SINDHU SAMAVELI MOVIE REVIEW

Movie : Sindhu Samaveli

Director : Sami

Music : Sundar C Babu

Starring : Harish, Ghajini, Amala Paul, Ganja Karuppu

The controversial director Sami’s (Uyir, Mirugam) latest Sindhu Samaveli is a different kind of a brave new film. It has its flaws but it must be watched by anyone who cares for cinema of sense and substance.

Just because Sami’s earlier films were shocking and explicit; don’t go expecting anything visually shocking or sensational. He has handled a very sensitive matter on relationship beautifully. Technically it is one of the best films to have emerged in recent times, with stunning locales, eye catching camera work by Utpal V Nayanar and exotic sets by Thotta Tharani.

Sami’s presentation and theme has a different flavour about it. The director likes to take the road less travelled. It is about human relationships and has traces of Malayalam cinemas golden age films of directors like Bharathan and Padmarajan, who made films on forbidden relationships.

Anbu (Harish) is a brilliant student in a village school, somewhere in Kanyakumari area. His mother teaches in the same school and his dad Veerasami (Ghajini) is a CRPF soldier in Assam. His classmate is Sundari (Anakha), who is a failed student and elder to him by three years falls for him.

One day, his father gets injured in a militant attack and takes voluntary retirement and comes back to the village. The father dotes on his family especially his son, but tragedy strikes as his wife dies due to a snake bite.

Both father and son are heartbroken. Anbu decides to fulfil his mother’s dream of becoming a teacher. Around this time, his father and other relatives pressurize him to marry Sundari. The love birds live together for hardly a month, before they are separated as Anbu has to go to the teacher’s training school.

Sundari is left in the house to look after his dad, and soon due to certain incidents and circumstances they enter into a “forbidden relationship”. One day Anbu comes back and finds out the bitter truth leading to a taut nerve wracking climax on the high seas.

Sundar C Babu’s music is in sync with the theme, though there are too many songs which hampers the narration. His background theme is the highlight. Utpal’s camera and Thotta’s set’s especially the house in the midst of a valley bordering the sea is appealing. The director has matched Tellicherry sea side and Vagamon (both in Kerala), to create this picturesque village in Tamil Nadu.

The performance from the lead actors, Harish, Anakha and Ghajini makes it believable. The atmosphere is surcharged as there is a constant battle in the heroine’s mind, about the two men in her life- father and the son! The film sags a bit in the second half as it becomes melodramatic. Some of the happenings and twists are hard to digest.

On the whole Sami can be proud about Sindhu Samaveli, as the theme and presentation is unique and fresh.

Verdict- Strikingly Different