Attu is the story of a local young man and his friends who live in an interior part of North Chennai. It explores their life, ways of living and daily chores to their love and a conflict they get into because of their nature. Directed by debut director Rathan Linga, it has Rishi Rithvik, Archana Ravi, Yogi Babu and Deena in important roles. Rk Suresh of Studio 9 has released this film.
Rishi Rithvik as Attu has done a fair job in carrying the story forward. However, he seems a little amateur when it comes to subtle reactions and emotions. His action scenes and the body language (especially the way he handles the sword) are pretty good.
Attu is a rustic and raw film which is true to it’s nature. It starts off with he and his friends as kids and how they are loyal and genuine to the people they work for. The basic idea of the movie is friendship and has a love track that involves Archana Ravi and Rishi. The other cast has also done a decent job, and Yogi Babu who is always seen in comic roles has some emotions to portray in this locality based drama film. There are many characters who have added value to the movie and casting is the biggest strength of Attu.
The first half is well paced and engages well with timely twists that make it an interesting watch. However, the second half has a lot of commercial compromises. An item song seems very unnecessary for a film like Attu, and it only hampers the pace and flow of the content.
With an adequate story and fairly convincing screenplay, Attu sure has its share of moments. Some scenes have been shot raw and give you the feel and look of the area. The stunts by Power Pandian require a special mention. Both the interval block and climax have an unexpected twist in the tale which makes it less predictable.
The cinematography is decent and apt for the genre, but there is the evident presence of grains, and the camera work is tacky in few portions. Music by Bobo Shashi who makes a comeback after a long time is apt. The background score by Bobo gives life to Attu and adds up as another positive.
On the whole, Attu is a life, rather than a film and has a decent story to back it up. It majorly deals with friendship, love, trust, gangsters and a lot of other entities that the characters coexist with. The way Attu has been narrated by director Rathan Linga is good, and the treatment and screenplay are different except for a couple of songs and few commercial elements that could have been avoided. If not for these few negatives, an even stronger conflict, and a slightly higher production value, Attu would have proven to be a very honest and raw attempt. It is a decent try from a new team for its story, screenplay, and performances.
