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Kamal’s “Dasavathaaram” (or the 10 avathars put in English). The movie has been plagued by controversies starting from who scores the music to alleged plagiarism case against the movie in Madras High Court by a little known Assistant director Senthil Kumar. The case was dismissed by the High Court and Kamal Hassan has reacted to the news. His reaction has been commented upon in blog circles. Here is the link of one Kamal fan. http://soonapaana.blogspot.com

It is a pity that an artist like Kamal is being sidelined continuously and his every release has to go through such problems. Right from moral policing to language policing and cultural policing, every Kamal release faces some problem or the other. When are people going to learn to respect the greatness of an artist like Kamal Hassan and give him space to make movies freely? If this is what Kamal hassan has to face everytime, then what is the state of new and aspiring directors who want to tell a story without compromise? Though Kamal has won the case this time, he had to sacrifice the secrecy which guarded his story. Now a section of audience that might have come to the theatres to watch the movie to know the story might never turn up thinking that it is not of interest to them. This in one way explains why I want to write about this movie ahead of its release to raise the interest on the movie.
May cultural censorship on movies die ahead of the abolishment of actual censorship - a tragedy

that has reduced an interesting movie on Rajiv Gandhi assasination - “Kutrap pathirikkai” to a movie that has a beginning , an end but a whole lot missing in between. A whopping 174 cuts to a movie!!! what is left to tell if 174 cuts are made to a movie? Every true work of art trying to touch subjects like politics, religion and actual facts is standing on the chopping blocks of officers and self proclaimed “cultural protectors” in addition to attention seekers who seek publicity by filing false petitions on genuine work of art.

TinselVision, a Tinsel Cinema LLC online service that delivers Indian and Bollywood entertainment content to people of Indian origin, has announced the pilot and global premier of Tinsel Takes, a Bollywood film review programme.The announcement was made at MipTV in Cannes. Tinsel Takes will air weekly this Spring, free of charge to viewers, athttp://www.tinselvision.com, in the free content zone and beginning in June,within the ChannelMine community pages. The pilot episode airs alongsidepopular programs like Inside Tinsel and a fast expanding line-up of short-formand serial content from Zoom TV, B4U Networks and other providers, extendingfurther Tinsel's promise to become the online Bollywood destination of choice.

TinselVision recently began broadcasting a rich and growing combination ofproprietary content, exclusive shorts, and well known infotainment, news andother advertising-supported, on-demand programming at no cost to its viewersvia its web service, online communities, television peripherals such as theXbox and Media Center PC and, through mobishorts distributed to selectmobility partners in key target markets.

This May onwards, Tinsel Takes will be aired weekly at tinselvision.com and the viewing will be for free. June beginning, audiences will also be able to view the programme within the ChannelMine community pages. The pilot episode will air alongside other programmes like Inside Tinsel and a lineup of short-form and serial content from Zoom TV, B4U Networks and other providers.

The May premiere of Tinsel Takes will showcase the latest Bollywood films and contemplates an initial season of 16 episodes.

Kamal Hassan…. One of the best-EVER actor Indian cinema has given birth to has started working on his new project. Something so big and so glaringly different, that i bet no Indian cinema has ever produced. Just to get you started, the movie has Mallika ” mere kanne sillicon hain” sherawat in it. You may ask so what?

So what?

Mallika Sherawat with Kamal… Doesn’t it excite you?

No!!!!

Alright how about Mallika Sherawat Twice?

Twice?

Double role!!!

Wow double role huh!!! sweet.

Yeah Mallika will be playing a double role for the first time in her career.

Wow we always knew Kamal wanted as many women as he can in his movies. But why Mallika twice?

Because He is playing not one, not two, not three, no, no no… but freaking ten roles

WHAT?

Yep his new movie is titled DASHAVATARAM( Ten Avataars). Now insiders say he is playing the roles of orthodox Brahmin, a Karate Fighter, a dwarf, a scientist, a spy, an out cast person, a dark man, , a robber, a philosopher and a special role. Hmm interesting huh!!!

Now wait a second… Well it reminds me of lord Vishnu’s Avatars. Lets unslove it:

1 Orthodox Brahmin = Parashu ram

2. Karate Figher =(maybe) Narasimha

3. Dwarf = Vamana

4. Scientist = Kurma( Tortoise) Common scientist’s work at Tortoise pace( eeeks)

5. A Spy = Matsya( Fish) Common for thier sleek footedness… Plss believe me

6 Outcast = Varaha (Pig)

7. Dark Man = Ram(??????)

8. Robber = Krishna( Makhan=butter Chor)

9 Philosopher = Buddha

10 . Guest Role… Now this is interesting, after nine roles, he still needs GUEST ROLE? But, going by puranas, i guess it is kalki(Not yet on our gandaa world).

I guess the movies has just two outcomes.. either a path breaking movie or a complete disaster. Going by kamal’s past record, its anyone’s guess what would be the outcome.

300 creates new rules for Graphic Novel Cinema, and how!
After First Half
A little disappointed, the film lacks in pathos, something which put Apocalypto in a separate league, lacks in the Sin City poetry, tears and the shock factor, which juxtaposes the tender with the cruel. I am pointing out the minuses because they are few…

After second half
OK..I finally got that feeling climbing down the rolling titles, in true Spartan fervor!
This is it! What else could I want?! Burning screen, Humane blood, Paused Motion, Red against Sepia. Even a text book drama to satisfy ‘them’. Controlled Insanity. Muffled thud of war drums. A play with sexuality-both visceral and phallic. A reason to hope in the craft. A historic clear sky slowly gets dirtied in a rising inferno of an inevitable moment.
A war in soul.
A breathing mortality.

300 achieves that rare combine of comic book crispi-raci-ness and historic beauty. The images on screen are proudly loud; they are comic book characters with a cinematic voice that rips the screen apart. And it is this uniqueness that is making it rewrite film collection history all over. It works with absolutely everyone. It is a fantasy if you want, an epic (seated in a heady conflict-resolution flava) if you want, and a daringly different FILM, if you want.

Having heard rave reviews about this film, I jumped into watching it with a great build-up working the predictable response. But I was sadly let down.
If you have a black humor film taking Smoking as a subtext, you do expect (moderately, at least) some experiments. They hardly exist in this film. All you get is the same old mundane Hollywood corporate gab humor, speeches dripping with cynicism, self-indulgent characters talking to the screen more than half the time, and a cockiness that sadly doesn’t help the affairs. This is not a bad film, but something that I could not enjoy beyond a point of time.

Rocky Balboa
Sly returns with dignity. A dream treatment, underplay of Heroic lines. A narrative which is more human than superhero (I don’t mean that superhero aint human! But…), and a lingering memory of Rocky makes this a good Sunday afternoon watch. Kinda walk down memory lane. Don’t go expecting lots of punches; you might get a pale ‘Punchy’. But Stallone delivers, equally good as a director and the actor. It’s his words that you love more than his punches (which are few and far between anyways).

It’s been a long time since I have walked out of the cinema hall with a feeling of equanimity and the asseveration of having just witnessed a film that will go down in history as a classic. The last time I was overcome by such a feeling was with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s poetic Saawariya, a film that many people rejected for its folklore style.

Jodhaa Akbar rekindled my faith in why Hindi cinema is the greatest entertainer in the glimmering world of movie lights, for it could only be the Hindi film industry that could conceive such a monopolizing oeuvre.

Set in the 16th century, Jodha Akbar is a sumptuous saga of romance which blossoms under the schismatic setting of political astriction during the Mughal era.

Rajput King Bharmal of Amer (Khulbhushan Khabarnda) arranges a marriage of alliance between his daughter Jodhaa (Aishwarya Rai) and the Mughal Emperor Jalaudin Akbar (Hrithik Roshan) thus sewing the seed of tranquility between both communities.

However, Akbar is unaware that Jodha resents the consanguinity in which she has been used as seal against the polemics of politics, presenting him with a battle far greater than those he has enacted on the warfield…to conquer the love of his queen.

Armed with his heart as his weapon, Akbar’s language of love is as confident as each swing of his sword and by the time he has managed to encapsulate Jodhaa, the soil of the Mughal dynasty is marred yet again with the threat of annexation in which Akbar’s love for his kingdom becomes parallel to the love of his Jodhaa.

Asutosh Gowariker has to be congratulated for making a film with such conviction and executing his story on such a grand platform. Whilst the general consensus of many is that historical films dabble more in the complexities of the past through stolid like factual presentation, Gowariker is able to use his finesse of mixing drama with authenticity – the result being an exhilarating lesson in history which also carries a strong heart. The nail biting battle scenes have all been captured with sharp camera movements, transporting the viewer to the battlefield, the tense palaver between Ila Arun and Aishwarya demanded pin drop silence from everyone in the cinema hall…exemplary of the maestro director’s ability to capture the audience and throw them into a bygone era.

Hrithik Roshan as the Great Emperor Akbar is awe-inspiring. His performance is of dizzying heights, meticulously delivered without any room for criticism. Roshan epitomizes perfection, both physically and creatively resulting in the finest screen presence to be witnessed since Amitabh Bachchan. His Akbar is powerful and unflinching yet in a split second can transform to a smirking lover of loyalty towards his queen presenting a humane depiction of a figure who was obviously more than just a temerarious ruler. Roshan proves yet again just why he is the finest male lead to grace the screen since the millennium.

Aishwarya Rai is always at her best when she is regal and in Jodhaa Akbar she is dignity personified. The character of Jodhaa demanded a fiery yet graceful streak of personality and Rai achieves this balance with uttermost ease. The scene where she exchanges heated words with Akbar upon his accusation of her deceit is tremendous as she conveys vulnerability with angst, using her eyes to emote a thousand words. A character that does not demand huge amounts of dialogues but more so relies on the ability for Rai to emote with her expressions resulting in a play of wholehearted curtailment. Jodhaa Akbar is sure to go down as one of Rai’s finest examples of talent.

A R Rahman’s music may not be of chartbusting quality but it moulds itself into the story in such a way that without becoming officious to the narrative, it still acts as a conclusive transition, especially the Sufi style “Khwaja Mere Khwaja” which oozes a spiritualistic aroma of melody. “Azeem O Shah Shahensha” is robust in its presentation and only electrifies the magnitude of the character that Akbar was.

One can not speak about Jodhaa Akbar without mentioning the cinematography and costumes. There is a danger that when films are seeped in such grandeur, they shimmer more for their ability to satisfy the visual palette rather than offer satiating content but Jodhaa Akbar does not suffer from this ailment. The need for the ostentatious presentation is fully justified and equally rewarding to the eye, be it the intricate halls of the palace or the deliciously crafted jewels, all have their place and thankfully due to a taut screenplay, do not serve as mere ornaments by which viewers can pass their time admiring their beauty. Rather, one spends the duration of the film engulfed in the proceedings of the story which are only taken to a higher level with the alluring ambience of the Mughal era.

Period dramas carry with them the promise of acting as tools for society, where in today’s times many people are recalcitrant to pick up a book and read history; cinema offers them the opportunity of visually engaging with the quondam and interpreting facts in a more appealing manner. Jodhaa Akbar allows its audience all of this in a manner which is simplistic in relaying chronologic events yet also embarks on a simultaneous journey of love and acceptance, mixing the two to create an evocative experience.

History with a heart, Jodhaa Akbar ravages the screen with its royal fest of nobility and catalytic performances , crowning it’s viewers with cinematic glory.

It took me some time but I am glad that I watched this film. This is the stuff to be cherished in a DVD collection.

It has ORGANIC, INDIGENOUS & VISCERAL written all over it. Much has been said about the film. The film deserves more resounding applause because of the courage and non-attempt to be perfect.

I would like to add that it worked for me perfectly at the Eclipse scene. It is at that point that it becomes a classic. Just one scene. May be it is a combination of the brewing undercurrent of the basic human emotions that rise like a high tide, or it’s the underplay of mercy, in the film maker’s POV, something that refuses to sympathesize with all the visibly disturbing scenes of atrocity. The success of the film, and like no other in its genre (Powerful scenes, edited like a man, can be put into the league of New World, The Thin Red Line, Platoon, and Apocalypse Now.), lies in its successful transition from Macro to Micro, from dealing with a holistic view of a civilization as it goes through its rise and fall to the small but harrowing tribulations a deserted family goes through. It is through Jaguar Paw’s perspective that the film achieves it wonderfully respectable stature. If not the best, it IS one of the best films to have been made in recent times of ‘cinema without balls’.

Narration: A message that tells the particulars of an act or occurrence or course of events; presented in writing or drama or cinema or as a radio or television program.

I see movies like “thirupachi” “thimiru” “madurai” etc and wonder … did the director even have a story to tell … if not what did he tell the producer?
Lets club such movies in a separate genre “koothu”! “THE KOOTHU MOVIES”

But I love this language and still follow all the movies that get released … may it be the amazing “paruthiveeran” or the honest “mozhi” or even the filthy “palani” … I always keep track of the Friday births, to gauge the quality of cinema in my foster land. And in one such attempt I hit upon Vetrimaran’s “Polladhavan” last Diwali.

The promos of that movie appeared cheap. It even gave me a feeling that the movie is more like the “koothu” types! But the frames in the promos were quite interesting. Dhanush looked more complete and intense; Daniel balaji as always looked good. ( I loved this guys work in “vettaiyadu villayadu” ) … So I decided to see the movie!! and i even heard that the movie was loosely inspired from “Bicycle thieves” … so i had to see it !!!

SO-CALLED-REVIEW

Movie starts with the voice over of Prabhu (Dhanush), He is hurt and there seems to be chaos and tension around, lot of blood shed, violence and we just feel that someone is in danger. Wounded Prabhu rests his arms on his beloved bike (pulsar) and recalls what the bike had done to him…5 mins into the movie and I want more…

The story revolves around a clash between a person belonging to mafia (Daniel balaji) and an innocent lower middle class boy (Dhanush). Debutant director Vetrimaran who had assisted Balu Mahendran sir before deserves a pat on his back, for the way he has captured ‘ north Chennai’ ‘the mafia system’ or even the ‘lower middle class’ family drama!! quite realistic for a movie with such a name !!

Amazing performances by most of the actors (Daniel was a tad disappointing for me- His body language & voice modulation was similar to his previous movie), Kishor and Dhanush were quite good.
Well written dialogues. Shooting in real locations helped to get the raw feel. The camera work was decent and the action scenes were gripping… everything was “realistic”… just wished … Vetrimaran had removed the song and used that screen time to show the development of the romance !!
GV is a talented composer … his songs are good and are doing well with the masses but he needs to learn play BGM … see a lot of world movies or so … cause some really amazing scenes were spoilt by the Loud music !!! and ya … tats it … my so-called-review ends here …

hey if “POLLADHAVAN” is inspired from “Bicycle thieves” … so is “lion king ” inspired from “god father”!!!

as Karthick Krishnan ones said to me “Lion king is an animated version of Godfather”

but Polladhavan is NO bicycle thieves!!!

Now what struck me most about the movie was its style of narration … and how people have accepted the film inspite of it not being in the usual “start- middle- end” format. Of what I know Tamizh audience hate to be made to think when they are in a cinema hall… when Alaipayuthey (hindi – vivek oberoi and rani starrer “Saathiya”) was released ppl loved the movie but found the narration style confusing!!! (I don’t know what was confusing in that)
“Ayutha ezhuthu” (hindi – Yuva) was totally neglected, few of my friends even abused Mani sir for trying to be innovative in narration style! “periya arrivu kolundhu” (big brainy smart ass)

Thank god for the star status of “kamal hasan” or even “Virumandi” would have tanked big time, it did a decent business (just average) ! “autograph” which released 2 weeks after “Virumandi” did amazing business.
So going by the trend of tamizh films, we can say that complicated or for that matter a so-called “new type” narration would always make the producer tensed!!!

So how did Vetrimaran manage this?
Is the Narration in “Polladhavan” really unique?
How did he seamlessly blend that narration style that few people dint even realize that it was different?

NARRATION STYLE

Now I want to discuss with all pfcites the “narration” style of this movie … found It interesting .. so read on !!! and lets discuss…

AMERICAN BEAUTY/ FOREST GUMP
“The lead character or the protagonist narrates the entire story”

IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE / MILLION DOLLAR BABY/ TO KILL A MOCKING BIRD
“Supporting character or a character other than the lead narrates the story”

ROSHOMON / VIRUMANDI
When I heard abt the narration style of “roshomon” I cudnt believe it !!
how could they think of something like that then? I wondered !!
and I was impressed when kamal hasan adopted the similar style for his film “virumandi” …

“Story told from different POVs giving a unique perception of the same incident from each POV!!”

AMEROS PERROS/ YUVA
“Different stories of a common “time span” with one common incident or a common connecting factor”

POLLADHAVAN
This movie follows a non linear narration which starts with the narration of Dhanush (protagonist) and as we are introduced to the antagonist (Daniel balaji) the POV switches over from the protagonist to antagonist. Each narrating their side of the story-alternatively.
I could argue that I spotted a similar narration style in Nolan’s “THE PRESTIGE” … where both the magicians narrate the others diary.
What does such a narration do ? I believe It gives the writer the freedom to describe both the worlds and develop the characters as opposite poles within the first 20 mins. Then we are all set to see the clash between the characters!!! It also helps to establish the histories of the characters so well … we even understand the way they perceive things around them!
POLLADHAVAN gives thrills without suspence … everything is revealed to the viewer… the ISSTYLE of keeping the characters in the dark is used in parts !!!

I don’t recollect other movies with similar narration style … if so PFCites lets discuss!! and if something is wrong with my observation of the movie … lets discuss that too !!!

Anjathey(No fear) almost immediately.

Imagine this. This is the first sequence in the movie.

Blue sky - As we see from ground. The camera is on the ground facing the blue sky.
The camera moves right. Slowly a person standing comes into the frame.
The camera inches further and we see 2 more people standing.
Then, the camera moves back,left. After a few secs, a person is taking “push-ups” in an iron-bar. We realize that this place is a playground. The Scene then unfolds.
Why is the Director doing all this in the first sequence itself when he could have used a normal camera angle?.He just gives us a hint in the first frame itself that “You cant just doze off in my movie and know the full story…stay awake and watch it”….Literally HE SAID THAT TO ME in my mind!!!

The message is bold and clear to the audience. This movie is not the one you can watch it leisurely.During the movie, you cannot talk to your friend sitting next to you-pass a comment- ask for popcorn-nibble with your mobile. The Director and the whole crew have spent their minds and energies in making this movie and they want us to show respect to their effort.

The story of Anjathey is complex to narrate. I have often heard in actor’s interviews that they were completely mesmerized by the narration. I saw those movies and all I found was a love story opposed by both the protagonist’s parents. This movie is real complex.There are a lot of events to narrate. Some may simply put it as a Friendship story. It isn’t. It is not even just a thriller. It is not a love story for sure. It is not a story about the life of a police officer. It is not about how fate takes you through life. This story is not about a single thing. It is a complex, intricately woven story.

The film has an excellent story line. Friendship, police life, pedophile, kidnapping incidents, thriller, love..they all are interlaced in a single story with effortless ease . The director must have watched more than a 1000 good World cinema till now. Mysskin surely does love movies!

The haunting music...The music has gone along with the movie. This music goes with the story getting revealed on the screen. The biggest success for background score in a movie is you should not hear it ALONE!…The back ground score should not be different from WHAT YOU FEEL…That is exactly what has Mysskin and Sundar C.Babu (Music Dir) have managed to do. The film has just 3 songs. Out of which 1 is a love song, picturized in an interesting fashion and the rest are “Gaana” songs which suits the atmosphere in the movie. I loved “Thakida thakida”…

The haunting locations. Even before the scene has started, the locations give you a chill down the spine. Hats off to the Production manager, Director and …and…I don’t know who all are involved in this department. The locations in the climax sequences, the hideouts of Daya and Logu, homes of the male leads. All have been selected to perfection.

The extras. Being a filmi crowd you all, you would know that biggest success of any movie is How-you-manage-extras. Take Paruthiveeran(Tamil), Lagaan, Polladhavan(Tamil), Dog Day Afternoon and all your favorite films. All of them had extras do their best. Even in his previous film - Chithiram Pesuthadi, Mysskin’s assistant directors have done a good job in getting the work done from the extras. This film is no exception. When you rewind the movie in your mind, I wont be surprised if you try to give names to the characters like “Patti”, “Sappai’s son”etc.,.

The actors. Prasanna as Daya, Narain as Sathya, Ajmal(debut) as Kruba, Pandyarajan(yesteryear comedy actor-director) as Logu have done neat roles. Special mention must be made to Prasanna and Ajmal. It would not be exaggerating to say that all these people have performed the roles of their lives. This film would be ON THE TOP OF THEIR RESUME.

Even when we remove all these positive factors, I could still say that this movie is one-helluva-movie.

The reason?

Director - Mysskin. He was literally playing with audience’s mind.

Can u believe that he didn’t show the face of a person in the whole movie?…Why did he do so?…Because, he says again “Unaku thevaiye illa(You dont need that)….what is important is what he does…and not how he looks…”…My goodness..Mysskin was playing with our mind…

In one important sequence, the camera is at the ankle level and he doesn’t show anything other than that. What he effectively does is, he makes us to imagine the scene. Only hints! You Comprehend the picture!
In one of the sequences where Daya is supposed to rape a girl…He doesn’t show anything…He just shows us the circumstances…how the girl looks..what the girl is wearing…how does daya react…That’s it. Rest, CUT TO the next scene. He doesn’t show anything. He just lets our imagination run wild. If he shows anything, we would have thought…Oh this is it??.. But, by not showing anything,what he makes is, “More perverted you think, more perverted the villain is”. This technique by Mysskin does wonders to a story like this.

Even though this film is too good, this surely has drawbacks. The role of Keerthi (investigative officer) was funny, when it was intended to be intelligent. The starting sequences to establish Sathya and Kiruba’s character were long. If he had asked me, I would have established it in 10 mins(3 sequences). It took him 20-25 mins(5 sequences) to establish both the characters. The end sequences in search of Daya and Mottai was good,but not intelligent.
Rest, this movie is one of the best I have watched in my life. I am talking about World cinema here.

One thing which runs a chill down my spine is there are a lot of good movies coming around in Tamil. I mean real good movies. So, by the time I make good movies , it wont be that good I think . Frankly speaking, I am damn jealous of all those good directors. Time is not far away, when every 3rd movie in Tamil will be world class.

Anjathey ——- No Fear!!!

Movie - Anjathey
Cast - Prasanna, Narain, Ajmal, Pandyarajan, Ponvannan, Vijayalakshmi, M.S.Bhaskar etc.,
Editor - Sadagoban Ramesh
Music - Sundar.C.Babu
Camera- Mahesh Muthuswamy
Producer - Hitesh Jabak
Written and Directed by - Mysskin