May 22, 2006 09:07 PM
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(Updated May 23, 2006 02:20 AM)
Meera Jasmine and Mohanlal as a pair? Who would have thought such a connection would ever happen. I for one certainly did not, but in the latest Malayalam film release Rasathanthram, the two are paired together in an attempt to bring back some of the old Lalettan flavor.
Sathyan Anthikad, when its all said and done at the end of this movie, gives a valiant effort to bring an entertainer to families worldwide. Yet the plot seemed all too familiar, as if it was stitched between two or three films and softened for an audience who would be willing to accept any of Lalettan's performance.
Mohanlal (Premchandran aka Preman) is a carpenter and does work for houses in the village he is residing in. At one such workplace, he accidentally sees Meera Jasmine (Kanmani) taking a bath. Kanmani, a Tamilian in the film, does not remember much of her past and she stays in a house doing servant work. She is constantly abused along with the heavy loads of work she does with no complaints. Mohanlal, watching her work, while he does construction right beside her home, slowly sympathizes with her character and starts to feel pity. One night he finds Kanmani attempting suicide on the railway tracks because the family accused her of stealing a gold chain. Mohanlal stops her and gives her a safe haven in the house of Oduvil Unnikrishnan.
The next morning he comes and sees Kanmani dressed as a boy. Mohanlal decides to test this disguise and brings her (well now its a him) to his house and lets *her stay there for a few days until the police threat subsides. However the plan fails and Kanmani is revealed but she tells the court that Preman has told her that he will marry her. That's how far this spoiler will go...
To break down the movie for the average movie goer, the first half of the movie is Sallapam, the second half is Mr. Brahmachari, Balettan, and Udhayananu Thaaram. The comic value of the film is limited, with a few highlights from Innocent, Mammookoya, and Meera Jasmine. Mohanlal's performance was all too familiar and predictable. Meera's performance as Velayudhan (the boy) was excellent. That was perhaps the only highlight of this film. Jagathy, as a powerful Tamilian, brought some smiles towards the end of the movie but again did he not do this in Ravanaprabhu and other movies?
The second half of this movie ripped the movie of its originality and fizzles quickly. The plot begins to break from a pretty solid foundation it created for the first 1.5 hours of the movie. Rather than focusing on one direction of the plot it went into 4 different ways and by the end you really felt that it was all for nothing. Meera's status with Mohanlal is also left till the last 2 minutes of the movie and again the comic timing for the final scene really did not belong. As a Lal fan it is disappointing that his films have become so 'standard'.
The music of this film is above average. Two songs, Aatinkarayorathe, sung by Manjari, and Poo Kunkumapoo, sung by Madhu Balakrishnan stand out from the rest of the songs. Thevaaram is a fast song, with some traditional flavor, but again sounds too familiar.
Do not expect much from Rasathanthram. 2 out of 5 stars is generous enough, especially when you expect more from Lalettan.
