S ivappu is the kind of film that must have looked great on paper. Imagine a kind construction site in-charge, Konaar (Rajkiran), who promises to send 80 Sri Lankan refugees, who are on the run, to Australia. Imagine the heartbreaking backstories of those helpless, hopeless people forced to hide out in a construction site. Imagine the nerve-wracking tension as they embark on their dangerous journey to safety.
However, what you get to see on screen is good intentions gone haywire. This kind of film demands a certain integrity, a vision. Sivappu pays token service to the refugee problem before turning its attention to the mandatory love story — between Parvathi (Rupa Manjari) and Pandian (Naveen). Rupa’s eyes are pools of sadness, holding within them the many horrors she has experienced in Sri Lanka. Pandian has a perennial chip on his shoulder, and often courts trouble. Their love does have some poignant moments, but one move of Pandian collapses a carefully-constructed lie and damns everyone.
Before you can invest in what’s happening, the film hurtles towards the climax as if the makers were in a hurry to end it all. A dignified character turns positively evil, and a demure man rises in anger. Then, there is the final line about how refugees must either be welcomed or rejected, but never used for political gain. It’s moving, but sounds too forced.
The film redeems itself in some departments — performances, cinematography (Madhu Ambat hauntingly captures the dreary land and the endless ocean that frames it), Sathya Siva’s dialogues, lyrics (Snehan and Kabilan Vairamuthu) and music (N. R. Raghunanthan).
Rajkiran’s face is a carpet of emotions and his voice quivers suitably when he speaks of the angst of refugees who’ve lost everything but their life. His character is an enigma though. A character without a history makes sense sometimes, but not when everything hinges on the bonds he forms.
Rupa Manjari evokes sympathy when her face crumples, and joy when she laughs fleetingly. Naveen has a swagger about him, and loves and hates with fervour. Selva and Bose Venkat are menacingly effective as the politician and the policeman. Thambi Ramaiah, however, must sue the makers for reducing him to a caricature on screen. A National Award-winning actor, he gets wasted in yet another movie.
Sathya Siva made the impressive Kazhugu some years ago. He must revisit that phase, and return to scripts backed by sound logic. This one’s about a burning issue, but somewhere, the message gets lost.
