Sabdham Movie Review: On the one hand, while doing villain-character roles.. and occasionally doing good films as a hero, the Telugu-born Tamil hero Aadi Pinisetty is showing his uniqueness. He has teamed up with Arivalagan, who made a very special film in his career, 'Vaishali', after a decade and a half.. Noosa. This film, which raised expectations among the audience with an interesting trailer.. Let's see how much it has met those expectations.
Story:
A couple commits suicide in a medical college in Munnar, Kerala under mysterious circumstances. Another girl, who is their friend, also goes missing. With this, the reputation of the college is being tarnished by the publicity that there are spirits, the management brings Vyoma Vaidyalingam (Aadi Pinisetty), a ghost investigator who conducts scientific research on spirits, to the college.
The college elders plan to make him confirm that there are no spirits in the college. However, he notices suspicious things in the college space. His suspicion that there are spirits in the college is strengthened when the third girl who disappeared also commits suicide.
With this, he devises a plan to discover the existence of spirits in his own style. And as he thinks, are there spirits there.. and if so, how many are there?. What is their past?.. What is the mystery behind these deaths?.. All these questions need to be answered on screen.
Analysis:
There have been many horror films in Indian film history, but among them.. Eeram (Vaishali in Telugu) is very special. The point of the soul choosing a vehicle and expressing its presence through it.. and fulfilling its goal, not only surprised the audience but also the way that idea was executed was amazing.
With this film, Arivalagan, a disciple of Shankar, proudly announced his arrival as a director. Even after that, he made some different films. Now, the film he made with Adi Pinisetty, who played the hero in 'Vaishali'.. Noom. Just like the Adi-Arivalagan combo, 'Vaishali' comes to mind.. The concept of this film reminds me of 'Vaishali'. While the vehicle there was 'water'.. here 'sound' became the source.
But just as 'water' did its magic there.. here 'sound' could not engage the audience as much as it was expected. Even in this one, the idea seems exciting.. but the way it was executed does not seem as interesting as it was expected. The impact of 'sound' has been reduced due to scenes that do not seem convincing.. and seem unnatural. The concept.. You can try 'sound' once for some crazy scenes, but.. it does not provide a special experience like 'Vaishali'.
The feeling you get when you see an idea you have never seen before on screen for the first time is different. In the movie 'Vaishali', the point of the heroine's soul taking revenge by using water as a medium.. created such a feeling. However, when watching the movie 'Shabdam', the surprise factor in it was missing here because it felt like it was repeating the idea of 'Vaishali'.
If there was no movie 'Vaishali'.. the point of souls using sound as a medium to fulfill their goal would have seemed very crazy and the audience would have been surprised. Leaving aside the similarity with 'Vaishali',.. the concept of 'Sound' creates some curiosity in the audience. The introduction of the hero's character as a ghost investigator.. the task he faces to solve suspicious deaths.. the moves the hero takes to solve it.. all these also seem interesting.
The director has also succeeded in setting the mood of a diverse thriller by choosing the backdrop of Munnar. The episode where the hero discovers the souls in the college library stands out as a standout in 'Shabdham'. After this episode that arouses intense suspense.. shocks us.. We eagerly await the story related to the mystery behind the souls.
However, the flashback episode has become a big minus for the movie 'Shabdham'. The story behind the souls seems overwhelming.. but the director has not been able to get any emotion out of it. The director has shown something by linking it with sound, saying music therapy.. scam.. but.. all that also feels very unnatural.
Neither is it an emotional workout.. nor does the concept seem convincing, the entire flashback episode has been a misfire. The director tried to talk about some theories, but.. he could not present them convincingly.. meaningfully.. interestingly on the screen. 'Shabdam' is a mess right from the flashback.. and after that, it could not engage the audience at any stage.
Although there is no shortage of twists in the story.. they are not wow-worthy. Leaving aside the sound concept.. the problem starts with the souls.. then the story of those souls is revealed.. and finally they complete their revenge.. In this, the outline follows the template of average horror films. Overall, the concept in 'Shabdam' seems interesting. Some episodes are good. But as a complete movie, it could not satisfy.
Actors Performance:
Adi Pinisetty easily got into the different character of Ghost Investigator. Adi movies.. once again established the belief that there will be variety in his roles. Adi's performance was neat. There is nothing to be ashamed of for his performance. The heroine Lakshmi Menon also did well.
Her role has a good significance in the story. The heroine of yesterday's generation excelled in the most crucial role. Seeing Laila in the role of Nancy may surprise the audience. She was able to portray negative shades well. The artist who played her pair also did well. The comedy of King's Lee's Redin spread laughter here and there. M.S. Bhaskar.. All the other artists are okay.
Technical category:
Thamaman's music is the biggest strength of this film. Since the concept of 'sound' is linked to sound.. the role of music has become very crucial in every scene. Sound can be seen as a character in this. Thaman's background music played an important role in showing maximum impact with that character.
The songs are not important in this. Arun Padmanabhan's cinematography is also very good. The cameraman's effort in creating a mood through visuals in the backdrop of Munnar is commendable. The production values are not compromised. Writer-cum-director Arivalagan.. has provided the novelty that the audience expects from him.
He has researched a lot and written this story. However, no matter how hard he tries.. the results will come only if the ideas are presented convincingly on screen. But Arivalagan could not do this work to the fullest. Although the beginning of the story.. the plot is good.. the director became confused near the flashback episode. He could not make the important scenes convincingly.. logically. Arivalagan's quest to do something new is commendable, but that novelty is not enough to please the audience.
Rating-2.5/5
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