‘Neram,’ is a delightful idea of whiling away time

Right from the opening credits with a Tarantino quote: ‘I steal from every movie made,’ to the unusual dedication by the director thanking his girl- friends, ‘especially the last one,’ ‘Neram’ prepares you for a fun ride.
Software engineer Vetri (Nivin Pauly) gets the pink slip, a riff of the butterfly effect, wherein a business tycoon in the US loses his wife after an episode of flatulence and subsequently his enterprise too.
For his sister’s wedding, Vetri is now forced to borrow money from Vetti Raja, a real Shylock who will spare no means to get back his pound of flesh. Vetti Raja fixes a time limit within which to return the loan or else face dire consequences.
When the day of repayment dawns, Vettri is still unemployed and has no funds to clear the loan. His deadline will expire at five pm and the clock is ticking away. Adding to his woes is his childhood sweetheart Veni’s (Nazriya Nazim) father who refuses to marry his daughter in marriage to an unemployed Vetri. Time challenges him again when the money that his friend John arranges gets stolen.
Filmed to depict events on this particular day when Vetri is bound by time, Puthren narrates his story in a non linear way, taking viewers through hilarious moments and thrills. With tongue in cheek humour lines and characters reminiscent of people around you, (Manickam, for one, who prefers to converse in English and be known as ‘Manick,’) ‘Neram’ is clearly not a test of time for viewers. ‘Puthren’s heroine Veni is a mature girl, who does not buckle under difficult circumstances and a wonderful support to Vetri.
Nivin as the boy next door comes out a winner. Nazriya’s cute expressions impress.  Nasser, makes a brief appearance in the second half slipping into his character with the ease of a veteran. Thambi Ramiah as Veni’s father and John Vijay as a cop perform well too. Walking away with the honours is Simhaa as the much despised Vetti Raja. We last saw this newcomer in Nalan Kumarasamy’s ‘Soodhu Kavvum’ where he played a Nayanthara fan, timid and unsure of himself. This role, clearly a contrast to that taps the performer in Simhaa.
Puthren joins the league of growing number of young directors in Tamil and Malayalam who are making a mark with their fresh ideas and novel presentation.
Just don’t miss 'Neram.'