KM is one of my all time favorite movie. None of my family / relatives watch Tamil movies and I have forcefully shown this movie to all of them (everytime I watched along with them), and they all loved this movie like anything. Meanwhile, I must have seen this movie around 12-15 times.
--- In [email protected], "A.R.Rajib" <a.r.ra...@...> wrote: > > Kannathil Muthamittal A treat for the eyes and ears > [image: Krithi] > KRITHI <http://passionforcinema.com/author/krithi2409/> | > MOVIES<http://passionforcinema.com/category/movies/> | > MAY 19, 2010 AT 10:25 AM [image: Print this article!] > PRINT<http://www.printfriendly.com/print?url=http://passionforcinema.com/kannathil-muthamittal-a-treat-for-the-eyes-and-ears/> > ------------------------------ > > A strong, unusual story coupled with fine acting sets the stage for a > wonderful time in front of the screen. In Kannathil Muthamittal, director > Maniratnam has woven a fine tale of the various dimensions of the human > tragedy caused by the decades-long civil war in Sri Lanka. Mainstream Indian > cinema has been rightly accused of trivializing and/or avoiding real issues > more often than not. Only some of them earn a certain reputation for being > more true and appreciably sensitive. Mani Ratnam is one such star whose > sparkle shines through all the tinsel. > > <http://passionforcinema.com/kannathil-muthamittal-a-treat-for-the-eyes-and-ears/kannathil-muthamittal/>In > "Anjali" he was lauded for looking into the world of a mentally ill child. > But it was a very short look the story had her die in the end. In "Dil Se" > ("Uyire" in Tamil) his heroine was a suicide bomber. A gorgeous one, the > very sight of whom compelled the hero to chase her to the ends of the earth. > In "Kannathil Muthamittal" too, Mani Ratnam chooses to enter the issue of > terrorism but refuses to take a side on it. Films like Gulzar's "Maachis" > also turned terrorists into key players who sing songs in their spare time. > But these directors insist they are not glamorizing misguided youth simply > because they have written their deaths into the end of their scripts , as if > the futility of an endeavour is enough to convey its wrongness. > > In this movie, what Mani Ratnam would like us to believe, is a child's view > of the world. In the meanwhile, simply because his story considers it > necessary, the issue of adoption is treated with excessive emotion and > little credibility. Amudha (for that is the name of the adored girl) is told > on her birthday that she is an adopted child. This pivotal scene is handled > with amazing callousness . The child is taken alone to a secluded part of a > beach, the mother refuses to participate saying she cannot face her and the > father announces in one irritating moment of distracted child's play "nee > yenga ponnu illai" (you are not our daughter). Would any adoptive parent > choose those words to make such an announcement? The scenes of Amudha's > extreme reaction, which follow, confirm exactly that. Such cinematic > flourish is more than self indulgence which is then used as a vehicle to > address the director's warped take on terrorism. > > Amudha runs away from home on two occasions and literally forces her parents > to fly to a beautiful and war-torn Sri Lanka searching for the woman who > abandoned her (all captured brilliantly by Ravi Chandran's camera). Amudha > witnesses disturbing events in Sri Lankan soil as the Tamil rebels fight > against the military dictatorship, and the plight of innocent people losing > their lives in the depressing onslaught. Even then, Amudha remains obstinate > to meet her mother. Here they go searching, in the middle of heart-rending > strife and evacuations, for the missing mother. She is conveniently traced > of course, and the climax centres around the meeting between a desensitized > woman (who must have caused the deaths and orphaning of hundreds of other > Amudhas) and her biological child, with whom she has no wish to maintain > contact, much less be reunited. > > That, however was only a part of the story. The other part was the media > coverage of it. Eminent reviewers of even leading papers gave it uniformly > splendid ratings. One even called it a superb film that is enriched with > many issues, among them, war and adoption. > > The girl (Keerthana Amudha in the movie) grows up in a foster home in the > Madhavan-Simran household, with two younger brothers for company. She simply > was a heart-stealer. Whether it was being peeved with her parents or while > bullying her brothers, Keerthana was a wonderful performer. > > Madhavan lived the character of the writer he portrayed, shedding off the > Maddy image he had so often conveyed. Nandita Das tugs at your heart strings > when she tries to answer her little daughter's questions as to why she > deserted her daughter for her motherland and her husband. Mani Ratnam had > drawn out the best from Simran, who had been focusing more on glamorous > roles and was shying away to prove her versatility on screen. > > Kannathil Muthamittal did not have any Humma Humma (Bombay) or Chhaiya > Chhaiya (Dil se) or old dancing women (Roja & Thalapathi). AR Rahman's music > provided the vital strength as usual to this movie too. May it be on the > background score of for the songs, ARR's work was flawless. "Oru Deivam" and > "Vellai Pookal" left the audience dumbstruck. "Vidai kodu engal naade" > showed the depth of sufferings faced by the tamils in Sri lanka and left the > viewers heart broken. The cinematography of the song was spine chilling! > > Amidst all the masochistic and futile movies that were being released in > India, Kannathil Muthamittal was a predominant exception. The film > was premièred at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival and was > selected as India's official entry to the 2004 Cannes Film Festival. The > film went on to win six National Film awards and best film awards at six > International film festivals. The whole crew of Kannathil Muthamittal > deserve these accolades for taking Tamil cinema to a height of superiority. > > > http://passionforcinema.com/kannathil-muthamittal-a-treat-for-the-eyes-and-ears/ > -- > - Regards > > ~ ~ A.R.Rajib ~ ~ >
