Movie Review : Lakshmikanthan Kolai Vazhakku
Set in the early 70's , the film revolves around Arivumathi ( Vetri) who lives in a small village with a drunkard father and a loving mother ( Lizzie Antony) who mortgages her land to gather funds for his education.
But while waiting for a government job, Arivu gets involved in robberies along with a friend. Soon he becomes a full -fledged thief. He meets and falls in love with Malli ( Brigada Saga) who he marries and has kids with.
But just when he wants to give up a life of crime, due to a series of circumstances, he gets convicted for a death sentence.
Who does he kill and why? What happens to his family? How does this case impact a future case after many years?
The period saga occurs as a flashback and the film unfolds on 2 different timelines, leading to a rivetting final unpredictable climax which no-one sees coming.
The story takes time to build up its characters and does so quite adeptly, giving us a peek into the lives and mindset of Arivu, his parents, Malli and even Arivu's friend who takes him into thievery.
The motives of Arivu are clearlly enunciated, even though one may not agree with some of his views on his life of crime for instance.
The scenes between Arivu and his mother are tender and later his scenes with Rangaraj Pandey as the jailer overseeing his final moments, are gripping. The dialogues reveal the mindset of Arivu and why he does what he does. The verbal, engaging interchanges between the duo are among the highlights of the film.
Vetri has done a fine job bringing out the conviction, angst, and final despair of his character. Lizzie Antony brings the emotionally torn mom to life while Rangaraj Pandey delivers a finely honed and measured act, making him the perfect choice for the role.
The film aims to explore concepts of justice, humanity and guilt from the viewpoints of various characters in different positions, be it family, a judge, a jailer or the hangman.
The film presents how despite a sound education, desperation, poverty and lack of opportunity can push innocent people into crime. The scenes between the alcoholic father and the hardworking mother of Arivu, superbly bring out this aspect.
Though there is a lot of dialogue in some parts which slow down the film in places, the overall efforts in recreating the period settings, the way the film explores emotions, the effects of poverty on choices, exploitation, dreams and aspirations and makes the viewer wonder about what is true justice, are all successfully brought out by the filmmaker and a superb cast
Rating 3/5
Cast and Crew:
Vetri - Arivumathi
Rangaraj Pandey - Sivanandhan
Brigida Saga - Mallika
Maaran - Moorthy
Saravanan - Sargunam
Lizzie Antony - Soodamani
Aruvi Madhan - Velmurugan
Kanya Bharathy - Annam
Subramaniam Siva - Dharman
Producer - KV Shabarreesh
Banner - 2M Cinemas, D Pictures
Co-Producer, Story, Director - Dayal Padmanabhan
Screenplay & Dialogue - Kavitha Bharathy
Dayal Padmanabhan
Music and Background Score - Darbuka Siva
DOP - M.V. Paneerselvam
Editor - Bhoopathy Vedhagiri
Lyrics - Bharathiyar
Bharathidasan
Dayal Padmanabhan
Creative Team - Shaan
Kavitha Bharathy
Saru Raj
Colorist - John Sriram
Art Director - Soolai Anbu
Designer - Siva
Stills - Parthasarathy
Makeup - Kuppusamy
Costumes - Cuddalore Ramesh
Co-Director - Kannan Kaalimuthu
Associate Directors - Naresh
Tharagan D
Production Executives - Mariappan
Kutty Krishnan
VFX Supervisor - Stephen
PRO: Rekha
Social Media: Chowdrey
