Sarvam Thaala Mayam
Sarvam Thaala Mayam.PR Handout

Rajiv Menon's Sarvam Thaala Mayam is releasing on Friday, 1 February, following positive reviews from the celebrities and critics. The cinematographer-turned-director has directed the movie after a gap of 18 years and has come up with yet another beautiful movie, according those who have already watched the movie.

Cast and Crew:
Aparna Balamurali is the female lead in the movie in which Nedumudi Venu will be seen in an important role. Vineeth, Santha Dhananjayan, Kumaravel, Dhivyadharshini and others are part of the cast. The movie has music of AR Rahman. It has Ravi Yadav's cinematography, while Anthony has edited the flick

Story and Analysis:
The story is about aspiration and hope which revolves around a Dalit Christian Peter Johnson (GV Prakash) and his urge to find feet in the field of Carnatic music. 

Peter, who is a fan of Thalapathy Vijay, is the son of Johnson, who makes Mridangam. He leads an aimless life till he comes across Palakkad Vembu Iyer (Nedumudi Venu), a mridangam exponent.  He becomes a fan of Carnatic music and decides to learn mridangam from Iyer. 

Get trained under him is not a cakewalk as Peter does not belong to an upper caste. In his desire to learn the music, he faces humilation from Palakkad Vembu Iyer's assitant, but his desire finally wins as the the latter accepts the former as his student. 

The movie neatly presents the casteist Carnatic music scene, but does not end up indulge in blame game rather portrays an young man scaling heights to fulfill his dream. It is an inspirational film, yet the same time showcases the existing caste supremacy. One fine example is when Peter is served in a different glass. On the flip side, the romantic portions between Prakash and Aparna fail to work and the second half could have been a little better. 

Performance: 

GV Prakash has come out with flying colors and it is easily his best performance till date. Nedumudi Venu is equally good. AR Rahman's three songs like Maya Maya, Varalama and Maakelara Vichaaramu have struck the chord with the listeners, but the album is no match to his previous works like Minsara Kanavu (1997) and Kandukondain Kandukondain (2002) of Rajiv Menon. Cinematography is top class. 

Check out the audience review in their words below:

Assault Sethu: #SarvamThaalaMayam ! First Half !
@gvprakash Career Best Performance Establish And The Creates The Musical Drama Intense And Emotional Nedumudi Venu Performance Scores High #ARR Subtle And Brilliantly Handled Drums And Bgm Rajiv Menon Came Back With Emotional Musical Drama !

Rajasekar: #SarvamThaalaMayam first half - brilliant. #NedumudiVenu is fantastic as the Mridangam expert. @gvprakash is earnest and sincere as his disciple. What I really love about the film is @DirRajivMenon hasn't glorified any community here, he has only captured the truth! Plain truth!
#SarvamThaalaMayam - Best Tamil film musical drama. Nedumudi Venu will be the top contender for National Awards next year . @gvprakash 's career best performance. 17 years since his last film yet @DirRajivMenon scored a hat-trick as a dir, his terrific form continues
Best costume, best makeup and best performance so far in @gvprakash s acting career. @DirRajivMenon has brought the best out of him !! And nedumudi venu - You gotta to watch his performance in theater to know the greatness of his acting !! #SarvamThaalaMayam .

Prashanth Rangaswamy: #SarvamThaalaMayam - The movie has single handedly taken carnatic music out from d hands of few and has given it to the general public. Never thought I will have tears in my eyes for a musical movie. Every type of audience will celebrate this movie. Sir @DirRajivMenon - King sir!

Sidhu: #SarvamThaalaMayam Interval: To all those who're doubting ARR's form these days, come watch the film for the real deal. The composer is on beast mode right from the title BGM, giving in the best possible score to @gvprakash and #NedumudiVenu's superb performances.
#SarvamThaalaMayam Interval: Wonderful film so far. @DirRajivMenon deals with important topics sans taking sides, telling a heartfelt story. It's great how nothing seems forced here, everything is real and true!

Surendhar MK: #SarvamThaalaMayam: A stark social commentary smartly wrapped & presented in the form of a musical drama. Caste hierarchy, social stratification, original VS copied/inspired works, media sensationalism, etc dealt very delicately in an understated way. @DirRajivMenon @gvprakash

Ramesh Bala: #SarvamThaalaMayam [3.5/5] : A Man's Musical journey.. How he discovers himself and overcomes odds..
@gvprakash is fantastic as the musician..
#NedumudiVenu as the Guru has lived it..
@arrahman 's music is the backbone..
@DirRajivMenon has handled a difficult subject well

KA.RAJIVGANDHI: What a transformation... a lot of Surprises. Vera level performance @gvprakash bro. Never see u in single frame. Loves to peter #SarvamThaalaMayam @onlynikil #STMFromFeb1st #stmpremier