Manmadhan Ambu Movie Review : Cruise away for a good time

Warning- Spoiler Alert K.S.Ravikumar and Kamal Haasan have always been a successful combination at the box office. K.S.R is probably the most successful commercial director in Tamil Cinema right now, having worked with almost all the major actors. K.S.R & Kamal Haasan have earlier worked on films together like Avvai Shanmughi, Tenali, Panchatantiram and Dasavatharam. So we have come to expect something in particular when these 2 personalities come together to work on a film. After Kamal Haasan’s Unnai Pol Oruvan last year there was a lot of talk about what would be his next film. Initially it was supposed to be a film with Mysskin, but due to some creative differences apparently that film was dropped. So then after a lot of confusion about the film it was announced that it would be a film with K.S.R once again-Manmadhan Ambu. This announcement brought about varied reactions from people.

While a lot of his fans rejoiced considering that the combination has made successful commercial films, some of the critics and people who like serious cinema wondered why Kamal Haasan had to fall back upon K.S.R again as they felt it was probably going to be another comedy film, something that we have been seeing quite often from the combination. I kept my fingers crossed in anticipation. While I knew that it wouldn’t be a serious film, the choice of actors like R.Madhavan and Trisha Krishnanmade me feel happy since there was the probability that it wouldn’t be a Kamal Haasan centric film like Dasavatharam. With Manmadhan Ambu getting made in reasonably good time and with the backing of a big production house like Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Red Giant Movies, there was some unnecessary comparison withRajnikanth’s Endhiran as well in terms of how the movie would turn out.

Before I go on to talk about why I feel the comparison with Endhiran was unnecessary, let me share my feelings about the movie itself. With a storyline that’s extremely thin like a paper napkin, you expect the film to have some really strong moments and some amazing performances if you need to connect to the film. And that’s what Manmadhan Ambu is all about (and while Manmadhan Ambu means Cupid’s Arrow, the title of the film actually refers to the 3 main characters of the film- Mannar,Madhan and Ambu ). Madhanagopal ( R.Madhavan ) is a rich businessman who is suspicious of his fiancee Nisha aka Ambujakshi aka Ambu ( Trisha Krishnan ), a popular actress. Ambu tries to keep a distance away from Madhan and goes off on a Euro cruise from Paris with her friend Deepa (Sangeetha) and her two children.

With his suspicion levels at its peak, Madhan enlists a private investigator, Major Raja Mannar (Kamal Haasan) to follow Ambu and check on her. Mannar takes up the job as he has to pay the hospital bills of his friend Rajan (Ramesh Arvind) who is suffering from cancer. With a story line like this you are initially reminded of films like There’s Something About Mary which has even had its desi adaptations. But that being the case it’s an easy and fun film to watch while not being an out & out comedy either. A strong reason for making us connect to the film is the writing (story, screenplay & dialogues are by Kamal Haasan himself) of the film. There are a lot of genuinely interesting moments strewn throughout the film. Characterization is another major aspect that goes in favour of the film.

And in terms of characterization I’m not just referring to the main characters- Mannar,Madhan and Ambu. All the other characters like Deepa, Rajan, Mrs. & Mr.Kurup (the Malayali wife & producer), Deepa’s kids, Mallika (Rajan’s wife), Indira (Madhan’s mother) are all well etched and carry enough scope for the respective actors to perform. Sangeetha as Deepa is very good and it’s a pleasure to watch her in such a light and energetic character after mainly having seen her in some heavy duty roles in recent times. Ramesh Arvind as Rajan the cancer patient and Urvashi as Mallika his wife are so effective that in the portions they appear you almost feel that they are essaying true to life characters. And its nice to see Malayalam actors Mohandas and Manju Pillai essaying the roles of the Kurups as they fit into their characters effectively. Usha Uthup is always a delight to watch – whether she is singing or acting ( occasionally like this ).

Kamal Haasan with Trisha Krishnan

That R.Madhavan is a good actor is something that we all know and we also know that whenever he works in a Kamal Haasan film like Anbe Sivamor Nala Damayanthi (co-written and co-produced by Kamal Haasan ) he’s managed to get an interesting character to enact. It’s no different in case of Manmadhan Ambu either. As Madhanagopal the suspicious businessman who keeps getting drunk and throws tantrums, he is simply wonderful and natural. Check out the scene in the washroom where he drops his mobile phone in the urinal by accident and also receives a call at the same time- simply hilarious. I had been reading a lot about the film and even saw the audio release function on T.V where Kamal Haasan made it clear that he personally insisted that Trisha must dub in her own voice. In the same audio release function both Kamal and Trisha enacted/read out the Kamal Kavidhai but it didn’t really impress me all that then.

But on screen when you actually listen to Trisha you really feel that Kamal was right. There’s even a scene where Mannar asks Nisha as to why she doesn’t dub in her own voice for her films and her response is a stark reminder of what actually happens in Tamil Cinema these days. The Kamal Kavidhai is a wonderful piece of poetry and shows Kamal Haasan and Trisha enacting it and pulling off very well. Unfortunately the piece has been chopped off from the film courtesy protests from some right wing religious groups. I think only those who saw the film on the first day (outside Tamilnadu) were lucky enough to see the song in the film as the portion got chopped off soon. There is a shorter version of the same which plays in the background towards the end of the film though.

The absence of the kavidhai does rob the audience of a crucial moment in the film (you need to see the film to understand it), but then one cannot do much about it. Talking about the songs one must mention that Devi Sri Prasadhas done a wonderful job indeed with the songs. There are no unnecessary item numbers or typical opening song idolizing the hero. Even the only mass song- Oyyale is present in the film for a valid reason. The pick of the songs are of course Neela Vanam and Kamal Kavidhai. The picturization of the song though inspired from Monica Belluci’sIrreversible and the music video of Coldplay- The Scientist, is still a very interesting attempt indeed to convey almost the entire back story of Mannar.In fact Kamal Haasan has also written the lyrics of all the songs here except for Oyyale, which has been penned by Viveka.

Cinematography by debutant Manush Nandan is quite impressive and he brings alive the exotic locations like Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Venice etc through his images. Bollywood editor Shan Mohammed enters Tamil Cinema with this film and does a good job and one of the best examples of the same is the way Mannar’s introduction segment is shown- you get to see Kamal Haasan the star, but there is nothing shown in excess. Now this brings me to Kamal Haasan, the actor in the film. While there are a few detractors who are already saying that he doesn’t have much to do in the film, I would beg to differ. It’s interesting to see him playing the lead hero and yet not hog the entire limelight. And it’s delightful to see a youthful Kamal Haasan enjoying his antics on screen. With his introduction set against the strains of Andrea’s Who’s the hero playing in the background, he looks very comfortable as Mannar whether it is in the serious portions while discussing his past with Ambu or when chatting with Rajan and Mallika or even in the lighter portions spread through the film.

And yes its nice to Kamal breaking into an impromptu jig with the Dhagudu Dhattham song. I went to watch it expecting an entertaining film and in the end came out feeling not just entertained but also having seen some really interesting aspects which elevate the film beyond a regular entertainer. Yes there are people who complain that there is a forced attempt to induce madcap humor in the end, a fact that I partially endorse. But my personal feeling is that it is still a lot subtler than what you would have seen in a lot of films. K.S.R and Kamal could have gone overboard and all out, but the very fact that they kept themselves in check speaks some volumes. The film is as much K.S.R’s as its Kamal Haasan’s and this time both of them complement each other to give us a smart movie. I call it a smart movie because of the content and also because it will make the investors to make money thanks to the way it is being promoted and reaching out to the audience.

Here is where I’d like to also add that thankfully the producers have not bitten the bait and tried to model this film on Endhiran. While Endhiran was a lot about style and a large canvas, Manmadhan Ambu is a lot subtler and a tale that is mainly set during a cruise. So go and enjoy the cruise as long as it lasts as 2010 ends on reasonably good note for Tamil Cinema with Easan and now Manmadhan Ambu.

Originally published in PFC- http://passionforcinema.com/manmadhan-ambu-movie-review-cruise-away-for-a-good-time/