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

A temple priest chides his lord, a folk deity, for not giving it back to the villagers who have somehow always managed to disrespect both the deity and the priest. The latest misstep was sticking posters on the temple walls for a wedding they weren’t formally invited to. “Show them you are here every once in a while,” urges the priest, and for the next 140-odd minutes, this is what happens. Let me clarify: this isn’t a saami padam, which seems to be the season’s theme. This is debutant director Raja Karuppasamy’s Modha Rathri, a comedy-drama that taps into the well of human emotion and is in equal parts hilarious and heartfelt.

But I stand by what I said; the supernatural plays a central role. Not inviting the priest (played by the ever-impressive Chetan), who we realise is the groom’s uncle, is the first “saamikutham” that imperils the wedding between Maruthanayagam (Rishikanth) and Muthuselvi (Anishma Anilkumar). In this world, superstitions might be true. Before a furniture owner finishes saying how auspicious the day is, his worker gets in his way with a log of wood — the same worker whose mistake will send them on an unforgettable night carrying a bed they made for the titular nuptial night. Even the tolls of a temple bell at the right time carry immense meaning, as “a divine approval,” leading to how the plot moves.

Anishma in a still from ‘Modha Rathri’
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

All of this is intentional, for at the thematic centre of it all, Raja’s film defines the divine more broadly as ‘fate’ or ‘destiny.’ This is 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; we don’t get the full picture immediately, but even after spending five years in Dubai, Maruthu still lives merely as a reminiscence of who he was. The weary eyes of Rishikanth (who we will soon see in Dorothy) carry the weight of Maruthu’s past so effortlessly that you don’t question him when his uncle (Abdool Lee in his element) manages to guilt-trip and coerce him into agreeing to a marriage he had no clue about on the day of the wedding.

At least Maruthu’s position is clear. The weather in Selvi’s world changes so rapidly that her plight almost rage-baits the viewer. Selvi, too, isn’t interested in the wedding and plans to elope with her good-for-nothing boyfriend (aced by director Raja himself). Except the latter messes up the plan by — wait for it — oversleeping! Anishma, 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 get married, and this ticking time bomb explodes with laughs, tears and poignancy over the titular modha rathri.

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 has 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 (Bagavathi Perumal) annoys you with his tantrums. However, 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. If the characters don’t make you laugh, they make you think. You think about 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. 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 like how even the divine, through the priest, cannot do it all at the end of the night. Modha Rathri is a night to remember.

Modha Rathri is streaming on Netflix