The film showcased the excellent dancing abilities
of Kamal Hassan. Although he is not a trained
dancer, his performance had grace and majesty.
The scene where he points out the mistakes in
Shailaja’s dance is memorable. Jayapradha
matched him step for step and their dance duet
was simply superb. Jayapradha’s quiet portrayal
of a tormented woman was such a relief from the
weeping and wailing sentiment often seen in our
movies. Sarathbabu’s role of a true friend
was also etched well.
The
central theme of the film is that classical dance
always remains pure and free from corrupting influences.
A true artist pursues art for its own sake and
never hankers for money. Balu took his artistic
journey very seriously and that is why he could
not make compromises. In the end, his true artistry
remains unsung.
K.
Viswanath is a noted director and his excellent
screenplay portrays subtle and underplayed emotions.
Every aspect, whether romance, sentiment or comedy
has a genteel quality. Even the portrayal of crass
commercialism in film dance has a touch of humor.
Ilayaraja’s music has some fantastic songs
and his background score is matched with the different
moods of the film.
Salangai oli is a film which is to be seen when
one wants to reconnect to the inward looking values
of artistic pursuit. |