’’If I made Cinderella, the audience would be looking out for a body in the coach.’’ –
Alfred Hitchcock
Even before seeing this film, I had a strange and strong feeling that this film is going to be as morbid as Bala’s previous films... Sethu was a big success even though the film had a tragic climax. It was the same case with Nandha .Bala seems to be obsessed with mentally affected people. And Pithamagan is no exception.
The burial ground in Bodinayakanur, a small village in remote Tamil Nadu is the home of Chithan (Vikram)...His mother had given birth to him and died. Chitthan was brought up by an undertaker and needless to say, he also became an undertaker. He decides to leave that place after the old man who brought up died…Since he had been an undertaker before, the village people treats him as a social outcast and refuse to give him a job. Gomathi (Rasika) who sells ganja (Marijuana) for a living takes pity on him and gets him a job in a ganja farm. Chitthan, while working for the owner of the farm (Mahadevan), gets caught by the police and happens to meet Sakthivel (Surya), a small-time crook in jail. Soon, they become close friends and become very attached to each other.Meanwhile, Manju (Laila) who was responsible for Sakthivel getting arrested falls in love with Sakthivel. Chitthan also starts to become possessive of Sakthivel..Meanwhile, Sakthivel complains about the illegal trade that Mahadevan does , to the police..Mahadevan comes to know of it and decides to take revenge. What happens after that? That is the rest of the story..
The character of Chitthan is unique. Since he was brought up by an undertaker in a burial ground, he is used to seeing dead bodies. He is cut off from the rest of the world too. He has the characteristics of a pre-historic man...That is, he is more like an animal. He is not attached to anything and he is not afraid of death too. He doesn’t talk much and is very strong. Vikram excels in this role . It is amazing to see how he reacts to typical situations like an animal. The way he walks and runs resembles that of a gorilla..
Sakthivel is garrulous. He is a small-time crook and along with his friends, takes advantage of gullible people. who falls for their tricks.But, he is kind to people he loves.Surya is excellent as Sakthivel. In fact, this role showcases his acting skills.Laila is good as Manju, the girl who falls in love with Sakthivel..She could have avoided overacting in some scenes though.
The focus of this film is the relationship between Chitthan and Sakthivel. Chitthan becomes attached to Sakthivel. In fact , he hates it if Sakthivel starts giving extra attention to Manju ..One should understand that Chitthan had been incapable of expressing human emotions. Only after he meets Sakthivel, he realizes what friendship means. The way he kills Mahadevan in the end shows how much he loves Sakthivel ..Needless to say, like all Bala films, Pithamagan ends in a tragedy.The film is a big hit in Tamil Nadu. The 3 main actors (Surya, Vikram and Laila) have given great performances in this film. That is a major factor . The music of Ilayaraja (the background music and the songs) adds to the mood of the film.
But the film is not without any faults.
1 .The director doesn’t give any good reason for Chitthan behaving in an animal-like fashion. I don’t think that the fact that he was brought up by an undertaker is a good reason for us to believe it.
I also felt that the director was trying to manipulate a lot with the emotions of the audience…that is , create a good feeling in the beginning and then abruptly spoil the mood by ending it in a tragic manner. He had done this in Nandhaa and Sethu with great success ..If the story lends itself to the climax, then it is acceptable.. The climax seems a bit forced upon by the director…It does show how Chitthan is attached to Sakthivel , but then I think there are many other ways to show it too. It is not that I don’t like tragic climaxes but I just felt that it was totally inappropriate in a story like this.
Also, Manju falls in love with Sakthi after 2 or 3 meetings. The reason why Manju falls in love is absurd and can happen only in films. I wonder why she wants to be with him when she very well knows that he is a crook. In fact, she was responsible for sending him to jail!! The reasons are not good enough…
4 .The comedy scenes involving Sakthivel and his friends are good but I don’t think it was classy…It could have been more refined.
5.The song sequence with Simran was unnecessary and the director could have used this time to show the bonding between Sakthivel and Chitthan.
The subject is innovative and even though it had many faults, this film has struck the right chord with the audience and has been released in the right time when both Surya and Vikram are doing well …So it is not a surprise that it is a big hit..But, why is the film titled Pithamagan..There is no connection between the story and the title!?
Do watch the movie for the performances of Surya and Vikram!