Angadi Theru (2010)

English Translation: Market Street
Director: Vasanthabalan 
Story: Vasanthabalan, Jeyamohan
Cast: Mahesh, Anjali
Music: Vijay Antony, G. V. Prakash Kumar
Time: 157 minutes
Bottom-line: A vivid eye-opener

One year has gone by since the inception of Revisiting Films with KRK, and on this day, I review one of my favourite Tamil films of this decade.

Anyone familiar with the shopping locations in Chennai will know that Ranganathan Street in T.Nagar is the ultimate place for any sort of textile shopping. But behind the glamorous shopping malls and shops, there lies a dark side. Angadi Theru explores this dark side, that is, it talks about a textile showroom, but from the workers’ point of view. The film features debutant Mahesh and Anjali (in her second major film), with A. Venkatesh and Pandi in the supporting roles.

The story begins with Jyoti Lingam (Mahesh) and Kani (Anjali) roaming about in the streets at night, trying to find a place to sleep. As they finally find a place to sleep along with workers from a construction site, an accident causes a lorry to run over most of the people. The story shifts to a small village in Tamil Nadu, where Lingu lives. After his father dies in an accident, he becomes the sole earner of the family. His friend Marimuthu and he get a job in a textile store in the famous Ranganathan Street. Though initially they are happy to be earning money, they soon realise that the job is a nightmare. The store supervisor brutally beats up anyone who violates the rules or fools around during working hours. Lingu falls in love with Kani, a bold and fearless sales girl. The pitiable working conditions, the difficulties the workers face, and what sacrifices they make are the main themes explored in Angadi Theru.

New actors, relatively new director, completely new theme... how will it run in theatres? A big round of applause for Vasanthabalan for making the film despite these questions that would have been in his mind as well. The reason for directing Angadi Theru is perhaps to indirectly portray the pitiable working condition of employees in an actual textile showroom in Ranganathan Street. There have been cases of employees/customers being abused. And consequently, the reason the film is successful is because of its raw content and realism.

Anjali as Kani

The dialogues of the film reveal a lot of things. When the villagers are recruited for the job, the employers make sure to choose only the orphans, because “only they will do the job properly without giving trouble”. Once the workers enter the shop, they have to be report on time or else they lose a part of their salary for every minute they are late. The mess is literally a mess, where all the workers gobble up food (just in order not to starve) in dirty and unhealthy conditions, and even snatch plates from others to get food. An ex-employee tells Lingu that working twelve hours a day without sitting down ever for a minute has now permanently damaged his legs and made him immobile. “They take you in, drain your energy, and throw you out like garbage” is what he says. Lingu is made to run up and down five floors multiple times to get saris, and when found taking rest, he is abused by the supervisor. Another incident shows a sales girl committing suicide when another salesman rejects her love due to fear of the supervisor.

While this is the main theme, the romance between Lingu and Kani is the secondary theme. There is also some comedy here and there, thanks to Marimuthu’s character. Another thing I noticed is the way the workers express “happiness”. Are there really happy moments for them? Well, that’s pretty much the point: their working conditions are so pitiable that anything other than work brings them joy. In the beginning of the film, just roaming on the streets, splashing rain water on each other brings Kani and Lingu immense joy. Later in the story, when actress Sneha comes to the store to shoot an advertisement, all the men folk immediately bathe and clean up because they are so happy just to see her. The song “Unn Perai Sollum” is another example. Both Lingu and Kani are locked up in the store, and they are afraid of getting caught. But they decide to look at the bright side: when else do they have a chance of trying all the clothes that they otherwise only see and sell? Oblivious to the fact that they are caught on CCTV, they have fun (and for once, the hero and heroine donning a variety of costumes in the middle of a song is not surprising!).

Mahesh as Lingu

Angadi Theru could well be Anjali’s magnum opus. All emotions flow in freely to her face, be it fear, happiness, anger etc. The film gave her instantaneous fame, and she went on to win several awards for this role. Mahesh is impressive in his debut film, with an equally powerful lead performance. I think that’s why the film was able to portray the pitiable conditions properly (I mean, the locals will never ever remain silent if some popular hero gets beaten up by another character, without paying back!). A. Venkatesh, who plays the lewd and aggressive supervisor, has done well in playing the main antagonist role. Pandi, who plays Marimuthu brings in little humour in an otherwise tragic film.

A view of Ranganathan street (yes, it is always this
crowded!)

Look out for the songs “Aval Appadi Ondrum Azhagillai” and “Unn Perai Sollum”. The photography is excellent, for it is able to capture all the brutality, violence, happiness and romance perfectly. In fact, many sources report that most of the film was shot using hidden cameras in the actual street in Chennai. The cumulative effect of the brilliant acting, photography, and the scorching storyline which is brought to life in this vivid, raw, powerful manner leave an impact on you that you will never forget for a long time. Once you watch the film (and this is not a film that you just keep watching multiple times because you are bored), your shopping experience will never be the same again. Angadi Theru is not a pleasant watch, but it is certainly, a must-watch.

My Rating: 4.5/5