Brindhavanam Tamil Movie
A feel good movie like any other movie is primarily driven by its content and characters, but that said, the director of the movie and his innate persona also play a key role in enriching that feel good factor. The nuances of handling a twist, of portraying a character arc or unfolding a scene, all are a product of a creator who unconsciously imbibes himself into the script. Director Radha Mohan is that sort of a warm and affable person who imbibes a part of himself in all his films with equal doses of wit and deep-rooted sentiments.
'Brindavanam', the latest from director Radha Mohan is a typical director's movie with all the feel good factors and as mentioned previously, had an innate sense of sentiments that calls for further psychoanalysis of a character.
Kannan (Arulnithi), a deaf and mute orphan, works at the local salon in Ooty, thrives in the hearts of his neighbours and well-wishers as the go-to guy when it comes to carrying out their daily household chores without caring much about his disability. In essence, he is the modern version of 'Maadi padi Maadhu' from the vintage movie, 'Ethirneechal'.
He is a fan of actor Vivek and his evergreen comedies. He is also wooed every now and then by the well-to-do girl next door, Sandhya (Tanya), whom he ignores. Then, when Sandhya forces him to marry her at a point, Kannan violently rejects her love. With Vivek (as actor Vivek himself) playing cupid, finds out the real reason behind Kannan's apprehension and unites the couple.
If 'deaf and mute' and Radha Mohan rings a bell, then most probably the guess would be wrong. As the director had quoted in one of his interviews, this is NOT 'Mozhi Part 2'. However, Radha Mohan has explored subtly a much deeper psyche of the differently abled, who is left with some deep scars during the childhood. A warm hug for the director who firmly believes in exploring characters with deep-rooted scars without violence and melodrama.
The actors, except the lead pair and Vivek, were part of Radha Mohan's previous films. MS Bhaskar as the wise old man was surprisingly low key, while Vivek and 'Doubt' Senthil along with Vivek's favourite, Cell Murugan did the honours of rib-tickling with their slapstick and one-liners. Tanya and Arulnithi were decent and fitted their respective roles very well. Especially the role of Tanya as the independent and bold Sandhya was Radha Mohan's yet another streak of feminist liberation, which he has proudly portrayed right from his debut movie, 'Azhagiya Theeye'.
However, the episode of Vivek and his old time friend was a bit of a melodramatic episode that was meant for wetting our handkerchiefs and could have been avoided. Also, the motif while one feels the love of another (a flock of white birds in the sky) was another lazy little drag from his previous movies. Songs by Vishal Chandrasekhar was below average and were nowhere in the league of Radha Mohan's earlier movies like Mozhi and Abhiyum Naanum.
The movie is a light-hearted entertainer which doesn't really lean on melodrama but at the same time conveys the pain of a differently abled and the complications that one has to put up with such disabilities. Who better can narrate subjects like these by blending wit with sentiments without melodrama other than Radha Mohan in the contemporary Kollywood stage?
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