'Thirumanam' movie review: A well-intentioned message lost in translation

It felt extremely odd to witness the filmmaker, who gave us Bharathi Kannamma, conveniently evade the biggest barrier for any love marriage: caste.
Cheran and Sukanya in Thirumanam. (YouTube screengrab)
Cheran and Sukanya in Thirumanam. (YouTube screengrab)

Marriage is not uncharted territory for Cheran, the actor-director. His acting venture Raman Thediya Seethai(2008), traced the journey of a stammer to find his bride, and his Pirivom Santhippom(2008), was about a newlywed's struggles in a nuclear family. Thirumanam, his directorial, in a way can be called the last instalment of his marriage trilogy, as it is solely based on the flaws in the big fat Indian wedding. While, most Tamil films like Kadhaluku Mariyadhai and Santhosh Subramaniam end at the point where the hero gets a nod from the girl's parents, followed by the classic 'Subham' card, Thirumanam begins there. 

Starting from the mangalagara manjal title credits, where every member of the crew (including women) are addressed as Thiru/Thirumathi, to the mangala isai (nadhaswaram and thavil) which replaces your guitars and flutes in the background music, Cheran succeeds in setting the right mood for the audience. He tries to address the flaws in the Indian wedding 'system' and probes into the reasons behind the failure of modern-day marriages. His effort to convey a strong social message is evident and the dialogues are indeed powerful. Yet, the film falls short, as it focuses too much on the details and forgets the basics.

It felt extremely odd to witness the filmmaker, who gave us Bharathi Kannamma, conveniently evade the biggest barrier for any love marriage: caste. This is especially jarring when the two families are shown to be from different classes of society and we are not even made clear about the families' sensitivity towards such an important undercurrent. The lead pair - Mahesh (Umapathy) and Aadhira (Kavya) - are hardly involved in their own wedding preparations and they do not get a say in the decisions made by their families. Normalising this with the dialogue, "enaku enga anna/akka edhu senjalum ok dhaan," feels unsettling as the film should've majorly catered to the soon-to-weds, than the older generation.

Talking of catering to new generation, I have to point out a particularly low point in the film. A person runs away from home out of extreme depression, but, in the very next scene, he is spotted singing karaoke songs in a mobile app. Random 3D smileys pop on the screen and zoom into the audience's faces during the mobile chats of the lead pair. The similar overuse of technology and gadgets evoke unintentional laughter, instead of making it a 'modern' film.

Thirumanam revolves around six main characters and it undoubtedly needed much more convincing performances than is on show. MS Bhaskar is the lone exception as he delivers a superlative performance as usual, and the more we see him, the more the work of other actors feel inadequate. 

The film has a few other problematic ideas too. Aadhira is stopped from going to gym and asked to dance at home instead. The reason? "Anga laam pona kanda pasanga varuvang." Despite preaching in depth about the cons of spending on wedding throughout the film, Arivudainambi (Cheran) leases a land for his sister's groom in the name of 'support', which actually is indirect dowry. Such messaging is not just inconsistent within the context of the film but also to the audience who are expected to take home a message to the contrary. 

Thirumanam, carries the tagline, 'Sila Thiruthangaludan' (With some changes).  After watching the film, I strongly felt it could've been an effective Cheran brand film if it had a script doctor and was made with 'Pala Thiruthangaludan'. (With a lot of changes).

Film: Thirumanam

Cast: Umapathy Ramaiah, Kavya Suresh, Cheran, Sukanya, MS Bhaskar, Thambi Ramaiah

Director: Cheran 

Rating: 2.5 stars


(This review originally appeared on cinemaexpress.com)

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