Big stars like Rajnikanth and Vikram naturally go in for remakes of Malayalam films with stars like Mammootty and Mohanlal. Though these two stars have have not been trapped by image as badly as their Tamil peers, our actors still pick only movies that match their image (or can be changed enough to suit their image). But its the smaller Malayalam movies that still give importance to the story and the characters. Kannaadi Pookkal proved it before and now Kasturi Maan, another Malayalam remake, reiterates that.

Arunachalam(Prasanna) is the son of a film producer who has seen much better times but is now at the mercy of people he has borrowed money from. Arun, whose ambition is to pass the IAS exam and become a collector, is his family's only hope out of the financial doldrums they are in. Uma(Meera Jasmine), Arun's collegemate, is initially a thorn in his side. But when she learns of his family's plight, she takes it upon herself to help him reach his goals.

Kasturi Maan lays emphasis on things that have become passe in Tamil movies these days. It has characters who are grounded in reality and a story that is more than a thinly-veiled copy of the latest hit. As a result, we connect to the characters easily. We root for the hero who actually goes to college to study rather than to tease the teachers, drool at girls and participate in an inter-college competition! And we feel for the selfless heroine who puts him before herself. And the same goes for the villain too. Meera's sister-in-law has down-to-earth ambitions and realistic ways of achieving them. So he earns our hatred more than the corrupt politicians and larger-than-life dadas we see in movies these days.

The story holds a number of tiny surprises which lend a certain unpredictability to the proceedings. None of these are twists designed to shock us but they help keep up an uncertainty about whats going to happen next. And in many cases, we do get surprised. For instance, the scene where Meera attends a function in Prasanna's house is cliched and points the movie in a certain direction. But the following scene took me by surprise, increasing its impact.

While subtlety is the trademark of Malayalam cinema, Tamil cinema tends to lean towards the loud and the melodramatic. Sometimes, like in Kaasi, filmmakers bravely retain the quiet emotions of the original, resulting in a film that has a great impact. Though I haven't seen the original, Kasturi Maan sounds like it had its loudness quotient dramatically increased. More than 1 scene finds the characters screaming and the emotions in some scenes seem cinematic.

Meera, the heroine of the Malayalam original, reprises the meaty role here. She seems a little too chirpy initially but manages to earn our sympathy as the movie proceeds. Her eyes seem to be able to convey sadness more easily and she easily captures our hearts when silently accepting her troubles. And she is fiery when needed too. Prasanna is sincere and plays a supporting role. The actor playing Meera's brother-in-law makes a good villain but the actress playing his mother blows him away. She is a cigarette-smoking, liquor-drinking, sharp-tongued shrew and plays the role with such relish that I didn't know if I should hate her character or admire her performance. One of Ilaiyaraja's numbers reminds us of Ennai Thaalaatta Varuvaala... rather strongly.