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Vazhthukal Movie Review |
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| Behindwoods
Movie Review Board |
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Vazhthukal
Cast
: Madhavan, Bhavana
Direction: Seeman
Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja
Production: T. Shiva |
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There
are only a handful of Tamil movies that deal with family values
and even fewer that look at what happens to neglected and
lonely parents after their children have married and moved
away. It is this rare theme that director Seeman explores
in Vazhthukal, which stars, among others, Madhavan, Bhavana,
Venkat Prabhu and Vijayalakshmi. |
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The
story begins with people searching for Madhavan, who
is shown sitting in a train with his parents in a rather
somber state. Cut to a flashback: Maddy is the CEO of
Amma, a software company that supports several social
causes. He is disillusioned about marriage after he
sees the parents of his close friends seeking asylum
in an old age home run by Amma. Their son deserts them
when his selfish, hardhearted wife demands that they
go to an old age home. Maddy's father lets him look
for a bride himself. He is attracted to Bhavana, whom
he spots in a TV programme that showcases young achievers.
Her opinion on family values floors him completely.
She even sings praises about her huge joint family with
a host of brothers and their wives. Along with his friend
and colleague, Venkat Prabhu, Maddy sets off to Bhavana’s
college, hoping to woo her. He runs through |
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a
variety of his usual romantic antics to make her fall
for him. Maddy finally pounces on an opportunity that
falls into his lap: to renovate her family house with
the help of a leading interior designer. This way,
he finally wins a place in her heart. This is when
the movie reveals that this huge family headed by
Bhavana’s grandfather is opposed to love marriages.
How Maddy finds a place in the hearts of every family
member and changes their mind about love forms the
rest of the story.
The plot unfolds in the most clichéd manner
possible with all the characters seeming wax-like.
The family seem flawless, the kind of people you don’t
see in the real world but always see in the films
of Vikraman. The idea of Maddy doing up the house’s
interiors with tips from the interior designer seems
amateurish, and the result isn't aesthetically pleasing
either. For a movie with two major stars, Vazhthukal
is also technically mediocre. The camera work is rather
plain, and the songs only slow down an already sluggish
narrative. Director Seeman seems to suggest that films
are just a medium to express your opinions on society
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and
its values. The result, the movie pans out into a
medium of propaganda rather than a visually rich,
soulful narrative. Though the intention is good, his
attempt to have no English words in the dialogues
seems too contrived. The first half of the story is
wasted in an elaborate introduction of all the characters
and the plot reaches a (so-called) stage of conflict
only well into the second half.
Madhavan’s lively performance, though, is what
keeps the film at least a little engaging. And his
chemistry with Bhavana is the other saving grace in
this listless movie. But even this is marred by Seeman's
self-conscious poetic one-liners that make the romantic
scenes appear more funny than sensual. Vijyalakshmi
as the interior designer lends credibility to her
character, while Venkat Prabhu's humor doesn't work
at all. Yuvan's background score isn't too bad but
it can't lift the movie from its tedium. Vazhthukal
might have worked better in the 90s, when family movies
were better appreciated.
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Verdict: Sluggish and outdated.
Vazhthukal - Belated
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