Director Suraaj’s films until Padikathavan were entertaining if nothing else, but then followed Maappillai and the hideous Alex Pandian. The 2 year hiatus that Suraaj took does nothing to reverse the trend; Sakalakala vallavan is precisely what you would expect from someone whose last two films were Alex Pandian and Maapillai.
*****
Jayam Ravi walks around wearing bright silk-shirts. Cue a flashy intro song. The comedian Soori tries to take on his ‘enemy’ Jayam Ravi and fails miserably each time. The hero saves a girl – Anjali in this case – from falling down the stairs. So love blooms. Then she teaches him to swim and in return, he teaches her to ride a bike. All this learning must’ve been tiring, so they relax with a duet in Thailand.
Every cliche from the Sundar C stable and then some more.
*****
Then Trisha appears, the modern, city-bred contrast to Anjali.
*****
Suraaj’s movies always featured fun comedy sequences ( ‘Naai Sekar‘ from Thalainagaram is a personal favorite), but here, surprisingly, even the humour falls flat even with a bevy of comedians.
Soori’s brand of humour, which banks heavily on his modulation and pronunciation of English words has stale and overused, and Motta Rajendran, as a police officer, again does the only thing he does in every movie of his: yell out lines in a hoarse voice. And his scenes are juvenile at best, like the one where he deputes a look-alike robot to beat up criminals. Yes, really.
Also in the movie are Vivek and Cell Murugan, who have their own track featuring dialogues that are so blatantly vulgar that we can’t pretend that they have a “double meaning.” And they just can’t seem to get over the Thangapushpam’ hangover.
*****
Anjali shows a lot of skin, and Trisha is limited to looking angry and yelling. Jayam Ravi coasts through his role with ease, and there are certain moments in the film where he shines with his expressive eyes. The lack of chemistry between the lead pair is a disappointment.
The film wants to give out a message about saving faltering marriages. Such as,
“City ponnungalukku divorce vaangardhu driving license, vaangara madhiri easy ah pochu” (For city based girls, getting a divorce has become as easy getting a driving license)
“Un pondati-eh nalla adi, un control ku kondu va” (Hit your wife and bring her under your control).
*****
Recommended
Music director Thaman has the easiest job in the film, reusing his songs from Telugu and recycling the songs for his background score. The lyricists do their part, with thoughtful lines like, “ABCD Pappa paatu da, Gumm-nu dhan nikkuraale Tata kaatu da. (English Translation: ABCD, baby, song, bye-bye).
*****
Sakalakala Vallavan is very reminiscent of Murai Maaman, Sundar C’s debut movie which dealt with a similar story and characters. (Including the famous Bedhi-Marundhu scene). But Sakalakala vallavan, despite its flashy star cast fails to be even half as impressive.
And that’s saying something.
*****
P.S The ‘Bulb-u Vaangiten’ song oddly felt like a reflection of my feelings when watching the film.
*****
The Sakalakalavallavan review is a Silverscreen original article. It was not paid for or commissioned by anyone associated with the movie. Silverscreen.in and its writers do not have an advertising relationship with movies that are reviewed on the site.