What comes to your mind when you think of science fiction movies? ‘Back to the future’, ‘Interstellar’, ‘Inception’, ‘Terminator’, All the over the top drama, that we buy into for a stellar 2.5 or 3 hour escape from the reality, Yes, I know the feeling, Been there done that! But the what about our movies? How many science fictions do we recall when we talk of Indian Cinema?
“Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.“
Dr. Emmett Brown (Back to the future)
Barring ‘Koi mil gaya’, ‘Krrish’, I’m pretty sure there ain’t many . I’m a big fan of ‘Back to the future’, The story, the cast, the performances, all to the point, keeps you engaging till the very end, where the doctor says, “Roads? Where we’re going, we don’t need roads.” No, not touching the pause button, blinking 16 times per minute where my average is a hefty somewhere between 45-48. And the initial reaction that I had after seeing the classic was, “OMG! Who could explain time travel easier than this.” I was in total awe of this movie. And hence begin my love for time travel and shows related to time travel. I’m pretty sure I will write a blog on ‘Dark’ as well. If you too are like one of my those friends who have no clue what this show is all about, you have no idea what you’re missing.
’24’ which released in 2016 is one such unfortunately underrated movie no one talks about. Everything (Except the song ‘Naan Un’) was placed perfectly. The story goes a full circle and ends where it started and how! I absolutely loved this movie. I loved how they intended to make a high concept science fiction, garnish it with understandable/ relatable logic, wrap it under the star cast of Suriya(Who I’m a big fan of BTW), Samantha, Music of Rahman(Which went unnoticed this time as well), Cinematography of Tirru, Directed by Vikram Kumar(Who has previously directed the mindbender 13B) and hey! looks like you have the perfect recipe of a good film. But Indian audiences meanwhile were not interested. This movie slipped, not exactly bombed but we didn’t celebrate it either.
“நான் ஒரு வாட்ச் மெக்கானிக், இது எல்லம் எனக்கு சர்வ சாதாரணம்.”
“I am a watch mechanic, All this is too easy for me.”
Manikandan (24)
Okay, So without spoiling too much, I’ll try to generate the curiosity about the movie. It is obviously about time travel, as mentioned. But, the catch lies here that it is intertwined in so many twists and turns that somewhere in the middle you get a justification too as to why the movie is titled ’24’. The interval scene too is something of an ideal ‘interval scene’, I crave about in recent movies, but get disappointed. The classic case of setup and payoff too exists in the movie and you’ll be blown how this technique is so magnificently used. The dialogue which he keeps repeatedly saying ” நான் ஒரு வாட்ச் மெக்கானிக், இது எல்லம் எனக்கு சர்வ சாதாரணம். (I am a watch mechanic all this is too easy for me.)”, comes as annoying after the third time, But the last time he says it, impacts the entire flow.
If all this doesn’t convince you to give this movie a try, just see it in Tamil for the sheer acting prowess of Suriya. All three characters, All three different, All played with convincing conviction. As Aathreya, he plays a menacing villain whose terror we feel beyond the screen while watching and long after you’ve left the cinema hall. The way he walks/ talks/ thinks everything about him is threatening. Ruthless, Cold blooded prove to be insufficient adjectives to describe him. As Sethuraman, he plays a scientist, loving father, loving husband, reluctantly loving brother, who convices us that he is capable of pulling of something like a time machine. As Mani(Mani means time in Tamil, so thank me later for giving away this easter egg), he plays a charming adult who acts as a line who connects all the dots left away. It takes an actor like him to potray three characters in a movie and make us feel all three are different.
You can catch ’24’ in YouTube in both Tamil and Hindi versions.
CinemaScope: The Blog 