Prabhu Solomon has come up with yet another slice of an episode that takes place a few hundred meters above sea level which was also the case with his last venture, Myna. In comparison with his last flick, the green is a lot greener, the twining paths have been surrounded by thicker forest locations and more importantly the village ruffians in ‘Myna’ have been replaced by some civilized tribes in ‘Kumki’. But the intensity in the emotion and the truthfulness in love remains the same, which forms the core of the movie and makes it an engaging watch.
‘Kumki’ is an elephant that is specially trained to chase away wild elephants. A village is marred by Komban (wild elephant), that threatens to ruin the lives of the villagers during the harvest season. The villagers’ attempt at seeking government intervention on this issue ends in vain and that puts them in a situation to bring in a Kumki elephant to fend off Komban’s threat to their lives. It so happens that a domesticated temple elephant (Manikam) whose mahout is Bomman (Vikram Prabhu) gets camouflaged as Kumki and is put on the driver’s seat. Bomman falls for Alli (Lakshmi Menon), daughter of the tribal leader and continues his stay to nurture his love. What happens to the love birds and Manikam’s fate is revealed with solid emotions and sufficient graphics.
The movie flows smoothly like the water in a creek with hardly any twists or turns. Throughout the movie, cinematography and re-recording stand as testimony for the hard work done by the entire team. Every frame that passes by attempted to narrate something on screen, thanks to Sukumar’s cinematography. Special mention has to be made about the spell-binding aerial shots of a waterfall where the lead pair nurture their romance. The lush locales and thick forests that were captured with a great eye for detail added to the emotional quotient of the script!
The re-recording and songs were of international standard as it brought out the aura of the script and superb montages were interspersed along with it. Music director Iman and Prabhu Solomon have really proven their rapport beyond an element of doubt for the second consecutive time.
Art direction by Vairabalan, especially the tribal village setup was natural and blended well with the storyline. It created a sense of nostalgia and rich heritage that could be sensed in certain frames.
Vikram Prabhu as the mahout of the domesticated mammal was promising for the role. He had his physique cut to shape, with a well toned body and an intense beard that was apt for grim expressions. Though it reminded me of Karthi from Paruthiveeran, this could well mean a best debut award!
Lakshmi Menon, after Sundarapandian, in only her second outing, has given another rocking performance. Once again her expressive eyes has worked to her advantage as she has to talk very little as her visual expressions narrated a few hundred emotions at a time.
Thambi Ramaiah, though only a side kick, was almost the second hero in the first half. His comedy has worked out well with his innovative one-liners emoting angst, embarrassment, grief, solace and what not! Well done!!
Among the tribal group, the man who portrayed Lakhmi’s dad and Junior Balaiyah were worth mentioning.
Editing by LVK Doss needs a special mention as he has ensured that the first half was well paced, though I had my reservations for the second half.
The downside of the movie was the predictable climax and Prabhu’s attempt at making it an impactful one with some unwanted grief in order to strike an emotional chord with the viewers. A pertinent thing that directors should understand is that their fans always do not expect and appreciate such an ending by taking a cue from the director’s previous flick. It is synonymous with appreciating the taste of a dark chocolate!
The movie could easily be classified as a one time watch for a smooth storyline with some brilliant music and cinematography that added different emotions at different times during the movie’s course.
Verdict: Good!
Rating: 3/5









