Seethakathi (2018)
With five movies releasing in Tamil alone over the course of a couple of days, I was agonising over which movie to watch in the theater. I had finally narrowed it down to two movies: Kanaa and Seethakathi. And then I ended up going to Seethakathi. Notwithstanding a not-so-great theater experience, I had the satisfaction of having watched a good film. I, like many others, thought this movie was in someway related to the life of the 18th century philanthropist Seethakathi. I couldn't have been more wrong.
Seethakathi tells the story of a veteran of the stage, Adhimoolam 'Ayya' (Vijay Sethupathi) who has lived through the golden age of theater and now lives in times when few people have the patience to appreciate plays.
The first forty minutes of the movie highlights the stages of theater and also the acting expertise of Adhimoolam. While these scenes can be cherished by those who love drama, they can seem a bit slow to the young audience. But that's where the movie takes a huge twist. Adhimoolam dies doing what he does best - acting. Thus Vijay Sethupathi has only about 40 minutes of screen time but he couldn't have chosen a better 25th film. He excels in his role as a great actor as he is already one.
Some might think that the movie might lose steam after Vijay Sethupathi's character's demise. That is most definitely not the case. The movie slowly but steadily builds up to a wonderful climax. On its way, director Balaji Tharaneetharan sprinkles generous amounts of effortless comedy that we loved in Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kanom.
The cast consists of a lot of people from NKPK and they do a damn good job. The court scene in the climax is a worthy end to a wonderful movie. The judge's brief monologue at the end was my favourite part as it just leaves the viewer to interpret the film as he/she likes.
Ultimately Seethakathi is a movie that celebrates art and great artists and also tells in its own way, that great artists never die.
Hence, the final rating is:
10/10 - Amazing
Seethakathi tells the story of a veteran of the stage, Adhimoolam 'Ayya' (Vijay Sethupathi) who has lived through the golden age of theater and now lives in times when few people have the patience to appreciate plays.
The first forty minutes of the movie highlights the stages of theater and also the acting expertise of Adhimoolam. While these scenes can be cherished by those who love drama, they can seem a bit slow to the young audience. But that's where the movie takes a huge twist. Adhimoolam dies doing what he does best - acting. Thus Vijay Sethupathi has only about 40 minutes of screen time but he couldn't have chosen a better 25th film. He excels in his role as a great actor as he is already one.
Some might think that the movie might lose steam after Vijay Sethupathi's character's demise. That is most definitely not the case. The movie slowly but steadily builds up to a wonderful climax. On its way, director Balaji Tharaneetharan sprinkles generous amounts of effortless comedy that we loved in Naduvula Konjam Pakkatha Kanom.
The cast consists of a lot of people from NKPK and they do a damn good job. The court scene in the climax is a worthy end to a wonderful movie. The judge's brief monologue at the end was my favourite part as it just leaves the viewer to interpret the film as he/she likes.
Ultimately Seethakathi is a movie that celebrates art and great artists and also tells in its own way, that great artists never die.
Hence, the final rating is:
10/10 - Amazing
Good review...
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