Pavithra Srinivasan feels Mambattiyaan fails due;to itslacklustre screenplay and trite dialogues.You know just how a movie is going to fare when its comedian and dancing-girl sidekick receive more applause than the hero himself. That's pretty much the case with Lakshmi Movies' Mambattiyaan, a remake of the earlier version with Thiagarajan. This time round, the father has decided to take the reins, while his son makes his larger-than-life presence felt in the title role.
As a story, Mambattiyaan is not without its attractions the tale of an outlaw who rebels against the local bigwigs, takes to the hills, helps his people and attains a cult-hero status, is undoubtedly appealing. There have been many such films before, but when you watch this re-worked version, you see glimpses of how well it can be done.
The story is simplicity itself. In the hill village of Malaiyur toils a simple labourer couple whose lives are destroyed by the landlord (Kota Sreenivasa Rao).
Their eldest son, Mambattiyaan (wearing a necklace with a beautifully carved seal almost as big as a dinner-plate) duly shouts, shrieks, yells and takes revenge. He also, then, prudently takes to the nearby hills and begins life as an outlaw.
In due course, he meets the love of his life Kannatha (Meera Jasmine), who pops in and out of the story as the
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