Director: V J Gopinath
Cast: Vetri, Karunakaran
‘Jiivi’ opens with shots of a used water bottle being crushed on the road, under the wheels of in-rushing traffic. No, this has nothing to do with the water crisis engulfing Chennai (though you do wish it rained for real as much as it did in the film)! We are explained by the narrator, the protagonist Saravanan (Vetri), that the crushed bottle is representative of the hardships faced by a new settler in Chennai. Over the course of a few cross-cut scenes, we get to understand this analogy better- Saravanan used to be an iconic, influential citizen in his own village but is now relegated to working in a juice shop along with his friend Mani (Karunakaran) in Chennai.
Though a school drop-out, Saravanan is blessed with oodles of intelligence and is also a bibliophile of sorts (what a refreshing character sketch for a Tamil cinema protagonist)! It is this (over)confidence though, along with the grief and angst from a failed romance, that leads him to commit the crime that forms the crux of the film- a meticulously executed robbery at his landlady’s apartment, followed by the framing of another innocent man. What fascinated me were the scenes that preceded this event. I loved that there was a full, brilliantly written sequence where Mani and Saravanan debated out the morality of the act. ‘Wasn’t God watching when we were running around with our struggles, let him watch this too’, retorts Saravanan emphatically when questioned if God wouldn’t be watching this sin from above! Things get complicated in the aftermath of the robbery though, when Saravanan starts observing eerie similarities cropping up between episodes in his own life and his land-lady’s. At one point he is convinced that this poses a big threat to his friend Mani’s life and embarks on a full on investigation of his own. Make no mistake, this is still more out of fear than repentance. And these amoral shades have been woven in beautifully over an extremely elaborate plot and screenplay. Though gripping for most parts, what was a bit of a letdown for me was a lack of conflict. Take for example another film where the protagonists try to conceal their crime from the police- Papanasam. In that film, though they do manage to achieve this in the end, they encounter tremendous pressure and trauma at the hands of the cops who leave no stone unturned to investigate. Here however, the cops seem no match for Saravanan as he glides through with his intentions and is always one step ahead. Things almost never go wrong! One interesting character I would have loved to see more of is the police informant played by Bosskey. There is an air of suspense and mysticism around him, that you feel has been wasted. Also, you do feel Vetri could have emoted much, much better throughout the film. His character had tremendous potential to bring out an acting masterclass. Thankfully, this is more than made up for by Karunakaran who simply revels in his side-kick role and entertains in every frame!
Ultimately, Jiivi is a very good attempt by the makers, not least for the meticulousness in the writing of an elaborate plot. Along with Game Over, it joins the list of films this year that attempt to bring in new ideas and a breath of fresh air to the industry. With more conflict, better acting and perhaps a shorter run time, it could have been even more effective.
Overall rating: 3/5
