Endhiran & the Magic of Rajnikanth

As I write this there are lakhs of people across various parts of the Country especially in the Southern States who are all sharing something unique- the joy of celebrating the arrival of the latest movie of their favourite movie star. All of them indeed are fans of the one & only Superstar-Rajnikanth. There are shows which started as early as 3.30 a.m today in various parts of Tamil Nadu for ‘Endhiran’, Director Shankar’s dream project with Rajnikanth, Aishwarya Rai & Danny Denzongpa in the lead. Combined with the Hindi (Robot) & Telugu (Robo) versions the movie is opening up to a mind boggling 2000 + screens Worldwide.

Reports have been positive so far and I’m sure this weekend will see lots of people across the globe, lapping up the movie. Which makes me ask the question- what is it that makes Rajni the phenomenon that he is? What makes people line up in anticipation months ahead of his film’s release and create the kind of buzz that’s unimaginable otherwise?Well the only answer to this could be – charisma. It’s the charisma of Rajnikanth that makes him come across as a larger than life phenomena and creates the aura around him.

The dynamics of the movie business has changed and today it’s the multiplexes which account for the bulk of the business though in terms of sheer numbers the single screens and cineplexes still are the majority. Gone are the days when we used to have 100 days (and later 50 days ) benchmark as the qualification for a hit status. In fact we were even used to silver jubilees ( 25 weeks ) and golden jubilees ( 50 weeks ) on a regular basis. But today it’s carpet bombing of theatres thats in vogue. Earlier when a Baasha or a Padayappa would release then outside South India except for select places like the good old Aurora Cinema in Matunga, Mumbai, there were hardly any other places to watch his films.

Milk abhishekam for Kuselan

So much so that I remember so many people who would actually come down to Chennai or their respective home town from a Delhi/Mumbai during the release of a Rajni film. With Sivaji-The Boss all that changed. One single movie, which brought Shankar and Rajni together for the first time, soon changed the way exhibition/distribution of South Indian films happens in the rest of the country. Sivaji ( and later Dasavatharam ) showed that there is a market for a Rajnikanth ( and Kamal Haasan ) outside the regular perceived audience too. As Sivaji-The Boss opened to a wide number of multiplexes and single screens in Mumbai and opened up new markets like Pune, Delhi/NCR, Kolkata, Gujarat etc, more and more people started taking notice of South Indian films. Even for a film which failed miserably like Kuselan ( which had Rajnikanth in a cameo and not the lead role ) the buzz was quite prominent.

But while carpet bombing of theatres/multiplexes became regularised and the importance of the opening weekend became all the more pronounced, some things still remain the same. Shows starting at mid-nite / early morning still continue to be the norm for a Rajni movie and it’s not different for Endhiran either. Fans performing milk/beer abhishekam still continues. The buzz across media (online/offline/visual) continues to be strong. While I’m not trying to debate on whether its right or wrong, I certainly do acknowledge that it’s the charm associated with all these things also which lends that special touch to cinema.

Last time around when Sivaji-The Boss released, it was just the Tamil and the dubbed Telugu versions alone that released (the dubbed Hindi version came after ages). But this time the dubbed Hindi version is releasing simultaneously. Given that there is a strong opposition in the form of a frontline Hindi film like Anjaana Anjaani which is releasing; it’s commendable that Robot has managed to get a widespread release in the Hindi belt. In fact a few days ago while promoting Anjaana Anjaani in Hyderabad, Ranbir Kapoor is known to have told the people “You can watch our film if you don’t get tickets for Endhiran”. That in a nutshell tells us how strong the buzz is for Endhiran.

And it’s also an event that brings alike people of all kinds of all strata of society for the single reason- the need to be a part of the festivity. I have never been a true blue fan boy of Rajnikanth ( and I’m being honest here ) but I have always marvelled at the kind of hysteria the man is able to bring out with just a single action or a sentence spoken. So the day of a Rajnikanth movie release is the time when I go out and witness the phenomena for myself again and see the magic come alive. When Sivaji-The Boss released, I happened to be in Vijayawada on the Friday of release. Friends and acquaintances who have nothing to do with films were calling or sending me SMS’s and telling me how they have enjoyed their movie.

Having decided to watch it in Tamil the first time I cooled my heels till Sunday when I reached Chennai and could finally watch the movie. This time around I’m missing the action in Chennai as I’m in Mumbai but I’m trying to ensure that I’m still having my share of fun. I’m heading over now to watch Endhiran maybe twice (including at the Imax Dome in Wadala ) today and soak in the magic. So are you all set for the magic as well???

Originally published in PFC- http://passionforcinema.com/endhiran-the-magic-of-rajnikanth/

Endhiran Movie Review : Man Vs Machine

Dedicated to the memory of the late Sujatha Rangarajan who’s contribution to Endhiran is immense.

Director Shankar’s much in the news Endhiran finally hit the theatres this weekend and I was one among the curious onlookers on the first day. Curious for various reasons- 1. Shankar’s last film- Sivaji- The Boss had created a mass hysteria in the box office, proving that Shankar + Rajnikanthwas a very lethal combination.2. Also Endhiran was Shankar’s dream project, something which he had conceived nearly a decade ago and so was all the hype justified? 3. How was Shankar going to present the 2 different Rajnikanth’s in the film? 4. With the film receiving such a widespread release (even in the Hindi belt with the dubbed Hindi version) would the strategy work?

The movie begins with Dr.Vaseegaran ( Rajnikanth ), a robotics expert working day & night and finally completing his dream project- Chitti, the android-humanoid robot. Vaseegaran makes Chitti look just like himself as he passes on his way of speech & mannerisms too. The aim is to make Chitti an effective agent of use for the Indian Army. So immersed is Vaseegaran in his work that he even ignores all the calls , messages & even visits of his girlfriend, Sana ( Aishwarya Rai ), a Medical student.Vaseegaran unveils Chitti at an International Robotics Conference and that’s where Dr.Bohra (Danny Denzongpa ), Vaseegaran’s mentor and the head of AIRD ( Artificial Intelligence Research & Development ) also sets his eyes on Chitti. While the whole world goes gaga over Chitti, Dr.Bohra feels extremely jealous that his protégé Vaseegaran has made such a wonderful robot, as his own attempts at creating a similar robot hasn’t yet yielded the same result. We then see Chitti going through a lot of experiences (some of them humorous) as Vaseegaran wants him to get a slice of living with the humans before sending him for trial with the AIRD.

Aurora Cinema @ Matunga,Mumbai decked up!!!

Later during the trial for approval at AIRD Chitti is rejected by Dr.Bohra as he feels that Chitti can be a danger since it has no emotions and can thus be misused. Not wanting to give up on his labour of love, Vaseegaran strives hard to instil the required emotions in Chitti. And as Dr.Bohra says at the interval point- “ inimey than kadhaye aarambam” ( the story begins only now ). The rest of the movie shows Chitti discovering a whole host of emotions and in the process moving away from his creator, Vaseegaran.

For those expecting standard Rajnikanth prop’s like an opening song, punch dialogues, the hero doing superhuman stunts etc- there could be some disappointment as Endhiran has none of all this. But Shankar ensures that you still feel entertained nevertheless. It is Chitti the robot who takes the cake as there are two separate dimensions to him that are shown with a lot of contrast interestingly. The SFX work is top notch and the last 20 odd minutes in particular is the highlight of the film as Rajnikanth takes on so many larger than life avatars which need to be seen to be believed.
The camera work of Rathnavelu is top notch be it in the song sequences like ‘Kadhal Anukkal’ or ‘Kilimanjaro’ (which are shot in exotic never before seen locales) or even in the interior shots. Sabu Cyril’s art design is brilliant be it the scientist laboratories of Vaseegaran and Bohra or the AIRD campus. SFX work is even seen wonderfully in the songs like ‘ Irumbile Oru Irudhayam’ and ‘ Arima Arima’ ( the song though comes as a speed breaker in the film ).

Kilimanjaro Song

Talking of performances, Santhanam and Karunas do not really add any value and their attempts at comedy fall flat. Danny Denzongpa is very effective as Dr.Bohra, but one really wishes there was more for the character in the movie. Aishwarya looks pretty and nothing more to say about her, though she does have a presence throughout the movie. Which brings me to Rajnikanth, the life of the movie. Well Endhiran is another example of the charisma of the superstar being brought into the forefront. As Chitti in particular Rajnikanth carries off the dual shades very well indeed. It’s been ages since we’ve seen Rajnikanth in a role with negative shades and when Chitti walks in front of the mirror & strikes a pose, before giving aloud an evil laugh, you are transported back to an earlier era. In some ways you get to see vintage Rajnikanth ( like Alex Pandian in Moonru Mugam ) and also the actor in him whom we rarely see these days ( especially after Baasha ). A.R.Rehman’s music is good (especially the songs mentioned already ) but in all it is certainly Shankar’s victory as he has almost clearly achieved what looked pretty difficult.

Trying to keep Rajni restrained at times and yet giving him scope to explode at the right time, requires a very delicate balance in terms of the screenplay and direction. That’s why it is as much Shankar’s victory as it is Rajnikanth’s. So all said and done Endhiran is a special effects extravaganza that works along with the charisma of the man called Rajnikanth.

Originally published in PFC- http://passionforcinema.com/endhiran-movie-review-man-vs-machine/

Revisiting Dasavatharam

At the outset let me make it clear that this write-up is not an attempt to review Kamal Haasan’s Dasavatharam.A lot of discussion has happened about the merits and the demerits of the movie on PFC as well as other forums so I’m not going to make another attempt for the same. Then why am I writing this post on the movie? Well because tomorrow- 17th April marks the release date of the Hindi version of the movie (Dashavatar) and so I thought of revisiting the movie and sharing some thoughts on the same.
The release of the movie couldn’t have been timed better. Due to the strike in Bollywood, there is a clear lack of content to feed the theatres and multiplexes and thus a release like this is welcome. So all those who have heard of the movie but couldn’t watch it in its Tamil or Telugu version can now watch it in Hindi. While I do not expect the Hindi version to be a blockbuster, I’m sure that it will definitely get noticed.
Around 10 months after its successful release in Tamil & Telugu, the Hindi version is finally releasing. While there will always be a debate on whether the butterfly effect/chaos theory angle was actually utilized well, whether the SFX work could have been better, whether some of the characters portrayed by Kamal Haasan were necessary or not, one thing that should be accepted is that the movie falls in the category of – love it or hate it but you can’t ignore it. For ages Rajnkikanth and Kamal Haasan have been the pillars of the Tamil Film Industry and both have charted their own paths to glory.
While Rajnkikanth played to the gallery and delighted the audience, Kamal Haasan went in for artistic satisfaction and in the bargain also developed his own niche audience. After Sivaji-The Boss redefined the outlook of Tamil movies in the eyes of the rest of the country, Dasavatharam only helped in re-enforcing that outlook even better. In spite of the movie being as commercial as it could be Kamal Haasan still pushed himself hard physically and mentally to portray the 10 different characters. Yes while it is easy to criticize the make-up let us realize that wearing such make-up and shooting for months together is not an easy task. Of course due credit needs to be given to the producer Aascar Ravichandran whose astute marketing brain played no less a role in ensuring the movie’s success.
Apart from Kamal Haasan and Aascar Ravichandran, a special mention must be made of K.S.Ravikumar, the director. Now all said & done – K.S.Ravikumar may probably never end up winning any National Award ( forget the Oscars ) but one needs to accept that when it comes to hard core commercial Tamil films, he’s probably among the best in the industry today. He’s made movies with nearly every big star and knows the pulse of the star and the audience quite well. Another person whose work needs a mention here is Himesh Reshamiyya who has composed the songs for the movie. I am highlighting him here for two reasons- not only did he compose songs keeping the true requirement of the movie (no trademark Himesh songs ), this may probably be the last time( atleast for now) one gets to actually hear Himesh composing for any other hero’s movie as Himesh is now only composing movies in which he acts.
Giving you below links to two of my favorite songs in the movie-



The first one is Kallai Mattum Kandal sung by Hariharan and chorus



The second one is Mukunda Mukunda sung by Sadhna Sargam and Kamal Haasan
Both the songs are quite different in approach and concept.

The Hindi release of the movie is also important for its heroine- Asin who is currently very much in the limelight after Ghajini & is being seen all over due to the Mirinda ads. Till her next release London Dreams comes along, Dashavatar is there to keep the audience reminded about her. And finally I would like to conclude by paying my homage to 2 eminent film personalities associated with the movie & who are now no more amidst us- H.Sridhar the brilliant Sound Designer and Sujatha the writer (who along with Crazy Mohan and K.S.Ravikumar had helped Kamal Haasan with the story creation).So for all those who have seen the movie and also for those who will see it now – this was a revisit to the movie from my side.

Originally published in PFC-check it out here- http://passionforcinema.com/revisiting-dasavatharam/