Anjali

There are 2 major aspects of this movie which makes it very interesting - 1. ManiRatnam's unique and brilliant style of movie-making, 2. Children.

The movie actually reminds me of the novel 'To Kill a Mocking Bird'. And the director has done a great job indianising the novel and making a commercial movie out of it.The characters of Jem, Scout and Boo Radley from the novel have been very well depicted in the movie.

The brother-sister relationship (played by Tarun and Shruthi), different kinds of people in the colony, the scarily unseen neighbor(played by Prabhu) who is spied by the kids, how the society discriminates certain people (a mentally retarded sister in this case), how the 2 children take the brunt of their neighborhood kids ridicule and then learn to handle it - have all been very well depicted.

Though the screenplay is not perfect and definitely not as good as ManiRatnam's other movies, we still find it interesting and unforgettable. All the characters have been very well played (Credit goes to the director for getting it out of the kids). And not to forget the great music and great cinematography.

Overall its a 'must watch' movie.

It seems odd and serves as a good case study when seeing how kids spent their days in the 90s. The story slowly picks up one event after another with frequent songs and terrific dance choreography. The house setup seems odd, with lack of background materials but it works for the mood of the film.

The film making and acting by kids look genuine and flawless. The screenplay takes off in the second half, with people maintaining distance from the estranged kid and conciling with her. Revathi is brilliant and forms the crux of the story. The emotional longing for acceptance is the driving point of this beautiful kids film.

This film totally deserves a full page in film making dictionary. Epic work by mani sir & all actors. We shouldn't mention shamili{Anjali}, tarun{brother}, sruti{sister} and all children as child actors & artists because they are supremely talented as if they worked in industry from ages. A MUST WATCH MASTERPIECE OF INDIAN CINEMA from SOUTH. In every category this film teaches a lesson. cinematography,editing,lighting,story,direction,screenplay etc.,.....EVERY ASPECT is a lesson for film making aspirants.

MUSIC ! no need of any explanation. just one name ILAIYARAAJA . This film is his 500th film.

Many reviewers have said it's 'To kill a mocking bird'. I feel its story also has lots of E.T in it.

The way the alien is found disgusting, then adorable and then the E.T finds home. So if 'To kill a mocking bird is also included, I'll give only one star. It was entertaining and can be seen as a derivative adaptation and not a copy of the two films, there it scores a 8.

The music is the highlight of the movie, so are the children. Just love all the songs in the movie, has got a lot of nostalgic value.

Raguvaran and Revathy gave a very well nuanced performance as the mom and dad of Anjali, and Shamili as Anjali was outstanding, should congratulate Manirathnam for extracting good performances out of the artists.

This is an unashamedly populist film. As a result, it's got the occasional cringe-worthy cheesy sequence (and I'm thinking the Science Fiction / Star Wars pastiche here), and it doesn't really grapple with the reality of bringing up a disabled kid.

However, it has some excellent and very funny scenes, and it does deal brilliantly with social attitudes to disability. It features the full masala quotient, with fights, singing, dancing, bad jokes and pyaar-ishq-mohabbat. It also made me cry like a baby.

In conclusion, an utterly excellent film, although not without flaws (as Mani Ratnam himself admits), which features stunning and thoroughly convincing performances. Should be seen by everybody.