Truthful remake that makes us forget the original

The film is an official remake of Annirudha Roy Chowdhary’s Pink, that focuses on the very relevant issue of women’s consent and how insensitively the judicial systems treats victims. Though there is no change in the storyline, the director of Nerkonda Paarvai, has made some cultural adaptations to suit the sensibilities of Tamil audience.

Meera (Shraddha Srinath), Andrea (Andrea Tariang) and Famitha (Abhirami Venkatachalam) are working women living in a posh south Chennai locality. They meet Adhik (Arjun) and his friends post a rock concert and decide to hang out with them for a drink. Things become a nightmare, when Meera (Shraddha Srinath) hits Adhik with a bottle causing grievous injuries to save herself from being molested. However, Adhik and his friends decides to seek revenge and does everything that’s possible to make the girl’s life miserable. They even try to frame the three girls as sex workers and an FIR is filed. All this continues for a while until, Bharath (Ajith), an aged lawyer, who suffers a from bipolar disorder, takes on the girl’s case. The film completely transforms into a court-room drama in the second half, and sends out some powerful messages to the audience. Their argument questions the society’s mindset where we think girls wearing glamourous outfits and those who enjoy a drink with men are low on morals.

There is a scene in the film where Ajith says, ‘Be it a friend, sex worker, wife or lover, when a woman says ‘No’, it means ‘No’’. This is what makes Nerkonda Paarvai an engrossing watch. When such hard-hitting, intense dialogues are voiced by someone like Ajith Kumar, the effect is amplified. However, unlike the original, the director has taken the liberty to incorporate a couple of ‘mass moments’ in the pre-interval sequences to satisfy the actor’s hardcore fans. While that works to an extent, the romantic sequences with Vidya Balan in the second half makes it a drag. The film belongs to the girls, as they have performed exceptionally well. While Shraddha Srinath steals the show in the second half, it is Abhirami and Andrea in the first. Every single actor has delivered the best and has helped to make this remake an engaging flick. Yuvan Shankar Raja’s background score comes as the rescue during dull moments. Especially, Vaanil Irul song, gives us that connect to empathise with the characters on-screen. Save the best for the last — Though Nerkonda Paarvai is not his kind of film, it looks like, Ajith has given it all. His dominance in the second half silences the courtroom and the audience. The intensity in his performance was something that any fan of his had been longing to watch all this year. Overall, Nerkonda Paarvai, is a truthful remake that is much-needed for today’s times.