Cloak-and-dagger industrial espionage and the ruthless crushing of competition by an ambitious industrialist — this was the theme of ‘Tiruvadi Saranam,’ which started off well, but wandered off into the alleyways of sentimentality, and floundered.
Successful industrialist Vaidehi hires Divakar, not because she is impressed with his qualifications, but because she sees the young man as a potential competitor, and wants to suppress him. How Divakar gets back at her is the substance of the story.
But we are left with many nagging questions that simply refuse to go away. It is unbelievable that Divakar, a gold medallist in engineering and management studies, does not read the fine print when he signs the contract. Such naivete may be forgiven once, but will a man who has just had a jolt, again place his trust in a stranger? Soon after he meets Nambi, Divakar falls in with Nambi’s plans, to teach Vaidehi a lesson. Nambi even tells Divakar that he has found a girl for him, and that Divakar must fall in love with her! The girl’s identity is predictable. How could Nambi, who spouts philosophy, use Meera as a pawn in his scheme for revenge? He talks of yuddha dharma. Does that include drawing into the loop, people who are unconcerned with the war? How does Meera, who did not even grow up under her mother’s care, suddenly decide that she will not live with her husband without her mother’s approval?
Poovai Mani (story and dialogues) had come up with some very good lines, but this did not help, in the absence of a convincing story line. Gowthami as head strong and wily Vaidehi was good. Ambi Raghavan, Amala and Thambi Parthasarathy were last minute replacements, but to their credit this was not evident at all.
This play won the awards for Best Character Artiste (Gowthami), Best Dialogues (Poovai Mani) and Best Lighting (Chetta Ravi) at the Kodai Nataka Vizha.
