Review of Punnagai Mannan

Introduction

Another classic Tamil film by K. Balachander, who seems to love the idea of unfulfilled and different romance. It is apparent in his other films Ek Dujhe Ke Liye (1983), & Duet (1994). What this film showcases on is the director’s work, Kamal Hassan and Tamil cinema in the 1980’s. Viewing back this film it does seems a little dated with the pop songs, and the wacky costumes. But when you overlook that the film has a sweet and sad story to tell, about a man who can never have peace and love at the same time. The story might seem far-fetched but its handling it very well taken and you do feel for the main character. It’s done in a very subtle and quite way which is why it is easier to accept unlike numerous other movies.

The way the film begins too is very shocking in the mind. It opens with a romantic song showing two young couples enjoying themselves by making love, having a picnic, walking the green hills hand in hand, and a warm feeling develops in audience mind. Then we learn that this is their last day together before they kill themselves, and the romantic song continues. We suddenly change our perception on the situation and see why the two are doing what they are. This tactical move by the director still has the power to do what it does. It also presents on screen the idea of committing suicide, which is very dark in tone. While not fully exploring it, it does show positive ideas that killing one self is neither the solution nor the answer despite the main characters being weak minded a clever move by the director who also wrote the screenplay.

Kamal Hassan is as ever excellent in his acting abilities. He shines as both the depressed man Sethu, and as the older, wiser & comic character of Chaplin Chellappa (an ode to Charlie Chaplin). Also his dancing skills are showcased here and reminds you of what he was fully capable of (and still is). Revethi, the other main actor lends a supporting hand, but lacks facial expressions for a role as intense and as demanding as hers. At most times she seems to be just pulling faces.

Supporting cast members lend a good hand to the screenplay, and technical values at the time of the film’s release looked impressive. Some shots in the film still have that impact. On viewing this film again for the DVD review, I must admit I enjoyed this film despite its out of date touches, ideologies & at times its Indian cinematic acting. But I give Kamal Hassan and the director’s credit for pulling off what is a difficult subject.

Video

The DVD is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1, fullscreen, and preserves the original intentions of the director and cinematographer. The film is well over ten years old so the 35mm original negatives would be slightly damaged with age and time. An interpostive print was copied from the original negatives and was used for this DVD. No restoration work was made on the interpostive print so we end up with major wear and tear signs in some parts of the film. They come in all forms on this disc from small white/black dots to thick black lines running across the screen. Yet they only appear in certain sections of the film like reel changes, so the distraction is not as emanate. This is further enhanced by the fact that the film is old so I expected the blemishes to make its appearance.

Despite me going on about the wear and tear, I must say the picture quality on this disc is very good. Since the print was taken from an original source, the picture has a more fresher, clearer, and defined looked which captures the images. An example of this is seen in chapter six that has a shot of the sunlight. Here many shades of sunlight colours are seen, with ease and never once does the shot have any colour bleeding or distortion problems.

Some minor compression artefact problems are seen in a couple of scenes only, while the rest of the film never breaks up. Minor shimmering was present as was moiré effects on the usual patterned shirts, and other set designs/props. Thankfully hardly any harsh edge enhancement was seen. Dark details/shadow was handled with care as even under dark conditions much could be seen. The contest setting seems a little high on first glance, but the film was shot under extreme lighting as its intention and its truly represented here.

Audio

The Dolby Digital Tamil soundtrack has been re-created from the original mono source for the 5.1 feel. Normally I never like this method of playing with the original soundtrack, being a purist I believe the film should be presented as it originally was played on cinema.

But instead of doing what EROS does on most of their older DVD titles, placing the soundtrack in all five channels, Ayngaran have kept the soundtrack mostly on the centre channel. It is only during the songs that the rest of the 4 channels kick in for the false feel of a wide soundstage. The sound does have minor light hissing which can be heard in the quieter scenes, but the rest of the sound is audible and clear.

Features

The menus are thematic and nicely designed, while overall box design is average. I personally would have chosen better stills as the ones placed on the box shows how dated the film looks. The English subtitles still has its problems of either being too fast, poor grammar & not everything is translated. But it covers the basics.

Conclusion

This is Ayngaran’s best older DVD title so far on the market, but a lot of improvements are needed for them and their DVD labels to survive.