Nesippaya Review – A Romantic Thriller with an Uninspiring Storytelling!

Nesippaya Review – A Romantic Thriller with an Uninspiring Storytelling!

Nesippaya Review – A Romantic Thriller with an Uninspiring Storytelling!

Ashwin Ram

Nesippaya is a romantic thriller starring Aditi Shankar and debutant Akash Murali in the lead roles. Directed by Vishnu Vardhan and the music is composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja.

Premise:

Akash Murali and Aditi Shankar are in a relationship, she expects some space from him for her career growth and goes to Portugal for work. Unfortunately, she gets trapped in a murder case and has been sent to prison. The hero goes all out to prove her innocence which forms the remaining story.

Writing/ Direction:

For a film that portrays a series of events, the story writing and the screenplay arc is convincing enough. The reason for the lead pair’s breakup is mature, the threat situation that helps them both to reunite and even the conflict reasoning is worthy. Somewhere, the paper to screen transition goes wrong with a bunch of things landing ineffectively. The seed for various plot points are appealing, but the development lacks sincerity which fails to create an impactful output. There is no depth in the characterizations of the lead pair, both personally and professionally. The narrative is more oral rather than showcasing sequences that lead to it. There is an inventive clothing business idea with the Online Trial Room concept, but that is left abruptly without further progression. The hero saving a random girl from danger that results in his favour in the later part is indeed predictable, sadly director Vishnu Varadhan has over-utilized the aspect by taking multiple areas of the script forward by using it as a tool. The initial portions of the love track are silly, gets better once the feeling is mutual, but again fumbles without letting us understand them deeply. Aditi Shankar and Sarathkumar have separate flashbacks, the core is suitable for modern times but the flat presentation misses out on the engagement factor. Certain meaningful elements in the writing get spoiled by being contradictory to the intent. There are many illogical stretches in the second half where the hero gets to meet whomever he wishes and achieves whatever he wants comfortably. The hostage situation is carelessly handled by taking many things for granted including the audiences’ caliber. Superlative production values, filming at many live locations in Portugal makes the happenings believable. Also, the directorial smartness is evident in approaching the casting choices and dialogues that have a mix of Tamil, English and Spanish.

Performances:

Akash Murali has a lot to improve as an actor, he struggles to convey emotions by maintaining a stone-face in the dramatic love scenes, he is comparatively better in the action parts. Aditi Shankar overperforms when she had to be jovial, thankfully gets the meter right in the serious scenes and in areas where she had to cry. Sarathkumar and Khushboo in extended cameo roles, there is a scope for them both in the story, but weak writing water downs their presence. Kalki Koechlin is an interesting pick, she completely justifies her role and great effort in dubbing with her own voice. Vikkals Vikram is notoriously loud on-screen, he just keeps shouting whenever he appears.

Technicalities:

Pretty decent songs from Yuvan Shankar Raja, not a great one like the earworms he provided for newcomers back then at his prime, not a bad one though. Background score is appealing, neat work both the light-hearted scenes and heavy situations. Appreciable camera work too, the Portugal locations don’t awe us, but cameraman Cameron Eric Brison has provided what is best for the subject. Sreekar Prasad’s editing is apt, he has packed the film to his best by handling the input he has received.

Bottomline

Vishnu Varadhan has got the basics right, the development is where the film misfires. Aditi Shankar has shouldered from the performance front, an expressive hero with better acting skills would have made the difference.

Rating – 2.5/ 5