Review of 12B

Introduction

12B is a remake of the Hollywood-British film `Sliding Doors`. It borrows the idea of a split second decision made by a person, which alters their future. The film then follows the two different lifestyles lived out by the same person. It shows how both lifestyle benefits the individual and how it contrasts each other. The premise is borrowed, but the film 12B proves to be one Indian film that is unique and rather entertaining.

Looking at the two lifestyles of the character Shatki is done in a very lightweight manner, never being too serious yet always gaining the audience attention span. The director, Jeeva, never confuses the audience with which lifestyle of the individual character we are looking at. The film remains quite clear on this aspect and this is a bonus point for us audiences.

Its quite fascinating to see how a spilt second decision could affect an individual course of life; the type of friends he has, the girlfriend he dates, his career aspect and even his overall spending habits come into play on this film. The director covers all of these aspect subconsciously, while conveying the plot at the same time. The film even at one point contrast both lifestyle of the individual in a really clever scene set at an engagement party.

Naturally the romantic angles are quite cinematic in places, like most Tamil films, yet they remain quite sweet and nicely handled. Females audiences will surly appreciate it for not being too dumb or too gimmicky. Both romantic tracks are different and makes for interesting view to see how one individual would handle such contrasting situations.

The cast are all excellent in this film, especially that of the débutante actor Shaam who leaves quite an impression after the film ends. While productions values are excellently handled. It certainly surpasses the high-end Hindi movies seen in the year 2001, and shows growing signs of confidence within the Tamil film industry. The cinematography is absolutely stunning, and should certainly be a contender for some awards.

The comedy track by actor Vivek is quite funny in places, and one joke had me in stitches for a long time. The music score by Harris Jeyaraj is also one of the best Indian soundtracks heard in the year 2001, and all songs picturisation shine within this film (although the use of a CGI effect do go badly wrong in the first song).

However the film does have short subplot which looks at an uncle`s wish to marry his niece. It is something practised in a few cultures and is seen here in the film as normal. Naturally it is one practice western audiences are not accustomed too. It reminded me of the subplot of the two cousins in love on the Francis Ford Coppla film "Godfather Part 3". But I did find 12B a little bit uncomfortable when the subplot came on.

Overall, 12B is a film I did like. The film is one I would recommend all to see and one I would view again for the many years to come.

Video

The video is presented in 2.20:1 anamorphic widescreen and is of pretty good quality throughout. Cropping doesn`t appear to be a problem on this disc despite the film`s original aspect ratio being 2.35:1. No compression artefacts or film grain can be seen, and colour fidelity is excellent.

Picture detail is sparking with information which can only impressive the viewer. I believe that this title is the best Ayngaran DVD title since the DVD of Dheena (also reviewed on this site). Visuals are eye catching and dark details are crisp.

Not much wear and tear is seen, with one exception half way into the film. A faint while line is seen going vertically across the screen for about one minute. Apart from this one flaw the film remains quite clean.

Audio

The DVD is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 Tamil soundtrack, taken from its original DTS 6 track source. The sound on this disc is excellent, with much action brimming from all 5 speakers. The dialogue track is clear and warm. Indeed the presence of a 360 degree soundfield can be heard around you when you play this disc. Top reference quality!

Features

The DVD has nice animated menus, but no extras at all!

The optional English subtitles are forever improving on Ayngaran DVD`s in its grammar. However the timing of the subtitles still needs further tweaking as the text can come on either too fast or slow for readers to view.

Conclusion

The DVD has quality and certainly is one of the best DVD to come out form the house of Ayngaran, despite some tiny flaws. But the flaws can be overlooked, making this disc one I can recommend for potential viewers. Worth purchasing!