Movie: Kalyana Samayal Saadham
Director: R.S Prasanna
Cast: Prasanna Venkatesan, Lekha Washington, Delhi Ganesh, Uma Padmanabhan and Crazy Mohan
Rating: ****
What makes a man a ‘man’? Is it his pair of balls and a penis or the ability to perform in bed? These questions form the premise of the boldly entertaining “Kalyana Samayal Saadham”, which captures scenes from a south Indian arranged marriage and help us understand that the true definition of a man goes beyond his manhood. Walking a tight rope between rom-com and adult-comedy, the film marries the two genres with a modern-day attitude and leaves a lasting effect.
The film at heart is a love story of a soon-to-be-married couple – Raghu (Prasanna) and Meera (Lekha) – who have to deal with a very personal problem weeks before their wedding. When Raghu comes to learn that he suffers from ‘performing anxiety’, his idea of a post-marital life is crumbled to pieces. But Meera stands by him and so does his friends.
In KSS, a modern-day romance is pitted against the traditional values of our culture. In the world of Facebook and Twitter, do you give preference to century’s old cultural doctrines to please your parents or stand up and say ‘no’? Or is there a way can you try to be in vogue without having to compromise your tradition? Answers to these questions are subtly put forth here reinstating the fact that culture and contemporary ideologies can co-exist.
Prasanna neither roots for arranged marriages nor proves love marriages promise happiness. Focusing on the issues that create havoc at an arranged wedding, he also throws spotlight on trivial things about which people in love fight all the time. It is very important as a filmmaker to not take sides and the director scores an ace in not doing so. He instead allows the audience to choose what is apt for them without trying to be preachy.
Another interesting aspect of KSS is that it allows you to see a south Indian wedding through the eyes of two incompatible generations (parents and children). I think it is only in Indian weddings that the parents want to take ownership of everything when it ideally belongs to the couple. Prasanna takes a stance against this and subtly uses his characters to drive the point across, again without trying to be moralistic but with a great sense of humor.
When Raghu discovers that he suffers from ‘performance anxiety’, he feels stripped off his ability to perform in bed. His immediate reaction is proof to what most men think in such circumstances and feel less manly. But Raghu is complemented by a stronger character played by Meera, who admits that sex is important to her but is ready to help him overcome his problem because she loves him. Here, love is not the pleasure derived out of sex but out of togetherness.
One needs iron balls to handle a controversial subject and since Prasanna pulled it off with unparalleled sensitivity, he has got them. It’s risky to use comedy to underplay the subject at hand but thanks to the use of clean yet naughty humour, it works in the favour of the film. The humor is so good that you would mostly laugh with the jokes but at it.
Love in KSS is not melodramatic; it’s cute and akin to modern times. It reminds us of the times we live in where changing the relationship status on Facebook is as important as any other activity in our lives.
The characters make you smile from the get go. Be it the over protective father, played by Delhi Ganesh, of Meera or Raghu’s NRI friend (Raghav) who’s not a cliché. You laugh with them and also stop and ponder when they do. That’s the kind of impact they leave on you. When was the last time you connected with the characters in a Tamil film?
Lekha and Prasanna make a great pair on screen. Both play characters that are a rarity in Tamil cinema and yet we laud them because they didn’t hesitate to go against the grain. Actor Prasanna deserves a special mention for taking up a role that could have easily made him a joke in the industry, but he played it with conviction and it reflects on screen.
If you want your cinematic appetite to be satisfied, then you shouldn’t miss KSS.
