MOVIE REVIEWS

Seetha Kalyanam fails.

T K Rajeev Kumar's much delayed movie 'Seetha Kalyanam' will finally see the light of the screen on 6th November,Friday. The movie which was in the making for the last six years, have Jayaram and Jyothika in the lead. Produced by Revathy Kalamandhir, the movie is set in the backdrop of a Brahmin marriage that extends for many days. Meanwhile, Geethu Mohandas who played a prominent role in the movie, will tie the marital knot with famous cinematographer Rajeev Ravi
A remake tale, the story begins on the backdrop of a typical Brahmin household and there is a wedding happening. The groom is Sreeni (jayaram) and he is all set to tie the knot to Abhirami (geethu). In comes Sreeni's best friend Nimisha (jyothika) for attending the wedding but then it suddenly flashes onto her that she has been unknowingly in love with Sreeni for a very long time. From then on, her efforts begin to make Sreeni realize that he too has the same feelings for her. On the other hand, there is Abhirami who is not ready for this wedding as she is deeply in love with Ambi (indrajith). What happens from there and who gets to marry whom in the end forms the rest of the story.
So the film is all about the big, fat wedding, if you may call it that. Nimisha is seen to be generally having a good time around, until the moment of 'enlightenment'. Post enlightenment however, she seems to be some psycho who is after Sreeni, clinging on to his back, and making him realize that perhaps he is in love with her as well. Sreeni, on the other hand seems quite unsure about his feelings for her, and even after the film has ended, one need to look around real hard to see if the man had any feelings for her at all.
Jayaram is his usual self, but looks a little younger! The same goes for Geethu Mohandas and Indrajith also. Jyothika as Nimisha does have a few scenes where the viewer would feel excited by her performance (though her presence does make us constantly aware that this film is dated) and her transformation from the 'happy-go-lucky' chirpy girl in the beginning to a mentally imbalanced person does give us a jolt. The only advantage of watching such an antiquated film on big screen is the fact that you get to see an actor like Oduvil Unnikrishnan (though his voice is dubbed) who left the world a few years ago. On the whole, director T K Rajeev Kumar does not succeed in indulging us in the festivities of Seetha Kalyanam.
The director has come up with a remake story and though the presentation was neat the narrative was a major letdown. The dialogues were alright, the script was lacking depth and the screenplay was alright. Background score was top notch and the songs did justice to the situation. Cinematography was the saving grace of the film. Editing could have been better, costumes were apt for the occasion and the art department worked hard. Jayaram didn't have much to do since his role was quite subdued, Geethu Mohandas looked luscious and did her bit well, Indrajith was okay, the real showstealer was Jyothika who swoons the audience with her act. Jagadish was regular, Janardhanan was average, Siddique was sensible, the others did their bit as required.Love subjects need to be handled carefully and with the right delicacy but that didn't happen here. Though the star brand is high and good technical aspects, not much in the content department so this might not be able to shine at the box office.