JK Enum Nanbanin Vazhkai (Life of A Friend Called JK) Written and directed by Cheran, this is one of the heart-wrenching stories ever made for cinema. Keeping relationships at the forefront, the story carries a vital message for the modern day youth. Told in non-linear fashion, it unfolds the life of JK (Jayakumar). JK is a typical modern day youngster from Chennai. Alienating from his family members, he spends most of his time chatting on Facebook or roaming with his friends. When a New Year eve drunken party ends in an accident, he loses his close-friend due to his careless attitude. And that incident makes him understand the value of relationships and the pain of parents. Now the reformed JK searches a suitable place in the world to lead a life of his own. Soon, the out-of-the-box thinker JK, with the like- minded friends, starts a new business venture and become a successful entrepreneur in no time.. JK helps his close-friend Nithya (Nithya Menon) to fix her heart problem and supports the family of a close friend who died due to his negligence. JK also quickly arranges a marriage for his younger sister and buy a home for his family to lead a peaceful life. It looks when everything going smoothly, Nithya finds a shocking truth about JK and what happens next forms the story. The film has several wonderful features besides its strong storyline. The lead artistes- Shravanand and Nithya Menon- add enormous depth to their well-etched characters. Exploiting the opportunity, Shravanand creates a wonderful screen persona to his character without doing any gimmicks. Nithya Menon, on her part, plays a perfect sheet anchor role. Santhanam's non-intrusive comedy is amusing to watch. Likewise, Prakash Raj and Mano Bala's cameo appearances are simply delightful. The cinematography of Siddharth is excellent as the neatly framed scene unfolds one by one and it takes us to the different world. The impeccable music with its toe-tapping dancer numbers and a lively and energetic theme song shows the caliber of G.V. Prakashkumar. The mellifluous melodies of Na. Muthukumar like "Nee Enna Pesuvai", and Madan Karky's youthful songs like "Facebook Login Pannu" are certainly stand-out factors of this film. Though the story moves in a zig zag way, still it maintains the tempo from beginning to end and that shows the acumen of Cheran. Even the less significant scenes like JK creating a new business idea based on people's necessity and JK is appointing an unknown street artiste based on his talents are well-done. Above all, the unforgettable climax alone places this movie on top. More than its salient features, the absence of double meaning dialogues, stunts, intimate scenes between lead artistes, item songs, violence or vulgar language make this drama eminently entertaining. Loftily holding its message, "the importance of leading a life with principles and purpose" the film undeniably touches our heart with its neatly structured screenplay. Crafted with perfection, the film strikingly takes this message to the carefree Facebook generation with touch-of-class.
By R. Srinivasan
By R. Srinivasan