Tuesday Sep 09 2008, Chennai

‘Dhanam'- A messed-up attempt!

Directed by - G.Siva

Produced by - Nandivaram Sampathkumar

Music by - Ilaiyaraja

Casts - Sangeetha, Girish Karnad, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Ashish Vidyarthi, Rajkapoor, Karunaas, M.S.Baskar, Ilavarasu etc.

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‘Dhanam’ is all about Dhanam (Sangeetha), a sex worker toiling it out in a Hyderabad marketplace.  The swaggering and sensuous walk and the more-than-necessary make-up aptly say it all.  Her job is to ‘attract’ customers with her ‘assets’ and once the job is over, she stretches out, casually eats at a roadside dhaba and feeds some hapless human beings too...

Dhanam spends her earnings to help out the poor and needy in her locality.  Anantharaman (Prem), a typical Brahmin guy from Chennai, accidentally comes across and falls head over heels in love with her.  After satisfying his physical hunger with her on more than one occasion, he proposes ‘marriage’ to her.  Dhanam refuses at first but on seeing his insistence, says that if his orthodox family was willing to accept her as their bride, she would be ready for the marriage.Expectedly, Anantharaman’s family is vehemently opposed to a ‘prostitute’ coming to their family as a bride.

  The family, however, is shown to relent (?!) when their family astrologer predicts unlimited wealth in the offing should ‘such a girl’ become the family’s bride.  The astrologer is proved right and in due course, Dhanam gives birth to a girl child.The astrologer, thinking Dhanam of a girl with ‘cheap virtues’, tries to misbehave with Dhanam, who steadfastly refuses his overtures.  As an act of revenge, the astrologer tells the family that the new-born child has brought ‘evil’ to the family and that it should be ‘done away’ with.  What happens later forms the crux of the story.

The director slips up badly on two occasions: one is that a supposedly orthodox Brahmin family is shown as ‘accepting’ a prostitute as their bride (no matter what the reasons could be); and secondly, the aspect of taking away the life of the newborn child.  The film finds it very difficult to cross these twin hurdles.‘Dhanam’ leaves us guessing about the real intentions of the director.Did he set out to narrate the story of a sex-worker? Or, did he intend to unmask the hypocritical society that never lets a sex-worker lead a normal life?  Whatever he wanted to show, it ought to be said that he has failed miserably.  Unless one has a clear idea of what his focus would be, it’s not uncommon for things to go awry, as has gone in the case of ‘Dhanam’.

Sequences like people in the Brahmin locality longing for Dhanam and the scene where Anantharaman’s younger brother tries to ‘have a go’ at her could have easily been avoided.The only consolation in the film is Sangeetha, who brings out one of the finest portrayals by any actresses in any roles seen in recent times (with the exception of Priyamani in ‘Paruthiveeran’).  Sangeetha’s dialogue delivery, her facial expression in all the frames, her body language, the kind of ‘seductive’ looks her eyes give- everything about her seems to fit in perfectly with the character and theme and Sangeetha delivers an outstanding performance.  The way she erupts, almost like a volcano, after losing her child and envelopes with fire all those who cross her path stands out.Veterans like Girish Karnad and Kota Srinivasa Rao have also been wasted due to the lacunae in the screenplay.

  Prem is just about okay as Anantharaman.  M.S.Bhaskar, Chinni Jayanth, Sasi Mohan and Manoj Kumar are also in the film.  Karunas manages to do something to make the audience laugh.

Ashish Vidyarthi, Rajkapoor and Ilavarasu have all done their roles admirably.‘Maestro’ Ilaiyaraja’s magical touch is very much tangible in the background score but the songs somehow, fail to make an impact, except for one- ‘Kannanukku enna vendum...’.

  And the locations chosen for the song are far from impressive.Four songs within the first hour sums up the director’s planning or lack of it.Cinematography by late Jeeva and then by Srinivas Devamsam is good and fits the mood of the film.Overall, ‘Dhanam’ could at best be described as a messed-up attempt!