There was much hype around Rajani Murugan-fame Sivakarthikeyan's pooja release Remo that hit the theaters Friday. Especially, after the posters of the film, featuring Siva cross-dressed as a woman nurse (a pretty one too, thanks to Hollywood make-up artist Sean Foot) were out.
Right from Some like it hot, Mrs Doubtfire to Avvai Shanmugi, celluloid has a history of making breakthrough movies with men cross-dressing as women.
Remo may not make it to that list, but it will definitely be a landmark film in Siva's career. The actor, who has the make of a crowd-puller, takes up his role with much suave. Siva fits in perfectly into the lead character of an aspiring actor, who lands the role of a woman nurse.
Locking horns with many big-budget films this pooja holidays, Remo went for a humble opening despite its team of stalwarts including Academy Award winner Resul Pookutty for sound design and National Award winner P. C. Sreeram as the cinematographer.
Off to a rocky start, the film had a tough time establishing the characters and the setting as the débutante director Bakkiyaraj Kannan struggled with a clumsy plot or on second thoughts, the absence of it.
However, Bakkiyaraj - former associate of director Atlee - does not miss even a single stereotype from the popular Tamil-movie notion in the first half an hour. The film is also not short of racist and politically incorrect remarks.
However, Sathish Krishnan, has done a neat job as Siva's best-friend-cum-comedian and proves to be a successful replacement for actor Vivek, who seems to have grown out of the hero's right-hand roles.
The film picks up rhythm after the entry of Keerthy Suresh, who was the heroine of Siva in Rajani Murugan too. But then, heroine's entry also followed the much cliched narrative – of the bubbly girl with children's traits. And she happens to be a doctor, for whom Siva reprises his woman nurse role in the 'reel-real life'. Right from there, six songs have been stuffed into the movie.
Listening to the songs 'Senjitaley' and 'Tamilselvi', one might wonder whether music director Anirudh Ravichander is yet to be freed from the Kolaveri fever as the lyrics by Vignesh Shivan play with the Tamil-English combo game again.
But the love song, Sirikkathey, truly hits it off with its breezy rhythm. P.C. Sreeram and art director Muthuraj have done a commendable job as the song Sirikkathey turns out to be a delicious visual treat.
And finally after the first half, Bakkiyaraj comes out of the cocoon and the film undergoes a major metamorphosis. Well-choreographed stunt scenes featuring the pretty-nurse Siva kicking men brought back fond memories of Kamal Haasan's Avvai Shanmughi, the super-nanny.
Though Siva seems at ease with handling comedy, he still needs to churn out an identity. Certain mannerisms of the actor might make one wonder if he has tried to mimic Prabhu Deva and Jayam Ravi.
Yet, it was truly a delight watching the cute couple, an enamoring Siva and dreamy Keerthy, on screen. Remo could have been a fun ride if the director had picked up a stronger script en route to his shooting location.
Oh and FYI, don't miss the jokermen in lungi in the song Daavuya. The Heath Ledger-resemblance might not be a coincidence after all!