Udanpirappe movie review: Jyotika’s film is familiar, predictable drama

Udanpirappe
Director: Era Saravanan
Cast: Jyotika, Sasikumar, Samuthirakani, Soori and Kalaiarasan

Jyotika’s Udanpirappe, which is also her 50th film, has nothing new to offer. It is a highly predictable rural drama about the bond between two siblings. This the kind of film we’ve seen a zillion time, but it still works thanks to the writing and overall performances. This isn’t a film where Jyotika does all the heavy lifting; she lets other characters steal the limelight, but still manages to leave a strong impact.

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Udanpirappe is about the strained relationship between a brother and his sister. Sasikumar plays Vairavan, who is a violent person and is known for the way he handles every situation with his fists. Jyotika plays his sister Maathangi who is married to a law-abiding schoolteacher, Sargunam (Samuthirakani). An incident changes the relationship between Vairavan and his brother-in-law Sargunam, who vows to never set foot in Vairavan’s house again. 15 years have passed since Maathangi hasn’t been to her brother’s house and their strained relationship forms the core of the movie.

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In terms of story, Udanpirappe feels like it’s stuck in the 1980s. There’s very little in terms of novelty when it comes to the plot. Despite the daily soap hangover, the film manages to touch all the right chords and make for a decent viewing. One of the reasons why it stays engaging is because of the lead performances. Both Sasikumar and Jyotika play their parts to perfection to make scenes between them click. It’s refreshing to see Jyotika in a rural-based story and as Maathangi, a welcome departure from her usual on-screen self, she makes the character largely memorable because of her performance. The conflict scenes between the characters of Sasikumar and Samuthirakani needed to be stronger as everything felt rushed.

If only director Saravanan didn’t resort to using sexual assault as an excuse to make both the families reunite. Nevertheless, Udanpirappe has enough to make it a likeable family drama.

ott:10