Directed by: Madhumitha Cast: Parthibhan, Chaya Sing, Karunas, Anad Raj, Kuyili Music: Bharadvaj

Sensitive yet disappointing

The titles appear in the backdrop of a detailed portrayal of a marriage. If you think the debutant director wants to open with an auspicious note, please hold your comments. The first scene after the title starts with a court scene, where the heroine seeks divorce. What happened between the marriage and divorce and after the divorce form the crux of the movie, written and directed by newcomer Madhumitha.

While we could appreciate Madhumitha's efforts to explore the issues of a forced marriage, we must also say that she hasn't chosen a new subject. Vallamai Tharayo, starring Parthibhan and Chaya Singh in the lead roles, has a striking similarity with Mani Rathnam's Mouna Ragam.

The divorce case depicts Nanditha (Chaya Singh) accusing her husband Anand (Parthiban) of all kinds of abuse. The director then gets us back to the events that led to the divorce.

She shows Nandhitha, a software professional, going to her home in a small town for holiday. The movie portrays a happy family. however, there is a darker side to this picture perfect family. While Nandhitha is madly in love with her cousin, her father (Anandraj) hates the family of his sister. He makes it clear that Nandhitha cannot marry her cousin and arranges marriage for her with another person (Parthiban)

Could Nandhitha ever meet his sweetheart in her life? How does she respond to Parthibhan's sincere efforts to win over her heart?

First things first. The problem with the movie is that it has not been told in an engaging manner . While we could appreciate Madhumitha's efforts to handle the nuances of relationships in a sensitive manner, we wish that she could have chosen a fresh story and come out with an engaging script.

Apart from the not-so-exciting script, the debutant director has also failed in etching the characters. The character of Chaya Singh, for example, is not at all convincing. You cannot imagine an educated and sensitive girl ruining the life of her husband, who has done no fault. Anadraj's irrelevant and untimely punch dialogues sound comical.

Parthibhan's characterization deserves appreciation, as you rarely see such understanding and affection from a husband to an unknown girl. But then we have seen a similar character in Mauna Ragam as well.

As for as performances, Chaya Singh has done her best in what could be termed as her comeback vehicle. She emotes well but the monotony of her character doesn't give her much scope to show case her histrionics.

Parthibhan is getting predictable and he appears much as Parthiban and not as the character.

As a whole, despite a different theme and a sensitive handling, the movie disappoints with its dull and unconvincing script.