are back again! Here goes a lengthy review of a recent Tamil movie…
Selvaraghavan’s ‘Mayakkam Enna’ is the story of a wannabe photographer and his journey to become a recognized one. Its also his love story – a rather realistic one with all the flaws and absurdities seldom shown on screen. The point is that there is a story and better, a strong female protagonist played by Richa Gangopadhyay. In the first half she mostly looks grim and sounds stern (the director’s idea of a mature woman I suppose) but that itself is so uncommon that she has our interest there. Just when we wonder if she can emote at all, the story takes a turn and she transforms into the ‘Iron Lady’ as the male protagonist (played by Dhanush) describes her in the climax. Especially in one scene where her endurance is tested beyond limits and she fights to control her rage and sorrow, she more than makes up for all the stone-faced scenes in the rest of the movie. Good find! Looking forward to see her in ‘Osthe’ – the Dabangg remake releasing today.
Back to ‘Mayakkam enna’, Dhanush of course has done a good job as the hopeful, then devastated, then cruel, then guilty, then.. oh never mind, basically he can handle all the shades of his character. Then again he has been looking like this, acting like this for some time now; so there is no surprise. The other characters barely make a mark, perhaps intentionally so. My biggest disappointment is actually the camera and photography, especially since its at the heart of the story. I expected it to be breath-taking, but its not quite there. Richa’s character also may seem out of sync the moment she takes a disastrous marriage lying down, quite unlikely for someone who comes across as so pragmatic. There is no fun, and the movie takes its own time to stroll by. Yet, Mayakkam Enna is definitely worth watching and in big screen please!
