Quick Gun Murugun - Go watchhit I say!!

A Channel V cult character, developed into a Hollywood-length Bollywood movie. Not many think it would become a box office hit. It may not, really. But it sure is to become a cult classic. The humour is not the typical Bollywood masala humor one is so bugged of these days. It is a genre totally new to Indian cinema, I say. An Indo-"western" spoof that has stood the test.

Though the USP of the movie is its Hinglish dialogues spoken in Tamil and Telugu, which were amazing throughout the movie, I was even more majorly impressed by the creativity in introducing humor into the scenes. Wild PJs(mokkai in Tamil), Hollywood movie spoofs, Monty Python style wacky writings in the background, the effective use of background tracks(esp the "Good Bad Ugly" ones and echoes), flying and reloading bullits. What not!

The plot is not all that bad too, for a superhero movie(spoof). Rajendra Prasad has certainly justified his selection for the role. Great expressions and style. Family sentiment is also used effectively(when QG shouts Anna, his body language was so MGR). It was already humorous, but those who know he is imitating MGR would laugh harder at that. And the locket bit(with Lola kutty) is also quite well made. Nasser as Rice Plate Reddy, Rambha as Mango Doll(perfect candidate for the love-lady of a superhero spoof) and Raju Sundaram as Rowdy MBA are the major supporting characters that rock the screen. The MBA soundtrack was awesome(gonna make it my ringtone).

Music and Lyrics (hyphen) wow, I say. Sagar Desai and Raghu Dixit(Murugan Superstar). Lyrics by Ankur Tiwari and Shellee. Surely Cult level. "Idli appam sambhar khaao... Quick Gun murugan ke gun gao, yeh hai rebel without a caaauu, Mind it Mind it!"... He he. Of course, the movie may not appeal to many others. So don't come bashing my review if you didn't. Our senses of humor don't match then, that's all. And I don't mind it, I say(Exclamation marke) :-D

Firaaq

Ignoring political undertones of Firaaq having been released in India at this time, just ahead of the elections, one must bow to Nandita Das for making a directorial debut with this gem of a movie. Firaaq is a honest tale of the lives of Muslims in the aftermath of the Gujarat riots in 2004. It is a tale of brutal reality, conveyed more through emotions than through actions. Infact, there is just one act of violence that is shown in the movie. And that is enough to make the viewer ponder about how somebody could harbour such hatred(that too based on communal grounds) in oneself. There have been many movies that have dealt with the brutality of religious riots in India - Bombay, Black Friday, why even Slumdog Millionaire. But all these movies had to employ many scenes of action and violence to convey the effect. They just made us wonder why such things happen. How Firaaq differs is by delving into the psyche of the victims and capturing the element of fear in a very poignant manner such as not achieved in those movies, even by the legend himself, Mani Ratnam.

There are six stories narrated in the movie, and some of the tracks are interlinked. Every character in the movie is affected by the riots in a certain way, though not in the same way. An upper-class hindu-muslim couple, a Hindu fanatic who was part of the rioting group and his wife who feels guilty for being a helpless bystander, a revered Muslim musician who inspires fellowmen through his songs, another lower-class couple who lose their house in the riots, a group of Muslim friends who seek revenge, and a poor little kid who has witnessed a lot of gore in the riots and survived it. Through the different characters, Nandita has showcased what goes on in a victim's mind - anxiety, fear, helplessness, anger, the urge to rebel, the desire for retribution. The movie also succeeds in making you wonder what the hell goes on in the perpetrator's mind. The success of a good psychological movie is in posing difficult questions, not in answering them. Because there is no definite answer to some questions. That is where Firaaq shines. Even though all the tracks reach a kind of closure, the climax would seem kind of abrupt. One might feel disappointed, but after a little insight you would realise there couldn't have been a better climax.

Acting is terrific, no doubt as most of the actors are/were originally great theatre artists. Mohammed Samad as the kid and Deepti Naval as the housewife of the fanatic shine out particularly. Naseeruddin Shah plays his role to perfection. It was great to see Paresh Rawal in a serious character, for a change. He has funny lines too in the movie. Shahana Goswami is a refreshingly talented actress. A wonderful ensemble cast, overall.

Ravi K Chandran is the cinematographer and he has infused a lovely visual look in the movie. In certain scenes, the streets of Gujarat seem to convey the grim nature of the period even though there is no action on the streets. Credit also has to go to the art director Gautam Sen. Music is by not-at-all-popular people Rajat Dholakia and Piyush Kanojia, but the background score is certainly effective. But one wishes A.R.Rahman was a part of this project.

Overall, a must-watch for all Indians who need to get a grip on reality instead of condemning a whole community as crime-perpetrators and terrorists. I'm glad an Indian actress has come up with an original movie as good as this. The standard of Bollywood seems to be improving, with a lot of offbeat directors creating successful movies. Let's hope the trend continues.

Jai Bala-nath

"Naan Kadavul" - words that director Bala has himself uttered through the movie. He can very well be considered the God of tamil cinema, one of the Gods atleast, speaking from a polytheistic point of view. The movie is most certainly a masterpiece, a masterpiece restrained by the Censor board. Rarely do you see an audacious movie in Tamil cinema these days, with the hero appearing on screen for less than 30 minutes and creating such an impact. Arya has been patient during the making of the movie for 3 years and rightly so. A very powerful character, needless to say.


This is not a movie for the "god-fearing", the ones who take offense in blasphemy. Because this movie is blasphemy at its very best. Movies like Anbe Sivam and Periyaar were subtle when it came to cursing God, but Bala makes no bones about it. He is so supremely confident of the movie and its theme that a line from one of the characters explicitly cursing the creator received an applause from the audience. That was heart-warming, to say the least, for a non-believer. I was for a moment dumbstruck, just as everyone in the hall must have been. If there was one thing the censor board did right, it was not blanking out those words, purely for the impact it creates.

The movie is about two elements - the mind of an Agori, and the pitiful world of disabled beggars, who are thrust into the world. The mind of an Agori is the mysterious part of the movie. The real life of an Agori is gruesome and is not for the faint-hearted. So it is justifiable that the real Agori is not shown(eating corpses), but it's questionable why even the concept is not mentioned. Is cannibalism so taboo a topic in Indian cinema? Arya had the potential to be an even more powerful character, akin to Hannibal Lecter in Silence of the lambs(where he too had a very short screen time). This is one reason why you feel the impact at the end of the movie is not all that hard-hitting as it was expected before the release. All we are shown are Arya's hysterics and his chanting of mantras. One is baffled by how such a character could exist. The answers are not provided, and even if they were provided, they would go over the head for an average viewer like me, who has neither read the Vedas nor ever had dope.

Coming to the other element of the movie, the world of poor disabled people, who are thrust into begging by a cruel underworld lord(the villain character - he's cruelly brilliant). Bala deserves to be thoroughly commended for assembling such a cast for this section. The amount of research that should have gone into the lives of these people is unfathomable. Some of the visuals are disturbing, however just like a typical Bala movie, comedy is one of the key aspects that make this movie an entertainer. Even with such pitiable characters, the only reason you would shed tears in the movie is because you're laughing so hard at the jokes they crack. One particular boy, especially steals the show. Guess he was Bala's favourite. Terrific dialogue and sense of timing throughout the movie. Pooja as the blind girl has played her part well and has even acted, but for some reason she doesn't create a lasting impact - for one, her Tamil is terrible and she just doesn't fit the image.

The music by Maestro Illayaraja jells so well with the movie. The old songs that appear in the movie(Kannai Nambadhey, Kadavul yaen kallaanan?) are also well-picked. Camerawork by Arthur Wilson is stunning. The way he has captured the scenes in Kasi and picturised the stunts adds tremendous value to the visual appeal of the movie. Talking of stunts, Super Subbarayan proves he's the genius. It is said that some of the actors were really hurt badly during the filming. No wonder Arya's attacks looked so natural.


Any movie-buff would certainly be satisfied by the cinematic and thematic elements of the movie. The movie's reach would be across all classes, and except for the comedy track, the movie can be universally understood. Comparisons with Slumdog Millionaire are natural, but unwarranted. Though this movie also talks about the life of beggars, the underlying reason for showing it in this movie is about the pointlessness of the existence of a God. "Naan Kadavul" will stand in Tamil movie history as the most daringly blasphemous movie ever made, and I have no reason to doubt our chief minister would ensure this movie bags all the awards it deserves.

Jai Bala-nath!!!