Muthuku Muthaga movie review

Udhav Naig

Rasu Madhuravan’s Muthuku Muthaga could have been made into a smash hit daily soap had it been pitched to a small screen producer.Hold your horses; the theme itself is not a problem, as there have been successful mainstream movies like Samsaram Adhu Minsaram in the past with similar themes. The film struggles to find a context. The result is that we get to see underdeveloped characters which move in to the narrative only to suddenly disappear to pave way for the other characters to take over, and later realize that the character has to be reintroduced again into the main story fold to resolve the conflicts created by these very characters in the first place. The ageing couple played by Saranya and Ilavarasu, along with their sons, played by Natraj, Harish, Veer Samar, Vikrant form a loving, close-knit family. If the tele-serial Metti Oli was about how a father gets his five daughters married, Muthuku Muthaga is about how a couple and their five pearl-like sons eventually get pulled in different directions before coming together again. What’s so apparent in this film is that the writer-director’s effort to push in the unique selling points of any mainstream masala film, like love, comedy, duets, in to a sentimental family drama like Muthuku Muthaga. The result is that every character has a love angle, a love interest, and a needlessly brewing conflict with Saranya and Ilavarasu around which the film revolves. This has actually made the writer to push the story towards a conflict and then somehow stitch the loose ends eventually. Which is why, Pandian, one of the brothers, out of nowhere, kills his wealthy friend for indulging in voyeurism. That his friend indulges in voyeurism is not hinted until very late in the film. With a conflict well in place, the writer is now happy to resolve it. This is also the reason why the film seems to have lost continuity at many places. The personalities of various characters are revealed in short bursts that on many instances it looks irrelevant, even though at some level it sustains a little bit of suspense. For a movie with so many characters, it takes too little time to establish their characters. The film also tries to break the stereotyping of characters, but that doesn’t last long. If the writer breaks one stereotype, he reinforces the others. The characters and the sequences is interestingly weaved, and looks hilarious, especially with Singam Puli’s tongue in cheek comments on how to behave at his in-laws’ place, until the age-old stereotypes of how a man will be treated if he chooses to live in his wife’s place is reinforced in the latter half of the film. Another instance is the behavior of all the daughter-in-laws. They spit venom needlessly, and Vikranth’s wife even goes to the extent of saying that, after pulling her kid from Saranya’s arms, the kid would also get Saranya’s asthma. It’s an age old technique used by screen writers. Typical case of saying that being good is difficult. The world conspires against the good. One also wonders why Oviya, after her promising debut in Kalavani and her forgettable cameo in Manmadhan Ambu, chose to essay a role that appears and disappears without any meaning. Monica who plays Vikranth’s love interest has nothing to do except star in a song and give a crying good bye speech to Vikranth, who decides to marry his relative played by Sujibala. Music is best forgotten. This is Saranya’s film. As a happy mom of five, she is convincing and lovely. As the asthma-infected mom of sons living far away, she is exceptional as a loving wife and doting mother. It also makes one feel that her character, and Ilavarasan’s are the best roles that Rasu Madhuravan has written for this film. Another notable performance is given by Singam Puli, who works with Bose (Vikranth) as a cleaner in his van. He spits some hilarious one-liners and keeps us entertained. If only had Rasu Madhuravan had sketched the other characters in a similar way, he would have had a Samsaram Adhu Minsaramin his kitty.