Movie: Penngal

Director: Raj Marudhu
Cast: Akash, Divyasri, Sharmili, Ashwini, Santhana, Bharathi, Nellai Sunderarajan, Manivannan.

It's a film that comes like a whiff of fresh air. Different in concept and narrative style. The scenes handled with sensitivity, the lines provocative and meaningful. The performances are well co-ordinated. Director Raj Marudhu (associate of Manivannan) who makes his debut with this film should be commended for tackling the theme very boldly and for giving a message oriented film. And for not giving in to the temptation to titillate or moralise. Though there was enough room for it!

Divyasri in her second film impresses. Akash (Rojavanam) puts in good effort. Adequate support from Ashwini, Sharmili and Santhana Bharathi.

It's a remote village where male infanticide is the order and the female babies are nurtured with care. For, the only profession followed there is the world's oldest profession, prostitution. Where poverty is exploited and women are the victims. The only law that rules is that of Valsamma the 'Madame' (Sharmili), aided and abetted by the village elder Rasaiya (Bharati) who gets the pick of the piece. Lakshmi (Ashwini) manages to get her little girl Kaveri away to a convent. Years later when Kaveri (Divyasri) learns of the pathetic condition of her village, she resolves to do something about it. Joining her is Bharat (Akash) a journalist. The duo have to reckon not only with Rasaiya and Valsamma but also with the Victims, who either seem reconciled to their fate or are quite satisfied with the easy money earned.

There are scenes of teenage girls herded like cattle and taken away in vans, vans returning with women in a pathetic condition, suffering from diseases or mentally imbalanced and discarded at a remote hilly area. All paint a grim, horrifying picture. But the film continues even after it has ended. The concluding scenes are forced and clichéd. The director should have known when to stop!