Madarasapattinam.. was that name something of a nostalgia of this city’s re-christened name of “Chennai”??.. Well this one is a love and lost story which happens in Madarasapattinam in the then Madras presidency. So much was I impressed by the ostentatious audio release and the innovative invitations for the same of this movie. The CD cover resembled an ‘anna’ paisa and accompanied some rare pics. But.. but.. but.. where was this innovation and effort in the movie’s story ??
As usual , I was late to this movie as well..Though I was comfortably seated in the Elite class tickets in Sathyam cinemas, i still felt the pain on my neck with movie’s uneasy lengthiness.. The first half was little over stretched and the second half did a little patch up by enhancing the pace of the movie.
The story is nothing new, something that’s similar to a lot of pre-cursors and much familiar in treatment as well. An elderly Amy Wilkinson comes back to India in search of her long lost lover Paruthi and as she remembers her good old days as the daughter of Madrasapattinam’s Governor, the movie unfolds to the pre-independence period. This traces back to the love story of the washerman cum wrestler Paruthi(Arya) and the beautiful daughter of the Governor Amy (Amy Jackson). Thrown in is a little story of confiscation of land from the washerman to build a golf field and some revolts against the British rule.
Watchout for yourself if Amy succeeds in finding Paruthi and a touching climax though it was predictable. Arya as Paruthi was good. The ruggedly handsome man flexes his muscles and does some fight sequences to his credit. Amy Jackson as Amy was cute(of course a sure eye candy ;) ) and much a Barbie doll like. She does tries to act a little. The older Amy was better in terms of acting. But it was the late ‘Cochin’ Hanneefa and ‘lollusabha’ Jeeva who entertained with their comedy interludes in the ‘flashback’ and present parts respectively.
OMG !! something i forgot to mention this. I guess the director Vijay must have been a big fan of ‘Titanic’.. Anyone could sense the strong influence of Titanic in this movie. Hmm.. a little analogy.. Instead of the diamond necklace here it’s a ‘Thaali’, the back and forth shifting of past and present through the eyes of ‘Rose Dawson’.. err.. sorry Amy in this case.. Even Amy’s hot iron hair curls and the trench coat are much similar to Kate Winslet’s in Titanic..
The art direction was good.. much effort had been taken in re-creating the Madarasapattinam with Trams, hand written signboards etc.. But unfortunately, they all still carry the fresh paint which seems odd. . The songs were pleasing.. ‘Pookal Pookum’ was a worth mentioning melody and the cinematography was adequate.
Despite certain positives, the movie couldn’t make an impact owing to the screenplay with innumerable flaws. And the comparisons i drew with “Titanic” became inevitable as i had watched Titanic more than 30 times i almost lost count..
So to the Director Vijay, “Better luck next time”.. The screenplay was so buoyant that it didn’t make a profound impact, just like my love for the city of ‘Madras’, it’s been 4 yrs since i moved here and yet to fall in love with this place J..
Afterall it’s a period film, after quite some time.. so give it try and it’s watchable once
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