"Mugamoodi" (Tamil) is dubbed as "Mask" (Telugu) released today amidst unprecedented expectations from one of the slickest directors of Kollywood - Mysskin. I watched a few Tamil movies in original in my life but I have largely followed the work of some great film-makers of the last decade like Bala, Menon, Murugadoss, KV Anand and now Mysskin. Mysskin is bibliophile, a director who infuses fire and imagination into his direction and galvanises all the 24 crafts to give an exciting cinematic output. He has made some acclaimed films like "Anjathe", "Chithiram Pesudadi". He has made a film called "Nandalala" where he brought back the orchestral beauty and composer's breath of maestro Ilayaraja. In "Mask", he prefaces with a dedication to the master Bruce Lee who's life story is somewhat revisited in the storyline.
This movie "Mask" is something that held me excited for weeks. It is worth the wait. Its the story of a normal boy Jiiva who is the best pupil in martial arts in a non-descript school run by his Master who follows Bruce Lee. Like Bruce Lee who learns Karate but later invents his own stunts by "knowing self", his master encourages Jiiva to be an original hero instead of trying to become somebody. In his journey towards discovering himself, he falls in love with Pooja Hegde (debutante) who is the daughter of a Commissioner of Police (Nasser) who is on a mission to nab a gang of masked men who kill old couples at nights and rob them of gold. In a freak incident, Jiiva wears a "mask" to woo the girl and succeeds in the capture of the some of the mysterious gangsters one night. That "mask" eventually becomes his "identity" as a superhero as he becomes the most endowed person to catch the culprits. He gets some scientific help from his grandfather played well by veteran Girish Karnad.He gets the bad guy (Narain) who turns out to be an ace adversary of his Master and eventually wins the hearts of Pooja and all. But only after knowing one last trick from his master. Quite a simple but many-layered story that has a well-conceived starcast, and a classic three-act. A dashing introduction, an interval with a big-bang and an elaborate, spectacular climax.
Mysskin is surely the master of the movie as he reveals his gripping form in all departments. He ropes in exceptional foreign talent in editing, stunts, cinematography whose work shines brightly on screen. Dialogues are crisp but not dramatic and hardly humorous. Thats the intent of the film as the director deliberately builds tension from first frame till last giving a free hand to music director "K" to experiment with a range of electrifying compositions in the moods of the film. But "K" uses both symphonies and silences to punctuate the film in all its intended nuances by the director. Already "K"'s music is a hit in Tamil with three of its main songs making it to the top while the music CD itself has all the key orchestral themes as numbers on the track. I liked the two songs that give the best relief in the film - one of them squeezes in the very first jingle Ilayaraja composed in his career. Vintage Ilayaraja continues to inspire generations of music composers. "K" is another reason to watch "Mask".
Mysskin has got most parts of the film right making it quite watchable in spite of the length of 160 minutes. It could have been shorter. He has given an intelligent film with good starcast and narrative depth that will see his fan club grow in Tollywood. He blends the best of world cinema with a Hollywood touch - but he may have done better if had dumbed some scenes and narration for lay audience. Humor and mass entertainment (on the lines of Shankar) is missing in the film. Jiiva looks good and raring to go places with this film after "Rangam". Pooja Hegde is the most covered face in Kollywood before this film but I wonder whether such adulation is deserving for her after seeing the footage. The best part of the film is that Mysskin did not show one special effect in spite of being a "superhero" film. Thats because, he wants to show that it's all in the mind - you don't have to be a Superman, Batman, I-Man or Spiderman to become a superhero in life. Know thyself and project the superhero within- is the subtle message. I will give 3.5/5.00 for "Mask" because intelligent film-making must survive.
This movie "Mask" is something that held me excited for weeks. It is worth the wait. Its the story of a normal boy Jiiva who is the best pupil in martial arts in a non-descript school run by his Master who follows Bruce Lee. Like Bruce Lee who learns Karate but later invents his own stunts by "knowing self", his master encourages Jiiva to be an original hero instead of trying to become somebody. In his journey towards discovering himself, he falls in love with Pooja Hegde (debutante) who is the daughter of a Commissioner of Police (Nasser) who is on a mission to nab a gang of masked men who kill old couples at nights and rob them of gold. In a freak incident, Jiiva wears a "mask" to woo the girl and succeeds in the capture of the some of the mysterious gangsters one night. That "mask" eventually becomes his "identity" as a superhero as he becomes the most endowed person to catch the culprits. He gets some scientific help from his grandfather played well by veteran Girish Karnad.He gets the bad guy (Narain) who turns out to be an ace adversary of his Master and eventually wins the hearts of Pooja and all. But only after knowing one last trick from his master. Quite a simple but many-layered story that has a well-conceived starcast, and a classic three-act. A dashing introduction, an interval with a big-bang and an elaborate, spectacular climax.
Mysskin is surely the master of the movie as he reveals his gripping form in all departments. He ropes in exceptional foreign talent in editing, stunts, cinematography whose work shines brightly on screen. Dialogues are crisp but not dramatic and hardly humorous. Thats the intent of the film as the director deliberately builds tension from first frame till last giving a free hand to music director "K" to experiment with a range of electrifying compositions in the moods of the film. But "K" uses both symphonies and silences to punctuate the film in all its intended nuances by the director. Already "K"'s music is a hit in Tamil with three of its main songs making it to the top while the music CD itself has all the key orchestral themes as numbers on the track. I liked the two songs that give the best relief in the film - one of them squeezes in the very first jingle Ilayaraja composed in his career. Vintage Ilayaraja continues to inspire generations of music composers. "K" is another reason to watch "Mask".
Mysskin has got most parts of the film right making it quite watchable in spite of the length of 160 minutes. It could have been shorter. He has given an intelligent film with good starcast and narrative depth that will see his fan club grow in Tollywood. He blends the best of world cinema with a Hollywood touch - but he may have done better if had dumbed some scenes and narration for lay audience. Humor and mass entertainment (on the lines of Shankar) is missing in the film. Jiiva looks good and raring to go places with this film after "Rangam". Pooja Hegde is the most covered face in Kollywood before this film but I wonder whether such adulation is deserving for her after seeing the footage. The best part of the film is that Mysskin did not show one special effect in spite of being a "superhero" film. Thats because, he wants to show that it's all in the mind - you don't have to be a Superman, Batman, I-Man or Spiderman to become a superhero in life. Know thyself and project the superhero within- is the subtle message. I will give 3.5/5.00 for "Mask" because intelligent film-making must survive.
