It takes a village to supply a story line for '80s romance

K Balakrishnan's first film as a director brings together an interesting mix of actors, with Vijay Sethupathy (Soodu Kavvum and Pizza) sharing the lead role with Inigo Prabhakaran (Sundhara Paandiyan and Azhagarsamyin Kuthirai) and Soori (Jilla and Pandiya Naadu).

RUMMY (7/10)

The female lead is played by Gayathri (18 Vayasu and Naduvula Konjum Pakkatha Kaanom). Sujatha Sivakumar, Joe Malloori and Sendraayan are in the supporting cast.

Rummy is set in 1987 and tells the story of forbidden love among two rural youths. The bigoted elders of the village do not tolerate their love.

Sakthi (Prabhakaran) comes from a middle-class family. His average results see him land a place in a university on the outskirts of an urban area.

On the first day, he meets Meenakshi (Gayathri) and the two soon fall in love, knowing well that their respective villages would not accept their relationship. At university, Sakthi meets and befriends Joseph (Sethupathy) and the two form a strong bond.

What the respective villages do when news of the love emerges forms the rest of the story.

Sethupathy, although performing the smaller role, towers over the others in terms of acting. Prabhakaran delivers his best performance to date in his role as Sakthi.

Gayathri has made huge strides in her acting and shows great maturity in a role that calls for a combination of complex emotions. Soori also combines his great comedic timing with a powerful role.

Balakrishnan has creative ideas in his screenplay, but the predictability of the story and the pace of the second half negate much of its brilliance. There are many shots and scenes that pique one's curiosity, but none of them are developed. The obvious lack of continuity and the presence of too many loose ends dilute the overall effect of the film.

C Premkumar's cinematography experiments a great deal with unusual angles and filters, but there is limited experimentation with light.

D Imman's music is very melodious and the songs are in keeping with the '80s theme, but his background score, perhaps intentionally, is very intrusive.

Balakrishnan handles the theme well and, along with the impressive art designer, presents a very promising debut.

Rummy is an entertaining film that tries something different, but it does not succeed fully. Greater concentration on a more substantive story would have yielded a better film.