We like so many films. But we like to watch only a few films any number of times. For me, Rhythm is one such film.This is definitely Director Vasanth's best film.The performance of all the actors were good. This film is the best film of Arjun Sarja as well as Meena. The small boy has done his role superbly. Nagesh's role and Lakshmi's role impressed me.Visual Effects could have been better, but that doesn't really matter.The music by A. R. Rahman was awesome. Camera by P. S. Vinod was very good.The film has all the contents to satisfy the audience.A must watch for all.
... View MoreOne of the better movies released at the end of the 90s. The big thing is the usual high quality music of AR Rahman and Vasanth's family oriented romance story Karthikeyan(Arjun), a photo editor in Bombay, is a widower, having lost his wife Aruna(Jyotika) a few years back. His parents have only one mission in life - to see him married and happy again. Chitra(Meena), a tamil girl whom Karthikeyan meets, gives them hope. She is a widow, her husband(Ramesh Arvind) having died too, and also has a son Shiva(Master Aditya). When they exchange their sad stories, Karthikeyan and Chitra find out that their pasts are linked.In fact i like this movie for the fact that it is so realistic that it could happen or is happening to someone u know in real life or even your own life in the future. Like all Vasanth's movies, they show their quality years after u view them..He lets his films do all the talking' His films had a strong message and he managed to reach the masses with his excellent narrative style.A.R.Rahman with his music and the cinematographer Arthur Wilson have done an excellent job together with the director vasanth to deliver. The editing and camera-work is subdued, subtle and portray still frames long enough to view the audience in the the story.Every stage of the relationship between Arjun and Meena has been told naturally and with minimum of fuss. Their initial friction and subsequent gradual friendship are uncontrived and natural. the couple meet several times at the train station in the first half and these scenes are well done.. Both their actions and dialogs during these portions are very uncinematic and real like what happens in real life.... The role of Meena's neighbour is also inessential and is obvious as a ploy that allows Arjun to indulge in a fight sequence and maintain his 'Action King' sobriquet. But Vasanth recovers in time with a crisp climax that is underplayed and very effective with rain pouring down in cold ooty train stationI wish this talented director all the very best for all his future projects and hope that the stars shine bright for him
... View MoreAs a foreigner, "Rhythm" was the first Tamil film that I saw that I truly enjoyed. I worked in south India for ten years, but I could never really enjoy the films, which seemed to be made primarily for mass appeal in the Tamil market, and didn't really have a lot of appeal internationally. "Rhythm" was a refreshing break. It still had traces of those clichés: there are still song duets that feel out of place in a serious story, there is some pointless action scene in the second half, but overall, it was a very satisfying film. At its heart, it is a very simple love story between widow and widower, but it's told in a very subtle, adult way that is somewhat rare to find. Both the characters are very likable and their dialogues and interactions are all played in a realistic and quiet manner. Their relationship grows gradually and comes to a slow conclusion - there is no big climactic emotional romance scene. But that quiet approach makes it very believable and sweet, especially because it doesn't drown itself in sentimentality. This is the kind of love story that might just be happening somewhere in the world today, instead of just in a movie. I just wish that it didn't have any of typical Indian film things like song-and-dance numbers. Don't get me wrong, the songs are nice, but they are something that feels weird to moviegoers outside of India. If "Rhythm" was a 100% straight movie it's something I would recommend to anyone without a second thought, even if they aren't familiar with Tamil movies.
... View MoreThis movie is a classic; one of the best movies you'll ever see. It has a simple and modest storyline, a well scripted screenplay, characters that you can easily relate to, subtle romance, beautiful settings both in Ooty and in Mumbai, a beautiful and haunting background music score that brings out your emotions even if minor flaws in acting fail to do so. Arjun is very mature - one of his best displays of acting, Meena looks stunning as a widow who develops feelings for another widower but hides her feelings fearing the social stigma against widow remarriage, Jothika and Ramesh Arvind play their roles to the T. Lakshmi could not have done more justice to the role of a staunch and orthodox Iyengar mother-in-law who disowns her son and later feels guilt and sympathy towards her daughter-in-law after having lost her son.Easily the most beautiful family entertainer (in tamil) of the past decade!9/10
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