Bhagavathi, Nov 04th, 2002

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/fr/2002/11/08/stories/2002110801070202.htm

"Bhagavathy"... showcasing the power of the hero.

A CRIMINAL is a product of circumstance goes the movie axiom. And it is this line that is as old as the hills, which comes to the fore yet again in Lakshmi Movie Makers' "Bhagavathy".
The hero turns into an underworld don but does not seek to avenge the villain who brought it all about. Instead his aim is to see that his dead brother's child is born safely into this world, though the ruthless grandpa of the child wants it killed even in its foetal stage.

Bhagavathy (Vijay) is a tea stall owner - a rough, uneducated young man who strives to educate his brother Guna (Jai). Guna is responsible and studious but makes the fatal mistake of falling in love with the ruthless MP's (Ashish Vidyarthi) daughter, who has the young man killed. And once he knows that his daughter Priya (Monica) is expecting Guna's baby, he orders that his daughter too be done away with. It is now the Bhagavathy's turn to show his brutal power. The quiet and harmless hero becomes a don overnight - you saw it in "Thamizh", and now you see it in "Bhagavathy".

Vijay, who generally does not believe in exerting himself too much in the emotions department, (there are a couple of exceptions though), has made a laudable effort in "Bhagavathy". His anguish at his brother's untimely death, and his subsequent determination to save his brother's loved one have been well delineated by him. But in the romantic sojourns in foreign milieu, the hero is almost stone-faced.

As always the heroine (here, it is Reema Sen) is a forgettable commodity. The duets and the "Vikkal... " song seem thrust in between only to hamper the pace of "Bhagavathy". But such `masala' must have been deemed essential by director Venkatesh, whose "Chocklet" and its "Malai... .." number were lapped up by the masses. The story and screenplay are again by Venkatesh.

Pattukottai Prabhakar's dialogue comes with a punch or two. But the hero, who prides in acting with much forethought, does not appear very sensible. Why else would he have arranged for his brother's wedding when the fellow was still a student and the time so obviously inopportune? Acting with patience and prudence would have shown him in better light.

Again Reema's justification about having exposed Priya to immense danger at the shopping centre is absolutely stupid. But probably one does not raise such queries about formula films.
The MP making a fool of himself time and again and suddenly shown standing vulnerable in the midst of nowhere with the hero going round and round with a cavalcade of Sumo vehicles in tow, are more hilarious than the comic strains of Vadivelu.

The film that seemed to move at an interesting pace makes a nosedive in the climax, with the murder of the politician Singamuthu (Ilavarasu). And that includes the arrest and subsequent release of the hero on bail.