TN-07 AL 4777 …. Worth the ride!
Starring: Pasupathi, Simran, Meenakshi, Ajmal
Direction: A.Lakshmikanthan
Music: Vijay Antony
Production: Mahadevan Ganesh and Usha Venkatramani
A remake of a film can be handled in two ways. The director may either decide to make a rip-off of the original or he can decide to keep the essence of the story and direct it in his own style. Director A. Lakshmikanthan has decided to do the former and has made a sincere attempt to stick to the original made in Hindi (Taxi No 9211) and has succeeded in doing so.
Like in Hindi, which had Nana Patekar and John Abraham in lead roles, the tamil version has Pasupathi and Ajmal (Anjathey fame) manning the wheel. For those who have not seen the hindi version, the story goes like this.
TN 07 AL 4777 is all about two personalities who are quite opposite and belong to the two extremes of the spectrum of society and how the hands of fate bring them together.
Pasupathy, a taxi driver, lives with his wife Simran and son. However, not wanting to disclose about his profession, lies to his wife that he is an LIC agent. Ajmal is the son of an extremely wealthy and affluent father who dies leaving his Rs. 500 crore property to his friend Venkatraman not trusting his profligate son. Meanwhile, a previously written will by Ajmal’s dad is in Ajmal’s locker. Ajmal files a complaint against Venkatraman in the court that the latter has cheated his dad and to prove his point he is on his way to the bank locker to produce the old will written on his name.
On the particular fateful day, Ajmal travels in Pasupathy’s car and in his haste to reach the court in time, he hurries Pasupathy and lures him with money for a fast ride and forces him to violate traffic rules. Pasupathy also heeds to Ajmal’s pleas succumbing to the monetary bug, which eventually lands his taxi in an accident that leads to a street brawl and police intervention. Later, Pasupathy is taken to the police station. Meanwhile, realizing the seriousness of the situation, Ajmal slowly slips away. Now Pasupathy hits the jackpot when he realizes that Ajmal in his rush, has left in his taxi, the key to the locker and decides to settle scores with him using this as his trump card.
What happens to Pasupathy after this and how he uses his trump card and whether Ajmal gets his property form the rest of the plot which is narrated in a very interesting fashion.
The film moves at a brisk pace and definitely is a refreshing change from the traditional tamil movie. Lakshmikanthan has definitely handled Paupathy and Ajmal well and has handled the script nicely. The scenes where the both of them meet surely lights up the screen. The fact that the film run for just two hours itself is a “new” to tamil cinema. One interesting touch the director has given is where he shows the highlight of events that took place in the first half in a song sequence after the interval. Good Job!
There are minor irritants and illogical incidents in the movie though. Like for instance, Paupathi’s taxi has stickers all over it which says it is a “Call Taxi”. But everyone on the road seems to be stopping it as if it is a normal taxi. But cinema is entertainment isnt’it ? So these minor things do get buried under the great performances of the cast.
Pasupathi, as usual, has done a wonderful job as a taxi driver. That he speaks in a language spoken by most drivers in Chennai is befitting for the role. Be it his encounters with Ajmal or lying to his wife Simran, he just fits the role. And so does Simran as the housewife. Though this is a small role for her, she has done a superb job as Pasupathi’s loving wife.
Ajmal looks hot as the rich brat. Completely different from what he did in Anjathey, he has acted well understanding the nuances of the role. You may get a feeling that he needs to emote more in specific scenes but sure this lad has a long way to go in Kollywood. Meenakshi as Ajmal’s girlfriend has nothing much to do in the movie.
Vijay Anthony’s songs do not jibe well with the movie but has done an excellent job in the BGM department. Sorgam Maduvile remix? Oh give us a break Vijay. Thottatharani’s art direction is something worth mentioning in the movie.
Gurudev’s camera work is not spectacular but good overall. Editing by Sasikumar is slick with some interesting transitions.
Overall, TN-07 AL 4777 is a simple movie with interesting plots in it. The ride might be a little bumpy as on Chennai roads but this is definitely worth the travel.
-C.Karthik |
