Mupparimanam - Terrific premise, average movie

Bharath Vijayakumar

Plot: The hero kidnaps his lady love on the occasion of her supposedly forced wedding.

Mupparimanam is a love story. But what it does with it is rarely seen in movies. It pulls out a terrific twist that you hardly anticipate and this major plot point on which the film hinges is executed well. Director Adhiroopan does a lot of things right and yet the movie just about manages to keep afloat. A little more inventiveness in letting the romance blossom might have done the trick. The movie seems like one of those numerous rural love stories that you have seen many a time before springing in that surprise. The magnitude of the hero's love and the repercussions are felt. But it does not really hit you the way it ought to. Take Guna or Sethu for example. Even if you were a kid and never experienced love in the romantic sense you could feel the pain of the protagonist. But here you would relate to Shanthanu's plight either through personal experience or hearsay if you are an adult.

 
But for someone who has not really experienced love, Mupparimanam might hardly strike a chord. So in essence it is the writing that works more than the execution on screen.

 

The leads do a good job. It is good to see someone like Srushti Dange not throw away a wonderful opportunity. She does come up with a believable performance in the most crucial role of the film. Shantanu seems to be that unassuming actor who can do the needful. The performance of the rest of the cast is strictly pedestrian and this is one more reason why the film never really reaches its potential. The movie should have definitely done away with those attempted heroic moments like Shantanu's intro and the 'Arjunar Villu' like song. They do not fit in here.


Bottlomline:

Mupparimanam has an extremely interesting tale to tell. It works to an extent at a superficial level. But as a cinematic experience it is only an average outing.

Rating: 2.5/5