"Telangana Today", Hyderabad's Newest English newspaper is here!

A new English newspaper debuting in India is always good news for print journalists, it will create a buzz in the air for some days or weeks until the dust settles down. Hyderabad gets its latest English newspaper - Telangana Today.
Even as a student of journalism way back in 1992, I used to go to ridiculous lengths to read good copy and great journalism. Those days, most of the avuncular English newspapers like The Statesman, The Times of India, Free Press Journal and The Hindustan Times used to arrive in Hyderabad in the afternoon. Hyderabadi readers usually had few choices then - it had to be the venerable The Hindu or the irresistable Deccan Chronicle or the poorly- read but respected Indian Express (even now, I am told its circulation is lesser than the number of new Rs.500 notes!). After the split in Express, we now have The New Indian Express which is the more right-wing in views. Then came a paper - Newstime -which tried to set new standards in English journalism with columns by stalwarts like Kuldeep Nayyar etc. It had a different edit page and op-ed page with long middle that now bears resemblance to The Financial Times, London which still carries 900-word commentaries by redoubtable columnists around the world.
Newstime died out after many years and got mysteriously closed down which I never understood: why the press baron who never lost money in any business did not keep the faith with a newspaper like Newstime? With time, it would have endured as a viable voice for sane minds. Hyderabad also had an eveninger called Citizen's Evening which had seen better days during an era where "breaking news" was unthinkable. An assassination, a curfew, a military coup - these were the reasons to buy that newspaper besides the S.S.C or Intermediate Exam results. For many years, I supported the paper boys who thronged the Khairatabad Cross Roads with my precious small change because I did not like a paper-selling boy to look forlorn after a hard day. That paper shut too.
So were two other newspapers which came with much fanfare - AP Times and Postnoon. Of the two, AP Times ran for a longer tenure with a harvest of best talent handpicked by one Mr Nayar who had his beginnings in Deccan Chronicle and later built Newstime brand. Most of today's veteran journalists hailed from the groups of writers who worked in Hindu,DC, Newstime and APTimes. Postnoon tried to re-set the afternon newspaper reading habit a'la a Mumbai train traveller but despite promising content and glitzy range of coverage, the newspaper folded up - it was one of a Film Star's less-celebrated failures as a business venture. There were a handful of other newspapers which were talked about in the last decade with promise of a grand launch but we never saw them come out. Or some came like The Metro India but failed to fire. The Times of India finally entered Hyderabad as a morning newspaper but quickly lost the intellectual firepower that it once commanded; few pages scintillate but many pages titliate today and most news items still look like advertorials including the trophy pieces on celebrities .The Hans India was the last new newspaper before Telangana Today which came with proper homework. It still reads good with a mix of interesting news and feature articles and rigorous writing - but the readership as evidenced by the quantum of advertising splashed on its pages looks abegging. If there is a zero-sum game in real life, you can see it in action in the English newspapers HERE. Most households in Hyderabad still get either one English or one vernacular newspaper every day - so the battle for that singular choice continues and is usually won by the DC or the Hindu or the Times. Unless your house is a bastion of multiple newspapers ( we get two vernacular, three English newspapers and all but one business newspaper ), there is little room for a second English newspaper in today's world of news apps and in-shorts. Thats the scene in Hyderabad.
But hope never dies for Hyderabadi entrepreneurs and green shoots appear at the turn of every decade. This is good news for those who like to see and nurture alternative viewpoints on local and world affairs. On first impressions, Telangana Today has made right beginnings with a 16 page mainsheet and a tabloid pullout that resembles the DC - which should insinuate whom it is planning to target. The newspaper is off-white, and has an elegant sheriff font with visually-rich appeal. It resembles a mix of DNA, Mint and Hindustan Times . What I liked In TT is the positive spin to most of the news items and the succinct mention of disturbing bits of news. But we have to observe how the content shapes up in the first few months. The attention span of a new reader is shrinking and it will be a test of TT to reconfigure what will set them apart in a city where dislodging decades-old newspapers is not easy. In many ways, this is how most newspapers start off in early days until the news editor succumbs to the cynicism that surrounds us. Whenever I see a bright new newspaper, I remember the old age: The road to hell is paved with good intentions. I hope Telangana Today turns out to be better and make a difference to make our new State come out better than when we inherited it. Good luck to Telangana Today, today and for all tomorrows.
#TelanganaToday #NewspapersInHyderabad #HyderabadNewspapers

"Manyam Puli" (Telugu Film Review)/ "Puli Murugan" (Malayalam Film Review)

There were not many films shot in dense reserve forest areas so this one called “Manyam Puli” made us wide-eyed once we saw the last frame of the 141 minutes of a panoramic film rich with spectacular visuals. The film in its original Malayalam version “PuliMurugan” raked in over Rs.100 crores and we thought it is a regular commercial film but it turned out to be a surprise packet of extraordinary visual beauty and effects. The story is not uncommon: Mohanlal is a wood-cutter who lives with his wife Myna (Kamalini Mukherjee) and daughter. His reputation in the village as a tiger-hunter is legendary and every time a man-eating tiger is on prowl, the buck stops at Mohanlal’s doorstep. Mohanlal’s brother is a crucial link in the story who unwittingly pulls in his legendary brother into a vortex of culpable crime that involves criminal conspiracy and drug mafia and extortion – the villain being Jagapathi Babu. There are few other villains thrown in the ring but they make an impact in few scenes and make their exit. What holds the narrative is an astonishing overdrive into the deep-water-falls infested thick jungle where Mohanlal maneuvres people out of the clutches of the tiger. There are atleast five mesmerizing action sequences involving the beast and MOhanlal which builds an excitement and tension into the screen. And few other fights which make you wonder if you are watching one of the magnificent action films of the Samurai variety where sharp weapons fly off the bodies and people are slain in split-second speed. The film has only one song in the first half but the tension is built up gradually with elements of an interval bang, a second half that loosens a bit and a rich pre-climax and climax. Vysakh is the director and Uday Krishna the story writer who create a dazzle of larger-than-life images and thrills – of the kind never seen before. Even earlier films like “Mrugaraju” of Megastar Chiranjeevi appear amateurish in front of the breathtaking scenes with a CGI Tiger and an agile Mohanlal. After lying low with two Telugu films which show him in lesser light, this film is a real treat to Mohanlal fans or anybody who wants to figure out the complete actor’s range of acting skills and screen presence. The risks in the angles of some of the shots make you gasp for breath but Mohanlal pulled it off in style. If not for the story, the treatment and the action sequences make this a worthy joy-ride with family. Music by Gopi Sundar once again elevates the forest moods to peaks. Cinematography by Shajikumar is outstanding. The Telugu version is trimmed by atleast 22 minutes which makes it even more watchable. The ending is predictable but the journey to the end is worth it. Performances by Jagapathi Babu is jaded while all others excel. Kids will freak out on the tiger scenes - something that Indian films have never cared to find out but I don’t get why a man who shoots an endangered species should be hero-worshipped. Such are the ways of Indian films. No wonder we are made to stand up for our sins of watching them by singing the National Anthem in a few days from now. Go for it. But beware of high-grade violence.
My rating: 3.25/5

"Ekkadiki Pothavu Chinna Vaada" (Telugu Film Review)

There is a new whizkid in Tollywood and his name is VI Anand. The film “Ekkadiki Pothaavu Chinnavaada” is one of the most-watchable films of this season. In just under 129 minutes, the film takes you on an exciting story that has an undercurrent of supernatural thrill while giving a four-course menu satiation of your entertainment needs. Of course, the treatment is clean and the narrative crisp. Nikhil is a guy in love who is about to marry his lover but the girl couldn’t make it to the time of wedding at Registrar’s office. What conspires then is a cinematic twist where he is forced to accompany a friend who needs special treatment by some occultists in Kerala who exorcise ghosts. That experience brings sunshine into Nikhil’s life but later turns his life upside down in a series of bizarre twists. And the twists continue until the climax. What really happened to the lover who didn’t turn up? Who is the new love of his life? Whom does he marry? What are the twists in his life? In a spectacular spread doused in quintals of laughter, director Anand blends tension, comedy and cute romantic tracks with Nikhil and three women who enter his life in different ways. The result is a satisfying film which doesn’t leave one boring frame but regales all the way. If the script finds its way into other languages, this must be the most-remade film of the next year in the same fashion as “Chandramukhi” did in the year of its release. If you ignore the clever cinematic liberty the director takes in the ghost exorcism bit in Kerala, the film is fire-brand entertainment yet made in classy style without umbraging anyone. Nikhil must be complimented for selecting another audacious plot with near-perfect execution. If this is what one year of break can do to rev up his career, most aspiring actors should take such breaks instead of bombarding the movie-goers with hackneyed scripts and formulaic plots. Avika Gour shows her class while Hebal Patel oozes glamor even if she has no acting talent. Debutant Nandini Sweta gives a rarified performance. All comedians regale because the script gives wide scope for timing in comedy. Music by Sekhar Chandra uplifts the film to a different level – he has shown more range than what his earlier films with Ramoji Rao proved. Musically, this is the album of the season. A worthy watch to what is going to be the blockbuster of the last part of 2016. Don’t miss it and you can watch it with kids too.

My rating: 3.25/5

"Dear Zindagi" (Hindi Film Review)

The director of “English Vinglish”- Gauri Shinde - is proving to be a film-maker with much evolved sensibilities than her husband R.Balki. In “Dear Zindagi”, she presents a delightful story of a girl who is caught at the crossroads of life and torn between the pulls of her love-life, the struggles to carve out her own identity in career and the stress created by repressed childhood. Alia Bhatt is the twenty-something girl who is undergoing these multiple pangs at the same time and she has help from a psychotherapist Shah Rukh Khan on an unexpectedly overdue trip she makes to Goa – home of her parents. Director Gauri’s strengths are a well-written script, engaging screenplay and a commanding grip on characterization of all the major and minor characters in the film. She makes a point without belaboring the narrative and knows to weave nuances into the main story. All the men in Alia Bhatt’s character breathe fire and passion and so does Shah Rukh Khan who gives a dignified performance even as he takes a backseat in a film of this kind. There is a mathematical precision to his portrayal as Dr Jehnagir Khan and any other person without his aura would have botched the role by lowering the bar of poise and respect that a therapist should have with his patient. Alia Bhatt is of course, the show-stealer. After “Highway” and “Udta Panjab”, this film would pitchfork her as the new Diva of Bollywood - the one on whom long-term bets can be placed – with a fair conviction that she would balance any role. Whether she grooves, hums or shrieks out in anger, her screen presence magnifies her persona better than any million-buck lines written for her. Music by Amit Trivedi dovetails with the scripts of Gauri Shinde – it seems a zone that the composer is comfortable – atypical yet chart-buster variety yet versatile in range. One wonders why many commercial film-makers don’t sign Trivedi on for their scores. I don’t understand why the film got U/A – it deals with a subject that even toddlers can relate to and parents should get beaten about.
My rating: 3.5/5

Madam Dr Jayalalithaa Jayaraman

Watching the syrupy rendezvous of Madam Jayalalithaa with Simi Garewal after a day of heavy sea sentiments from all people gives you a good sense of life that Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa had lived since she was born. As she herself confessed, a third of her life was consumed by the attentive care of her mother and another third by the grasping vigil of the late MGR. So all the disruptions of the last third of her life seemed like undulating musical notes of a score composed by a leader who wanted to live life finally on her terms. And the way she did, it proves the will of the lady hard as nails – never budging, never relenting whether the opposition is a thespian like Karunanidhi, or an actor like Kamal Hassan or a seer like Sri Jayendra Saraswati.
If you have to examine her life, it has more drama, twists and turbulence than the length of the character of Aiswarya co-terminous with what Mani Ratnam created in the film “Iruvar”. As is evident now, not many lady politicians in world history have moved to a vantage position of strength starting with the disaffections and detriments that Jaya has faced. Father gone at age 2, separated from mother from age 5 to 10, pushed into different career choice from age 16, mother gone at age 23, some relationships not materializing into marriage later, and then the insurmountable barriers to her final ascent after the man who mentored her film career and built the foundation of political career – MGR – passes away in 1987. The odium she had to endure in the societal stereotypes of the 1980s instead of pushing her down became the podium of strength which zipped her forward. This is where Hillary Clinton, Indira Gandhi, Benazir Bhutto and Sonia Gandhi had much better upstart than Jayalalithaa Jayaraman. And then came the twin-sagas of humiliation at assembly and the dark-age dungeon she was thrown in the late 80s which didn’t break her spirit or her tenacity. In the first episode resembling the disrobing of Draupadi, it made Jaya take vow without any Lord Krishna’s help to step back in the Assembly only as a CM (which she did)). In the other episode which lasted many days in the inhuman prison cell of Chennai, Jaya had to withstand privations that even the likes of Tanguturi Prakasam couldn’t endure. Many felt it is persisting with the woeful prison days that most of Jayalalithaa’s ill-health started – which took a final toll on her life.
Winning six terms is no mean achievement for any seasoned politician but Jaya did it with impunity and alacrity. Her stamina and the fire in belly never dipped and neither has her appetite for firing salvos on her greatest foes – and each term was getting better than the previous in terms of her dignified responses, even as her political opponents turned more vicious and treacherous. As a state politician, she was vainglorious about her party, her constituencies and her political stakes and that defined most of the terms of engagement with the world outside her state – be it centre, press or FDI. An example is the way she influenced the late N T Rama Rao in the 80s to firestart the Telugu Ganga project which helped Chennai tide over the water crisis. NTR agreed to divert Krishna river water but only if Jaya agreed to “Telugu Ganga”. Jaya agreed and the people of TN were grateful for the gesture. In many other cases, Jaya’s sneezes and coughs during the NDA government’s tumultuous term between 1998 and 2004 distorted her image as a dependable ally making even stock markets dance to her tunes like the Pied Piper of Hamlin but Jaya took stand on issues which merely strengthened her image in the state. Not many Chief Ministers had the assertiveness that Jaya had in dealing firmly with the centre.
Her fight with the Seer of Kanchi showed her obstinacy. While the real issue turned out to be over the sellout of a Medical College which the seer escalated to the centre igniting Madam’s wrath, the world attention was on another angle. She was clear on building the kind of legacy that the poor will remember in all the franchisees of shops dishing out medications to rice. But she was also aware of giving a stable and efficient administration that unlocks the human potential of TN especially in continuing the massive reservation policy which was flagged off first by the late MGR. Jaya has ensured the state has maintained a balance between Welfare economics and Economic Growth. In 1983-84, Tamil Nadu produced only 2000 engineering graduates but now more than two lakh engineers graduate out of 652 colleges. While reservation in educational colleges went up from 30 per cent to 69 per cent, the trend of private groups starting professional courses caught on with other states like AP, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The best thing is the way clearances were given for making Manufacturing hubs in and around Chennai beginning with Auto manufacture and allied components. Today, TN has more hubs and well-developed tier II and III towns than any other state, tag of the most urbanized state in the country, more diversified industries evenly distributed among the districts and industry growing above the national average. Until the Gujarat model came, TN was always shining as the third largest in terms of GDP growth rate, according to noted journalist Susheela Ravindranath from her book SURGE . And Chennai is among the top 10 most attractive outsourcing locations globally (ranked no.5). When the big flood came last year, despite casualties and much flak from the citizens, Jaya government managed to keep the news of death of dozens of cab drivers in IT hub hushed up so that the image of Chennai as India’s second-largest exporter of IT services remains intact. So much for her policies, Tamil Nadu also attracted the pledge of Rs.2.4 lakh crore worth of investments last year, double the initial target. The Niti Ayog also mentioned that the amended Land Acquisition Act of Tamil Nadu is the ideal benchmark worthy of emulation by all other states in India. The activation of Economic growth engines that happened in Jaya’s term shows that CM Jaya not only read the pulse of the poor by dishing out freebies and pamering them with cheap food but also the mood of the skilled manpower and the resourceful entrepreneurs of the state in harnessing opportunities that can propel the state forward.
All the achievements of Jaya the CM show her to be extremely skillful, proactive and feedback-oriented which allowed her party to consolidate position to unassailable lead over DMK and other rivals. But the film career is something that is equally nonpareil for any film star. Fluent in all the South Indian languages, She acted in an English film ‘Epistle’ and a Hindi film `Ijjat’ besides over 140 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. Right from her debut Tamil film “Vennira Adai”, she had a charishma and cuteness that made her the most-sought-after heroine of the 60s and 70s. Supple and svelte, graceful and gaitly and gifted with a willowy dancing form, Jaya had tasted success from her first film making the top stars of the South cast her in consecutive films. Look at the pairing in her journey – 28 films with MGR, 17 films with Sivaji Ganesan and 11 films with NTR besides acting with every top and emerging hero of those times – Rajkumar, ANR, Shoban Babu, Krishna, Ravichandran, Kalyan Kumar, and others achieving a 80 per cent superhit rate. Almost all the heroes enhanced their auras because of the glamor oozed out by Jayalalithaa.
Naturally, she won three Filmfares which includes the very first Filmfare for Best Actress Award in 1972 when it was introduced. One of them was for a Telugu film “Sri Krishna Satya” in 1972. She also dubbed her own voice (something today’s heroines ought to learn) and sung a couple of songs including with legends like T.M.Soundarajan and S.P.Balasubramaniam. Unlike others, she resisted temptation to act in more films after plunging into politics. That’s what set her apart from other actor-turned-politicians. Despite delivering huge hits and being the highest paid actor for some years, she never compromised on her roles and performances and more importantly, never threw her weight around.
As her many interviews and lighter moments reveal, Jaya raced to the top of the films and then aced up on how to crack it in politics. Ambition and serene confidence drove her from films to politics and everywhere she dominated the scene – in films, for example, it was she who replaced B.Saroja Devi who acted in 27 films with MGR to overtake her in the pairing. She acted in roles which had western costumes as well as mythological characters like Satya Bhama. Even as she cruised to the top spot in Tamil films, her foundations for a political career were carefully laid through her multilingual fluency and English which remained her forte in films. Reading novels, current affairs and nonfiction and writers like Ruskin Bond came easy for her finessing her world views and sensibilities.
Shaping her career and achieving her goals became a heuristic progression for her – something that many women politicians in India and the world lack in depth. Not many have shown the resilience and the steely resolve that Jayalalithaa has shown, neither have they shown how to perfect the poise and the carefully cultivated public calm that she displayed always. It is tough to survive and thrive in both the worlds of films and politics especially when both are dominated by men but Jaya’s life and times show that with grit and guts, even a woman can achieve glory and public adulation if she determines. That is her greatest legacy to women in particular and Indians in general. Life kept changing plans for her from the time she was born, but she kept pushing ahead in her own ways until the terms became endearing for her until the last. Salute the Iron Lady who could have also played a national role had the stars aligned. Yes, there were issues of nepotism, conceit, corruption, delusions of greatness and superstitious beliefs (from Numerology and Vaastu to Astrology) but her personality overshadowed her fixations and made her one of the most epoch-making Diva-turned politicians of our time.

“Pink” (Hindi) Film Review

We should have got the hint when Shoojit Sircar took  backseat and produced  “Pink” directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhary. Sircar took more time to add labels which helped the film reach more audiences – he roped in half a dozen new names and made PVR Pictures, the largest Multiplex partner, and ensured the trailer released well before the festival season as early as in July. The film delivers making the wait worth it. "Pink" is the most important film of our times – and makes a statement on everything that comes within its sweep and  audacity. The title “Pink” is a euphemism for the color usually associated with feminity and all the vulnerabilities and stigmas affecting it; it’s a color for all the stereotypes that girls grow up with as if they have to stay with that for life. Then the narrative of 126 minutes which builds a simple story of three girls getting traumatized by four Delhi boys – which stays faithful to the episode that triggered it all – then expands the unintended consequences with all the legal permutations and finally, unleashes a feisty screenplay that keeps you engaged throughout. The interval, the pre-climax and the climax  complete the emotions that surcharge this legal thriller.  “Pink” gives out consistent and loud messages to the patriarchical Indian society to re-examine the paradigms through which the law and the law-makers (mostly men) relate to and affect women.

What makes the film different from the recent legal-content films like “Talwar” is the laser-sharp focus of the director on shepherding the main story. Since the story is not in public domain but plausible, the narrative has solid pace and intensity and at many times loaded with panic-attack emotions especially in the first half. Once Amitabh Bachchan enters the fray as a defence lawyer for the three girls Tapsee Pannu, Kirti Kulhari and Andrea Taring, momentum picks up and the audience is driven to the edge of the seat with courtroom drama bereft of stupid theatrics that we usually see. The only humor in this intense and tense film is experienced  when the defense counsel Deepak Singhal (Amitabh Bachan) is at work. The cross-examination by Bachchan not only wins many hearts but hits at the nub of our banalities – those series of dialogues that he utters as “Safety Rules for girls: Rule no.1, 2,3,4” raise the heckles and mocks at the ways we label women for all the sexual attacks on them. On the other hand, Deepak's adversary on the court, played by Piyush Mishra, personifies what’s wrong with our legal system, in the way cross-examination begins and ends with an axe to grind. Piyush carries his role with a gusto that makes him both repugnant and convincing. Dhritiman Banerjee as the judge is sober and composed showing the eclipsed emotions that a judge is never supposed to show in blink-and-miss moments.  The only gaffe in the courtroom why the portraits of Netaji and Tagore are doing on the walls of a District Court in Delhi. Small obsessions of a crafty Bengali director but forgivable because of a bold story projected with impact.

Tapsee Pannu steals the show with a performance that is both gutsy and pensive. But at times, her role demanded more emoting and she falls flat. After the Telugu film “Sahasam”, this is the role that brings some attention to her. Kirti Kulhari, the other girl is more nuanced. Andrea as the girl from Meghalaya looked apt in her role and reflects the plight of women from Northeast used to the society's insensitivities. Amitabh’s under-stated presence in the first half only to take the center-stage in the second half  with a hurrah performance  is a big plus for the film as word-of-mouth publicity picks up. He has shown a delicate mixture of probity and persuasiveness while single-handedly taking on the case with pure legal acuity. His approach in the build up of opening arguments, investigation and cross-examination give you a sense of intrigue that is missing in most films that ought to reflect current dilemmas through courtroom drama. The closing arguments merely underline the recurrent theme of what it means to be an adult woman and the need for consent. Another highlight of the film is the stark contrast in approaches followed by both the lawyers. Amitabh never cross-examines any of the motley of witnesses presented by the plaintiff, he presents only one witness who surprisingly is ignored for cross-examination by the plaintiff. But the approach to examining the key accused and the victims by both the lawyers is a treat to watch.

Technically, the film’s cinematography gets the moods aligned with the tone of the narrative – there is no room for any relief in the 126 minutes. BGM score by Shantanu Moitra is the finest we have heard in years. Using a haunting medley of violins, bass and percussions, Shantanu intensifies the first half by building the tempo of the incident and then blending tensions  that leaves you restless all through until the interval. By the, the stage is set for greater expectancy and intrigue towards closure. Shantanu’s strength is in mixing different  instruments with live recording of street sounds. Going by previous OSTs of Shoojit Sircar’s films, enough care is taken by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury in syncing Moitra’s sounds with the film’s motifs and images. Dialogues are hard-hitting and reflect the usual measured metrics of Sircar’s films. In a film that is near-perfect, the few things which take away the credit are the half-developed characters of Amitabh’s wife, Tapsee’s father, Kirti’s estranged lover and so on – the director lost some opportunities for impact-making statements. The film is going to be talked about for a long time as long as the society shields the culprits and shames the victims in the stigmas and stereotypes it perpetuates. In one of his famous judgements, Justice V.R.Krishna Iyer once remarked: “The life style of the people shapes  the profile of the  law and not vice-versa.” This film drives the point of that more directly with preciseness and seriousness without sensationalising the issues. “Pink” is not to be missed at all, it is watchable but keep the pre-teenagers out of it for the disturbing visuals.

Rating: 4/5

“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