Kalloori - Review

Drawing inspiration from life is one thing. But taking up a true incident, making it the culmination point, and weaving a story around it is quite another. Writer-director Balaji Shaktivel, who tried it out successfully in Kaadhal attempts it yet again in S Pictures’ Kalloori .

The horrendous happening, in which a political melee led to the burning alive of three college students trapped in a bus, is topical, with the court verdict in the case making headlines recently. References to the Machiavellian act make your heart bleed for the innocent victims who gave up their lives for no fault of theirs. The barbarism hits you again with vigour when you see it on celluloid. Shaktivel uses it well to unfold a campus scene very different from a city college ambience, and paints poignant portraits on the large screen. But by giving an unwarranted romantic twist to a tale of healthy friendship, Shaktivel the story writer, slips.

It’s a culture shock for Shobana (Tamanna) from Bangalore, when circumstances force her to join a small town college. But soon she understands the simplicity and warmth of her group of 10 classmates. Though initially she intends attending the college only till she gets admission into Delhi University, the warmth of the simple folks makes her change her mind. Till this point matters are realistic. Unnatural behaviour creeps in when Shobana falls for classmate Muthu (new face Akil), a labourer’s son. Shaktivel, who could conceive several interesting happenings in the screenplay, could have thought of more plausible ways of taking the story forward.

Kudos to the unbelievably perfect casting! Most of them are first-time actors, but every character looks so true-to-life that you forget they are just performing their parts. Very ingeniously Balaji Shaktivel gives each an unforgettable individuality, right from Tamanna who fills the bill beautifully. Her costume and hairstyle add to the authenticity. Akil, who plays sportsman, friend and classmate Muthu, has just begun to learn the ropes of acting, but you can make out that he’s really slogged to do his best. Bharani as Ramesh, the student with a roving eye, is absolutely at home. While Hema, (Kalloori’s Kayalvizhi) impresses with her elder sister attitude, Vinod and Gopal, the inseparable twosome constantly at loggerheads, have you in splits. Just two scenes, but Shahjahan Gani, the English professor who tries to sell his guidebook to students impresses. Spontaneous, sensible humour runs through the warp and weft of Kalloori admirably. The innocent expressions of Satya (she plays Muthu’s sister) is another value-addition to the cast. The same goes for others too.

Cinematographer Sezhiyan’s outdoor shots are stunning. And be it the inter-college cultural scene, Muthu’s hut or Tamanna’s home, Mayil Krishnan’s art is genuine. In tune with the mood of the sequences is Joshua Sridhar’s re-recording. The racy Sariya Thavara number also highlights the lyric-writing skill of Na. Muthukumar.

Yet, despite several pluses if you still feel something is wanting in Kalloori, it’s because of the story that is skewed and affected after the midway point.