60 Vayadu Maaniram

60 Vayadu Maaniram from Radha Mohan has this message about taking care of your parents written all over it. As a viewer, I wish to see cinemas that express their messages in the most silent way making us understand that message by taking an effort through exploring the emotional arcs of characters. A movie like Pasanga 2 was fine in terms of what it wanted to convey. But cinematically it was so loud and on your face that you don’t wish to see such a film again. 60 Vayadu Maaniram is one such movie where you will appreciate the intent of the film, but as the craftsmanship involved is so dull, you won’t recommend it to someone.

Govindarajan is a retired professor who is in a care home as he is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s decease. His son is a corporate employee who rarely visits his father and considers paying for his father’s care is itself a great thing to do. Govindarajan goes missing one day from the care home and his son and the doctor there is now searching for him everywhere. The search of this son and doctor for Govindarajan and what kind of care Govindarajan experiences with a bunch of total strangers is what the content of 60 Vayadu Maaniram.

There is a class of audience who will praise a movie just based on the message it tries to showcase. Movies like Kadaikkutty Singham works mainly because of the acceptance it gets to the loud way of telling people about love and harmony. Radha Mohan’s other films have always been slightly on the louder side, yet there was an emotional warmth in them. When it comes to 60 Vayadu Maaniram, that warmth is happening only in the very last few bits of the movie and this movie demands a more rooted and genuine portrayal of characters rather than the kind of peripheral depiction. The way they are trying to make the son character insensitive is very close to some of the mediocre government ads.

Prakash Raj is undeniably the best thing in this preach. He is earnest in his performance and I had tears in my eyes when he narrated the love story with all the memory hiccups. Govindarajan is the most important character here and Prakash Raj makes sure that his performance will appeal to all class of audience. Vikram Prabhu has been on the monotonous side when it comes to performances and here also I can’t find that grace or angst in his performance. Samuthirakkani was fine as the goon. Indhuja as the doctor also delivers a performance with subtlety. Even though the character was written for the sake of humor, Elango Kumaravel delivers a really memorable performance here.

This is apparently Radha Mohan’s first remake. I haven’t seen Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu, so this review won’t have comparisons. Radha Mohan’s trademark ingredients like emotional preaching and sentiments are definitely there in 60 Vayadu Maaniram. But the movie isn’t trying to have finer layers. There is no realism or minimalism in presenting the “message” and I must say that you have to be way too naïve to get affected by this story about compassion. The cinematography is just okay and Ilaiyaraja’s tunes and background scores don’t have that old magic.

If you are someone who liked a movie like Pasanga 2 simply because it had a message, then 60 Vayadu Maaniram might work for you. Even the typical Radha Mohan feel-good vibe is not present here. Prakash Raj is flawless, but the movie is unfortunately dull.

Rating: 2.5/5