May 8, 2010

Irumbu Kottai Murattu Singam Review




Starring: Lawrence, Lakshmi Rai, Padmapriya, Sandhya, Ramesh Kanna.
Direction: Simbu Devan
Music: G V Prakash
Production: AGS Entertainment
Welcome to the world of Wild Western- cowboys, horses, revolvers, cards and country music! Irumbu Kottai Murattu Singam (IKMS), the third offering from Simbu Devan, delves in all these which have not been handled for quite a while in Tamil cinema. Of course, Simbu proclaims his work to be completely a make-believe one and any shortfall (in this department) can be justified.

The film begins with a small intro of cowboy culture and an imaginary extrapolation of this into our civilization. The entire premise of the film is set in a cowboy milieu.

Raghava Lawrence has been sentenced to murder in Sholaypur (where Amitabh Bachchan adorns the place of Mahatma Gandhi in the court) because of a loss of a precious diamond in his workplace and in the nick of the moment he has
 
been kidnapped by Ilavarasu, Mouli and company who promise that he can protect their clan (Jaishankarpuram) from the clutches of the cruel one-eyed Nasser due to his striking resemblance to their leader Murattu Singam who went missing some time back. In return, they will give him the precious diamond - Mullangi Vairam (very similar to the one that was stolen) and he can get his job back.

In further course, Lawrence lands in Jaishankarpuram where he finds his love-interest Padmapriya. He also encounters Nasser of Irumbu Kottai and USApuram who is flanked by his deputies Lakshmi Rai and Saikumar (Ulakkai). Lawrence also stumbles upon the Red Indian Chief M S Bhaskar and his daughter Sandhya. One thing leads to another and a group goes on a treasure hunt to find the precious diamond and wealth with a map. The rest of IKMS is all about this hunt and whether Jaishankarpuram gets freed from USApuram and Nasser and what happens to Lawrence.

The film scores high on the art department and hats off to art director Muthuraj who deserves a standing ovation for creating the right kind of feel. He takes us into a different world. Costumer Sai’s hard work is perceivable in every costume of the long line of star cast. Each one’s costume is distinct from other. Music by GV Prakash renders the apt feel and his background score gels well.

Raghava Lawrence impresses with his style, and his practice sessions with the gun, card and horse are evident. Heroines do not have much of a role in IKMS except for a song each. The true performers are M S Bhaskar, his interpreter (Sams) and Nasser. If the special Red Indian language is hilarious, Sams's antics give us stomach spasms due to rip roaring laughter especially in the treasure hunt scene where he very diligently translates every move of his chief even while he is hanging from a cliff and later when they are tied down by Nasser’s men.

The treasure hunt scene is an amalgam of Takeshi’s castle, Mackenna’s Gold and Indiana Jones Adventures and this scene could be an extreme source of merriment especially for children. The 350-feet statue in this scene is brilliant.

The long list of star cast includes Vyapuri, Mouli, V S Raghavan, Manorama, Ramesh Kanna, Ilavarasu and Delhi Ganesh who all have a small role to play in.

Simbu Devan should certainly be applauded for giving the audience an all new experience and his hard work is palpable. On the flipside, he does not engage the audience completely and loses his grip on them on and off. There are times when the film appears outright childish. The screen play meanders a while and there is a jump of genre here and there.

All in all, IKMS is a clean, adventure, comedy which would appeal to children and young minded adults.

Verdict: A neat adventure comedy for the summer!

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