Vishwaroopam - Review posted in FB

Watched Viswaroopam - Tamil version in theatre. Liked it better than Viswaroop - probably because of the language. But also, I feel that the film demands more "involvement" from the viewer to enjoy it - Editing could have been better to keep the audience in the flow. It is hard to understand the sequence/consequence of the scenes (1) ...Kamal has tried his best to stay away from his "methavi-ism" in the movie(2)..... Not all characters in focus justifies their portrayal (unless Kamal will sit next to each audience and explain it) (3). The movie still leaves a lot of cinematic stuff(4).

Despite all that it is a Brilliant performance, production, storyline, etc....

It might be claimed that it is just a movie... The fact remains though that it triggers some uncomfortable questions around what is the meaning of "peace making" in troubled countries....... Kamal Hassan has left it - rightly so - to viewers' contemplation - if at all if this is of any interest. In my view, though the film is violent in presentation, the message underlined throughout the movie is "Peace".

An extraordinary movie and definitely sets the standards high from local masala.
With my very limited exposure to Hindi movies, probably Bollywood should be the first one - given the size of the market - to learn film-making from this ever-hunger superstar. In my view, much highly rated , non-masala movies , Rang-De-Basanti, 3 Idiots, Lagaan, etc are nowhere near the hallmark of Viswaroopam - but for the storyline of the movies (Tare Zameen Par is not mentioned in the list intentionally).

All the "famous" Kollywood directors - likes of Shankar, Muragadoss (Khajini) and whomsoever known for high budget, mass hit directors should go down on their knees....The film triggers to rate Kamal Hassan as the best director in contemporary cinema. I wish we had a few more serious people in the industry who are capable and loves the art they are pursuing.

Having said all of that, it is still not enough. The "movie experience" is still not complete...The cinema has to get rid of "cinematic" stuff....And for Kamalhassan he has to go beyond himself for the art he loves.....

Conclusion : A must watch if you have not yet.... A must buy movie (DVD - on official release )

-----skip if you have not watched the movie yet-----
1) At least I did not understand what is the significance of "Antique" shop scene. Why Kamal had to lead the "private detective" to the warehouse ?
2) Dialogues related to "existence of God", "nallavara kettavara" etc. Better he could have avoided even these dialogues. At least happy that he did not induldge in it more.
3) Why is there a character of Angela required ?
4) like someone who has high profile of triggering atomic explosion in newyork city will have direct engagement in "on the field" activities, dialogues (FBI interrogation, many conversations while the troop is on the run), need and role of Pooja in the operations - given that Kamal and Angela has bugged everything in her office. Osama ? Prime minister

"I" - A pshycic (dis)order

Shankar had been tactical in choosing his subject of the movie and executing it technically well. Largely he had altered between romance and violence(linked to some social cause) over last 20 years. Obviously these are the subjects that can attract the mass invariably. The last two of his ventures having been a bit away from both ( Enthiran being science fiction and Nanban - a remake of social comedy ).

"I" is combination of romance and violence. While the romance is as pleasant as it can be shown on the screen, the violence is so ugly to be even narrated in a review.

The screenplay ( should i say editing ) moves fluently between the present and the past without bringing the burden of "typical flash back". Kudos. Just to be clear, this leaves no suspense to the audience - and it only left to the scene by scene presentation ( is this called "screenplay" ) to keep the audience engaged. With the reputation Shankar has for his presentation, this should have been a cake-walk, albeit it was not so. Only screen presence of Vikram keeps the audience engaged.

At least one good take-away is that the message of love is still in tact. Though it is hero who is doing the lead role, the plot in my view is the heroine's to stick to take the struggle along with him. Vikram's character is full of positivity until the "first half" of the story ( not exactly before intermission ). In general the screen play in the first half is simple and positive and hence nice.

The stunt scenes are not much enjoyable though its worth mentioning the effort visible behind them. The stunt sequence in china reminds the same location that was taken in MI3.

Vikram had proven his commitment to the profession he had chosen. He has done extraordinarily well. Wish he does not lose much of his active time and "structure" with such experiments. Hats-off. The location and camera are treat for the romantic scenes. Emy Jackson looks good in first half and display a bit more emotions in the second half. There is a crew of artiste - done their part well, though their actions are so predictable.

Usual ARR in Shankar's movies is absent - ARR has to re-invent ( even through re-use? ) - not impressive at all. Liked the song "mirasalayitten"(for picturization) , "made in vennila" (both music and picturization), "pookal" (camera). Did not like(could not understand) the other song with Vikram coming like "monkey" at all.


It all started from Movie : Gentleman. Scene: Arjun is interrogated by police. His face is covered with a pillow cover and put with a rat. After a few seconds of sound effects, the pillow cover is removed.... The rat is dead and held by Arjun in his mouth. If you are looking for more of this kind of presentation... don't miss "I". If you can tolerate these sequences for a few lovely scenic and romantic sequences amidst - still watch it. If you are not for this dose at any price.... think it over....

( I am known in my friends circle for my critic views about Shankar's movies. So take it with a pinch of salt ).

Enthiran - A delayed "view" and "review"

My other post on the label narrates my taste for Rajnikant - a gifted, wonderful actor - not just a commercial King.    Despite my "craze" for him,  I could not find the right window to watch the ultra-hit movie "Enthiran" at the time of its release.    Finally I watched the movie on its 100th Day.

I had been quite impressed with a lot of "TV" shows, interviews about this movie.   Audio Release,  Rajni's interview,  Making of the movie etc.. were quite propagating the greatness, uniqueness, adventurousness - and you can add many more such "ness"....   I was impressed.   My friends told me that I would enjoy the movie for Rajnikant for his performance.  

With all these put behind my mind,  I suspected that I might not like the movie as much as I would expect.   And it was the case.   Though there are a few things which are real good.   The top most is the vision with which Late Sujata had written the script for this movie.  A ROBOT with such as skill is very much a possibility in today's world - however, to imagine that in late 80s could not have been a simple one.

The second aspect is the effort and execution Rajni had demonstrated in this movie.   He is simply superb.   He had perfectly fitted into the role of ROBOT in many characters "humble servant",  "dreadfull villain",  "innocent machine", "graceful dancer".  His efforts are relentless and his approach towards the movie with such a high commitment and dedication is an inspiration for everyone - not just for those in the film industry, but for anyone.

Now, coming to the part - what I did not like so much,  the movie is too much "tech weighed".    Despite that the film is fully aided by "graphics",   there is pure lack of "creativity".  The film starts with arrival of ROBOT and entire first half is how nice "chitti" is.  The scene sequences identified are very ordinary ( not that they are natural ).   The second half has no substance at all.   After Chitti becoming the villain, there is no "sense" prevailed in the story, in my view.

The simplest of the things that I could not understand is that "Chitti is only a robot.  He does not have "emotional sense" - meaning, if someone touches him "light" or "rough" will only make litte difference.  The covet by Robot for Ash is something that I could not understand and the entire movie revolves around it. 

The movie is as "stupid" as "I think".  Except for some major sccale of efforts in "graphics" - that too not of much skillful or artistic but only gigantic,  the film is very very ordinary.  

Unnaturally natural....

Normally, my opinions/taste are not in line with majority. Despite of that, I have been an ardinent fan of Rajnikant ( surprise!!!) from my young days. But probably, I could still maintain my distinction from the crowd on the basis of what I like in Rajni. Obviously, the style and mannerism of Rajnikant are unparallel. I have been so attracted by him that while seeing any style/mannerism of heros in other movies, I always used to imagine how it would have come out if Rajni were to do that act.

In my own opinion, I rate Rajnikant as a better actor than he is known for. I was recently watching his movie 6 to 60 ( aarilirnthu arubathu varai ). I wonder if anyone else would have given a better performance!!! Had it been Sivaji or Kamalhasan, who are known for their versatility in acting skills, the film would have more remained as a film. But, the performance of Rajnikant has been so natural, I love to watch that movie for his performance anytime and any number of time. Good screenplay, simple dialogue, supportive set, character roles and simple line of story - the movie in my opinion is a beautiful work by director S.P. Muthuraman.

Rajnikant has acted in this role without any "heroics". His dialogue delivery has been exceptional (something I miss terribly in recent tamil movies - almost none of the current top heroes seem to have this skill ). His facial expressions and body language has been well-suited. The role of "Santhanam" ( acted by Rajnikant) demands expressions of varied feelings under different situations. Love, affection, disappointment, loyalty, friendship, brotherhood, vexed, handling of snoopy colleague, responsibility, inability, self-esteem, humour - what not... The character is all in one - or simply a common man's life. Perfect portrayal of Rajnikant's acting caliber.

One of the credentials for actors is imagination. We have seen this in many renowned performances - Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Gauravam, Thirisoolam and many more by Sivaji Ganesan; Nayakan, Moondram Pirai, Indian - and more by Kamalhasan. However, not very often we get to see a performance (or role) which is more natural in depiction. "6 to 60" has been a such one for Rajnikant. I love it...