Myna: Refreshing, but for the climax...

While I started watching the Tamil movie Myna, inevitable comparison with similar hits of past, Paruthiveeran and Subrahmanyapuram was being made in my subconscious. The bearded and rough hero, rustic setting, dialect, wonderful character actors, melodious songs and  an innocent and almost under aged heroine, all  reminds  of  the above said movies.  But Myna  is different from them in some aspects, mainly humor. The humor in the movie is very refreshing. Actually the whole movie is laced with very subtle comedy, not slapstick, but oral and situational... The movie cannot speak of a coherent script, but the wonderful characterization and luxurious visuals more than makes up. 

The only down side is climax, which seems forced, and made up just to cash in on the success of other two movies that I referred in the starting. But that also is nicely depicted and not awkward in any way. 

Police are on look out for a criminal, in a village in the middle of a jungle. No, this is not the story of Raavan. The characters are not pseudo idealized or  made larger than life. The only similarity is the beautiful, greenish,  elegant back drop. And this one movie is paced in a mellow fashion so that the full beauty of locations can be enjoyed by the viewers. It is the story of Suruli, a young villager who is in love with the girl Myna, whom he has rescued from poverty in childhood. Her mother tries to marry her off to some one in a better position than him, forgetting all the good he has done to them. When he reacts violently, she falsely accuses him and he ends up in police remand. On the marriage day, (on a Deepavali) he absconds and reaches the village to stop the marriage. The police officer who is in charge, some how manages to get one days time to get him back and reaches the village in the middle of a jungle accompanied with a constable, who is responsible for the break away. Suruli manages to elope with Myna, with the help of police officers but on their way back get lost in jungle. How the foursome reaches back in time to save the hide of police officers makes the story.  

Acting department is handled wonderfully by all the four protagonists, the love story is very mellow and subtle, the character actors, most of them in blink and you miss them roles does commendable work to keep the story from being monotonous. Watch out for that dig to malayalees, when a human rights person, puts the police in some tight spot in Munnar. Director Prabhu Soloman has made a movie with its heart in right place and provides nice relaxation to viewers, except in climax, after which we will wonder, "Was that required?"