Udanpirappe

Udanpirappe Movie Review: The characters cry a lot, we don’t Jyothika is near flawless in Udanpirappe too, yes, but at least, she’s not dispensing long monologues, and she’s definitely not invincible. Sudhir Srinivasan @XpressCinema Published: 14th October 2021 Udanpirappe Movie Review Sometimes, we forget how far Jyothika has come. From playing hyper-excited, high-pitched women who existed to feature in duets and get rescued by the hero, this actor has truly come into her own, and in her second innings that began with 36 Vayadhinile, we have seen her create a market for films centred on her. For the most part, these films have been home-produced, and have had her playing the activist type. Her protagonists (save for Bala’s Naachiyaar), have been designed to be redeemer figures, and can often be heard dispensing generic motivation like, “Thuninju nil!” and “Edhirthu poraadu!” That’s why I find her latest release, her 50th film, Udanpirappe, to be rather interesting. Her character is pious and near flawless in this film too, yes, but at least, she’s not dispensing long monologues, and she’s definitely not invincible. For large swathes of this film, in fact, she’s a victim figure, a hapless spectator of the battle between two male egos. Regardless of what this review goes on to say about Udanpirappe, let me reiterate that the film is still an interesting choice for the actor. Maybe, just maybe, she can build on this and go on to, maybe, play and normalise flawed women in future films... Or am I asking for too much too soon? Director: Era Saravanan Cast: Jyothika, Sasikumar, Samuthirakani, Soori, Kalaiyarasan Streaming On: Amazon Prime Video ADVERTISING Udanpirappe begins rather alarmingly with Vairavan (Sasikumar) going to great lengths to hide tractors and going on to observe that farmers keep the tractor business alive and not vice-versa. Oh, great, another generic farmer film. But then, thankfully, the film takes cognisance of its title and begins to focus on the dynamics of Maathangi’s (Jyothika) family. You see, owing to circumstances detailed later in a flashback, she’s not on speaking terms with her brother, Vairavan (Sasikumar). More interestingly, it’s established that her husband (Samuthirakani) is at ideological loggerheads with her brother. While these portions were playing, I realised that I had, in fact, missed such contained, emotional films that speak of the messy business of human relationships and the redemption within. Sasikumar in UdanpirappeSasikumar in Udanpirappe Sasikumar, who plays a man of violence, seems strangely frozen in scenes where the writing clearly expects more from him. Perhaps it’s intentional, perhaps it’s not, but it’s odd when the counterpoint of such scenes is a Jyothika who’s operating on the other extreme of emotional expression. She’s choking and quivering, overwhelmed by emotion, and in response, we get reaction shots of Sasikumar, who’s supposed to reciprocate, but who, instead, ends up looking awkward. As for Samuthirakani, he could play these characters in his sleep. It’s another iteration of the law-abiding good man, one who believes that due process, as spelled out on paper, must be followed at all times. At one point, Udapirappe speaks of the ideological conflict between these two men: law vs morality, temple vs court. As a character puts it, sattam vs saththiyam. And for a while, I liked that the film refuses to take sides—much like Maathangi, who believes that there’s place and justification for both in the world. I say ‘for a while’ because Samuthirakani’s character feels underwritten and eventually, in reducing him to an Ambi (Anniyan) figure almost, it almost makes him a laughing stock. In a moment of real seriousness, just after he’s got a close associate (Soori) arrested, he sees three men riding on a bike and lectures them against it. I didn’t quite understand why this man, a believer in law and due process, needed to be reduced to a parody of an individual lacking any real sense of time and place for his well-meaning advice. As an aside, I liked Soori, especially in those quick, little scenes that ask him to be more than a comedian. Among the pleasures of these family films, is the exploration of how circumstances conspire to create trouble between evidently good people.

ஜோதிகாவின் 50-வது படம். அதற்கு நியாயமும் பெருமையும் சேர்த்துள்ளார்.

Udanpirappe is also bogged down by a need to explain even the smallest of things. The emotional beats are inconsistent and overly melodramatic, bordering on preachy in a few instances.

The family feud between Vairavan and Maathangi makes up most of the drama.

Saravanan also quietly shatters the traditional gender stereotypes even though it is not obvious on the surface.