Man Madhan Ambu can be described as a intelligent comedy by the successful duo Kamal Hassan and K.S.Ravikumar. From a promising casting, writer and strong technicians, Man Madhan Ambu does not disappoint to deliver.
Firstly talking about the story, this film has a simple cute love story with comical elements. It is about possessive Madhan (Madhavan), setting up a detective, Mannar(Kamal Hasaan) to spy his ex girlfriend, Ambu (Trisha) during her holiday trip to Barcelona with her friend, Deepa (Sangeetha). The simple story has unexpected twists here and there which sets the pace of the film. Kamal interestingly feeds messages on the rich stepping the poor intelligently. Kamal Hassan has written a light hearted story after delivering a gigantic Dasavatharam two years ago. The film contains strong clever dialogues and the play of words at each scene is interesting to watch. Kamal Hassan's idea of revealing flashback in reverse mode needs applaud. Thinking out of the box is not new to this veteran and he has proved his talent once again. However the screenplay lacks punch and pace at the first half, It wonders aimlessly until a major twist before the interval. But the 2nd half sets momentum and leads to a super comical climax. But however it is quite disappointing as it is from Kamal Hassan who always comes with a strong screenplay, comes with a simple story with sprinkles of illogic.
Man Madhan Ambu's next strength is its music. The music is cool and calm just like the movie. The songs are well picturised and suits the movie well. Neela Vaanam's picturisation makes the whole film's mood and in fact saves the film! The casting of the film is also the major strength. Trisha who is speaking in her real voice for the first time evokes emotions well and renders tamil perfectly with her own style. Sangeetha steals the show from the 2nd half onwards with her comic acts and does terribly well during the climax potions. Kamal Hassan as usual does well and proves his talent but one could wonder why his character is designed in such a way the it is too simple for an actor like him to play. Madhavan steals the show by his timing sense and drunkard acts. He is the true hero of Man Madhan Ambu according to me. Other small characters of Ramesh Aravind, Oorvasi, Usha Utup, Kurup couples and the small kids gels well with the flow of the narration.
Man Madhan Ambu also scores in technicality with excellent cinematography. The cool tones and breezy place is showcased beautifully. There were lots of crane shots in the film which makes the film look rich. The films marks its innovation by recording live sounds by avoiding dubbing. Its something new in tamil movies and worth a special mention. The set designs were classy and rich. The colourful, stylish costumes make the film more light hearted like its story.
In overall, the film certainly creates a new skin to Kollywood, thanks to the team of innovation lead by Kamal. The film starts off slowly but takes off in a jet speed in the second half. A novel attempt! VERDICT - 7/10
