Anbe Sivam is one of my favorite movies.
Anbe Sivam portrays
various incidents that 2 men come across in their journey from bhuavaneswar,
Orissa to Chennai, Tamilnadu.
In the very
beginning of the movie, in the airport scene, Madhavan mistakes Kamal for a
terrorist and makes nonsense, highlighting the influence of media- over men’s
behavior pattern/outlook formation, taking override over common sense.
Interestingly madhavan himself plays the role of a young, modern ad-film maker
in the movie.
Then, on arriving
at the hotel booked by the airport authorities, madhavan steps out of the taxi
letting in the flood water fill the car. While he lugs himself out of the flood
water, there are few kids playing and enjoying in the flood water; this seemed
to highlight how different set of people, view the same situation in different
ways. Then comes the hotel story, in which madhavan returns Kamal’s bags only
after being given his mobile-suggesting that, for madhavan, helping others is
just a return of favor, not a natural attitude-which finds no first initiation.
Madhavan is portrayed to help others in a business-like manner-give and take;
principle of any ordinary man.
On one scene,
the duo is at ichapuram railway station. While waiting for the train, they get
engaged in a casual relaxed chat; as the chat, Kamal claims himself to be a
…kind of messenger, and says he first met his beloved-girl (kiran) while giving
messages to the public. While telling about his girl, Kamal gets carried away
and starts telling about their second meeting too, without noticing that
madhavan has already left his seat.
“Love gets a man carried away, drives him emotional, purifies
his heart and mind, makes him subtle and gentle, instills in him best of
thoughts, and inspires him to do great deeds”. If NOT, then, I think, IT is….NOT
love.
Flashback
starts. Kamal relives his past.
Then comes their
second meeting-that makes them like each other’s company. Over time, they get
into love without declaring anything; tacitly. Kamal gets a chance to do a
painting in Nasser’s office building; in that painting, he ingrains his ideals into
the ideals of Nasser, indirectly marking the philosophical differences of their
principles. And at the same time, Nasser comes to know about their love, and
sets men to dispose-off with kamal. Kamal and friends fight them off, but get
jailed in framed case. Kiran bails him out. This is smelled by Nasser and shuts
his daughter at home, banning her from going out and meet kamal.
Secretely they
meet at a theater, though kamal tries to put an end to it citing reasons, their
love comes to light plainly after kiran insists; and Kamal’s friends plan to
get them married in Kerala.
As kamal
prepares to leave for kerala, there are 2 more people revealing their failed
loves; and in both the cases, remarkably, failed-parties neither stop nor try
to win their beloved; they just let their beloved go, out of love.
Kamal travels to
kerala, but on the way, bus meets with an accident, injuring kamal severely and
killing his closest aide among others. Kamal gets hospitalized, and is visited
by Nasser who tells kamal that it was god’s punishment for his trying to get
married to his daughter. Further Nasser says, kamal is only alive by just 10%
and reasons with him that he cannot accept an only-10%-alive-cadaver to marry.
He suggests kamal to die, kamal too nods.
Kamal recovers
after many months and comes to Nasser’s home to meet kiran. Nasser says she’s
married and is pregnant. He further says that he had committed only one mistake
of telling his daughter that kamal is dead. And he warns kamal, not to make him
a murderer too. Again he makes an offer of money to which kamal sneeringly
answers, “unga
paNaththukku paNinjO, balathukku bayandhO,
….poren-nu nenaikkadhinga…. Kaadhal keedhal-nu sonneengale,…..andha
kaadhalukkaahadhaan poren….. Unga ponnai poruththavarai naan seththavanavae
irundhukkaren”, and walks away.
Then kamal
visits the accident spot and adopts the dog that helped people identify him and
eventually save him.
Flashback ends
here. Back to present.
Back at ichapuram
railway station. Kamal and madhavan start a discussion and coromandal train too
arrives in the meantime. Their discussion becomes a little violent argument,
leading ultimately to separation of kamal from madhavan.
Madhavan
entering into his compartment, meets a very formally clad, Sanskrit-English-speaking,
seemingly well-educated, multifaceted Uththaman. Uththaman offers madhavan a
glass of whisky (which is drugged) and takes away his entire luggage when
madhavan is fast asleep. Madhavan is woken up by ticket examiner to announce
delay because of an accident en route.
Getting down at
the accident spot, madhavan sees the gory side of an accident and also meets
kamal & sister Vanessa. Madhavan is convinced to donate blood to a boy
battling for life. This team of three, along with a doctor and driver, then
travel together in an ambulance towards Chennai to admit the battling boy for
ICU treatment.
Unfortunately
the boy dies on the way. Madhavan, overwhelmed with disappointment and emotion,
weeps and raises questions over the existence of god in grief and anger. Kamal
looks at him meaningfully and smiles; madhavan immediately collects himself,
balances and apologizes to god, telling he’s not an atheist like kamal.
The discussion
then follows is worth a million; should be watched at least a couple of times
repeatedly to get the gist of it.
“munnap pinna
theriyaadha oru paiyanukkaaha kaNNeer vidara andha manasu irukke…., adhaan kadavul.” (a heart that weeps for a boy-whom you do not
know at all….that’s what is god)
They then resume
their journey in the same ambulance and deliver the cadaver to his parents in
chennai. They are thanked by the bereaved family and neighbors and relatives.
Madhavan bids adieu but finds kamal’s cheque in his bag and goes to kamal’s
home to hand over. There he finds the address holds the union office of kamal
and kamal has neither a wife nor a son. Madhavan then learns that kamal has no
relatives, moved by the fact and impressed by kamal’s way of life, madhavan
forces kamal to go home with him, not just as a familiar-friend, but as an
elder brother.
In marriage
hall, kamal first finds it’s just his beloved girl, that’s about to get married
to madhavan; shocked and helpless, but holds back and hides himself to avoid
being recognized by the girl. He’s then identified and whisked away by Nasser
into a separate chamber. Kamal forces Nasser to meet the demands of the labour
union of his company and Nasser too agrees and signs accord.
“kadavulai
yaenga izhukkareenga, neenga ennikkaavadhu queue la ninnu saami kumbittadhu
undaa?! Queue-vai veliya niruthi vechchittu, ulla pOi personal dharisanam
paakkavar aache neenga. Seiyara thappa ellaam panniputtu, undiyal-la kaasai potturuveenga.
Unga paavaththai ellaam mannichchu kadavul kaappaaththuvaaru, illa? Appadi
kaappaaththura kadavul, kadavulae illa. Coolie…., yaen-na avarum kaasu vaangittudhaane vaelai
seiyaraaru?! Mhmhm?”
Here also Nasser,
in his limited perception, is shown to interpret this in a way different from
…or rather opposite to what kamal intends to mean.
Kamal gives him
a letter to be delivered to madhavan, which gets passed to sandhaanabharathi
and is read by him; reading the contents reveals the good heart of kamal and
converts sandhanabharathi into a harmless man. Signing the agreements with
union leaders is greeted by sandhaanabharathi, but Nasser plans to kill kamal.
Knowing his intensions, sandhaanabharathi takes that responsibility on him,
only to spare kamal’s life and alert him of this life-threat.
Meanwhile
madhavan receives the letter and shows it to his would-be wife and requests her
to read it as the handwriting is better intelligible to her. She reads,
realizing the gravity and seriousness of the message, madhavan takes and reads.
Kamal’s resonating voice articulates the rest to us. Letter contains the
apparent reasons for his leaving.
As kamal walks
away from marriage hall, he’s cornered at a dead end of the road by
sandhaanabharathi, with a long, deadly sickle in his hand, ready to be wielded
on kamal. Knowing he can’t escape, kamal admits he can’t even run but tries to
protect his dog. But sandhaanabharathi informs him that he had read the letter
and spares kamal, revealing he’s a changed man now.
Sandhaanabharathi:
“idhukku
maelaiyum nallavangalukku naan thappu panninen-nu vechchikkOngalaen, enakku
andha saami nalla saave kodukkaadhu. Enakku saami nambikka irukku thambhi,
ungalukku eppadiyo!”
Kamal
: “enakkum
irukku”
Sandhaanabharathi
: “appadingalaa,
endha saami?!”
To this question
kamal points fingers at sandhaanabharathi himself, and says,
“Oruththana
kollanum-nu vandhittu, manasa maaththikkittu, mannippum kaetkara manushan
irukkaanae, adhaan ennaip poruththavaraikkum saami” (a man comes to
kill…, after changing mind, he is also asking for forgiveness…, in my view, that
is what is GOD)
Kamal walks
away.
LOVE metamorphoses humanity into divinity.
