August 16 1947 Movie Review: An Action-Packed Period Drama
South Indian filmmakers are creating a new benchmark with every movie they release in the last few years and the trend continues.
After Kantara, Dasara, now August 16 1947 is creating a new sensation for the entertainment industry in the Indian cinema. Though, it is currently released in Tamil language only but the action is gripping and engaging making the audience thrilled.
Watch August 16 1947 Official Trailer Video | Tamil
Directed by NS Ponkumar the story of the awakening of a colonised South Indian village, where oppressed and terrified residents prefer killing off their own daughters before lewd Britishers could lay eyes on them.
Amid the unending atrocities of the Englishmen, when a young man dares to mutilate the dictator’s son for touching the woman he loves, an uprising is kicked off.
In a fictional land in the Madras region of India, a British General named Robert Clive (Richard Ashton) and his son, Justin (Jason Shah), have spread their reign of terror by killing anyone who does not obey their orders and raping women when they hit puberty.
Also Watch: Dasara: An action-packed movie compared with KGF & Pushpa
On the fateful day of August 15, 1947, when Justin asks the landlord of the village to send his daughter Deepali (Revathy Sharma) to his mansion, her lover Param (Gautham Karthik) takes matters into his own hands.
With the news of India’s independence yet to reach the villagers, Param’s bravery instils in them the courage to fight a revengeful Robert for their own freedom.
August 16 1947 Movie Review
Gautham Karthik brings just the right amount of nuances to his character. It is an earnest attempt by him to stay true to his part as a lover carrying the baggage of his past.
Revathy Sharma’s portrayal of Deepali is balanced. She hasn’t gone overboard in either happy or emotional scenes.
Richard Ashton as a barbaric dictator is top-notch. He commands a terrific screen presence and makes the audience hate his guts as a British General. Jason Shah complements Richard with an impactful performance.
Applaud-worth Direction
NS Ponkumar has most certainly proven his potential in his very first outing as a director. The way he has unfolded the storyline in the first half is applaud-worthy. However, the latter half gets off track for a short while.
Besides, Ponkumar does a fine job of depicting the colonial era and keeping the characters real and believable.
The Final Verdict
August 16 1947, may not be a perfect movie but is gripping and engaging enough to make you root for the characters. The element of patriotism only multiplies the overall impact. The NS Ponkumar film deserves to be watched on the big screen.
This news article was originally published in Times Now
