SARVAM THAALA MAYAM

Hey look behind, what can you hear, he asks. I can see a man chopping carrot, she replies. And he is quick to respond – but I can listen to the Adi Thalam. Every bit of the chopping, sounds like thalam to me. The whole world is beating to a certain rhythm and it feels like I am in search of that rhythm. The girl adds on that everything you see and hear is Thalam – the pitter patter of the raindrops, the movement of leaves in breeze, and so on. This one statement is all encompassing. Reason enough to name the movie Sarvam Thala Mayam, by all means, a meaningful reentry of filmmaker Rajiv Menon, after a 19 year hiatus.

Just the right mix of Malayalam, Tamil and Carnatic music – this movie is an exotic blend, just like a strong cup of coffee, first thing in the morning in an empty stomach. This movie serves Carnatic music on a platter through Peter. Carnatic fusion bands like Agam do their bit in reaching out to the masses through their fusion mixes. Yet, it’s still like acquired taste, not many have an ear for music. There is so much hesitation, and I am not even sure how many are even aware of the music season. It’s deemed as a different realm, appearing as an unexplored island by the common man.

Our man Peter in Sarvam Thala Mayam is shown as a Thalapathy Vijay fanatic which is so relatable. In fact, that’s the vessel carrying the essence of the movie for what it’s meant to do to a layman viewing a pure Carnatic classical movie. Stark references of the plight of the current reality show stricken TV channels, that too portrayed by the very face we see on TV daily – Divya Darshini is just spot on nailing! Packaging plays a pivotal role, and in that sense STM wraps up the gift of Carnatic music really well. To me, as a person who is an avid listener of Carnatic music, the movie felt nothing less than walking out of a kutcheri. Maakelara vicharamu by Bombay Jayashri with Peter playing the mridangam to her tune is a gratifying conclusion.

 ‘Varalama un arugil’ prior to watching the movie, made me think that the song is to woo the girl. Turned out that it was actually to get the blessing of Peter’s guru and begin learning the mridangam. Such a fascinating number brimming with meaning! The sub layer of caste still dominating the music form is portrayed strongly without hurting the sentiments. The fact that prominent singers like Sikkil Gurucharan, Unnikrishnan, Karthik and Sreenivas are cast in the movie itself, came as a surprising shocker. Reality of the present day Carnatic scene was blatantly exposed on the screen with the help of these characters. Nedumudi Venu stood rock solid and with Vineeth doing just the right thing of the bad guy, the movie spoke volumes of the sad state of affairs. Special mention to the NRI guy requesting for Skype classes, looking for quick fame. Rajiv Menon’s star cast was indeed well researched, job well done.

Sara, Peter’s love interest – the Malayali girl’s nuances were captured just right. Everything from the broken Tamil, typical nursing profession, banana chips that her friend brings back home from Kerala, to the Vanitha magazine that she holds in her hand in the Maya Maya song. This attention to detail was so spot on! Nothing more and nothing less was shown about their romance. The primary message wasn’t about love – it was love of a different kind – for the music.

The theme song is a beautiful composition by AR Rahman, timed just right in the movie, when Peter takes off on a musical journey to different parts of India. The 'chenda' piece in the end is a thumping finish to this song. It shows a musical confluence of all instrumental art forms. In that sense, the theme song does total justice and serves as an anthem for music. STM is a thorough musical in every sense, touching even the behind scenes – that of the making of the mridangam and the lives of people who put in their life into this instrument for it to render music to the upper strata. From a low to a high – quite like the Arahonam and the Avarohanam in a ragam – beginning and the ending.

We’ve probably had one like this before – the movie Sindhubhairavi, which makes an attempt to reach out to the common man through the protagonist who transforms from singing Carnatic songs to singing Barathiyar songs in the latter half of the movie. However, Sarvam Thala Mayam is definitely served as an appealing cup of cappuccino to the millennial generation. A big thanks to ARR’s music and Rajiv Menon’s film making.