Review of Deena

Introduction

In a city in south India lies the rules of local gangster Adikesavan (Suresh Gopi) who uses violence to make money, but also helps the needy when needed. To some he is considered a good man. Adikesavan is also a family man with a mother, sister and a brother called Dheena Dayalan (Ajith). Dheena is not his blood brother but their relationship is much more stronger, and all the family members love Dheena as their own. Dheena is grateful for this and lives solely along side Adikesavan and does what he commands.

Dheena begins to fall in love with a love with a woman called Chitra (Laila), who comes to know of Dheena`s true life of violence and doesn`t mind it as the man underneath is both soft and innocent. In the meantime Dheena learns from other gang members that his sister Shanthi (Divya) is being ragged by a local boy, and Dheena decides to sort the matter out, without Adikesavan knowing as his rage would end up killing the boy. But Dheena learns that the boy is Chitra`s older brother, who loves Shanthi and whom Shanthi wants to marry.

Dheena encourages Shanthi to tell Adikesavan about the boy but this back fires when she loses her courage. Both keep this a secret amongst themselves until they find time to talk to their brother. However the gang members one day see the boy with his mates eloping with Shanthi, and the members think that he is kidnapping her. However the two are running away to get married as Shanthi feels her older brother won`t listen. But this ends in a tragic car accident which Shanthi is badly injured and is on her death bed.

Dheena at Shanthi`s side tries to give her hope, but Shanthi knows she is to die and when she does Adikesavan will kill all of her boyfriend`s family members as revenge. Shanthi makes Dheena vowed to protect her boyfriend`s family from Adikesavan, she then dies and Dheena is lost in what to do. Will Dheena listen to the last request of his sister, and can he go against his brother whom he loves so dearly.....?

Video

The DVD is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.25:1 which has been cropped from the original aspect ratio of 2.45:1. Yet the cropping is not as affected to the eye when viewing as most of the frame is covered on this DVD. But the idea that the wondrous canvas is missing by a slight potion does have an affect on this purist mind. Still the transfer is presented in an anamorphic mode which really does encapsulate the picture details even further.

The 35mm print negative source used for this DVD appears to be in excellent condition. The source used was that of the original negative which the producer in India allowed Ayngaran to use for this DVD transfer. With minimal wear and tear, restricted to only a couple of scenes in the forms of small white dots, the film has a rather fresh and clean look.

The DVD had no signs of compression artefacts nor of film grain, and the sharpness detail was nearly in immaculate condition. The picture information was so concise that nearly everything was visible to the eye without the need to strain. The introduction scene (Chapter 3) of the character Dheena was shot during heavy rain and the details of every rain drop from Dheena`s face is seen. This scene must have been a bitch to author as rain can product some blocking effect on DVD`s but none of these problems are to found on this DVD.

If anything hindered the picture it was the shimmering which is detected in some scenes. Though the shimmering is not distracting it is the only thing detectable afar on screen as the rest of the picture is great. Also moiré effects on many of the shirts Ajith wears during this film is also another thing that one can detect and is similar to the shimmering patterns which occur. This applies especially during chapter 12, with the branches of the trees, and the grass. Clearly this area of work needs to be done for Ayngaran on their next titles so that this minor complaint is avoided, but the shimmering is a small compliant.

The colour fidelity is very well handed and from the boldness and vibrancy seen on this DVD you can rest assure that it looks very polished and cinematic. No colour distortion was detected, nor was any colour bleeding. While definition of dark details and shadows are well executed as seen in the many dark scenes which reveal lots of information despite the harsh conditions the film was shot at. Chapter two, which was shot during the night displays the excellent dark details and shadow that really puts this DVD on a higher level when compared to other Ayngaran International titles.

Audio

Taken from the original DTS source, this Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is just supersonic! While the dialogues remain warm and clear on the centre channel, the rest of the channels proves a thundering soundfield that will immense you into the 360 degree experience. With sound effects whizzing on the rear speakers, the music score giving you a great front stereo separation, and the bass beating away on the LFE channel you can expect nothing but cinema like hearing experience on this disc. Another winner from Ayngaran.

Features

The menus are very thematic and excellent in design while navigation on this disc is very easy. The box design is also quite rich although a synopsis on the back would have been useful to those who don`t know nothing about the film. The English subtitles are improving since their last DVD Minnale (2001) but it still needs some work to avoid being laughable. Also the missing intermission sign was a bit of a downside and made the cinema experience on this disc seem lacking.

Conclusion

One of the best action film I have seen in ages from the Indian continent and certainly Ayngaran`s best DVD to date. Thought there is more space for improvement this disc shows that they are continuously improving since their last DVD Minnale, and if they continue to go down this road they could very well be a rival to DEI (the present masters of Indian DVD).......now there a thought!