E Movie Reviews

Jananthan came up with a stunner in Iyarkai. The movie wins him a lot of accolades. Trying to strike a balance between the two, the director has come up with E which dwells on a serious subject, even while infusing with enough commercial elements to attract the general crowd.

The director has consciously tried to stay away from cliches of the craft and manages to come up with a movie that has something for everyone --- a cinematic equivalent fit-all dress size.

In the company of Jeeva, who has proved in the past that he can do versatile roles, Jananthan has sketched out a film which dwells on a serious issue of bio-war and poor Indians being made 'Guinea Pigs' by international pharmaceutical companies to test their new (but potentially dangerous) medicines.

This is a serious issue which maybe far from the understanding of the common man. But thanks to a neat screenplay, Jananthan has ensured the front-benchers too can understand the crux with ease.

Ably supported by Ekambaram behind the lens and a good background score by Srikanth Deva, the director has passed the acid test without any difficulty.

Jeeva, playing a youth brought up in slum, has proved his mettle again. Getting into the skin of the character, he plays the role with comfort though it has negative shades all through. Equally impressive has been Nayantra playing a bar dancer with voluptuous elegance.

As usual Ashish Vidyarthy plays a baddie. A tailor-made role for him, which he does with aplomb. But the pick of the movie is Pasupathy, who launches a crusade against poor Indians being made 'Guinea Pigs' by international pharmaceutical firms. He even lays down his life for the cause. His role is very powerful and potent.

Karunaas, Ajay Rathnam and Hassena are also in the cast.

The movie revolves around E alias (Easwaran), an orphan brought up in the musty, teeming slums of Chennai by an old woman. For him money is the thing in life, he does anything for that. He Comes across Jothy (Nayantra), a bar dancer, who settles down in the same locality. After a few encounters they get acquainted with each other. E's simple ways attract Jothy.

Coming to know of his past, Jothy tries desperate to correct his ways and set him on the right path. Meanwhile Dr Ramakrishnan (Ashish Vidyarthy) takes up the task of testing a medicine devised by a foreign company, which may come handy in killing people in thousands especially during times of wars.

Dr Ramakrishnan chooses Jothy's sister and E's grandmother as specimen for the test. He cashes in on the ignorance to slum-dwellers. Things take a turn, when E rescues Dr Ramakrishnan from a murder bid by Nellai Mani (Pasupathy).

A sequence of events brings Nellai Mani and E together. Without knowning his motive, E hides him in a secret place and decides to hand him over to Dr Ramakrishnan for a huge sum. Slowly E gets attracted by good ways of Nellai Mani.

Through him, E comes to know of Ramakrishnan's ulterior motives. Nellai Mani, a revolutionary fighting for a cause, tries to bring about a change in E's heart. Succeeding in his attempt, Nellai Mani lays down his life leaving E to complete his task. The rest is all about E's show all the way in putting an end to Ramakrishnan and his evil ways.

Jeeva is showing maturity with each outing. Here he has good opportunity to showcase both his histrionics as well as his action skills. Nayantra is all glamour and glitz. She is very adequate and impressive in a slightly complicated role.

Pasupathy has a raw energy to him and it comes handy in this role of a man of radical ideas. In fact, the director has caught the casting bang on.

Srikanth Deva's music is energy-filled and fits the bill.

Jananthan deserves a pat for taking a serious issue blending it with entertaining elements and technical brilliance. He has proved that he is no one-film wonder. Kudos to producer R B Choudhary for confidently supporting Jananthan.

E deserves a watch.