Bejoy Nambiar isn't a director that tries to cater to the masses as such, but he still makes films in a commercial niche without compromising a lot on what he wants to convey - 'Shaitan' (his best work), 'David' (the Hindi version was pretty fine, the Tamil one so- so) and 'Wazir' (a somewhat predictable thriller) are perfect examples. 'Solo' is an experimental anthology that showcases four different elements in the Shaivite mythology: Water, Wind, Fire & Earth. The names of the protagonists (Shekhar, Trilok, Shiva and Rudra - all played by DQ) in the four segments are alternative monikers given to the Lord.
Before we go into the storyline details, let's be very clear on a few things: Nambiar is a master handler of ensembles and highly skilled in terms of craft. Given reasonably good screenplays, he could end up a paragon in creating the most out-of-the-box films that India will ever see. 'Solo', a writing effort from Bejoy, Dhanya Suresh (for Malayalam) and Karthik Iyer (for Tamil) is a spectacular letdown. The technical team though, have done a marvelous job. The music (for most part) is fantastic and one gets a feeling that all of it should've been utilized in a much better movie. Cinematography (by Girish Gangadharan, Madhu Neelakantan and Sejal Shah) is also worthy of mention - if at all the romance, violence and humor unleashed in 'Solo' manage to strike even a negligible chord with the viewer, these three deserve the credit for it. Editor Sreekar Prasad chops and merges scenes mostly in a coherent manner. Even with all of said things working in favor of 'Solo', the story-telling is poor.
World of Shekhar (Water): The stuttering Shekhar - blind Radhika (Dhansika) segment easily isn't the best of starts and although the pair might look good as a 'wallpaper couple', the screenplay doesn't flesh their characters out well (syrupy dialogues are plentiful - I won't ever leave you, my love!). The dubbing for Dhansika also plays a major role in making this part less effective. Soubin's counter dialogues make you giggle for a little while, before the story dives into tragic mode. A couple of good songs (one sung by Vijay Yesudas and composed by Abhinav Bhansal, and another sung by Harish Sivaramakrishnan and composed by Bangalore-based Carnatic rock band Agam) are the only positives. DQ's stutter act doesn't startle.
World of Trilok (Wind): Probably the best piece of the lot in terms of having a proper commencement and closure (although with a few gaping holes in the script). DQ's act is restrained here (even after the disclosure of the twist), the shots are exquisite and the narrative even carries the feel of a feature film. Arthi Venkatesh, as Trilok's wife Ayesha has a minuscule role that isn't exactly worth dissecting. She however looks dashing, and the shots of breeze rushing against her gorgeous thighs when she cycles down a slope was a brilliant way of putting the theme across. This segment invokes memories of DQ's 2012 thriller 'Theevram'.
World of Shiva (Fire): DQ plays a local thug with a not-so-memorable childhood, and he barely speaks. Circumstances lead him to Mumbai, and plants him face to face with a gangster Vishnu (played by Prakash Belawadi) and an eardrum-exploding shootout (replete with Govind Menon's 'Aigiri Nandini' playing in the background) ensues, with devastating results. This segment could've worked as an entire movie altogether (given proper layering), but the proceedings here are too compressed for the viewer to assimilate the emotional intensity that the characters keep going through. There are some wonderfully grounded acts from Govind Menon, Sai Tamhankar and Rohan Manoj (who play's Shiva's brother). Sruthi Hariharan who plays Rukku, is asked to ham it up with soapy monologues.
World of Rudra (Earth): This segment turns out to be the craziest, although it starts off in a style that vies to please the actor's fan-base. He is the coolest of the cool (filmi) boyfriend, who walks up to his girlfriend's arranged-fiancés and shuts them down with a thumb-punch. Neha Sharma as Akshara, has the meatiest female role in the entire movie. She looks dazzling in modern costumes and performs neatly, but again much to her misfortune, the scenario of 'girlfriend ditching boyfriend without proper elucidation' is one we've seen DQ tackle in another film that came out very recently. After a funny brawl between Rudra and Akshara's fiancé (that almost plays along the centuries-old custom of 'best fighter wins the girl'), brace yourselves for that hilariously unsettling climax twist (total 'what the hell!' moment). The loudest laughs arrive when Rudra and his dad (played by Nasser) sit down over a drink and interrogate each other over the fiasco that has transpired thus far (I wonder to this moment whether all this was supposed to look funny or not, because the theme addressed here is a sensitive one). Either ways, this is definitely the most tasteless piece of the pie.
Verdict: None of the stories are memorable, save for a few jiffs of technical brilliance!
Before we go into the storyline details, let's be very clear on a few things: Nambiar is a master handler of ensembles and highly skilled in terms of craft. Given reasonably good screenplays, he could end up a paragon in creating the most out-of-the-box films that India will ever see. 'Solo', a writing effort from Bejoy, Dhanya Suresh (for Malayalam) and Karthik Iyer (for Tamil) is a spectacular letdown. The technical team though, have done a marvelous job. The music (for most part) is fantastic and one gets a feeling that all of it should've been utilized in a much better movie. Cinematography (by Girish Gangadharan, Madhu Neelakantan and Sejal Shah) is also worthy of mention - if at all the romance, violence and humor unleashed in 'Solo' manage to strike even a negligible chord with the viewer, these three deserve the credit for it. Editor Sreekar Prasad chops and merges scenes mostly in a coherent manner. Even with all of said things working in favor of 'Solo', the story-telling is poor.
World of Shekhar (Water): The stuttering Shekhar - blind Radhika (Dhansika) segment easily isn't the best of starts and although the pair might look good as a 'wallpaper couple', the screenplay doesn't flesh their characters out well (syrupy dialogues are plentiful - I won't ever leave you, my love!). The dubbing for Dhansika also plays a major role in making this part less effective. Soubin's counter dialogues make you giggle for a little while, before the story dives into tragic mode. A couple of good songs (one sung by Vijay Yesudas and composed by Abhinav Bhansal, and another sung by Harish Sivaramakrishnan and composed by Bangalore-based Carnatic rock band Agam) are the only positives. DQ's stutter act doesn't startle.
World of Trilok (Wind): Probably the best piece of the lot in terms of having a proper commencement and closure (although with a few gaping holes in the script). DQ's act is restrained here (even after the disclosure of the twist), the shots are exquisite and the narrative even carries the feel of a feature film. Arthi Venkatesh, as Trilok's wife Ayesha has a minuscule role that isn't exactly worth dissecting. She however looks dashing, and the shots of breeze rushing against her gorgeous thighs when she cycles down a slope was a brilliant way of putting the theme across. This segment invokes memories of DQ's 2012 thriller 'Theevram'.
World of Shiva (Fire): DQ plays a local thug with a not-so-memorable childhood, and he barely speaks. Circumstances lead him to Mumbai, and plants him face to face with a gangster Vishnu (played by Prakash Belawadi) and an eardrum-exploding shootout (replete with Govind Menon's 'Aigiri Nandini' playing in the background) ensues, with devastating results. This segment could've worked as an entire movie altogether (given proper layering), but the proceedings here are too compressed for the viewer to assimilate the emotional intensity that the characters keep going through. There are some wonderfully grounded acts from Govind Menon, Sai Tamhankar and Rohan Manoj (who play's Shiva's brother). Sruthi Hariharan who plays Rukku, is asked to ham it up with soapy monologues.
World of Rudra (Earth): This segment turns out to be the craziest, although it starts off in a style that vies to please the actor's fan-base. He is the coolest of the cool (filmi) boyfriend, who walks up to his girlfriend's arranged-fiancés and shuts them down with a thumb-punch. Neha Sharma as Akshara, has the meatiest female role in the entire movie. She looks dazzling in modern costumes and performs neatly, but again much to her misfortune, the scenario of 'girlfriend ditching boyfriend without proper elucidation' is one we've seen DQ tackle in another film that came out very recently. After a funny brawl between Rudra and Akshara's fiancé (that almost plays along the centuries-old custom of 'best fighter wins the girl'), brace yourselves for that hilariously unsettling climax twist (total 'what the hell!' moment). The loudest laughs arrive when Rudra and his dad (played by Nasser) sit down over a drink and interrogate each other over the fiasco that has transpired thus far (I wonder to this moment whether all this was supposed to look funny or not, because the theme addressed here is a sensitive one). Either ways, this is definitely the most tasteless piece of the pie.
Verdict: None of the stories are memorable, save for a few jiffs of technical brilliance!