Sep 30, 2008 06:43 PM
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(Updated Sep 30, 2008 07:00 PM)
Life of a housewife is considered as the most thankless job in the world. I am not talking about the modern career girls, but the one who stay at home, cook for the family, clean for the family and care for it. Most often the hard efforts will be ridiculed and no word of appreciation will be given but a list of demands. Many a time a suffering housewife has to take the nasty feedback on the failures of their husbands in the market or workplace.
The value of any thing will come to our notice when we miss it. Mother nature is very generous to give the most required things in free. Air, water, food…nature reserves it free. Let there be no water, air or even food…we realize its value. The people who do the day to day job which everybody requires get less attention and less payment, simply for the reason they are there in abundance. In the case of house wife however, it is her life. It is their life! So, the learning process by miss it and get it will be little dangerous. In 'Veruthe Oru Bharya' (Simply a housewife) the director tries to show how a stubborn husband learns his lesson by going through its dangerous ends.
Sugunan (Jayaram) and Bindu (Gopika) is married for last 15 years. They have a daughter (Niveda) she is in her teens. Bindu's daily life is a routine by now. Wake up at 5 am, and start the works in the kitchen, look after the needs of Sugunan, teach the daughter, get her ready to school, look after the cow, chicken etc., clean the house, prepare food for them again, receive them. This continue till midnight and then accommodate the dark desires of husband despite being tired. Sugunan is an overseer in electricity department and he is too much attached to the work he is doing. He is a miser in nature and a person who is very possessive. He don't like his wife's beauty been appreciated by others. Bindu's intention was to become a professional dancer but gave up it for the marriage. She even had to give up her studies for the relation. She now knows that a job is a must for a woman and she advise her daughter to concentrate on studies to get a job so that her fate don't follow her. The teenage daughter however is already attached to the boy in neighbourhood. How the relation will go further in the wake of some turn around from the movie is yet to be seen on screen.
The movie's major plus point is that the plot is well penned to get the support of the unemployed and depressed housewives. Few of the dialogues like 'Me too only have two hands','Somebody told that an average housewife walks 25 kilometers a day and if I had walked from the day we are in marriage I would have reached minimum to Duabai' reach straight to the targeted audience. The anxiety of the modern parents about their teenage children also helped. The movie is a major hit back at home and my expectation was very high when I went for the movie. However, I have to admit I am not satisfied with the movie.
The major fault of the film is in its script. The plot was good but the characterization and narration of incidents are far below average. Bindu's character as shown as a very powerful and dictating one where to give out the message, a suffering house wive's picture is what required. Even the daughter dictated terms. Sugunan on the other hand was supposed to be stubborn, but his character was shown as of a coward. Father in law, Brother in law, Wife, daughter…everybody insults him and his ego. Now coming to the story, the mental illness of Sugunan and his attack with iron rode at the end and the pace of recovery is simply questionable where no believable justification is given unless the doctor was a magician. The decision by Bindu to quit was not presented well. So, for quality wise the film is nothing to count upon. Also at the end of the movie I was wondering actually what was the problem? A fridge, Washing machine, pressure cooker and iron box? The director Akku Akbar require praise for his nice way of presentation but no mark for not editing the work of the writer Gireesh Kumar.
So, how a film survives with such a weak characterization and poorly scripted second half? I think performance is the answer. Jayaram just worked wonders for the film by playing the role with ease as he played in 'Thoovalkottaram'. It is nice to see the veteran in action again in style. Gopika I think played the role as brilliant as her 'Chanthupottu' performance. Excellent!! The girl 'Niveda' too was very good. Since there had only few characters and they had to be there in almost all frames, their excellent contribution is the basic reason for the success of the movie.
The songs are quite ordinary. Cinematography is good. Editing could have been better.
Overall, the movie is only average and a bit disappointing for me. The reports I got over here is also not encouraging. I will recommend Mohanlal's 'Madambi' over 'Verude Oru Bharya' in any given day. So, don't go for the movie with great expectation you may be disappointed. It is only an average movie from 80s just revisiting with a bundle of weakness in its kitty but the performance and the subject keep you engaged to an extent.