Maniratnam, Madras and urban flick Agni Natchathiram
The HinduTalk about Mani Ratnam and a magnum-opus like Nayagan shimmers into view or a tent-pole big film like Ponniyin Selvan gains prominence, but the master director has many aces up his filmography. Hat-tips to good old Madras This urban flick had many hat-tips to good old Madras and it was one that juxtaposed sibling-rivalry as evident through the feuding step-brothers played by Prabhu and Karthik. Characters took the suburban train, there were references to the race-course, and Egmore station, often lost in the shadows of Central, had its limelight bonanza as Karthik and a young Prabhu Deva jived to the song ‘Raja Rajadhi Raja indha Raja’, a banger of a song composed by Ilaiyaraaja, while the lyrics perhaps had a meta reference to the maestro himself. Outstanding songs Angst in the subways, romance by the sea while the waves tangoed, Amala having a quick puff of a stolen cigarette and Nirosha proposing to Karthik were all vignettes that were fresh to a Tamil-film consuming audience often fed a first night staple of a bee buzzing at a flower.
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