3.5 / 4 STARS
DIRECTOR: MANIRATNAM
ACTOR: MADHAVAN
ACTRESS: SHALINI
MUSIC DIRECTOR: A.R. RAHMAN
STORYLINE:
R. Madhavan, a new face, plays Karthik, a rich man's son who falls in love with Shakti (Shalini) from a middle-class family. Karthik's father, when going to 'ponnu pakku' Shakti, insults Shakti's father for his social position, and the engagement breaks off.
Shakti and Karthik try to live without each other but find it too hard and continue loving each other -- they go so far as to get married in secret.
The news of their marriage eventually gets out to their parents and both are kicked out of their homes and they start a life together on their own. Eventually, though, their love is tested by many things, from simple arguments to Karthik keeping Shakti from seeing her father alive one more time.
Eventually the question becomes -- can their marriage survive?
Vivek appears in a small role as Shalini's would-be suitor. Kushboo and Aravind Swamy appear, too, but if I were to tell you what they appeared as, I would spoil the ending for you.
COMMENTS:
ALL RIGHT! MANI RATNAM ("ROJA," "DHALAPATHY," "ANJALI") IS BACK!! I'll admit I did not go to this movie expecting very much considering Mani Ratnam's more recent track record (the dreadful "Uyirae", he even penned the dismal "Taj Mahal"), but I was in for a very pleasant surprise.
At first look, R. Madhavan seems to be another Manoj but he is actually quite handsome and what's more important is that he acts very well. Shalini performs extraordinarily well, and plays on her emotions excellently, proving that it is possible to be at the top of tamil cinema without dressing in the briefest possible clothes. Other actors are also excellent -- Vivek, Shakti's sister, Kushboo, Aravind -- but I can readily tell you, the scene-stealer was obviously V. Natarajan as Madhavan's father. His one-liners had the whole audience laughing out loud.
Mani Ratnam's picturisation is flawless; all the songs are beautifully picturised (never expect any less from him, after all), and the way the story develops has some very interesting turns. The flashback method, though confusing at times, was very effective at other times. This movie hit all the right tones, made all the right moves, and is a sure-fire hit. The dialogue is also very effective.
I always knew Mani Ratnam would 'ooruppadu' again if he stopped making movies about terrorists!
SPOILER COMMENTS: THIS SECTION CONTAINS DETAILS OF THE STORYLINE AT THE END OF THE MOVIE. IT IS DESIGNED FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE ALREADY SEEN THE MOVIE. PEOPLE WHO HAVEN'T AND DON'T WANT THE ENDING REVEALED TO THEM, SKIP THIS SECTION.
It's an excellent movie so why did I give it a 3.5 instead of a 4? Well, it was the ending, which, though powerful and well-executed, seemed to me to miss the point. That is the classic screen-writer's dilemma, at times -- write a powerful ending that is down-to-earth or write a cinematic ending that misses the point. Mani Ratnam chooses the latter.
All through the movie, it seemed to me that the point of the movie was to show the turbulences in Karthik's and Shakti's marriage, and to show how they get along. The movie was about marriage, but Mani Ratnam chose to resolve the movie by having (BIG SPOILER!) Kushboo mow Shalini down with her car. Sure that's cinematic, and the graphics in the scene made the whole audience gasp, but it seems wrong to end the movie in such a melodramatic way. It's too cinematic for a movie that's, for the most part, a family drama.
This is why I rated it a 3.5.
NOTE ON THE MUSIC:
I have to make a confession here. When "Alai Payuthey"'s track first came out, I thought it was a dismal attempt musically-speaking, despite its popularity in India. It had the usual bounding percussions of A.R. Rahman's music, and sounded his usual. But --
-- the music fits in flawlessly into the fiilm. It's appropriate, it's timely. Mani Ratnam knows just when to use the music, and when viewed in conjunction with the movie, it's an excellent track.
The only song I thought inappropriate was "September Madham." I was sitting in the movie, thinking I was finally seeing an Indian movie without any woman showing off her navel or cleavage, but then that song showed up and screwed that up.
RECOMMENDATION:
Watch it in the theater. Not only will the movie seem better that way with all the bright colors and picturisation, but it's also worth it.
VIJAY VANNIARAJAN