The life of Mathematical wizard Srinivasa Ramanujan is not known to many and Gnana Rajasekaran who has a directorial repertoire in the form of Mogamul, Bharathi and Periyar, attempts to throw light on this extraordinary genius’s accomplishments, which remains largely unsung, through his biopic Ramanujan.
The film opens with “Ramanujan, the man who saw tomorrow’s Math yesterday” and closes with the details of his axioms which are being used widely in contemporary technological advancements and also in everyday life. The Math prodigy was much ahead of his times but sadly was not well recognized during his period which the director showcases in an unambiguous form.
Rajasekaran chronicles the events in Ramanujan’s life in a linear fashion starting from his Kumbakonam days where the young Ramanujan questions his Math teacher and later tutors people who are much older than him and then goes to his Cambridge times and finally comes to his last days.
Detailing is one of the highlights of the film and Rajasekaran has to be appreciated for demonstrating the period feel well. The role of Professor Hardy in bringing out Ramanujan’s talents to the fore and his undying faith on the genius are well communicated. The scene when Hardy explains about respecting Ramanujan’s religious beliefs to Abbas, sensibly balances Science and faith systems. The way in which he frees Ramanujan from the British police is quite endearing.
Ramesh Vinayagam’s music is mellifluous and none of the tracks are a forced entry. Thuli Thuliyai is a well picturized number. Sunny Joseph’s camera travels unobtrusively and captures the terrains of Kumbakonam and Cambridge in a very effective manner.
Humor is sprinkled here and there in occasional scenes and the monochrome nature of the proceedings are transformed with the arrival of Bama and the frames involving her and Abhinay come as refreshing whiff of air.
Abhinay Vaddi, grandson of the legendary Gemini Ganesan and Savitri, in the titular role, appears tall and good but has to loosen a bit in the emoting sectors. Suhasini plays Komalathammal, the omniscient mother of Ramanujan who makes all his decisions while Nizhalgal Ravi is his dad. There is a plethora of supporting cast in the form of Sarath Babu, Delhi Ganesh, Y Gee Mahendra, Mano Bala, Abbas, Kiity Krishnamurthy to name a few. However it is Bama who plays Ramanujan’s wife who steals the show with her expressive eyes, beautiful countenance and understood performance. She sure is a good talent to watch out for!
On the downside, the film’s narration is snail paced, with the biggest drawback being lack of any inspiring sequences usually associated and expected from biopics. Documentary feel does come through in many sequences where artists give the impression of acting out in a stage play. It is a good idea to make the English actors speak in Tamil although it sounds a little odd initially. Also, the dubbing artists who have lent their voices to English actors sound very very native with English dialogues.
In all, Rajasekaran should be credited for showcasing the life, tribulations and accomplishments of an unsung Math genius on the silver screen thereby making the legend be known to a wider audience.
Review by : Behindwoods Review Board
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