Priyasakhi

[Pic Courtesy BehindWoods]

Screenplay usually comes to the fore in masala movies where thin, predictable storylines have to be jazzed up with clever screenplays. Priyasakhi is a marital drama that requires an interesting screenplay to make its tired, cliched story of a clash between a middle-class, family-bound man and his rich, high-spirited wife appealing to the viewer. Director Adhiyaman manages to create such a screenplay but only upto a certain point. The movie then inexplicably takes a nosedive into comedy, chaos and chauvinism.

Santhanakrishnan(Madhavan), Sakhi for short, works as a manager at Hyundai. Its love at firstsight when, on a trip to Dubai, he meets model Priya(Sadha). Love blinds both to the differences in their wealth, social status, standard of living, aspirations, etc. and they get married.But the differences make their way to the surface after marriage when Sadha is unable to adjust to his family-centric lifestyle.

The movie starts promisingly with a very nicely picturized Anbu Alaipaayuthey..., that introduces us to Madhavan's loving family. The action moves to Dubai by the song's end where its love at first sight for Madhavan when he sees Sadha. But once we get beyond Madhavan's love at first sight, his wooing of Sadha is quite entertaining. His attention to her friend in order to gain her love is a rather fresh technique and Sadha's jealousy, which ofcourse gradually turns to love, is quite funny.

The movie becomes predictable once Sadha moves into Madhavan's house. While it is pretty clear Sadha is going to have problems fitting in, even the situations that lead to problems are very familiar. At the same time, the quarrels and cuddles between Madhavan and Sadha make them a very believable newly-married couple. The small fights with quick 'make-ups' gradually becoming bigger fights that take longer to resolve, are nicely portrayed.

The decision of the judge when Madhavan and Sadha go to court is the exact point at which the movie begins to unravel. The decision, which by itself is quite unbelievable, is then played for laughs with 'Kovai' Sarala joining the proceedings. And the laughs aren't subtle either. They are loud and unfunny and make the section quite unbearable. As the movie nears its climax, it also turns quite chauvinistic with Sadha becoming repentant and Madhavan bent on torturing her, all for the reason of 'teaching her a lesson'.

Madhavan's long hair makes his face look kinda fat but if the oohs and aahs from the girls sitting behind me in the theater were any indication, he can still break a few hearts. Sadha is quite saadha in looks but emotes well here. Her stares and silent looks at Madhavan are effective and she is emotional without overacting during the fights. Ishwarya, with her gravelly voice, gets several laughs with her expressions and comments. Her expression when Madhavan's grandma congratulates her on her 'promotion' is priceless. Pratap Pothan plays her docile husband and the final scene between them has been played out a zillion times since Rajapaarvai. Ramesh Khanna gets a few laughs as Maddy's brother.

Adhiyaman has been faithful to the melodious nature of the songs in their picturization. Which turns out to be good for Madhavan considering his dancing skills!

PS: After Madhavan and Sadha, I think the most screen time in Priyasakhi was alloted to Sadha's waist and navel! We get quite a few closeups and viewers who didn't get enough of her midriff in Anniyan can get their eyeful here. Which led me to describe Sadha in the following kavidhai...

Anniyanil sothappal
Priyasakhiyil so-much-thoppul :-)