Aadukalam: Of Schmucks and Suffering

Vetrimaran's Aadukalam is the tale of a young man,Karupu whose blind trust is repaid with betrayal. The director takes you into a world where a man's honour is tied to his cock or prize rooster if you prefer, where friends become bitter foes over imagined quarrels, and where lives are sacrificed in order to nurse an old man's injured pride. It has a good script, is technically sound, has great music, and boasts of some fine performances. And yet it missed its mark for this reviewer.

Why is that? On paper it is an interesting concept to study the extremes of human nature but on the big screen when you are subjected to gritty scenes depicting the sheer misery of the human condition brought on by the petty foibles that characterize our lot, it gets really depressing. Having your spirit lacerated by the sufferings of the schmucks, on screen is far from a pleasurable experience. Vetrimaran is very talented but is not Shakespearean enough to sell tragedy on such a scale to the audience.

Yes, I say schmucks because Karupu (Danush) and Dorai (Kishore) are blinded by their own stupidity and are largely responsible for their lives falling apart. The Iago inspired Pettaikaran(Jayabalan)who is the mentor and boss of the two men becomes jealous when Karupu steals his thunder at a cock - fighting tournament and is worried that his younger assistants will have him put to pasture. So he decides to turn them against each other and destroy Karupu in the process. The machinations of the old man lead to tragic consequences and an unexpected climax, though one wishes Karupu had shown more gumption when he found out about the betrayal.

Dhanush is impressive in this movie and so is Kishore. Jayabalan as the evil old man who stings with a gentle smile and an arm thrown over your shoulder is disturbing. Taapsee as Karupu's love interest suits her character to the letter. Kudos to Vetrimaran for extracting such brilliant performances. But perhaps in his next movie he will forego the pity- party and return to his rocking Polladhavan days.

Last Word: You can watch it once for the innovative script and the performances if you don't mind getting a severe case of the blues.

Kaavalan - Boring Bodyguard!

Watching a movie like Kaavalan is like popping a piece of gum in your mouth only to discover that every last bit of flavor has been sucked out of it. You chew on in confusion and just when you have given up on it and are getting ready to spit it out your mouth is flooded with a burst of gorgeous flavor. But by then it is too little too late and you spit it out nevertheless. Not the most elegant of metaphors but that is Kaavalan in a nutshell for you.

Vijay plays Bhuminadhan who is roped in to play bodyguard to a goon turned respectable gentleman named Muthuramalingam. Incidentally the said gentleman saved a yet -to - be -born Vijay and his mommy from sure death so grown- up Vijay holds him in great esteem. Muthuramalingam's household includes a moody wife (Roja), a beautiful daughter, Meera (Asin) and a visiting buddy of Meera's, Madhu. And Vadivel follows Vijay around to provide comic relief.

Vijay is assigned the task of protecting Meera from some bad guys and dutifully accompanies her to her college. Playful Meera makes a prank call to her too - strict bodyguard to get him to lighten up (without revealing her identity) and sets in motion a series of events that changes the lives of them all. It is an interesting premise but unfortunately the director, Siddique's treatment of this concept leaves a lot to be desired.

The 'different'love story that unfolds on screen gets really trying after a point and makes you impatient with Meera as well as her lover (who is kinda confused as to who exactly he is in love with). Meera we are assured has a heart of gold but given her conniving ways and the ease with which she toys with the hero's emotions she comes across as a conniving witch (or something which rhymes with it). And then we have the hapless lover, Bhuminadhan who is hopelessly in love with a voice on the phone and spends his time cuddling the phone and mooning over the carefully modulated 'sweet' voice. And of course he takes the time out to break into a song and dance routine or a fight sequence which are both mandatory in Vijay films.

And so it goes on and on with Meera continuing to pull on the hearstrings of her lovesick puppet as she becomes more and more embroiled in her own plot. Kaavalan continues in this vein till you become sick of it all and wonder if Siddique had fallen asleep while filming this giant bore of a film. And then towards the end of the flick when you are thinking of walking out and swearing off Vijay films for life, there is a dramatic twist in the tale that sucks you back into the lives of the hitherto insipid characters. A dull flick that was meandering along lazily suddenly becomes a gripping human drama. And then it is all over and you walk out in a daze.

Vijay is a wonderful performer and turns in a solid performance. He is particularly good in the climax. Asin is rather disappointing with a heavily made - up face and a wooden performance. The supporting cast has little to do. Vadivel tries his darndest to elicit some laughter but there are hardly any funny moments in the film.

Last word: Give it a miss.

Siruthai: Average fare Awesome Karthi!

Siruthai is intended to be a complete entertainer with liberal proportions of humour and blood. So we have Karthi in a dual role - Rocket Raja who doles out the comedy bits and Rathnavel Pandian IPS who gets to spew forth pages of 'dialogue' and beat the stuffing out of the bad boys.

KArthi absolutely rocks in his Rocket Raja avatar. And Santhanam as his side - kick is howlarious. Between the two of them they had the audience in paroxysms of mind - blowing mirth. Karthi has made the lovable rapscallion character truly memorable and endearing as he lies, bluffs, loves, and frolics his way through a film mired with pitfalls. This dude has the makings of a superstar and someday, his fans in Tamil Nadu will cheerfully build shrines honouring him or make him the CM if he so desires.

As for Rathnavel Pandian, first of all why did the makers choose this particular moniker? It draws comparison with Alex Pandian, the character Rajnikanth immortalized in Moonru Mugam as the greatest screen cop of all time and places too heavy a burden on the talented shoulders of KArthi. Besides this character is horribly written and is beleaguered with truly awful lines. (There were times I had to admire Karthi for mouthing the cheesy dialogue without choking or puking his guts outs, I am guessing those bits were edited out)That being said he still does a tremendous job with the lousy material he had to work on. Therefore, while Rathnavel Pandian is not likely to be venerated he won't be execrated either. And Rocket Raja more than makes up for the deficits, so the film is saved somewhat.

The director, Siva maintains a rollicking pace throughout except for the flashback which follows the lamentable career of Rathnavel PAndian through its highs and lows, but I daresay it will strike the right chords with the audience for which it was intended. Needless to add, the cop is heartbreakingly upright and spills his blood for 'the people' and the villians - Bhavuji, his brother Bhadra, and rapist son are perfect caricatures of blackhearted villains who rob, burn, murder etc. with earthy gusto and cackling laughter. Their evil henchmen complete the picture with unwashed hair, rotting teeth, and serious weight and anger issues.

This portions of the film lags as there is too much heavy - handed sentiment, crappy dialogues, and unnecessary violence. But just when you are thinking that Rathnavel Pandian should hurry up and die instead of inexplicably hopping back and forth between his hospital bed and the bylanes of Chennai while continuing to thrash the bad guys the makers oblige by finishing him off. Then Rocket Raja comes back into the picture like a breath of fresh air amidst all the enervating staleness with his not - so trusty sidekick and makes you laugh almost all the way to the finish line.

Tamanna aside from making you wonder how she maintains such a fabulous body is largely forgettable. Her character has little to do besides fluttering her false lashes and flitting about like a pretty butterfly. The music is another letdown with only 'Rocket Raja' being hum - worthy. The other songs are hard on the ears and eyes and stuck in all over the place like unnecessary appendages.

Siruthai has a distinct telugu flavor to it owing no doubt to the fact that it is a remake of a Ravi Teja flick. One wonders if this will sit well with the Tamil audience.

Last word: Watch this one for Karthi.

Man Madan Ambu - Yummy Masala Mix

Man Madhan Ambu is a good movie. No argument there. It makes for enjoyable viewing but what irks me is that it could have been a great movie but falls short by a mile. The director K. S. Ravikumar and Kamal Hasan are master craftsmen and yet when they get together they feel compelled to showcase every single weapon in their collective arsenal which leaves the movie dangerously close to an implosion.

We all know that Kamal Hassan is a versatile actor who does comedy, tragedy, sentiment, action, etc. etc. with equal ease. But everyone who works with the dude makes it a point to drive this home and with a sledgehammer at that. The resultant genre - blending can get dizzying and seriously annoying. Sometimes it is important to decide at the onset whether you are making a farce - type comedy or a seriously emotional drama.

That being said the disparate elements that comprise this flick are really beautiful. The love story is wonderfully nuanced and sensitively portrayed. There are some seriously funny gags so the comedy bits are also good. However the manufactured drama and comedy gets a little tedious towards the end when it unravels in an all - out goofball fest.

There are some good performances that contribute towards engaging the audience despite the shortcomings mentioned above. Kamal Hassan is awesome! And then some. How does he do it? He looks great and is very much in his element as arguably the greatest actor this country has produced. His talent as an actor is matched only by his singing. The haunting "neela vaanam" number is guaranteed to make the crustiest soul in the audience weep. Trisha is surprisingly decent and looks gorgeous. Madhavan plays a thankless character, that of a rich, insensitive, crude, jerk/pig but is nevertheless a hoot. A testament to his growing prowess as an actor.

Nobody and I mean nobody does flashbacks quite like Ravikumar and he has outdone himself with this one. An entire song shot in reverse depicts a tragic and heart - warming love story with none of the "lets shamelessly manipulate audience sentiment for all its worth" crap.

The music is another plus. Devi Sri Prasad is really good.

Man MAdhan Ambu gets 7/10, but it could have scored a ten.

Letter to TIME

I sent a letter to TIME in response to Joel Stein's awesome column entitled "The Awesome Column" http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2033072,00.html They published two lines from my somewhat long - winded letter in this week's edition. (Sighs) Anyways here is the rest of it.

Reading Joel Stein’s awesome column on how his particular brand of narcissistic writing changed the world of journalism forever, reminded me of a definitive moment in my own writing career.
I first read Joel Stein’s column in 2002, on my first day in college. Feeling more than a little nervy, I had borrowed Dad’s Time magazine so that I could pretend to be the intellectual type and hopefully make a decent impression (notice the almost obsessive use of ‘I’). If I hadn’t been feeling dreadfully inadequate and homesick, it would have been nigh impossible for me to wade through the morass of high – brow and somewhat pretentious articles in the magazine. Somehow I fought my way through the treacherous terrain Time had set me and arrived at Stein’s column on the fag end of the magazine and was completely blown away.
Stein had elaborated at length about his first time on the couch, extreme love for pornography, therapist mom, and his inability to feel anything past a passion for simulated passion. All this in the interest of avoiding writing a well – researched, scientific article for that month’s issue based on health (or was it science?)
I loved the piece and could not help loving the guy for writing exactly the way I did. Sure, my similarly “sophomoric, solipsistic, snarky” articles got a lot of heat for their “morally dubious content” and I had been warned that writing in the first person was not the way to go, if one wished to achieve literary greatness. But here was a guy whose column with its predominant focus on porn and sickly self – love, had made it to Time magazine! And if that were not enough, his was the standout number in an otherwise staid and stuffy publication. Thanks to this remarkable phenomenon, I allowed myself to dream of winning the Booker, writing the way I did and have been pursuing the said course with due diligence.
Thanks Joel Stein for giving me the courage to stick to my style – writing in the first person, with highly opinionated views, and private angst squeezed in for good measure. Of course at 26, I am a struggling writer trying to juggle motherhood and a stillborn career, while the fella who writes like me is making beaucoup bucks, schmoozing with celebs and supermodels, and appearing on TV to gravely pass his opinions on “100 hottest whatevers”. Perhaps I should sue… but I’d rather wait for one of the discerning editors at Time (a truly esteemed publication) to visit my blog, and offer me his / her job.

Ratha Sarithram (Rakta Charitra II) – Bloody Disappointing!

Ram Gopal Varma should have left well enough alone. The sequel to Rakta Charitra I is seriously disappointing. The story resumes where it left off in the first instalment but with a new character picking up the strands of the narrative. Surya is out to get Pratap Ravi, played by Vivek Oberoi (whose meteoric rise was chronicled in part I), who was responsible for the loss of his family. So far, so good but unlike its predecessor where the pace was fast and furious, this time around everything is in slow – mo... literally.

Surya as Surya is mostly competent, good in parts, and even superlative in one intense scene where he receives a miraculous opportunity to avenge himself upon his nemesis from a slimy and self - serving politician. But he never makes the transition to greatness the way Vivek Oberoi did in his turn as the man on a mission of revenge. RGV is to blame for this though. In his bid to make his movie appealing to a wider populace, he makes Surya ditch his shirt at every opportunity, show off his ripped bod, and bash up baddies to pulp with his bare fists or handcuffed wrists.

Unlike Oberoi who had to rely on his wits and weapons to stay alive, Surya has to rely on his pretty muscles and superhuman ability to morph into the “Incredible Hulk” to help him through tough situations. Consequently the movie makes a sudden switch from hard – hitting realism to masala – movie nonsense.

The deadly cat and mouse game played between the two should have been nail – biting, but it fell flat more often than not. This was particularly obvious in a scene where the two antagonists come face to face with only the prison bars separating them. It is an unnecessary scene that had to be squeezed into the script in a transparent attempt to make cinematic magic by showcasing the heavyweights who are in the fight of their lives to outperform each other.

The movie has some positives – Oberoi is still brilliant and manages to garner sympathy even as he becomes increasingly like the men he abhorred and killed. Priyamani is decent but she is becoming repetitive. Apte as Pratap Ravi's wife shines. RGV manages to get across the point that violence begets violence and the vicious circle of revenge and hatred has to be broken. That is commendable. But the negatives ranging from bad - dubbing to contrived plot devices are too many to be ignored. Sudeep, who plays the DCP is insipid and makes you miss Bukka Reddy who despite all his faults was never boring.
I could go on in this vein, but I don’t want to be a drag like the movie.

Rakta Charitra I - Bloody Brilliant!

Ram Gopal Varma has bounced back from his "Aag" or was it "AArgh" debacle and how!His Rakta Charitra I is bloody brilliant. It is absurdly violent but all that stomach - turning blood and gore is delivered with so much cinematic panache and verve that it is not only palatable but absolutely delicious in parts.

Based on the life of Paritala Ravi (Pratap Ravi in the movie), the film takes a long, hard look at the factionists who run the country today. Narasimha Rao is the head political honcho in Anandpur and Ravi's father Veerabhadra is his loyal right - hand man. The latter becomes increasingly influential and earns the ire of party member Nagmani Reddy, who engineers a series of misunderstandings which end with Veerabhadra's brutal assassination. The son then seeks revenge and is thrust headlong into the murky world of violence and political intrigue.

It is not the most innovative script in the world but the narrative is so gripping and the screenplay so taut, you find yourself thoroughly engrossed by the happenings unfolding on screen. And the powerhouse performances by perfectly cast actors is a major plus. Abhimanyu Singh as the psychotic rapist/ evil killer is a revelation. Radhika Apte, Shatrughan Sinha as the superstar turned crafty politician, and Kota Srinivasa Rao who plays the scheming Nagmani Reddy especially, deserve a round of applause.

Vivek Oberoi gets the role of a lifetime and it is a pleasure to watch him sink his teeth into it as he devours scene after scene with gritty elan. The bit where he sees his brother's corpse in a dingy jail cell and the one where he kills Narasimha Rao, all the while staring unapologetically at his hysterical wife are simply brilliant. His attempts to change the system while being forced to play the baddie make you love him all the more for he is a bad boy who endeavors to be noble. An Oscar - worthy performance!

You have to be a nitpicker or cursed with a weak stomach to find any negatives in this masterpiece. This reviewer belongs to the former category and had a problem with the scene where a female cop lowers her gun while on a mission to arrest a loathsome criminal and touches his shoulder (maternal affection?) just because he is shedding crocodile tears and winds up with a bullet in her head. An unacceptably dumb scene in an otherwise clever pic.

RGV can take a bow and poke fun at Karan Johar all he wants as this superbly crafted flick has earned him the right! Can't wait to see Part 2 in this delectable revenge saga.