Sivappu Manjal Pachai

MOVIE REVIEW

Siddharth sheds his  image to play an astute, hyper-masculine Rajashekar , a traffic police officer. He’s the youngest to be short-listed for Central Intelligence, but he opts for a less-explored road . His ideology is: ‘Society discriminates, the road doesn’t’. But the class difference is apparent in Sivappu Manjal Pachai, where Rajashekar is the quintessential ‘class’ hero, while Madhan , pandering to the ‘mass audience’. It could have easily become an story, but the movie is not about class difference. It’s about the male ego. Take this scene for instance. A police officer ‘humiliates’ a frequent offender by wrapping him in a nightie. The boy’s ego gets pricked that makes him a man.
The film begins with a young Raji and Madhan in school. The latter gets picked up for signing his sister’s rank card. He confronts the teacher and ‘protects’ his sister by saying, “There’s no guardian for us. I’m her father and she’s my mother.” It’s a big statement coming from a child, but that’s how Madhan wants him to be perceived. He doesn’t let her sister think for herself. Raji is constantly referred to as “poonai” because of her fear of cats. In reality, it’s Madhan who’s actually a poonai, for people call him weak, owing to his childlike nature. Watch out for the scene where he crawls like a baby when Raji decides to marry Rajashekar. He channels his inner aggression into racing. He’s a biker and often bets his life for illegal street racing. One could argue that Madhan aspires to become a Rajasehkar. When these two worlds meet, we should see fireworks on the screen. But that happens only partly.

Sivappu Manjal Pachai isn’t devoid of issues too much reliance on maaman-machan conflict, the generic love track given to Madhan, the plasticky bike racing sequences... But the writing is largely effective. I liked Raji’s failed attempts in integrating her warring brother and husband. There’s a lovely scene where she does laundry and hangs clothes to dry. She pauses a second, drags her husband’s uniform and brother’s jersey (note the jersey number: 46. It’s Valentino Rossi’s) and clips them together. I liked how Madhan is mischievous when he’s around Rajashekar. I liked how Rajashekar’s mother drives home a point about the misconception of ‘aadai’ without lecturing too much. I didn’t mind the closure they get, though it reeks melodrama.