ANBE SIVAM (2003) - TAMIL

Love is God. Truth is God. This film stands for love and truth.

Titled as Anbe Sivam (Love is God in Tamil) and as Satyame Sivam (Truth is God in Telugu). This movie is about 2 characters Anbarasu (Satyanand in Telugu) and Nalla Sivam (Sada Sivam in Telugu).

There is lot to speak about this film but I will put it all succinctly and I would like everyone to watch this film. Go through one of the most profound philosophical journeys of Indian films and it may make you feel happier, my very sincere request for every film viewer.

The journey begins amidst floods in Bhubneshwar and ends in Chennai. But how did they make and what have they learnt of each other. How did Nalla get scars on his face and what is love for each of these two protagonists. It questions a lot of beliefs and infact very authentically answers most of them. Most questions are by Anbe while most answers are by Sivam. There is a lot of metaphor hidden behing every thing in this film. Like the painting, Sivam does in an office. There is lot of hidden meaning which can be interpreted in multiple ways. But this is it, Truth is God and there is no so called God if there are no good humans. There is a god in every good human. Now, what is good, this abstraction is enhanced into objectivity by bringing in situations so important to each.

Now, acting is top notch by both and so is music (though it brings in a kind of Enigma feeling). Lyrics, I must say are superb for Tamil and even Telugu versions. My favorite line is this

TAMIL :
"aaththigam paesum adiyaarkeLLaam sivamae anbaagum
aaththigam vaesum naLLavarukkoe anbae sivamaagum"

TELUGU: 

"Aastikulaina hitulandariki sivame satyamata
Naastikulaina Snehithulaku Satyame Sivamanta"

I like it in Telugu, the meaning is:

For all those good theists, god is truth
For all my atheist friends, truth is god

I being an atheist, I believe more in human values than in traditions and the abhorrent customs set by our predecessors. I neither value them nor follow them but yes surely, I have highest respect for humans and their peace and happiness.

Technically, editing should have been better and cinematography had a lot of scope but camera was used very miserly to enhance beauty of scenes. Nevertheless, since I first saw it. I keep visiting this movie very often (say 2 times a year) and will continue to do so.

It's 4/5 for a movie rich in characters and philosophy and even subtle humour. Kudos, to Kamal Haasan, the genius who gave such a wonderful script along with Madan.