What Is the Story About?
Ezhilan (Vidharth) is a hearing and speech impaired guy. After two sleepless nights in the hospital looking after his ill daughter, Ezhilan falls asleep in a Metro on his way back home. Antony (Karunakaran), a co-passenger, clicks a picture of him and shares it with his friend. The latter posted it on his social media profile which went viral and made Ezhilan a meme content. How the whole thing affects the life of Ezhilan and what he does to regain his integrity is the movie’s story.
Performances?
Vidharth and Karunakaran play the main roles in Payanigal Gavanikavum. Both have critical parts, but Vidharth gets the more compelling and challenging one. He plays a deaf and dumb guy who is wronged without his knowledge. He slips into the ordinary guy role nicely and delivers in the key emotional scenes with his son and also towards the end.
Karunakaran is a happy, social media addict Dubai return guy. He is fine initially but goes overboard (in a subtle way) as a man suffering from internal guilt. It could have been cut short for better impact. The rest of the act is alright.
Analysis
Shakthivel Perumalsamy directs Payanigal Gavanikavum. It is a remake of the Malayalam movie Vikruthi. The story is a simple yet relatable one dealing with one kind of social media evil and how it affects the commoner.
As mentioned, the story of Payanigal Gavanikavum is a simple one. Therefore, a lot of time is taken to establish the characters and the world. But, with limited roles, the narrative feels stretched beyond necessary.
The narrative comprises two main characters and their worlds. The first one is that of the hearing and speech-disabled guy. It takes time to get used to the act and also the communication. The pace is also plodding. However, the father and son track in the proceedings is compelling. The initial aggression and later the emotional bonding are neatly done. As a viewer, one feels for him and also roots for his justice.
On the other hand, Antony, who sets the chain of events in motion, lacks the same compelling quality. The pressure felt by Antony feels extended more than needed. All the scenes of worry before the marriage and later with the wife add to the length and give a dragging feeling.
There are also sequences which seem force-fitted into the narrative to deliver a message or give an idea to the ordinary person. The meeting with the lawyer is a clear example which tells the issue related to online crimes. They seem so simple in nature, with many not even realising the problem.
It is only towards the end that some momentum and emotional urgency are felt from the story’s point of view and also from Antony’s side. The entire climax portion in the airport is decent, and it saves the day as far as the movie is considered.
Overall, Payanigal Gavanikavum is a moderately engaging realistic drama. It has compelling parts, but the drama as a whole doesn’t work due to the slow pace and thin story. Give it a try if you like to match some realistic emotional drama.
Other Artists?
Apart from the main two guys, others have limited roles but critical parts. Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli plays a character turning the tables around related to the disabled lead. In contrast, Masoom Shankar plays the girlfriend and later wife of the other lead. The silent suffering and the outbursts are well portrayed. The boy playing son has his moments. Prem Kumar as the honest police officer is decent in the brief scope given to him. The rest of the actors are adequate.
Music and Other Departments?
Shamnath Nag’s music is okay. The songs add to the length even though they are primarily montages. The background score is too on the same level. S Pandikumar’s cinematography is poor. There is a visibly low budget quality all the way. Even with that limited resources, it could have been better. RS Sathishkumar’s editing also could be crispier. The writing is reasonable.
Highlights?
Message
Some Compelling Drama
Relatable Story
Drawbacks?
Boring Narration
Formulaic Parts
Forced Emotions, In Places
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes, In Parts
Will You Recommend It?
Yes, But With Reservations
Payanigal Gavanikkavum Movie Review by Binged Bureau
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