Maniyar Kudumbam review: Entertaining family drama that is also a visual treat

National award winning actor Thambi Ramaiah has turned to direction with Maniyar Kudumbam, a comedy drama with a generous dose of action.

The veteran actor has also written the story, screenplay and dialogues, and has even composed music for the film, which he hopes will prove to be a strong platform for his son, Umapathy, to establish himself as a hero in the Tami film industry.

The film is an engaging entertainer that works in most parts. Narthanga Sami (Thambi Ramaiah) is a landlord, who has no land left as he does not believe in earning his living. He does no work and relies on his family's laurels. To make ends meet, he often sells off portions from the property bequeathed to him by his ancestors.

The state of affairs is so bad that he has sold off everything other than his home. He resorts to selling expensive materials from his house, like doors, to meet the monthly expenses of his family, that includes his loyal and obedient wife, his aged mother, and his equally good-for-nothing son, Kuttimani (Umapathy).

Although Narthanga Sami is on the verge of turning a pauper, the villagers respect him as he is a good man at heart. More importantly, he is naive and lacks the practical understanding of how the world works. Narthanga Sami has two problems — his apathy towards making an income and the his addiction to horse racing that is one of the primary reasons of his current state of penury.

His younger sister lives with her husband (Jayaprakash) and daughter Magizhalam Poo (Mridula Murali) in a neighbouring village. This family is financially well off as both the father and Magizhalam earn well. Magizhalam is in love with Kuttimani, with whom she hopes to marry soon. However, her father does not agree. He does not want to get his daughter married into a family that lives by selling off the doors of their home. So, one day, when Narthanga Sami, along with his relatives and villagers, comes to seek the hand of Mridula for Kuttimani, Jayaprakash insults and sends them away. Kuttimani challenges Jayaprakash saying he will start his own business, succeed in a matter of six months and then make Jayaprakash get down on his knees and beg him to marry Magizhalam.

Magizhalam, who is shocked by these sudden developments, decides to help Kuttimani win the challenge. She suggests that he set up a windmill farm. As for the capital of Rs3 crores required to set up such a plant, Rs1 crore could come from the government's subsidy scheme, Rs 1crore could be procured as loans from banks and another Rs1 crore could be generated from the public by making them shareholders in the firm. Kuttimani takes Magizhalam's advice and sets to work. The villagers, who have immense respect for the Maniyar family, willingly contribute their hard-earned money. After collecting a crore, Kuttimani and his father Narthanga Sami decide to go to the city to finish the formalities of applying for the government subsidy and bank loans. They hire a cab and take the collected cash along.

However, half way through, the driver tricks them into getting off the car and flees with the money. Having lost the cash, the father-son duo return home only to face the ire of the villagers. What does the family do? Do they manage to repay the villagers? Does Kuttimani become an entreprenuer? Does he marry Magizhalam?

Thambi Ramaiah, a veteran actor and more importantly a comedian, seems to know exactly what works on screen and what doesn't. The humourous manner in which the story is narrated keeps the audiences engaged.

The romantic portions between Kuttimani and Magizhalam too are cute and interesting. More importantly, the manner in which Narthanga Sami's family sticks together, despite facing extreme hardships, makes the film endearing. All of these factors work in favour of the film.

Both Umapathy and Mridula Murali have done a neat job. Umapathy, in particular, looks promising as an actor. The youngster seems to have built his body just for this role and looks very convincing in the fight sequences. He also seems to have a penchant for dancing and impresses audiences with difficult steps in certain dance sequences.

The film has good performances coming in from all its artistes. In particular, P Samuthirakani, Jayaprakash and Pawan come up with excellent performances. The film has spectacular shots and is a visual treat, thanks to some fantastic cinematography by PK Varma. Every scene has been aesthetically shot from the beginning. Lighting in particular is just fantastic.

After having proven his talent as a character artiste, Thambi Ramaiah also showcases some directorial skills with Maniyar Kudumbam. Ramaiah, apart from delivering a neat performance as Narthanga Sami, also does an excellent job of marshalling his resources to put forth an entertaining and engaging film.

Although Maniyar Kudumbam is not preachy, it does, in a very gentle and unintrusive manner, put across a couple of very relevant and important social messages. One of them is that no matter how much property one has, one cannot afford to be idle. The other important point that the film makes is how alcoholism can ruin one's life.

On the whole, Maniyar Kudumbam is an entertaining family drama that is definitely worth a watch.