Not many dream merchants dare to venture into handling sensitive subjects, lest they get branded as off-beat stuff and shunned by the masses. And the few who dare seldom have the local audience in mind.It is indeed a tight ropewalk for directors who seek to strike a fine balance in coming up with something which is both unusual and appealing,too.Janaki Viswanathan has pulled it off, taking up a sensitive theme and handling it with aplomb by lacing it with all ingredients that make the film commercially appealing as well. Kanavu Meipada Vendum, the second film by Janaki, who hogged the limelight with her debut venture Kutty winning national acclaim, showcases the plight of devadasi women, albeit is mixed with the right amount of popular elements that appeal to the average movie-goer.
Ramya Krishnan plays the role of a devadasi in the film set sometime in 1940s. She leaves her son behind in the village to proceed to Chennai to try out her luck in tinsel world which she feels is her only scope to earn her living. A few years roll by and the boy grows up and leaves the village for Chennai in search of his mother only to land in the police net for travelling without ticket. They send him to a reformatory school in the city where his life changes for the better. Thanks to the warden there,the boy takes up his studies seriously and becomes a doctor (Dr.Mohanasundaram).
Asim Sharma, who acted as Tipu Sultan in a play, The Sword of Tipu Sultan, has played the role. He falls in love with a college mate Hema (Lakshmi Gopalsamy) and they get married. One day, by chance, Asim comes across a middle-aged woman, brought to Chennai after being rescued from a brothel in Mumbai. He realises that she is his mother and takes her home. But his pregnant wife objects. Chaos erupts and they separate. Hema delivers of a baby girl but Asin does not get to see the child.The doctor goes back to his native village along with his mother and moved by the plight of women being exploited by the rich and influential men there launches a movement for their welfare, and succeeds with the help of friends.The rest is all about Asin's daughter coming to the village to meet him.
Ramya Krishnan, who plays the roles of a young mother, a middle-aged woman rescued from brothel and a grandmother, has given her best. The ease with which Ramya has essayed the role of a youth's mother deserves special mention.Asin Sharma and Lakshmi Gopalswamy, thanks to their initiation in theatre,have done a neat job. Ganesh Babu, Uma Riyas and Krishnan are also in the cast. Noted danseuse Sudha Rani Raghupathy plays a guest role.
Music-director Mahesh, who passed away last year due to cancer has composed the music and a couple of numbers are very catchy. Thazhampovae has been sung by Ramya Krishnan herself.
Janaki must have certainly realised one of her dreams through Kanavu Meipada Vendum.
