Raa Raa (2011) - Tamil Movie Review

Cast :

• Udhaya as Bharathi
• Shweta Basu Prasad as Gayathri
• Ponvannan as Shivashankaran
• Adithya as Dhana
• Sathyan Sivakumar
• Meera Krishnan
• Susan George

Directed by : Sandilya
Produced by : Keerthika Udhaya
Screenplay by : Sandilya
Story by : Sandilya
Music by : Srikanth Deva
Cinematography : R. Saravanan
Editing by : S. Surajkavee
Studio : Jaeshan Studios

It might not be in the league of Madras to Pondicherry but despite its strange little title, Royapuram to Royapettai as a movie doesn’t fail you in many counts. For one, the title is delightfully suggestive of the movie’s story. And then the actors play their parts almost flawlessly without further ado. Add to that an unpretentious story and a near cliché less narrative; you get nothing less of a wining combination. Here’s one more small-timer movie that does not solely depend on the star power but only on the strength of its story and the vigor of its actors’ performance.

Royapuram to Royapettai is a simplistic love story about two people with background that is so disparate, it’s seemingly impossible for them to unite in marriage. But if they give up, where is the story for us? So they do, not before trying their best leaving no stone unturned to convince the hard-nosed, orthodox father, often conning him into believing lies about the background. Although the story reeks of good old masala movies, the director has consciously stayed away from being typecast.

Udaya is from an orthodox family, whose father Ponvannan lives by Thirukkural and the conventional principles dictated by his Brahmin clan. When Udaya falls for Shreya Basu who hails from a fishermen village, no less, all hell breaks loose. However, the couple decides to play it cool and win over the orthodox father’s heart. Do they do it is what Royapuram to Royapettai is all about.

As you can see, the script has immense potential for comedy and it’s being fully exploited. For instance, the scenes where Ponvannan is invited to the girl’s house and everybody pretends to belong to a Brahmin household. Their crude Tamil peeps in between their put up Brahmin accent and you end up smiling without a choice when the actors put up an earnest performance. And the comedy seems quite natural and not contrived. In the same breadth, when Shreya Basu’s family tries and learns Thirukkural to appease the likes of Ponvannan, it’s side-splitting.

Although Udaya as the unfortunate youngster who falls for a girl whose family is totally unlike his, delivers his role as is required, it’s Ponvannann who takes the cake for donning the role of a tough, orthodox dad with a dark past. The Thirukkural fanatic who also dictates terms at his house is also a mellow man at heart. He after all wants the best for his children. None of these emotions can be brought out this effectively by anyone other than Ponvannan. Shreya Basu is a cutey pie but she will need lessons in dialogue delivery if she wants to stick around for longer.

First half of the movie revolves in comic indulgence. Scenes of Udaya’s falling in love with Shreya, the meet up of the families and so on and so forth keep the pace of the movie. Director Santilya has efficiently laced comedy and drama and it works to an extent. Srikanth Deva has turned to melody here and the song featuring Thirukkural is a winner.

Royapuram to Royapettai is a family entertainer to put it in plain words. It has everything going for it – excuse the slackening pace during the second half and the negligible clichés – for a neat commercial entertainer, and it might not be a bad idea to spend an afternoon over the movie.

Verdict: Family comic drama!