'Annapoorani' movie review: This palatable Nayanthara-starrer needed more seasoning – The New Indian Express
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Fathers. Filmmakers like to discover the father-child dynamic, and it’s the golden goose that retains on giving. Whereas father-son movies are dime-a-dozen, there aren’t many movies that delve into the father-daughter dynamic. Even when that is explored, it’s largely relegated to an emotional tug-of-war between them about love. In debutant director Nilesh Krishnaa’s Annapoorani, the filmmaker doesn’t care a lot in regards to the romance. He’s extra inclined to speak in regards to the aspirations of the daughter, which is pitted towards the conservatism of the daddy. Proper from the time we see a doe-eyed Annapoorani as a baby, there’s a great join she has together with her father Rangarajan (Achyuth Kumar).
She appears at him with a combination of affection and reverence. She sees him as the person who let go of a profitable job to stay in Srirangam because the chief prepare dinner within the iconic Ranganathan temple. Here’s a man who can prepare dinner like a dream, and it’s this dream that Annapoorani grows up festering in her thoughts. She needs to be the most effective chef within the nation. However, one fantastic day, her father’s orthodox conservatism goes towards her liberal pragmatism. What begins as an earnest journey of a strict vegetarian’s sojourn into the world of meat and her survival within the cutthroat world of culinary arts, finally ends up as a scorching mess with sadly scalding spillovers.
Annapoorani begins with a kitchen accident, and as she recuperates, she has flashes that give us an in depth take a look at how she got here thus far in her life. She is blessed with “enhanced style buds that even need higher flavour in breast milk” and desires to affix culinary faculty proper after her undergrad. Rangarajan vehemently denies her aspirations as a result of he doesn’t need the temple chef’s daughter to be wherever close to meat merchandise, which is a prerequisite with regards to being in culinary faculty. From this level, the movie goes on a downward spiral with random, and rushed plots being layered one on prime of the opposite until we lastly attain the interval block the place the movie picks up some severe tempo.
Nonetheless, quickly sufficient, the randomness and rushedness get transposed into the second half too the place the avalanche of plots solely will get the narrative in a twist. The premise of Annapoorani is stuffed with numerous promise. The movie doesn’t beat across the bush with regards to the meat eaters vs vegetarian debate. It merely calls it as is thru the character of Annapoorani’s buddy Farhan (Jai). Nonetheless, the writing permits us to empathise with Rangarajan’s perspective greater than Annapoorani’s plight as a result of we by no means actually perceive why she chooses to resign her vegetarian methods. In fact, her alternative of meals is her prerogative, and it’s constructed as much as be such a watershed second in her life, nevertheless it simply fizzles away on display. Annapoorani can also be slowed down by its overwhelming conveniences.
With a beautiful Nayanthara on the centre of issues, Nilesh additionally brings in an nearly efficient empowerment angle. Whereas it really works within the total scheme of issues, it’s crammed into the final act and isn’t allowed to organically develop. The underrepresentation of ladies within the chef business is a vital argument, however ought to it come so late within the movie? Alternatively, full factors to Nilesh and Jai for cooking up the Farhan character, who’s just like the male illustration of the hundreds of thousands of heroines we’ve got seen in our male-driven star autos.
He is available in to say an encouraging phrase or two. He seems in a track or two. He has a few associates who’re extra inconsequential than him. Regardless of being a culinary scholar himself, we by no means see him do something other than being round Annapoorani. He disappears for a lot of the runtime and seems conveniently as and when wanted. All of this felt like so meta a commentary that I’d be stunned if it wasn’t meant to be one.
For a movie primarily based on meals, it’s disappointing that Annapoorani doesn’t have these mouthwatering frames that make us hungry. The background rating and songs by Thaman are too coercive and scream ‘empowerment’ a bit too vehemently. The largest downside with Annapoorani is the nice concepts not getting previous the end line. Ought to a chef must eat meat to be a great chef? Ought to age-old traditions are available the best way of 1’s goals? Is it okay to be egocentric about one’s aspirations? Does ardour have only one path to success? Annapoorani cooks up solutions for all this and rather more, however to make use of a line from the movie itself, it finally ends up making us say… “Nalla irukku… however semmaya illa.”
Director: Nilesh Krishnaa
Solid: Nayanthara, Jai, Sathyaraj, Achyuth Kumar, Karthik Kumar
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