In this intensely commercial film world, taking a film on your terms without in any compromised for extraneous considerations is almost next to impossible.
It takes extreme strength of character and strong resilience to make a film of your tastes and liking.
So all credit to debutante woman director Sumathy Ram for sticking to her principles and coming out with an off-beat musical entertainer when action-packed movies with needless romantic scenes are the order of the day in the Tamil filmdom.
A story dealt poetically with excellent background score by the music legends M S Viswanthan and Illayaraja is a sight for sore eyes. More an emotional drama, Vishwa Thulasi is a movie for niche audience.
With Mammooty and Nandhitha Das in the lead roles, the director has brought out what she wanted to convey through the movie quite easily. Their controlled emotions deserve appreciation.
The story is set in 1962 at a small village called Sundarapuri. Now and then, it goes back to 1942 and returns (told in a flash-cut method). The story goes like this. A young girl falls in love with an heir of a big Zamindar when he visits her house to learn music. However, fate separates both and she is forced to marry her relative.
Almost after 20 years in 1962, she grows up to become a classical dancer (Nandhitha Das) and returns to Sundarapuri. She encounters the young boy, now the actual Zamindar of the village (Mammooty). She comes to know that Mammooty has not been married in his life.
Meanwhile, soon after her marriage, her own husband disappears. Helplessly, they take a trip down the nostalgic memory lane, wondering about what could have been. The helpless pair finds no way to get united again. Meanwhile, an employee in Mamooty's house, Delhi Ganesh comes to know of their predicament and arranges for their wedding with the help of Mammooty's mother (Sukumari).
But quite cinematically, at this point enters Manoj K Jayan (Nandhitha's husband). The rest is whether Mammooty holds Nandhitha's hands or not with Manoj K Jayan entering scene.
As a story, there is nothing much to write home about. But its treatment and the strict adherence to artistic excellence deserve plaudits. Mammooty and Nanditha just ease through their roles.
The music is the cornerstone of this movie and hats off to music maestros for pulling off such heart-tugging melodies. B Kannan's cinematography adds more strength to the film.
The pace of the film is not what one is used to in mainline films. But Vishwathulasi is not for mass audience. It is for connoisseurs of serious films.
Sumathy Ram may or may not succeed at the box office but the film will certainly win at the heart office, so to say.
