Conjeevaram - More than a movie!

Last week, I happened to watch this movie in one of the Tamil Satellite channels "STAR Vijay". It's really a nice experience watching this movie. The movie is setback in the period of 1940's. Personally I am excited when i see movies which are of unusual genre and this is one. You get to know lot of information about the past. May be its true or not, its told and we see it.

Conjeevaram, as Kanchipuram is originally spelled before independence is famous for its silk sarees. Saree is a traditional costume wore by married woman in our parts of the state. And Silk sarees are so special and are considered to be of a superior value, which is usually wore by Indian women on any important occasion or festivals. The other fact is this silk saree is hand woven by the people who have been in this place for centuries.


This movie talks about one such person, who weaves one of the finest Silk sarees. Though he weaves silk sarees, he could not own one such saree or even see a person wearing it. And this is the case for all the weavers in the place. After all they are just labours and the zamindars take credit and do the business. In this movie, the weaver dreams and promises a silk saree for his daughter at the time of her wedding. The movie takes through his journey on how he manages to weave and own a silk saree and was he able to succeed?

There are other aspects which is shown in this movie. It shows how communism had its roots in Indian soil and how it emerged. It shows how important a government job was when a constable feels restless when he finds his hat missing the government emblem. It shows how the present Co-operative society for the weavers in Kanchipuram had formed. It shows how the English were fascinated with hand woven silk sarees. It shows how the labours were charged in return for their marvellous work. It shows the Zamindari system that prevailed then. And there are more! I just watched and admired!

Admired the way it is filmed by Priyadharshan with Prakashraj in the lead role. Its not a movie and its more than that, may be awareness or education!