Endhiran

At a theatre in Paris, French nationals who’ve just finished watching some movie are walking out of the earlier show and stare incomprehensibly at the Indian (predominantly Tamil) crowds thronging impatiently to enter the cinema hall. They walk away with an amused smile or a bewildered look at the raucous scenes. If only they knew a little about the man behind all this mania, they wouldn’t be surprised. Rajni Rajni everywhere!

Endhiran was pre-declared a superhit even before the release, going by the trailer. So expectations naturally were high, and the crowd ever-so exuberant. The title credits rolled with Pudhiya Manidha in the background, and the movie took no time whatsoever in introducing “Chitti” - the robot, the soul of the movie. The brilliance of the animation effects used in the movie was evident from the very beginning. A humanoid robot that can walk, talk and do the shtyles like “The Superstar”. Absolute treat to the eyes. The dialogues in the first half were quite humorous and the robot’s timely line delivery in all the scenes was impeccable. Rajni’s control over comedy was enough to carry forward the film for quite some time. The story developed quite neatly throughout the first half and had you accept the fact that Shankar has thought through the details and conceived the ideas very well. Even the “villain” Danny Denzongpa didn’t appear too out of place. In fact some of his actions seemed justifiable and logical in the beginning. Of course there are some places in the movie where you have to accept this is a Superstar movie and considering it’s a Rajni robot, it doesn’t give a hoot to Asimov’s laws(which is clarified by Thalaivar also).

Aishwarya Rai, still looking quite a doll for her age has played whatever minimal role she has with perfection. Some of the dance steps will bowl you over. The crowd was whistling as vigorously for Ash as it was for Rajni, in some of the songs. That shows some performance, indeed. Or maybe guys never change.

I’d not give too much detail about the second half – consider it enough to say that a Rajni fan would delight in the indulgence in “Rajni”isms. Alex Pandiyanesque style in the 2nd half, combined with the laughter is just brilliant. One can find other references too to movies like Ejaman, Padayappa, maybe even Netrikan. Those detractors who said Rajni doesn’t act any more would be silenced.

Technology is the second biggest plus to this movie after Rajni. Animatronics on par with the Hollywood biggies is indeed an achievement to be proud about for Shankar and the Indian film industry itself. The stunts by Yuen Woo Ping(who's also worked on The Matrix, Crouching Tiger, etc) are amazing, especially the train scene. The visual effects at the end, made at Stan Winston Studios are so mindboggling you will be wowed continuously. Many of Rajni’s movies used to have a snake featured(was rumoured to be for luck). In this movie, the giant snake made up of Rajni robots is quite a spectacle to watch.

A.R.Rahman’s songs have already topped the charts, but visually “Irumbile oru” and “Arima Arima” are the best. The BGM was a tad disappointing though, especially the “2.0 2.0” thing. What were they thinking, seriously! Art direction by Sabu Cyril is splendid, needless to say, as always in Shankar movies. Cinematography by R.Ratnavelu is impressive, though not award-material.

Finally, to sum up, the movie is a very different Shankar movie and also a unique Rajni film as you will find out once you watch it. Credit should be given to both the director and Thalaivar for experimenting and pulling it off rather quite well. The message about the war between man and machine, though clichéd, is new to the Indian film industry and has been rendered effectively. Overall, a thorough entertainer, this one!! Just hope Rajni has more in store in the future. Can’t even imagine the void in cinema once he quits.

Inception - A flick with a kick!

So much hype for an English movie has never been generated ever before, what with an initial 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating, and near 9.6 IMDB rating. Christopher Nolan's Inception seemed to be a deja vu of The Dark Knight(which too had reached No.1 within days of its release). So much hype that when the movie released in Lucknow, and in English, I couldn't resist booking tickets and go to the first show I could go to, despite having an exam the next day. Who cares! Christopher Nolan, and I had to watch this movie before other opinions would come out. The movie was an experience that reminded me instantaneously of The Matrix, which I saw 11 years ago. Friends with blank expressions looking at each other during the movie. It was evident after the first 10 minutes that Nolan is going to take you through a big conundrum of a movie, and make sure you watch it again. This is Nolan's biggest box-office strategy(to confuse viewers to such an extent that they don't mind paying once more to watch the movie again).

Complex concept, brilliant imagination, an "open to your interpretation" climax - all hallmarks of a Nolan film. Inception is mindblowing on two levels(I don't mean the levels in the movie) - conceptualization and post-movie impact. Such movies are hard to come by, those that make you want to keep discussing about the movie and finding out new possibilities every time you discuss it. By not making it all clear to the viewer, Nolan lets your mind flow freely, trying to find answers to those unexplained questions or supposedly loose ends. If you are someone who dreams a lot and remembers stuff you dreamed about, this movie is definitely bound to be one of your favorites ever. After the movie, I really have got started on lucid dreaming and reading up on it. There's a lot of psychology and dream-lingo in the movie, but if you take some effort to understand all of it, you'll realise that he's done justice and portrayed the concepts quite well. Even the action sequences go in tandem with the screenplay, rather than being used just for the Wow factor. However, some sequences do get repetitive and feel unwarranted, which could have been improved upon. The screenplay is too pacy perhaps and more time could have been spent on a little character development, as you never ever feel attached to any character all along the movie. It might seem like nitpicking, but hey it's Nolan - we expect the best from him.

Hans Zimmer's score is also undoubtedly one of the high points of the movie, blending well with the screenplay and never seeming odd. A very high likelihood of winning the Oscar unless he comes up with
something better. Cinematography by Wally Pfister(a Nolan regular), and set direction also deserve special mention, as apparently very few computer effects were used for the hotel hallway fight scene, and the special effects were made using a complex set of revolving rings and electric motors and what not. Cast-wise, DiCaprio as Dom Cobb, needless to say is the star of the cast He's at the height of his career, having acted in some of the best movies of late.

Having said all this, Inception's themes are quite similar to those in The Matrix, Dreamscape, A nightmare on Elm Street, etc and the visual imagery(especially the Penrose stairway) used in the movie was inspired by M.C.Escher. Though heavily overlapping with such previous creations, the originality of Inception lies in the screenplay that Nolan has constructed around lucid dreaming. Yet, I can't help but compare it specifically to The Matrix, which dealt with a similarly complex concept about reality and had multiple interpretations made by Internet users even during the pre-IMDB and pre-Facebook era. Nolan himself has admitted being inspired by The Matrix school of thought, but it might be far-fetched to say that the inception of Inception may not have happened if not for The Matrix. However in my opinion, The Matrix as a movie experience was better than Inception. This is not to take away any of the brilliance of Inception, but I guess I'm more of a hardcore Matrix fan.

Toy Story 3

How in the world can you manage to make adults cry over toys? - Only Pixar can tell! Toy Story 3 - a sequel that so convincingly makes the original fade in comparison. How often do you see that in movies? IMDB no.7 within a week of release. Brilliant movie with 3D animation that looks so real, and a climax that is so heart-warming, even if you were not much of a toy-loving kid. The essence of innocence and childlike nature(that my Hindi teacher once said everybody should have even after growing up) is so beautifully conveyed in the film.

Plot-wise, you need not have watched the previous films in order to watch this film. The character development is good within this film itself, but if you have seen the earlier films, you'll certainly connect more with Woody, Buzz, Mr.Potatohead, Rex, Slinky and the likes. I personally saw Toy Story after Toy Story 3 and wished I could have seen it earlier. The fans of the series(who saw the first film as a kid, and are now in their twenties) would be the happiest of the lot. No one would have expected this movie would meet the expectations created by the hype. But it has exceeded the expectations by miles. The action element is like in most of the Pixar movies - abandonment, capture, rescue operations, etc. But the sequences are really creative this time around too  - Usually sequels lose out on this aspect, but not here. Some specific scenes that had me in splits - the one where Woody skids on a roll of toilet paper, the one where factory-mode Buzz calls Jessie a temptress.

The emotions evoked through the last segment of the movie are the most important selling point for the movie, but the build-up to the climax is no less by any means. When the story and animation is this good, you don't need the garb of 3D to pull audiences to theatres, as conveyed in this interview. Stuff matters, and that is where Pixar rules the animation world! Keep rocking!