THis one has Quite the TItanic feel to it..in content...pretyt british lass falling gor a local son-of-the-soil wrestler...
but vidhi vilayaadivittadhu(fate played football)
I never saw the movie..but have heard rave reviews...\\would love to hear your opinions about it
Credit: BehindWoods
| MADHARASAPATTINAM
MOVIE REVIEW |
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| Review
by : Behindwoods review board |
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Starring:
Arya, Amy Jackson, Nasser,
VMC.Haneefa,
M. S. Bhaskar.
Direction:
A L Vijay
Music:
G V Prakash Kumar
Production:
Kalapathi S. Aghoram |
|
|
Get ready to be transported back
into
Madras. The makers have promised
a trip
from Chennai to
Madharasapattinam and
that is exactly what has been
delivered
through this movie. But, is it
just a
trip back in time or is there
more to
look forward to? Before we begin
analyzing
Madharasapattinam for what it
is, let
us lay down |
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|
 |
lines
that quite clearly define what it is not.
Any movie
set in the pre-independence era carries the
expectations
of portraying the freedom struggle.
Madharasapattinam
makes little or no attempts to get into
that. Yes,
the events of the freedom struggle and
subsequent
achievement of independence from British
rule are
important events that have a bearing on the
story.
But, those events have not been shown in
detail, nor
have any of the legendary names associated
with the
freedom been depicted. So, Madharasapattinam
is not
a documentation of the freedom struggle and
events
associated with it. Then what is it?
It is a love story set against the backdrop
of India
that is on the verge of independence. A
young British
lady (Amy Jackson) is visiting India. She is
from
a family that is well connected to the
highest echelons
of power in the Madras presidency. As it is,
tensions
are brewing between the British and Indians
all over
the country. That rubs off on a small washer
man community
in Madras who stand in the way of the
powerful British
personnel when they attempt to evict them
from their
place. It hurts the ego of a highly placed
British
officer who challenges a young dhobi (Arya)
for a
one-on-one which would decide the fate of
the place.
The British lady happens to be a silent
spectator
to all that transpires between the British
and the
dhobi community; she notices the young man
who has
the courage to stand up to a mighty force.
Soon, she
finds herself attracted to this man who also
seems
to be reciprocating those feelings. But, the
proximity
between the two does not escape the eyes of
the power
hierarchy who look down upon the relation as
a disgrace
to the family and the empire. With freedom
fast approaching
and the British getting ready to leave the
country,
time is running out for the couple who have
to make
a decision between love and country. What
happens
to the love story that faces the wrath of
mighty empire
whose ego has been badly bruised by the
freedom struggle?
Watch Madharasapattinam to find out.
The storyline and the events might sound a
bit familiar
to you. Yes, there are points in the movie
where one
is able to draw parallels to other great
movies. The
opening portions remind us of Titanic, while
the challenge
thrown by the British at the dhobi community
gives
us a Lagaan feel. But, in spite of all this,
Madharasapattinam
has a unique identity and the reason for
that is in
the title of the film itself - Madras. That
is the
single biggest highlight of the movie.
Full marks to the team of Madharasapattinam
for recreating
Madras, which existed only in photos,
history books
and minds of people who lived during that
era. Though
most of us do not have a very clear idea
about how
Madras would have looked like before 1947,
the picturisation
is good enough to convince us that this is
an authentic
representation. First on the order of merit
for making
this possible is the art department headed
by Selva
Kumar. We are taken to a Mount Road (not
Anna Salai)
that is not overflowing with traffic, the
old Washermanpet,
the haloed building of the Madras Central
and the
Buckingham Canal which once was the backbone
of a
very efficient drainage system of the city.
We are
even shown a Cooum that is not filthy; which
is hard
to imagine, considering the state of the
river these
days. All sets are exquisitely constructed
and look
very original. Hordes of junior artistes
have been
employed in proper period attire to add to
the authentic
feel. What is provided by the art department
in terms
of magnificent sets has been enhanced into a
wonderful
on screen experience through Nirav Shah's
lens.
The cinematographer is in top form capturing
Madras
in all its glory. The tone adopted to give a
period
theme is apt.
Other technical aspects of
Madharasapattianam also
a delight, especially G.V. Prakash's
background
music. The small touches that he has
provided, especially
when the love between the lead couple begins
to bloom,
are wonderful. The songs too are a treat,
especially
'Vaama Dorayamma' and 'Aaruyire'.
Though there is a feeling that adding a few
western
pieces here and there would have made it
even more
perfect for the movie. Costumes of the
entire cast
are almost perfect, especially Amy
Jackson's.
Performances are a real delight in
Madharasapattinam.
The one who walks away with the top honors
is Amy
Jackson for a beautiful portrayal of a lady
torn between
her love and the mighty empire. She looks
absolutely
beautiful, emotes well through her
expressive eyes
and is able to earn the sympathy of the
audiences
during tough times. Arya is perfect for the
character
of the dhobi who is also a wrestler. He is
intense,
manly, yet soft and romantic when it is
required.
A convincing performance. The rest of the
cast too
is spot on in delivering the goods. The
British cast
looks convincing as the colonial power. VMC
Haneefa
delights as the dubashi (translator) lending
many
moments of fun as he plays around with
languages that
he does not know. Nasser brings power and
intensity
to the character that he portrays. The lady
who portrays
the aged Amy Jackson, through whose memory
the story
is told, also impresses a great deal
While there are positives aplenty for
Madharasapattinam,
there are one or two aspects that could have
been
better. The dialogues do not seem to be the
kind that
would have been spoken before 1947, the
lines look
very contemporary, especially the Tamil
dialogues.
One can overlook this in a commercial film.
Using
the proper 1940s Madras Tamil could have
worked either
way for the movie. There are quite a few
English dialogues
(understandably), but they do not look like
an inconvenience
or act as a barrier between the film and the
audiences;
the subtitles have been done well.
Overall, Madharasapattinam is a film that
takes you
back in time and shows you a Madras that
exists only
in photos and memory. Hats off to the entire
team
for making this possible and kudos to Vijay
for heading
this team and pulling off the huge task.
Also thanks
to AGS Films for taking up such a subject
which would
have definitely cost a lot.
Madharasapattinam is a
pretty often seen love story where poor boy
meets
rich girl, much to the angst of the family.
But, it
is the backdrop and the treatment that make
it a different
experience. Watch Madharasapattinam for some
great
art work, cinematography, performances and
to appreciate
an effort that is a rare occurrence in Tamil
cinema.
But, do not look for a documentation of the
freedom
struggle and other historical milestones.
Just enjoy
the trip from Chennai to Madharasapattinam
Verdict:
Enjoyable trip to Madras Presidency!
petticoat
rama6
.. 
. Before watching the movie i too heard about the titanic feel and Arya's sleeveless costume reminded me of Amir Khan in Lagaan.
.. I just fell in love with Aarya after seeing this movie
.. He was just awesome.. 
. 
