Rettaisuzhi Movie Review

Starring: K Balachander, Bharathiraja, Anjali.Direction: ThamiraMusic: Karthik RajaProduction: S Pictures

Writer-director Thamira deserves credits for having brought two legendary filmmakers of Tamil cinema together on screen.

They ignite the screen with their loud-mouthed, belligerent ways as the two constantly cantankerous old men. Ironically, as the two characters come to blows with each other, they guarantee some of the memorable moments of the movie. But what Thamira seemingly achieved in terms of casting has not provided enough prospects to the rest of Rettaisuzhi, albeit the strong characterization of both Bharathiraja and K Balachander.Communist Bharathiraja and Congress man Balachander, who for no rhyme or apparent reason, are up in arms against each other. The animosity probably cropped from the fact that Bharathiraja wins an election in which he contested against Balachander (and we never asked whether they were friends before the elections anyways). But when Bharathiraja’s flashback unfolds, we get a clear picture of what the real deal is. Balachander is the reason behind Bharathiraja’s celibacy; he refuses to marry his sister off to the latter and the sister kills herself.

The village is quite used to their tussles and apart from a few kids, who seem to take sides, no one really cares. When Aari, raised by Balachander, and Anjali, raised by Bharathiraja fall in love all hell breaks loose. The bunch of adolescent kids takes the issue in their hands and attempts to thaw the men’s friendship. But in the end, are they also successful in coercing the men to get Anjali and Aari married with their blessing - that’s the interesting catch.Without a doubt, the meatier of the two roles belongs to Bharathiraja. His reverberatingly menacing voice supports the role hugely and we actually mean it as a compliment. He flashes complex and varied emotions in a matter of milliseconds. What Balachander loses out in terms of strong characterization, he gains in one single scene: when he parades grandly after pronouncing his decision on the couple’s wedding, the audience invariably tend to give him a standing ovation. It’s also probably ridiculous to write about their acting skills for the two have literally, successfully chartered the careers of hundreds of actors in South Indian cinema.As for the others, the kids often get infuriatingly consistent with their acting skills and they are annoying for the mere fact that there are so many of them. But it’s also them who provide the movie its required comic relief. Special mention to the kid named ‘Cheenu Ramasamy’ who walks away with a few applauses towards the end of the movie.Anjali has a pleasing screen presence and her performance is quite endearing as well. She infuses life into her role that renders the role more credibility.Dialogues are another major plus for Rettaisuzhi, which also seem politically motivated, with a tinge of humor. Not many people (including Kushboo) are spared. Let’s hope that our sense of humor is indeed building up.Thamira’s Rettaisuzhi could have been a better watch if only he had packed the script tightly with events - for he is aided with a whole army of kids and two interesting men who are capable of much more that what is in display. But what you get in the end is a soggy biscuit!Verdict: Wannabe funny movie