“Inkokkadu” (Telugu)/ “Iru Mugan” (Tamil) Film Review

Chiyaan Vikram calls himself an actor and not a star in a recent interview to a Telugu channel and he wills all his scripts to let him stay that way. “Inkokkadu” is one more script in that direction where the uber cool actor can be seen in two different shades which underline his versatility and range of acting. One, is a character called Akhilan, an ex-R&AW agent who has “lost” his wife Nayanataara while fighting a deadly gang of chemical-using terrorist called “Love”. The second one, of course, is the character of that dreaded terrorist whose pictures are not available in police records - the evasive “Love” - a transvestite businessman-cum-silent-terrorist. 

In both shades, Vikram excels himself. As R&AW agent, he sports a dapper beard that is in sync with a mop of a hermit-like hairdo who regularly visits the barber something similar to what Jr.NTR looks like in “Naannaku Prematho” but leaner and fitter. He moves with piercing eyes and wears a punishing look of a man on mission who can activate a sleeping volcano whenever villainy presents itself. But it is the second role which makes its dramatic appearance at the 60th minute, literally a few scenes away from Interval bang which makes the film watchable - as “Love” the sweet-talking cross-dresser who makes a billion-dollar drug called “Speed” (known by the generic name of Pervatin) which makes ordinary mortals fight like Marvel-comic superheroes - denting metals and pulverizing armies of armed men. Vikram as “love” steals the show with a unique body-language and ibby-jibbies typical of sophisticated hermaphrodites who view the world as perverse with a sadistry unknown to men and women; he mints a new screen presence with a role that will get him as much fame as what he did in “Anyan”.

Supporting cast of Thambi Ramaiah as a comedian adds some relief to the film but the role of Nitya Menen as a cop makes no impact. Nayanatara as Vikram’s wife sizzles in a few melodious songs but having played herself many female-centric characters, she appears uncomfortable with the charms of Vikram in many scenes even if she looks a million-buck in each frame with a toned body at her ravishing best. Since Vikram plays both the hero and the villain, there isn’t much scope for performance by anybody else - most of the best scenes are those of conflict between “Love” and Akhil. These are well-picturised and dramatically shot which remind you conflict between an antangonist and protagonist is what can fire up the sceen - and it is not necessary that the hero should steal the thunder from the villain in every scene of confrontation; it is okay if the villain wins many hands against the hero before caving in finally.

Technically, the film is a visual feast with good musical and cinematographical inputs. Harris Jayaraj has given a good album and a BGM; atleast two songs score high on melody after a long time. The first half is brighter than the second half even if the film is long at over 160 minutes. Editing would not have mattered much as the problem lies with screenplay more than the scenes; director Anand Shankar has chosen a simple story of a seasoned Spy who brings a gang of villains to book and destroys his evil empire of malefic drugs that can devastate swathes of population. But what is not clear and logical is that the drug which activates and works for five minutes as a chemical tranfixed on human body doesn’t appear to kill the user. Or did it kill? We are confused because in the prologue to the film before the titles begin, an elderly Malaysian uses the Speed drug and wreaks havoc on an army of people at the Indian Embassy but he drops dead after 5 minutes of the drug’s tenure. We are never shown whether he is dead or autopsied. But throughout the film, we see about half-a-dozen instances when the drug is self-administered at will by the villain or the hero or even the heroine and they spring back to life after the inflammation of body and mind ends which makes them seem invincible during the duration of the drug.  This is a fatal flaw which takes the credit away from the director. It is not a science-fiction film because there is some truth about the usage of this drug during the second world war when Hitler used this drug on a mass-scale on the Nazi Army - a fact documented in the film’s narration. But if it is a fact as one believes it is, the effects have to be made abundantly clear - which we didn’t get to see. 

Among Vikram’s recent films which ended as disasters, this film is a better-made film which makes it half-watchable and if you condone the logical fallacies, you may still find it bearable for the performances of Chiyaan Vikram as the villain and the hero. It is now clear Vikram may perhaps never act in a normal film with a vanilla commercial flavor - he is caught in the web of delusions of grandeur and histrionics by use of different prosthetic makeups and variations of character.  We have to see how long this can go on - before Vikram delivers an unadulterated entertainer which reconnects with the masses like a “Gemini” or an “Aparachitudu” (“Anyan” in Tamil). For director Anand Shankar, the film is a neat attempt but he has a task cut out in fleshing more twists and drama in the second half which turns out to be a dull show. For fans of Chiyaan Vikram, the movie cannot be missed. For the rest of us, it is watchable once. Don’t go by the rating as the presentation is slick and different with a better visual sense of Malaysia than recent Tamil movies.

My rating: 2.5/5

"Uthama Villain" - the magic of music in Kamal Hassan's films continues!

Kamal Hassan’s “Uthama Villain” raised sky-high expectations as the Telugu audio got launched last Sunday. It was entertainment to see Kamal Hassan’s spectacular entry splitting at the centre of curtains after amplifying late K Balachander’s memorable tribute to the great actor. SPB’s lyrical affections on Kamal elevated the mood to infinite nostalgia. I had followed Kamal Hassan’s films since childhood and despite the fact that he didn’t have the mass-hysterical following of Rajinikanth, he had his own indomitable footprint in South and North Cinema (the few Hindi films he starred in). But this is not the subject today. I wanted to write about  the audio of “Uthama Villain” and make a fleeting mention of Kamal’s taste for high-caliber, different sounding music.

“Uthama Villain” has music by Ghibran, the most happening music composer in Tamil and Telugu cinema today. Not the first time he scored music for Kamal - he did for “Vishwaroopam-2” and “Paapanashanam” earlier. Before that Kamal rotated many music directors  - DeviSriPrasad, Himesh Reshmiya, Shankar Ehsaan Loy, Jayachandran, Ramesh Vinayakam and even his daughter Shruti Hassan for one of the films which came in Telugu (“Eenadu”). What I find intriguing is that but for the great Ilaiyaraja and the inimitable MS Vishwanathan, Kamal never really settled with any music composer throughout his career post that phase of MSV-IR. If you take out MSV and Ilaiyaraja’s overarching influence on his films, his sense of sound and music scores that provided such rich variety for the maestro to compose for almost 130 films or more, Kamal remained restless for the last decade hunting for the perfect composer after Raja. He tried AR Rahman twice (“Indian” and “Tenali”), Shankar Ehsan Loy twice, Deva twice, Vidyasagar and Harris Jayaraj once (or twice) but never repeated them afterwards. I read in some of his interviews too that he never liked the approaches of some of the gifted composers like Rahman or Vidyasagar despite getting good output from them. He was the only one who never got carried away by the Oscar-wins and the global adulations greeting Rahman; Rajinikanth on the other hand continues to enlist ARR for taking bigger bites into overseas distribution markets - having Rahman on your side as music composer is a sure-fire passport to box-office success and global appeal. The only person from Tollywood who got calls from Kamal for OST few times has been DSP - but that maybe more than just because DSP is an open admirer of Ilaiyaraja. DSP’s remixing and rerecording  stood out in most of his movies thanks to his energy and relentless handwork. Surprisingly, Mani Sharma - the best RR specialist in Tollywood never got a call from Kamal. Kamal Hassan movies, if one observes, never needed an over-melodious music director like Vidyasagar or Harris Jayaraj to imaging things that were never intended as per  the actor-director's film grammar. You just had to score one or two melody songs and some minimalistic but thoroughly realistic portrayal. But that one song is remembered forever in his films. This was the easy part that most of his music composers missed except Ilaiyaraja - thats how their chemistry endured for film-buffs because it left a rich legacy that will be studied by musicologists and music fans for many decades. 

With Ilaiyaraja, Kamal’s last film was “Mumbai Express” that was in 2005. In ten years, Kamal never worked with the Maestro and fans are waiting when the two will create magic again. Over the last decade, Ilaiyaraja has matured beyond what Kamal Hassan may have expected - Raja worked with almost all the new kids on the block who are directing Tamil films with dangerous themes and vivacious outputs - Bala, Myskin, Balki (in Hindi) ,Gautham Menon and many others who are hailed as the new trailblazers leaving the likes of ManiRatnam and old stalwarts to bite dust. Of course, Mani Ratnam himself never worked with Ilaiyaraja after parting ways bitterly before Rahman burst at the world stage. But that’s another matter. In the last ten years, there was no dearth of new music composers in Tamil and Kamal tried most of them while Ilaiyaraja exerted himself with different genre films ranging from biopics like “Bharati” to “Pandavas” to “Ajanthaa”. I sense somewhere we are about to see the coming together of the original Maestro and the actor extraordinaire in the coming years because the old wine has matured to give us richer, orchestral music and Kamal’s plots are becoming more complicated and multi-dimensional - even if they appear highly contrived. The budgets have also gone up for Ilaiyaraja, I am told, making it easy to assemble a 400 member orchestra from London or Budapest to configure a particular symphony.

With that background, I am relieved that Gibran’s latest composition for UV is spectacular and worthy of the high standards set by Kamal’s films. The original Tamil score has 17 numbers with elaborate interludes, situations and symphonies as if you are listening to a Hollywood musical OST. The Telugu version is cut down to 9 numbers and as expected the audiences on the day of the audio release lapped up the two songs  - “Kaanuke Bondu Malli” and “Lovee Lovee Single KissKe Lovaa” for the outrageous melody and the stretch in the songs. “Kaanuke..” has an extra lilt and a sensuousness that is rarely captured in today’s songs where the male singer and the female singer sing in their own time and the original purpose of duet is lost in remixing. You can hear the O-shouts and murmers of the male singer and the seducing spell of the heroine Puja Kumar in the song very well. Ghibran gave a completely different score in UV compared to the techno-thrills and fast-tempos seen in some of his latest films like “Jil” or “Run Raja Run”. Obviously, Kamal’s kitaab for Gibran both before and during the audio launch settles it that he is the right choice for the film which has a 7th Century theatrical plot intermixed with contemporary settings. I always love the background scores segued with the songs in the audio because it is such a treat for music lovers  - don’t we miss all of that for Ilaiyaraja whose BGMs float on the youtube channel with an ever-swelling following. If only music directors take note of this, they can raise the standards for audio and make the audiences stand up to rich music -of which many are capable of. The last time, a catalogue of this length - which includes songs and instrumental versions of the various scenes - came was for “Mask”(“Mugamoodi” in Tamil). Music by K  -that was from a different planet. And this album “Uthama Villain” belongs to the same class - Ghibran must take a bow. Can’t wait for the movie.

#UthamaVillain #Ghibran #KamalHassan #Ilaiyaraja #ARRahman #Vidyasagar #TamilMusic #TamilMusicComposers #TamilFilmComposers #HarrisJayaraj #Kollywood

“Varna” (Telugu) Dubbed from “Irandam Ulagam” (Tamil)

“Varna” is one of the most hyped films with visual effects created by the same team that worked for “Avatar”. It had everything going for it – a producer with deep-pockets (PVP) who is on a cyclical high, a director Sri Raghava (Selvaraghavan in Tamil) who gave great family entertainers like “Aadavariki Maatalu Ardhaale Vere” and “7/G Brindavan Colony” and a great looking pair- the blue-eyed Arya and the sweet-and-sensuous Anushka Shetty. Harris Jayaraj scores music and the lad who created “Kolaveridi” composed the BGM score for the film. With that kind of a team, there were huge expectations and even the trailer kissed a surge of optimism. Is the film worth the hype? Alas, No. Then what went wrong? It’s the script and the characterization again, stupid. Basics of entertainment were missing – no comedy, no romance that sticks and no entertainment value despite an extra-ordinary theme of love and other human emotions having inter-galactic appeal. Director has combined atleast two fairy tales with one half-hearted romance in modern times and then connects the two stories towards the later half.  The duration – 160 minutes – made it hard to concentrate a story involving two planets and the same lead pair – Arya and Anushka.

The story is all a flashback narration by the earthly hero Arya who is sinking in an ocean. He is a good Samaritan who falls in love with Anushka, a doctor. On the other planet, many light years away, a Goddess of love rules and is worshipped by all but the planet is effectively resident evil – wrong doers seized control of the planet where love is absent, women are ill-treated and shephearded as slaves and none of the human emotions abound. The goddess there sows the seeds of embryonic love between another Anushka and another Arya who is the son of the king. A few twists later, the earthly Arya is transposed to the other world where he eventually plays cupid between the two, culminating the wish of the Goddess of love. The  narration moves in tandem, and toggles between earth and the other planet – which looks like a supernova in color scheming but exotic and splendid in landscape and sky. Visually, the director transports us into a surreal planet full of mythical birds and beasts and flora that captures all the colors your eyeballs can absorb. A few fights here and there but most of the film moves slower than Telangana bill, the first half takes you to wit’s end to elaborate the love track between the lead pair in both the planets and only the three songs by Harris Jayaraj spruce it up.

Post-interval, the movie picks up  tempo but fails to elevate the characters or add to the story that was revealed at the outset in the form of a short animation film about the fight between evil and good. However, there are some beautiful moments in the film which leave you dazed and tranced – the snowy surroundings on the other planet where love and sometimes hate envelops the three characters on a mission ( shot in Georgia), the serene characterization of the Goddess of love, and the transformative powers of human emotions on machine-like men. All the best scenes get amply highlighted by the mesmerizing background music of Aniruddh. He will be a sought-after BGM composer after this film.  There are  big takeaways – how love drives a man to superior machismo than even a thousand military training camps and the emotions of kindness and human affections  are what makes our planet so unique in the universe. I do not know whether the message in all its subtlety will reach a wider audience because the multiplex I went to on day one was half-empty so do not know whether there is that much of nerve and verve to attract bigger audiences. It is slow, smooth but lacking in intensity of emotions – the very emotions humans can teach other beings. For most part, Anushka is shown as the one who sulks but in varied costumes. She gets a meaty role in two characters but it could have been etched better to make her characters evocative. She still carries the film on her shoulder, her costumes, her Xena-like warrior movements and swordly fights and her feminine grace light the screen. Arya as the earthly lover did better justice than the other-worldly warrior. Technically, the film looks stylish and defining in VFX for Indian Cinema. It might have cost more dollars than the marketing budget of a Hollywood animation film but if only some entertainment, comedy and ripened romance be uploaded into  this mix, “Varna” would have been a different tale. Audiences will forget a movie’s furniture pieces fast- the VFX, et al but never forget the lines, the chemistry of the love pair and the entertainment quotient. For that let down alone, and not for anything else, the film’s rating deserves 2.5/5 but not more.

Post-script: The themes of inter-planetary movement of human beings is explored by Indians also as much as Hollywood directors. Imagination must run wild to explore a start-trek kind of experience because thought can travel faster than light. There is nothing wrong with that because Hindu Astronomy recognizes that there are 24 earths in the universe which are similar to our own. Recently, we read somewhere that Russians have researched a possibility of the netherworlds lying under the earth’s crust which leads  to the worlds like Naga loka etc. talked about by fiction writers like Amish Tripathi. There are also ways and means defined in our own ancient books about many worlds that can be experienced once human beings go outside their sensory range – like experiencing the body in several realms, travelling in astral light etc. Cinema lends itself perfectly to such possibilities being explored. But where movies like “Avatar” click and movies like “Baba” and “Varna” fail is in deliverance on emotions and mass value. Hopefully, these lessons will be learnt well before deep-pocketed producers look for the exit door of the film industry.

"Brothers" Telugu Movie Review/ "Maattraan" Tamil Movie Review

“Brothers” (“Maattraan” in Tamil) is the dubbed film starring Tamil superstar Suryaa directed by K.V.Anand who made one of the best movies – “Rangam” in 2011. K.V.Anand’s first film is about the rot in media and politics that’s splitting the social fabric. In “Brothers” (“Maatraan”), he takes on a much more advanced topic that’s still being discussed and the jury is still out at Biodiversity summits and conclaves – Genetically Modified Foods. But wait, that is not the basic story. It is more complicated. Its about the bonding between conjoined twins (joined at the hip) both played by Suryaa - who are born after Prof. Ramachandran (played by Sachin Khedekar) performs many experiments in artificial insemination in trying to create the ultimate gene factory – someone who is multi-talented combining the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ilayaraja, Michael Jackson and seven other people. Sounds absurd, right? Is that all? Its a little more complicated. At the outset itself, despite the efforts by Professor to implant the best sperm bank in his wife’s womb, Surya square is born as conjoined twins much against his wishes. Later, the professor forms a company called Locus Lactos Limited which makes a billion dollar Energy Drink containing milk-related contents. Soon, this energy drink called “Energion” leads the market with over 70% market share causing consternation in competition. It leadis to lot of industrial espionage from foreigners who you gather are actually from Ukraine. Why do these foreigners want to unravel the secret formulae of “Energion”? Its even more complicated. The team from Ukraine suspect that the drink made by Prof.Ram’s company is debilitating the health of the consumers by boosting the energy in short-term but flattening their lives with harmful overdoses of steroids. Or Androids. Who cares?

Our conjoined twins – Vimal and Akhil – sons of billionaire Prof.Ram meanwhile date Kajal agarwal – who is a petite Russian translator who figures out exactly what’s happening with the company and Professor. But by then, Prof.Ram and his criminal gang of overlords in factory intercept and eliminate each one of the so-called spies who uncover the real happenings in the factory – where products are inter-mixed with hazardous substances that kill millions of lives. The shocker in the film comes bang in the middle of the film at interval time – where the father of the conjoined twins hires organized labour to kill the main whistle-blower, his son Vimal. Then, in a bid to survive Akhil, the doctors transplant Vimal’s heart into Akhil so he survives. And later Akhil gets to the bottom of the murky dealings. He takes the help of Kajol to get to the real story in Ukraine which is even more complicated. Then the painful ending of realization by the father and the final confrontation between the father and the son. Phew! Quite a story that, can’t be retold without gulping down the daily intake of water a man requires.

K.V. Anand has actually steamrolled three stories into one story and like the father of the conjoined twins tried to infuse a giant killer of a plot that will be called the mother of all films. There is a story of conjoined twins, which by itself, if allowed to progress smoothly would have been a perfect entertainer. Then there is a story of industrial espionage which looks credulous. And then, there is a story of Genetically Modified foods enmeshed with animal and clinical trials of drugs tested before market release that is poorly researched and misinforms. Allowing the three stories to interact with each other in a simple plot of action and romance is the biggest mistake K.V.Anand has made. The most glaring defect in the story is the weak characterization of father - Prof.Ramachandran played well by Sachin Khedekar. How can a father be so heartless to kill his own sons right from the infancy stage to the stage they begin confronting him? By showing that a father’s sense of mammon-worshipping knows no bounds, KV Anand’s plot is the weakest I have seen in years in the manner of being absurdly wicked against one’s own children. This is why, one feels switched off after knowing the culprit is the father and the one who is massacred is one’s own offspring – it kills whatever emotion is left in the film half-way through. Had the villain been somebody else whom the twins attempt to bring to justice, it would have felt differently and maybe might have been more watchable. The initial sixty minutes of the film where the conjoined twins grow up with an overlapping body part in the hip, go to study and chill and enjoy being together in bath or baseline tennis – all of that sizzles and the audience gasp for more. But once the interval comes and goes, there ends the best part of the film and all the soul in it. The second half bores you with the tedium of the plot that’s already known well before the interval - it reminded me of the same way in which “7th Sense” (“7th Ariyu”) dragged its plot in the second half with monotonous villainy and lack of depth in characterization of the villain. In a bid to make it international (the film has atleast 15 minutes of running time in foreign languages – Russian, et al) the film over-concentrates on the dense and complicated plot without checking for its emotional content, comedy (hardly present and comes like a whiff of fresh air only in the first half).

Why does a father want to kill his own children? How can higher market share of a drink correlate with rising health hazards of children who consume it? How come everybody from Food Inspector to the highest authorities and police turn a nelson’s eye to the frauds perpetrated by the company and nobody detects except competition and eventually family members? What is the connection between a sperm bank and conjoined twins? (It has nothing to do with it. Incidentally, there has been a famous project called Nobel Prize sperm bank project which tried to collect sperm from 100 Nobel Prize winners and make a genius baby but finally the project itself became a damp squib. But that’s an interesting story). What is the most harmful substance in an Energy Drink, lets say Red-Bull? (It is caffeine and not Steroids). What is the connection between Genetically Modified Organisms and the killer product? (Again that is not explained very well by the director who made it more to sound intellectual without explaining the pros and cons of GM foods. This is not just K.V.Anand’s fault – there are several happening directors in Tollywood also who drop jargon-sounding words in the middle of a script just to pander to A-class and balcony seat audiences. By the way, this is not a conclave to discuss GMO etc. but my short take on them is that it is the most misunderstood term almost like 3-D printing - the debate should be more on who owns the seeds etc. and not on the malefic side-effects of Genetically Modified Seeds. BT Cotton seeds since introduction in India have already made India a net exporter than a net importer). There are many questions unaswered. Finally, the director should have researched on Barcelona Olympics 1992 where he says the United Team (ex-USSR republics) beats the USA because of the Energy Drink made by our Professor; it actually beat the US by a mere four medals.

What is the point? My point is that nobody denies cinematic licenses to creative directors to experiment with new genres and present different themes under one roof but why do they do poor homework, play with the wrong emotions and mess up the plot? Why over-complicate? Why not make a documentary on GM Foods or Drug trials instead of making films that suck? The real casualty is Suryaa because this film will definitely disappoint his fans despite his superlative performance as conjoined twins. Showing two different shades as conjoined twins was sheer brilliance and he excels with his all-round talents. He shows class and mass with ease unlike other heroes. Performances by Kajol is average despite huge potential of full-length role. Kajol is becoming predictable as a glamour doll without any new variations. Sachin Khedekar has got a plumpy role and he makes most capital of it after Suryaa, of course. Music by Harris Jayaraj has been good in parts. Since Harris Jayaraj has got a natural proclivity towards incorporating Russian instrumentation in his music, he composes his heart out in a few songs set in the backdrop of the Ex-Russian republics but not many memorable numbers to root for. His BGM is better than the songs but all said, Harris Jayaraj is a gifted composer whose stamp on Suryaa’s career has been most vivid and it follows here too. Cinematography and visual effects have been brilliant and atleast two songs - one starring Isha Sarvaani and another starring the conjoined twins romancing Kajol in Norway were brilliantly picturised. Stunts by Peter Hein have been very impressive. The fight before interval running for over 18 minutes is astonishingly shot with all the roller coaster and speed-revolving trains orbiting at their speeds and a frighteningly risky fight ensues between the twins and the rowdies. On the whole, the movie doesn’t deliver and has lot of mental floss that disengages you from the right mood to watch the film because of wrong emotions, lack of a good romantic track between Suryaa and Kajal. You can give 1.5 for the technical efforts of the director and one more for Suryaa’s masterly effort but afterwards you have to say “Oh My God”. 2.5 out of 5 but not a film that entertains cleanly.

"Ye Maya Chesave" Telugu Movie Review

It takes two to tango. Nag Chaitanya has a slick winner in "Ye Maaya Chesave" ("Vinaithaandi Varuvaaya" in Tamil starring Trisha and Simbhu) - his second movie, directed by Gautham Vasudev Menon, with lot of awe and skill. If the essence of a love story is conversations, Gautham navigates the portrayal of a relationship beautifully, showing all the moments that make it, break it, and restore. It shows why some make it and many don't with lots of evocativeness, passion, sensitivity and honesty. Refreshingly, A R Rehman's music (replacing Harris Jayaraj in a coup) feels at-home, competitive and enriching. You remember the output of his early years in this movie. Nag Chaitanya and newcomer Samantha excel in their roles. Sporting to see Mahesh Babu's sister Manjula produce a different film for Nagarjuna's son. Cinematography is another major asset. There are more pleasant surprises in the movie.