Naduvula Konjam Pakkattha Kanom ( NKPK) - Movie review

Naduvula konjam Pakkattha kanom

I am normally not an active watcher of Tamil movies. I honestly cannot tell the difference between an Ajith from a Suriya or a Vijay and I do not really know who the latest among the heroines is the hot babe these days.       

This is not to say I avoid Tamil movies. To the contrary I am passively exposed to an overdose of Sun TV, Jaya TV, K Tv, Vijay TV and the rest everyday from the drawing room where my folks watch them like their life depended on it. Much as I  try to shut myself up in my bedroom and get cocooned to the internet or curl up with a book, the not so soft subtle Humour of Vadivelu, Vivek,  kavunda mani and Senthil pierce  the walls of my bedroom crystal clear and attack me from time to time.   

My blood pressure occasionally shoots up when I try to decipher the exact point the participant tries to make in Visu’s 'Arattai ranagam' when I am trying to catch up on my second dose of sleep ( after the 6.30 am to 7.30 am yoga class) on Sunday mornings. Try as I may, I cannot help the overwhelming tendency to  strangle the scheming sister in laws and manipulative mother in laws in thangam and thendral every weekday evening.

In order to preserve my sanity I plug in my earphones under the pretext of attending 'US call' and prefer to keep away from the influences of the idiot box that in my house spews out only Tamil Serials and movies.  

OK … I do average about one Tamil movie an year as an active watcher. The recommendation usually comes from Anand, my cousin who I think is turning into this walking talking encyclopeadia of movies.   His choices and recommendations are usually spot on.

This time around he recommended

Naduvula Konjam Pakkattha Kanom ( NKPK).

Literally translated it should mean – some pages in the middle are missing.

And that is what the movie is all about.  

At a time when Bollywood and Tollywood are notorious for lifting concepts and storylines from less popular western movies, doing a mix and match before adding  generous quantities of pungent Indian masala and dishing out blockbusters to the hapeless local audience, here is one story that is going to set the trend in reverse. 

Bollywood and Hollywood please make note. NKPK is an original script and story that can be adapted and remade worldwide. Any resemblance to the hollywood Blockbuster ‘The Hangover’ is genuinely coincidental.

NKPK is original because its characters are original.  The story is the real story of the Cameraman of the movie. The script writer is also one of the main actors. It is so realistic in its portrayal of characters that you completely miss acknowledging any effort that could have gone into dramatizing and story telling.   

 The characters are everyday people that you could meet in any Chennai suburb. Their accents and their everyday struggles is something that one could easily associate with in the modern day city life.

On a serious note the storyline of the movie that also makes once reflect the probability of what would happen if we were to forget a slice of our past, not necessarily by a freak accident but by choice.  

The tension  and struggles associated with ‘Love marriage’in the emerging Indian lower middle class, the family feuds that get patched up or hushed up during weddings, the everyday struggles of youth in their mid twenties, the friendship and camaraderie ( or the lack of it) between the haves and the have-nots,  the pre-adolescent puppy love, the mute resignation of any chances of love in early adulthood, the struggle between generations in middle class families are just some slices  that you get to relish in this movie that is guaranteed to lift up your spirits with a laughter riot from time to time.

NKPK for short beats all expectations.

Overall NKPK is a good watch for any serious movie buff and a good stressbuster for a casual one.     
Busting your stress is important not just for your heart but also your head. To be more specific the contents inside your head ... the cerebrum, cerebellum, hypothalamus, Grey matter, white matter and of course the MEDULLA OBLONGATA :)