Kumki

I am typing this review while the movie is playing. I am that bored. the story line is simple and would have made it good if the movie was around 75 min. too many songs and unnecessary scenes. It would have been better if the movie was based in an old time frame around 1940s. Just saw the climax, the movie sucked. nothing more needs to be said. The site apparently won't let me post a brief review - very much like the movie. The climax at the least could have been done much better. It's too brief and one cannot distinguish which amongst the elephants are winning. I read the other reviews and noticed the praise for the videography. I was not particularly impressed. With the camera technology these days any jackass with half an eye can produce mediocre pics. the music too is nothing to write home about. Having watched the story of pi, I wonder how an English man would have worked the movie. it is movies like these which justify the criticism that English movies are better than tamil ones. so you ask me what I liked best in the movie? That's easy to answer! its the end credits.

Kumki was both disappointing and amazing. But If I have to talk about the overall experience, I must say the disappointment over whelms the amazement.

If you are going for this movie expecting that it's a story about a kumki elephant (a trained elephant that's used to scare away even herds of wild, savage, forest elephants) you are going to be disappointed. There was this 5 minute scene where an experienced rider coaches the main character about the bond between the rider and the elephant. About how the will power of the rider fuels the will of the elephant. About how the courage of the rider gives courage to the elephant (sounds avatar-ish, but true). I was so waiting for this throughout the movie. But disappointingly, the whole movie is more about the bond between the main character and his tribal love interest whom he keeps oogling at from a distance while she merrily frolics in the paddy fields.

What's amazing about this move is the cinematography. Many shots in the movie especially those in the songs "ayyayyayyo aanandame", "sollitaale ava kaadale", "soi soi" are breath taking. Gave me goose bumps.

So if want to walkthrough an art gallery of some stunning landscape shots, I mean really stunning shots, go watch the movie, you will be impressed.

Following the success of Mynaa veteran Director Prabu Solomon comes back with a beautiful story set on the backdrop of the forests of Karnataka, Kerala and proves us once again as a unique nature loving director. The story is not just about the relationship between a mahout and his pet elephant. It unwinds to a very beautiful slow paced, emotional love story with a serious background. This movie takes us through the lives of the farmers in a village named Aadhi kaadu where their threat is a wild elephant named "Komban" which is causing havoc for so many years. So they decide to bring up another elephant to tame the wild one and send that back to the forests. These kinds of elephants are known as "kumki". Bomman (Vikram Prabu) enters with his crew (Kothali and Undiyal) and his beloved showcase elephant Manikam as a replacement take charge of this situation for two days. But he becomes a love stuck mahout when he saw Alli (Lakshmi Menon). So he decides to dare his life and fight against Komban for his love. So did he succeed in this dangerous mission? Is what the rest of the story progressing in a slow pace yet visually enchanting because of the hilly environment and the apt music. Coming to the performances this movie marks the debut for both Vikram Prabhu and Lakshmi Menon (though her first on screen release was Sundarapandiyan). Vikram Prabhu could not have imagined a perfect launch pad than this movie and he has played it well especially his expressions and looks in his eyes when he becomes love stuck with Alli. Lakshmi Menon after her praise for her acting in Sundarapandiyan gives us a brilliant performance as an innocent village girl (it's been buzzed that she is just 15 and doing her class ten!) and delivers us such a matured acting with her cute expressions specially when she accepts Vikram's love. National award winner Thambi Ramaiah as (Kothali) is the one who talks more in the movie than the lead roles and with Undiyal (Ashwin) he creates good humour on screen. The songs and BGM were so apt for the serene and situations of the movie and was brilliantly composed by D.Imman and definitely "Ayyayo anandhame", "Onnum Puriyala" and "sollitaley " are strong contenders for this year's top five songs. Hats off to the cinematographer Sukumar for making us glued to our seats by presenting something so dreamy in front on screen. On the down side I have to say about the VFX of the elephant action scenes where not up to the mark when compared to Life of Pi, Naan E. Could have been definitely better . Get inside for a Parbhu Solomon flavour movie like Mynaa this will also be 'a journey of love on an elephant'. Verdict: To get the full essence of enjoyment watch it only in theatres.

-Reviewed by Sivakumar Balachandran (bsiva84@gmail.com)

Kumki has fast become one of the many memorable movies of contemporary Tamil cinema.

Vikram Prabhu has done justice to the role. His 'Bomman' is portrayed with an integrity that remains concrete through the movie. Lakshmi Menon as 'Alli' does not have a huge role to play and is not as impressive as veteran actresses but is acceptable all the same. The comedy track with Thambi Ramaiah does get predictable and grates towards the end of the movie. Manickam does not disappoint!

That said and done the script is handled with surprising brilliance, apart from the comedy actually. The direction, music and special effects are beautiful. The location the film is shot in is very well incorporated into the film and brings to the movie a sense of realism that very few movies can capture.

A definite must watch for connoisseurs of good and worthwhile Cinema. Definitely a feather in our cap!

There are several "keys" to "Kumkey's" success. For starters, Kumki elephants are the ones who are trained to drive off the wild elephants from hindering social life of the people dwelling in the forests.. The director Prabu Solomon has not disappointed the audience and has come out with a clear and charismatic feel good film..

Bomman (Vikram Prabu), cute pet elephant Manikkam and his uncle Thambi Ramiah are nomads, and the 2 (plus another character called Undial) depend on Manikkam for their living... Manikkam is not a wild elephant due to unfortunate circumstances, he had to go to a village pretending to be the Kumki elephant, whom they had hired to protect them from Komban, the terror elephant..

They were just meant to act for 2 days and luckily, Komban does not show up on those days. When the original Kumki was ready to replace Manikkam, Bomman had already fallen in love with Alli (Lakshmi Menon) and decides to stay at the village, pretending to have an actual Kumki in the form of Manikkam. They have some success in training Manikam to do the job of a Kumki.

Alli is is the daughter of the village head, who is very particular about the culture and heritage of the village. The cinematography is splendid and the songs have reached every nook and corner of the state. The screams start even before the song begins... Thambi Ramiah's timing comedy is impeccable and u just cannot stop laughing... Vikram has done really well and will add on to the family legacy.

The second half deals with what happens to Komban?, is he defeated?, does the love story hit a dead end? Did all of them live happily ever after? Well, to have these questions answered, go and watch d film... Definitely worth watching... 8.5/10 it is....