A road film is a rarity on Tamil screen. And if one does come by, the travel is for just about a couple of reels, where the lead pair are on the run, chased by some goons. Maduari - Theni… takes us on an engaging journey, regaling us with charming vignettes, colourful characters, beautiful countryside, market places and lanes that the bus traverses through; with a sensitive love story weaved in. Director Rathibala (an ad film-maker) in his debut effort, reveals a creative bend of mind, giving out a concept that is different, and reveals a firm grasp of the medium. The film runs for about two hours and nowhere do we feel that it has outstayed its welcome.
Apart from debutants Arvind and Srithika (both former anchors on the small-screen, with Srithika having played a cameo in 'Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu'), and a few known faces, the rest of the innumerable characters are first-timers. And they have been picked up from the rural areas between Madurai and Theni where the plot is set. It’s commendable the way the director has coordinated the performances of his huge cast, and amazing how these non-professional actors have responded to him. Their performances are spontaneous, unmindful of the camera or the long dialogues to be rendered. Arvind and Srithika are pleasant to watch. Being complete naturals, their closing scenes reveal emotional maturity. The opening scenes have a sprinkling of humour where Arvind helps out a friend to bring the latter’s troubled love affair to a satisfactory conclusion. Hardly knowing that he himself would be in the same predicament of facing a hostile family, when he later would fall for Srithika. Srithika is returning to her village with her father, after finishing her college education in Madurai. And Arvind hailing from Madurai, is traveling by the same bus to take up his job as a school master at a village adjacent to hers. Surreptitious glances, mutual attraction, and some shared experiences, as the bus sets on it’s journey, draw the duo to each other. How the love story evolves, faces violent opposition from the girl’s family, and reaches its rightful conclusion forms the rest. Some old popular Tamil film songs have been used with good effect here. The happenings are realistically crafted, and sensitively handled, with great attention to detail, both in characterisation and scene-etching. It becomes a tad dialogue-oriented towards the latter part, but being a relevant part of the situations, and having a natural flow, nowhere does it jar. There are some known faces like actors Muthukalai, Nellai Siva and Singhamuthu, but they have been given just the footage their characters warrant, and they fit in beautifully. Incidentally, the director’s inspiration for his plot is supposedly from his friend’s real life experience. And Rathibala says he would shortly present the real-life heroes to the media. Madurai - Theni… is a warm film with a feel good sensitivity. It proves yet again that small budget films boasting of no big names ('Vennila Kabaddi Kuzhu', 'Pasanga', 'Nadodigal'), sans a high-profile star cast, shamelessly huge budgets, exotic foreign locations, inane comedy, fights and overt glamour, can yet be quality products and engaging entertainers. This film deserves a chance, and warrants a viewing.
