly woman who is leading a contented life in her beautiful village wherein she has a pickle business to take care of. The surroundings featuring bright sunshine and lush green trees are symbolic of her happy life although flashes of a flashback does give the viewers a perspective about her son who has always been rude and mean to her. This, until she is called to a big bad city to spend time with her son who incidently is about to set off on a vacation with his family.
The proceedings do have a sense of warmth until the halfway mark wherein the drama hits all the right notes in terms of the emotions it is catering to. And it was all about building on from that point, but surprisingly so, the writing starts running off in different directions. There is a track revolving the dog and the equation of the protagonist with it, while the former wrecks havoc in the society. There is another track on how the society disapproves of the protagonist and wants her to leave. And there is an undercurrent of the strained relationship that the protagonist has with her son. So the drama heads in three different directions as opposed to a focused narrative. Not to mention that there was a 20 mimute period in the drama where the sound mixing was completely off. Tch…absolutely unacceptable!
The final act is a complete mess with a cookery competition that is introduced out of the blue. The drama does unfold on predictable lines but it doesn’t help when you are catering to nuanced equations between characters. For instance, the equation between the protagonist and her son was resolved so simplistically whereas the reality was that the latter had created a ruckus just two scenes earlier. I was absolutely not in agreement with the ending and that didn’t matter too! It wasn’t written or executed any better. Overall, the screenplay is a bit of a hit and a miss for me that did not quite impress me.
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are conversational that ring in a positive vibe. The music is decent, as is the BGM and they manage to impress in parts. The cinematography is excellent capturing the contrasting frames of the city and the village rather well. The editing is patchy and wherein parts of the film did seem like a collection of scenes that didn’t quite add up. The sound mixing was totally a miss in the middle part of the film that amounted to a 20 minute disruption. Director Priyadarshan has a bit of a hit and a miss kind of an impact. While he begins on a good note, he rather fizzles off in the second hour. I wish I get to witness the magic of the earlier Priyadarshan soon.
Performances
The performances are decent by all actors but it is Urvashi in her 700th appearance that stands out. She is warm and effervescent in her performance and brilliantly enacts her part to the T. And she almost is able to save this sinking ship, but not quite at the end.
Conclusion
Appatha is a heartwarming drama in parts but also all over the place that results in just an above average product. Available on Jio Cinema.