Spoiler-free Review of “Bomb”

With the title and theme of Vishal Venkat’s second directorial – Bomb – referring to flatulence, one could be for forgiven for thinking that the film would be a coarse comedy providing lots of laughs at regular intervals. This is far from accurate, as Vishal Venkat clearly had lofty ideas and an ambitious approach that would bravely defy categorizing or falling into clichéd structures. The result is a film that is accessible, but with enough layers and textures for the more discerning viewer.

The once united and peaceful rural village of Kaalakammaipatti was divided into, becoming Kaalapatti and Kammaipatti. These two villages have a common road in the middle which becomes the scene of frequent clashes as the villages are divided by religious beliefs, status and divergent views on moral issues.

The orphaned Manimuthu (Arjun Das) shares a close bond with the atheistic alcoholic Kathiravan (Kaali Venkat) and Kathiravan’s younger and feisty sister, Prabha – played by Shivathmika Rajashekar, the daughter of 80s star couple, actor Rajashekar and actress Jeevitha.

Kathiravan is anxious to bring the two feuding villages together and even approaches the newly appointed District Collector (Abhirami) to intervene with the hope of brokering peace between the villages.

The feud between the villages suits the heinous plan of an ambitious politician (Nassar) and his political boss,

Manimuthu had been plotting for some time to leave the regressive village, but his close bond with Kathiravan and Prabhu has held him back. Then a major incident occurs that realigns everything and the occupants of the two villages are forced to make some life-changing decisions.

Vishal Venkat, who made his directorial debut with the hyperlink drama Sila Nerangalil Sila Nerangalil, has eclipsed his debut with a revolutionary and ambitious approach to the story, script and screenplay that traverses many social, religious and socio-political issues by remarkably taking objective views on the many issues dealt with in the film. Vishal Venkat has magnanimously credited his name last with Manikandan Mathavan and Abishek Sabarigisan for writing the story and screenplay – showing world class standards with both.

Given this attention to the story, screenplay and script, it is no surprise that Bomb has some outstanding acting performances – largely because of the detailed and creative characterisation.

For Arjun Das, it is a vastly different performance from his other roles to date, and he handles the challenge with a powerful and brilliantly underplayed performance that matches the brilliance of the characterisation.

Shivathmika Rajashekar is outstanding in her portrayal of Prabha, and ensures that the intensity of her performance lingers long after the film ends.

Kaali Venkat keeps extending his brilliance with each successive roles, living – and not acting – his role as Kathiravan.

Nassar shows through his portrayal how even a brilliant script can be transformed into something spectacular by a talented actor. Nassar elevates his role to well above the script.

Singampuli has a script that has allowed him to display his acting versatility while Bala Saravanan is in another very memorable role.  Super Singer star Poovaiyar plays a pivotal role.

The hard-hitting script which has no infamous punch dialogues but intelligently crafted and natural sounding responses couched in good humour. The script has been penned by Magizhnan BM with Manikandan Mathavan and Abishek Sabarigirsan.

P.M. Rajkumar’s cinematography makes artistic use of light and contains brilliant framing. The colour palette also shows great variation and creativity.

Music has been scored by D. Imman who does an outstanding job of the film’s background score. The carried soundtrack includes the varied talents of singers like K.S. Chithra, Karthik, Swetha Mohan, Madhu Balakrishnan, Haricharan, Pushpavanam Kuppusamy, Yazin Nizar, Dharshini Rajkumar, Super Singer title winner Gayathri and Super Singer stars Megna Sumesh, Sarasruthi, Nasreen and Aadya.

Bomb is an intense and deeply moving film that has a curious mixture of delightful comedy, intense drama and a frank look at a variety of issues without taking sides or prodding the audience to take a particular view. This is the kind of filmmaking that Tamil cinema needs a lot more of.

Bomb scores 9 points out of 10.