- Samuel Johnson

It is good to note that the wonderful sentiment, ``friendship'' is being exploited in the serial ``Anbulla Snehithi.''

The title song by Dhina is good. It is haunting and hummable. This is another feather in his cap after he has given us the stirring melody in ``Chithi''. The lilting melody on the flute and the background score create the right atmosphere. Thaamarai's lyrics are apt and Swarnamalya's choreography is a plus point.

The selection of the cast is excellent. Manorama lives her role. She and Champa, the cook, mouth their dialogue in the typical accent. The bookshop has an old world charm about it. Seema looks dignified while Kalpana Krishnaswamy seems to have grumpiness written all over her face. The highlight of the serial is the presence of two children who not only fill the screen but also our hearts with their pranks and prattle!

For once, it was good to watch the children behaving, thinking and talking like children, unlike in movies where they are all portrayed as infant prodigies. We could well afford to have a few more episodes with those cute children.

Anu Hasan and Swarnamalya as teenagers suit the roles to a T. It is not surprising that Anu portrays the bold and outspoken youngster with ease. Swarnamalya really resembles a pretty, docile doe and is acting all the time, with her eyelids fluttering, nostrils flaring and lips a twirling.

Even when not mouthing any dialogue, she is found reacting to the words of others on screen and that is the hallmark of a good actress.

However, it was painful to view the character Nalini in a half saree. Not only did she look pathetic but also seemed too polished and ``classy'' to be born to dhobi parents.

Also, the viewers were waiting with bated breath for the most interesting twist in the plot when the kids turn teenagers. It fell flat when the introduction was through the `fishy' incident.

The prank of the `forward' class consuming fish on the sly etc. is as old as the hills. All the other characters still looked the same even after the lapse of a few years. Resorting to grey hair and some lines on the face might have helped.

Finally, when you weigh the pros and cons, the former outweigh the latter. The judgement is in favour of spending a worthwhile half hour viewing the heart-warming serial. Kudos to the director who is a good story-teller and her team.

Thara Mohan Rao