‘Mamanithan’ movie review: Vijay Sethupathi, Gayatri do their best to save this simple melodrama from drowning

Seenu Ramasamy’s heroes are not ordinary but extraordinary. They are extraordinary in the proportion that they are actually superheroes. But unlike your regular superhero, Seenu Ramasamy’s protagonist draws on his superpower with his gestures of virtuosity and goodwill. In a sense, they are not right now A noble heart but a heart of gold. So, it is only natural that Seenu Ramasamy’s screenplays were gold plated minus sekuli (labour) and setharam (collateral damage).

But the real pitfall in writing good stories like this is that it gets a bit simplistic and generic after a point. that’s both a good and a bad thing mamnithan, Until your prayers go unanswered, you enjoy the simplicity of the plot and breathe a sigh of relief for the existence of such straightforward stories.

mamnithan A simple story of an ordinary father Radhakrishnan (Vijay Sethupathi) and his ordinary wife Savitri (Gayatri in another role where he has to suffer. Please, can we write a better character for him?) and their ordinary children. It is difficult to guess the timeline of the film but looking at the wall posters, it looks like this mamnithan Set in the 1990s – how appropriate, you might be surprised. Because it has the enthusiasm and spirit of V Shekhar’s films of the same era.

Vijay Sethupathi as Radhakrishnan takes pride in being the first auto driver in his hometown of Pannaipuram, the hometown of music legend Ilaiyaraaja, who has composed music for the film with his son Yuvan Shankar Raja. In the early part, we see Radhakrishnan with his children and their routine: they ride in autos, stopping at a tea shop owned by Ismail (Guru Somasundaram) to collect eggs and buy freshwater fish.

There is a beautiful scene where the father tells the children that whenever they go through a tough time in life, they need to run a race. Because running obviously refreshes the mind and gives you clarity of thinking. What boring advice, you might think. But what Radhakrishnan says is echoed in a plot point in the second half, where the roles are reversed and the daughter tells the father to run. This small moment in the opening portion provides the drama for the second half, where Radhakrishnan is on the run. And he keeps running for the rest of his life carrying the burden on his shoulder.

mamnithan Lasts for more than two hours. It is one of the short films made by Seenu Ramasamy; The short time frame can be attributed to not having enough material. The first half is where the film gets the most fun. There is a story-within-a-story when Radhakrishnan and Savitri come to know about the cut-short love story. It’s a bedtime story that the father tells his daughter but something about this familiar tale makes you happy, even if the way they get married isn’t exactly extraordinary.

But during the interval point, the film changes gears to become a melodrama. All the little pleasures you’ve enjoyed so far mamnithan By the end of the weak film in the second half, you feel that it is incomplete. No one is sure if it was because of budget issues, but whatever it is, mamnithan terminates abruptly without any payment.

There is a thread in the second half that got me thinking. Radhakrishnan has left the city to seek refuge somewhere in Kerala, where he meets a widow and her daughter. For many years, he continues to live away from his family, although he continues to provide them with financial support. In another film, another filmmaker is tempted to show the feelings Radhakrishnan has developed for the widow and her daughter. But not about Seenu Ramasamy’s films Manithan But mamanithans – When Ismail warns Radhakrishnan about building sparrows’ nests in his newly built house that he closes, the latter says, “Okay. At least they have a house, no.”

in my Kathuvakula Rendu Kadhalireview, I wrote this about Vijay Sethupathi: “There is something to be said about Vijay Sethupathi and his astonishing ability to be honest to the character he plays. Finally just watch out for him when someone asks how he can love two women at the same time. Vijay gives a lame explanation using the title of the film. But there’s something in his voice, the way he says, makes you feel It comes from the heart. that makes you to accept.” This is true mamnithan very ,

Just look at the man when he gets a cute match-up scene with Savitri or when he erupts in anger at his future brother-in-law. Vijay Sethupathi makes it look real. mamnithan Is the script in which both Sethupathi and Gayatri do more than what they do for the film.

mamnithan Currently playing in cinemas.