“Vedham Pudhidhu”

 

Have you ever exclaimed, “What a ‘beautiful’ movie!” at the end of a feature?  Well, that is one comment that is perfect for this movie, the emphasis being on the word beautiful.  What else can you say about a movie that is replete with beautiful poetic touches, out of the world performances and a meaningful script?  This is Director Bharathiraja; artistes Satyaraj and Saritha; and Dialogue writer Kannan at their very best.

 

The movie opens with a trademark Bharathiraja prologue and it dares to tell us what the movie is all about (“Jaathigall Illaiyadi Paapa”).  It is with great confidence that the Director embarks on his journey with the very first scene perfectly contrasting the good-natured, atheist Balu Dhevar (Satyaraj) and the family of the pious Neelakanta Sasthrigall (Charuhassan).  Saritha plays Satyaraj’s wife and Raja is his son.  Amala and Sarathy play Charuhassan’s children.

 

The initial portions function excellently as character establishing scenes.  There is a beautiful scene where Satyaraj comments on the concept of ‘Sagunam.’  The scenes work very well in making clear that Satyaraj’s atheist views could stand side by side with his respect and love for other human beings.  Irrespective of the viewer’s religious views, he/she is bound to care for the Balu Dhevar character and understand his feelings and dogma.  Bharathiraja sets up all the characters clearly in the Panchayat scene (where Satyaraj appeases the angry crowd) as well as the one in which Satyaraj saves a Sanyasi-- Balu Dhevar might not believe in God but he is still very much a ‘human.’  More importantly, these scenes illustrate the concept of “humanity over everything else.” 

 

The first half also shows the clandestine (because of the difference in caste) romance between Raja and Amala.  I’ve never been a huge fan of Bharathiraja romances—they always seem awkward and artificial to me (I am specifically referring to the ‘romance’ scenes, not his love stories in general) without the passion that is so palpable in Mani Ratnam movies.  Such is the case in “Vedham Pudhidhu” too, with the romance portions being unexceptional.  But this is too good a movie to be bogged down by anything.  The temple scene where Raja (actually it is Satyaraj’s character that comes out with flying colors) saves Amala from the wrath of the villagers is a great scene.  Saritha’s reaction is terrific, the talented actress conveying a lot with her voice modulations and accent.  The next scene where Charuhassan pleads to Satyaraj is a stroke of genius.  The dialogues and Satyaraj’s emoting have real power.

 

(Spoilers in this paragraph!!!)

 

            After the deaths of Charuhassan and Raja (the scene near the waterfalls and the subsequent reactions of Satyaraj and Saritha are deeply moving), the movie slows down a bit, with Amala finding refuge at Nizhalgal Ravi’s (a widower who lives in a deserted place outside the village with his only daughter) place.  The movie’s ‘poetic’ phase starts with Satyaraj ‘adopting’ Sarathy.  From this point, the movie is absolutely brilliant.  The way Satyaraj changes his habits in order to make the kid happy are touching, cute and increases our respect for the Balu Dhevar character manifold.  The scene where Sarathy tells him the meaning of “Maatha, Pitha, Guru, Dheivam” and the latter’s reaction are very cute, but more importantly, loaded with meaning.  Ditto for the classic scene on the banks of the river.  The way the Director shows Balu Dhevar ‘cleansed’ after surrendering his weapons, as a mark of respect to fellow humans (the background score is powerful and adds to the effect), is superb.

 

            I opine that every great movie has a great climax and even a good movie could achieve greatness by signing off in style.  This is too great a movie to not have a great finish.  I will not reveal any of the details but rest assured that you will definitely mull over the futility of religion and superstition if it comes at the cost of humanity.

 

            In my review of “Amaidhi Padai,” I said that Satyaraj’s performance in that movie was masterful.  His performance in that movie has been his best turn as a villain but it is in this movie that he sheds his cynicism, trademark dialogue delivery and his “thenavattu” to beautifully essay a strong character.  The subtlety and balance is what makes this performance so special.  The way he brings out every facet, every change and every nuance of this perfectly etched out character is awe-inspiring.  Saritha offers solid support with a great performance.  In spite of her 20-odd movies with K.B., this is the most affecting performance of her career.   Hers too is a multidimensional character and several authentic details are captured by the director and the actress, like the way she describes the things needed for Sarathy.  Amala, Sarathy, Charuhassan, Janakaraj (playing an Iyer character with villainous shades) and ‘Nizhalgal’ Ravi are good, but are dwarfed by the two lead performers.

 

            Apart from the performances, Kannan’s dialogues are another strength of the movie.  During the many number of times I have seen this movie, one thing that astonishes me is his ability to convey weighty issues with simple but forceful dialogues.  They never seem artificial or cinematic.  Even the best lines in this movie are simple and realistic but not slight (the most famous line in this movie is the one uttered by Sarathy to Satyaraj—Balu-ngaradhu unga paeru, aana Dhevar-ngaradhu neenga padichu vaangina pattamaa?  Naan Karai Yeritten…neenga?).

 

            Bharathiraja, the Director, stands tall as the captain of this team of immensely talented performers.  Instead of saying ‘directorial touches,’ I like to use the term ‘poetic touches’ to refer to the man in peak form.  We almost get the feeling of watching a set of poems being translated into scenes—such is the power of his screenplay.  Yet he never loses grip on the plot or the necessity to move the story forward.  Cinematographer B. Kannan and Music Director Devendran assist him ably.  Kannan’s camera transports us to the village environment, while never upstaging the performers; and Devendran’s tunes (“Kannukkull Nooru Nilava” is an unforgettable piece of mellifluous music) and background score fit the atmosphere.