Neram (2013) User Reviews (14)

Simply Good

[saranjoker · 8/10 · 4 August 2013]

I came to know Neram from one of my malayali friend, she had the malayali version of the song "Kadhal Ennulle" in her mobile. First I didn't know the movie was going to be released in Tamil till the "Pistah" song hit the YouTube, and I was impressed how it was made. Later went to the movie not expecting anything. But began to expect something after seeing "I copy from every movie ever made -Quentin Tarantino - I Agree to this - Alphonse Putharaen(Director)" in the Intro and also the dedications.

Okay now about story,since you must have heard or googled the story by now so i don't want to go discuss it here.You must of thought its not a new one(the story), well I must agree with you but let me tell you,only the story is bit old everything else are fresh including the cast.

About the cast now,as far the character The one who stole the spot light in this movie is certainly not anyone but everyone .Nivin Pauly hero of the movie has every quality to be One of the Top Hero but it depends on his future projects. Mostly he was good in the movie expect few scenes were he was not convincing. Now about heroine,I wanted to watch the movie because of Nazriya Nazim and I think you must have felt that too.She is a fresh face to Tamil cinema and I believe she will be a hit among the Tamil audience. She is adorable and has a good screen presence in the movie but not much of a role to excel in the movie.Simha,Nassar, John Vijay and Thambi Ramaiah like always has done a good job especially I loved Nassar's role which is short and quirky one.

The Main plus of the movie is its Non-linear screenplay and its editing. Alphonse has done a Commentable job.Camera has been well handled by Anand Chandran.Music by Rajesh Murugesan, songs are lovable & pleasant and BGM was apt to the scenes.

The verdict. Will I recommend this movie to My friends? Yes I will. Even if it lacks some of the ingredients to be the Best,it will be one of the best Tamil Movie of 2013. It is one of the those movie which you can enjoy on first watch and. Alphonse is good addition to the Tamil Cinema which is experiencing a good wave of Directors and gives us a confidence we can expect good projects not only from Big Names but also from new comers.

This is a good NERAM for Tamil Cinema.

Unique and great debut

[yashwanthk-28132 · 8/10 · 29 March 2021]

An unique film that everyone has to watch.. All acting performances are good and the screenplay great and unique!..an tied up anthology with several characters which meet at an end plot point... And also the musical score is a treat... MUST WATCH!

Good movie that will probably be forgotten soon.

[sabithpocker · 6/10 · 13 July 2013]

The movie was a good experience as I saw it, but I left the theatre without carrying any emotions with me. I am addicted to the emotional drugs that movie makers induce in me as I engage in their movies, I am no movie critic. When I think in terms of the photography, sound, cuts and other things I feel it was perfect enough to prevent any distractions, I say this because I don't know to evaluate in any other way. As I watch a movie I could see only one graph as a result, my emotional graph which represents how I am feeling. Through out the movie the graph had discreet but good plots, It was great if it was continuous. The emotions and graph just stopped with the movie's END. I usually hate that and want the graph end slowly and I should carry a bunch of emotions as I leave.

A Brilliant Tamil Movie Pushing It's Way To World Cinema

[sambath-kumaar · 9/10 · 23 May 2013]

Though there is no spoiler in this review, if there are people (like me) who think a review could spoil the way they see the movie with their own opinions and perception, do not proceed further..:)

One of the most brilliant movies I have seen in Tamil Cinema. Well made, well pictured, well performed and finally really well EDITED movie. Was able to see the transformation of Tamil cinema (Vazhakku En, Vishwaroopam, Pizza, NDPK, Soothu Kavvum etc). This classy movie joins this list and also stands apart.

Was impressed in the first frame of the movie when they sport this "I copy from every movie ever made -Quentin Tarantino - I Agree to this - Alphonse Putharaen(Director)". Expectations rose when the director himself was the editor too. But unlike my recent disappointments, this movie continued to thrill, excite and humor me throughout its path.

First of all the movie is completely a real life story with only a little bit of cinema in it. Ever other scene in the film can easily happen to anyone of us here and it is completely genuine. Be it the narration, performance by actors, the romance between the couple, an understanding and practical girlfriend and many more...

Highlights: Brilliant camera, editing, acting, screenplay, BG music(awesome) and overall direction. Cons: If thought of deeply, certain scenes could be avoided.

Every other character plays a very important role in the movie and finally floods in to the really suspense climax. No wonder the director Alphonse Putharaen is a fan of World Cinema!!

This is just another movie without stupid duets and irritating fight scenes. Such movies becoming hit will keep at bay commercial movies that tarnishes the fame on Indian Cinema. Tamil cinema is not that far away from creating a masterpieces like Zindegi Na Milegi Dobara, Rang De Basanti etc...

Happy that I watched it in theater.

Unique

[Prithiv_official · 9/10 · 20 December 2019]

So querky and fresh for a Tamil feature film Director's touch is all over Neat & Unique making style Not only a good story, but also a good message/take away from the film A Must watch

Neram (Tamil)

[santhosh-10290 · 7/10 · 19 July 2019]

The movie was so good. Everybody acted well in the movie. Songs and BGM in the movie were also superb in the movie. But the movie lagged a lot.

A good Tamil movie from a Malayalam director.

[md-sumonmiamisdu · 9/10 · 3 May 2016]

"I steal from every movie ever made!". This was the line in the beginning credit. The concept of the movie is similar with the "Pulp Fiction". May be, that's why the director used this sentence. Though, i have not found any copied materials except one dialogue from the "Pulp Fiction".

The movie involves the story of one day duration. It is shown in the movie that what can happen in one single day. The director showed some drama sequences in comic way which will make you laugh. So, it is definitely a "Black Comedy".

The movie is realistic,entertaining and of course different. So, watching it would be worth of your time.

I steal from every movie ever made by QT-AP(now)

[Vibijithnair · 7/10 · 21 February 2014]

Above quoted summary was quite funny among credits. Neram was directed and written by Alphonse, film was his debut. Talking about movie, Neram is not fully gripping but its well narrated movie. The plot talks about a lad who taken money from a loanshark and soon find himself in a penury when he got dismissal from job and its time to reimburse because loanshark are frantically after him. To add his misery his fiancé ask for elope, police inquiry for abduct,dowry(brother in law) etc. thus he stranded into quagmire and has to vanquish all odds, later forms the crux of the story. Coming to denouement you get wonder by knowing all characters were some or another way concatenate with each other by knowing or unknowingly. Here, theme is not new but the narration is top notch. Nivin pauly as a Mathew was charming & Nazriya has nothing to perform other than being glamorous. Supporting actors were niche and done a commendable job. Newbies were fine but my personal favourite was Manik(kunju) & special mention to Simha. Shammi thilkan as S.I Tintu was fabulous and Manoj k jayan has less screen presence yet he done a brilliant job with his stylish name Rayban. Music was both melodious and peppy. Cinematography by Anand chandran was stylish & meritorious. Sometime movie made me yawning by meandering here and there though the pace was good. Dialogs were both funny and puerile. Editing was fine while it juxtaposed near to 2 hours. From technical side it surely attract horde and for others watchable.

Elegant Film-Making Works Along With Stylized Cinematography. ♦ 86%

[nairtejas · 9/10 · 19 July 2013]

Neram has lots of factors borrowed from Quentin Tarantino's movies. Mainly the cinematography, direction & slow-mo pause-resume style adoption during chase scenes. It works.

Starting off with funny credits, Neram talks about how a luckless lad is waiting for his time to get right. His life capsizes & resurfaces in a single day. All the commotion in between with some genuine characters is a treat to the viewers. Humor is limited but has credibility & punch. The unfolding of the straightforward plot keeps the viewers in their toes and with the background music so relevant, it pulls off. Fantastic camera work and even better dialogs.

Nivin Pauly charms while Nazriya suits along. Newcomers have done very well in portraying their characters. Every single character has a humorous side & that is what makes the movie very watchable. A very fine approach, although with stolen (read borrowed) elements. Another best part being when all the elements reveal they were co-related, it brings a shower of wonder.

BOTTOM LINE: A must-watch thriller which can make a pessimist laugh mostly because it relates an ordinary man. Highly recommended!

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Profanity: No | Vulgarity: very Mild | Sex/Foreplay: No | Violence: very Strong | Gore: No | Alcohol/Smoking/Drugs: Mild

Brief and to the point (that being an Grrreat movie!)

[lakshmi-thulasidas · 9/10 · 26 August 2014]

One and a half hours long (short for a Malayalam/Tamil movie), concise, nicely wrapped, wonderful little package of a movie (not to make that sound too girly and 'cute'; it was buff! Hard hitting! Thriller.. etc.)

I watched the Malayalam version of the movie and it was an emotional roller-coaster. By now, I much like every other Malayalam movie watcher, wasn't expecting much at all from a new release - bad to mediocre romance, clichéd dialogues, wanna be funnies and toughies, so to speak. 30 minutes into the movie, joy-of-joy, I wanted nothing but to pull out my hair and run out screaming. BUT!!! But, I didn't, and Thank God for that, coz the second half is One Hell of a joy ride that you had to be there for!

And now for the punch line -> Coz ya don't watch Neram for killing time. You watch Neram for the bloody flipping state of mind!

The movie is cut just right. Editing is perfect. Just the right amount of romance, perfect amount of thrills, great comedy by Shobi Thilakan. Brilliant main-villain-bad-guy act by Boby Simha. Dialogues are short, extremely non-boring, to the point and gets on with it. Characters have just enough depth without being preachy. Nazriya is so beautiful and Nivin P is wonderfulness as the come-back-with-a-vengeance-boy-(turned-man)-next-door-hero. And Pistah! obviously needs no praise.. the brilliance is implicit.

Also, Camera - Great. Direction - Great. Casting - Nice! Credits - Noticed for the first time in 2 decades of movie watching, so Nice to that too. And Alphonse Putharen signature - Double nice. All other movie related terminologies - All good!

90 minutes, well spent!

Like watching an enthusiastic but amateur dancer appear on professional dance competition; it has spark, some skill but lacks finesse. Its concept is clear yet design patchy.

[sashank_kini-1 · 5/10 · 22 May 2013]

Neram is like watching an enthusiastic but amateur dancer appear on a professional dance competition; it has spark and some skill but lacks finesse. Its concept is clear yet the design is patchy; every character in Neram has the quality of being memorable but not the essence. You would be less interested in a match between two low-ranked players, irrespective of their improvement on court, than a battle between two top seeders. Neram sometimes feels stodgy and heavy-handed but you do admire its efforts nevertheless. But you want more, you want something delicious, something you can relish like sinful dark chocolate but what Neram provides you is Milky Bar. Nice, no doubt, but not to make you go 'Bow Chicka Wah Wah!' Axe style.

My intention wasn't to watch Neram at all when I entered Mayajaal theater hall in Chennai. As there wasn't any other movie playing at that time (well I did have options but it was either this or the animated film Epic or worse, a long three hour wait for the rest of the films), I chose to go for Neram, only because I was pleased by the efforts current Tamil directors were putting in their films unlike many of their Bollywood counterparts. When I entered the hall, the movie had not 'kindly stopped for me' (couldn't resist using the Emily Dickinson phrase!) so I can't exactly tell how it began. My version began with the scene where Vatti Raja, a small-time money-lender cum thug berates someone for not repaying the loan as others, including our protagonist Vetri and his friend look on unnerved. The scene ends with Vetri's friend farting and I thought immediately 'Was that necessary?'. A number of such embellishments weren't needed, but Neram retained them, making the film feel like an over-decorated Christmas tree. Like after this very scene when Vetri begins telling about his love life and we are taken back to his school days when he met his future fiancé Jeena the first time in the sixth grade I think; the scene is cute until the film also decides to add an entire song sequence with Vetri and Jeena performing the predictable 'park foreplay' (with bubble-blowing, this time) and the sappiest audience goes 'Ah! What I cute couple!'. I was unmoved.

Later, when Neram gives rest to silly romance, it works as a Tarantino- like comedy. Vitri frets about the consequences of not repaying his debt to Vatti Raja, while trouble also brews up when Jeena's father objects to their relationship on learning that Vetri is unemployed. Jeena plans to elope with Vetri but that's when chain gets stolen; interestingly, one of the members from the same gang of chain-snatchers robs Vetri's money, which he had taken from his friend (I think; am an unreliable narrator here, not having watched Neram from the beginning). A parallel storyline involves a guy (don't ask me the character's name nor the actor who's playing him. Wish Wikipedia could update its character bios in Neram) who keeps a 'cool' nickname for himself, likes ogling at girls a lot (another idiotic scene at hospital when we hear his inner voice saying 'Oh, lady's voice!' as a nurse enters the room during an otherwise engaging scene) and also, like many others in the film, owes some money to Vatti Raja. The manner in which their lives intertwine is interesting because most of the characters don't know, even after they meet, how actually similar their problems are. All this happens post interval, and so many things seem to be a work of sheer chance or fate that I wondered why the film wasn't titled 'Chance' or 'Faith', the Tamil word for them.

Neram plays out like a simple comedy, although it attempts to emulate a Tarantino film. While Tarantino's dialogs are so mesmerizing and mystifying that monologues which would be considered ramblings if heard elsewhere sound monumentally profound, Neram simply kids around with quirky characters; its non-linear narrative has to be given credit though. The actors play in accordance with their script; they are less irritating when the script wakes up but not even one would remain with you after the film. And who took the decision of giving the role of Vatti Raja to Simhaa, who is in no way intimidating? I understand this is a comedy but I should at least feel even a little of what the characters feel towards another to get more involved with the film. Even a little more dexterity in editing would've helped a great deal; take the scene when Vetri's friend's boss rebukes him for shaving off his beard. He then goes inside and screams at another employee but later apologizes when it turns out to be a girl; the second part happens off- screen and we could only hear the gag. Based on the audience response, very few caught the gag because I heard little reaction from the audience; the gag (a little silly, of course) isn't treated well, with not enough sound so audience members could hear it and a sloppy editing treatment which cut off the gag quickly. I guess the film wanted to pack as many punch-lines as possible in little time but timed a few of them wrong. Well, maybe I'll see a better output from its director Alphonse Putharen another time.

The continued decline of Malayalam cinema .....

[PimpinAinttEasy · 3/10 · 25 July 2013]

There! I said it. Everyone says Malayalam cinema is improving. I say it is declining. Let us consider NERAM. The dialogs in this film could have been written by a 10 year old. They are puerile. There is no substance whatsoever. Just a bunch of lame SMS and email jokes delivered by goofy actors like Nivin Pauly and John Vijay. Even mediocre 90s films like POST BOX NO 27 or CHEPPUKILUKKANA CHANGAATHI had better jokes than this film. It fails as a slapstick comedy as well as a thriller. The film is all about the presentation - stylish visuals, background score and fast cuts. The first scene with its monologue by the hero reminded me of the monologue in TRAINSPOTTING. The rest of the movie is not as eloquent as the first scene, so one is forced to conclude that it was nothing but a gimmick.

The performances were awful ..... even experienced actors like Lalu Alex, Manoj K Jayan and Shammi Thilakan are unbelievably self conscious. Moreover, they play characters that have been done to death in Malayalam cinema - the middle class uncle, the thug with a heart of gold and the goofy police officer. And the lead actor Nivin Pauly was awful in many of the scenes. I guess all his films would have to feature fast cuts or slow motions and numerous gimmicks which would help hide the inadequacies of the lead actor (the same was the case with THATTATHIN MARAYATHU).

Stupid story

[jkumarm-61948 · 2/10 · 10 September 2021]

In a city with a population of maybe 100 million, the story can coincidently run into each of the characters non stop. Especially when the dumb ass gangster instead of easily picking up the character they were trying to get their money back, instead picks up the girl! Irritable story line.

Dhanda M

[sesht · 24 February 2015]

A good friend of mine, with whom I discuss most of the good Tamil and Malayalam movies (contemporary) I'd heard of or watched, recommended this one to me.

I bought the DVD, but by this time, I'd always watched Nivin & Nazriya in the spectacular 'Ohm Shanthi Ohshaana' last year. Having heard that this was their debut, along with knowing that it dabbled in the pulp crime genre, and that Jigarthanda's Simha had a prominent role, I'd been piqued to watch this as soon as time permitted.

Finally got to do that a few days back.

Unfortunately, it did not make the grade to be considered a good movie, though one of the tracks is now, justifiably, a cult classic. The movie apparently had some good box office too, and I think that's always a nice thing, since it IS offbeat, but more offbeat for effect, not necessarily an organic thing.

The plot seems to be kept simple intentionally, and that's a good thing, in addition to controlling runtime, which is a slim under 2 hours.

There are quite a few visual tics, designed to make the movie more stylistic, panning shots, slow-mo, that are also used for effect rather than propel the plot forward. They stand out more for being inappropriate and for calling attention to themselves, rather than anything else, and that is something that is a syndrome of bad commercial cinema, and something that does not belong here.

What stood out for me?

• The main lead's characterization, who's almost like a supporting character in his own story, given that he does nothing to propel the plot forward, or make a difference to his fate, where he's almost in a predicament of his own making, due to his own stupidity, and who's such a hypocrite that he calls it out when the same thing happens to someone else, but take succor when it 'befalls' him. Typical MCP, quite unapologetic about it too, and it's refreshing to have a real character like that leading the tale, rather than have a false hero with old town values. The fact that the makers embrace this aspect has to be appreciated.

• The runtime of 1 hour 47 minutes.

• Pistha, whenever it occurs, even in the end-title among racist subtitles for few characters.

• The dark humor interspersed throughout, especially in the sequences with the pickpocket gang, the cops, Naaser and Thambi Raamaiah (Saravanar, not Saravanan - apparently).

• Some of the explanatory flashbacks. Though the style is borrowed, it is relevant to the storyline, and thus, apt.

What did not work?

• Using the heroine just as a prop. Nazim's talent (watch 'Ohm Shanthi Ohshaana') wasted completely.

• The simple/easy denouement. Complete tyre puncture of the plot, that seemed to be leading someplace.

• Waste of Charlie's acting talents.

• Very, very lightweight.

All in all, perhaps worth one watch on the small screen.