In today's addition of Mani Ratnam Week, we have Gharshana, the old one. We have reached a point where we are gonna see some of the lesser known works of him in the 80's. After Mouna Raagam, Nayakudu and Geethanjali, this film was also a very big hit winning the Filmfare Award for Best Film (Tamil) and many other awards. So, how's the film overall. Let's find out.
Gharshana is a 1989 family drama film starring Karthik, Prabhu in lead roles. It is directed by Mani Ratnam with his usual technical team with PC Sreeram, Ilayaraaja etc. The story revolves around Viswanath who marries two wives and due to this there are complicated family problems. The rest of the film is basically an exploration of this family and how they solve their problems.
The screenplay of the film is intense. This film is very similar to Dalapathi in the intensity and family emotions although both the films are very different. The film's central idea is about having another family i.e., maintaining two families. In the 80's this topic is taboo. So, it is already bold. Also, the family dynamics themselves are very realistic and gripping. The character study on each and every person presents another layer in this society. The head of the family, Viswanath is not shy of the fact that he maintains two families but while trying to maintain two families, their sons turn against him radically for different reasons leading to a conflict. The mothers understand everything and try to adjust to the surroundings. The leads of the film aka Ashok and Gautham are the people affected by the society and are boiling against each other leading to a clash. But, bonding this very broken family is love for each other despite the differences. This family tale is overall very gripping. The addition of a villainBut, it is not the best film Mani Ratnam has ever done. It is due to the unnecessary subplots he has added into the film. Look, I know the intentions of adding them. But, they are so loosely connected to the central plotline that they are just distracting. The love stories are just plain filler so that they could accommodate the songs into the film. The one sub-plot involving a driver and a manager is especially bad. So, this film is a strong despite the sub-plots diluting the intensity a lot.
The actors give strong performances. The leads Karthik and Prabhu really brought the intense nature of the film to life. Vijayakumar as the father understands the role really well and gives a very nice performance. Sumithra and Jayachithra as the mothers are very good where we really connect to their tender nature. Tara as the sister of Gautham and Ashok is very good as the kind natured foil of the family. The heroines have little scope in the film. Amala Akkineni has very little to do but Nirosha got good fame from the film with all the swimsuits. Janagaraj and V.K.Ramaswamy give good acting performances but yeah, they are not that great.
The technical aspects of the film are good for the time. The cinematography of the film was very nice using that shining effect very well. The music and background score of the film by Ilayaraaja is good by his standards. He used classical carnatic raagas to good use in this film making this album a very melodious one. The editing of the film was good but in parts the cuts were clumsy. Due to the lack of technology in that time, the climax of the film does not quite hold up despite its potential. The chase scenes in particular would have gotten better cuts. All other departments have made their best efforts to give this film a realistic touch.
This film is definitely one of those Mani Ratnam above average films. It is still strong considering his filmography and some of his later films. It has a very strong central plotline and very solid characters and basically everything that has them is very solid. But, everything else in the film is just below average. If you want to watch this film, maybe prepare yourselves and lower your expectations. It is on aha.video app.
The screenplay of the film is intense. This film is very similar to Dalapathi in the intensity and family emotions although both the films are very different. The film's central idea is about having another family i.e., maintaining two families. In the 80's this topic is taboo. So, it is already bold. Also, the family dynamics themselves are very realistic and gripping. The character study on each and every person presents another layer in this society. The head of the family, Viswanath is not shy of the fact that he maintains two families but while trying to maintain two families, their sons turn against him radically for different reasons leading to a conflict. The mothers understand everything and try to adjust to the surroundings. The leads of the film aka Ashok and Gautham are the people affected by the society and are boiling against each other leading to a clash. But, bonding this very broken family is love for each other despite the differences. This family tale is overall very gripping. The addition of a villainBut, it is not the best film Mani Ratnam has ever done. It is due to the unnecessary subplots he has added into the film. Look, I know the intentions of adding them. But, they are so loosely connected to the central plotline that they are just distracting. The love stories are just plain filler so that they could accommodate the songs into the film. The one sub-plot involving a driver and a manager is especially bad. So, this film is a strong despite the sub-plots diluting the intensity a lot.
The actors give strong performances. The leads Karthik and Prabhu really brought the intense nature of the film to life. Vijayakumar as the father understands the role really well and gives a very nice performance. Sumithra and Jayachithra as the mothers are very good where we really connect to their tender nature. Tara as the sister of Gautham and Ashok is very good as the kind natured foil of the family. The heroines have little scope in the film. Amala Akkineni has very little to do but Nirosha got good fame from the film with all the swimsuits. Janagaraj and V.K.Ramaswamy give good acting performances but yeah, they are not that great.
The technical aspects of the film are good for the time. The cinematography of the film was very nice using that shining effect very well. The music and background score of the film by Ilayaraaja is good by his standards. He used classical carnatic raagas to good use in this film making this album a very melodious one. The editing of the film was good but in parts the cuts were clumsy. Due to the lack of technology in that time, the climax of the film does not quite hold up despite its potential. The chase scenes in particular would have gotten better cuts. All other departments have made their best efforts to give this film a realistic touch.
This film is definitely one of those Mani Ratnam above average films. It is still strong considering his filmography and some of his later films. It has a very strong central plotline and very solid characters and basically everything that has them is very solid. But, everything else in the film is just below average. If you want to watch this film, maybe prepare yourselves and lower your expectations. It is on aha.video app.
IMDb Rating : 7.8/10
My Rating : 7.5/10
No comments:
Post a Comment