Call it the pulpy 80s - it can easily be dubbed as the renaissance for Kollywood. Be it the rise of Ilayaraja and his mesmerising melodies or the legendary rise of directors like Mani Ratnam and Mahendran infusing the much needed fresh blood into the otherwise stalemate narratives that were considered to be the norms or it can also be something to do with the bell bottoms, multi-colored fancy clothing, broad faced belts and stiff collars that made statements of their own. All together it was a fascinating period of transformation in terms of the attitude and taste for both the audience and the people behind the screens with regards to movie and movie making respectively. This period has also been the fancy of various filmmakers of today, time and again. Sasikumar was the one who took the plunge with his ‘Subramaniapuram’ infusing a violent narrative with grace and impact. Can a comedy story be far away with such an adept ethos was the question asked by the debutante director Ram who made a short film of the same name to win his place in the Kollywood filmdom!
Mundasupatti is a fictional village depicted by the director where people believe in the folklore that clicking a photograph of a person would kill him / her. Thus photography is banned at that place! Only when people die will there be a reason for clicking a photograph! Also the people of the village worship a meteor that falls from the sky as the ‘Vanamuni’ (sky god), whose idol (the meteor itself) is constantly threatened of being abducted by a group who believe that it contains some priceless minerals. Marred by superstitions, the village lives in a timeless period defying radical beliefs which gives away a handsome leeway for a heartfelt laughter. What more can happen when our hero (Vishnu) who is a photographer falls in love with the heroine (Nadita) who is a native of Mundasupatti? Add to that, a fun and frolic bunch of sidekicks in the form of Kaali Venkat, Ramadoss and Anandraj - we get a cocktail of wits with an effervescent kick that lasts for a while!
A clean story with a witty narrative inculcating the superstitious beliefs of the people portrayed on screen was the highlight of the movie. People vanishing with the very appearance of a camera and asking the photographer to click photo of a person whom they dont like were some of the many amusing moments that the movie had. Of the lot, the screen space was dominated by the newbie actor Ramadoss essaying the role of ‘Muniskanth’, an aspiring actor with some peculiar mannerisms that apes the stars of the 80s. He stole the show during the latter half of the movie. Also the episodes with the village saint was hilarious. The romance between the lead pair was nothing special but it was well spun along with the narrative and so the romance sticks and when it triumphs at the end as with many such stories, we feel liberated as we realize our ticket’s worth!!
Music by Sean Roldan did have some highs - ‘Rasa Magarasa’ was a cool folk number that had some similarities with ‘Yelay Keecha’ from Kadal, but it was hummable. The BGM was also relevant enough for the narrative and brought in the 80s appeal.
The placement of songs were largely fine, but some songs in the second half like the break up number could have been avoided.
Kudos to the entire team for pulling a laugh riot dipped in the sugary 80s with a pulpy narrative that allows one to laugh out loud while cerebrate in silence.
Verdict: Good
Rating: 3 / 5
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