Andha Naal

Andha Naal (1954) - 100%

As A Movie Buff, It's My Hobby To Search & Watch Iconic Films Of Various Artists Across India... Few Days Back I Got To Know About One Of The Biggest Stars Of Tamil Cinema, The Legendary Sivaji Ganesan & I Decided To Watch Some Of His Early Films... "Andha Naal" Is The First One & I Want To Salute This Man For The Work He Has Done... Also The Makers Deserve Applause For Making A Mystery Thriller Based On Rashomon Effect At The Time When Most Of The Directors Were Making Routine Commercial Films & Very Few Dared To Take Any Risk... In My Opinion, If A List Is Made On The Most Intelligent Films Made In Indian Cinema, It'll Surely Find A Place In Top 5.

This movie defines the greatness of Tamil cinema and is a must for any and all mature movie watchers. The movie has a novel narrative style that is said to be borrowed from the Japanese classic Rashomon. However the style is where it begins and ends. Every character effortlessly blends in the movie. This makes the acting near non-dramatic and appears real. Sivaji in a negative role is the person himself. Pandari Bai as his wife is amazingly apt for the women of that time. It is noteworthy that Sivaji Ganesan raises his voice but never shouts or laughs crazily. Pandari Bai panics but is never shrill. These elements have effectively blended to contribute to the noir theme. "Javert" Seetharaman as detective also amazes us with his unobtrusive role. His role reminds us of the wise sages "searching for the truth". One of the striking elements of the movie is how easily and simply it accepts promiscuity as part of social life. The movie is also a worthy work of direction. Songs are absent but not missed. The narration is taut and perfect. No loose ends here. The narration is so fascinating that the absence of special shots and camera angles do not matter. The B&W contributes to the effectiveness of the forlorn state of the house for most of the movie.

Excellent Movie. Everybody acted very well in the movie. Every scenes in the movie were interesting and thrilling. There is no boring part in the movie. This Movie is one of the Best Tamil Thriller Movie. Excellent Movie.

Being a movie without any songs, Sundharam Balachandar made a daring attempt in bringing out the movie with the help of AVM. It is simply amazing on how each and every character is unique.

I can't think of any negatives as the movie was much ahead of its time. Even My parents weren't born yet at that time!

Positives: To start with Sivaji sir! He gave the much needed grip in the movie where he performs almost perfect with the negatively shaded Radi Engineer - Rajan.

Javar Seetharaman - in his tailor made role, he performed very well in being a smart CID cop.

The neighbor character gives the much needed laugh in this 120 odd minute play whereas the cunning character of sister-in-law of Rajan was done without any mistake at all!

The inspector, wife of Rajan, Classical dancer, Rajan's Brother did their part very well.

I am amused by the details which were given to each and every scene and to every characters! Although the concept was inspired from Rashoman - Kurosawa movie, the story line and screenplay was different from it.

This movie is sure a milestone in Thamizh & Indian cinema !

Considering that this is a murder mystery, the biggest drawback is the suspense. The murderer is pretty much revealed aby the halfway mark, but the investigators take quite a bit more time to identify the killer.

It was fascinating to watch a movie made in 1954, that too one that is set in 1943. I had no idea that Japan had dropped bombs on Chennai during World War II. The acting was very good. The contrasting speeches given at the college were very well done in my opinion.

Overall, a very impressive film with an underwhelming suspense component.