Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself

- One of the Ten Commandments

After hearing lot of good things about it both on MouthShut and through my friends, I went ahead and rented Anbe Sivam. I was looking for one with English subtitles, but did not have any luck there. I rented it anyway (relying on my malayalee instincts that I would understand some Tamil due to the similarities between both the languages; Malayalam and Tamil). I should say that I was glad that I did. Rarely does a movie come these days which touches the human element of life. Anbe Sivam is one of such rare movies.

It’s the story of two strangers, accidentally crossing their paths leading to a very meaningful outcome and their own personal enrichment. Arasu (Madhavan) and Sivam (Kamal Haasan) meet each other accidentally when they miss their flight at an airport in Orissa. Due to the disfigured appearance and peculiar behavior of Sivam, Arasu in the beginning mistakes him for a terrorist. When the misunderstanding gets resolved, Sivam jokes that terrorist don’t look ugly like him but are good looking like Arasu! Thus begins the interesting journey of learning and some interesting events leading to their friendship and camaraderie.

Through their journey, the story takes us through a horrific train accident, tragedies, gory faces and facts that Arasu has never seen in his well protected life. He gets a chance to donate his blood to a child who is in critical condition. Sivam opens his eyes and introduces Arasu to God. That God is amidst love; He is where there is pain, where there is humanity, where there is mercy, where there is compassion.

Both Kamal and Madhavan do good job in their own roles, especially Kamal. He depicts the role of disfigured, handicapped guy with facial palsy with ease. As Sivam, he is not didactic in his messages to Arasu, but very subtle. The comic scenes between them are also very situational and subtle at times. The movie has got a good support cast in Nassar, Kiran and others. But the movie totally revolves around Kamal and Madhavan with not much for others to do. Screenplay is good and so is the cinematography. To sum up, a strong message, good acting, good story and good direction makes it a definite must-see movie. I am sure I will watch it again if I get to view it with English subtitles.

In the end, I would like to conclude my review with one of my favorite excerpts from the poem “Gitanjali” by the great Nobel prize winning poet Rabindranath Tagore which again conveys the same strong message:

Leave this chanting and singing and telling of beads!
Whom dost thou worship in this lonely dark corner of a temple with doors all shut?
Open thine eyes and see thy God is not before thee!

He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground
and where the pathmaker is breaking stones.
He is with them in sun and in shower,
and his garment is covered with dust.
Put off thy holy mantle and even like him come down on the dusty soil!

Deliverance?
Where is this deliverance to be found?
Our master himself has joyfully taken upon him the bonds of creation;
he is bound with us all for ever.

Come out of thy meditations and leave aside thy flowers and incense!
What harm is there if thy clothes become tattered and stained?
Meet him and stand by him in toil and in sweat of thy brow.


SOME CAST AND CREDITS

Cast: Kamal Haasan, Madhavan, Kiran, Nassar.

Director: Sundar.C

Production: Sri Lakshmi Movie Makers.

Story: Kamal Haasan


© Roshan Thomas

Plot Revealed In The Review:	Somewhat revealed
Best to watch with:	Family
Movie Genre:	No Comment
Best part in the movie:	No Comment