Meghatheertham Malayalam Movie
The loud claims that 'Meghatheertham' makes as the most moving musical to hit the screens after 'Shankarabharanam' are a bit too incredibly tall. Any comparison with the 1979 musical would be fully unfair, as 'Meghatheertham' is not a patch on the classic, content or quality wise.
The story clearly belongs to the primitive era, when musician boy (Saikumar) meets musician girl (Kaviyoor Ponnamma), girl gets pregnant, boy and girl get separated, and later meet again with the boy's boy (Siddiq) now grown up into a man. Now the boy's boy has got serious issues with boy, and girl is distraught. Story goes on till misconceptions are cleared and boy and girl are together again.
If you are experiencing difficulties visualizing Ponnamma and Saikumar in the throes of a glorious romance, let me assure you that Manikuuttan and Aparna are around in the flashback scenario.
It rains at last as the Amrithavarshini raga reaches its pinnacle. And thus comes an end to a clutter of events that do not even for a moment move away from its traditional purpose. The 'Shankarabharanam' impact is obvious here with what happens on stage, and you can only cringe at how ridiculous the whole thing has turned out to be.
Could somebody tell me where the son disappeared after making life a hell for his mom? He was nowhere to be seen in the rain scene either. Probably a bit too embarrassed to be a part of this highly dramatic finish, he must have fled for his life.
The script is clunky to the core, and the direction uniformly uneven. There are a few brilliant visuals by Utpal V Nayanar that sadly appear out of place in this otherwise forgettable film. Sharath's music is pleasant on the ears and his rendition out of the world, but 'Meghatheertham' cannot seek to do for him, what K.Viswanath's film did for K.V.Mahadevan. Unfortunately, splendid music in a film that's anything but splendid sums up the affairs here.
'Meghatheertham' revolves around Kaviyoor Ponnamma, but it's Saikumar who steals the show. He is incredibly good, even as there is little that the film offers him. Siddiq has to his credit another top notch performance, though the disappearing act midway through doesn't help the film much.
One of those doomed romance tales that ruled the roost in the late 70's and early 80's, 'Meghatheertham' appears badly out of place and time. Conventional to the core, it simply lacks the thrust to keep us looking forward as to what's going to happen next.
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