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Entertainment
Jaya
WHAT COULD have been a thrilling action-packed film ends a damp squib, thanks to insipid treatment, in Rathna Films' presentation "Jaya".
With story, dialogue and direction by Amudha Durairaj, the film is an attempt on the lines of the yesteryear Madhavi starrer "Nirabharathi", where it is the heroine who seeks to avenge the injustice meted out to her. Of course, in "Jaya" the heroine is all out to annihilate the bad guys who had brought about the death of her friend.
Certain actions and reactions are rather vague. Jaya is shown going around the courts fruitlessly, with a file in hand, and the explanation given later is that she is looking for the murderers! And it is not as though they are unknown faces — they are prominent folks in society. Again just before intermission, Jaya is seen in the arms of the Police Commissioner and next moment you see her killing him. Such jerks in narration upset the tempo to a large extent.
She encourages her dejected friends Balaji (Sriman), Ramesh Kanna (Kanna), Michael (Karunas) and Saleem (Trilok) and shows them the way to better their lives. Towards the end you are told that the young men have come up well in life. But for a song that shows them dancing on the streets to sell their talent, nowhere is it made clear that the men have been successful in making a living for themselves.
More than her performance what strikes you most is Ramya Krishnan's stunning youthfulness. Age does not seem to have caught up with this actress at all — she very easily passes off as Shireen's senior in college.
Shireen is seen in a small, lively role as Jaya's friend Priya. Sriman is apt in action and dance. He is effective in the area of expressions too (if you can forgive his howls at the office when he is refused a job).
Vani Viswanath as the policewoman makes an impact though you see her only for a very short while. The hostel warden is a rotund Ambika, but she has little to do by way of histrionics.
Not one of Bharani's songs touches the listener.
The absence of a full-fledged hero would have made little difference if only more thought and application had gone into the handling of the subject.
MALATHI RANGARAJAN
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