Cast: N T Rajkumar, Karthi Vel, Arvind Annamalai, Diana, Ramu, Ravi, Paruthi, Rajan Bala
Direction: Kamalakannan
Synopsis: Set on the eve of Gandhi Jayanthi, Madhubaanakadai is all about the various characters who visit a TASMAC bar and the events that unfurl in the place...
Movie Review: Now, here's the first truly avant-garde Tamil film of the year. Madhubaanakadai is that rarest of rare films that you come across in Tamil cinema in which the plot takes a backseat to let characters and more importantly, atmosphere act as the cogs in narrative wheel. Trust me, if someone asks what the story of the film is all you will be able to respond is that it is about events taking place in a bar. Not a pint more, not a pint less.
The wine shop is something that both drinkers and abstainers come across in our everyday lives and the film is a revelation for viewers who fall under either of these categories. For the drinkers, it is an amiable nudge towards their experiences during their visit to the bar while for the rest, it captures the frenzy of this intriguing place.
And with this as a hook, debutant director spins a fairly interesting web of comedy, romance and social commentary. It's all done with flair and a bit of derring-do that we don't often come across in the work of a debutant Tamil director. The past few years have seen more than their share of films set in the hinterlands of Tamil Nadu but most often these films were about romance and the violence that it provokes. So, it is quite refreshing when a filmmaker comes up with a film which is all about mood and succeeds in his effort. That it is set in the Kongu region (Perundurai in Erode district, to be specific) rather than the usual Madurai-Tirunalveli belt also adds to its novelty factor.
The film features a lineup of interesting characters — the regulars for whom the bar is a second home, the bar's workers who manage to co-exist despite their tiffs, the bar owner who isn't beyond stacking up supplies of unbranded liquor, his daughter who is in love with one of the workers, the policeman who maintains the peace in the place for a 'fee' and so on — and Kamalakannan uses them effectively to add pep to the proceedings. There are conflicts but no absolute resolutions and the climax (if you can call it that) only serves to reinforce that everything that you have seen till then is nothing but just a snapshot of a day inside a bar.
The film has been shot in digital and for once, the coarse nature of the images enhances the impact of the film as it provides the required rawness to the subject material. The cinematography by Sumee Bhaskaran is especially effective in the night sequences when the green lights add a dreamy texture to the squalid nature of the place. The score (and songs) by Ved Shankar Sugavanam is a hybrid of folk and western and fits with the tone of the film.
Still, for all its plusses, the film is far from perfect. Though we buy into the idea of not having a definite story, there are moments when you sense the film drifting aimlessly unsure of how and where to go next. Almost all of the actors are debutants and while this adds to the authenticity, there are times when you feel that they are performing for the camera. The director also doesn't quite manage to integrate the social commentary element seamlessly into the narrative making these segments stick out and seem a tad preachy. Similarly, while the film does capture the messy nature of bars, you expect the place to be even more chaotic, especially on the eve of Gandhi Jayanthi.
Tip-off: Even if experimental films aren't your cup of tea (or glass of beer in this case), just take a sip and you won't regret tasting it.
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