Chennai
There are lot of things that needs to be discussed and appreciated as this film stands as a best example of how a serious ‘art’ film can be presented in a most entertaining way. Within few minutes into the film, the message, ‘artistes are immortal’, reverberates within us and makes us to empathise with every theatre artiste we get introduced to.
In the very first frame, we are transported to the 1950s, the days where theatre plays and theatre artistes were ruled the entertainment industry. In the next scene, we get to see, Ayya Adhimoolam, (Vijay Sethupathi) a popular theatre artiste in the 1970s and 80s, staging a play at the fag end of his career. He enacts a scene inspired from the life of Aurangzeb to make the audience realise the importance of art in everyone’s life. That’s when we actually realise that Seethakathi is different and are going to witness something new for the next two hours. When Ayya realises that people are no more interested in watching plays, he decides to enter the world of cinema, using the power of his art. It’s Ayya’s friend Parasuram (Mouli) who takes the final call on what films he should be a part of. Trouble begins when Ayya decides to leave the industry after delivering a few hits, abandoning the projects that he theatre was committed to.
Revealing anything more, might spoil the experience of watching a film with unusual content. There is a bit of fantasy element as well, which hits the film industry hard, straight on the face. Though Vijay Sethupathi comes only for the first 40 minutes of the film, he manages to make the audience to feel his presence throughout. He doesn’t strain much to make the role more empathetic but gives us a remarkable heart-tugging performance. We are made to feel so much for this character that by the time his portion ends, we realise our eyes have become misty. Saravanan’s (Rajkumar) performance as an aspiring actor is brilliant and his portions puts smile on everyone’s face. Like Balaji’s debut film, Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kaanum, this film, too, banks completely on situational comedy in the second half. Supporting actors like Mahendran, Bagavathi Perumal and Mouli have done exceptionally well. Composer Govind Vasanthan’s background score complements and enhances the drama in the first half, but drops as the film progresses. Overall, Seethakathi is a tribute to theatre artistes, who has been ruling the art world for generations. The film deserves a watch.
Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Archana, Mouli, Rajkumar, Karunakaran, Mahendran, Bagavathi Perumal, Ramya Nambeesan, Gayathrie, Parvathy, Bharathiraja
Directed by: Balaji Tharaneetharan
Composed by: Govind Vasantha
Synopsis: An ageing theatre artiste, Adhimoolam, decides to take up films realising that stage plays are no more a crowd puller. But will the industry live up to his expectations or destroy the artiste in him again?
Rating: 3.5/5
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