Tamil Movie Review

Balachander and Bharathy Raja. These directors, who set trends with their unique style of narration, also deserve credit for introducing major talent.

What would happen when the two came together on screen? Obviously, expectations ran sky-high. This movie brought the two film making legends from behind the screen and placed them in front of the camera. In RettaiSuzhi they play contrasting characters who interact with a group of children in a rural milieu.

Debut director Thamira has done his best to create a lively entertainer which manages to live up to all the hype, at least in parts.

The story is set in Cheranmadevi, where Ramasamy (Balachander) lives. He’s a village bigwig and a Congress sympathizer.

He also happens to be at loggerheads with Singaravelan (Bharathy Raja), a hardcore Communist. The feud between them is nearly four decades old. Their grandchildren continue the legacy of mutual mistrust and lose no opportunity to express their aversion for each other.

But a romance brings about a complete turnaround between the warring factions.

Thamira has shown guts to weave a story around children, at a time when filmmakers are chasing big heroes and focusing on mass-appeal songs. Getting good work from children is no easy task, but Thamira has certainly pulled it off.

Balachander (KB) as a director proved himself a master at extracting the best from his artistes. He's turned out to be just the same as an actor, he knows what to give on screen and does exactly that. If KB is spontaneous, Bharathy Raja is articulate.
The veteran filmmaker is brilliant as an angry old man. Anjali looks good and suits her role, while Aari is adequate as the military guy. Karunas evokes laughter with his humorous turn as a cop.

Karthik Raja's songs are pleasant and hummable. The film could have been an Imayam or a Sigaram of Tamil cinema if only the director had concentrated more on the script. Produced by Shankar for S Pictures, the movie is typical of his home productions.