Malligadu - Movie Review

Karthi, brother of Surya made his debut as an actor with this film in Tamil with the title Paruthiveeran. The film won many awards in Tamil film industry. Priyamani, who played his love interest in the movie, gave an extra-ordinary performance and the audiences would wonder where had those acting talents in her have gone, as she became a glamour doll in her later part of her career. Directed by Ameer Sultan and produced by Gnanavel Raja, the dubbed Telugu version is releasing today as Malligadu. However, the film had lot of Tamil scent and nativity which cannot be digested by the Telugu audiences.

Story:
Mallibabu (Karthi) is a goonda, who always gets into trouble with the police regularly. His uncle is Sivayya (Saravanan) and Mallibabu keeps moving around the countryside, looking for entertainment as well as trouble. A girl called Malli (Priyamani) falls flat at him and loses her heart to Mallibabu who is her relative, but he never cares for her. Moreover, Malli’s father Nagayya (Ponvannan) doesn’t like Mallibabu as he is a ruffian and hates his high-handed behaviour. Adding to that Mallibabu always moves close with low-caste people. After some time, Mallibabu starts understanding the love of Malli and gives green signal to the love. Later, Malli Babu decides to marry Malli and by that time, the entire village starts hating Mallibabu for some reason. Why the villages start hating Mallibabu? Did Mallibabu and Malli fulfill their dreams by marrying? Did the villagers allow them to marry and lead a life together? Answers to all these questions form part of the climax.

Performance:
Though Karthi made his debut with this film, he did not appear as a novice but gave a performance like a seasoned artiste. Priyamani has no big make up and instead played a very deglamorous role in this film. However, she has got a powerful role in this movie. Other artistes like Ponvannan and Saravanan have done justice their respective roles. In fact, not only the character artises but all those who got a role in this film have done a remarkable job. No wonder such film would become an award-winning movie. Moreover, some scenes in the second half of the film would make a impression in the hearts of audiences. However, the costumes and the performance will reflect the Tamil nativity and could not be accepted by the Telugu audience.

Technical:
The cinematography in this movie is outstanding, but the editing is very poor. The cinematographer’s idea to use black and white technique for some scenes clicked very well and attracted the audiences. Music by Yuvan Shankar Raja is melodious, though the Tamil beat is very clear in the film, we can’t help it but to listen the same tune as the film is a dubbing movie. However, the background score is quite authentic and appreciable. The director should be commended for certain scenes which impresses the audiences hearts. Especially, when the scene of gang rape was shot with a bleeding woman who is ready to die is very impressive. However, such scenes may not go well with the Telugu audiences. The climax, however, was quite boring and tested the patience of audiences. The dialogues in the film too are not so impressive.

Remarks:
As it is told for many a times in this review, the Tamil scent and Telugu nativity of the film make the Telugu audiences to watch the film so impatiently, despite the terrific performance by Karthi and Priyamani. You can avoid watching the movie if you are not a fan of Karthi.