Right now, there is talk in Tamil cinema of remaking some older films. But actually, we've always had
films that try to replicate the success of an earlier, popular film by presenting the same story. Just that
they didn't call explicitly call themselves remakes. Azhagesan was one
such film and Ilavattam falls in the same category. It has the same underlying story as
Vasanth's Aasai but as in Azhagesan , the weak cast and poor screenplay
ensure that the film is no match to the original.
Srinivasan(Navdeep) attends school with police officers escorting him and aces the annual exam to win
the University gold medal. At the function to receive the medal, under prodding from the District
Collector(Suhasini), he recounts his romance with Lakshmi(Sheela), his classmate, and the problems they
faced.
We've had a number of movies set in college campuses but Ilavattam is set in a school. Not that it
makes any difference to how the environment is portrayed. Male teachers, portrayed by actors like
Baskar and Manobala, exist simply to be ridiculed by the students while the female teachers are sex
objects who behave in ways that fuel the students' libido. But they all share the trait of dumbness
and play the role of comedians in the movie. Sex and mischief are the only things on the students' minds and
the movie, in many places, seems more vulgar than its counterparts set in colleges because the participants
are younger.
Lust, rather than love, is the defining factor of the romance between Navdeep and Sheela too. But that makes
sense(even if it feels a tad uncomfortable) considering the ages of the leads. Hearing them mouth long
dialogs and declare undying love to each other would seem silly considering how young they are. So
their immaturity towards their romance, their eagerness to be alone and their inability to keep their
hands off each other when they are alone, seem realistic.
Once Prithviraj reveals his true colors, the movie turns into an Aasai clone. But the subtlety
and the cunningness of Prakashraj's acts in that movie are replaced by loudness and dumbness here.
Prithviraj's moves to achieve his goals are overt and make him likely to be caught any time. If he
does go as far as he does, it is only because the people around him are as stupid as he is! I mean, if
a man knows that his son-in-law has tried to kill his wife, would he ask his daughter to divorce him and
hand him over to the police or would he remain quiet and ask the son-in-law to meet him in an isolated
spot in the middle of the night?!
Navdeep has kinda sad eyes that make him look inexpressive. And his voice doesn't help either. But Sheela,
on the other hand, is a good find. She is feisty and energetic and expressions come easily to her.
Prithviraj is, as always, as over-the-top as his character and he gets uncontrollable towards the end.
Suhasini comes in one of those roles where she gets to lecture students on the benefits of concentrating
on their studies.
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