3 / 4 STARS
DIRECTOR: SURESH KRISHNA
ACTOR: KAMAL HAASAN
ACTRESSES: RAVEENA TANDON, MANISHA KOIRALA
MUSIC DIRECTOR: SHANKAR-EHSAAN-LOY
STORYLINE:
Vijayakumar and Nandhakumar are both young children tortured by their father and stepmother. But Vijay takes the abuse well; Nandhu responds by seeing and talking with his dead mother. Eventually, Nandhu murders their stepmother and is sent to the insane asylum where he grows up. Vijay, on the other hand, becomes an army commando. Both are played by Kamal Haasan.
Eventually, Vijay is all engaged to be married to his lover (Raveena Tandon). Vijay takes her to the asylum to see Nandhu. But Nandhu, who has grown to be a brilliant psycho, hates her on sight, declaring her to be as evil as their stepmother, and vows to kill her to "protect" Vijay from her.
Nandhu escapes from jail, and tracks Vijay and his wife all over two cities, intending to kill her. Vijay, of course, wants to stop his wayward brother.
Both brothers face off against each other, one to kill a woman, and the other to save her.
COMMENTS:
Let's go step-by-step.
The first half. The first half of the movie features a little Vijay, and a lot of Nandhu. Vijay is introduced in an average action sequence and some great dialogue -- but it's Nandhu who steals the first half. But beware! Nandhu's scenes are all very art filmy in nature. Nandhu does drugs and sees Raveena as Catwoman, and has fight sequences done entirely as cartoons with Ronald McDonald looking over his shoulder (I'm not kidding). Though these "drug" scenes are great as expository to show exactly how nuts Nandhu is, they will be hated by most every mainstream film-watcher in India for their experimental tendencies. I, however, thought they were quite cleverly done, though they tended to drag on a bit. An hour-and-a-half is a bit too long for exposition. Still a great start.
The flashback. Nandhu and Vijay's flashback comes in shortly after the intermission, and as far as I am concerned, these twenty minutes are the best in the film. The flashback (which has no Kamal Haasan in it, note) is absolutely perfect. Everything Nandhu is is explained -- his tattoo, his baldness, and the flashback is heart-breaking. We sympathize with Nandhu, and full kudos goes to Kamal on the writing. It's hard to make the audience sympathize with a psycho. But we're with Nandhu. We hate his stepmother as much as he does. And we understand the psychopath. No mean feat. Perhaps the flashback should have been used in the very beginning of the movie, but still, what a wonderful sequence.
The ending. The first half was interesting and weird. The flashback set up for a wonderful ending. And the ending? A dumb action-filled rip-off of lots of English movies ("Crocodile Dundee," "Terminator 2," "Die Hard," to name a few) that nauseated me completely. How do you ruin an excellent movie? Watch this and you'll know. Dumb brainless action that involves car chases, Kamal Haasan driving a car with his feet, a Gold Winner balloon, and such. A cheesy cheesy commercial "rasigarkaaga" ending that ruined a great film. I had planned to give the movie a 3.5 / 4 or a 4 / 4 after I saw the flashback depending on the ending -- but after sitting through the ending, I almost dropped my overall score to a 2 / 4. It's that bad. I expect far more than brainless action from Kamal Haasan.
A movie ruined by the ending. A great story ruined by the ending. But there were other factors other than the story that made this movie (or at least the first 75% of it) so great.
The acting. In acting, Kamal Haasan is king. No one can budge him. And this movie is all Kamal. I almost didn't notice any other actor's acting -- Kamal stole every scene as Nandhu. The perfect actor. Other actors also did notable jobs, however -- especially the young actor who played Nandhu as a child. Also, the other "insane" characters were all portrayed very capably. The last person to give a mention to is Manisha Koirala, who was good in her role as an arrogant actress / star.
The dialogue. What great dialogue (again, kudos to Kamal). I mean, at the oddest moments, the audience was cracking up because of great one-liners ("Sorry wrong number!", "mottai thalaikkum moonankaalukkum mooduchu podraen," "Nandhu kalutharippu thaanga mudiyalla, Doctor"). Nandhu's dialogues, too, are wonderfully written--especially in his introduction. His lines make a weird sort of sense that makes this villain absolutely delightful--and perhaps the best villain ever created by Tamil cinema.
The direction and other things.. Suresh Krishna has used speed pans and quick camera movements -- and much better and more capably than any other Indian movie (notice the amateurish look of the speed pans in "Nayak"). An altogether capable and stylish direction that I would have thought was beyond Suresh Krishna's ability. The computer graphics? Excellent. The make-up? Excellent. The animation in the cartoon sequences? Excellent. (Some people will say the cartoons look amateurish, but I think they were purposely made to look that way).
The movie also features frank sexual dialogue and even a nude appearance by Kamal Haasan (you see more than the usual -- I'll leave it at that). Be careful about watching the film with young kids.
The movie had a brilliant set-up. I was all set for the ending of the year. Too bad it didn't deliver. This otherwise excellent film was sent tumbling to the rocks by the last fifty stultifying minutes.
SPOILER COMMENTS: (Do Not Read Unless You Have Seen The Movie)
Why do I hate the ending so much? Number one -- brainless action sequences that Kamal Haasan has added for purely commercial reasons. He hurt a lot after "Hey Ram" bombed, and so he has dumbed down the movie for fans. So he has an ending worthy of Rajinikanth with jumping off of buildings and a fight between both Kamals that rivals the Jet Li one in the English film "The One."
Number two -- It absolutely ruins Nandhu's character. Here is Nandhu-- the single best villain of the decade, if not in all of Tamil history. He wants to kill Raveena to save his brother. And yet he's willing to murder his brother to get to her? What's the point in that? There's no logic.
Number three -- the eventual way Nandhu blows himself up. The movie is all about the fight between the two brothers. One brother has to kill the other. It's the way the movie has to end. So when Nandhu blows himself up, it's stupid and self-defeating.
What a disgrace of an ending.
NOTE ON THE MUSIC:
The songs were horrible to listen to on their own, but the music team Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy always write very film-oriented music. And the music works wonderfully in the background. My favorite songs are the very haunting "Kadavul Paathi" and the somehow melodious "Unn Alagukku."
RECOMMENDATION:
Kamal fans, and fans of the weird yet interesting, watch it in the theater (but be wary of the ending). Everyone else get the DVD or a good-print video.
VIJAY VANNIARAJAN