Satham Podathey - Review

By: Settu Shankar
Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Making a thriller lovestory is not an easy job these days. Some directors tend to think that only creating some special effects is enough to make a thriller. Vasanth is the latest entrant in the league of such directors, and his recently released Satham Podathey seems to be a half-hearted attempt, leaving an unpleasant experience in the minds of the audience. Only due to the peppy musical score by Yuvan and enthusiastic acting of Prithviraj, the hapless viewers remain on their seats with utmost patience.

There is nothing special in the story (but the director had earlier claimed that it is based on a real life story which happened in Andhra). Bhanu (Padmapriya), gets married to Ratnavel (Nitin Sathya) a guy who works in railways as he is a sportsman. But soon the relationship turns sour, when the couple realize after an alcoholic rehabilitation forum member (Nasser) tells the wife that Ratnavel is an impotent man. Inspite of family pressures to get a mutual divorce, the tradition bound Bhanu adopts a child and doesn't break away from the marriage.

But with the arrival of the baby, Ratnavel becomes more insecure and tells her that the child reminds him about his weakness. Immediately, Bhanu decides to return the child but when she realizes that her husband was an alcoholic who knew about his impotency and had betrayed her, she walks out on him. Bhanu's brother makes all his efforts to get her approval for a second marriage. He tries to play the cupid by arranging meetings for her with Ravichandiran (Prithviraj) a happy-go-lucky person, and as a result Bhanu enters into a new marital bliss with Ravichandiran. But Ratnavel, who had vowed to make life miserable for Bhanu, returns. He kidnaps Bhanu (the idea is very foolish) and keeps her under his custody in a sound- proof concealed room. The remaining part of the film is a depiction of how the hero saves his wife from her ex-husband.

Directors like Vasanth should at least watch some of the acclaimed Tamil thrillers like Manivannan's Nooravathu Naal or K.Bhagyaraj's Hindi blockbuster Aakhri Raasta to learn how to make a typical Tamil thriller! Vasanth has committed a lot of logical mistakes in the script. It seems that the director has reposed a lot of faith in his so called 'sound proof' technique rather than on his script!

Is it possible for one to leave one's wife screaming in pain in a soundproof room, while doubtfully looking the other way? How could an unknown person come to one's house with a big mortuary van, drop a dead body, and kidnap a woman after setting the house on fire with the help of a gas cylinder? How come nobody witnesses such a heinous crime committed in the busy area like Palavakkam, as has been shown in the movie?

The first part of the movie moves as slowly as a mega serial and the second part become a big test for the viewer's patience. The director makes real mockery of the climax when he tries to justify the happenings in Ratnavel's life.

Yuvan's music composition is good and is the saving grace for the movie for 15 to 20 minutes. Songs like Azhagu Kutty Chellam… and Pesugiren, Pesugiren… are a class apart, but their placing in the film could have been better, and they end up further slowing down the pace of the film.

Prithviraj has done his part well, and Nitin Sathya needs a special mention for doing the role of a semi- psychotic. Padmapriya doesn't entice the viewers in any way. In a few scenes, she looks aged and brash which doesn't do justice to her portrayal as an innocent village girl in the movie.

All in all, watching this film is sheer wasteage of one's precious time!

Verdict: Irritating!

Credits:

Movie: Satham Podathey

Cast: Prithviraj, Padmapriya, Nitin Sathya and Ragavan

Music: Yuvan Shankar Raja

Director: Vasanth

Producer: Kaivalliya