1 / 4 STARS
DIRECTOR: BHARATHIRAJA
ACTOR: MANOJ
ACTRESS: RIYA SEN
MUSIC DIRECTOR: A.R. RAHMAN
STORYLINE:
The story (penned by Maniratnam, who seems to have reached the end of his creative days once he made "Thalapthy" and "Roja") is about two villages that hate each other with a vengeance. Of course Manoj comes from one; Riya Sen comes from the other. Of course they love at first sight (underwater, too!), and of course their parents oppose their love vehemently.
Of course...
The twist in the tale comes when Manoj is beaten up and left to die. At this point, Riya Sen's brother marries Riya Sen to another mappillai and surprise! surprise! Riya Sen actually DOES get married to the other man.
Will the two young lovers' love succeed, even though the sacred "thalli" now stands between them? Do we care?
Manivannan plays Manoj's father, and Revathy his mother. Ranjeetha comes briefly as Riya Sen's brother's wife. Radhika makes an appearance as Manivannan's sister.
COMMENTS:
The only good thing about the movie is it's short. Well, I suppose A.R. Rahman's music is a plus as well, but I'm not as crazy about it as some others are.
Who told Bharathirajaa that Manoj could act, or even be a hero? Heroes gotta look good, and sorry, Ilam Puyal, you don't (with or without the earring). Riya Sen's just another glamour doll, and throughout the entire movie, she doesn't really ACT. She's just kind of there. In addition to that, she supposedly falls in love with Manoj when they see each other underneath the water. How she could think anything but "Robber! Call the police!" is beyond me.
And Revathy -- whatever happened to you? Good God. Once Tamil Nadu's top actress, and now... How the mighty do fall!
Maniratnam's story is horrid, Bharathirajaa's screenplay even more putrid. Bharathirajaa's most anticipated movie in quite a while flops like a dead fish. (I actually saw a scene of the filming in India). The scenes of hatred between the villagers are contrived, and any sentiment that they try to soak out of us is badly reacted to.
In the end, we only cry (SPOILER) because Manoj's and Riya Sen's characters don't die.
NOTE ON THE MUSIC:
The music was a hit, especially "Chotta Chotta Nanaiyuthu". Personally I didn't believe the music was that great, but some people found it very much to their liking. I make no judgments. My favorite song of the bunch is probably "Thiruppaachi Arivaalu."
RECOMMENDATION:
If you like the music, buy the audio CD, but at all costs, skip the movie.
VIJAY VANNIARAJAN