Any film that is made based on the life of an aspiring achiever that takes him to the heights of glory is always appreciated irrespective of what the basic plot is. We had seen the superhero like Will Smith turning into a deplorably devastated poor father in ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ and yes, the world accepted his new avatar. Such is the power of certain themes that speaks about human spirits, redemption of glory and triumph over the pre-written fate. Jeeva is one such film that traverses through the life of an aspiring cricketer.

Story

The film opens with Jeeva (Vishnu Vishal) introducing himself and the story takes a turn to his childhood days of how he spent day and night playing the game of cricket. He wants to make a big time in the world of cricket and the complete film is about the journey embedded with exhilarations, friendship, the gambling on cards of picking favourable players, pain, loss and victories. Laced with his love towards the girl in neighbourhood Jenny (Sri Divya) and friendship with Lakshman Narayanan at cricket, the film is about how the characters travel along with him and influence his life.

Performances

Vishnu Vishal might have not more scope as in Mundasupatti to deliver dialogues, but his body language and his characterisation itself speak a lot of emotions. In fact, he had earlier been a part of such a film titled Kullanari Koottam, where he is up with some ambition. But this one if far away from the genre and emotions speak a lot for him than verbal dialogues. Sri Divya might not have much to be portrayed, but is seen as a girl in three different dimensions of school girl, college and working staff. The transition has been very well done with her makeovers. Soori is added up for the sake of comedy and he does his job well. Lakshman Narayanan of Annakodi is extraordinary with his performance, especially before the climax, where he vents out his uttermost outburst on being rejected. T Siva as the father of Sri Divya might not appear throughout the film, but does a neat task. Director G. Marimuthu as Jeeva’s father is brilliant and his sequences in the film turn your eyes in moist. The scene where he gladly comes to the stadium to watch his son play the game and get disappointed that he is sent out to distribute drinks during break is a heart wrenching experience.

Plus

The treatment of story and boldly unveiling the hidden politics behind cricket, where a particular group of community players are favoured is something that was never shown in any film. It’s a bold attempt and Suseenthiran openly exposes it. The second half is comprised of so much energy, emotions and twists. The best message conveyed at the end is something really convincing. The characterisations as mentioned above are the greatest highlights in this film. Cinematography and editing extend a huge contribution to the film.

Minus

The first half seems to be slow and not engaging with some light moments. The romance sequences between the boy and girl at school days might not be loved by all. The songs by Imman don’t satisfy as they are done with some loud music. Though they don’t seem to be hampering the growth of this film, the tracks really don’t let us hum alongside.

On the whole, Jeeva is a splendid tale of reality that breaks through some of the bold zones revealing the politics that hinder the talents of Tamil Nadu cricketers and engages audiences with a package of commercial elements.

Verdict : Convincingly at its best

Stars : 2.5/5