August 16 1947 is a period drama film that is written and directed by Pon Kumar. The film is produced by AR Murgadoss’s ARM Productions.
The film has a fantastic plot with an intriguing period setup cleverly woven. It makes the right move in the beginning as one feels we are set for an interesting roller coaster ride. But then the film stays flat as it tries to unravel the characters of the plot. The three day deadline makes for a thrilling expectation but the screenplay dilutes it with some unnecessary scenes and some that are lengthier than purposeful. Until interval, the film is a drag and post interval is when some real action takes place. This again is messed up with a contrived last 30 minutes that drowns all the decent work done until then. What helps the film greatly is the production design and some good effort by the technical team.
Gowtham Karthik, you wonder how is it that he manages to look a mess in all his films. This performance is okayish. Pugazh does well and is a surprise. Revathy Sharma is average. Richard Ashton is good alongwith Jason Shah.
Selvakumar’s cinematography helps elevate the average scenes. Sean Ronald’s background score is in sync and the songs too work. T Santhanam’s art direction deserves special mention. Dialogues are decent. Editing by Sudharshan R could have been tight. Direction by Pon Kumar is fine.
AUGUST 16 1947 is a fine idea messed by conventions!!
AUGUST 16 1947 – AAGA ..!!
2.25/5
B.U.Shreesha
