Anbe Sivam
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| Anbe Sivam | |
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 |
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| Directed by | Sundar C |
| Produced by | K. Muralitharan V. Swaminathan G. Venugopal |
| Written by | -Screenplay- Kamal Haasan -Dialogue- Madhan |
| Starring | Kamal Haasan R. Madhavan Nasser Kiran Rathod Santhana Bharathi Balu Anand Chelladurai Uma Riyaz Khan Laxmi Ratten R.S. Shivaji Natarajan Nellai Siva Thatha Ramachandran K. Vishvanath Vijayganesh |
| Music by | Vidyasagar |
| Cinematography | Arthur Wilson |
| Editing by | Suresh Pai |
| Distributed by | Lakshmi Movie Makers |
| Release date(s) |  January 14, 2003 |
| Running time | 160 mins |
| Country | India |
| Language | Tamil |
| IMDb profile | |
Anbe Sivam ("Love is God") is a 2003 Indian film directed by Sundar C. and stars Kamal Haasan and R. Madhavan with music composed by Vidyasagar. The picture is about a series of comic clashes between Nalla Sivam (Kamal Haasan), a wise-cracking, handicapped communist and Anbarasu (R. Madhavan), an arrogant young advertisement filmmaker, that occur when both happen to get stuck with each other on their problem-filled trip home to Chennai from Bhubaneshwar. Themes such as globalisation, financial disparity and compassion in present day India are explored around the two protagonists.
The movie is said to be loosely based on John Hughes's 1987 American film Planes, Trains and Automobiles. However, only the theme of an 'odd couple' travelling together from city A to city B is adapted and both the film's dialogue and characterisations are entirely different. The picture met with critical acclaim upon release, but proved a failure at India's Tamil box office. It was also screened at the 2003 International Film Festival of India.
[edit] Plot
Two travellers, a trade unionist - Nallasivam (Kamal Haasan) and an advertisement executive - Anbarusu (R. Madhavan) get stuck together when their flight from Bhubaneswar to Chennai is cancelled due to bad weather. They both take an eventful journey on trains, buses and taxis. They pass through what can be considered a reflection of the 'real' India, engaging in comic self-reflections and engaging in philosophical debates. During the journey, Nallasivam recounts the love of his life.
He was an activist, falling in love with a progressive girl called Bala (Kiran Rathod), who is the daughter of the local industrialist, Kandaswami Padaiyacchi. Their love blossoms as Nallasivam fights to convince Padaiyacchi (Nasser) to raise the minimum wage of the factory workers. Padaiyacchi disapproves of the relationship. Pursuing the workers' cause, Sivam sets up plays, street dances, dramas and painting exhibitions to further bring light to the workers' situation.
Meanwhile, Padaiyachhi begins to take action to end the relationship - between his daughter and Nallasivam - he so vehemently opposes. In a twist of events, Nallasivam meets with an accident that disables him. When he goes to meet Bala after a long recovery,Bala's father lies to him that she got married and is pregnant. Nallasivam leaves to pursue his communist agenda.
His journeys unite him with Anbarasu, a man who tries to rid himself of NallaSivam's company on many occasions, but fails miserably. Anbarasu is a yuppie who argues that corporatisation and industrialisation in the country has allowed young professionals like himself to become citizens ready to embrace globalisation. Sivam counters with how a large proportion of the labour force in the country is left in the lurch because of MNC industrialisation. References to the collapse of the Soviet Union are drawn, and many incidents along their journey provoke them into further discussion on social issues.
Anbarusu is drawn to Nallasivam in the end, and the young man invites Sivam to his wedding when he realizes that Nallasivam is a good man at heart. The dog "Sangu" plays a very important part in this. The film ends with an unexpected twist, with the themes of compassion and idealism explored and the impact they have on Sivam's mission to help the factory workers.
[edit] Trivia
- The film's dialogue writer Madhan makes a cameo appearance as himself.
- Since she is not fluent in Tamil, Kiran Rathod had her voice in the picture dubbed by playback singer Anuradha Sriram.
- A scene in the film which sees Kamal Haasan's character Nalla Sivam painting a communism-themed mural for Nassar's character Padaiyacchi's firm was inspired by a similar real-life incident involving Diego Rivera's mural Man at the Crossroads for Nelson Rockefeller's Rockefeller Center.
- Uma Riyaz makes a cameo appearance
