Madharasapattinam Movie Review : A Period Love Saga

Note- This post is dedicated to the undying spirit of the wonderful city we call as Madras/Chennai. Sunday, 22nd August, 2010 was the 371st birthday of the city.

When director A.L.Vijay who had apprenticed underPriyadarshan and made 2 reasonably good films likePoi Solla Porom & Kireedom announced his decision to make his 3rd film, most people following Tamil Cinema including me were quite intrigued. The reason for the people to get surprised was that the movie in question- ‘Madharasapattinam’ was to be a period film based in the 1940’s in erstwhile Madharasapattinam i.e the Chennai of today. For someone who had found reasonable success by making remakes till now, it looked like quite a bold departure.

But then what made it interesting was that the film was to be produced by AGS Entertainment , who in the recent period have shown that they are looking at being a serious player in the overall domain of Entertainment by getting into production,distribution and now exhibition as well. As work on the film progressed the buzz continued to get bigger and better. The first look and later the audio release ensured that the movie was certainly getting its fair share of visibility.

It’s the mid 1940’s and Paruthi (Arya ) is a young man who loves wrestling and who is a dhobi by profession. His life revolves around the washermen’s colony (present Washermanpet?) in the northern part of Madharasapattinam. The peace among the people there gets disturbed when the British decide to construct a golf course in the washermen’s colony and ask them to vacate. Paruthi and his friends are among those who try to resist the attempts of the British who try various means to make them vacate their land. In comes Amy (Amy Jackson) the daughter of the Governor of the Madras Presidency.

Amy Brown

Due to the turn of events Amy & Paruthi meet a few times and slowly there emerges a bond between them. Initially Amy moves across the town aided by the translator cum guide- Nambi (played wonderfully by the late Cochin Haneefa). The romance between Amy and Parithi slowly develops in spite of the language barriers faced by them. Around the same time there is a lot of political activity going on in India and finally it is announced that India will get its Independence on 15th August, 1947.

Unmindful of what’s going around them Amy & Paruthi continue their romance and things take a tough turn when Amy’s father get’s to know of their relationship. Against this backdrop we see that it is indeed time for India’s Independence and so Amy’s father decides that he must do whatever he can to separate the two lovers and take his daughter back with him to England.So while the whole Nation is rejoicing to the theme of Independence and celebrating with all joy & fervour, for Amy and Parithi – the eve of the Indian Independence brings out the biggest test of their love as they are made to run for themselves and their own freedom too.

What happens to Paruthi and Amy? Does their love succeed? Does 15th August turn out to be the day of Independence for Paruthi and Amy too? The movie goes on then to take us through that fateful night and what happens after that. At the very outset it is very clear that the movie is a visual delight and the recreation of the old city of the 1940’s has been very clearly established. The shots/scenes with the old Mount Road (now Anna Salai), old Buckingham Canal, the old Spencers (merging with the new Spencer Plaza ) all evoke a major feeling of nostalgia among us. Apart from Director A.L.Vijay’s vision, certainly due credit should also be given to Nirav Shah’s cinematography and the wonderful art direction done by Selva – as they are true aids in capturing the period look of the film.

But having said that one also cannot but help escaping the fact that there are so many traces of influence of quite a few other films that are seen over here. Most prominently there is a backdrop ofTitanic and Kisnathat’s quite visible and even a few elements of Lagaanas well. I wouldn’t elaborate further on the same as it could take away the essence of the visuals for those who are yet to watch the film. In terms of the cast Arya does reasonably well as Paruthi and fits the role description fairly well. Amy Jackson is certainly a pretty find and she’s probably the prettiest foreign actress seen in Indian Cinema of late.

Among the other major characters one must certainly acknowledge the presence of Nasser as the revolutionary and wrestling guru, who does justice to his role. And of course Cochin Haneefa as Nambi the translator will always remind us what a brilliant actor we have lost in the recent times. There are quite a few funny moments in the 1st half especially when Arya and his friends are trying to learn English and ‘kidnap’ the school teacher. These light moments do add a zing to the proceedings. Music by G.V. Prakash is quite effective. And my favorite song is certainly ‘ Vaama Duraiamma’ song effortlessly by Udit Narayan in his own inimitable style.

The rest of the British cast isn’t really too impressive as they fall into the typical trap of shrieking and overacting as seen by most such characters in Indian period films. As the movie gets over and as one walks out of the theatre/multiplex, what the viewer is most likely to carry with him from the film will be the period look of the city and the images of Paruthi and Amy. It’s a pity that the director could not go on to use the opportunity to go beyond the regular and probably come up with something more arresting and captivating. That alone could have ensured that the movie goes on to be a classic.

But in today’s age anything that’s even half decent is likely to find acceptance and this is especially true in case of films. This can be demonstrated by the fact that the movie has found reasonably good patronage from the Tamil Film audience. In a nut shell Madharasapattinam is a movie that probably does not deliver completely to its potential but still has enough to go for it.

Originally published in PFC- http://passionforcinema.com/madharasapattinam-movie-review-a-period-love-saga/

Mynaa Movie Review : This bird does soar!!!

Director Prabhu Solomon has always been known to make films which are different yet within the commercial space. Be it a King, Kokki, Lee or a Laadam, his intentions have been very clear- entertain and yet make the audience feel that they have been given something new in terms of subject or treatment. Ever since his latest film Mynaa was ready it has been in the news for a lot of reasons. Be it for the various compliments the film has been receiving from most of the Industry members who had seen it or for the controversy created during the audio launch of the film, there has been a lot of talk about the film. That the film held promise was also becoming clear with the distribution rights being jointly taken up by AGS Entertainment & Udhayanidhi Stalin’s Red Giant Movies. Most importantly I was quite surprised to see them opting for a Diwali release (November 5th, 2010) where it was being pitted with films like Uthamaputhiran and Va Quarter Cutting.

Of course later on while watching the movie I realized that the release time couldn’t have been any better as the festival itself was being represented in the movie as an element or character. Well I’ll come to all that later but before that I certainly need to tell you what the film is all about. The film starts with the main plot involving Suruli (Vidharth) and Mynaa (Amala Paul). Theirs is a fairy tale kind of romance that starts from childhood. Suruli drops out of school and works hard to make a living. When he sees Mynaa and her mother in trouble, he takes them under his wing and becomes part of their life. As they grow up Suruli and Mynaa’s affection for each other only increases and Mynaa’s mother keeps referring to Suruli as her son-in-law (marumagane). But one day when Mynaa’s mother sees Mynaa & Suruli sharing a private moment, she decides to get Mynaa married off to someone working in Dubai.

Enraged at this Suruli threatens to kill Mynaa’s mother and she in turn complains to the cops who put him behind bars for 15 days. But on the 14th day of his sentence (the day before Diwali) Suruli gets to know that Mynaa is to get married the next day (Diwali) and hence escapes from Periyakulam jail. This situation then makes the jailor Bhaskar(Sethu) and a constable Ramaiah (Thambi Ramaiah) to go on a mission, to bring back Suruli to the jail by the end of the next day (Diwali). There is a sub plot as well in the movie, that of Bhaskar and his family. It is Bhaskar’s thala deepavali (first diwali after wedding which as per Tamil customs is to be spent at the in-law’s place) and his wife is eagerly looking forward to go to her family and celebrate the festival there with them. As Bhaskar and Ramaiah go about on their mission to bring back Suruli, Bhaskar’s wife and her brothers are constantly trying to reach Bhaskar and wanting him to get back soon to celebrate the festival together.

The movie then goes on to become a journey in the lives of Suruli, Mynaa, Bhaskar and Ramaiah for the duration of a day. Though basically a love story, Mynaa is much more than just a typical romantic film. For a major part of the film it’s a road movie and even keeps you hooked to your seats as you are waiting for something defining to happen any minute. Though you always know that the main plot and sub-plot will merge somewhere, the way it happens will still surprise you and leave you gasping. That is one of the best things that Prabhu Solomon has managed to achieve through the film. Another aspect of the film that needs to be praised is the choice of locations- the relatively virgin Kurangani ( near Bodi in the Tamilnadu-Kerala border ) and Munnar, the hill station in Kerala add a completely interesting dimension to the film.

M.Sukumar’s camera work is wonderful not just in the vibrant outdoor shots in the hills but also within the village interiors as you are actually transported right into the middle of the location. But for me if any one individual has surprised me with his work in the film, it has to be the music composer D.Imman. Known for his characteristic loud and mass numbers in film after film, the soulful songs and the BGM in Mynaa come as a pleasant surprise from him. Be it the playful ‘Kichu Kichu’ , the melodious ‘Kaiya Pudi’ and ‘Neeyum Naanum”, the naughty ‘Jingu Chikka’ or the title song ‘Mynaa Mynaa’, all of them are a joy to listen to and work wonderfully for the film.

Coming to the performances Vidharth who has been associated with Koothu Pattarai ( a well known theatre group based in Chennai ) is very effective as Suruli. Watch him in the scene inside the prison cell where he’s playing with a ball and later talking to Ramaiah and you’ll probably get an idea of how he does justice to the role. Amala Paul who was earlier seen in Sindhu Samaveli (featured as Anankha) and had made a mark with her role there, once again shows that she is a talent to watch out for. Bhaskar as Sethu the jailor puts in a sincere performance as well and brings out varied dimensions to the character easily. Thambi Ramaiah who has been seen in small roles till now gets a plum role this time & makes full use of the opportunity. He’s the one who provides the much needed light moments in between and keeps the tempo going.

It’s not just the main characters even some of the supporting characters have also been well portrayed especiallySevvalai who plays Mayi, the father of Suruli and the lady who portrays the mother of Mynaa. Also very effective is the lady who plays the wife of Bhaskar as she catches your attention in the very first scene of the film. It’s not all that tough for a movie to catch your attention before the release by various means but to justify the kind of expectation raised early on isn’t possible for the majority of the films. Mynaa however is a film where you walk away with bitter sweet thoughts and keep thinking about for a long time long after you finish watching it. First time producers can take the example of John Max the producer of Mynaa who has believed in Prabhu Solomon & the strength of the film.

“Love pannunga sir, life nalla irukkum” (Fall in love sir, life will be good) says Suruli in the film- an innocent statement, but it can be really profound as well sometimes. You will realize this only after you watch this film.

Trailer

Originally published in PFC-

http://passionforcinema.com/mynaa-movie-review-this-bird-does-soar/