Skip to main content

Seedan: Cinderella with desi twist

Appeared in Expresso, the daily supplement of The New Indian Express on February 27, 2011

If the story of Seedan (the disciple), a remake of the Malayalam movie Nandanam, were to be written on the back of a bus ticket, it would go as follows: a poor woman falls in love with a rich man and finally gets married to him.
The script makes a departure from a long-established trend by letting a feminine protagonist taking up most of the screen time.
Mahalakshmi (Ananya), is an orphan employed in a rich household in the temple town of Pazhani. She is the ideal homely woman - devout, demure and virtuous. Her employer, Amrithavalli (veteran Malayalam actress Sheela), is extremely fond of her. However, her work leaves her with no time to visit the shrine of Lord Muruga, and she fervently wishes that she gets a chance to do so. In her dreams, she visualises getting married to a handsome man.
Mano (Krishna Nair), Amrithavalli’s grandson, visits the place, and its love at first sight for them. Mahalakshmi later reveals to Mano that she had visualised him as the prince charming of her dreams. When love is in the air, can obstacles be far behind? Thangam (Suhasini Mani Rathnam), Mano's mother, is taken aback and immediately fixes a match for her son.
Saravanan (Dhanush, in a cameo) shores up proceedings in the second half with his philosophical one-liners, which are eerily similar to those from yesteryear hits of his father-in-law, Superstar Rajnikanth. In a larger-than-life role, Saravanan provides Mahalakshmi the much-needed succour in her hour of adversity.
Although there isn't much to brag about the screenplay, the first half of the movie could have done with a good dose of briskness.
The cast boasts of A-list small screen actors, including Ponvannan and Ilavarasan.
Vivek, as Gummi Swamy, a fake godman, inspires only stifled gags in a worn out and cliched comedy track that is absolutely bereft of humour.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Is what you are watching actually a cartoon?

Disclaimer: What you are about to read may seem weird, but what the hell, I am hypothesising it to be true, so who knows... Cartoons are basica lly meant for kids. The main reason e lders prefer letting the kids watch them without their sup ervision is that they need not fret over the incidence of X-rated content in it – namely content that concerns that famous three-letter word or violence. I suggest that we re-examine this mindset of ours (as someone who has grown up watching the very cartoons that I am about to damn, I have mixed feelings as I type this. Consider the following list: Tom and Jerry , Bugs Bunny and El mer Fudd/Yosemite Sam , Tweety and Sylvester and Coyote a nd Road R unner . These are cartoons which we would definitel y not squirm about before letting a toddler/child watch it. These cartoons are hilarious, have palatable themes; have caricatures that look cute (I am yet to come across a girl who hates Tweety). Tom and Jerry, for instance, was once even vot...

Why the editorial is the unsung hero of any newspaper

A tad autobiographical, this account encapsulates my experiences at a news organisation. Why wait until 50 or 60 to compose one? Hell, who knows, this could even be its blueprint! So, here goes my first stab at chronicling myself... I was prepared for all kinds of weird questions for my first job interview as a journalist four years ago, for the post of a sub-editor, but I never anticipated this one that caught me off guard. Noting that I preferred to work in the editorial than the reporting section, a HR representative at the organization asked in almost an air of dismissal, implying that the editorial is something redundant, “After all, we have Microsoft Word, in built with grammar and spell check capabilities, so why must I hire you?” I stared at him blankly for a moment as a smile grew on his face, perhaps out of exult at having stumped me. I trotted a familiar refrain, which I am sure he would have encountered countless times, “Because I am passionate about writing a...

Is Thuglak’s Editor Going the Thuglak Way?

The front-page cartoons of this magazine have always been considered a barometer of the nation, and particularly Tamil Nadu’s, political landscape. Rib-tickling and dripping with sarcasm, it’s following has gradually swelled, though, not in dramatic terms, as certain high-profile media houses would flaunt. Be it the DMK or the AIADMK, the BJP or Congress, the Left or National Conference, its leaders have been the butt of many an acerbic but thought-provoking joke. In fact, it may not sound out of context to liken this publication to the American humour magazine, MAD. Sample this: during the height of Anna Hazare’s high-profile fast against corruption, resulting in hectic parleys between his team of lieutenants and the Parliament, this magazine ran a front page cartoon with Team-A on one side and representatives of the UPA government on the other. Team-A, which remains silent when its demands such as inclusion of the Judiciary and prime minister under the Lokpal Bill’s ambit are met...