I said 'full circle'. The reason being, this blog started with a review of the previous Kamal Haasan-KS Ravikumar venture, "Dasaavathaaram", on Jun 19, 2008. 75 posts in 2 and a half years, is something that I had never imagined even in the wildest of my dreams. Maybe, its nowhere comparable to bloggers that publish 2 posts a week or sometimes in a day and have hundreds of visitors in a day. But I hope with my limited imagination and unlimited observations I will get there one day.
Enough of 'Suya Puraanam'! Lets talk about the 'cupid's arrow'..
'Man-Madhan-Ambu' revolves around Major 'Man'naar (Kamal Haasan), 'Madhan'agopal (Madhavan) and 'Ambu'jaakshi (Trisha Krishnan), with Kamal being a 'ex-army man turned private detective' in the trail of actress Nisha (screen name of Trisha whose screen name is Ambu!), who is engaged to the ever suspicious-rich-spoilt brat Madhan. In the process, we are also introduced to Deepa-Nisha's friend from school (think she was 5 years Nisha's senior in school!), Mrs & Mr. Kurup-a malayali producer couple with a script, in hot pursuit of the actress (Nisha) to get her dates, Rajan (played brilliantly by Ramesh Aravind), a cancer stricken friend (oh no! not again!) of Mannaar, whose treatment is the prime reason Mannaar takes up this assignment to toe Nisha and Mallika-Rajan's wife among many.
The pace is pretty slow as Kamal (the writer) takes his own time to establish the above mentioned premise.The first half is sluggish and is like the tiring drive thru the city traffic to get to the highway. There are 'typical Kamal dialogues' throughout the film and one that I enjoyed is Nisha's explanation to Madhan as to why there is a connecting door in the caravan. Well placed!
Post-intermission one starts wondering if 'Crazy' Mohan has made a guest appearance to co-script the second half. The characters, the slapstick, the dialogs and all else remind you of the playwright. But to be fair to Kamal, its the smooth flowing second half that keeps the film intact. There are several funny sequences and all the actors carry it off with ease.
The highpoint of the film and perhaps its most memorable, is the flash"back" 'Neelavaanam' song sequence. Brilliant!!
Kamal breezes through his on-screen role, that doesn't require him to break a sweat, with utmost ease. He looks jaded at places and his paunch (look who's talking!) is uncomfortably distracting in a few places, especially in the (unnecessary and forced) stunt sequences. Trisha looks nice and does her part really well. Sangeetha seems to be enjoying her extended second coming (post Pithaamagan) and impresses with her spontaneity and the boy that plays her son is a treat with his bunny teeth. Kunjan and Manju Pillai, as the Kurup couple, are funny.
Madhavan hogs all the lime light in an author backed essay and is a cut above the rest, any which way. It took me a couple of minutes to identify Ramesh Aravind, who manages to hold his own in a cliched role. Usha Uthup as Madhavan's mom and Oviya (remember the petite gal in the 'Damma damma' song from KaLavaani??) as his suitor pass muster.
Coming to the technical aspects, first timer Manush Nandan's cinematography is splendid, especially in the way 'Splendida' has been showcased. Shaan Mohammed's (debutante editor) scissors' require some more experience and the live recording is patchy at places.
Devi Sri Prasad impresses with his background score but the songs (except Neelavaanam) are pedestrian. 'Thakidu thaththam' literally is! 'Who's the hero' is annoying to say the least. The movie ends with Trisha murdering some (of the already suffering) Thamizh (despite some interesting lines written by Kamal) in the name of reciting poetry. Sad.
My Verdict: Its a good option, if you are thinking of taking your mom and kids (wife goes by default, I guess) for a movie outing this holiday season. There are some good laughs for sure. But beware its no laugh riot by any chance!
