Tag: Kamal Haasan

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Thaai Kizhavi: A spirited tale of feminism with a massy touch

Sivakumar Murugasen’s story has shades of both Balagam and Ram Prasad Ki Tervi. The unraveling of family secrets as well as the greedy acts of family members have a distinct familiarity. Having said that Thaai Kizhavi is an entertaining movie with a relevant message on a woman’s financial independence. Radhika Sarathkumar as the matriarch/godmother figure has an absolute blast embracing the character’s whacky nature with gay abandon. Her presence can be amply felt even in the scenes which don’t feature her.

Director and writer: Sivakumar Murugasen

Starcast: Radhika Sarathkumar, Bala Sarvanan, Munishkanth etc

Genre: Comedy/drama

Producers: Sivakartikeyan, Kalai Arasu, and Sudhan Sundaram

Production houses: Passion Studios and Sivakartikeyan Productions

Music: Nivas K Prasanna

Cinematography: Vivek Vijaykumar ‘

Streaming site: Hotstar

Running time: 2 hours and 24 minutes

Thaai Kizhavi with Sivakartikeyan as one of the producers has made solid profits at the box office along with positive critical reception. Radhika Sarathkumar has been rightly hailed for her killer act in spite of not having a lot of screen time. There is no denying that Thaai Kizhavi gives a major deva ju of some old films. The angle of selfish sons is a done to death trope. At the same time the movie has a freshness too and this essentially comes from the theme of a woman having her own autonomy. The rural atmospherics makes the main difference.

Thaai Kizhavi’s story in brief is about Radhika’s Pavunuthaayi. Pavunuthaayi is a strong matriarch living life on her own terms. The villagers are very scared with some wishing for her death too. Things take a dramatic turn with Pavunuthaayi getting bedridden. Celebrations start with many enjoying. This includes her own family members praying for her death. But the revelation of the mother stashing gold somewhere changes everything. This is the plot in a nutshell.

A strong aspect of Thaai Kizhavi is the characterization of Radhika coupled with the veteran actress performance. The badass nature of Pavunuthaayi has come out in a solid manner. Its deliberately massy and not for all but Radhika’s conviction makes it hugely enjoyable. Though Radhika is mostly bedridden after a point her presence is still amply felt. A major credit for that goes to writer and director Sivakumar Murugasen.

The odd ball characters with the rural quirks take a while to sink in but once the plot settles down, they are hugely enjoyable too. A special mention must be made of a drunkard villager who threatens his deity Karuppan on becoming a Sai devotee if his prayers aren’t answered. His scenes have chuckle worthy moments. A mention must also be made of Munishkanth’s Pennycuick a forty-year-old desperate for marriage. His reasons for wanting a partner and how he eventually finds someone gives the movie some of its best moments too.

The legendary Kamal Hassan is an omnipresent figure in the way his songs has been used. It spans across different eras, and this includes the one from Vishwaroopam too. The interval block with Vishwaroopam’s title song and the frantic manner in which the mother is taken to the hospital is an absolute hoot.

From mid second half the movie turns into a story of curated change. This can be seen in the way one of the sons has a change of heart. All it takes is one scene inside an ambulance. This transformation feels more manufactured than organic. Having said that Bala Sarvanan sells this moment, an emotional number by Nivas K Prasanna also helps. The second half also has a shift in terms of how the viewers see Pavunuthaayi. In the beginning we are given an impression of her being a desi Shylock. She threatens about disrobing a woman if she doesn’t pay. But the second half presents a different facet. Especially a woman character talking about how the matriarch encouraged her to be financially independent.

The climatic speech of Radhika Sarathkumar serves as a perfect conclusion to the movie’s core feminist theme. The dialogues related to financial independence have a solid punch. The movie also does a good job in normalizing re marriage particularly in the rural context. This has come out well through the montage of Pavunuthaayai encouraging her daughter to start life afresh after a difficult first marriage.

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Thug life: A bitter reunion

Kamal Hassan and Simbu in Thug Life

Reputed filmmaker Mani Ratnam struggles to find the right balance between the demands of a mainstream action movie and a character driven drama; this results in the film never finding its feet in spite of some solid acting from Kamal Haasan and Simbu. The two try their level best to inject some life into the proceedings. Apart from the generic gangster tropes Thug Life also suffers from misogyny and cringe romantic portions featuring Kamal and Trisha

Starcast: Kamal Haasan, Simbu, Trisha, Abhirami, Nassar, Mahesh Manjrekar, Rohit Saraf, Ali Fazal and others

Genre: Action/drama

Director and writer: Mani Ratnam

Additional writer: Kamal Haasan

Producers: Kamal Haasan, Mani Ratnam, Udhayanidhi Stalin etc

Production Companies: Raaj Kamal Films International, Madras Talkies etc

Music: A R Rahman

Cinematography: Ravi K Chandran

Running time: 2 hours

Right since the disastrous run of 2010’s Raavan brand Mani Ratnam has taken a severe beating, the critical and commercial failure of the ambitious film has proved to be a major roadblock for the director who hasn’t still recovered from it. Of course, O Kadhal Kanmai with Dulquer Salmaan and Nithya Menon was a commercial success, though not vintage Mani Ratnam the movie was a charming romantic comedy majorly elevated by the leads. The Ponniyin Selvan movies on the other hand didn’t quite become the pan India blockbuster that Mani Ratnam was hoping to be. With Thug Life the director has reunited with Kamal Haasan, a duo which gave the classic gangster film Nayakan. A lot was expected from Thug Life given the stature of both Kamal and Mani Ratnam, however Thug Life turns out to be a reunion which nobody asked for.

Thug life primarily focuses on Rangaraya Shakti Raju (Kamal Haasan). He is a gangster set in the state of Delhi. In the initial portion Rangaraya Shakti Raju is seen rescuing a young boy Amar (Simbu) during a police shootout. He brings up the orphaned Amar as his own son. Flash forward to the present Amar is seen managing both the crime syndicate and also the family problems like setting up the marriage of Rangaraya’s daughter. An underlining of distrust is there from Rangaraya’s side given the nature of the criminal world. A particular incident leads Amar to turn against his mentor almost resulting in Rangaraya’s death. This is the story in brief.

Among the very few positives the performances of Kamal and Simbu are definitely worth mentioning. The two share a good chemistry bringing in the necessary tension and warmth. The two manage to rise above the formulaic writing. As Rangaraya Shakti Raju Kamal Haasan brings his trademark intensity. He brings in a certain heft like the scenes where the character expresses his anguish and a certain desperation. A good example of is the portion involving Abhirami the wife, a victim of memory loss due to an accident. The actor lends an emotional gravitas to the proceedings even when the writing is subpar. Simbu as the trusted aid going against his mentor is also in fine form portraying the different facets of Amar with ease. He brings in a palpable intensity specifically in the pre climax fight between the two characters.

A light moment featuring Kamal Haasan and Simbu

Ravi K Chandran’s cinematography is effective in creating the right atmospherics. The rustic action sequences like the hand-to-hand combats have been well captured by Ravi K Chandran.

A major problem with Thug Life are its women characters. The so-called romance between Kamal and Trisha is beyond cringe. There is a visible awkwardness, and Trisha eventually ends up as a shuttle cock with little to no agency. Also, the lens through which her role of a mistress has been written and performed is very problematic to say the least. She is reduced to a mostly vampish figure, a third person who has snatched away Rangaraya. Abhirami playing the wife may look like a defiant person from outside but her passive acceptance of Rangaraya’s affair and how she treats Trisha’s Indrani is a major disappointment from a celebrated director like Mani Ratnam.

Kamal Haasan and Trisha awkward romance

Apart from the misogyny and sexism Thug Life also suffers from characters who don’t serve much purpose. The best example of this is Rohit Saraf playing a typical spoil brat who does drugs. The only reason for his existence is to be thrashed by Kamal Haasan and Co. Similarly, Ali Fazal playing the elder brother of Rohit is mostly there to watch from the sidelines. For a large part of the movie, he is relegated to the background only to appear for taking advantage of the tensions between Rangaraya and Amar. Nassar too has a one note characterization as a constantly frustrated man, he is mostly seen in a sulking mood without much nuances.

Talking about the familiar tropes Thug Life majorly suffers on the account of been there and done that scenarios: whether it’s the rivalries both within and outside the crime syndicate or backstabbing from family. It’s hard to see what the legendary duo Kamal and Mani Ratnam saw in this story. The music and the background score both by A R Rahman are another major misfire.

Final word: Thug Life is a massive downfall not even matching 5 percent of the expectations. Watch it only if you are a diehard Kamal Haasan fan, for the rest re watching Nayakan would be best.

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Kamal Haasan (A Cinematic Journey): An amalgamation of Kamal’s craft and the influence of politics

Kamal Haasan (A Cinematic Journey)

This book written by noted film personality K Hariharan is not your conventional biography, it comes across as more of an academic study. For the many Kamal Haasan fans and serious movie buffs the book is a must read.

The filmography of Kamal Haasan is a delight for any true cinephile. The legendary actor has done so many versatile roles both in offbeat and mainstream cinema. Kamal’s penchant for experimenting with different get ups has enthralled his fans over decades. He has many admirers among different age groups and is still going strong. To pick up 40 plus movies out of his illustrious career is a very difficult task for any writer, but K Hariharan does a good job in selecting them which not only reflect Kamal Haasan’s craft but also the influence of politics.

Kamal Haasan in Nayakan

Kamal Haasan and K Balachander: A major highlight of the book is undoubtedly the chapters covering Kamal Haasan’s early movies with the legendary K Balachander. The role of K Balachander in shaping up Kamal’s career is immense and this comes across very strongly. K Balachander’s movies always had a socio political context.

The influence of the Dravadian moment in how K Balachander wrote his characters particularly the women coming across as very strong makes for a fascinating read. Topics of sexuality and the frustration of unemployed youth often found place in K Balachander’s cinema.

The characters which Kamal Haasan played were often surrounded by strong women making him a feminist symbol, this quality made him very endearing to the female audiences of various age groups.

Interpretation of lost and found themes: Another interesting aspect of the book is how K Hariharan looks at the lost and found themes in the movies of Kamal Haasan. A particular mention must be made of his analysis on Michael Madan Kamaraju released in the year 1990. This comedy of errors focuses on three siblings growing up in different places and finally reunited with their mother.

He compares Michael Madan Kamaraju to other famous Indian movies Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) and Raj Kapoor’s (Awaara) which also has the themes of lost and found. K Hariharan puts these movies in the context of many families losing their loved ones while fleeing borders during the tumultuous partition.

Kamal Haasan in Michael Madan Kamaraju

Mention must also be made of the chapter covering Kamal Haasan’s cross over hit Ek Duuje Ke Liye. The nervousness which Kamal Haasan went through (because it was his first Hindi film) while filming the movie and how it went on to defy many odds makes for a very good read. The success of Ek Duuje Ke Liye opened doors to Bollywood for the likes of K S Chitra and K J Yesudas. Interestingly you also had the likes of Lata Mangeskhar, Asha Bhonsle and Udit Narayan making a foray into Tamil and Telugu film industry as a reverse phenomenon.

Another interesting thing about the book is the analysis of Kamal Haasan’s commercial movies. K Hariharan looks at them as part of industrial products. Kamal Haasan viewed commercial filmmakers as simple and honest human beings not governed by philosophies either moral or ethical.

Talking about one of Kamal Haasan’s most political movies Hey Ram there is an interesting analysis on how the initial script was based on the character of Nathuram Godse. Later it became a fictionalized tale of an agonised Hindu wanting to kill Mahatma Gandhi as he suffers a personal loss during the partition. There is a detailed explanation of a scene involving Naseeruddin Shah playing the on screen Mahatma Gandhi. During the shooting in Ooty the musicians were rehearsing the hymn Vaishnava Jana Toh. As soon as Naseeruddin Shah walked in to the set as Mahatma the noisy location went silent and every one walked up to the old man to join in the prayers. K Hariharan describes how Kamal Haasan had Goosebumps all over his body.

Kamal Haasan’s natural flair for comedy has also come out well along with his passion for experimenting with different characters. One slight drawback of the book is that his two Telugu classics Swathi Muthyam and Sagara Sangamam needed more exploration. Even the chapter on Mani Ratnam’s Nayakan doesn’t give much insight except for the very famous breakdown scene.

Kamal Haasan in Swati Muthyam

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Fatigue of action: A rundown of big-scale movies of 2024

2024 has been a different year for big-scale action movies, as they haven’t had the same box office impact as in previous years. This decline can be attributed to “action fatigue,” but there are also several other factors contributing to the shift.

Unlike 2024, the year 2023 was mostly dominated by macho men taking on the bad guys and beating them to a pulp whether it was Jawan, Gadar 2 or Animal.

2024 has been a different year for big-scale action movies, as they haven’t had the same box office impact as in previous years. This decline can be attributed to “action fatigue,” but there are also several other factors contributing to the shift.

For example, in Devara, a simplistic story was dragged out, testing the viewer’s patience. The movie majorly rode on Junior NTR’s double role and to an extent on Saif Ali Khan’s villainous avatar.

Both actors were wonderful in their respective parts as was the technical department but Koratala Siva’s attempt to have his own Baahubali moment made it just about an average watch.

Suriya made his big screen comeback after a long gap with Kanguva, however, the movie turned out to be a disastrous experience relying purely on the big scale and Suriya to do wonders. Not surprisingly the movie turned out to be a box office turkey leaving a big dent in the producer’s pockets.

Now let’s get into a little more detail about some of the underperforming big-scale action movies.

Fighter

Hrithik Roshan in Fighter
Hrithik Roshan in ‘Fighter’. (X)

Siddharth Anand’s Fighter had all the ingredients of a mega-blockbuster, including big stars like Hrithik Roshan, Deepika and Anil Kapoor. It also had a charismatic Hrithik Roshan coupled with some fantastic Ariel stunts.

Following the success of his previous ventures, War (2019), and Pathaan, Siddharth Anand incorporated the typical elements of patriotism. However, the film suffered majorly from clichéd troupes involving India and Pakistan.

Lines about the real meaning of religion and patriotism had a jaded feel pulling down the movie significantly. Fighter is by no means a complete disaster, still, the film fell majorly short compared to Siddharth Anand’s last two action movies.

Jigra

A still from the film Jigra
A still from the film ‘Jigra’. (X)

Vasan Bala is known for his unique brand of storytelling. This time he tried his hand at the action genre with an emotional story of an elder sister’s fight.

The director is known for a certain sense of aesthetics. His movies have a Korean touch, something which Jigra also had in its depiction of the fictional country Hanshi Dao.

Jigra was an extremely well-made movie spearheaded by a brilliant Alia Bhatt, yet, the film underperformed as the mass belt didn’t take to the movie much due to its Korean aesthetics.

Singham Again

Rohit Shetty’s Singham Again had a galaxy of stars and a genre in which Rohit has succeeded. But something was majorly off with the movie starting from the long trailer revealing the major parallels with Ramayana along with the character introductions. The result was pretty much a disaster.

Too much time was wasted, introducing the Ramayana parallels and the action sequences were a tired rehash of Rohit Shetty’s previous movies.

The film clashed with Anees Bazmee’s Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 headlined by Kartik Aaryan, and the latter won at the box office.

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan

A still from the film Bade Miyan Chote Miyan
A still from the film ‘Bade Miyan Chote Miyan’. (X)

Just like 2023, 2024 was also a disappointing year for Akshay Kumar. Bade Miyan Chote Miyan was especially disappointing.

This Ali Abbas Zafar’s directorial had the pet themes of mainstream Hindi Cinema. A deadly enemy wanting to cause harm to the nation and two brave-hearted soldiers tackling the nemesis.

The genre of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan is a cakewalk for Akshay, given his image as a Khiladi but the movie bombed badly in spite of Ali Abbas Zafar’s impressive commercial track record.

A major problem with Bade Miya Chote Miyan, apart from a tedious Akshay was its simplistic portrayal of complex political scenarios.

The solutions were oversimplified lacking the nuances needed. After a point, the movie just became a stretch of one action sequence after another.

Yodha

Sidharth Malhotra in Yodha
Sidharth Malhotra in ‘Yodha’. (X)

Since the success of the Vikram Batra biopic Shershaah (2021) on Amazon Prime, Sidharth Malhotra has been deliberately choosing characters of a patriotic nature. Still, the results have been far from satisfactory.

Yodha directed by Pushkar Ojha and Sagar Ambre despite being a slick action movie with a very watchable Sidharth Malhotra couldn’t do much at the box office.

A major reason for that was the underdeveloped love story between Sidharth and Rashi Khanna’s characters. The emotional drama of the story needed more heft. The movie also suffered from predictability and the typical elements of this genre.

Guntur Kaaram

Mahesh Babu in Guntur Kaaram
Mahesh Babu in ‘Guntur Kaaram’. (X)

Reputed filmmaker Trivikram Srinivas’s Guntur Kaaram was a mix of his usual family drama with the general template of action, romance and comedy.

The pet theme of Trivikram on how the greatest battles are fought with the people closest to you reached a saturation point with this one. Mahesh Babu was a lot of fun to watch with his comic timing and his Guntur dialect.

There was a refreshing carefree nature which the actor nailed. But the movie on the whole was a big bloated mess. Even the scenes of Mahesh Babu punching the baddies couldn’t save this festive movie.

The action scenes were the standard hero elevation shots, which had moments of Trivikram Srinivas’s trademark humour but that wasn’t enough to salvage the proceedings.

The Sankranthi release clashed with Nagarjuna’s Naa Saami Ranga, Venkatesh’s Saindhav, and Prashant Varma and Teja Sajja’s Hanu-man.

With the right mix of mythology and superhero elements, Hanu-man emerged as the clear winner among all the big Sankranti releases.

Bharateeyudu 2/ Indian 2

Kamal Haasan in Indian 2
Kamal Haasan in ‘Indian 2’. (X)

S Shankar’s vigilante action drama Bharateeyudu 2/ Indian 2 had none of the emotional complexities of the 1996 blockbuster Bharateeyudu/ Indian.

The movie was a typical Shankar lecture on how corruption should be uprooted. It had long drawn speeches testing the viewer’s patience.

Bharateeyudu 2/ Indian 2 showed that S Shankar’s cinematic language needs a major changeover. For most of the movie, Kamal Hassan is presented as an unbeatable superhero.

His interactions with the bad guys and how he easily beats them to a pulp were embarrassing, to say the least.

Saindhav

Venkatesh in Saindhav
Venkatesh in ‘Saindhav’. (X)

Venketash’s 75th movie Saindhav was a deliberate attempt from the actor to mix the elements of the family dramas he is known for with bone-crushing action. The film had shades of Lokesh Kangaraj’s Leo —a family man with a violent past.

Saindhav had all the elements of a solid action drama with Venketash delivering a commendable performance both in the action parts as well as the emotional sequences.

But the movie overall didn’t hit the mark because of too much dependence on the scale. The screenplay was extremely uneven. Also, it lacked a solid antagonist. Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s eccentric villain was a pain to watch.

This is all about the underperformance of some big action movies. Clearly, certain exhaustion has set in the viewers’ minds regarding this genre.

This partly explains the tremendous success of the horror comedy/thriller genre as it is giving more exciting storylines.

(Edited by Sumavarsha Kandula)

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Bharateeyudu 2: A bloated sequel which doesn’t have the emotional complexities of the 1996 blockbuster

Director S. Shankar does a better job in the second half when he touches upon the consequences of cleaning corruption in your home. The ostracization that Siddarth’s Chitra Aravindan faces does touch the viewer’s heart, but the movie doesn’t come across as a whole

  • Starcast: Kamal Haasan, Siddarth, Samuthirakani, Kalidas Jayaram, Bobby Simha, Rakul Preet Singh and others
  • Direction, dialogues, story and screenplay: S Shankar
  • Producers: Subaskaran Allirajah and Udhayanidhi Stalin
  • Production Companies: Lyca Productions and Red Giant movies
  • Running time: 3 hours
  • Music director: Anirudh Ravichander
  • Cinematography: Ravi Varman

The genre of vigilante movies owes a lot to Shankar. Many of his movies have tackled corruption and featured crusaders of different natures. For example, in Gentleman and Aparichitudu (Anniyan) in Tamil, the protagonists took extreme measures to wipe out the rot in the system. On the other hand, there was Mudhalvan, where a television presenter ended up becoming a Chief Minister. In Mudhalvan, it was about repairing the system while staying within it.

Coming to the 1996 movie Bharateeyudu, it was one of its kind for those times. Apart from Shankar’s typical vigilante tropes, the movie also had some solid emotional drama with the vastly different viewpoints between Senapathy and his son Chandru, both played by Kamal Haasan. The writing and direction had shades of nuance, with Chandru not being painted as an all-out villain.

After a long gap of 28 years, the sequel is here, and the typical elements of Shankar, like long-drawn speeches and rants on corruption, have clearly worn out. It is high time that he finds a new cinematic language while talking about the same issues.

Indian 1 and 2. Shankar needs to change his cinematic language while talking about the same issues.

Indian 2 begins with the introduction of Siddarth’s Chitra Aravindan and his three friends. They run a YouTube channel called ‘Barking Dogs’. This channel makes political satires using the comic strips of R.K. Laxman. They can be called digital media activists. The channel receives a lot of views, but there isn’t much of a ground impact. In this situation, Aravindan believes that only Senapathy, aka Indian Thatha, can clean the rotten system. They start a campaign with the name ‘Come Back Indian’. Aravindan firmly believes that Senapathy is alive even after all these years, and his hunch turns out to be true. In a Facebook Live video, Senapathy tells all the youngsters to focus on exposing the corrupt individuals within their families while he would wipe out corruption through extrajudicial methods. However, this two-way route comes with its own dire consequences that severely affect both Senapathy and Siddarth and his friends. Running parallel to this is the track of Bobby Simha, a CBI officer hot on the trail of Senapathy. He is the son of the inspector Krishnaswamy from the 1996 film, played by the late Nedumudi Venu.

Siddarth runs a YouTube channel Barking Dogs

The first half of Bharateeyudu 2 is a slog in more ways than one. The typical elements of Shankar are dialed up 100 notches. There are excessive dialogues on corruption, and the way Senapathy comes back to India appears very convoluted. The tweets of Come Back Indian trending so fast feel comical, to say the least. The rich businessmen that Senapathy kills seem to be an amalgamation of Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi. All of them are North Indians with a big appetite for wearing bling clothes. Senapathy uses different martial art techniques.

All of them come across as irritating caricatures rather than flesh-and-blood characters. The conversations of Kamal Haasan with these men play out way longer than needed and border on utter ridiculousness. For instance, a rich man gallops like a horse for a long distance after Senapathy strikes him. As audiences, you are completely unmoved because of the flat writing and staging.

However, Shankar does redeem himself in the second half, particularly in the scenes that showcase the aftereffects of Senapathy’s advice. Chitra Aravindan exposes his own father, resulting in severe discord with his mother, who eventually ends up committing suicide. Chitra Aravindan isn’t even allowed to perform the last rites, facing severe ostracization. Siddarth’s showdown with Kamal Haasan has some powerful dialogues where the character questions Senapathy on how his advice of first cleaning up corruption in your own house may look like a great idea but in reality has dire consequences. He further adds that what is the point of having a corrupt-free society when you don’t have a happy home. From being loved by youngsters, Senapathy goes to being the most hated. Senapathy also briefly faces public ire; they throw stones at him. This portion comes late in the second half but saves the movie from being a complete washout.

Siddarth’s showdown with Kamal Haasan

Mention must also be made of the few scenes between Siddarth and Samuthirakani. The emotional scene where Samuthirakani’s character asks his son why he did this, and the subsequent dialogues make a powerful impact. Siddarth scores as an actor, particularly in these scenes.

As Senapathy, Kamal Haasan makes the viewers believe in the superhero qualities of his role. Yes, the role doesn’t pack the same emotional resonance as it did in 1996, but to Kamal Haasan’s credit, he does sell the big speeches.

The music of Bharateeyudu 2 is nowhere close to the first one; however, the background score by Anirudh Ravichander is impactful in a few scenes. The action sequences are way too prolonged and quickly become tedious. Shankar’s eye for grandeur does make the movie a visual feast, but the storyteller Shankar is absent for the most part.

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Kalki 2898 AD: A gutsy attempt at mixing dystopian world with Mahabharata

Nag Ashwin proves his capability as a versatile director, the movie works best when it focuses on Prabhas and Amitabh Bachchan

  • Starcast: Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, Kamal Haasan, Deepika Padukone, Saswata Chatterjee, Pashupathy, Anna Ben and others
  • Special appearances: Mrunal Thakur, Dulquer Salman, S.S Rajamouli, Vijay Devarakonda, Ramgopal Varma etc.
  • Story, direction, screenplay and dialogues: Nag Ashwin
  • Additional screenplay: Rutham Samar
  • Additional dialogues: Sai Madhav Burra and B.S Saewagna Kumar
  • Producer: C. Ashwini Dutt
  • Production Company: Vijayanthi movies
  • Cinematography: Djordge Stojilijkovic
  • Music: Santhosh Narayan
  • Genre: Science fiction
  • Running time: 3 hours and 1 minute

The track record of Indian cinema with science fiction/futuristic worlds is pretty abysmal. A major reason for it is the necessity of masala elements where the hero has to do romance, comedy and action while saving the world. Rakesh Roshan’s Krrish movies though not seamless did a good job in mixing Hollywood tropes with Indian Masala. Ayan Mukherjee’s Bramhastra was high on visuals, but a weakly written love story coupled with erratic characterizations made the movie just about an average watch. Last year Vikas Bahl made an attempt at directing a movie set in a futuristic world where the society is divided into two and poverty is at an extremely high level. Ganapath ended up being more about Tiger Shroff’s somersaults and was roundly rejected by the audiences.

Now you have Nag Ashwin’s Kalki 2898 AD also set in a futuristic world. The two-film old director has already created a niche for himself with Yevade Subramanyam and the biopic Mahanati on the legendary actress Savitri. Mahanati in particular is a challenging movie given that it is based on a very beloved actress who is admired by many, but he did complete justice to her life. With Kalki 2898 AD the director has pushed himself even more and let his imagination fly high. For example, he makes you believe that there would be a future where women would have zero autonomy over their bodies and the need for capitalistic gains will wipe out cities. In spite of obvious similarities to Dune and the Mad Max films Nag Ashwin delivers an impressive concoction of sci fi elements with mythology. But the women characters are a major weak spot, and the random love story of Prabhas with Disha Patani is a major speed breaker.

Kalki 2898 AD moves along multiple timelines starting from the Kurukshetra war. Amitabh Bachchan is Ashwatthama who is cursed with immortality by lord Krishna. On the other hand, there is the dystopian landscape of Kashi, the world’s last city. However, it is in complete shambles. The mighty Ganges is in a parched state and food is naturally scarce. There is a towering structure called Complex governed by Yaskin played by Kamal Haasan. He rules the place with an iron fist. Inside the Complex there are many fertile women who have been put on an experiment. Deepika Padukone’s SUM-80 alias Sumathi is an employee who is supposed to make sure that these fertile women get sufficient food and medicine. But there is a twist here; Sumathi who has been considered infertile for ages is now five months pregnant. Then you have Shambala a place for refugees from different faiths and cultures. They are putting their lives at stake for a better future.

Bhairava (Prabhas) wants to escape from the dreariness of Kashi and get into the Complex. He has AL car Bujji (with a fun voiceover by Keerty Suresh). There is a constant banter between them which gradually develops into a strong bond. Bhairava is a selfish man who is unaware of his destiny. As the story progresses Bhairava’s life gets intermingled with Ashwatthama, Sumathi and the people of Shambala.

For a movie like this a seamless blend of special effects and cinematography is very necessary and Kalki 2898 AD scores full marks in this department. The high-octane action sequences between Amitabh Bachchan and Prabhas in particular is a major highlight. Thankfully Nag Ashwin doesn’t show Bhairava as invincible, on more than one occasion we see him getting hurt. These scenes are also sprinkled with humour that bring a smile. Nitin Zihani Choudary’s production design also deserves a particular mention in how he creates an imaginary landscape that immerses the audiences.

Director Nag Ashwin also deserves distinction marks for how he integrates the Kurukshetra episode in the film. The emotional turmoil of Ashwatthama and his quest for repentance strikes a chord. Amitabh Bachchan delivers a stellar act overshadowing Prabhas on occasions.

Prabhas as Bhairava has a role that comes with different shades. There is humor, and he also comes across as not so likeable. Prabhas does complete justice to both. His interactions with Keerty Suresh’s Bujji add a lot to the movie.

Kamal Haasan as the evil Yaskin has a brief role but he sends down a chill with his intimidating act.

Santhosh Narayanan’s music lacks good songs but he more than compensates it with a powerful background score.

Kalki 2898 AD has many cameos from actors and directors. Out of these Ramgopal Varma and S.S Rajamouli are fun to watch. There is a Baahubali reference where Prabhas jokingly says about how he gave 5 years to that project, it definitely raises a chuckle. Among others Mrunal Thakur is impressive in her brief role.

A big flaw of Kalki 2898 AD are the two female leads. Disha Patani is only used for glamour and one completely out of place song. Deepika Padukone on the other hand plays a pregnant woman mirroring her real life. She is mostly required to look petrified, and the expressions irritate after a point.

The movie’s runtime could have been crisper with lesser cameos. For example, Dulquer Salman and Avasarala Srinivas don’t add anything significant with their presence.

A caution: Too many good directors going into the dystopian landscape is something that the industry should be careful about.

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Vikram: A Masala Treat For The Fans Of Kamal, Fahadh And Vijay

The biggest victory of Lokesh Kangaraj’s Vikram is how he balances the three immensely talented actors. The script has been written in such a way that all three get their moments to shine. In essence, Vikram is a stylish action drama. The first twenty-to thirty minutes of the film are a bit of slog with the overload of the information but as you go along the film starts getting better. Vikram is not as engaging as Karthik’s Kaithi which also belonged to the same genre, but it definitely fares better than the director’s last film Master.

The films begins off the supposed death of Karnan (Kamal Hassan).  Karnan is the father of the martyred cop Prapachan (Kalidas Jayaram) We learn that a series of such killings has been happening, the people responsible for this are a group of masked men. This group calls it their war against the system. To stop these killings, the police chief brings in a black cops team. The head of this team is Amar (Fahadh Fasil). Amar starts digging into the past of Karnan. Vijay Sethupati plays a fearsome drug lord called Santhanam. Santhanam is searching for a shipment that would make him a king pin. Meanwhile, Amar is getting more and more puzzled by the many versions that he hears about Karnan. Was Karnan an alcoholic father grieving over the loss of his son, a womanizer or something more than that? But the bigger question is whether he is really dead.

The most intriguing part of Vikram is the investigation scenes of Amar and his team. These portions keep you hooked as you yourself are also trying to figure out who the actual Karnan is. There isn’t a lot of Kamal Hassan in this part but his presence can still be amply felt, both as an actor and also as a character.

The action part before the interval has a solid twist that makes you look forward for the second half. Post interval the plot becomes more straight faced. Just like Kaithi here too you have a bunch of cops holding against an army of gangsters.

The subplot of Karnan and Prapanchan’s baby gives the second half some emotional undercurrent. These portions are pretty good. Kalidas Jayaram has a small role but the actor does a good job nevertheless.

As I earlier said all the three actors get their moments to shine. Kamal Hassan packs a punch in both the action and the emotional bits. His scenes with the little grandson give some heat touching moments. Fahadh Faasil sails through his role with his usual aplomb. He shines the brightest in the first half. Vijay Sethupati’s Santhanam is an extension of what he did in Master but the actor still makes an impact with his villainous turn. His interactions with the family members raise some chuckle worthy moments.

What pulls down Vikram significantly are the overdose of action. There is no denying that they have been solidly choreographed, but these scenes come too frequently from the middle of the second half.

Also the suspense factor is no longer there once the identity of Karanan is revealed. The film becomes more generic after this in terms of treatment. As a result the film starts feeling very prolonged. The editing department is another minus for Vikram. At least thirty minutes of the film could have been easily chopped off. Because of the excessive length the impact of Surya’s cameo lessens down.

It also doesn’t help that the supporting characters with the exception of Kalidas are mostly gap fillers.  

In a nutshell, watch Vikram if you are a fan of the three actors. But be prepared for all the bloodshed.