Ulidavaru Kandanthe was a film that was deeply rooted in the culture and life in the coastal belt of Karnataka, in the vicinity of Udupi.From the painted tigers to Yakshagana to tales of Madhvacharya and sunken treasures, the Rakshit Shetty film had all the makings of a cult classic.Shetty himself has gone on record that he had Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction on his mind when he was writing the film, the glowing,mysterious content of the bag in Ulidavaru is an obvious reference apart from the non linear narrative and names of characters.Shetty delivered an inimitable performance as the central character too.So when Nivin Pauly announced a remake of UK he had a task cut out for him and was a bold decision too I’d say considering the fact that he chose to make the film in Tamil.Listening to him speak on air the day before the release i had the impression that he had no illusions whatsoever that he could beat or match Rakshit Shetty’s work.The Richie bashers are barking up the wrong tree too early, i have to say.
Nivin Pauly’s Richie is a diluted version of Rakshit Shetty’s UK but not a bad one at that as some of the opinions doing rounds online would have you believe.Though the teasers and trailers might have sent out wrong messages to a wider audience, those who had watched UK must have had their apprehensions early on about the kind of expectations they would generate amongst Nivin’s audience and this could be one reason why some of the viewers who went in looking for an out and out actioner ended up disappointed.If Pulp Fiction were to be released in theaters in our part of the world, how many of us would actually hail it and obsess over the tiny details that make it a film worthy of its cult status, except for the connoisseurs?In fact Ulidavaru Kandante was more of a critical success than a commercial one and found a following amongst film lovers beyond the barriers of boundaries and language.
Comparisons to the original apart, Richie as a standalone work of art is indeed noteworthy in terms of making and performances but then again the comparisons are inevitable and is something Nivin and crew would’ve to just live with.I’d go so far as to say that the Raghu bit here in Richie felt more realistic than the one in UIidavaru.UK, true to its Pulp Fiction roots offers no explanations for the incidents that unfold on screen and leaves it to the audience to figure it out for themselves unlike Richie which chooses to make it easier on the audience to follow the narrative and the fate of the characters.Nivin Pauly admitted beforehand that he had a tough time dubbing in Tamil and he has a done a pretty decent job here,considering.Diction and delivery is something he would want to work on, in the long run.Sraddha Srinath is in her elements here too. To compare Natraj Subramaniam to Kishore is as unfair as comparing Nivin Pauly with Rakshit Shetty but that’s not saying he’s not up to the task, just putting things in perspective here, for the benefit of the detractors.Democracy unfortunately is reduced to comic relief here.Richie might not be for you if you’re looking for a Nivin Pauly vehicle with all the ingredients of a regular Tamil action movie, but that’s not what the makers have intended here either.Uprooting UK from coastal Karnataka and bringing it over to Tuticorin is no mean task and Nivin Pauly and team I must say have been fairly successful at that.
#ആമാണ്ടാപേപയല്ലേ #richie
gopakumarpurushothaman 