Urchagam

With its peppy title, Urchagam should have been a fun day at the theatres. Instead it turns out to be like a cola left standing for an hour.

Urchagam was touted as a film with the timeless debate--arranged vs love marriage. But in reality it is like a witch's potion that has lost its bite.

Nanda-- his father reprotedly holds a high post in Vaiko's MDMK -- is cast as Ganesh a jobless young man from Pallavaram in Chennai who runs into Jency, played by Sherin, at Velankanni during a festival. After some clumsy attempts at befriending her, the two become chummy.

But there is no fire in their meetings, and events follow at a pace set to put you to sleep.When Ganesh is about to declare his love for her, shetells him that the parish priest has selected aLondon based NRI Nicky (played by Dinesh Lamba)as a groomSo, how does one get the hero and heroine together? You can do it in any number of ways, but the director chooses a ridiculous one. He makes Nicky out to be a sadistic, insecure, ranting villain. He even drugs Jency in order to check her virginity. Wonder how that got past the censors!You cannot help but think of the way director Priya had handled the same situation,and the way she had carved the NRI character played by Karthik Kumar in Kanda naal mudhal . Like Karthik, Lamba too is a theatre artiste, and yet why Lamba overdid his part we will never know.

The only way Jency escapes Nicky is by faking her own death and shifting to Ganesh's house, while her mother is hospitalised. As a true villain should Lamba not have shadowed Ganesh? Instead he smothers Jency's mother to death at the ICU because she would not tell him where Jency is.

Like all Kollywood heroes Nanda too seems to have demanded and got his share of action scenes. Never mind if it does not fit the film's story. They dont have one anyway.

There is neither romance nor enthu (urchagam), not even a few good laughs.

 

Plus Points: none

 

Minus Points: too long to list