Splendidly done musical tracks have saved quite many movies in the long history of Indian cinema. And even with some great tracks, many movies couldn't climb the ladder of success. `Meghatheertham' is one hat will enter the second list, mainly due to its very conventional, predictive story lines and making. Stuck by the conventional modes of musicals made in the eighties, `Meghatheertham' also strives hard to be another, made for viewers of the eighties.
The movie is built around flashbacks of Gayathri Devi, (Kaviyoor Ponnama) a famous violinist who manages shows of her won. Her only son Harkrishnan (Siddhique) is a hit music director who once becomes the subject of severe criticisms from Balu Swamy (Saikumar), a veteran musician respected by most in the business. But Hari is deeply hurt as his mother also fails to support him and advises him about the greatness of Balu. This creates a rift between the mother and the son, which leads Gayathri to walk out of the home to take the rescue of an old age home. And in the flashback we are shown Balu and Gayathri (Manikuttan and Aparan), who are then college mates in the same music college. They enter into matrimony, and get separated due to some flimsy misunderstandings.
And now, Gayathri Devi realises the truth about their past and decides to give a new life to Balu Swamy, who is a big drunkard by now, who underrates his musical abilities. The viewers are now left for the rest of the hour to know whether these old pair with reunite. And in the proceedings are speeches about their sincerity for good music and also a so called `symphony' in raga Amrithvarshini.
Apart from its cliched making and dialogues, Visualising Ponnama and Saikumar in the said roles of noble romance are really a hard task and the entire sequences cuts a sorry figure. The noble mother figure of Mollywood is too stereotyped by the industry to that extent that anything apart from her regular roles don't find needed effects in the mind of the viewers. Moreover, the mysterious disappearance of Harikrishnan in the final melodramatic reels also don't have enough explanations. Saikumar excels in the role of musician and is brilliant in the final sequences. Manilkuttan and Aparana are also apt in their roles.
The debutante director Unni displays his capabilities in very few frames, and inept shot divisions and, wider canvases dissuade the effectiveness of most scenes. The Balu Swamy interview scenes and even the placement of camera mikes on the floors of the final concert are just some remembrance of his bad execution. The dialogues and performances of others in the plot are quite uneven all throughout film that you need a lot of patience to pass through this 130 minutes affair. The technical sides of the movie is also average, though cinematographer Utpal V Nayanar has etched some good visuals. Musician Sharath has made some brilliant compositions and renders one with immaculate perfection. But the movie has more flaws that his music alone could never cover up.
Over all, `Meghatheertham' is indeed an intended musical that will have very few takers. And for the big classical music loyalists, it is better to enjoy the music at home, than to take chances on this lame, spiritless endeavour.
