{mosimage}I would say it was an unconventional attempt at its time with no hero in it and the movie rode on the shoulders of three female protagonists hailing from different social strata. It was an assembly line product from the Kamal Hassan's Hollywood remake factory, with an inspiration from "Nine to five". It was about a fashion designer Sathya (Revathy), Middle class Clerk Janaki (Urvashi) and a sweeper Paappamma (Rohini), working in a garment factory under the lecherous boss Nasser. How the ladies teach their boss a lesson is the core of the story, with addressing the issues like creche, equality in rights etc... touched then and there.
The best part of the story is its screenplay. When it starts with serious problem like dowry, Revathy asking her prospective groom whether she can tie "mangalsutra" around him in return of the dowry demanded, we thought it might end up as a serious movie. But the writer Crazy Mohan takes the script on his hands and moves it completely on a lighter vein, ensuring an unleashed funny chaos for 140 minutes.
{mosimage}It is a woman's movie, so the men took backseat. Still Nasser had his space in it. As a womaniser boss, he expressed that lust in his eyes and nose. He was superb in the scene where he covers it up when caught red handed by his wife. Another male counterpart who makes his fantastic screen presence is the veteran Nagesh, as a dead terrorist whose corpse is mistaken for Nasser's and in the the scenes of replacing it back. Besides them there are so many one liners that it takes minimum 3-4 viewing to get all of them.
It was the Urvashi's strong comeback vehicle. As a middle class Brahmin lady, a sole bread winner of the family, Urvashi brought out that vulnerability & innocence strongly etched. It was a splendid performance by her and the tragedy was that after this movie she was offered this "innocent" lady roles that virtually reduced her career to a comedienne in Tamil. Her comic timing in this movie was fantastic. No wonder Kamalhassan addressed her as an "acting rakshasi" who'll chew you if you are not cautious about her presence in the scene.
The sequence of Urvashi buying a silk saree on behalf of her boss and the scenes following that are rib tickling, especially the way she chooses the saree & inkling the same to her boss' wife. The scenes where Urvashi & Rohini try to smuggle the dead body is hilarious, while the climax chasing scene and Urvashi's contribution towards that deserve special mention. A scene where Revathy & Rohini are struggling to how to proceed further, Urvashi will cooly bite her nails. She offers a justification "Most of the people bite nails while thinking, I am trying a reverse process. I may end up with some idea if I bite the nails".
Rohini as a low class, deglamourised sweeper, scores with her typical Madras slang. She is the one who manages to stand against Urvashi in the movie. Alas! even the talented Revathy as upper middle class fashion designer gets lost in the proceedings. The best part about her in the movie is her churidars. Yes! Her costumes designed by Sarika Kamal Hassan were wonderful than her role as such.
There are many walk-in actors, regular Kamal's favourites like "Kavithalaya" Krishnan as bus conductor in the dead body scenes, "Thalaivasal" Vijay as Rohini's husband, Santhana Bharathi as groom's father, "Pasi" Sathya as the glamorous secretary, "Kalaipuli" Thaanu as tailor and Kamal Hassan himself in the last few minutes as the MD, everybody leaves an impact even in the couple of minutes they got.
{mosimage}Cinematography by Thiru, who is a leading lensman in Bollywood now, was comepetent and this happened to be his debut movie. Illayaraja makes his presence in background score only because the movie had no scope for music. Editing by Suresh Urs kept the script taut thus making it intresting viewing. But it was Crazy Mohan, the dialogue writer and Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, the director scores througout the movie.
This movie is better than its original "Nine to Five" which I saw years later in the Star Movies. The success of this lift off lies in its adaptation to local mileu. So strong was its Tamil flavour, that its Telugu version flopped. I still don't miss this movie even still if I get it on Sun TV. It is a movie I had seen about 12 times in theatre itself. It came at the vacation of my +2 so I had enough time & excuses to see it.
{mosimage}It is a woman's movie, so the men took backseat. Still Nasser had his space in it. As a womaniser boss, he expressed that lust in his eyes and nose. He was superb in the scene where he covers it up when caught red handed by his wife. Another male counterpart who makes his fantastic screen presence is the veteran Nagesh, as a dead terrorist whose corpse is mistaken for Nasser's and in the the scenes of replacing it back. Besides them there are so many one liners that it takes minimum 3-4 viewing to get all of them.
It was the Urvashi's strong comeback vehicle. As a middle class Brahmin lady, a sole bread winner of the family, Urvashi brought out that vulnerability & innocence strongly etched. It was a splendid performance by her and the tragedy was that after this movie she was offered this "innocent" lady roles that virtually reduced her career to a comedienne in Tamil. Her comic timing in this movie was fantastic. No wonder Kamalhassan addressed her as an "acting rakshasi" who'll chew you if you are not cautious about her presence in the scene.
The sequence of Urvashi buying a silk saree on behalf of her boss and the scenes following that are rib tickling, especially the way she chooses the saree & inkling the same to her boss' wife. The scenes where Urvashi & Rohini try to smuggle the dead body is hilarious, while the climax chasing scene and Urvashi's contribution towards that deserve special mention. A scene where Revathy & Rohini are struggling to how to proceed further, Urvashi will cooly bite her nails. She offers a justification "Most of the people bite nails while thinking, I am trying a reverse process. I may end up with some idea if I bite the nails".
Rohini as a low class, deglamourised sweeper, scores with her typical Madras slang. She is the one who manages to stand against Urvashi in the movie. Alas! even the talented Revathy as upper middle class fashion designer gets lost in the proceedings. The best part about her in the movie is her churidars. Yes! Her costumes designed by Sarika Kamal Hassan were wonderful than her role as such.
There are many walk-in actors, regular Kamal's favourites like "Kavithalaya" Krishnan as bus conductor in the dead body scenes, "Thalaivasal" Vijay as Rohini's husband, Santhana Bharathi as groom's father, "Pasi" Sathya as the glamorous secretary, "Kalaipuli" Thaanu as tailor and Kamal Hassan himself in the last few minutes as the MD, everybody leaves an impact even in the couple of minutes they got.
{mosimage}Cinematography by Thiru, who is a leading lensman in Bollywood now, was comepetent and this happened to be his debut movie. Illayaraja makes his presence in background score only because the movie had no scope for music. Editing by Suresh Urs kept the script taut thus making it intresting viewing. But it was Crazy Mohan, the dialogue writer and Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, the director scores througout the movie.
This movie is better than its original "Nine to Five" which I saw years later in the Star Movies. The success of this lift off lies in its adaptation to local mileu. So strong was its Tamil flavour, that its Telugu version flopped. I still don't miss this movie even still if I get it on Sun TV. It is a movie I had seen about 12 times in theatre itself. It came at the vacation of my +2 so I had enough time & excuses to see it.
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