Radhamani (Guru Somasundaram), an avid alcoholic disrupts and ruptures his own family with his alcoholism. An otherwise honest and hard working man falls into the addiction, making his wife Anjalai (Sanchana Natarajan) take a step and admit him in a rehabilitation centre run by Asokan (John Vijay).
The following days inside the rehabilitation centre and the worsening withdrawal symptoms make Radha take a dawning decision of escaping the centre. Upon swearing of never drinking again, the cycle just repeats making his life bad and his family’s worse. Will the once good and caring man find his ways back or succumb to the fatal addiction makes up the rest of the well written plot.
The Characters
A simple plot with good writing becomes a great film with the proper cast and crew. ‘Bottle Radha’ is full of immense talents with Guru Somasundaram taking the titular character as Radha, who captured the realistic and stimulating role of an alcoholic who is aware of the wrong ways but couldn’t find himself to retrace his life. A startling and arresting performer who has proven worthy of all the accolades in the past has done it again with accuracy.
Kadhalikka Neramillai’ Movie ReviewJohn Vijay as Asokan, a dependable owner of the rehabilitation centre navigates his way into a scene stealer whenever present. Mostly seen as a greyish character, he delivers a memorable performance in ‘Bottle Radha’ too.
Sanchana Natarajan appears as the troubled, suffering wife who is on the brink of giving up everytime her beloved husband takes advantage of her trust. Her clean faced, resilient outlook with a daring character development in the second half is impressive in writing and execution.
Every supporting actor in the movie does their part for the enhancement of the scenes like Pari Elavazhagan who is the mirror for Radha on how life would be if not for the support system that he has is well thought. Lollu Sabha Maaran in his usual element creates wields chuckles here and there.
The Positive Aspects
Dhinakaran Sivalingam in his debut has put out a strong message that reflects his strength as a writer with the ability to conjure life like characters who at any point contribute to the plot like the character ‘Ribbon’ whose death shifts the plot.
Guru Somasundaram in his dual release on a single day works magic on screen. Overdoing the addiction or the high is a big worry for such message oriented films that might rupture the emotions and the lead man makes sure to stand balanced throughout the movie.
Sean Rolden’s soulful music in the second half heightens the emotions and also soothes a light heartedness in the first half.
The director’s vision on comparing the life of Radha with himself through metaphors is impressive. Be it the Andy Dufresne scenic resemblance of rain denoting the redemption of Radha or the reference of ‘Red’ as another mirror character doesn’t go unnoticed. Radha’s accusations towards his wife and his words almost becoming true in his head gives him a much needed snap is also well written.
The Negative Aspects
The importance of opting into a rehab and attending Alcoholic Anonymous is stressed well enough in the movie almost a little more in the first half where the repetitive cycle of alcoholics frequenting the rehabilitation centre takes up a lot of time.
The emotional second half is interrupted by a bar song that has all the ‘addicts’ dancing with a glass of drink in their heads distracts the flow, although the sudden and unexpected death does surprise and makes up for the song.
The Verdict
Dhinakaran Sivalingam’s writing clubs the highest and lows with perfect casting makes the film a worthy watch. ‘Bottle Radha’ preaches a much needed and well thought out message filled with a good mix of humour and emotions presented with a side dish of impressive writing and performances.
