Kalavaramaye Madilo (KM) is like the biriyani your younger sister made on your birthday. The effort is honest and genuine, but the result is not exactly what you would rave about. KM is a neat and clean film with some good music but unfortunately, an overdose of unnecessary melodrama and a highly predictable climax prove to be its undoing. Then there’s the unfolding of the loose screenplay. At first, the film appears to be the story of a young girl who is ready to go to any extent to become a world-class singer. Then, it meanders into a love story and just in case the family audiences feel slighted, family sentiments too kick in. Sticking to any one thread would have made far more impact and thereby given the film a sharper focus as well.
Still, the first half moves like a breeze as you are given a glimpse into Shreya life, her dreams and desires. Her stint as a hotel singer provides for a good one hour of entertainment and the two songs she sings in the hotel are superb. The first, the title number, is a lovely melody and should have ideally been used in the climax where Shreya has to sing to win a prize. The second song is also extremely well-composed. It is following this song that the elderly musician gives a lowdown to Shreya about her lack of seriousness and abysmal knowledge about singing.
His characterisation, so critical to the film, is another weak point in the film. He is shown as an alcoholic and is supposed to be a genius who never had his share of fame. His role is meant to command respect and intrigue the audience but he acts like such a bully and ruffian (often for no reason) that he actually ends up being annoying. Worse, his passion for music just doesn’t come across in any frame. Shreya now wants to learn music from him and him alone just because her dream boy, Sreenu, asks her to do so.
Sreenu is the tall, brooding understated guy with whom Shreya falls in love. However, he just doesn’t get the hint about her feelings for him from her overtures. Admittely, the scenes of Shreya repeatedly trying to drop obvious hints to Sreenu about her love are funny but he comes across as an obtuse and insensitive guy as the I-don’t-get-the-message bit is taken a little too far. Still, the scenes between Sreenu and his mother have been nicely conceived.
The big plot twist is that the music teacher turns out to be her father (who was separated with her mother early in life) and Shreya now takes it upon herself to save him from the awful throat cancer he is suffering from. Well, don’t we all know the climax? You bet it’s a triple bonanza – her parents unite, she gets an offer from AR Rahman to sing for him and her dream boy proposes to her. This is how life should be!
KM is Swathi’s film all the way. She gets an author-backed role to which she does full justice. Her ability to choose the right roles and not fall for routine glamour roles should stand her in good stead. She looks cute in every frame and feminine in the romantic duets. Her clothes and makeup are good. Of the rest of the cast, Delhi Rajeshwari, who plays Shreya’s mom, has a meaty role and deserves a special mention.
Musically, the film the movie belongs to singer Chithra all the way. So much so that in the female solos, you actually imagine singer Chithra instead of Swathi. Most of the songs are a capella (only vocals, very little music) and is music to the ears. Sharath Vasudevan’s music shows brilliant strokes in the title song and the Tholi Tholi Aaselenno, number too will be hummed for a long time to come. However, the climax song fails to be the rousing number it should have been. Cinematography is efficient, particularly in the songs picturised outdoors.
KM may do better in the audio zone (with the FM stations playing its songs at least a dozen times a day) but get constrained by a limited patronage from multiplex audiences. Released in a small way, the film is obviously targeted for a niche audience. With no star power or mass masala, KM relies heavily on its music to pull through. Will it? Time will tell...
