Nene Vasthunna Review

Tamil director Selvaraghavan teams up for the fourth time with his brother Dhanush for Nene Vasthunna. Selvaraghavan has an affinity for stories where childhood trauma transforms into adult psychosis. In his movies, sudden fits of rage make monsters out of men, and danger is lurking just around the corner. In Kaadhal Kondein and Nenjam Marappathillai, the male protagonists are orphans-turned-murderers. In Mayakkam Enna, a shy photographer becomes violent and causes his wife to miscarry. With Nene Vasthunna (Naane Varuvean in Tamil), Selvaraghavan once again reaches for his favorite storytelling tools to create a psychological thriller, that has a touch of horror.

Kathir and Prabhu are identical twin boys with diametrically opposite personalities. Prabhu is a meek, good-natured child, whereas Kathir is evil in a way that terrifies even their parents. Prabhu grows up to be a content family man, with a pre-teen daughter, Satya, whom he adores. Kathir is no longer in his life, and the only hint of trauma that Prabhu carries from growing up with a diabolical sibling is his reluctance to have a second child. But Prabhu's past resurfaces when Satya begins acting strange. Alone in her room at night, she talks to imaginary people. A psychiatrist reveals that Satya is possessed and warns that Prabhu can save her only by following the directives of the ghost that controls her. And this finally brings him face-to-face with Kadhir.

Every element of the movie from the background score to the production and costume design works to heighten its eerie atmosphere. The young Prabhu and Kathir are seen in matching shirts, but Kathir's is many shades darker. As adults, Prabhu dresses like a dapper white-collar worker and lives in a posh gated community, whereas a messy-haired Kathir lives in a lone house on the edge of a forest where he hunts at night. Satya's room, where she first starts seeing ghosts, is a pastel-colored cavern, the air inside thick with a menacing presence.

Whether the scenes are set in a lush forest on a moonlit night, on a boat in a placid lake, or even inside a psychiatrist's office, Om Prakash's cinematography plays expertly with light and dark to create gripping visuals. Paired with Yuvan Shankar Raja's score, in particular his theme song for Kathir which is a primal and wild delight, some scenes rise up to their full potential.

But the film's direction and technical mastery are far from enough to keep you at the edge of your seat. The story uses side characters to make giant leaps of logic, and discards them without a second thought after they serve their purposes. The worst-written character is that of Satya's psychiatrist (veteran actor Prabhu) who also moonlights as a spiritual healer. He thumbs rosary beads moments after reading MRI scans, and seems to know all the rules of engagement with ghosts. He appears only at critical moments in the story, to interpret Satya's deteriorating condition and advice Prabhu on the next steps, but every scene he is in feels like a transparent attempt to push the story in a certain direction.

Another comical tangent involves a group of "expert" ghosthunters, that Prabhu invites to monitor Satya's bedroom. They wire her room with recording devices and use new-fangled technology to decipher the voice of the ghost that only Satya could hear until then. And then they disappear from the story.

The script makes several attempts to get you spooked, some of which work in the moment, but in retrospect make no sense once the identity of the ghost is revealed. Such holes in the script let all the thrill leak out it, and only a few moments of exhilaration remain. One such moment is a song where Kathir dances like a madman. Dhanush is transcendental in this scene - he eats up the screen, moving like a monkey bouncing from tree to tree. He embodies both the sadism and the sadness that his situation begets.

Apart from Dhanush, who clearly enjoyed playing the evil Kathir much more than the one-note Prabhu, the movie rests on the delicate shoulders of its many child actors, and they do a decent job of it. The actor who plays young Kathir (and Prabhu) gives a standup performance as a psycho-in-the-making. The actor who plays Satya seems miscast for her role, as she appears much older than her character. But what she does get right is the unease and helplessness of a pre-pubescent child that is faced with inexplicable circumstances.

An entire sub-genre of thrillers/horrors is based on identical twins (Dead Ringers, House Of Wax). The good versus evil twin is well-explored territory too (Blood Rage, 1987). Lacking a strong story, Nene Vasthunna feels derivative of all that has come before it, even including themes recycled from Selvaraghavan's own oeuvre. So despite having all the other ingredients for a haunting movie - solid cast, masterful visuals and music - Nene Vasthunna / Naane Varuvaen won't stay with you and spoil your sleep.