| |
|
|
| |
 |
|
| SMS
Review – An old forward
message! |
|
| Review
by : Behindwoods Movie Review
Board |
|
Starring:
Jeeva,
Anuya, Uravasi, Santhanam
Direction:
Rajesh M .
Music:
Yuvan Shankar Raja
Production:
B Srinivasan. |
|
Vikatan
Talkies has forayed into films
with what looks upfront like
a potential winner because of
its timeless theme coupled with
the perfect timing of its release.
Siva Manasula Sakthi, supposed
to be a sweet and simple love
story that is the perfect Valentine’s
date. Many films in the years
gone by have made hay in the
Valentine’s sunshine.
But will SMS go the same way
remains to be seen.
SMS tells the story of Siva
and Sakthi, a couple who fall
in |
|
|
 |
|
love
with each other after a prolonged series
of scuffles. Prima facie, there is nothing
new in the plot. The story of a couple who
initially hates and despises each other
and finally falls in love has been told
many times, it is the presentation that
has to save the day. The movie begins on
a train where the couple meets each other
for the first time; they lie to each other
about their occupations, it is hard to figure
out why? But, in the course of time the
lies are exposed and both Siva and Sakthi
want to settle scores with each other. In
the scenes that follow, they go for each
others’ necks, giving each other all
kinds of troubles, trying to humiliate the
other. This goes on for quite a long time
and after a point gets tiresome. The portion
where the movie falters big time is the
point where Siva and Sakthi fall in love.
It is hard to see how tender emotions replaced
the furious and angry ones that were present
not very long ago; the transformation is
not smooth. Then, the regular love story
begins but their ego keeps surfacing time
and again, so does our frustration at the
repetitiveness of the whole affair. Finally,
they agree to get married, but Siva places
one last condition to Sakthi. You might
think that it would be a test of love and
commitment, but no, it is as ridiculous
a condition as it can get. What is more
ridiculous is that Sakthi agrees to it.
However it turns out that Siva was playing
his trump card to get the better of Sakthi.
How all their egos are brushed aside and
they finally settle down to happy domesticity
is the culmination of the story.
If it is a love story there are a few elements
that must be spot on for the film to work.
The love story must captivate and endear,
here it hardly looks genuine. The lead pair
must share a chemistry that makes everyone
wish for something similar in their lives;
here that vital chemistry is totally absent.
In short, what should have been a love story
becomes tasteless in a 2 hour something
celluloid depiction of all things that a
love story should not be made of. Towards
the final parts of the movie you desperately
want it to end, even after the movie is
over the director decides to serve us a
few more frames, this time showing us the
couple’s post marital squabbles.
When the story and presentation are a big
let down, there is not much that you can
expect from the artistes to do to save the
movie. Jeeva walks through a role that has
too little for him to do, it is a waste
of his precious talent. The young actor
would be better off selecting better scripts;
he is in need of a hit. Debutante Anuya
hardly does anything to impress. Urvashi
does not have anything at all; one would
expect more footage for an actress of her
caliber. Santhanam too is another case of
under utilization, but there are a couple
of scenes where the humor is enjoyable,
one of the very few saving graces of the
movie. Then, at many points in the movie
the director has pulled spoofs on some of
our favorite scenes in Tamil cinema. Though
not excellent, they have come out fairly
well. The surprise packet of the movie is
Arya in a guest appearance. Though just
a mini cameo, he adds color to the movie.
Taking about saving graces, Yuvan Shankar
Raja is the silver lining of SMS. His re-recording
is good, two songs, ‘Oru Kal oru kannadi’
and ‘Eppadiyo mattikutten’ are
delightful to hear. But his efforts are
wasted by some uninspired film making. There
is not much else to mention on the technical
front. Dialogues at many places have double
edges which justifies the U/A tag for a
love story. Also, the movie seems to have
given a lot of importance to product placements
that at times you feel like watching an
ad on screen.
Overall, SMS was supposed to be a sweet
and endearing love story but it is far from
what is intended to be, the only thing attractive
about the movie is the contraction of its
title ‘SMS’ which is the love
mantra for the current generation. At the
box office, despite being released during
the best time of the year for romance, it
will probably join the list of movies which
tried desperately to be soooo sweet but
ended up flat on its face.
Verdict: SMS: not worth a place
in your inbox
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
