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Amrutha has something old and something new. It has the psychological
element of Roja and sentiment element of Anjali, both masterpieces
of Mani Ratnam.
He
is a stylist and engineered entertainment, using children.
If it was Kashmir in Roja, it is Sri Lanka's ethnic conflict,
which dominates the proceedings. Mani Ratnam displays once
again, like in Anjali, his skill in handling children.
Here,
it is the case of 9-yearold Amrutha (Keerthana) who comes
to know that she is not born to Srinivas (Madhavan) and Indira
(Simran), but has been adopted by them.
The
couple is blessed by two children of their own, later.
What
makes this film remarkable is its backdrop; a highly disturbed
area infested with terrorists.
Srinivas
is a celebrated writer and writes under the pen name of Indira.
For
Srinivas this infant, left in an orphanage by its fleeing
mother becomes inspiration for his novel being serialized
in a magazine.
Srinivas
and Indira visit the place and name her as Amrutha. In order
to adopt the child, they fulfill the norm of becoming a married
couple first.
Amrutha,
in their care, is on the threshold of adolescence. Srinivas
suddenly reveals to her, one day, that she is not born to
them but to a woman named Shyamala (Nanditha Das). Amrutha
is shattered.
She becomes more obstinate in her decisions and wants to see
her mother at once.
Mani
Ratnam opens the film with rich romantic color, picturizing
how Shyamala and extremist Devaraj (Chakravarthy) fall in
love and get married.
Devaraj
deserts Shyamala, after sometime, and disappears into forests
obviously to join the bandwagon of other extremists.
In
the next scene, we watch refugees fleeing that country and
arriving at Rameswaram. Pregnant Shyamala is one among them.
She
gives birth to this infant and leaves the place, leaving the
child in an orphanage.
And
this is the child who draws the attention of Srinivas and
Indira.
Amrutha
makes an attempt on her own to find her mother, without the
knowledge of her foster parents.
Srinivas
and Indira then decide to fulfill her urge to see her mother.
They movie to Sri Lanka, leaving their own children behind,
in the care of Indira's father.
Their
family friend Vikrama Singhe (Prakash Raj) guides them to
a place, where they hope to find Shyamala.
We
come across, in this saga of their journey some spine-chilling
scenes like bomb blasts, a human bomb exploding before the
very eyes of Amrutha, whom she befriended till then, and the
crucial meet between Shyamala and her daughter.
Whether
Amrutha stays back with her mother or she prefers to stay
with her foster parents or bring Shyamala also to India along
with them, forms the end.
Keerthana
as Amrutha is in constant focus, rightly so. She proves to
be a match to the director's survey of moods in different
situations.
Madhavan
and Simran make an interesting pair. Simran looks altogether
different from earlier films.
She
looks comfortable as a carefree youngster and also in the
role of mother of two children. Madhavan fits well in the
role of Srinivas, the writer, that has indirect bearing on
the story.
Nanditha
Das is worth watching in the final sentiment act set between
her and Keerthana.
Music
by AR Rehman is traditional. Technical backup in all departments
is an asset.
This
film has more to appeal to the intellect. The second half
slows down purposely to portray the right moods, and is definitely
worth watching.
courtesy:
The Hindu
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