Why I didn't enjoy Endhiran

SPOILER ALERT!

Every Tamil film (Well almost) has just one basic story boy meets girl, falls in love, faces his villain and lives with the heroine happily ever after.

Enthiran starts with Rajni the scientist perfecting his creation an android robot that looks like him, talks like him etc. Aishwarya is calling Rajni, who ignores all her calls, it later turns out they're already going steady. (Oops where's our love story?)

Rajni presents his creation the robot to widespread acclaim; he stated aim being to give the technology to the Indian Army so as to reduce loss of human life. But, his professor and the boss of the Robotics Bureau refuse to certify his creation stating that it's just an 'idiotic machine that has no feelings'. We are also shown the professor's other side where he's trying to sell his own imperfect robots to foreign terrorist organisations (Ah, we have our villain! So all the scenes from the trailer would mean it's gonna be Indian robot vs. foreign terrorists? Yum!)

So Scientist Rajni gives feelings and hormones programming to Robot Rajni (Arghh!) and the Robot does some good deeds which earn him the required certification. But along the way Aishwarya kisses the Robot once and the Robot falls in love with her (GOD!) The Robot even dances with Aishwarya, steps which Rajni couldn't have been managed even when he was 20! (Shankar effect!)

The Robot fails the Indian Army evaluation because he starts talking about love peace etc in front of senior army officers. In a fit of rage Rajni destroys the Robot and dumps him in garbage.

Post interval, the villain rescues the robot re-assembles him and gives him an extra red chip that turns him evil. The Robot starts creating more Robots like itself, and soon we have hundreds of Rajni clones who start committing multiple crimes, Aishwarya is kidnapped during her marriage, hundreds of policemen are killed along the way and Robot Rajni starts trying to woo Aishwarya! The rest of the movie is about how the scientist defeats his creation and rescues the damsel in distress.

In the climax when Rajni disables all the Robot clones and removes the red chip from Robot Rajni, the Robot immediately realises all his mistakes (Perplexing stupidity from the movie maker!) As for the poor villain, we learn that he was murdered by the Robot Rajni soon after the interval itself.

The songs are shot spectacularly and there's a lot of graphics thrown in where Shankar excels and one too many forgettable Robot songs where Rajni excels with his Robotic dances moves :P Rajni looks younger than in Sivaji! Aishwarya has been made to look older?? Rajni excels in the negative role!

I'm sure Rajni's pull and the marketing might of the Sun Network would've already ensured the return of investment and maybe a big hit. Shankar has spent 150 Crores to take a world class movie with a typical Tamil movie story line, if only he had spent a little more time on the story than the budget...

Dasavatharam Movie Review

I know it's like 80 days since the movie released... But I guess it's never too late to write about a great movie. The best avatar of Kamalhaasan is definitely the invisible 11th one of the Story & screenplay writer. An intricately woven plot of ten seemingly unrelated characters and storylines merging towards the end with Kamalhaasan's commentary on the society and satire neatly woven in all along the way.

The criticism that the movie lacks a story line is stupid, considering most of the events in the movie happen in a span of about 72 hours.

It's easier to describe the movie through it's 10 characters so I'll do it that way. If you've not watched the movie then U probably shouldn't read this. But if you're like the scores of people who missed lots of minute details maybe this post is for you.

The Movie begins with Kamalhaasan (Govindaraj Ramasamy) addressing a huge crowd. He begins by explaining the butterfly effect and the Chaos theory! Kamal's commentary on the society begins too... He starts off by saying long before the English came here to divide us or religions divided us... we as a country were still fighting among ourselves. We're even fighting now!

Nambi: A Temple priest, who is dumped into the sea with the stone idol he prays because he defies the religious wishes of the king. He chooses to die with the idol over his family. It's pretty obvious what Kamal feels about idol worship and people who blindly follow god.

Govindaraj: The hero of the movie is a biologist who's involved in developing biological weapons for the USA even though his conscience is clearly against it. Isn't everyone like this? When his boss tries to sell off a potent biological weapon he fights them off and gets shipped to India along with the germs.

During a song In Govind is shown stepping out of a god's picture. Is Kamal trying to say Govind is like god's incarnate? or everyone who fights for good is god maybe? :P

Entry Asin the Heroine, in an extremely irritating character! She's a Brahmin? gal who lives in a Mutt and is attached to 'god' So when the vial of germs is put inside the statue of a god she clings to the statue and Govind through the movie. I used to like Asin before the movie... You'll understand if U have watched the movie. It's surprising Govind the brilliant scientist never thought of giving a whack on Asin's head and retrieving the vial to safety!

Govind & Asin have more than one discussions about caste. Asin is a stereotype upper caste girl (old lady?) who asks what caste he is. When she realises that he isn't upper caste she walks into a toilet to prevent him from touching the idol. Kamal quips 'You (people) feel god is better kept in the toilet than coming into contact with us'

Christian Fletcher Rocks! He's an ex CIA agent, mercenary He's single minded in his pursuit to recover the vial to his corrupt bosses. In the climax when he and Narahashi are fighting he quips "remember Hiroshima?" For which Narahashi replies "remember Pearl Harbour?" :) Fletcher also says "Here (India) anybody could get away with anything!" This is how foreigners think about India I guess!

Balarama Naidu, RAW officer, is a stereotype Police officer. He leaves the audience in splits with his Telugu accent and dialogue delivery. He's given the task of interrogating Govind the terrorist and recovering the vial of Germs. Once when Govind is almost caught at Kalifulla's house the first thing he asks Kalifulla is if he's from a terrorist Organisation. He then rounds up the whole village for interrogation at the local mosque, typical police behaviour when they're clueless!

Vincent Poovaraghavan is probably the most meaningful crater in the whole movie. He fights against illegal sand mining.

Avatar Singh is a singer, Avtar Singh is shown contemplating in front of a Sikh Religious Guru's pic as he gets closer the pic is replaced with Kamal's reflection! Kamal sort of acquits himself for Nambi's folly as Avtar Singh by choosing his family over his profession.

George Bush is portrayed as George Bush needs no description!

Krishnavaeni Paati has a small role to play

Kalifulla Khan is shown as a soft kind hearted Muslim, breaks the stereotype of the image people associate with the religion nowadays

Shingen Narahashi, Japanese martial arts trainer who avenges his sister's death, provides for some action at the climax with Fletcher

When Fletcher loses to Narahashi and ingests the germs and a large quantity of Common Salt is required to neutralise the germs. At that moment (on the morning of 25th December 2004) the Tsunami strikes and does the job! Kamal has tried to say there's some good even in that disaster. I'm surprised it didn't offend people.

With the Tsunami the statue of Vishnu along with Nambi's Skeleton chained to it? lands on the Beach! Implying God came with the Tsunami!!? When Govind rues at all the destruction and death, Asin says God sent the Tsunami to neutralise the Germs. Govind, offended asks why the all powerful god killed so many people Asin replies imagine how many lakhs would've died if the germ had spread! Kalifulla and his entire village is inside the Mosque when the Tsunami ruins his village.

At the end when Govind (Kamal) and Asin fall in love (OMG!) Kamal says 'When did I say God isn't there, I only said it would be nice if God is there!'

Dasavatharam: Vishnu & Kamalahaasan

How the Mythological 10 avtars of Lord Vishnu inspired Kamalahaasan's movie Dasavatharam!

(Macha Avthar - Nambi) - Nambi is thrown into water in an act of trying to save lord from being thrown into sea...

(Koorma avatar - George Bush) - The lord is the turtle/tortoise that helps in stirring the ksheera sagara and bringing out the amruth. This essentially creates war among the devas and asuras. Similarly today Bush facilitates war between you know whom… May be Kamal also indicates that this avatar is a bit dumb like the tortoise…

(Varaha avatar - Krishnaveni paatti ) - In varaha avatar lord actually hides earth so as to protect life forms. Here too krishnaveni hides the germs - life form inside the statue so as to protect.

(Narasimha avatar - Shingen Narahashi ) - The name itself is a play on the words singam [means lion in tamil] and narasimha [the avatar being symbolised]. Lord Narasimha manifests himelf to kill the bad guy and he also teaches my namesake Prahalathan :) In the movie, he shows up to kill the killer fletcher! and is also a teacher.. Lord Narasimha had to kill the asura with bare hands and hence the martial arts exponent here..

(Vamana avatar - Kalifulla Khan) - In vamana avatar, Lord Vishnu takes the vishvaroopa, that is the giant form! Hence the giant kalifulla here symbolises vamana avatar

(Parasurama avatar - Christian Fletcher) - Parasurama is actually on an angry killing spree and killed 21 generations of the particular kshatriya vamsa. Hence the real KILLER… Guess what, thats what our Fletcher is! He comes around with the gun [modern upgrade for axe] and kills everyone around

(Krishna avatar - Vincent Poovaraghavan) Lord krishna is actually a dalit, he is dark-skinned [shyamalam]. He saved draupadi when she was being violated and he was the actual diplomat in mahabharatham. Lord krishna dies of an arrow striking his lower leg. Now look at how vincent was introduced.. He appears when Asin is about to be molested and he saves her like draupadi. Vincent is the dalit diplomat, fights for land issue [soil issue to be exact] and dies from the metal rod striking his leg. Oh even five of vincent’s men are drugged at P. Vasu’s (villain here).. sounds familiar???

(Balarama avatar - Balarama Naidu) As the name suggests and the role personifies Balaram naidu RAW officer, helps kill the villain

(Kalki avatar - Govindaraj Ramasamy) The hero in kaliyug can be none other than the Kalki avatar!!!

(Rama avatar - Avatar Singh) - Lord Rama stands for the one man one woman maxim, kind of symbolising true love.. Here Avatar portrays that spirit by saying that he loves his woman more than anything and wants to live for her.

Of course Kamalahaasan is the best person to explain how he got inspired! Us being mere mortals have to contend with such information from EMail forwards and the like!

Evano Oruvan: Film Review

Evano Oruvan is the story of a straight forward middle class man in our present day society. Madhavan plays Sridharan Vasudevan a bank officer going through his routine life as each mundane day fades into the other, his problem is that he is straight as a ruler and doesn't seem to fit in contemporary society. He seethes in anger at every injustice around him and is forced to control it by his family and society.

After a bad day confronting corruption at work, he goes overboard when a shop keeper fails to return Rs.2 charged over the maximum price. He goes on to indulge in various acts of righteous violence against corruption we see in every day life. Though you somehow understand his pent up emotions they can be only described as stupidity by a well educated man.

Unlike the various vigilante super hero movies and super cop movies we have got used to, this is movie is much different. Madhavan is never portrayed larger than life but just 'Evano Oruvan'. The ending is natural and heart breaking, how many times have you seen half the theatre breaking into a spontaneous applause?

Madhavan has come out with the best performance of his career. He carries the whole movie on his shoulders (literally, he's the producer too), his performance is so good that it over shadows two other great performances. Seeman as the pure Tamil speaking introspective cop and Sangeetha as Madhavan's nagging wife also bring out their best. Credit also for the Background Score by Sameer. After watching Evano Oruvan the Tamil remake of the multi award winning Marathi Movie by the same director Nishikanth Kamat you are left in no doubt as to why the original movie was such a success. The Movie easily gets four stars out of five

If you're someone who stops at an orange light only to watch several vehicles after you jump the red light, If you're someone who asks for a second time about that the one or two rupees that the shop keeper charges beyond the MRP, If you're someone who seethes in anger and hesitates to pay a bribe this is a movie you have to watch! It's about me, Is it about you?

Sivaji (சிவாஜி): Movie Review

The Movie opens with a masked man being taken through thousands of chest beating men and women and locked up in the central prison, when a co-prisoner asks him what crime he had committed, Super-Star turns around to say 'I tried to do good for the Country' and then Sivaji turns into flash back mode. Not a typical opening scene for a Rajnikanth film, but then this one's a Shankar film!

Without giving anything away, Sivaji, is about Software Engineer returning from the USA with 200 Crore Rupees to realise his dream of building engineering and medical colleges that provide free education on merit and how he has to endure bureaucratic red-tapism and corruption like the rest of us have to, when we go to any government office. Then there's the baddie Suman, who plays the quintessential businessman trying to undermine a potential competitor to his own engineering & medical college 'business' with every crooked method possible. In the meanwhile Sivaji manages to find a typical Tamil girl, Shriya, to fall in love with, woo her and dance around. When the twists and turns of the movie leave him penniless, how our Superstar fights back is the Second half. If you'll find Rajni as Sivaji rocking, just wait for climax when Rajni as MGR simply blows you away! MGR? Yup! that's suspense ;)

Rajni as Sivaji looks a good 25 years younger and pulls of another stellar performance in typical Rajni style, the chewing gum replaces Cigarette but the rest is pure Rajni formula. Shriya as the typical Tamil girl performs as much as her role allows her to, but is nothing more than a glam doll as in most Tamil movies. Vivek as Sivaji's side-kick seems a tad under utilised but then that's the way you feel about everyone else except Rajni in the film.

There are no mannerisms or punch lines to imitate, when Sivaji wants to deliver a punch line Vivek stops him and takes a dig at the rising stars of Cinema and walks away with all the claps! The Camera work and the sets deserve a mention, the music by A.R. Rahman are already topping the charts all around. The fight sequences give you a sense of déjà vu, there's nothing new but they're highly stylised. Like in any Shankar movie there's an over dose of computer generated effects and the songs are well shot in grand style, when you watch those you'll realise what went into the making of Indian Cinema's most expensive film ever.

The film delivers a social message against 'Black Money' and exhorts movie goers to 'realise the dream' of a developed India, but, falls terribly short on story and logic. Not a typical Shankar film, but then, this one's a Rajni film! Am I contradicting myself? No I'm not! There's something for the Rajni fan and something for those expecting another classy one from Shankar the perfectionist but if you go to the theatre looking for either alone you'll end up a bit disappointed after all the hype. Go watch the film for 3 hours of pure entertainment alone.

Release of a Rajni film is festve time for some people in Tamil Nadu: Images from the Sivaji Film Festival :P (from an EMail Forward)

Sivaji (சிவாஜி): Movie Review

The Movie opens with a masked man being taken through thousands of chest beating men and women and locked up in the central prison, when a co-prisoner asks him what crime he had committed, Super-Star turns around to say 'I tried to do good for the Country' and then Sivaji turns into flash back mode. Not a typical opening scene for a Rajnikanth film, but then this one's a Shankar film!

Without giving anything away, Sivaji, is about Software Engineer returning from the USA with 200 Crore Rupees to realise his dream of building engineering and medical colleges that provide free education on merit and how he has to endure bureaucratic red-tapism and corruption like the rest of us have to, when we go to any government office. Then there's the baddie Suman, who plays the quintessential businessman trying to undermine a potential competitor to his own engineering & medical college 'business' with every crooked method possible. In the meanwhile Sivaji manages to find a typical Tamil girl, Shriya, to fall in love with, woo her and dance around. When the twists and turns of the movie leave him penniless, how our Superstar fights back is the Second half. If you'll find Rajni as Sivaji rocking, just wait for climax when Rajni as MGR simply blows you away! MGR? Yup! that's suspense ;)

Rajni as Sivaji looks a good 25 years younger and pulls of another stellar performance in typical Rajni style, the chewing gum replaces Cigarette but the rest is pure Rajni formula. Shriya as the typical Tamil girl performs as much as her role allows her to, but is nothing more than a glam doll as in most Tamil movies. Vivek as Sivaji's side-kick seems a tad under utilised but then that's the way you feel about everyone else except Rajni in the film.

There are no mannerisms or punch lines to imitate, when Sivaji wants to deliver a punch line Vivek stops him and takes a dig at the rising stars of Cinema and walks away with all the claps! The Camera work and the sets deserve a mention, the music by A.R. Rahman are already topping the charts all around. The fight sequences give you a sense of déjà vu (Matrix style is old stuff now), there's nothing new but they're highly stylised. Like in any Shankar movie there's an over dose of computer generated effects and the songs are well shot in grand style, when you watch those you'll realise what went into the making of Indian Cinema's most expensive film ever.

The film delivers a social message against 'Black Money' and exhorts movie goers to 'realise the dream' of a developed India, but, falls terribly short on story and logic. Not a typical Shankar film, but then, this one's a Rajni film! Am I contradicting myself? No I'm not! There's something for the Rajni fan and something for those expecting another classy one from Shankar the perfectionist but if you go to any of the 17 movie halls showing Sivaji in Chennai City looking for either alone you'll end up a bit disappointed after all the hype. Go watch it for 3 hours of pure entertainment.

Check out pics of the Sivaji (சிவாஜி): Film Festival on my Picture Blog

Simha, Simha, Narashima!

When he becomes Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu....


There won't be need for power plants...


He won't need body guards or protection...


He'll handle the goons like this...

Vote for Captain Vijayakanth!

300 - Movie Review

The Spartans discard imperfect babies, so that their armies are the strongest
The Spartans are born to be soldiers
The Spartans are taught never to retreat, never to surrender
The Spartans don't take Prisoners
The Spartans have descended from Hercules himself
The Spartans are taught that death in the battlefield is the greatest glory they could achieve in their life.
The Spartans are the finest soldiers this world has ever seen!

Zack Snyder's true to Comic book adaptation of Frank Miller's 300 is like a history lesson in an expensive Video game. It's a Cornucopia of highly stylised Computer generated vivid scenery, wild creatures and Battle scenes that's bound to excite you beyond compare. It is based on the historic battle of Thermopylae when King Leonidas of Sparta, led his badly outnumbered contingent to battle with the Persian juggernaut led by 'God-king' Xerxes in 480 BC. Snyder's devotion to the Frank Miller's (of Sin City fame) Comic Book has brought out a visually stunning rendition of the epic unlike anything we've ever seen before in this genre.

300 is true to it's Comic roots: A scene from the Comic & Movie, This is Madness, This is SPARTA!

It was 300 against a Million, yet another David vs Goliath story, a story of the underdog, but it's the treatment that's makes it such a delight to watch, it's like a poetry on a painting. There's plenty of blood and gore, plenty of killing and body parts being chopped off, but it's all stylised using stop-motion, bringing out some of the best choreographed fight scenes ever on film! This mesmerising Testosterone feast is sure to set your adrenaline pumping and bring out the video game playing adolescent out of you.

If this awe inspiring, passionate tale of freedom and honour is not reason enough to go watch this work of art at least go watch it for the Spartans who look like He-Man and walk around with chiselled features and 6 pack Abs. When the enemies' arrows blot out the sun, these Spartans fight from the shade! I can't wait to watch it again!

Check out the Comic, you'll start loving Frank Miller! Frank Miller who like with Sin City won Comic world's top Honour, 3 Eisner Awards in 1999 for 300 along with artist Lynn Varley.

300 the Movie Image: Wikipedia

PS: 300 has been dubbed into Tamil too, Guess what it's called...
'300 Paruthiveerargal'!

Crash - Movie Review

Amazing movie that makes you empathise with the characters and experience their emotions.
An unflinching look of the racial conflict simmering beneath the calm exterior of Los Angeles city. This provocative movie examines the perspectives of the multi ethnic population as they 'crash' into each other.
The movie truly deserves the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Watch out for the scene where the persian shop keeper shoots the locksmith.

Don't miss it!

Five Thumbs up!!