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Sindhu Bhairavi
1985 159’ col Tamil d/s K. Balachander p Rajam Balachander,
- Natarajan pc Kavithalaya Prod.
lyr Vairamuthu c Raghunatha Reddy m Ilaiyaraja lp Sivakumar, Delhi Ganesh, Janakaraj, T.S. Raghavendran, Prathap Pothan, Suhasini, Sulakshana, Manimala, Sivachandran, Indira, Meera
Musical melodrama in the genre of Dasari Narayana Rao’s Megha Sandesam (1982) and K. Vishwanath’s revivalist stories advocating ‘traditional’ notions of ‘classical’ artistry. The classical singer J.K. Balaganapathi (Sivakumar) falls in love with Sindhu (Suhasini in one of her best known screen roles), a folkmusic teacher. His barren wife Bhairavi (Sulakshana) attempts suicide and he renounces his affair, only to seek refuge in drink, which entails degrading scenes such as a forced strip tease and the singing of nonclassical folk songs in exchange for alcohol. Bhairavi then sacrifices herself for the sake of her husband’s music and asks Sindhu to help save the artist. Nevertheless, the film follows the convention of passing off male infantilism as evidence of a commitment to ‘traditional values’. Women sacrificing themselves for the sake of an immature man’s singing ability can be seen, against the grain of the film, as raising critical questions about arrogantly patriarchal fantasies, mainly through the performances of the two main female protagonists.