BRINDHAVANAM (2017)

                                                                                             Critic - No.108

Director: Radha Mohan

Casts: Arulnithi, Vivek, Tanya, Senthil, Cell Murugan

Music: Vishal Chandrasekhar

Language: Tamil

Genre: Comedy Drama

Plot:  A jovial, deaf and mute barber, Kannan (Arulnithi) bumps into his favourite actor Vivek. Their bond progressively enables Kannan to see life in a different shade. However, Kannan’s dark hidden past starts to resurface one day. 

Review:

Radha Mohan is one of the respectable, family friendly filmmaker who has made notable films like ‘Mozhi (2007)’, ‘Abhiyum Naanum (2008)’ and ‘Payanam (2011)’. After a brief hiatus, he is back with his favourite genre of comedy drama.

Even though the official trailer fondly reminds us his hit film, ‘Mozhi’ due to the deaf and dumb protagonist and some recurring casts, ‘Brindhavanam’ addresses totally a different theme altogether. This time Radha Mohan touches on acceptance and delicacy of life.

When you hear dialogues like,“Vazhkai oru vazhaikai mathiri. Athe nera vettuna bajji, kurukka vettuna chipsu”, you will definitely know that you are sitting in a Radha Mohan film. These witty one-liners come at every scene, putting a smile on our faces. The beauty of the film is that it does not stamp its ideas on the face but seamlessly conveys through the complexity of the characters and situations. This is a very rare way of packaging messages in midst of many sensible films that loses the audiences due to its preachy tone.

‘Brindhavanam’ also oozes with a strong feel good factor from start to finish. Among the casts, Vivek steals the show with an impactful performance. The veteran has given us some good, intelligent comedy that we rarely see in Tamil movies nowadays. He makes us laugh and also cry at some parts.

Arulnithi is getting better in each film and pulls off this milestone perfectly. One film old Tanya is a surprise package who delivers such a confident, seasoned performance in a strong, significant character. Other casts like M.S.Baskar, Senthil and Cell Murugan have also given an exemplary performance. Vishal Chandrasekhar’s main theme is arresting while the songs pass muster. Undoubtedly, one might miss Radha Mohan-Vidyasagar’s soul stirring combo.

However, ‘Brindhavanam’ has its flaws and glitches. What starts off in a promising note starts to fumble just towards the end. The screenplay travels in an unhurried pace and of course something that a film like this warrants. But the third act of the film is dragged to a large extent till one might feel that we are watching few episodes of climax unfolding without a proper direction. 

That shoddy portion unfortunately brings the film a notch down. In the end, one might come out of the cinema hall feeling half-content, knowing this could have been a classic if only it had a less draggy climax.

VERDICT: 

'Brindhavanam' is a typical Radha Mohan film with a heart-warming story and intelligent humour told in a bumpy but unhurried pace.

CELLULOID METER – 3.25/5: