Director Sami’s debut film, ‘Uyir’, revolved round a young widow’s devious plans to seduce her brother-in-law, and its consequences. It was tightrope walking for the director but handling his theme with a fair degree of finesse, he earned appreciation for his novel attempt. This time it’s male aggression, sexual depravity and its backlash that Sami depicts through his lead character, Ayyanar.
The film begins promisingly enough and for the earlier part moves at a steady, interesting pace. Set in a village in Ramanathapuam, it centers on Ayyanar (Aadhi), the local stud. Arrogant and brazen about his virility and masculinity, his is a wayward, debauched life, given to women and alcohol. With scant respect for women, he physically and verbally abuses his mother. No one is spared from his sexual aggression, be it a neighbour’s wife or a mentally imbalanced roadside beggar. Ayyanar even snatches money from prostitute Savitri (Sona) for wasn’t it a pleasurable experience for her too, he argues.
Azhagammal, whom he marries, gets a taste of it when he brutally rapes her on their wedding night. A gutsy sturdy woman, after the initial shock, she retaliates when he is brutal with her. Realising soon that he was a victim of a deprived childhood, Azhagammal, with her love and devotion, tries to patiently set him on the right path. But a life of such depravity has to have its backlash.
Shades of films like ‘Paruthiveeran’, and the Rajkiran-starrer ‘Rasavin Manasile’ here, the closing scene reminding you of ‘Rasavin…’. The presence of an actress of the status and calibre of Padmapriya lends a semblance of respectability to the film, the actress playing her part with sensitivity and understanding. Lakshmi Ammal who plays Ayyanar’s mother, is a natural.
But the performance that stands out for it’s sheer brilliance in execution is that of debutant Aadhi (son of popular Telugu film-maker Raviraja Pinnisetty) as Ayyanar. Aptly cast, Adhi brings conviction and realism to the character of Ayyanar, shabby and unkempt, brazen about his masculinity, shameless in his depravity.
It’s not just in physically gaining and losing weight, as Ayyanar moves from his ups to his downs, that Aadhi scores. It’s also in his suitable body language, while depicting Ayyanar’s sexual misdemeanors, and later the man’s mental torment, loneliness and regret of his wayward ways, when Ayyanar realises the dangerous consequence of his errant lifestyle.
A tighter reign on the narration would have brought in more clarity and focus to the film. Appreciable is the director’s daring to take on such a theme.But the finesse is missing, the drector going overboard both in depicting Ayyanar’s moral depravity and in the scenes of the backlash on him towards the later part where he is depicted as a victim of AIDS.
Some crude graphics too has been used here. Some characters like that of Savitri, the prostitute with a grudge against the man , have been given more prominence and footage than the character warrants. Mirugam’s message does come through strongly. If only it wasn’t so crudely executed.
Cast & Crew:
Cast: Aadhi, Padmapriya, Sona, Banuchander, Kurandi Lakshmi Ammal, Kanja Karuppu
Direction: SamyÂ
Music: Sabesh – Murali
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Tags: Aadhi, Banuchander, Kanja Karuppu, Kurandi Lakshmi Ammal, Mirugam - Tamil Movie Review, Padmapriya, Sona | Filed in Kollywood
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