2 / 4 STARS
DIRECTOR: N. ALAGAMPERUMAL
ACTOR: MADHAVAN
ACTRESS: JOTHIKA
MUSIC DIRECTOR: KARTHIK RAJA
STORYLINE:
Adityan (Madhavan) is a village-born city boy, who enjoys a fast college life with friends of both genders. Ganga (Jothika) is a small town girl who is intent on not stopping her studies at the twelfth standard. Their marriage is fixed by their parents, who do not ask them their wishes. Neither one wants to get married, and so they get together and try to break up the alliance.
Their efforts are all in vain, and marriage preparations continue in full swing. It looks like they're both going to get married after all, and somehow, they don't seem to mind as much anymore.
Then the parents get into a fight over a game of cards, and the marriage is called off, with both families yelling at each other and becoming bitter enemies.
Ganga comes to Madras, and there Adityan realizes he is in love with her, and follows her around everywhere. But of course, their families are fighting, so the story turns into the usual we-love-each-other-but-our-parents-won't-let-us-marry kind of story.
COMMENTS:
The film has several impressive credits to its name. Maniratnam is partly credited with writing the story; he also produced the film. His assistant, N. Alagamperumal, is in charge of direction. The basic "Alai Paayuthey" film crew is the one used here. Even Madhavan is here. The one prominent member of the "Alai Paayuthey" crew not here is, interestingly enough, A.R. Rahman.
The beginning of this movie is "different," and the characters interesting. For once, there's no love-at-first-sight kind of deal. Even the prank Madhavan pulls for the alliance to be called off is realistic and, dare I say it, intelligent. The entire dowry situation is cleverly done.
The movie only falls apart when the marriage is broken up over a game of cards. A game of cards? What, the director couldn't think of anything more important?
The second half is the usual we've-seen-it-a-thousand-times-before story.
Madhavan is neither at his "Ennavalae" low or his "Alai Paayuthey" high. He seems to be at his "Minnalae" middle here. Jothika has made enough films, I think, for the audience to reasonably expect her to act -- she doesn't.
Vivek provides comedic relief, but he's painfully unfunny. This is the worst I've seen Vivek in, comedy-wise. In fact, the only joke that really got me laughing was a short two-second scene in which V.K. Ramasamy pretends to be dead to fool the doctor.
The hand of Maniratnam is evident in the filmmaking -- even the "Alai Paayuthey" technique of beginning a song over dialogue is used here. Unfortunately, N. Alagamperumal copies Maniratnam's technique but doesn't seem to have Maniratnam's natural talent.
Nice try, N. Alagamperumal -- but it seems to me you could have done better.
NOTE ON THE MUSIC:
The music was an extroardinary hit in India, for reasons beyond me. The only two tracks I like are Dhesingu Raja and Krishna Krishna (and even there, the lyrics to Krishna kind of ruin that song, too). But other people loved Ragasiyamaai and Unn Paerai Sonnaalae. I have quibbles about these songs, though. They seem unnecessary and tacked on in the film -- especially Dhesingu Raja.
RECOMMENDATION:
Watch it on video.
VIJAY VANNIARAJAN