2 / 4 STARS
DIRECTOR: SARAVANA SUBBAIYA
ACTOR: AJIT
ACTRESSES: VASUNDARA DAS, MEENA, NAGMA
MUSIC DIRECTOR: DEVA
STORYLINE:
Antony (Ajit) works as a mechanic. But that's just his common identity. In actuality, he's "the Citizen", a guy that goes around, kidnapping government officials.
Indu (Vasundara Das) is a modern girl who is madly in love with Ajit's character. But she's pretty much just there so the film can have an occasional song and dance.
Eventually, Antony is caught and in trial, reveals his reasons for doing these deeds.
COMMENTS:
One of the most eagerly-anticipated films of the year. We paid like Rs. 200 per ticket on the black market to go watch it on the third day. It wasn't worth the price.
The plot structure is a rip-off of Shankar's far-superior "Gentleman" and "Indian." Not only does Subbiah steal the basic story from Shankar's films, he hardly does them justice.
Ajit tends to overact, probably because people responded so well to his crying in "Amarkalam." But nowadays, he's hamming things up. He appears in nine roles, but only one, as a fisherman, makes an impact. Make-up is "sumaar", and in some disguises, Ajit's face seems to be falling off.
Vasundara Das is there for glamor, but she's hardly a glamorous actress. She's chubby. Her role could have been completely eliminated without a tear shed from the audience.
Nagma appears as a police officer going after Ajit. But though she acts well, her voice is far too masculine.
Meena appears briefly as Ajit's mother.
The only parts worth watching are the flashback sequences in which Ajit's actions are explained. But even some of these sequences are blatantly ripped off from Stephen Spielberg's "Amistad." Films like "Blade" and "The Matrix" are also stolen liberally from.
The film is a bore, but it's an interesting bore. Watch it just to see how Saravana Subbiah screwed up a Shankar film.
NOTE ON THE MUSIC:
Woefully inadequate. The only song I like is "Merkkae Vithaitha." Everything else is pretty poor.
RECOMMENDATION:
Watch it on video just to see how Subbiah thinks he's Shankar, and Ajit thinks he's Kamal Haasan.
VIJAY VANNIARAJAN