“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

"Kabali" (Telugu/Tamil Film Review): A Hyperbole of Radioactive Waste

"Kabali" is a film Rajnikanth agreed to in order  to satisfy his creative impulses, not to pander to the fan's clamor for entertainment. That's what you realise once the titles pass and a bearded prisoner walks out of his cell as he gets released after serving a 25 year sentence. The story is all about Kabaleeswaran,  a rival gangster who was anointed by Sitarama Raju (Nazar) when he was a nobody in Malaysia. The rival gang led by Tony Lee (Winston Chao) and Vijay Singh (Kishore) is the scourge of Kuala Lumpur known by a prime number 43. Much of the story is about the inter-necine rivalry between Gang 43 and Kabali as they clash with each other eliminating most seniors and juniors. The story must be the thinnest one ever endorsed by  Superstar Rajni and does nothing much to cheer the family audiences who make it an annual jamboree to watch his films or diehard fans who whistle at his antics and swagger and style.

In 150 minutes, director PA Ranjith gives a clichéd presentation of gang-wars in Malaysia while giving a sketchy overview of life of Tamils in Malaysia. Both the themes inter-mixed in the story fail to enthuse the audience. In the name of stylish and slick overlay, Ranjith gives us a docu-drama with some of the most exquisite cruelties and slaying of innocents and not-so-innocents. How the Malaysian police gets hoodwinked most of the times, we don't know. And most of the shooting sequences where people fall like nine pins are shot in popular streets and temple corners of Malaysia which look ludicrous to folks who find the country  to be law-abiding and orderly. The story has no twists, no nuances and no theatrical thrills except soundbytes from sophisticated weaponry. Instead we get to see a motley of unfamiliar faces posing as gangster crew who can only be trigger-happy and move their arms and legs acrobatically.

There is no room for pure emotions or surcharged dialogues or entertainment in songs, it is all about serious, mean business of the rival gangs and the worlds they live in. There were opportunities for the director when an ensemble of victims rehabilitated by Kabali under "Free Life Foundation" celebrate their annual day with their chief sponsor but the director fritters it away in boring banter. There were opportunities in flashback too when Radhika Apte lights up the screen more than once but the magic never gets ignited because there is no interplay of romance between the two except as montage shots. Another great opportunity lost was the way veteran actor Nazar was restricted to few minutes but the emotions of passing on the baton from him to Rajni were never dramatic or inspired.

It appears this is more a film made for Rajni's desire to see him as a new age Don in tweedy suits and exuberant stills without the bothers of a regular fare of formula entertainment. To a large extent, Rajni is smashing and stunning in his looks and dressing. Even without makeup, his persona and screen presence is towering. The only person who matches him in screen presence is Dhaniska, who plays the suave and unsmiling assassin girl. Radhika Apte is unremarkable and looked like she was going to drop dead any moment on screen. Despite Ranjith's efforts to make her look good with plastic smiles, Radhika Apt should realize that it is Tollywood alone which showed her in better glamour and aura  despite her vitriolic attacks on Tollywood. Cinematography is a saving grace of the film and the fact that additional cinematography team is roped in embellishes the shots to give the tautness of a Hollywood classic in visual splendor. Malaysian skyscape never looked better and the aerial shots just make you long for more as the only visual relief in the film besides showing one-upmanship of rival gangsters. The climax sequence on top of a skyscraper is the only thing that haunts you visually once you wake up tired to the synthetic charms of an over-used plot.

Music by Santosh Narayan fails to register except in occasional BGM scores. There is originality in the way he uses death-knell-sounding sirens as BGM whenever Rajni scores a goal against rivals but beyond that the songs and the scores hardly impress. Because the film doesn't fit to the regular Rajni formula film, you can afford to take few breaks when a song appears in the film. In fact you can  afford to miss the many violent scenes which surprisingly  missed the attention of the censors. There is a sequence of Dinesh (part of Rajni's gang) getting pulverized with soda bottle after soda bottle and then gets his shoulder sawed out with a giant hack by the main villain Winston Chao. Scenes like this make you wonder why legends like Rajni chose such massive doses of violence in his films. This is not recommended for kids at all and adults also will eventually feel impatient and walk out of the film because of insipid content and iterative plot of gangwars which has come umpteen times. The dubbing quality is not that bad as critics pointed out - it could have got better if Kishore used his own regular voice but dubbing per se is not materially impacting the film's lack of substance. As for director Ranjith, he is good at visual imagery but doesn't mix storytelling with entertainment. The film is the most boring, collinear narrative ever on celluloid and that exposes the director's gaps in understanding a popular medium of entertainment. You can make a film about Tamils in Antarctica also but the emotions should surcharge the atmosphere you project on screen -  the director fails in that litmus test.

That leaves you to  wonder whether the hype of "Kabali" is justified. The film got released in 30 countries and must be the marketing hoax of the decade. More people have watched the trailer than those who voted for BRexit in UK. For Rajni and his fans, this film should be a tipping point in deciding where to go next. After working with  skilled directors like Shankar, Ravi Kumar and Suresh Krissna, Rajni is  wallowing in box-office disasters for the last three films even if the hype is not fading. He may be the most-watched Asian after Jackie Chan in films but like all star-studded phenomena, films like "Kabali" will only accelerate his fall from grace because of an unintelligent nexus between his marketing machinery and the feedback loop from well-wisher fans. Hubris and Debris are two sides of the same coin which greeted every legend in film industry, and Rajni cannot be exception to this rule despite an army of Bhakts. If you don't reinvent yourself or take precaution in story selection and content, even Spielberg and Cameron cannot lift your fortunes. Yes, you can continue to have self-congratulatory jokes that defy the laws of physics but unless everybody in the supply chain makes money on your movie, you will lose the ability as a bankable star. The cycle of Hubris and Debris has spared nobody from Dev Anand to Shammi Kapoor to Rajesh Khanna to Amitabh Bacchan to Mithun Chakraborty to Superstar Krishna to  Chiranjeevi. "Kabali" is a disappointment of the decade for Rajni fans but it can be a great opportunity for the aging Superstar to regroup his charisma for a better legacy and impressive retirement. But only if he introspects on why this movie sucks. You can rate the film sheerly on technicalities as average but since the overall content leaves you dazed and tired, you got to rate it down so as to raise the bar for Superstar.

Rating: 2.25/5

"Uthama Villain" (Telugu/Tamil) Movie Review

Kamal Hassan’s most-awaited movie already raised huge expectations with a five-star trailer and a once-in-a-lifetime starcast - of Nazar, Pooja Kumar, Jayaram, Urbashi, Andrea Jermea, Parvati Menon and the legendary directors K Balachander and K Vishwanath - two directors who gave the actor his coveted cult status and critical acclaim. It is quite an eponymous moment for Kamal Hassan to see such an ensemble fire as a film unit. But does it have anything to fire? Thats the question that haunts you throughout the 172 minute extravaganza. 

The story doesn’t add up to the standards of a Kamal film. Manoranjan is a superstar with a midas touch and a madcap following who is still remote-controlled by his father-in-law K Vishwanath. But Mano wants to do one last film with his mentor and director Margadarsi (K Balachander). He convinces his mentor to direct him with lot of emotional blackmail which turns out to be for a bona fide reason as we later understand. But Balachander doesn’t direct without a good story - that story is a leaf out of history, it resembles a routine Chandamama tale of a king treacherously murdered by his minister (Nazar) who becomes a king and wants to ensnare the king’s daughter Pooja Kumar. Somehow Kamal fakes a fatal illness with the help of his lady doctor in front of Balachander  and manages to convince him to wield the megaphone. Thats just one half of the story, the other half of the story is about Kamal’s aborted love affair before marriage and the love-child  born out of that relationship - which comes back to move him. There is another side of Kamal’s story - his official family of wife and son who are living their own lives of desperation without staying connected to Kamal. The story telling moves in tandem with these two characters  - of Kamal as a cine-star and Kamal as a historical character  who gets famous for coming out alive each time flirting with death. He becomes an instrument for Pooja Kumar to avenge the death of her father by killing Nazar. The story despite its dual time settings doesn’t have the depth and variety to sustain your attention even as the director Ramesh Arvind gives a visual feast with great music  by Ghibran.

Story and screenplay by Kamal himself hands it on a platter for Ramesh Arvind but the overall output is not entertaining for a biopic hyped beyond expectations. The treatment is casual, lacks the seriousness, entertainment, twists  and the methodicity associated with Kamal’s films with grip on story-telling, pace, and multi-dimensions of his own characters. Twenty minutes into the film which is but a film in an actual film (because Balachander’s film within the film itself is titled “Uthama Villain”) the narrative fizzles out- it is either Kamal the star doting on his children drifting away or in making it out with his doctor friend in a drunken state or it is back to Kamal the ballad artiste  egged on by a princess to checkmate Nazar. The ballads are the soul of the film, no doubt, giving a rich lift to the Thaiyam dance form. Ghibran’s  music is a highlight of the musical numbers sought in the song-and-dance format of the embedded film with mesmerising makeup of both Kamal, Pooja and Nazar. It has been axiomatic for Kamal to create a deviant spectrum of characterisation far-removed from a real-life character  played with  aplomb and the deviant spark  - in this case, Uthama character - wins the acclaim. 

Sure, it could have happened again but Kamal didn’t get it right this time in UV- it is either deadpan humour or a character which insinuates the dramatic personal life of Kamal Hassan  - the flip side of being known as a catnip among women. It is this autobiographical insinuation which fails to take us on an excursion that disconnects us from reality into a world of surreal histrionics. While the character of Uthama tugs at your heart, the Superstar character gets you uncomfortably close to the inner thoughts and feelings that could be troubling Kamal the Superstar in real life with a string of  failed marriages to a series of much-publicised affairs beginning with Sripriya and so on. Did Kamal who penned the dialogues for the film too anticipate an emotional upheaval with his audience - these thoughts distract your attention in an otherwise passable fare but requiring lots of patience and veneration-filled optimism for the consummate actor and his masterly mentors - K Balachander and K Vishwanath. While K Vishwanath peters out in his performance, Balachaner stands out in one last hurrah of a performance. Director Ramesh Arvind and Kamal make Balachander hog all the screen with a fiery performance and impressive lines. Whoever dubbed for Balachander in Telugu deserves kudos. There is a deliberate intent to show Balachander in leniency with Kamal throughout the film except the first shot when the latter approaches him for a film collaboration. What surprises us is that Balachander would have thoroughly disapproved of the plot within the main film - Uthama Villain because he likes arts and folk arts but not so much as to make a film out of a fairy tale. Balachander’s films were steeped in reality and middle-class values - this one had neither realism nor morals that the middle classes keep up with. But the most delectable part of the film is the precious relationship between KB and Kamal and the climax scene does bring out tears. If the film deserves a watch, it is for Balachander’s performance alone and not Kamal’s for a change. K Vishwanath on the other hand, gives a lackadaisical performance. He is unconvincing as a tough father-in-law who is a control freak with an overarching influence on Kamal. Both KB and KV scenes are rich with nostalgic photo frames showcasing some great moments with Kamal, Rajini, Sivaji, and even Vani Ganapathy with Kamal on their wedding day. 

What bores us, though,  is the mutual admiration society formed between the trio of Kamal, KB and KV. The moment sympathy for Kamal grows, the movie becomes a celebration of the legend that is Kamal as everybody bends over forwards to make him feel good and blessed. That part, this celebratory part is a botched opportunity for Ramesh Arvind - if only he could have used the presence of two national-award winning directors to give their two cents on the craft of film-making or the nuances of finer acting through Kamal, it  would have made for different viewing. But Alas, the movie continues in its one-dimensional tirade of father-children-wife affections and the ballads galore. Performances-wise Parvati Menon, Pooja Kumar and Andrea get their share of sizzle - for Andrea it is the last intimate scene in the car with three men travelling together including Kamal. For Parvati, atleast two scenes stand out. And for Pooja, it is the song “Kanuke Bondumalli/Kaadalaaan…” where she essays a well-rehearsed dancing performance. Urmila gives her melancholic best in the hospital scene. Nazar gives an off-beat performance as a scheming minister who is both stupid and wicked at times. He produces some unconventional comedy with Kamal - a feat that never happened in his previous films. 

Kamal does his best to best the film with his histrionics but a lot of scenes look contrived - including his opening duet with Pooja and the scenes with children. One scene with his son stands out as well as one or two comedy scenes with Nazar as an imbecile Minister. Technically, the film resonates with grandeur in music thanks to Ghibran, in cinematography and in set design and artworks. Despite all that, film doesn’t score high as an output that should be one of Kamal’s most-watched films. This is because of the fatal flaw in story selection, as already pointed, with a bias for autobiography and the deja vu characterisation of the superstar - nothing new and fresh in Kamal’s portrayal as a father who errs and repents (“Indrudu Chandrudu”), alcoholic (“Sagara Sangamam”), romantic (“Panchatantram” and “Sati Leelavati”). He didn’t push new boundaries in acting with this film in both the characters except in the make-up department (which has always been the brightest spots in his films). In this film, he has also attempted a lot of singing which might not have registered well with the audience - used to leading singers like SPB or Hariharan as playbacks. In the Telugu version, Kamal dubbed in  his own voice instead of SPB which shows that he is passionate and experimental - but this could have been done when he had seen better days not when the payoffs are huge now. It appears Kamal has stopped investing in stories that pulsate with scope for performance. Instead, he is choosing stories with flimsy characters and somehow fit like a larger china box in a smaller china box - this kind of approach has outlived its utility because the audience are tiring of Kamal’s antics moving on predictable grooves. For almost a decade now, Kamal did films in the genre of comedy  - effectively limiting his own charishma, making him a puppet with many other puppets on screen. Then he realised he should fire on all cylinders with roles like dime a dozen as in “Dashavataram”. It met with limited success but not the levels that shake the box office. In between, he picked successful remakes of Hindi or Malayalam films or acted in crime stories that made his producers reimburse fatter bills. But the soul of his performance is yet to return in more than a decade - and we are still awaiting that perfect moment. Instead, Kamal is seeking more pleasures in selecting unimaginative plots with devious digs at Vaishnavism, brahminism, terrorism and so on. Time for a refreshed study  of one’s potential and what one is actually  doing. Kamal Hassan’s latest film proves that having charisma, superstar persona, raising controversies  and hyping it up with a five-star trailer are not enough to deliver a wholesome visual extravaganza. “Uthama Villain”is not that Utham. But for Balachander’s arresting presence and performance, this film, despite the highs in art department and choreography and music slips into an average category of 2.5. KB gives it a notch better rating. Barely watchable otherwise.

Rating: 2.75/5

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"1- Nenokkadine" (Telugu) Film Review

Director Sukumar has made some of the most intelligent films in commercial genre  - "Arya", "Arya-2", "Jagadam" and "100% Love". His films usually have an air of native touch with intelligence, wit and comedy that sticks well. Coming from the background of a Mathematics lecturer, there is a lot of sprinkling of concepts of logic, puzzles,algebra and mathematical induction running undercurrent to the main storyline which is usually romantic in most of his films where he tries to weave abstract themes into a cogent story. "1-Nenokkadine" is another film in that genre except that the director forgot to entertain us and also thought Mahesh Babu will not mind doing a role that pigeon-holes him into one of the most boring characters of his career. 

The story appears to be copy-pasted from some foreign film where a boy Gautam (played by Mahesh's real son Gautam) grows up with half-registered memories of his loving parents being killed by three villains on a trip to Goa. The boy grows up to become Mahesh who has an acute "Integration Disorder" which is a simpler term for "Schizophrenia" where Mahesh gets hallucinations about the three villains who killed his parents -  Kelly Dorjee, Pradeep Rawat and Nazar. He books himself solid everytime with the police only to be found out that his acts are unreal or sometimes real. These get him into close contact with a TV journalist played by debutante Kriti Salon. Both of them fall in love and the scene shifts to London where Mahesh unearths more clues about his parents - he eventually finds out the villains and the truth about his parents and why they were killed. Is that all the story? It's a bit more complicated than that as there is an angle of GM foods and seed companies using Hydrogen Cyanide in crops. Then there are three kinds of clues of Rubik's cube, a locker key and a 1992 British coin which finally lets Mahesh go and find out the truth about his parents. 

While the story appears ingenuious it is circuitously told without any respect or sensititivity towards an audience who have never been trained to think logically, linearly and sometimes abstractly - all at the same time. Sukumar must have always taken more additional sheets during his examinations, and this film is also unusually long at 169 minutes which collapses so many things in one plot that it reminds you of too many films - "Ek Niranjan" (where the hero hunts for his parents), "A Beautiful Mind" (where the hero is schizophrenic and solves cryptic clues), "Nenu" (where the hero talks to himself as if his wife is around) and "Athidhi" (which was a disaster for Mahesh because he does nothing but brood).  A film like this can be fitted better into a graphic novel or a page-turner instead of allowing itself to run like a multi-grain bread gravy-train which is running on too many engines. It failed to register - there are atleast seven brilliant clues which are too fleeting to notice. (I missed two of them which my wife, a Maths teacher could easily catch). Then a lot of repetitive scenes and surreal stunts take the thunder away; only two  stunts, one  in Goa waters and another in tunnel road where the hero skids off under a car that is skidding off in the opposite direction, stand out. Comedy is nil and the lose lines that Posani Krishna Murali mutters get you no cheers. Mahesh gets louder laughs than others when the joke is on his hallucinations. 

Mahesh looks fab and fitter than before - he seems at ease in dances with a few groovy moves. By baring his torso and his skin below the neck, Mahesh has proved a point or two. His stunts are becoming mediocre and implausible - there is no emotion or build-up of adrenalin. It is just one risky jump after another with the acrobatic guidance of Peter Heins. One of the stunts post-interval look like a repeat of "Dhoom-3". At this stage in his career, Mahesh needn't prove his mettle in mindless stunts but look to enhancing his market-cap by doing entertaining scripts because thats what draws out the best family crowds. In this film, there is not one scene which gives a high to Mahesh in upping the ante in acting, emotions or comedy. By picking a plot which keeps him serious throughout, Mahesh has erred on the same side which took him back with films like "Athidi". Incidentally, "Athidi" was produced by UTV and "1" is produced by Eros International apart from the producers who gave us "Dookudu". 

Kriti Salon as the tall journalist who stalks Mahesh and later becomes his lover is a promising fresh face. She looks ravishing, cute and is able to hold on her own against the persona of Mahesh. Her character is the most clearly etched one in the whole film. Nazar has few good lines and tried to do an image change by playing the main villain. Usually, he plays Mahesh's dad or a relative so playing a villain has pulled down the emotional connect both have had in several films. Music by DSP is great in background score but falls flat in main songs. The song in Goa with Kriti Salon wooing Mahesh and the one that comes immediately after interval are well shot. Dialogues are below-par and contribute their bit in making the audience uneasy. The lack of clarity and consistency in screenplay mar the film throughout. One, the title is not justified. You don't know whether it is about superstardom or aloofness. Two, the director misses out that audiences don't come to watch movies to solve puzzles in Sankranti season. It's harvest time for many not exam time. Three, Sukumar is overawed by Mahesh so much that he is blinded by admiration. In the first half, there is a bike parked by an ATM user flinched by Mahesh  - the number says AP 09 MB 1. Again, he drives another car where the number is AP 09 WZ 1. Why does he have to show stranger cars as no.1 that Mahesh likes to drive? Lastly, a lot of gaps in tight narration make the story-telling hazy and lazy. The gamble taken by Mahesh also is risky because Sukumar has ruined the film with over-worked story, hazy screenplay and scant disregard for entertainment value.  Which makes it one of the forgettable films in Mahesh Babu's career. 

My rating: 2 out of 5.

"Badshah" film review (Telugu)

Badshah" heralds the second big season of Tollywood with a swooshing sound of big-scale entertainment in the school of direction of Sreenu Vaitla and his style of family values - atleast four villains and seven side-kicks, a bigger family of character actors, a hero who is never bigamous, a heroine who falls for the hero easily only to be beguiled, an epic, almost explosive spraying of comedy scenes usually inter-linked with the story by the one and only Brahmanandam. This pattern of film-making has been remarkably patented by Sreenu Vaitla especially from the film "Ready" till "Dookudu". Each time, the under-currents were the same only the backdrop changed.  

In "Badshah", he tries to salvage NTR Jr.'s chequered career so far to give him a new cut-out which may go down well with his fans. He lets him keep the reel name his grandfather gave him - N.T.Rama Rao and weaves plenty of screenplay twists to make a career-high for him although it appears tedious at times. 

160 minutes should be an editor's delight but hardly a viewer's delight. Since the editors must have gone napping and Sreenu Vaitla makes films in the conventional three-act format, he cannot get to the main point without moving linearly from the previous watermarks in the frames he releases for us to make a sense of all the drama and melodrama. He needs something different everytime to make audiences drool over his largely endearing universal brand of entertainment, so this time he gives NTR switch into two variations: One, as a police officer who infiltrates a mafia from Italy to Macau and later, as a wedding planner in India who spoils the party for his lover about to marry someone else. Lot of characters get thrown in to pad up the whole storyline till the end - collapsing all the elements and the emotional highs and lows Sreenu Vaitla wants us to experience including some meaningless and boring stunts - the worst in NTR's films. 

Is the film watchable? For a large part yes and thats because of the devastating comedy scenes between MS Narayana and NTR and Kajol in the first half and later, between Brahmanandam and Nazar and MS Narayana in the second half. If you thought "Dookudu" was the ultimate in Brahmanandam comedy, seriously, watch "Badshah". Brahmanandam steals the thunder yet again in one of his most boisterous performances till date. MS Narayana, Vennela Kishore and Nazar too add to the outstanding comedy track in the film which are the sole highlight of the film. Kajol Agarwal is fading out fast and probably getting burnt out with her ho-hum expressions. NTR Jr. gets his best shot at dialogue delivery in just one or two scenes and excels in dance sequences. His Telangana accent is better than the slick expressions as a Mafia Don. Like many heroes hungry for box-office success in the past, NTR Jr. pulls out all the stops to make himself count amongst the contenders for the top slot. He ropes in the best comedy duo Brahmi and MSN to sizzle with their rapturous chemistry, a vintage medley of old NTR clubsongs (, and some splendid locations to give audience the variety even though the story itself is not that novel and an in-form SS Thaman to score trendy music (though forgettable). He even ropes in two stars and a superstar to bring him  luck - Actors Siddharth and Navdeep in brief roles and Mahesh Babu to give the commentary. Sreenu Vaitla does a clean job in his KV Reddy style of film-making  - a rollercoaster ride of emotions but lags at a lot of places. Writers Gopi Mohan and Kona Venkat give some memorable lines. Sreenu Vaitla should know that every director who relies on excessive screenplay and comedy without variety hits a glass ceiling one day. It happened with great directors of comedy genre like Jandhyala, EVV, Krishna Reddy, Siva Nageshwar Rao and Mouli. "Badshah" may be a paisa vasool film for now but if Sreenu Vaitla doesn't re-invent himself, he is a few films away from becoming ad nauseum. NTR Jr. should relax if this film becomes a hit for all the sweat equity - it is not his sweat but so what it nudges him to better days still. I rate it 3.5 on 5 for the hilarity of Brahmanandam.

"Viswaroopam" Telugu/Tamil Movie Review

"Viswaroopam" is truly a treat for fans of Kamal Hassan who admire his versatility and talent. Even though there's no title justification, the film is a stand-out in terms of technical brilliance and production standards that outmatch Asian cinema. To say, it holds a candle to Hollywood will be an outright cliche because Hollywood is always going to be on a different planet - their industry, their stalwarts, their creative flicks and their collaborative genius can never get exceeded in many lifetimes by anyone else outside of Hollywood. But Kamal Hassan wouldn't take that, as would  many other talents in Bollywood and other "Woods" who feel they are a misfit in Indian industry. Eventually, these talents either hit upon one or two films that pushes the door for an Oscar nomination or they end up collecting shingles for a role in "their" films which Americans can't even remember.

Kamal Hasan has gone through this angst many times in his lifetime and one day, we will all get to read about it in his own autobiography. Unlike his contemporaries in South film industry like Chiranjeevi and Rajanikanth, Kamal Hasan never compromised on his beliefs, his standards of acting, his quest for meaningful cinema within the boundaries set by commercial sensibilities. Unlike Rajanikanth and Chiranjeevi and even Amitabh Bacchan, he never got carried away by what the fans expected of him. Each time he acted, right from his toddler days as a child artiste, he kept pushing acting performances towards new highs and never fell to the temptations of stardom. We could have lost him many times in his career as an artiste of repute but Kamal Hassan never succumbed to the trappings of a mass hero which can nip your creativity in the bud. Playing characters, working with the greatest talent harvest in the golden age of Tamil and Telugu film industries, Kamal Hassan was true to his own self - which has earned the respect of every film goer who sees an artiste in him.  He has tried to play a new character and not the same matinee idol role that others were getting drunk on. On top of this acting talent, he can also write screenplays, sing an occasional song, make himself up into a different getup, edit films, pen sharp dialogues and direct movies. That makes him almost a non-pareil in modern times in Indian films a sort of a Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt or a Shantaram. He is also a maverick in more ways than a Hollywood multi-faceted legend like Sidney Lumet, Clint Eastwood or a recent Ben Affleck - he strongly believes in creating cinema thats different, bold, taboo-free and subtext that sometimes is so strongly segued with his own belief-systems that they lead to the ruckus that's unleashed for "Viswaroopam". Whatever they may say, that Kamal is an atheist, he is anti-brahmin, he is anti-Hindu, he is secular, whatever, "Viswaroopam" is an uncomplicated visual treat which must be watched atleast once. 

What is evident from his films, in general,  and this film, in particular,  is that Kamal Hassan likes to give subtle messages of rationality, empowerment of women, a voice of dissent to those who act irrationally and a background to the social winds of change that sometimes miss commentary and observation by one and all. "Viswaroopam" is a good story told with lot of detail and passion  about an Indian RAW officer who infiltrates a "Jihadi" network of terrorists by becoming one of them. He changes his name, religion to be a Kathak dancer flirting with his girl disciples but earning the distrust of his not-so-loyal wife Andrea Jeremiah. Andrea is a nuclear oncologist and lands in a soup when a detective she appointed to spy on her husband's "illicit" liaisions knocks on the door of a terrorist. That terrorist's den belongs to Rahul Bose - a one-time ally of Kamal Hassan in his flashback role as Wasim Kashmiri. Rahul's men hold Kamal and Andrea captive and get ready to break his knees. That's when Kamal sets himself loose and polishes off the villains.  The sequence opens out further to reveal the flashback in terraneous Afghanistan where Rahul Bose and Kamal get together to become brothers-in-arms under the elderly guidance of Nazar (he is always there in Kamal Hassan's films, isn't he?). The flashback is the heart of the film and runs for an elaborate length within the overall running time of 148 minutes.  It is well-researched and well-shot on the magnificent plains of Afghanistan or the parts of Central Asia that protected Osama Bin Laden. This part of the film  - the part of the flashback which shows the sun-drenched tough-living conditions of mountainous regions where the terrorists train to fight for a cause but have their emotions run below the surface - for their loved ones - is shown with fascinating detail.  Under-stated but firm interplay of emotions of joy, friendship, betrayal, love and anger are well-bought out.  Certain scenes may remind you of the basic plot in "Kite Runner" that memorable tale filmed from a best-selling book. There are other scenes which resemble some of Kamal's films like "Dasavataram", "Satyaa" and "Hey Ram" (which he himself directed). 

Screenplay is pacy, and the narrative cascades well with a storyline that is well-written. Characterisation and emotions are the only two aspects which take a back-seat in Kamal's self-directed films. Not all characters get the right attention and except for Kamal, Rahul Bose and his associate, the rest of the characters were a wasted lot. Shekhar Kapur,  Prema Kumar and Nazar could have got meatier roles because they have the screen presence. Kamal's own performance actually gets overshadowed in the film by Rahul Bose who is such a fine actor. At times, Kamal Hassan is unconvincing as a Jihadi terrorist, but Rahul Bose is bang-on whether he stops himself short on doting his son and wife or rabble-rousing his camp followers or slicing his targets. Even his Arabic is flawless and sounds so good to hear. Andrea Jeremiah is cute and so is Prema Kumar but Kamal's fans must be disappointed not to find the customary lip-kiss that has become so commonplace in his films lately. The last time Kamal directed "Hey Ram" he was all over Rani Mukherjee but this time wonder whether it is the the creditors and the censors that made him lose intimacy with two cute debutantes.  Songs never get the extra-padding in his films especially the era after he gave up on Ilaya Raja. In this film, Birju Maharaj composes a lovely number on Kamal as a Kathak dancer set to hummable tune by Shankar Ehsaan Loy. The trio also score a terse yet tense background score that never distracts the audience from expecting surprises. Kamal has once admitted that he killed his own career in the early 2000s by acting in comedy films in which he plays marbles with other also-rans. Then it took many films to get back his mojo even though the golden run has gone. He is not a bankable star at the box office because he doesn't improvise on his charishma, he merely experiments with different characters and nobody really whistles when he appears on the screen, nobody takes ninety seconds to read his name on screen as with other stars with epithets like m-e-g-a-s-t-a-r or s-u-p-e-r-s-t-a-r. Here is a star who gives story the headweight it demands, blends his character like any other character in the film  and uses humor that is most often never dumbed down for the galleries. You will find references to famous literary works like "killjoy" or questions that he wants you to ponder like "Which God of yours?" (a reference to the Hindu Pantheon). Infact, think of the treatment, there is nothing in the film that buys controversy. Its just that the terrorists of a certain network are shown as highly religious in the traditions they follow - thats not objectionable by any stretch of imagination. 

Obviously, violence is quite graphic and brutal as it is depicted to match the explicit nature of what terrorists indoctrinated to achieve their means do. Climax could have been better and the wry humor that Kamal likes could have been spaced evenly throughout the film. Tension grips the film from the outset except for the titles when pigeons - the most peace-loving creatures flutter in their backyard. One noticeable point, I must say is that for the first time, a film doesn't preface with a statutory warning on smoking and drinking. Thats a rarity. Kamal Hassan, the director has aced up Kamal Hassan the actor. Wherever he wants to migrate to and become a citizen of,  Kamal's films are good to watch  - they are different and have a nice mixture of cinema sensibilities that the Indian viewer is seldom exposed to. For all that and for the controversy that it has generated sans the emotional and entertainment connect with the masses, "Viswaroopam" deserves 3.75 out of 5.