Director Vasanth is known for coming up with movies that blend classic and commercial aspects of cinema. A director, whose movies have romance and emotions laced at right mix, has lived up to his reputation in Sathumpodaathay.
Riveting performance by Padmapriya and Prithviraj coupled by melodious musical score by Yuvanshankar Raja work out wonders. Unlike others, Vasanth had attempted his hand at a bold theme. His characterizations and placement of songs deserve a special pat.
However, on the flip side, Vasanth seems to have lost the steam towards the climax. The movie is woven around Padmapriya. She plays her role with ease and the emotions are brought out in a subtle way. She is supported well by Prithviraj. The handsome Prithvi gels well with his role.
However the surprise element in the movie is Nithin Sathya. The young actor, who made a mark for himself in Chennai 600028, has come up with a stunning performance. His spontaneous emotions and perfect dialogue delivery promises a lot. The story is about Bhanu (Padmapriya), who is married to Rathnavelu (Nitin Satya). The latter is a railway employee and an active sportsman.
Their life takes a wild turn, when Rathnavelu is diagnosed as an impotent by a doctor.
Unfortunately the couple plans to go for mutual separation. Bhanu decides to adopt a child and ensure that they stay together. An insecure Rathnavelu goes wild as he started hating the child. Bhanu is shocked when she comes to know that Rathnavelu knows about his physical impediment even before their wedding.
When she starts to lead an independent life, she comes across Ravichandran (Pritviraj), a happy-go-lucky youngster, who impresses her. When things gets rosy for Bhanu, fate takes a turn with the return of Rathnavelu. The rest is narrated in a lengthy climax.
Vasanth seems to have adopted his mentor's way of narrating the screenplay. Influence of K Balachander is visible in the movie. Yuvanshankar's melodious background score adds momentum to the screenplay. On the performance side almost all the characters have come up trumps. Vasanth has tried his best to make an honest movie.
Unfortunately it is the sense of having seen before that haunts the audience as they leave the theatre.
All said it's a bold theme that deserves a pat.
