August 16 1947 review: Tedious screenwriting spoils a promising premise

Instead of getting down to the business of depicting the struggles of the village, NS Ponkumar gives a prologue in the form of an animation clip that does the job the live-action film is supposed to do.

A filmmaker’s overcompensation based on the fear that the audience will not understand their film has ruined many a project, and August 16 1947 is the latest entrant on the list. Added to that, the film suffers from redundancy. Understandably, the director wants to show the enormous pain of villagers. However, the repeated depiction of violence and random deaths makes one numb, when the film fails to emotionally connect us to the villagers. Their sufferings, emotional moments, and celebration get only cursory treatment, lacking any emotional depth. Added to the agony are the songs and the ‘humour’. It is cruel to expect the audience to sob one moment and enjoy Sean Roldand’s average songs at another, and laugh at the gimmicks of Pugazh the next.

Gautham Karthik plays the role of a selfish youngster, Paraman, and we see a flashback showcasing his disregard for the villagers and their plight. He is in love with a zamindar’s (landowner) daughter. She is dead for the world as her father wants to save her from Justin, but Paraman knows the truth, and dreams of eloping with her. However, the arc is that he has to fight for everyone to get what he wants. Again, everything is good on paper. Gautham’s performance is decent, and that can be said about all the actors. Except for comic book villains. Indian cinema, which now wants to go global, needs better foreign actors, and high time these actors get roles which are not cardboard cutouts.

In essence, August 16 1947 and Vetrimaaran’s Viduthalai are pretty much about the same subject, freedom. Even their plots have obvious similarities. Both films are about villages suffering from authoritative forces. Its imperialists in the former, and police in the latter. There is torture, rape, and death in both films, yet they are different. It is the difference that sets apart an average film and true-blue ‘cinema’.

August 16 1947 Director Name: NS Ponkumar

August 16 1947 Cast: Gautham Karthik, Richard Ashton, Revathy, Jason Shah

August 16 1947 Indian Express Rating: 1.5 stars