MUNDASUPATTI MOVIE REVIEW

The period is 1982 and Mundasupatti is a village which is rooted in superstitious beliefs and is inhabited by a primitive bunch of people. They fervently worship a meteorite, which landed in their village, as their God. These people also staunchly believe that the photo camera is a weapon of mass destruction and reserve photographs only for the dead. Gopi (Vishnu) is a young photographer who is required to come to this village along with his sidekick (Kaali Venkat), on a little assignment and hence begins their adventure.

The first half takes its own sweet time to move along, as the director Ram Kumar establishes the village and how naïve its inhabitants are. These repetitive episodes are funny but give us a feeling that the story is going nowhere. Before the intermission point, the film picks up and enters its peak phase. The second half is packed with enough memorable moments and the director makes sure that we leave the hall smiling in the end, after close to two and a half hours of entertainment. The way he has used the camera to finally resolve things is fitting.

The actor who plays Muneeshkanth is the biggest revelation in the film. He acts as an aspiring star and takes the services of Gopi to further his career interests. But little does he know that his picture is being used for some other purpose. The moment when Muneesh realizes what’s going on, is the highlight of the film and this arrives around the intermission point.

Another actor who makes a big mark is the one who plays the fraudulent village priest. The casting of these little known actors has worked very well and invests the movie with an element of charm.

This is another good outing for the endearing Kaali Venkat and the actor scores with his sly remarks, delivered in his inimitable style. He sometimes becomes inaudible as he attempts to deliver his dialogues in an effortless manner. Veteran villain actor Anandaraj showcases his histrionics range and there are a few hilarious aspects of his role which have to be seen.

Vishnu’s knack for choosing good scripts is again proven with Mundasupatti. The young actor is earnest but could have used a better wig. Nandita plays a simple village girl who falls in love with the visiting photographer and their romance is bolstered by Sean Roldan’s re-recording and the lilting melody songs, such as ‘Rasa Maharasa’, ‘Idhu Enna’ and ‘Kadhal Kanave’. Nandita seems to be totally comfortable portraying such earthy characters on screen.

The dressing of all the characters and the props, accessories used are authentic. Good work on the production design and the art work. The overall visual output is vibrant and colourful.

Mundasupatti could have used some trimming as it gets slightly tedious at times but the feeling while coming out, is one of satisfaction. This debut offering from director Ram Kumar has turned out to be a worthy product from the CV Kumar - Fox Star Studios camp.