Movie: Kandein Seethaye

Director: Krantikumar
Cast: Vikram, Soundarya, Sudha, Vivek, Chaplin Balu, Mayilsamy.

With Vikram's star on the rise after 'Sethu', it is not surprising that the actor's films from other languages are being dubbed into Tamil. 'Kandein Seethaye' (dubbed from Telugu) centres round the marital discord in the life of a couple when the husband, seriously injured in an accident is hospitalised and the wife hires out her womb to a childless couple and gets the money needed for his operation. The husband recovers. But he is unable to reconcile to the fact. He is taunted and ridiculed by his neighbours and files a suit for divorce. The wife fights her own case, wins it and it's all well that ends well.

One wonders what exactly the director was trying to convey. Was it about the right and the wrong of artificial insemination? Or was it about a woman's sacrifice to save her marriage? Or again, was it about an illiterate, simple-minded housewife finding her own identity? The issues are quite confusing here.

While Vikram is at ease in the early scenes, his performance as the tormented husband lacks conviction. The actor's confusion on how to project the character is clearly evident. It's not a great performance from Soundarya either. The character does not really touch your heart. One doesn't know whether to consider Vivek's comedy track (shot separately for the Tamil version) as an intrusion or relief. At times he is hilarious with his take-off on various TV programmes, at times he is a pain!