I watched Manmadhan Ambu about two weeks ago, and haven’t found the urge to write about it yet. I think now is the time, because the film has sunk in better and I am in a better position to comment. I’ll try and break up this review into parts, so as to do justice to the different aspects of the film.

Genre

What is this strange genre that Kamal has been trying to perfect for the last 5 years? Is this a musical, a romance, a comedy or a drama? We have no clue but I found the mix both intriguing and interesting. For those people who think this wasn’t like Panchatantram, I only have one thing to say: If you walk into a theatre expecting Manmadhan Ambu to be like Panchatantram and come out disappointed, don’t blame Kamal for it. He would have named it Panchatantram 2 if he wanted it to be like that!

Story

Let’s face it! The storyline is mediocre. It’s about an actress who decides to take a vacation to Europe pre-marriage to get a bit of perspective on her relationship with her overly-suspicious boyfriend. The boyfriend in question, in the meantime, decides to hire a detective to trail her to figure out if she is having an affair. So far, so good. Nothing to write home about and nothing outstandingly special about the story.

Screenplay

This is perhaps the first time I am able to poke holes in Kamal’s otherwise water-tight scripting. Why does the flashback involving the start of Ambu’s problems with Madhan have to rewind three years? What happened in the intervening time? Why did Ambu choose to stick to the relationship for three years before deciding she need a break away from the prying eyes of her fiancé? One possible explanation is that she needed to complete her film assignments and that it took her three years to do so. After finishing her assignments, she could have decided to take that break before settling down to wedded bliss. But, this is not very clear and leaves the average viewer wondering about the timeframe.

Second, how do Ambu and Major end up falling in love? Where and how does that romance develop? I get the feeling that the deleted scenes featuring Kamal’s poem might have held the key to the developing of that romance. The film has suffered greatly because of the lack of continuity between those scenes. Somehow, we as viewers don’t really identify with that romance or that tenderness. We can’t understand why Ambu suddenly chooses to declare that she loves Major. I mean, how? If the deletion has harmed the script this much, I think Kamal should be very angry indeed!

Finally, I had serious problems accepting that the death of a spouse due to the carelessness of someone could be so easily forgiven. How can a man, knowing fully well that the woman standing before him has caused him immeasurable pain, forgive her so easily that he has no problems falling for her? It can happen, but without that time given to develop the transition, it seems unrealistic.

Dialogue

Borderline philosophy (Nallavangalukku thimiru thaan veli), subtle provocation (featuring blouse hooks and pant zips), Ambu’s disgust at having to explain the connecting doors between her and Surya’s dressing rooms, Deepa’s declaration that the matrimony was bad but the alimony was good…many examples of Kamal’s take on relationships coupled with humour typical of him, complete with wordplay and wit.

Music

I liked it. I loved the way the songs have been set in such a way that they don’t really hamper the progress of the story. Of course you can’t compare DSP with Ilayaraja. Even entertaining such a thought is sacrilege. But, I think we should give him credit for having tried. The Neelavanam song is superb, both in the way it’s picturized and in the melody by itself. The others are peppy dance numbers. What did we expect when watching a movie with music by DSP? Carnatic music? He has lived up to the standard he has set for himself. Nothing more, nothing less.

Kamal’s musical adventure

Call me a die-hard Kamal fan, I don’t care! He was simply superb in this new avatar as poet! I flipped the first time I heard the Kamal Kavithai. Written in impeccable Tamil and recited by Kamal himself, there is nothing mediocre about this composition. Of course, this is not a song; it’s a dramatic dialogue. That’s what makes it more real. I found that this song was one aspect of stage theatre that the film adapted. And I loved it. The other songs, especially Neelavanam have beautiful lyrics, if only we stop to listen!

The small stuff

Apart from these, there were small things that worked in favour of the film. Usha Uthup’s diction, although a bit stilted, sounded a more authentic version of “Brahmin Baashai” than the crap we are used to in Tamil cinema. Madhavan’s characterization of the drunkard was too good to miss. Sangeetha’s almost-perfect comic timing was an added delight. On the whole, I think both Madhavan and Sangeetha outperformed Trisha and Kamal in the film.

Did anyone notice how Madhavan is ultimately stuck between two mothers? First, it’s his mother who creates the discord between him and his girlfriend. Then, he end up with a mother (Sangeetha) because he finds her babying cute and reassuring! Oedipus Complex? I have no idea! And, I must credit Praveen for this observation. He was mentioning this sometime when we were discussing the film!

On the whole, Manmadhan Ambu is far from perfect. It has many flaws and many problems. But, this did not really hamper my enjoyment of the film. This film is an experiment. But, this experiment was only about half successful. Maybe a few more cross-over films (between genres, I mean) will help Kamal perfect this genre and make him pace the screenplay out better. My final verdict would be that this is definitely watchable, preferably in theatre. Once.

I finally watched the much-celebrated Gautham Menon film, Vinnaithandi Varuvaaya on Tuesday. Cinematically, there were things that worked, and did not worked, like with every film I watch. But personally, the film tends to get boring and drags interminably at times. Mine is not an exhaustive review. They are simply jottings of how I felt when I watched the movie.

What worked…

Flashes of brilliance in story-telling: the only fight sequence where our man comes across as truly angry and normal, the scene in the Central Park where Simbu and Trisha meet after a three year gap. Simbu’s acting: for a change it is real. No overacting, no unnecessary mannerisms and best of all, he looks amazingly good! I am no fan of Simbu but he completely bowled me over in this film. This just goes to prove that at the hands of a capable director anyone can be a good actor. The family is normal: father as strict but loving, mom as non-interfering but concerned, sister warning him this will not work but still not wanting to refuse help. It’s so real that you feel like this is home. And finally, AR Rahman’s awesome soundtrack. So much better than the much-praised Rahman of Jai Ho!

What did not work…

The sheer number of songs breaks the rhythm and flow of the plot. Somehow they seem to be hampering the progress of the story. Trisha is plastic. I mean…really plastic! It’s one thing to be restrained, but quite another to look like a doll throughout the movie. The supposedly-enigmatic Mona Lisa smile is far from enigmatic: just infuriating. At one point, when Simbu asks, “There are so many women in the world. Why Jessie?” you seriously consider the question and look for an answer. Also, there seems to be a major flaw in Jessie’s character. She doesn’t know what she wants. She asks him to come and fetch her one day…and two days later decides she doesn’t want him anymore. One can be headstrong, convinced and still be indecisive. Jessie, on the other hand, comes across as completely confused. She wants him but is scared to ask her father, knowing fully well that he will never agree. After a while she decides to get into the relationship, only to back out a short while later. On the whole, she is confusing!

The bottomline: Good to watch once. But beyond that, if you want to watch a coherent love story, this is not it. It is very messy, very down-to-earth and very real. And it does tug at your heartstrings at times. If only rarely!

…can never be better than the original, some say. Along with accusations of being conveniently ambivalent on Unnaipol Oruvan, I was asked repeatedly, by all and sundry to watch A Wednesday. And I did. Today. I approached the movie, almost determined to like it better than Unnaipol Oruvan, thanks to the raving I heard all around me in the past week.

I liked what I saw. But, not as much as I like Unnaipol Oruvan. Call me a die-hard Kamal fan who will digest anything he chooses to dish out, but I still like UPO way better. That said, I think there were a lot of differences between the original and the remake. A Wednesday has faster camera movements, indicating the urgency of the situation, while UPO stays rather focussed on the matter at hand. Editing is definitely slicker in the Hindi version than in Tamil, where the camera tends to linger on each of the characters longer than strictly necessary. In fact, A Wednesday gives you the feel of a classic Hollywood action thriller, at times. And that, for those who want action, is a good thing!

Anupam Kher as the Commissioner is a lot more active than Mohanlal in UPO. However, with his activity is also a certain melodrama that Mohanlal manages to avoid in UPO. Restraint is the name of the game, and Lalettan is nearly perfect in it. The CM makes no appearance in the Tamil version, but the voice and diction are more than enough to let us know who exactly is talking. Mohanlal’s clash with Lakshmi is a talking point of UPO, although Lakshmi’s acting is a bit over-the-top, especially compared to the restraint shown by Mohanlal.

Naseerudeen Shah was perfection personified. Nothing can be said about his acting. He was absolutely perfect for the role he was playing. But, the dialogues in the climax scene, although power-packed, somehow seemed incongruous coming from the mouth of a purported common man. Because, the common man, when angry, cries silent tears. Because, all of us are human and the last thing we do when overcome with emotion, is to deliver a ten-minute-long dialogue. We tend to clam up and shut down, both emotionally and verbally. To me, that is where UPO scores. While the dialogues are there, they do not take away from the character of the common man. They do not sound too dramatic or exaggerated. That’s why I liked UPO better.

One little thing that drew me closer to the Tamil version was the portrayal of the IIT dropout. He came across as both genuine and geeky. Indeed, I have seen many like him in real life: cousins, friends, classmates…they really exist. The portrayal was absolutely realistic and fabulously etched. The “cool dude-ness” of the Hindi version was a bit of a put off, really!

Finally, to me, the background music in A Wednesday was a trifle too loud for my taste and often came in the way of the comprehension of the dialogues. Not that Shruti Haasan did a great job in Tamil either. The soundtrack really is the only major drawback of the movie in both languages. And yes…these are my opinions. I am not an expert at cinema, nor do I claim to be one. So, if you think I am mistaken, please feel free to tell me! 🙂

I watched Unnaipol Oruvan yesterday. To put it in a nutshell, here is a movie worth the money you spend on it. At the outset, let me clarify that I am not an expert at cinema, its techniques or anything else for that matter. What I am saying is my personal opinion only.

The movie lasts barely 2 hours. One hundred minutes to be precise. It has no songs, no unnecessary frills. Yet, it delivers. I haven’t watched the original, and so am in no position to comment about whether this is one is as good as A Wednesday. But I can tell you this much, watch it and you won’t regret it.

Where do I start? The screenplay perhaps? People tell me it is a meticulous remake of the original. If that is the case, then the screenplay writers have done a fantastic job. The first ten minutes of the film leave you confused and wondering what is happening. But, the action that starts in the 11th minute with the protagonist’s phone call to the Commissioner of Police doesn’t end until the last frame. The pace is steady, fast and doesn’t slacken one bit. No running around the trees, no romancing heroines half his age. In this movie Kamal is not important. Not even his character in the film is important. What is important is the plot. And that wins hands down.

Next, the characterisation of each of the persons in the film. Kamal, as an anonymous caller, threatening to blow up the city if four wanted terrorists are not handed over. He is restraint personified. There aren’t too many dialogues. The only dramatic dialogues are at the end, where he questions the role of the Tamil media and its indifference to happenings outside the state. Yet, emotions are conveyed without problems. To me, the lack of power-packed dialogues is not a drawback. In fact, it’s the film’s biggest asset. While it is true that words can convey a lot, it is equally true that not everyone can deliver a powerhouse performance despite the lack of dialogues. Kamal is one such performer.

Mohanlal is the next performer worth mentioning. His caustic humour, his sarcasm and his head-on collision with the chief secretary played by Lakshmi overshadows even Kamal. I have always thought Mohanlal was a good actor. In this film, he moves beyond merely good and is simply astounding. Much has been said about Ganesh Venkataraman as Arif Khan. True, he was good, as the impulsive but dedicated police officer. But the other guy who plays the role of Sethuraman is equally good, and matches Ganesh Venkataraman, in both screen presence and performance frame-by-frame.

My only problem with the film is the music. While it is true that the background score is decent, I honestly think they could’ve got a real singer for that Sufi rendition. It’s kind of irritating to hear a Sufi number being rendered so badly! The background score was, at best, decent. That’s the only way to describe it. Rahman, Ilayaraja or even Rajesh Vaidya (who does the background score for many Balachander films) would have done a much better job.

That said, this is a film worth watching, more than once! If you are wondering if you should spend money on a remake, I would strongly recommend it. After all, the worth of a film can’t be judged by its length alone.

I finally watched Slumdog Millionnaire. Last week. Only, I have not had the time to blog about it. Let me take a deep breath before I give my opinion. I did not really like the movie. It was believable. It was certainly not overplayed, like some of the reviewers said. It showed the “murky underbelly of Mumbai”. But, it was still optimistic. In spite of  all these positives, it did not work for me. Maybe because I expected a lot more. Maybe because I expected profound thoughts and perhaps some solutions to the problems plaguing the country. But, on the whole, the movie was a disappointment.

I might have liked it had I not built so many expectations around it. It is a good movie, but as Lekhni points out, there have been better movies. She lists Swades, Chak De and Salaam Bombay. I would list Pithaamagan, Sethu and the numerous Balachander films alongside. Or Mr. and Mrs. Iyer.There are too many good movies around to cite them all. Unfortunately, Balachander is never recognized for the legend that he is by our pan-Indian, let alone foreign audiences. Makes me wonder why.

To conclude, Slumdog is a movie I would watch once. It drags in some places. The casting of Lathika did not impress me. Nor did the interminable questions and police torture. But, I would not complain because I know it’s reality. I was also left wondering how someone who has grown up in the slums of Mumbai has a better accent than most well-educated Indians. In all, it would be a huge bonus if it did go on to win the Oscars. But, I don’t think I would be too surprised if it did not. I can’t judge because I haven’t seen the other entries for the awards.

Finally, I read that article that explained why Slumdog could only have been made by a foreigner. I don’t agree. Anyone could have made it. It only got noticed because a foreigner made it. Anyway, I am glad that our very own A R Rahman finally got some recognition. Three cheers to that!