Spoilers ahead…
Read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/kaatrin-mozhi-movie-review-jyothika-vidharth-lakshmi-manchu/
In Radhamohan’s Kaatrin Mozhi (The Language of the Wind), Jyothika plays Vijayalakshmi (Viji), an endlessly enthusiastic housewife whose mantra is “Ennaala mudiyum.” (I can do it.) In the first scene, this can-do spirit is put to test in a lemon-and-spoon race. Her husband, Balakrishnan/Balu (Vidharth), eggs her on with Ajith’s lines from Vivegam: “Never. Ever. Give up.” It’s a comic scene, but with a dash of irony. This is a harmless sport, using harmless kitchen products (a lemon, a spoon). Would Balu be as encouraging if his wife set out to do something less… housewifely? The film — adapted from Suresh Triveni’s Tumhari Sulu — presents both ends of the working-woman spectrum: the woman who sells ready-made food to the residents of an apartment complex (a safe, “womanly” profession) versus the woman who drives a cab round the clock. Viji veers towards the latter category when she becomes the RJ of a late-night radio show. Where are the Ajith dialogues now?
In 1963, Satyajit Ray began the on-screen debate on gender roles with the exquisite Mahanagar. There, it was a compulsion. The hesitant wife took up a job because of the financial pressure the family was under, and, to everyone’s surprise, she began to bloom. (The husband, correspondingly, wilted.) Tumhari Sulu is a lighter take on this premise, but more than five decades on, how amazing that the middle-class male — here, too, his job situation is iffy — is still threatened by a woman’s independence. The modern-day twist is that Sulu/Viji works not because of the money but because the job makes her happy. She’s stepping out of the house to do something other than just, say, pay the electricity bill. A power imbalance is imminent.
Tumhari Sulu was delicately textured, beautifully directed. The music score enhanced the scenes discreetly, hinting at emotions slightly tangential to the ones on screen. The supporting cast was aces. Manav Kaul’s slow-simmering chemistry with Vidya Balan came across as equal parts love and exasperation. And the glorious heroine, of course, made every scene sing. Kaatrin Mozhi, on the other hand, is a loud TV serial. (It even looks like one.) People seem to be delivering lines by rote rather than interacting with their co-stars. Vidharth looks uneasy opposite Jyothika, who oversells every emotion. (She does hit a few nice notes in the latter portions, though.) Lakshmi Manchu and Kumaravel (as Viji’s boss and colleague) are reduced to props, and Yogi Babu is used, once again, in jokes that play on his looks. MS Baskar shows everyone up in the one big scene he gets. It takes great skill to make shameless melodrama convincing, affecting and, above all, honest. As written, it’s a shrewdly manipulative scene, but he plays it like it’s a chapter from his own life.
Continued at the link above.
Copyright ©2018 Film Companion.
shaviswa
November 16, 2018
Oh I loved Vidya Balan in Tumhari Sulu……she was so endearing, so charming and so believable. The way she depiected Sulu as a vivacious woman was what worked in that film. I doubt if Jyothika can bring even 20% of that in this Tamil version.
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Anu Warrier
November 16, 2018
I must confess to having watched only the trailer of this film – and found myself quite annoyed. I don’t mind Jyothika, but I hated what she’d done to the role that Vidya did so… so… ‘normally’.
I could buy into Vidya being just the person she’s playing – a middle-class woman who doesn’t have much of an education, and is the butt of scorn of everyone in her family for her ‘loudness’. Unabashedly vulgar even, but because she doesn’t really give a damn, it comes across as refreshingly honest. Her laugh, the unselfconscious behaviour, the slight ‘one-upping’ that she does – for her own satisfaction – they all came across as natural to her. If one didn’t know better, you would think that Sulu was Vidya.
Jo was too refined to be in that space; her house was too perfect; her performance not quite as uninhibited. (And all this, just from the trailer!) It is the same issue I had when Jo did the remake of ‘How old are you?’ That film had its share of problems (didn’t come close to another woman-emerging-stronger-for-a-crisis film – English Vinglish) but Manju Warrier owned the role.
The problem with Jo is that she’s neither Vidya Balan nor Manju Warrier – not even close. And from what you say, this Sulu needs a man to rescue her. But I suppose that’s for Tamil audiences? That’s a shame in and of itself. 😦
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V
November 17, 2018
The movie was warmly received by the audience in the theater where I watched it today. Jo somehow has had a very solid fan base right from her debut, which is now exalted due to her image as a perfect wife/mom/d.i.l. Namma oor Audience comes to the theaters with all this glorious backstory of how Jo sacrificed her career (including the latest offer in Mersal) to be an ideal woman and they end up lapping up these sumaar performances with great gusto. Had say Amala Paul done this role, even when with more flair,.it would have been dismissed because in her personal life she doesnt have those shining badges like Jo. Drawing parallels to the heroines’ real life is a common practice here and with the exception of say Nayantara, all the other actresses just cant shake off their baggage that easily.
Vidya Balan’s was a free spirited performance and Jothika can at the max pat herself for rising above the Chandramukhi type of histrionics and nothing more. But for Tamizh, this film sees a chance of scoring at the box office only because it is a Jo show.
(I felt sorry for Vidaarth who gave a very earnest performance but seemed very wary of getting too close to the much married Jo. Couldnt help but think of Ae dil hai mushkil with Aish & Ranbir. )
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Siva
November 17, 2018
I want to rant about the movie’s lazy title.
Movie Title: Kaatrin Mozhi
I understand this is a remake. And that a version of the whole movie is available at the director’s disposal to reuse. I wouldn’t call that lazy film making though. Because a remake happens for a multitude of reasons. The most obvious one — it is a safe bet in most cases.
On the other hand, what I would term as lazy is the movie’s title. Is it because Radha Mohan directed Mozhi as well, whose song lyric is used as the title? Is it because Jyothika was the lead in Mozhi too?
This is no better than naming a movie by reusing a yester year movie’s title — for no apparent reason whatsoever.
When these directors are often inquired about the reuse of an old movie’s title or a song lyric, their standard defense is of the likes of:
” Hey, we used that name because that title suits best for our movie. We could not have imagined a better title even if we had tried. ”
Oh, boo freaking hoo! Just accept that you are too lazy to even think of a fresh title (be it a remake or an original) for a movie you spent months creating. Just accept that you are trying to steal undue mileage for your new movie by reusing an existing title or song lyric. Just accept you guys have no imagination. Just accept you guys are brain dead.
My frustration is not aimed just at Radha Mohan (who otherwise makes harmless movies). But towards all of those lazy ones.
Because this is stupid. It insults the viewer — who, in most cases is not aware of it and instead buys into it.
Today’s Thamizh TV serials does the same too. If we peek a glance at the evening program list of Sun or Vijay or Zee Thamizh channels, we could see a bunch of new and old movie names, only that all of them are slotted for not more than 30 minutes. Why bother, huh? I mean, when your target audience have no choice but to watch your crap, right?
How do you expect audiences to enter the auditorium with at least some sort of belief in your film making if you are announcing beforehand that you are too lazy to even imagine a new title for your movie? Do you expect the audience to blindly back your product because albeit unoriginal, the faux naming makes it appear like a known commodity? Now, that is cheating.
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Rad Mahalikudi
November 17, 2018
@Siva: I completely understand but I think we are expecting too much from Kollywood. Their bar is very low to begin with.
It frustrates me also. When I heard the title Polladhavan when it came out, I wasn’t sure what to expect. For the content, Vetrimaran could have chosen a better title than Polladhavan. Only connection was Dhanush is Rajni’s SIL. Similarly Padikkathavan, uthamaputhiran. Lack of creativity and imagination.
Coming to Kaatrin Mozhi, plan to watch it considering the story content. Will close my eyes when Jyo goes too cute with her face expressions. IMO, she has progressed just little with her acting skills from Poovellam Kettu Par time (ignoring her guest role in Vaali).
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jaschek
November 17, 2018
@Siva, I thought the title was in some way a reference to radio waves ? since she is an RJ
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shemz
November 17, 2018
@Siva – I share your gripe about lazy movie titles and rehashing old titles. But just in this instance alone, it feels like a reference to her job as an RJ, like jaschek mentioned. It is also a nod to Mozhi, one of jyotika’s hit films (family audience film) before marriage, also directed by Radha Mohan.
Coming to the old movie titles, When I saw Gulebagavali, I was like ‘forget lip sync within the movie, will Hansika be able to say the title?’. But I fondly remember that movie title popularly used in dumb charades for its difficulty (of course we had no other clue as to the movie, so it was hard as hell to act or identify!)
Also, the long titles, lead by ‘Naduvula konjam pakkatha kaanom’ (oh it was whimsical and apt for that movie), ‘en aaloda seuppa kaanom’ ‘en da thalaila enna vekkala’ ‘Naalu peruku nalladhuna edhuvum thappilla!’ what’s up with those!!
Waiting for Udhayanidhi to call his next movie ‘aandavan solran arunachalam mudikkaran!’ !!
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brangan
November 17, 2018
Given the discussion on titles, I wonder what people are going to say about this one 😀
https://www.filmibeat.com/tamil/movies/ivanukku-engaiyo-macham-irukku.html#story
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Aadhy
November 17, 2018
“But I fondly remember that movie title popularly used in dumb charades for its difficulty”
Yay Shemz, glad to know you’ve also used Gulebagavali in dumb charades. Films like Gulebagavali (the older one) and Soorasamharam stood the test of time just to be unleashed as weapons of team destruction in dumb charades.
Adding to the list of long weird titles, may I also present, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/En_Aaloda_Seruppa_Kaanom
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V
November 17, 2018
Ayyayo + Lolz Shemz 🙂 Udayanidhi already gave us Saravanan irukka Bayamen only coz his character was named Saravanan in his fluke hit OKOK. Ippo this one will certainly get him thinking
Oh and few more from our Dumb C list:
—- Yogiyan Varaan Somba Thooki Ulla Vai (yes it exists)
—– Rajathi Raja Raja Kulothunga Raja Marthanda Raja Gambeera Kathavaraya Krishna Kamarajan
—— Kuva Kuva Vaathukkal
——- Kalakkura Chandhru
—— Leelai (this is a bit tough to get)
🙂 One of the recent titles I liked inspite of it being long was Enai nokki paayum thotta – but should wait and see if it complements the storyline.
Siva: As someone said, like Radha Mohan’s movies, his titles are also harmless. Neither creative nor irritating. Ive come to the stage where even this is ok.
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Siva
November 18, 2018
How about this gem?
” Namma Oorukku Ennadhaan Aachu?” 😀 #நம்மஊருக்குஎன்னதான்ஆச்சு
Remember this “No Smoking” advert/disclaimer/awareness video aired in theaters immediately after the mid-movie intermission for Thamizh movies?
The highlight of the original video is the pronunciation of the term “meerinaal abaraadhAAm” (not abaraadham 😛 ) #அபராதாம் #அபராதம்
I have long had this question though. In most hindi-to-tamil dubbed commercials like this on TV, why do they use Hindi speaking people who can also speak Thamizh (I guess they do. Or do they just read out transliterated words!? 😀 ) to dub the lines into Thamizh (sometimes incorrectly; with extremely funny Thamizh pronunciation on most occasions), instead of just hiring people from Chennai to dub it with a more natural pronunciation of the language? Can’t these advert agencies setup an office in Chennai to get this done? Or at least outsource the dubbing work to a different, but native ad agency located in Chennai? What could be the hindrance — logistics? cost? The ad will lose the pints of Hindi flavor? 😛
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Siva
November 18, 2018
” Namma Oorukku Ennadhaan Aachu?” #நம்மஊருக்குஎன்னதான்ஆச்சு
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sachita
November 19, 2018
I couldnt even finish watching the trailer. When I watched tumhari sulu, I enjoyed it as a small movie and slightly let down by the climax without enough drama. And so loved the husband character. Nothing more.
Ever since watching this trailer, I couldnt stand jo here and realize how awesome vidya’s acting had been.
Couldnt they even get the hello right?
Jyothika’s noble(?) intention cannot be an excuse for her to butcher role after role. Why couldnt they have cast simran in this role?
(36 vayadinale was ok)
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Iswarya
November 19, 2018
Strange the directions in which discussions go on this blog.. 🙂 Such nostalgia triggers!
My top 10 list of charades-ready movie titles that nobody asked for:
(1) Petra Maganai Vitra Annai
(2) Thaai Magalukku Kattiya Thaali
(3) Manalane Mangayin Bhagyam
(4) Dhikkatra Parvathi
(5) Keezh Vaanam sivakkum
(6) Parattai Engira Azhagusundaram
(7) Krishnaveni Panjaalai
(8) Oru Oodhappoo Kan Simittugiradhu
(9) Pudhukkottaiyilirundhu Saravanan
(10) Jagathalaprathapan
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Sifter
November 19, 2018
@Sachita, yes, Simran would have been a better choice.
Dunno why, but everyone in my family always called it Kulebakaavali.
Kanavaney Kankanda Deivam
Thaikkupin Tharam
Pathi Bakhti
Kattila Thottila
Karpukkarasi
Pathini Deivam
Pennkulathin Ponvilakku
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Daisy
November 19, 2018
I agree with Anu. I could not even watch the trailer. Though there were problems with Tumhari Sulu, Vidhya was just amazing. Somehow Vidhya’s normal saree draping, less than perfect hairstyle, non size zero figure made her look like a regular housewife. Only saving grace seems to be Jyothika has dubbed for this role, though the “Hello” portions sound awful. I just watched Maheshinte Prathikaram. Even the couple of film old lead actresses in that movie were way better than over acting Jyothika who has been in the industry for over 20 years
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Just Bangladesh
November 24, 2018
My favorite for dumb charades is Mercury Pookal. There’s no way you can give good clues to this. So, my friend ended up whispering the name to me a la Vivek’s Amitabh Bachchan from NRNR coz he was tired of play-acting like a deaf and dumb news reader.
Also just a trivia for those who don’t know this. The long title from Mansoor Ali Khan’s movie is not the ‘thuthi’ about a king but Senthil’s name in the movie, where he acts as the Lorry Cleaner.
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magnus1ram
December 27, 2018
@Siva: FM = Kartrin Mozhi.
In our endeavor to stand out and flaunt our wisdom, we loose sight of other’s point and that translates to arrogance.
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