We identify with these films because we identify with these conflicts. The film doesn’t offer many surprises, but it works because there’s grace, there’s a quiet dignity.
Spoilers ahead…
If there’s something of a trend in indie Tamil cinema today, it’s the village-based human-interest story that revolves around death. First, Madhumitha came out with KD Engira Karuppudurai, which was about an old man who flees a family that’s trying to kill him off in a traditional manner. In Priya Krishnaswamy’s Baaram, we actually saw these ghastly traditions. Now, we have Sethum Aayiram Pon, written and directed by Anand Ravichandran. The film’s first image is innocent enough: it shows Meera (Nivedhithaa Sathish), a Chennai-based makeup artist, headed somewhere in a bus. But listen to the song in the background: Vaarai nee vaarai, from Manthiri Kumari. It’s sung by a husband leading his wife up a mountain, intending to throw her off the top. Meera’s “don’t piss me off” expression suggests she’d welcome that fate.
Read the rest of this review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/sethum-aayiram-pon-tamil-movie-review-its-easy-to-identify-with-this-netflix-drama-baradwaj-rangan
Copyright ©2020 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Rad Mahalikudi
April 5, 2020
I hit upon this movie two days back. Considering the title, I was little bit wary of watching it. Found the synopsis interesting. So, dived in expecting a tear jerker. I was in for a surprise. Liked the movie for its lovely moments, and natural conversations. Two stretches are really done well, the opening one, and the second with Muthupandi, his wife, and his mistress, which you have called out.
LikeLike
ravenus1
August 5, 2020
I loved the almost documentary-style observer stance the film takes when it captures the various death ceremonies. Is the making up of corpses an actual thing in hindu cultures? Asking because I’ve never heard of that in any ceremonies I’ve attended, but then I never got to see ceremonies where professional mourners made up songs about the deceased.
The emotional conflict was okay, although I didn’t understand why the generally fiery Meera should be so low-voiced with a woman that insists on calling her a daughter-in-law (at least she doesn’t start flirting with Kuberan and fulfilling her “filmi destiny”. After the conflict gets deflated, the milieu transforms into a Maniratnam Village (TM) where everyone plays cute with the urbanite.
LikeLike