Money (Lending) Matters!

The one question that kept on coming back to me while watching "Maadambi" was whether or not Mohanlal was playing a positive character- While the movie begins, you have the protagonist's mother (KPAC Lalitha, fabulous as ever) telling her maid servant (Sreelatha Namboodiri, wasted) how her son (Puthenveettil Gopalakrishnapillai, a local money lender played by Mohanlal) will not get a good alliance thanks to the tears of the girls in inumerable households who have suffered due to the high interest rates charged by him on loans. 10 minutes later, you have the protagonist himself announcing to a local politician as to how he is taking care of the entire village's financial needs by lending money at bank rates without even taking security. Such gaping inconsistencies apart, Maadambi has charm about it that works with the audience.

That is good news not only for Mohanlal but also for script writer turned director B Unnikrishnan whose success ratio till date has been in the negative. There is nothing new in terms of story or characterization- the gold hearted feudal lord who mouths punch dialogues at the drop of the hat and acts as the saviour of his entire folk is a money lender here. As expected, we have another family which is at logger heads with the protagonist. You also have the proverbial good- for- nothing younger brother (Ajmal Ameer looks handsome but not convincing playing the superstar's sibling) who turns foe under the influence of the rival family. The hero's story is the typical rags- to- riches one with his father dying at a very young age and the protagonist having to take care of his entire family from his teenage.

Predicatably, the younger brother asks for his share in the family property and surprise, surprise, it is he who owns 99% of what the older brother has earned, thanks to the promise that was given to the dying father. In between all this drama, you have Jayalakshmy, the manager of a new generation bank which opens a branch in the same village. Kavya Madhavan, playing Jayalakshmy, has absolutely nothing to do. In spite of heavy make up, hair parted in the middle and cotton saris, Kavya does not qualify to be heroine for the ageing superstar. Mallika Kapoor gets a meatier role as the younger brother's wife but she is totally out of place and struggles with lip syncing.

Vijay Ulakanathan's camerawork is pedestrian, Editing leaves a lot to desire, music is jarring (Shankar Mahadevan annoys with "Kalayanakatchery" while the other 2 songs are not applicable) and the action choreography is surprisingly banal! Cliches and incongruities aside, Maadambi will still be a winner at the Box Office because it is infinitely better than the last half a dozen releases of Mohanlal!