'Iravin Nizhal' review: A remarkable experiment

Iravin Nizhal

Tamil (Theatres)

Director: R Parthiban

Cast: R Parthiban, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Robot Shankar

3.5/5

'Iravin Nizhal', the new film written and directed by R Parthiban, opens with an exhaustive behind-the-scenes segment that details the effort behind the film’s big selling point: its claim to being the first single-shot film structured in a non-linear format. It’s a fairly entertaining introduction. Parthiban lands cheeky one-liners and lends some spirit to this newsreel-mode recap but soon, the segment starts taking the form of a primer, revealing characters and their designs.

It prepares us to watch the film in the context of its making. There is the problem of introducing to the viewer the style of a film ahead of its substance. The single-shot technique which doesn’t leave room for one wrong step – the introduction captures the agonising retakes followed by the elation of getting it right, finally – comes with the risk of being distractive. The structure could have thrown the viewer off the plot. What makes 'Iravin Nizhal' a remarkable experiment is that it doesn’t and at a run-time of 100 minutes, it hits a balance between rare form and content.

This is the story of Nandu (Parthiban), told in different timelines with his present self doubling as narrator. The man is hurting, his redemption is elusive. Nandu navigates a story stripped of hope; it’s about abuse, finding and losing love, guilt, shallow faith and a rough road to atonement. Parthiban, the actor, finds form toward the latter part of the film where he engages in familiar wordplay and cold humour.

The multi-timeline narrative, steered by the relentlessness of the single shot, starts rough. The protagonist’s rise in ranks as a feared criminal is an arc that drifts to gangland film trappings but the writing rarely slips. Parthiban sets the episodic flashbacks to good pace, their staging elevated by a terrific score from A R Rahman. Nandu’s tragedy finds its elements in a superbly directed sequence in which he revisits the death of a loved one. He is mournful as he watches his younger self, pleading with him, almost telling him that he could stop the inevitable.

'Puthiya Paathai' (the new road), Parthiban’s 1989 debut feature as actor-director, was seen as an interesting detour in mainstream Tamil cinema. Three decades on, the filmmaker is still at it; he has at once been talking about the struggles to finance his work and managing to stay relevant without making the easy compromise. His new film cuts another fine road.