Adi Rakkamma from Thalapathi - Brilliant Choreography

I saw Thalapathi the other day. Though the story is loosely based on the Mahabharata, credit must be given to Mani Ratnam for the twists and turns he brought about in the story. One interesting turn was having Rajini marry the woman, whose husband he had killed. Again the beauty of the film was the plot was so thick that the inadequacies in acting certainly was not a dampner. The plot was gripping from start to end.

But what impressed me a great deal was the choreography for the song - Adi Rakkamma. In fact i enjoyed it so much that i stopped the film midway and played it again. The song is brilliant no doubt, but the way its filmed makes it exceptional. The whole sequence of movements has such a raw appeal. What impressed me most was that the limelight was actually stolen by the side dancers. There was no effort by the director to highlight Rajini or even Sonu Walia. In fact we only see the complete face of Sonu Walia only towards the end of the song. Though i must admit i did not like Shobana's entry, it was spoiling the mood. But without her the song would have been meaningless, and would not have realised the feeling Rajini has for her.
This song did show that item number essentially means a racy tune with lots of dacing, and not sleaze as what most item numbers turn out to be.