Manmadhan Anbu - A ridiculous waste of talent and resources

The latest offering from Kamal haasan and Director KS Ravikumar had everything going for it

• A pedigree of succesful and funny movies - Avvai Shanmugi, Thenali, Panchathantiram
• An enviable star cast - Kamal, Trisha, Madhavan, Sangeetha, Ramesh Aravind, Urvasi,  Usha Uthup and in a guest role, Surya
• The marketing of the movie including the promos made it clear that it is going to be a visual treat covering Europe including a cruise.
• A powerful production banner which is owned by the son of the second most powerful person in the state. However, considering that this person or his cousin pretty much produce every movie these days, it might not be such a USP after all. Nevertheless this was a sure indication that cost would not be a constraint for the film and that it would definitely be an extravagnaza.

Considering this powerful background, the film turns out to be a major disappointment. The first half of the movie is relatively palatable with the gradual build up of the plot - A jealous &rich boyfriend (Madhavan) of a major movie star (Trisha) sends a detective & ex-army major (Kamal) to figure out if Trisha is going to be doing something naughty on an European vacation, that she is enjoying with her childhood friend & now divorced single mother of two (Sangeetha). The major is undertaking this trip to help his friend (Ramesh Aravind) who is suffering from cancer. Amidst a slew of funny one-liners and slapstick comedy, the plot slowly but surely leads to an interesting twist by the time of intermission.  As i went out to get some popcorn from the stalls at mayajaal, I was still looking forward to how things would shape up from then on.

Nothing however could have prepared me for the ridiculous fare that took place after intermission. It was almost like the script-writer and director were so caught up in the beauty of Europe that they forgot their primary job. None of the actions of the characters really make any sense leading to the absolutely ridiculous climax. I have never been disappointed by a Kamal movie ever since he started his experimentation with the epic Nayagan in the late 80s. Have thoroughly enjoyed all the different genres that he has attempted (Anbe Sivam, Guna, Michal Madana Kama Rajan, Apoorva Sagotharargal, Hey Ram, Dasavatharam, Indian, Unnai Pol Oruvan to name a few). With this record, i just could not undertand how Kamal could have allowed this ridicuous fare to have been made. There is a song which is supposed to have been uniquely picturised which outlined Kamal's flashback but it left us quite confused and with a headache at the end of it.

Now coming to the positives

• For those of us who are not that lucky to go on an European tour, we do indeed get a visual treat.
• Trisha, who is never really renowned for powerpacked performances probably seems the only sane character in the entire movie through her simple portrayal.
• The slapstick comedy does work in parts. You might actually enjoy it if you ignore the lacklustre script.

I hope that the Ulaganayagan realises that he has a reputation to live upto and makes sure that he does not tread the path what his supposed successors seem to be doing these days. As far as i am concerned, this fare is money down the drain.