Subhalekha

Posted on May 5, 2012 by masalaaddict

Once again, dodgy VCD quality and no subtitles mean that I have probably made up a lot of the story. But it is the characters (and actors) who made Subhalekha so enjoyable for me, not just the plot.

It’s a K. Viswanath film, so there is a message. In this case it is dowry, shown in this film as an outdated and bad practice. This is illustrated through montages of newspaper stories as well as incidents in the story. He targets men in particular castes and professions and their demands for a high price, particularly when they have no financial need. But he doesn’t go completely filmi and say love is all you need. Arranged marriage is not the issue – it’s the financial pressure of high dowry demands that can cause massive debt and stress on families. The relationships in the film develop in a believable way (well, most of them), and it seems that the marriages based on mutual respect and affection will probably work out. There is also some very nice character based humour to enliven the story, and I really enjoyed it.

Murthi (Chiranjeevi) is a waiter at a big hotel. He is naturally helpful and generous but not a push over. Unless the one menacing him is a dog. I’ve noticed something in a few Telugu films now – the overdubbing of animals by what is clearly a guy in a studio saying ‘Raaargh’. But don’t take my word for it.

Chiru dances his way to safety, catching the eye of Rao (Arun), an industrialist staying at the hotel. As a result, Rao casts Murthi as the hero of an advert for Allwyn fridges. This clip shows Chiru’s experiments in various classical dance styles, and is that ad within the film.

I like the exuberance, the vague attempt at accuracy and the expression on Chiru’s face throughout. I just love watching him dance. I laughed a lot in one scene when a lady in the bank started babbling over the ‘lovely, beautiful, wonderful’ Allwyn Hero when he came in to cash a cheque.

That would be me! And I’d totally buy that fridge.

Murthi exudes music and energy, singing his way through the day and even using song as conversation. He seems to be reasonably educated and working as a waiter was probably not his dream, but he does it well and picks up on opportunities. He deals with family problems, negotiates corrupt officialdom and is an everyman. Chiranjeevi gives Murthi a genial and easy going charm, with glimpses of the pride and self confidence that keep him going. That earnest vulnerability is worlds away from the mass hero style, and so endearing.

Also in the bank and checking Murthi out is Sujatha (Sumalatha). She is a serious young lady, a college lecturer, not a glossy glam heroine. She is due to be married to Mohan (Girish). The wedding negotiations stall over dowry. Her intended is from a rich family and has no need of money. Her father is forced to agree to the price, but Sujatha delivers a dressing down to prospective father-in-law Adisseshaya (Kaikala Satyanarayana) and the marriage is off. I really liked Sumalatha in Khaidi and she is impressive in this role too. While being primped for her meeting with Mohan she brushes off her sister saying she wants to be what she is. Sujatha is resourceful, copes with setbacks and sometimes needs help, and is never a doormat. She and Chiranjeevi make a good couple, and I really liked their little disagreements and playful scenes.

Sujatha is sacked from her job and her parents throw her out when they decide she is having an affair with Murthi. Murthi is delighted she stood up for herself against the politician who refused to help his family. So he helps her find accommodation and they live in an idyllic version of poverty, with him acting as Sujatha’s household help. After insulting Adisseshaya, Murthi also loses his job, copping a beating along the way. Murthi uses his connections with Rao to get them both jobs – they never just give up. He might look after Sujatha, but she is an independent woman with her own earnings and a sense of worth. Murthi wants to see her settled, so approaches Rao who agrees to marry Sujatha. All this despite me knowing that Murthi loves her and she loves him. But I had faith it would all be set to rights.

It isn’t just the central couple that have their moments. Sujatha’s sister Lakshmi (Tulasi) is an impulsive and extroverted girl. She spots the ultra groovy Murali (‘Subhalekha’ Sudhakar), Adisseshaya’s other son – really, how could you miss him in those trousers? She is smitten and he cannot resist. They are mostly a comedy diversion, but since their antics are actually moving the plot along I quite liked them. Plus Murali’s dance moves are just hilarious (as is the decor in his room). Even though the sight of him made me giggle, Murali is a strong willed young man and sticks to his guns. Murali and Lakshmi conspire to prove a point and sort their families out, showing surprising sneakiness. I dither between thinking they are perfect for each other and wondering what will happen when disco dies or their hormones settle. But I enjoyed most of their scenes and thought they both had fun with their characters.

Mohan –the original groom for Sujatha – also has a surprise for his dad. While everyone was running around like headless chickens, he went and got married to Murthi’s sister. He did what he thought was right, and avoided his father’s veto by not asking for permission. The younger generation in the film are educated and have opportunities, so they are able to challenge outmoded practices.

The film is firmly anchored in realism and there is very little glamour or fancy apart from the characters’ own mild daydreams. The houses, workplaces and clothes all seem appropriate and not too new. There are nice interior details, and someone in the hotel had a thing for feature walls. The humour is integrated into the story and characters and there is little pointless comedic shtick. When Murthi returns to his village, he sees a line of people outside his home, and suspects something bad has happened. But they are only lining up for food his grandmother (Nirmalamma) is giving out. The scene unfolds beautifully with tears, overacting, and laughs, showing Murthi at home and his relationship with his family. Rallapalli and Allu Ramalingaiah have smallish roles but provide good foils for Murali and Murthi. I really liked the way the story plays out, and how the different characters all come back into the picture at the end.

KV Mahadevan’s music is pleasant. I never wanted to fast forward through the songs but I really can’t recall any individual melodies. This is not a big song and dance type of movie and the music does match the story and mood. I can only assume the lyrics also reflected what was going on.

This is such a restrained and well judged film I had to check again that it was indeed the same director that made the far less sensible Aapathbandhavudu! The last few minutes lost me a little as the story was resolved by booming voiceover while the action continued. I would have preferred letting the characters do the talking, but it is a satisfying film.

See it for a nicely balanced romance with a social message and of course for the excellent Chiranjeevi. 4 ½ stars! (A small deduction for the dire picture quality which annoyed me greatly).

Heather says:

Right from the very opening scene Subhalekha is a mesmerising film and surely only Chiranjeevi could make a small incident with a dog into such an entrancing piece of cinema. The story flows smoothly from one scene to the other and despite my very poor quality VCD copy, the quality of the film editing stands out. It’s very disappointing that Subhalekha isn’t available with subtitles, as although the basic story is relatively easy to follow, I am sure that I missed so much from not understanding the dialogues. There are quite a few long speeches where, although the general idea comes across due to the way the character speaks, it’s very frustrating not to know the details, especially since everything points to the dialogues being well written.

Chiranjeevi is excellent as the faithful and kind-hearted Murthi but Sumalatha puts in just as strong a performance. I found her scenes when she defies her prospective father in law gripping, despite the fact that I didn’t understanding a word! As much as I enjoyed the developing relationship between Murthi and Sujatha, the romance between Sujatha’s younger sister Lakshmi and Mohan’s brother Murali was easier to understand and probably for that reason their interactions were some of my favourite moments in the film. With his snazzy clothes and the huge over-sized glasses, so typical of the times, ‘Subhalekha’ Sudhakar was perfect in his role as the hip and trendy younger brother, and Tulasi was lovely as the rather feisty and adventurous Lakshmi. I also appreciated the quarrels between Murali and his father, and the declarative way Murali ended every argument with “I love her!” made me grin every time. I enjoyed all of the songs in this film, but my favourite was one pictured on Lakshmi and Murali as they cavorted around on the beach. It was only just overshadowed by Chiru’s excellent fridge advertising which was brilliant but not quite long enough for me. Just a little Chiru classical dance is never enough and I wanted more!

Films with a social message can often end up with too much preaching and not enough actual story, but that certainly isn’t the case here. The characters all seem to have genuine reasons for acting the way they do, even Adisseshaya is following convention rather than just being difficult and greedy (although of course he is that too), and it is all feels true to life. I do wish though that more discussions in real life could be held in the form of song in the way that Murthi communicates here.

This is such an excellent film that I am amazed it hasn’t been restored and re-released with subtitles. Despite the often poor quality of the VCD, Subhalekha is well worth a watch for some great performances and a well told story. Plus of course no-one does shy and bashful as well as Chiru! 4 ½ stars.

Naan Mahaan Alla

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Heather Wilson

Naan Mahaan Alla is the fourth film release for Karthik Sivakumar (aka Karthi) and the second for writer director Susindran. The film starts off as a romance but ends up as more of a crime thriller, with Karthi’s character the main connecting factor. As such, it’s very much a film of two halves and I find it disjointed as a result. However there are some good moments as Karthi puts in a strong performance and Kajal is entertaining while she is around. I like that the film is set and filmed in downtown Chennai, as it means there are locations that I recognise from my trips to the city. It makes parts of the film feel more realistic, and considering it’s supposed to be based on a true incident is probably Susindran’s intention.

It starts with an attack and implied gang rape of a girl by a group of pot-smoking, drunken college students who seem to routinely indulge in these vices. The attack occurs by the beach and the use of buildings apparently damaged by the tsunami for this adds to the bleakness and harshness of the scene .

Up to this point it looks as if the film will be a gritty crime drama, but after this short but brutal introduction, the film switches gears completely and concentrates on the romance between Jeeva (Karthi) and Priya (Kajal Agarawal). The two meet at the wedding of a mutual friend and Jeeva is immediately enamoured with Priya.

Priya is intrigued by Jeeva’s practical and down to earth manner and the two quickly progress to a relationship. There are complications though. Priya’s father is a lawyer and isn’t impressed by his potential future son in law, despite agreeing that if Jeeva gets a job he will reconsider their possible marriage in 6 months time. In a rather unlikely scenario he goes so far as to call in crime boss Kutty Natesan to ‘persuade’ Jeeva to look elsewhere. This technique fails when Jeeva and Natesan end up becoming friends, which is just as unlikely but does give Jeeva a much needed ally in the second half of the film.

The romance between Jeeva and Priya is sweet and more realistically depicted than usual for a filmi love story. Kajal and Karthi have good chemistry with each other and their relationship is convincing in its simplicity. There is perhaps a little too much time spent establishing that Jeeva is a nice guy, blowing kisses at babies and buying chocolate for sick kids, but Karthi does a good job with his guy-next-door role. Kajal is lovely, looks the part and never has to dance which, along with a generally good wardrobe selection, makes her look more elegant. I really like her here and it’s a shame that she doesn’t have more to do, although I do appreciate that Susindran didn’t just add in a heroine to make her another victim later on in the film.

Having set up the relationship between Jeeva and Priya, post interval the story switches back to the gang of youths from the opening sequence and basically ignores the romance for the rest of the film. Interestingly Susindran reportedly found a few of the actors he cast as the students when they were standing on a street in Chennai, although Vinod Kishan has played the role of a murderer before as the young Suriya in Bala’s Nandha. Despite, or perhaps as a result of their collective lack of experience, the guys playing the murdering students really were effective in their roles as ruthless, callous killers and Susindran’s selection process seems to have worked. There is another first time actor, as the role of Natesan is played by cinematographer Arulhdass who also does a great job in front of the camera. However despite good performances by all involved, the story starts to lose its way in the second half as there are a number of inconsistencies and gaping holes in the plot.

Jeeva’s father is a taxi driver and gets involved in a peripheral way with the gang’s abduction and murder of yet another girl and her partner.

The gang dismember the bodies and throw them into the local tip in various separate bags. The guys don’t seem to be at all disturbed by chopping up two bodies, one of whom is supposedly a friend (unlike similar scenes in the 1994 film Shallow Grave which has my favourite realistic body disposal scene) and are also not concerned about betrayal by each other. Perhaps a bit more depth to the characters of the students here would have helped to make the story more convincing but as it is they appear only as disposable and interchangeable as all villains seem to be. Despite all their efforts, it’s not long before the police discover various body parts, although there is no mention of why the investigating officers decide to look so closely at the tip. It looks as if they use a local dump to film the search and discovery scenes here and it’s so vivid with the flies and piles of rubbish that I could almost smell it.

The gang decide that Jeeva’s father may be able to identify them so take the rather drastic step of organising his murder. Unlike their previous crimes, for this one they need the Dhana’s uncle, a plan drawn in chalk on the floor and a cyanide painted shard of glass. It all seems excessive and the set up for the murder takes up a lot of the second half. The issue of Jeeva’s father recognising them seems too contrived as the gang appear more self-centred and focused on entertaining themselves rather than concerned. Besides, if Dhana just cut his hair I’m pretty sure he would be much less memorable.

The plan (which apparently could only have been thought of by one of 4 master criminals in all of Chennai), does work and a devastated Jeeva takes it on himself to discover the identity of his father’s killers. Karthi is just as good here in the action sequences as he was in the earlier romantic scenes even though he’s now in a different film and seems to be playing a changed character.

It seems as if Susindran couldn’t decide if he wanted to make an action thriller or a romance. Rather than combining the two together he splits the film into two distinct stories with very different approaches which means that neither is particularly satisfying. I think that the romance in the first half works better than the action of the second as the interactions between Jeeva, Priya, their families and friends are well depicted. Of course that could also just be because I prefer a romantic storyline, but while the action starts off well it just becomes too fanciful to maintain the suspense. It’s hard to believe that by himself Jeeva could take on a gang of youths who’ve managed to eliminate some of the top rowdy’s in Chennai, and for me his final actions don’t fit at all with the characterisation developed earlier in the film.

Despite the issues I have with the story, there are a number of good points to the film and a number of very well shot scenes. For a change there isn’t an irritating comedy track, and the performances by all the actors are consistently good. Jayaprakash as Jeeva’s father Pragasam does appear to be an older version of his son with similar views and approach to life, and the relationship between the two is well portrayed. There are only 3 songs in the film but the music by Yuvan Shankar Raja is beautiful. More would have been good, although the background score is also excellent.

The idea of trying to make a film around the crime statistics from any major city in the world to-day is a good one but the depiction of the characters and the development of their part of the plot doesn’t live up to the promise of the initial opening scenes. Susindran tries a different approach and while his picturisation of the seedier side of Chennai falters, Madhi’s cinematography does reveal a more realistic take on the city. Worth a watch at least once for Karthi and Kajal, and skip the second half if you want to avoid the violence and unlikely storyline. 3 ½ stars

Temple says: Considering all the rape and murder going on, I found this film surprisingly tedious. I think the problem was Karthi’s character or performance as to me it was more like a succession of performances than a rounded character with depth or variation. Jeeva started out a smart mouthed manipulator and charmer who could talk his way in and out of trouble, before suddenly becoming a total innocent who believed everything he was told and had none of the insight he had earlier demonstrated, then he was a breathless and gushing fan of an admitted killer, the next incarnation was a serious young man who had learned the value of money through just a small taste of having to shop and pay bills, and finally he became the invincible and implacable hero. None of these segments felt connected with the others, and I was completely disengaged from his character after a while. I’m not sure whether it was the performance or the writing that missed the mark – I think both, although I have liked Karthi in other films. The first half is all about the romance and Kajal is quite effective as the likeable but kind of stupid heroine. Priya is indecisive and eager to please so never knows or voices what she really wants – a flaw Jeeva points out several times as he also tells her what to do. Kajal and Karthi have nice chemistry, but as Priya disappears for the second portion of the film, there is no point getting too attached to the lovey-dovey pair.

The crime and revenge plot is also patchy. The gang is initially shown as a bunch of drug fuelled opportunists under the leadership of a psycho. Somehow despite their poor impulse control they manage to cobble together and execute a ridiculously complex plan to eliminate Jeeva’s dad. The finale is too long, too improbable and as I couldn’t relate to Jeeva it lacked emotional intensity.

The performances are mostly fine, it’s a technically well made film, but it’s a bit hollow for me. 2 stars.