EZHAIYIN SIRIPPIL

A movie review by Balaji Balasubramaniam

Surprise endings seem to be the flavor of the day in Kodambakkakam. Following the completely unexpected, stunning conclusion in Sethu and the pleasant surprise at the fag end of Aasaiyil Or Kadidham, comes another movie whose best part is the concluding portions. But unlike Aasaiyil Or Kadidham, this movie does not depend solely on the ending. Reminding one of Nee Varuvaai Ena, the surprising conclusion here is preceded by some well-maintained suspense that manages to keep us guessing.

Ganesan(Prabhu Deva) has the job of collecting travellers for the lone bus run by Padmavathi Bus Service. His high-energy people-gathering tactics are considered the reason for the crowds on the bus and he earns commission for the same from the owner(Nasser) of the bus service. Ganesan is pursued by Saroja(Roja) who dreams of wedding him though receiving no response from him. Kousalya(Kousalya), the daughter of Ganesan's boss, slowly falls for him after seeing his goodheartedness. But she is shocked when she sees him being accused by a mentally ill woman Thulasi(Suvalakshmi), as being responsible for destroying her life and killing her brother.

The crux of the movie is placing Prabhu Deva at the center of a triangle with three women at the endpoints and making us wonder who he is going to be united with. The rest of the movie is just the means towards this end. The director has been successful in the way he has handled this. He has introduced the elements necessary to make the decision tough to guess. For example, Kousalya's change of mind and Suvalakshmi rejecting the offer of the man who destroyed her life. The overused trick of showing something and then revealing that it is someone's imagination is effectively used in heightening the suspense. And the solution itself is a definite surprise.

The director has struggled to keep the story afloat initially and resorts to comedy to enliven the proceedings. Thankfully, the comedy works. Vivek makes it a hat-trick after Aasaiyil Or Kadidham and Tirunelveli by providing hearty laughs. He is a bus conductor and teams up with driver Anumohan for some nice fun. Though vulgarity creeps into many of the dialogs, they are undeniably funny. There are both scenes which are over in a flash(the "Gentleman", "Kunjumon" piece) and longer sequences(like the scene where Pandu gets a thorn stuck in his throat), which find their comedy mark. The going would have been tough if not for the comedy since the story itself moves at a snail's pace during these portions. Roja pursuing Prabhu Deva and Kousalya's gradual(and completely cinematic) falling for him contain elements seen before. There is some semblance of a story only with Suvalakshmi's introduction just before the intermission.

There are a couple of scenes where the director manages to score some points. The best of these is when Suvalakshmi is taken to be treated. The way Prabhu Deva provides the money for this is funny and the technique the director uses to show that Suvalakshmi is cured is quick and clever. The song sequence at Nasser's house, with Nasser imagining his professional rival 'Kaka' Radhakrishnan as his servant, also makes us smile.

For Prabhu Deva, anything he acted in would be an improvement over Time. He is desperately looking for a hit and throws himself into the role, heart and soul. Its a stereotyped but good performance though his shouting out of the destinations of the bus, which is interesting the first couple of times, soon gets tiring. Inexplicably, he once again keeps away from dancing and a few complex steps during the beginning of the Karu Karu Karuppaayee... song are our only solace. Roja dances with abandon and also touches our heart when she feigns happiness about Prabhu Deva's marriage proposal. Kousalya, popping up once again after a prolonged absence, is adequate. Suvalakshmi and Ranjit are underused. After Tirupati Ezhumalai Venkatesa... in Ninaivirukkum Varai and Siva Siva... in Suyamvaram, a song invoking the gods seems to be included as a goodluck charm in Prabhu Deva movies. Here there's Yappaa Yappaa Aiyappaa... but only the first few lines have a catchy tune. Director Rajkapoor makes an appearance in Suvalakshmi's segment and does well.