Sivappu Manjal Pachai Movie Review rating:3.5/5
SIVAPPU MANJAL PACHAI CAST & CREW
Production: Abhishek Films Cast: G. V. Prakash Kumar, Siddharth Direction: Sasi Screenplay: Sasi Story: Sasi Music: Siddhu Kumar
Sasi’s Sivappu Manjal Pachai are chalk and cheese. Madhan (GV Prakash Kumar) is a street racer while Rajasekar (Siddharth) is a traffic cop. And they are about to become brothers in law when an alliance is fixed between Rajasekar and Rajalakshmi aka Raji (Lijomol Jose), Madhan’s sister. And having grown up without their parents since their childhood, Madhan and Raji are extremely attached to one another. To complicate matters, there is history between Rajasekar and Madhan – the cop had earlier humiliated the racer. In such a scenario, can these two contrasting characters find common ground?
In Sivappu Manjal Pachai, Sasi treads on the very same ground travelled by Mani Ratnam and Vasanth with Agni Natchathiram and Nerukku Ner respectively. As in those films, the plot involves two individuals who are related to one another but cannot stand each other. But while those films treated this storyline with restraint and visual flair, Sasi adopts are more ‘commercial’ approach, opting for melodrama. He uses the akka-thambi and maman-machan sentiment to full effect. And he succeeds to a large extent. The sentimental scenes stop just short of being sappy while the confrontation scenes between Madhan and Rajasekar have some spark. The portions where Madhan tries to get his sister to break up with Rajasekar, and the latter’s attempts to stop him from succeeding are quite entertaining. There are a couple of interesting cinematic touches that enhance the emotional moments, like the use of a couple of shirts. The film begins with a young Raji and Madhan in school. The latter gets picked up for signing his sister’s rank card. He confronts the teacher and ‘protects’ his sister by saying, “There’s no guardian for us. I’m her father and she’s my mother.” It’s a big statement coming from a child, but that’s how Madhan wants him to be perceived. He doesn’t let her sister think for herself. Raji is constantly referred to as “poonai” because of her fear of cats. In reality, it’s Madhan who’s actually a poonai, for people call him weak, owing to his childlike nature. Watch out for the scene where he crawls like a baby when Raji decides to marry Rajashekar. He channels his inner aggression into racing. He’s a biker and often bets his life for illegal street racing. One could argue that Madhan aspires to become a Rajasehkar. When these two worlds meet, we should see fireworks on the screen. But that happens only partly.
Sivappu Manjal Pachai isn’t devoid of issues — too much reliance on maaman-machan conflict, the generic love track given to Madhan, the plasticky bike racing sequences… But the writing is largely effective. I liked Raji’s failed attempts in integrating her warring brother and husband. There’s a lovely scene where she does laundry and hangs clothes to dry. She pauses a second, drags her husband’s uniform and brother’s jersey (note the jersey number: 46. It’s Valentino Rossi’s) and clips them together. I liked how Madhan is mischievous when he’s around Rajashekar. racing sequences are shot well in terms of framing and angles, but the VFX quality could have been better, due to which it engages you but doesn’t make you invest in it. Siddhu Kumar’s BGM makes you feel like eating a delicacy dipped in honey. The background score and a couple of songs have a lot of heart especially the Mayilaanjiye track.
