anbarasu = anbu + Ars
nallasivam - nallaa + Mr.Sivam

Anbe Sivam. Anbarasuvee Nalla sivam. Anbarasu accepted and transformed into [another] god!

wow, even title had a [good] double meaning!.

i somehow find the anbarasu character a bit delved, and made to look comic, a bit, wantedly…anyway it helps a lot! in the story…

then, deepak, inga kanjam varrathu! - http://mayyam.com/hub/viewforum.php?f=18

On a different note, one can see that the writer Kamal exploring “the tragicomic” so effectively in this film, right from the scenes in the flood-affected Bhubaneshwar till they reach a railway station in Andhra. (Subtle, ironic and dark humour has always been Kamal’s forte, but nowhere did the humour got overtly tragicomic as here.) For example, the scene where he talks about his father’s death [*]; or when Mehrunissa opens her heart about her love for Nalla. That scene is very funny but also touching. Why, in this scene, Nalla actually says, “azhuvaRadhA sirikkaRadhA ‘nnE theriyala…”

Now this very line is repeated (’sirikkaRadhu’ precedes ‘azhuvaRadhu’ here!) in the last Kamal-written last venture — the underrated Mumbai Xpress, in which he explored “the tragicomic” more eloquently though it is rather unnoticed. The first scene with Avinasi, Daddu and Ahalya in Ahalya’s house is a good example. It is so funny because of the things the three say to the other two (especially Avinasi has “heartless” things to say here. One has to hear him reflect so blandly, “sOgamAna kadhai dhAn…” to believe it!). But, it’s also sad because we know what the characters are going through. But for the dragging sequences with Chettiar in the car and ACP SP Rao on the phone in the last hour, this one is quite a Kamal special for me. If only Kamal had not gone all-out in designing a farcical web of confusion (and obligatory automobile chases) that dragged more than tickle the funny bone, this one would have been right up there.

* - It was Gollapudi Maruthi Rao’s son, Gollapudi Srinivas, who died in a similar accident. The Gollapudi Srinivas National award is also instituted in his memory. Rao is a writer and his friendship with Kamal goes a long way back. And, of course, he has acted in many Kamal films like Swathi Muthyam, Indrudu Chandrudu, Hey! Ram (as Govardhan). This is his personal website.

@ Vijay: Anabarasu’s character had to made a bit comic or else he would have come off as incredibly selfish and not someone the audience would want to root for.

@HAL: Yes in spite of it being her best performance Kiran really sticks out like a sore thumb. Anuradha Sriram should have just acted as well :). And verbosity is a crime only if the content is tripe.

@Zero: Thanks for the complimnts. Great comments on MX.My initial reaction post MX was that the “Crazy” input might have been missed as far as the general audience reception. But there were some scenes where my laughing elicited a few stares from the rest of the audience. The name of the friend slipped my mind when I was writing the post. I think it would be a fun read to compile all of Kamal’s interviews. Along with his movies they provide a lot of insight into his growth.

@randramble: I remember thinking during the movie that it seemed curiously similar to some of his personal troubles. It is a sad fact however that what we call his personal life is so accessible for discussion on a public forum. I hope someone writes about Aval Appadithaan. To date the movie blows me. It is way ahead of its time (I remember reading somewhere that Kamal said what was said in Life in a Metro had already been studied in Aval Appadithaan). Also it will serve as an interesting backdrop to study how the polar opposite off-screen and on-screen personas of Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan have still found a lot of acceptance. (I hope no brickbats come my way for mentioning Rajini in this forum.).

Anbarasu doesnt like ANBU much.. hence he shortens his name as ARS..

NallaSivam doesnt like SIVAM much.. hence he shortens his name as NALLA..