Amudhe may not be a great movie but it is definitely a very surprising one. Some of
its characters don't behave exactly realistically, it reminds one of some other movies in
many scenes and it has some annoying comedy. But whatever its faults, predictability is
not one of them. It treads a route that not many other movies have done and surprises
the viewer at more than one place. For this its gets my recommendation.
Dinakar(Jai Akash) and Nancy(Madhumati) are lovers. Nancy is headstrong, impulsive and
stubborn while Dinakar is quiet and accomodating almost to a fault. So the two make a
good pair. Dinakar's parents want him to wed his aunt's daughter Vinaya(Uma) while
Nancy's parents want her to accept the wedding proposal from Victor(Prakashraj), a
globetrotting businessman based in Bombay. Caught between their parents lives and their
love for each other, Nancy and Dinakar come up with a plan.
Whether or not you like Amudhe depends upon what you enjoy in a movie. If you
look for realistic characters making practical, sensible decisions then this movie is
not for you. But if you are willing to suspend your disbelief and accept certain facts as
long as the movie engages and surprises you with its storyline, then by all means go out and
rent Amudhe. There are atleast three separate instances where the film presents a familiar
scenario but just when we think we know how the story is going to play out, it surprises us
with the way it proceeds. And it maintains this ability to surprise us right until the very
surprising climax.
Ezhil does a nice job of setting up Madhumita's character since she is pretty much the one
responsible for the entire story and the surprises it holds. Her attitude with her family
and her behavior with Jai Akash mark her as a girl who does things her way and is used to
getting what she wants. Unfortunately, her character development is at the expense of Jai
Akash's. He comes off looking like a wimp. It is unbelievable when he waits for her instead
of taking his mother to the hospital and his explanation to her doesn't make us like him
any more. His meek acceptance of Madhumita's plan, without consideration of others who
would be hurt by his actions, also doesn't sit well.
The lovers' plan doesn't make much sense. But it does provide a nice hook that makes us
look forward to how the story would proceed. Some of the segments after that remind us
of Mouna Raagam . But that eventually works in the
movie's favor too since we expect a particular story track based on our familiarity with
that film but that is not how this one proceeds. The climax is almost shocking since it
is so unexpected and so makes a mark.
Jai Akash just needs to look soft and quiet most of the time and does that adequately.
Madhumita is very good in a difficult role. She is a complicated personality and carries
it of well. Prakashraj looks and acts suave while Uma plays the homely role, which suits
her. 'Delhi' Ganesh is natural as usual and Santhanabharathi is believable as a father
worried about his family's future if Madhumita marries Jai Akash.
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