Rishikanth and Anishma shine in Modha Rathri's witty, heartfelt comedy-drama debut

'Modha Rathri' movie review: Rishikanth and Anishma are fantastic in this hilarious, poignant comedy-drama

Debutant director Raja Karuppasamy has crafted a comedy-drama that mines human emotion with surprising deftness, delivering a film that is simultaneously laugh-out-loud funny and deeply affecting. Modha Rathri, now streaming on Netflix, follows two reluctant individuals thrust into an arranged marriage neither wants, and tracks their tumultuous first night together as fate, family dysfunction, and village superstition collide.

A deity's revenge sets the stage

The film opens with a temple priest, played by the ever-impressive Chetan, chiding his lord, a folk deity, for failing to remind the villagers of his presence. The priest's frustration stems from a pattern of disrespect: the latest transgression saw wedding posters plastered across the temple walls for a ceremony to which neither deity nor priest were formally invited. "Show them you are here every once in a while," the priest urges, and what unfolds over the next 140-odd minutes suggests his prayer has been answered. This isn't a saami padam, the supernatural horror subgenre currently popular, but the divine and the superstitious do play central roles in propelling the narrative.

Not inviting the priest, who turns out to be the groom's uncle, becomes the first "saamikutham", a cursed misstep, that imperils the wedding between Maruthanayagam, known as Maruthu, and Muthuselvi, called Selvi. In Raja's world, superstitions might be true: before a furniture owner finishes declaring how auspicious the day is, his worker interrupts with a log of wood, and that same worker's mistake will send them on an unforgettable nocturnal journey carrying a bed made for the titular nuptial night. Even the tolls of a temple bell arrive at precisely the right moment to function as "a divine approval," shaping how the plot unfolds.

Fate as the film's thematic core

All of this is intentional. At its thematic centre, Raja's film defines the divine more broadly as fate or destiny, positioning Modha Rathri as essentially a story about how one fateful night brings together two distinct people who oddly seem to fit like yin and yang due to their situations and what they lost to get there, with some help from destiny.

The inauspicious event that shut the temple's well also plunged Maruthu into darkness. The film doesn't reveal the full picture immediately, but even after spending five years in Dubai, Maruthu still lives merely as a reminiscence of who he was. Rishikanth, who will soon appear in Dorothy, carries the weight of Maruthu's past in his weary eyes so effortlessly that it becomes entirely believable when his uncle, played by Abdool Lee in his element, manages to guilt-trip and coerce him into agreeing to a marriage he had no clue about on the very day of the wedding. At least Maruthu's position is clear from the outset.

Selvi's plight and a boyfriend who oversleeps

The weather in Selvi's world changes so rapidly that her plight almost rage-baits the viewer. Selvi, too, has no interest in the wedding and plans to elope with her good-for-nothing boyfriend, played by director Raja himself. Except the boyfriend spectacularly messes up the escape plan by, wait for it, oversleeping. Anishma Anilkumar, who was superb in Sirai and Youth, assuredly conveys Selvi's increasing disillusionment, bewilderment, and the emotional weight of realising her dire situation.

Maruthu and Selvi do get married, and this ticking time bomb explodes with laughs, tears and poignancy over the titular modha rathri, the first night. In his first directorial effort, Raja surprises with how assuredly he pulls off the humour. It's a hoot whenever the many subplots intersect, but the film also offers many minor moments that leave you in stitches, like a hilarious moment involving Selvi on stage or what happens to her boyfriend on his way to her home in the dead of night.

An innovative idea involves the boyfriend's two friends who torment him through his conscience. Every character in this film has their own shortcomings, and Raja seamlessly taps into those traits for laughs and bigger statements. Muthu's maternal uncle Saravanan, played by Bagavathi Perumal, annoys you with his tantrums, yet a grown man holding his late brother-in-law's picture and struggling with low self-esteem and life's reality seems juvenile and pitiful.

Characters that make you laugh, and think

If the characters don't make you laugh, they make you think. The film prompts reflection on how people treat the wage worker who works at a family function. The characters make you ponder the many women who still have to fight to get higher education. While the whole village can unite for a wedding, they won't stand with a lone man protesting for their future.

The way these colourful characters, who are found in most families, interact with one another is something to watch, and it's no wonder Raja's film has clicked with families. Even the adult jokes the in-laws crack aren't crass, but resemble how most gossiping relatives speak. Of course, despite the well-written scenes in the second half, many might have reservations about how the film resolves the conflict.

A climax that prompts deeper questions

In the climax, you start to wonder whether the central storyline about Maruthu and Selvi could have used more heft. But by then, Raja would have already made you ponder Maruthu going, "You at least have questions to ask". You would already be thinking about how most marriages, as the priest says, do not happen for the right reasons. Or you might appreciate how even the divine, through the priest, cannot do it all at the end of the night.

Outstanding performances anchor the film

Rishikanth and Anishma are fantastic in their roles, grounding the film's emotional arc with performances that feel lived-in and authentic. Rishikanth's portrayal of a man who exists only as a shadow of his former self is conveyed entirely through his exhausted gaze and resigned body language. Anishma moves through a rapid-fire sequence of emotions, hope, confusion, betrayal, and finally a grim acceptance, with complete conviction. The supporting cast, including Chetan as the aggrieved priest, Abdool Lee as the manipulative uncle, and Bagavathi Perumal as the insecure Saravanan, all deliver memorable turns that enrich the film's tapestry.

Modha Rathri is a night to remember. Raja Karuppasamy announces himself as a filmmaker to watch, one who understands that comedy and pathos are not opposing forces but complementary sides of the same coin. The film's willingness to blend the mundane with the mystical, to find humour in human frailty, and to ask uncomfortable questions about tradition and agency makes it stand out in a crowded field. While some may quibble with the resolution, the journey itself, messy, funny, touching, and deeply human, is well worth taking.

Modha Rathri is streaming on Netflix.

Source: The Hindu