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Amirtham
Reviewer's Summary - Good
Language: Tamil
Year: 2006
Actors: Navya Nair, Ganesh, Girish Karnad, Rajiv, Anuradha Krishnamoorthy
Director: K.Kannan
Producer: K.Kannan
Music: Bhavatharini
Story: K.Kannan
Screenplay & Dialogs: Kannan
Amirtham is not your run of the mill Tamil movie.
It dares to be different.
Amirtham doesn't try to bamboozle you with some pretty faces, silly songs or cacophonous music.
The highlight of Amirtham is an unusual and charming story set in a small village called Mukkudal in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu.
In a movie with many solid actors, the young Navya Nair stands out for her dazzling performance. A spontaneous and fine actress, Navya Nair is a delight to watch. Ditto for Girish Karnad and Rajeev.
Ganesh is all right but no patch on Navya Nair, Girish Karnad or Rajeev.
Director Kannan has done a remarkable job of creating a realistic-looking village and setting the principal characters in that ambience. But does such a village exist anywhere at all in Tamil Nadu anymore?
Ramaswamy Iyengar (Girish Karnad) is a poor priest in the village temple leading a hand-to-mouth existence with his wife Rukku (Anuradha Krishnamoorthy) and daughter Anuradha (Navya Nair).
In the same temple, Pasupathi Pillai (Rajeev) is a Nadaswaram exponent. Pasupathi Pillai's son Amirtham (Ganesh) returns to the village after completing his engineering degree. But much to the dismay of his family as well as Ramaswamy Iyengar, Amirtham is a staunch atheist.
Before long, Anuradha is in love with Amirtham but he rejects her love. Soon, Amirtham leaves the village for the city.
Meanwhile, oil is discovered in the land below the temple and surrounding areas of the village leading the government to order evacuation of the area so that petroleum can be extracted. This triggers a confrontation between the villagers and the police.
Upon learning of the confrontation and arrest of the temple priest Ramaswamy Iyengar, Amirtham returns home and joins the protesters leading to tragic consequences.
Sri Rangan Sanithi and Mugilename Yennadi are two fine songs that echo in the mind long after the movie ends.
N.B: - Apparently, much of the movie was filmed in Melkote, near Mysore - Copyright SearchIndia.com.
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