Reading the one line heading of the write-up, you might be thinking of another bold and sensual film, probably exploiting the woman in a more controversial manner than before on the silver screen. However the pleasant surprise is that the film has nothing to do with the woman in particular and it actually deals with a man’s sexual issue for a change, defying all set norms of our Indian Cinema, quite bravely.
In straight words, many would find it shocking and many would not even believe that this 2013 release Tamil film has been actually made on the issue of ‘Erectile Dysfunction’ in men. And that too in a very enjoyable comic manner, without showing any kind of hesitancy, shyness or holding back in the film’s light hearted, cute as well as intelligent execution, unbelievably.
Plus the other major merit of this courageous attempt remains that despite having this bold issue as its basic twist and also featuring many well written double meaning dialogues explaining the problem clearly, the film never goes over the board stepping into the zone of cheap, crass or embarrassing in any of its key sequences at all. And considering the difficult subject chosen, the writer-director R. S. Prasanna certainly deserves many extra marks for this rare triumph achieved undoubtedly.
In fact, Hindi Cinema which is supposedly (and wrongly) known for setting path breaking examples for others in the country in cinematic terms, should now look for corners after watching this superbly conceived, gutsy film made on such a conservative topic never tackled before in Indian mainstream cinema ever in the gone decades (the major reason for the film being included in the MOVIES TO SEE BEFORE YOU DIE list at BTC)
Talking about the light hearted feel of the movie, which actually can be called its major pull too, KALYANA SAMAYAL SAADHAM (meaning Wedding Feast) begins as a typical big fat wedding film with the usual love-song-dance in the air kind of treatment lacking novelty. Lekha Washington and Prasanna as the lead couple successfully charm the viewers with their natural acts but one keeps waiting for any twist to happen soon in the first 20-25 minutes quite eagerly. On the other hand, as soon as the much awaited revelation is there like a sudden, unexpected explosion about the ‘not getting up’ problem, one not only gets seriously stunned but also feels pleasantly amused, looking at the young couple discussing it in a very sporting & enlightening manner with the help of ‘Google Search’.
Moreover, the one actor who simply spells magic on the viewers from here on is Lekha Washington (with her lovable smile) and the girl is sure going to become the adorable crush for many through her lively act. Prasanna performs his more important role making a fine impact but Lekha clearly takes away the major attention till the end due to her bubbly, innocent beauty and an immensely likable presence on the screen. The supporting cast perfectly plays their given roles as required and the script never lets you down even for few minutes due to a fine pace maintained once the secret is out.
Mentioning the negatives, though KSS revolves around a traditional arranged marriage with all the family celebrations on, still it cannot be called a family oriented film obviously due to the daring sexual theme and many double meaning dialogues targeting only the youngsters sitting in the theater in particular. Yes, the sensitive issue of impotence takes a back seat for a while in the second half and the expected crescendo also remains missing in its final moments which could have been dealt in a better style.
Yet due to a completely focused entertaining screenplay having no forcibly added comic sub-plots, no irritating songs more than the required, a pleasant musical score and two fabulous lead performances, KSS never lets you feel any of its shortcoming in those 2 compelling hours and comes up as a clear winner in the end quite smartly. The team does manage to serve the tough, untouched sexual subject maintaining a class of its own, away from vulgarity and has many innovative insertions in the script too (like the Facebook one), keeping the young & trendy feel alive catering its target audience perfectly.
Summing up, it’s not easy or something of the routine to make a youthful Indian (wedding) film talking about ‘Erectile Dysfunction’ so openly. In a society which is known for only blaming the female for any kind of difficulty arising in a married couple, the film could have easily gone into the avoidable zone of a sex-based film becoming a disaster or could also have faced many other obstacles in its making or release just because of the ‘rarely touched’ issue & the taboos around it.
Hence the fact that R. S. Prasanna successfully made his film and that too in a very classy entertaining form without offending any particular gender, with an appreciable maturity & finesse is nothing short of an unbelievable victory as I strongly feel. And thus he not only deserves a big applause but also needs to be acknowledged for thankfully pushing the boundaries of Indian Cinema a little further after a long time, especially in this specific genre of our films based on sexual issues.
So hats off to R.S. Prasanna, his producers and his entire team of actors for supporting this path breaking project with a vision and the film is sure going to be one of key factors responsible of redefining Indian Cinema in the coming years indisputably.
Rating : 4 / 5 (including the much deserving extra 1 just for the courage, maturity and finesse displayed in making an appealing commercial film on such a risky & bold subject.)
