March 26,2013-Inspired from real events and a newspaper article, debut director Prabhu’s Karuppampatti, a story about a man’s search for his familial roots, is strikingly different in presentation, but falters in execution. Even though the film addresses a commonly discussed theme in cinema, yet it manages to strike a chord with one and all thanks to an overall entertaining output. Kothai (Ajmal), born and raised in France, decides to visit a small village called Karuppampatti in Tamil Nadu after the demise of his father to trace his familial roots. Upon arrival in the village, he learns that his father Manohar (Ajmal), who once belonged here, discarded everybody, including his own family and left for France.
He also secretively pledged all the properties of his relatives to cover his expenses to France. Having learnt about his father’s bitter past, Kothai, with the help of cousin Karuppu (Jagan) conceals his identity and attempts to right the wrong. Meanwhile, Shanthini (Aparnaa) falls head over heels for Kothai. What happens when the villagers find out Kothai is the son of Manohar? This forms the rest of the story.
There is a good blend of comedy, tragedy, romance and drama that not only makes this film watchable, but occasionally pushes us out of our comfort zone to mull over certain things. There have been umpteen films about a disloyal son disrespecting his family and, therefore suffering in life to learn this lesson. However, what differentiates Karuppampatti is the effort the director takes to present a clichéd story as entertainingly as possible. Nowhere does the story attempt to seem preachy, and that precisely work in favour of the film. Technically too, this film supersedes other recent films made by debutants. Be it the sequences in France, mostly shot with a handheld camera or the visually vibrant scenes in the village thanks to a crafty set design.
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INDIA TODAY
