Cuckoo Review - Poetic as its Title

PUBLISHED DATE : 21/Mar/2014

Cuckoo Review - Poetic as its Title

Cuckoo - Poetic as its Title
Bharath Vijayakumar
Creating a film that depicts the lives of the differently abled is akin to a tight ropewalk. You could end up harping on the difficulties that they face and make a tear jerker that is high on the emotional quotient or you could also easily make a mockery of their day to day routine by some tasteless humour. Debutant director Raju Murugan's Cuckoo is a refreshing take on such people, that for the most part manages to balance the extremes quite well.

Plot:
Cuckoo is the celebration of what you could term as unadulterated love. Two noble souls who live a life of dignity despite their visual impairment fall in love. The film tracks their individual lives, the interesting circumstances that lead to them falling in love and then the hardships they need to face to unite.

Cast:
If you ever wondered why there has been no release(apart from the cameo in Pannaiyarum Padminiyum) for Dinesh after an impressive outing in Attakathi, Cuckoo is the answer. In a role that should have been draining physically as well as emotionally Dinesh is brilliant. After a while you in fact forget that it is an actor enacting a role. Matching him frame to fame is newcomer Malavika. Her face sparkles with the innocence of a newborn. This performance from this  talented lead pair of Cuckoo is one of the best we have seen in recent times. The supporting cast which comprises mostly newcomers including some specially abled have done a neat job.

Crew:
Composer Santhosh Narayanan mesmerises you with his lilting melodies. The songs in Cuckoo are definitely one too many. Yet the quality of the songs is such that you do not mind it. Beautiful pieces from Maestro Illaiyaraja's works too have been utilised in the film. P. K. Varma's cinematography deserves special mention. The busy railway stations, the interiors of trains and the stage shows held at night have all been captured with great attention to detail.

Direction:
Raju Murugan catches your attention even as the starting credits roll with famous dialogues from different films resonating against a dark screen which is how these films would have been felt by the visually impaired. The love story itself has been dealt as a normal one. Apart from the fact that the pair is not able to see each other there is everything in the film which any other romantic film would have. The characters have been sketched in such a way that you do not have anyone who is completely evil.There is not a single scene in the film where the characters feel bad for their disability. Raju Murugan deserves applause for portraying such positivity on screen.

The film distances itself a little from reality towards the later half when melodrama seems to have been squeezed in. At the end in the long drawn climax when Dinesh is desperately searching for his girl in a crowded station it does look odd as to why he did not take someone along with him. When he has good hearted people  around him who are willing to part with huge amount of money to help him, this seems just an excuse to induce tears in our eyes.

Bottomline:
Cuckoo is celebration of pure love that is made worthwhile by the performance of the lead cast. Excuse the melodrama at a few places and the film is as poetic as its title.

Verdict:
3.25/5
Related Links : Cuckoo User Rating 

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