60 Vayathu Maaniram Tamil Movie
Movies with old age and conditions, especially the one with detrimental cognisance like Alzheimer's is far and few. My recent memory was three years back with Mani Ratnam's "Ok Kanmani" where Prakash Raj has to deal with his Alzheimer affected wife, Leela Samson. Now, in "60 Vayadhu Maaniram" it is Prakash Raj who is the victim of Alzheimer.
Director Radha Mohan, the "teetotaler" for Kollywood, who is known for his "family friendly" narratives and storylines has helmed this passable fair. Another interesting piece of trivia would be that Radha Mohan had a fascinating character portrayal of MS Bhaskar as a man who's mind gets locked in the 80s in his 2007 blockbuster "Mozhi". However, that was more of comic relief. Herein, he has tried to focus the emotional angles that arise out of this condition.
As the movie's title hints, it's about a son (Vikram Prabhu) who is in search of his estranged father who is suffering from Alzheimer's and goes missing from a care-taking home. The son happens to realise the love that he has for his father and how he has neglected it all these days.
A remake of a 2016 Kannada movie (Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu), "60 Vayadhu Maaniram" fails to establish certain principal characters and also missed out on the narrative. It seemed that zing was missing in the screenplay that used to be a characteristic of a Radha Mohan film.
There were some funny bits from Kumaravel, a Radha Mohan regular. However, apart from that, there was nothing to savour. Vikram Prabhu's character flip occurs almost overnight. An action block for him underscores the "commercial" compulsions the movie has undergone.
The "hostage track" with Samuthirakani and his sidekick didn't gel with the overall flow of the movie. Also, Samuthirakani's reform was very cinematic. However, Prakash Raj as the 60 year Alzheimer patient was quite a joy to watch. The innocence and sorrow that he brings forth, though melodramatic at times allow the legendary actor in him to flex the arms. Indhuja as the caring doctor had her character grow in us with subtle emotive expressions and dialogue delivery.
Ilayaraja's music was overall average, and nothing stood out. The scenes were jarringly out of sync and reeked of a yesteryear feel. It was like Radha Mohan took a sleeping pill before saying action and cut.
The movie is an average emotional drama that could have merited from Radha Mohan's screenplay prowess but failed severely due to an old style narrative.
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