If it is Kamal, it has to be different. When there is lot of movies on lovers , gangsters ,and college guys, Anbe Sivam singles out ,depicting the emotional exchanges between two men, who had not seen each other before, nor have anything in common except that they have to travel together from the rain hit Orissa to Chennai. The adventures these two men have on their way and the strong bond that forms between them in the end is portrayed beautifully. Interesting story and screenplay, thanks to writer Kamal.

Madhavan plays Ars (Anbarasu) an Ad film maker ,who takes life easy, self-centered , thinks he knows everything – a typical youngster attitude. He realizes that he has a lot to learn when he travels with Nalla Sivam( Kamal), a crippled man, with scars on his face , mature and experienced. The unrefined ways, rude jokes and appearance makes Ars dislike Sivam at first but once he understands his true nature, develops a liking for him.

Nalla (Kamal) an artiste and workers’ leader, fighting for their rights, conducts street plays for their awareness. He and his boss’s daughter Bala (Kiran) fall in love and decide to marry secretly. But an accident makes him crippled. (oh…no…nothing more on story line)

There is no one who can play this role better than Kamal. Trembling jaws and speaking eyes, he has done a splendid job with great ease. The surprise package is Madhavan. A completely different role of a man who has seen only success in his life. Madhavan shows brilliant expressions throughout the movie, especially when he shows the transformation from a easy going man to a mature character, who realizes realities. Comedy comes in very handy for him. Its different Kiran altogether. Packing off her glamour doll image, she has proven she can act very well. But the dubbing voice of Anuradha Sriram doesn’t suite her. Nasser, Santhana Bharathi and Uma Riyaz Khan have done their part well. Yuhi Sethu impresses, though he comes for a while.

‘Machi Machi’, ‘Yaar Yaar Sivam’ are fine pieces of Vidya Sagar. He also impresses with re-recording. Art director Prabhakar makes things look so real. The film is well supported by Arthur Wilson’s cinematography. The camera travels with Kamal and Madhavan as the third companion. Crisp editing by Sai Suresh makes the film intresting. But he could have used the scissors a little bit more on the flash back sequence which is very lengthy. Especially the street play makes us yawn.

‘Hats of to Madhan’ on his debut for the sharp and punchy dialogues, which has added life to the movie. Sunder.C has done a good work, but we can feel more Kamal Haasan in the movie than the director. The flash back story is very usual and we have already seen a lot like that. Its lengthy too, testing our patience. The strong climax, when Kamal discovers the bitter truth, makes us feel for him. Good work from Kamal and Co.

Anbe Sivam – If you want some thing different, go for it.