Dasavatharam

When a movie of this magnitude releases, and that too after a million delays, it is bound to carry along with it a lot of hype. The hype could have proved detrimental to the success of the movie, but no, Dasavatharam has proved it wrong in grand style. No wonder K.S.Ravikumar is called a master director. It was a wise thing Kamalhassan didn't direct this high-budget venture. Though a lot of the ideas and concepts in the movie were his(or someone else's), it required someone like K.S.Ravikumar to focus more on the commercial aspect and dumb down the intellectual aspects of the movie to ensure proper reach among all classes. If Kamal had been the director, the converse would have happened and the resultant disaster would have been simply irrecoverable.

Moving away from being judgmental about Kamal's directorial prowess, Kamal as an actor has indeed taken performance to new heights. He has transformed into each of the 10 roles he plays with such ease and professionalism that few others can even attempt to match. What's interesting the first time you watch the movie is how you need to keep a tab on how many Kamals have so far appeared in the movie, what with the added confusion of whether a particular character is really Kamal or not(kudos to the make-up artist Westmore). Each of the 10 avatars in the movie has a significant part to play, except obviously the American President Mr. George W. Bush, who has been parodied brilliantly. Humour plays a very important role in the movie, lightening up the mood at regular intervals. The character of Balram Naidu deserves special mention for evoking laughter through body language itself, notwithstanding the ingenious humour in the dialogues. In the rest of the acting department, Asin has justified her selection for her role as a talkative, annoying, hyperactive heroine. The other actors also fit very well into their roles. Most notable are Napoleon and M.S.Bhaskar. What about Mallika Sherawat, you ask. There couldn't have been a better choice.

Plotwise, Chaos theory which forms the central theme of the movie is not explained explicitly and is left to the viewer to interpret, which is the most interesting aspect of the film, especially as it involves ten different characters each of whom has a role to play in all the chaos. How the 12th century events would relate to the present day events was a question everyone must have had even before the movie released and it's a question whose answer is central to the climax of the movie and the theological discussion/argument that happens between Kamal and Asin in the end.

The movie has also conveyed many messages in a simple manner instead of overemphasising any particular message. Symbolism can be observed at several places too, for example the fluttering butterfly as an allusion to "The Butterfly Effect", a parallel to Chaos theory. Hollywood inspiration is apparent in many places, as is the norm with Kamal's movies. But his constant effort in trying to produce a Hollywood-style movie needs to be applauded. With this movie, he has just gone several steps closer. Overall, Dasavatharam proves to be a thorough entertainer that reaffirms the status Kamalhassan so deservingly holds - a legendary actor, the Ulaganayagan.

Yaaradi nee mohini...

Dhanush-Nayantara starrer "Yaaradi nee mohini", a remake of a Telugu film, which alarmingly is becoming kind of a norm in Tamil cinema proves to be a watchable entertainer with a good mix of romance, sentiment and comedy.

Dhanush as Vasu(reminds you of Thiruda Thirudi) does fit well the role of a software engineer in Chennai. But Nayantara, project manager? You gotta be kidding. The sequences in the first half involving Dhanush's antics in the software company are totally hilarious(Those who've seen the movie would do well to note the sarcasm here.) How can the answers to "What is multi-threading?" or "What is the difference between while and do-while?" suddenly strike you on seeing the face of Nayantara. Ideally, you will only forget whatever answers you remembered. Another funny scene is when Dhanush works through night to make up for a fault of his, writes essays and theses in Java/C/whatever(the screen scrolls at such a speed you can't even notice) and finally a blue-popup comes on screen reading "Code activated". When almost the entire theatre bursts out laughing on seeing this, one can't help but realise the presence of the software industry in the movie-going crowd. Even Karunas' telephone comedy scene didn't evoke as much laughter as this scene.

Raghuvaran, in what eventually and sadly turned out to be his last movie appearance, has impressed in whatever limited scope he had. It is indeed ironic that in the movie he advises Dhanush not to get addicted to alcohol as it is harmful to health. The tamil cinema industry and the fans alike would have wished Raghuvaran himself had realised this truth earlier in his life.

The second half of the movie is family-centred and though funny at times, only drags on a little too much. The characterisation of Anandavalli a.k.a Pooja, Nayantara's young 15-year old sister is done well. It is refreshing to see a flirtatious character being cute and not annoying, though it could very well be my personal opinion. :-) Karthik(Kanda naal mudhal fame) has played the role of a friend well, but in the second half appears a total dimwit in some scenes, though he does make up for it in the end(well the characterisation is done that way).

Yuvan Shankar Raja has provided a good score for the film(Engeyo paartha and Oru Naalukkul stand out). An additional plus is the dialogue by Selvaraghavan, so evident in some scenes(like the one where Vasu advises Puja after her suicide-attempt). Though the film may not have many merits overall for originality or direction, Dhanush has maintained his image as an entertainer, wisely giving up the unnecessary stress on heroism.

Nepali

Nepali, the latest movie of self-proclaimed "Chinna Thalabathi"(how many Thalabathis do we really need) Barath comes out as a feebly fine attempt by director V.Z.Durai in terms of film-making, which could have been made much better. The movie is a love story in the guise of a thriller. The director has attempted to use non-linear story-telling to make the plot seem more interesting, but has failed miserably in it. The screenplay has three elements to it, one in the present(Nepali Barath's mysterious killings), one in the past(a youthful Barath and Meera Jasmine's love track) and another in the middle(jail sequences where Barath is a jail inmate with a Nepali man). The three tracks are interwoven in so haphazard a manner that you begin to lose interest pretty soon(the music score indicating track-shifting becomes annoying). When such non-linear style is used, the director/editor needs to make sure the element of suspense(if any) is maintained. But in Nepali, the turn of events is very predictable and the mixing pretty messy.

One other thing that's very evident in the movie is that the director has watched several Hollywood movies whose inspiration can be seen at several places. Memento, A Clockwork Orange, Enemy at the gates, to name a few. Even the music director, Srikanth Deva has been heavily inspired by Hollywood and Bollywood alike. Like father, like son.

Barath and Meera have both done their parts well. But Barath does a Salman Khan too often in the songs, just because he's improved his build. Meera looks ideal for the role, though her character seems foolish at many places in the movie. No one specifically stands out in the rest of the cast, maybe because of very limited roles. The sex-crazy police inspector makes you wanna puke. When movies like Kaakha Kaakha, Vettaiyaadu Vilayaadu, Kireedam and perhaps even Marudhamalai(with all due respect to Arjun) are made, it is appalling to see the police department shown in such bad light. Even Prem, as the investigating officer fails to impress really. He could perhaps return to Jodi no. 1 Season 4.

Considering that this is the debut of director V.Z.Durai, his effort should be lauded for producing watchable fare told in good cinematic style. In the line of Ramana, Manmadhan, Anniyan, etc, Nepali is another movie with a good message to unpunished criminals. My only hope is that there is not a sequel called Bhutani.