16

Once in a blue moon a well executed thriller hits our shores and we are in such luck with 16 movie. A young director for his age, gave the best possible output and made a film that even the experienced could have easily faltered. The movie is not devoid of flaws but it keeps you hooked for its run-time and never let’s you feel disconnected from the proceedings.

PLOT : For any thriller, the thrill is in not knowing anything but for the viewers who don’t mind to get spoiled before. You can read on…

On a rainy night, devil strikes hard giving rise to a chain reaction of crime. A masked man enters the flat of a happy couple who could be planning about their future. The man kills the woman and while he is escaping with the bodies in the car, suddenly the man gets down to escape. He shoots him. But on the same night, at the same park an accident occurs too. Why did it happen? Who caused it? While this is all Deepak’s (Rahman) theory, what could have really happened? Watch it on screen to know more ..

Performances : Rahman is the backbone for this movie. He expertly gives Deepak a character and his portrayal brings in the difference between a wise middle aged Police officer and slightly aged retired man with an amputated leg with aplomb accuracy. He does give the proceedings a purpose. Could be rated among the best of his career, easily. All the actors along with him being new and raw, bring their characters the freshness that only they could have. Pradeep Vijayaraghavan and Ashwin Kumar does give their best to the character they have played. It is not easy to get close to real performances from each cast member and that should be highly appreciated.

Technicalities : In a thriller, the basic plot twist is the major highlight of the film and if that doesn’t land properly, the entire exercise seems to be waste of time and energy. Karthik Naren, even though a young boy of 22 years age, was able to understand that and credit should be given where it is due. His writing is laced with many symbolism’s and with his camera he tries to concentrate on each and every minute detail as he himself claimed that Every Detail Counts.

Even though his writing and execution are off superior quality, they do have logical flaws and convenience demands a twist than the natural progression. A short film crew with a camera, girl confessing everything with no trace of the killer who happens to be a relative anywhere, the car being stopped in the middle of nowhere for no reason and a young person being too cool about a crime does come under highly convenient writing, but using these troops he still managed to engage a viewer with even more details to add-on to the proceedings. These kind of cliches could have been avoided but they don’t bring down the overall effect the director wanted to bring in. It is just that the movie could have been even better and fresh with much more care.

Execution, the director in Karthik Naren does come up with visual story telling with grammar in its right place. He at times challenges few rules, but they seem to be seamlessly inculcated rather than being forced. He showcases expertise at certain places, with usage of right style of camera angles to bring out what he wanted to say through visuals rather than dialogue. The dubbing should also be appreciated here as the voice actors like Hema Chandra doesn’t kill the mood in any way.

Cinematography by Sujit Sarang helps the director in maintaining a tone through out the film. Camera work doesn’t just comprise of staging and formations, but also needs to take care of other things like what is the actor trying to convey? What is the scene purpose and how to bring it out? He also highly supports the concept of camera being the eye of the viewer and his camera almost gives a perspective to the story as well. The back ground score by Jakes Bejoy seems to be heavily inspired from many popular English tracks but it does deliver the purpose. Sreejit Sarang does edit the film with purpose and few cuts, show the talent he has in the field.

Analysis : The movie never looses the focus of what it is attempting to be and even though it apes few English and Korean thrillers, in its tone, it doesn’t really shell out the distinctive character it tries to build over the period of its run-time. On the whole, a surprisingly refreshing attempt by the young team that demands a viewing.

Rating : 3/5

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