Merku Thodarchi Malai (U)
24/Aug/2018 2hrs 2mins

3.00

The First Detour Of Tamil Cinema To Its Roots

In the times of 8-Lane Roads in everyday discussions that's looked up as an evil in disguise.. Lenin Bharathi voices out a strong take with his film. Between documenting and being a film, 'Merku Thodarchi Malai', undoubtedly presents you a hard hitting, unheard experience which is beyond everything ...(more)

Source: Suhansid Srikanth, MovieCrow

4.00

A brilliant, rooted slice-of-life fare

Merku Thodarchi Malai is an honest portrayal of a livelihood that had begun to become extinct. Lenin's honesty translates into no-frill cinema -- it doesn't go out of its way to �entertain� you.(more)

Source: Ashameera Aiyappan , Indian Express

4.00

Lenin Bharathi film is a moving tale

Merku Thodarchi Malai non-decoratively depicts the exploitation of labourers. That makes it important. And in a country with a rabid obsession for development, the film comes across as necessity because Lenin seems to be asking, "When you say 'development', whose development are you talking about?"(more)

Source: Kirubhakar Purushothaman, India Today

3.50

The film ends with a bang (even while the filmmaking remains low-key) even as it subtly delivers its message - how development also leads to the destruction of a way of life and a community.

This is all the more relevant in these times of express highways marketed as green corridors. The zoom-out technique, which was used to give us the breathtaking view in the earlier scenes, is employed to even greater effect, leaving us with a punch in the gut.(more)

Source: Suganth, Times Of India

3.00

Merku Thodarchi Malai is an honest attempt with unusual depth in writing.

If you can ignore the slow pace of the film, the director takes you to a different world through his story-telling and Theni Eswar's striking cinematography(more)

Source: Behindwoods Review Board, Behindwoods.com

3.00

Source: Behindwoods Review Board, Behindwoods.com

3.50

Not your typical commercial film

Merku Thodarchi Malai's biggest strength is undoubtedly cinematographer Theni Eshwar, his frames and camera angle effortlessly travel with the characters. Music by Ilaiyaraaja is just functional and nothing extraordinary which is quite unusual for Isaignani�s standards. In various places, Eshwar has...(more)

Source: Moviebuzz, Sify.com

3.50

Directed by Lenin Bharathi and starring Anthony Pangu and Gayathri, this is a strong, stirring, beautifully shot portrayal of life in the Western Ghats

Merku Thodarchi Malai is immensely moving. In one of the expanded-time segments, we see Rangasamy's uphill climb up to the plantation. Names of places (Kombai, Thevaram) keep appearing in a corner of the screen, like how a Hollywood adventure would say "Berlin" and "Morocco." It's like a Virtual Rea...(more)

Source: BARADWAJ RANGAN, Filmcompanion.in