J.K.Balaganapathy(Sivakumar), JKB for short, is a famous singer. But he lacks the right kind of company to discuss music with since his wife Bhairavi(Sulakshana) is a zero as far as music is concerned. It is at this point that he meets Sindhu(Suhasini), a music teacher. Though she offends him at their first meeting on stage, her boundless enthusiasm for and in-depth knowledge of music draw him to her. They end up spending a lot of time together and this closeness soon develops into a full-blown affair. When she is advised to not spoil Bhairavi's life, Sindu moves away from JKB. But her absence affects him and he starts drinking. When his life seems on the brink of destruction, Bhairavi herself invites Sindhu back to correct him. And seeing the positive effect Sindhu has on JKB, Bhairavi decides to get her married to her own husband. There is also a side story of Sindhu, who was deserted as a baby by her mother, finding her roots.

I bemoaned the lack of any instances of the famous 'KB touch' in his last movie Kalki . It should be clear to anyone watching Sindhu Bhairavi , what I meant by the 'KB touch'. The movie is filled with deft touches that have a forceful impact while making us applaud their innovativeness. One of the best illustrations of this appears early in the movie. Sivakumar just saying that his wife is a novice as far as music is concerned would have sufficed. But KB makes Sivakumar stop with "For my wife, music is..." and then cuts to Sulakshana asking a vegetable vendor "Kilo enna vilai?". This conveys her state more effectively than any dialog could have.

KB's directorial acumen is evident at several other places too. Showing the unwrapping of a mridangam and a veena to signal the physical union of Sivakumar and Suhasini, using the daily delivery of tamil magazines to indicate the different days of the week (Suhasini is angry at Sivakumar during this time and her mood gradually changes and a magazine with Sivakumar's cover picture signals her complete transformation) and indicating Suhasini's train journey with a line of boys on the beach are some of these places.

There are few things that happen without reason and what happens on screen seems perfectly plausible. Sivakumar's lack of music-minded companionship is beautifully brought out by the aforementioned scene that illustrates his wife's blissful ignorance of music and the scene where his orchestra is playing cards while he is looking for a meaningful discussion of music. This factor is key in order to sympathise with his character during his relationship with Suhasini. The same goes for Suhasini. Her gradual bonding with Sivakumar is based on music and this is picturised skillfully. This is important since the audience has to view her with compassion, and not the scorn usually reserved for the other woman in a marriage, for the movie to work.

The movie is populated by one of the liveliest and most memorable cast of supporting characters. 'Mridangam' Gurumoorthy ('Delhi' Ganesh) and 'Sitar' Gajapathy (Janakaraj) are the most prominent among these. 'Delhi' Ganesh's drunken outburst against Sivakumar on his relationship with Suhasini and his later confession that he acted drunk just so he could speak his mind are touching. Janakaraj is a reformed liar and the way his head is shown swelling up each time he holds a secret is masterful and funny. It is amazing how smaller characters like the judge's driver and Sivakumar's grandfather become unforgettable after appearing in only a couple of scenes. But in the midst of such outstanding characters, Pratap Pothan's character seems unnecessary.

Suhasini delivers a masterful performance. Her expressive face excels at hiding sadness with a bright smile and she gets lots of oppurtinities to do so. Her gradual closeness to Sivakumar is understandable and the transformation from anger to realisation of her feelings for him is made believable by her performance. Her reaction when Manimala bars her from entering their house so that she could "save her husband from her" is brilliant as is her talk on the beach with Manimala. Sivakumar gets the role of a lifetime and delivers. His character has the oppurtunity to run through a full gamut of emotions and he does justice to most of them. Sulakshana earns our sympathy with her wide-eyed, innocent look. She earns laughs when she imagines slapping Suhasini while she is leaning on her shoulder (KB earns another point here with the picturisation of this scene) and her repeated distractions with household chores, when attempting to learn music, brings out her character .

This movie was the first time Ilaiyaraja tuned the music for a KB film and the result is colossal - exactly what we would expect from the union of two gifted giants. I am in Sulakshana's shoes as far as Carnatic music goes but the tunes here are unbelievable. Ilaiyaraja employs two innovations. In Mahaa Ganapathy..., there is no Mridangam and the last song Kalaivaaniye... is completely in aarohanam with no avarohanam. Moham Ennum is stirring and intense against the backdrop of the waves crashing against the rocks. And the way the completely folksy Paadariyen Padippariyen... merges into Mari Mari Ninne... is nothing short of amazing. Even the dappanguthu Thanni Thotti... fits into the movie since it illuminates the depths to which Sivakumar has plunged due to Suhasini's parting. K.J.Yesudas has sung all the songs and his mellifluous voice is a pleasure to hear.

Sindhu Bhairavi reaped a rich harvest of awards with Suhasini, Ilaiyaraja and Chitra all winning national awards for the movie. If KB himself had nabbed the best director award, it would have been richly deserved.