A blind melody

Tulika

Director Vinayan's Malayalam opus, Parvathiyum, Lakshmiyum, Pinne Nhaanum was a superhit two years ago.

On the surface, the film had everything going against it -- a story set in poverty and distress, a blind character as the lead, songs with a distinctly unfilmy, folksy edge to them -- and yet the audiences jammed the turnstiles.

What's more, comedian-character actor Kalabhavan Mani came an inch close to Mohanlal (Vaanaprastham) for the National Award, but had to finally rest content with a Jury Award for acting.

Kaasi, the Tamil remake helmed by the original director, is unlikely to repeat that stupendous success. To some extent, that is a pity, as the film tries to break the formulaic mould and be different.

Mani's role is reprised by Vikram in the Tamil version. Interestingly, the same year that Mani bagged the jury award for Parvathiyum, Lakshmiyum, Pinne Nhaanum, Vikram came very close to Mohanlal in the National Award for best actor for his performance in Bala's directorial debut, Sethu.

In the film, Vikram (Kaasi) is a blind folk singer. His father, Vinu Chakravarthy, is paralysed and embittered, always cursing his blind son for not earning enough to alleviate the family's poverty. His mother Vadivukkuarasi and sister Kavya Madhavan try to make up to Kaasi for his father’s abuses, showering him with their love.

Another bright spot in Kaasi's dark life is Kaveri, the mute girl who loves him. Tea shop owner Manivannan, assistant Charlie and local zamindar Rajiv make up the other characters.

The singer and his family eke out a precarious existence. Meanwhile, a houseguest of the zamindar sees the two girls, Kavya and Kaveri, and decides he wants them. Rajiv, who beneath his good guy veneer is a man with an eye for opportunity, inveigles the girls to his home, gives them drug laced drinks, and well, you know the rest.

The girls' dilemma is this: To the outside world, Rajiv is a man who can do no wrong. To Kaasi, he is the angel who has promised to use all his influence and money to ensure that he can see again. To their family, Rajiv is the man who has promised to underwrite all expenses for Kavya’s upcoming wedding.

Against this backdrop, Rajiv asks Kavya to come and work in his home. Her family, unaware of the man's real intentions, pushes her into it.

And from that point on, the film builds to an almost inevitable climax.

Actually, the storyline is not startlingly new -- exploitative zamindars and exploited poor have been grist for the filmmaker's mill for eons now.

What makes this film stand out is the lead character and his blindness, coupled with the fact that he is a folk-singer. The latter gives scope for film music to go away from the clichéd formula, while the former adds a gritty edge to the tale, and provides much scope for histrionics.

Vikram plays the role of a blind man convincingly. As you watch him, you wonder just how much effort it must have taken to keep his eyeballs permanently rolled up so that only the whites show. Vikram is a director's actor, and here, Vinayan has got the best out of him.

But yet, you find yourself wishing at times that there were lesser close-ups of the blind singer. Poverty is the theme, here, it is emphasised a bit too much for comfort.

The others in the cast are competitive and Ilayaraja's music is evocative.

The box office, though, will find this film average.

Credits:
Cast: Vikram, Kaveri, Kavya Madhavan, Vinu Chakravarty, Vadivukkuarasi, Manivvanan, Rajiv, Charlie
Story and direction: Vinayan
Dialogues: Gokul Krishna
Cinematography: Sughumar
Music: Ilaiyaraja