Fantasy, short and swift -- Arpudha Theevu
IN A STRANGE MILIEU: Arpudha Theevu
Arpudha Theevu
Genre: Fantasy
Director: Vinayan
Cast: Prithviraj, Mallika Kapoor, Manivannan
Storyline: A group swims to safety to an island inhabited by inimical folks.
Bottomline: More in a Malayalam film mode!
You can't categorise it as a straight film. Neither is it entirely dubbed. Jonathan Swift's Lilliput translates into Vinayan's Vamanapuri in Sri Mani Movies' `Arpudha Theevu' (U). Swift's less popular Brobdignag, made up of huge homo sapiens, helps him in the denouement. That the protagonist is neither intelligent nor super human is a slight disappointment. With actors Manivannan, Vaiyapuri and Karunas lending the native Tamil touch, and Malavika taking care of the lust quotient `Arpudha Theevu' is a mix of myth and truth, inspiration and imagination. The tagline calls it the Fantac(!)y Island.
The release has been astutely timed — it's for adults who dig fantasy, and kids, who like to watch fun and action this holiday season. The first part ends in a jiffy. It is the second that plays spoilsport, with its rather contrived climax.
Trouble after take-off
Eight air personnel take off in a helicopter to the Andamans with relief materials for people suffering from the tsunami aftermath. The helicopter nosedives into the ocean and they manage to swim to the shores of an island. But it's no haven, inhabited as it is, by midget-like people. All the men are short, while the women are of normal height! To the vertically challenged folks, the normally built race represents bad spirits that have to be annihilated.
When a recent natural disaster and an ancient way of life are juxtaposed, the impact is rather strange. Anachronisms make matters funny. Hari (Prithviraj) is part of the crew and things get tougher for them when princess Radha (Mallika Kapoor), who is already engaged to the vertically challenged Gajendran (Bakru), falls in love with Hari. The hero is no superman. Funny, yes! But neither intelligent nor heroic! And if you can forget their puerile comedy in women's garb, Karunas and Vaiyapuri do provide some wholesome fun in `Arpudha Theevu.'
Graphics by EFX is a major contributor. Manivannan as a vertically challenged person with hands and legs also logically less grown than the normal is an exquisite example of the graphics treat. It is also a reminder of the difficulty Kamal Haasan would have subjected himself to, to come up with a convincing show in a similar character in `Apoorva Sagodarargal,' without graphics to aid him.
Composer Jayachandran comes up with a couple of melodies that make an impression. But artwork (Muthuraj) looks outdated in most of the scenes.
After being tortured no end by the natives, when Hari seriously thanks them for all the kindness and help, you are stumped by the hero's ridiculous words! Writer-director Vinayan's climax and his hero's benevolence are irritating features of `Arpudha Theevu.' His theme is innovative and screenplay interesting. It is the story that lags behind.
MALATHI RANGARAJAN
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