Seval is watchable

Seval is produced by Jinnah Creations and directed by renowned masala-churner Hari -- the man who once gave passable fare like Saamy, and a punch dialogue-ridden, yet puzzlingly successful Vel.  Fortunately, he's made a definite effort to divest himself of too much silliness in this Tamil movie. The result is a movie which, even if it doesn't make you shiver in cinematic ecstasy, at least keeps you in your seat, most of the time.

The beginning is promising, at any rate, as you watch a Don't-Care Murugesan (Bharath) limp sorrowfully from the Central Jail, Palayamkottai, in a scruffy beard and glasses.

He's been incarcerated for 17 years. Naturally, there's a story which rewinds from 1989. In those halcyon days, he's an unruly youngster in pretty village Sivasailam, (Hari's forte, Thirunelveli District), the son of a hard-working flower-sellers (Rajesh and Yuvasri), with Thapaal Thangavelu (Vadivelu), who provides as much laughter as the posts he delivers.

Life is a long, sunny adventure for Murugesan who beats people up, sells his grandfather's land, runs over rooftops (like the rooster of the title) and incurs so much of his father's wrath that he's prophesied to meet a horrible end. Not that this gloomy prospect affects Murugesan -- he continues on his own sweet way until he runs smack into Parijatham (debutante Poonam Bajwa), a demure, fair-complexioned, striking Iyer girl, the daughter of Panjami Iyer (Y G  Mahendra) and the younger sister of Gayatri (Simran).

Thus we have the first half which is a series of rollicking fun interspersed with logical sequences; the two have sudden and quirky escapades.

In the meantime, the village's bigwig (Sampath Raj), who's magnanimous in public and a tyrant at home, casts his eyes on Parijatham. What sets his characterisation apart is that he's not your average villain who shrieks and carries away the heroine; he places his pawns carefully, and is afraid of being found out. He and Murugesan come close to breaking each other's bones many times -- but the situations diffuse themselves in a perfectly natural fashion.

Several twists in the tale occur in a quick fashion, and Murugesan and Parijatham are bound in a net from which, seemingly, there's no escape.

Kudos to Hari for having stripped his screenplay of silly dialogues and inserting normal, frisky and intelligent fare in its place. True, he does come very close to cliches and general commercial silliness -- and though the film does lag post the interval, with too many twists and turns that irritate you a bit, he manages to tie up the knots.

These, coupled with Bharath's complete ease on-screen, and comfortable body language, make for an enjoyable watch. If Bharath goes on as he's doing now, he's sure to be next in line for the Vijay-Ajith route.

Poonam Bajwa does very well for a newbie -- though she's been made to weep buckets in the second half. She does look her part, though, and has been spared the mandatory sexy-dance.

Simran's role seems rather inadequate for an actress of her stature -- her part could have been done by practically anyone. Her ending too, reminds you of the 60's weepies of yore, and makes you yearn for some spunk in her characters. Sampath's role is minimal, while the rest of the cast perform the tiny roles they've been slotted in.

G V Prakash's numbers remind you of early rural A R Rahman compositions; Namma Ooru lingers in your ears. Rocky Rajesh's stunts, as befitting a Hari movie, put up a good show.

Had Hari ruthlessly allowed V T Vijayan to edit out at least 45 minutes of the second half, you'd have ended up with a robust and marvelous rooster at the Diwali finishing post.

As it is, you wish there wasn't so much melodrama -- but you're still thankful that the dialogues and Bharath save the situation.

Rediff Rating: