Nala Damayanthi
Language: Tamil
Director: Mouli
Music: Ramesh Vinayagam
Cast: Madhavan, Geetu Mohandas
Songs: moviesongs.net
Rating: ***

Synopsis

Nala Damayanthi, a clean film directed by Mouli is the story of Ramji, a simple Palghat brahmin cook. It is Kamal's brainchild with the role that he had written keeping himself in mind.

Review

Ramji (Madhavan), leaves to Melbourne, Australia to earn that extra money to settle debts caused by his sister's wedding expenses. Things goes for a toss when Ramji does not get the promised job, loses his belongings including his passport and finds himself on the streets of Melbourne.Badri (Shriman) and his wife (Anu Hassan) who owns a restaurant give him shelter and he becomes one of their cooks. To escape the hounding by the immigration department, Badri's lawyer friend Ivan persuades Ramji to marry his own fiancée Damayanthi (Geetu Mohandas). Damayanthi, an Australian citizen of Srilankan Tamil origin agrees to the wedding for money. The wedding and the attempts to fool the immigration officials form the rest of the story.

Though the storyline doesnt seem very logical, it tries to sustain the viewers' interest till the end. Even though Madhavan's natural sophistication about - Madhavan doesn't jell him with the image of a poor, little educated cook -, he comes out with a convincing portrayal. Geetu Mohandas, the new heroine, seems to convey even the minute expressions with ease. Kamal does make an appearance in the closing scene, playing himself, in his 'Sandiyar' get-up which has nothing to do with the movie. Music by Ramesh Vinayagam disappoints but the camera of debutant Siddharth offers an affordable Australian outing.