C&B Ezine Jan 2011

Y O U R O W N M O V I E S O C I E T Y
January 2011
Opinion:1
CLAPS AND BOOS MUST READ
Ramchander says that the film
critics must see what is new in a
film rather than mock at what is
old. Thilak Kumar joins him
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ON PAGE 2:
UNEXPLAINED
PHENOMENON
NOKaavalan in 2010
Vijay in 3 Idiots’ remake
After a string of flops, Vijay hopes for a turnaround in 2011
THE year 2010 has ended the between Shankar and Vijay, and stated
way it began for Vijay — with that the actor and the director parted
a disappointment. Last year, ways amicably.
many hoped that Vijay would
The bitter turn of events has come as
reclaim his place in the top amongst a huge blow for Vijay, who was cooling
Manoj
the big names. Unfortunately, it was not his heels after completing the schedules
Govindarajan
to be. The 49th film of his career, Vet- of Kaavalan, and hoping to start work on
feels that his
taikaran, which released in the month the remake of 3 Idiots. To add salt to the
critics simply
of December, 2009, failed to raise his wounds, a number of big films have al-
don’t see what his
stock, in spite of the marketing blitzkrieg ready been lined up for Pongal.
fans can see, and
by Sun Pictures. His star-status was fur-
This means that Kaavalan would have
that Rajinism
ther dented by the colossal box-office to slug it out with Dhanush’s dream proj-
must survive
failure of his golden jubilee film, Sura.
But the actor who was hoping to re-
The actor was slapped
ON PAGE 3:
vitalize his career with Kaavalan, a
KAMAL’S LOVE
Tamil remake of the Malayalam film,
with a ban by the theater
FOR COMEDY
Body Guard, has been forced to endure
a long waiting time as the movie, which
owners’ association for
was scheduled to release in December,
not compensating the loss
has been postponed to Pongal, 2011. The
film has already run into problems: one,
incurred due to the colossal
of not finding adequate theaters and two,
failure of his last release,
the actor was slapped with a ban by the
theater owners’ association for not com-
Sura
pensating the loss incurred due to the
failure of his last release, Sura. Though
the problem has been sorted out for now, ect, Aadukalam distributed by Sun pic-
the incident has clearly strained the re- tures and Karthi’s Siruthai. Kaavalan,
lationship between the star and the as- directed by Siddique promises to veer
Manmadhan
sociation.
away from the usual Vijay formula. This
Ambu attempts
The actor was faced with further dis- movie will mean a lot to Vijay’s career. It
to go meta, says
appointment when he had to walk away is clearly not the best of times for Vijay,
Thilak Kumar,
from playing the lead role in the Tamil and much is left to be seen whether Vi-
and takes on
remake of the Hindi blockbuster, 3 Idi- jay’s efforts — to reclaim his lost throne
the usual jibes
ots. However, the producers have con- — will be sufficient or not.
of a Kamal
firmed that there was no personal spat
—Gokul Raghunath
Haasan film
ON PAGE 4:
The cold wave over Europe has affected the timely release of Manmadhan
ROUND UP
Ambu in the United Kingdom, writes Vikram Shankar
CHARU NIVEDHITHA
NOT long ago, popular writ-
OF 2010
er Charu Nivedhita had
Snow snow go away
MIFFED WITH MYSSKIN waxed eloquence on Mysskin
and his film, Nandalala in his
blog. The writer, who was so
impressed by Mysskin’s intel-
not deliver the film boxes on time to the
lect developed a close relation-
exhibitors across the United Kingdom.
ship with the filmmaker. But
A sizeable number of Kamal Haasan
Mysskin’s speech at the book
fans who wanted watch the film before
release function of Charu’s
their friends in India could do so, were
Dhegam has strained the rela-
left disappointed.
tionship between the two. The
An ardent fan, who was eager to
writer is miffed that Mysskin,
watch the movie at Cine World in Mac-
in his speech, had compared
What worked
clesfield town in the United Kingdom,
Charu’s book to Saroja Devi, a
and why it
said “The show was scheduled to be-
popular yesteryear actress, and
worked?
gin at 8 pm GMT. At 5:30 pm GMT, I
also said Charu had asked him
Nishanth and
got a call from Cineworld saying ‘We
whether he had sex when he re-
Kartik Sriram
are calling from Cineworld, we are
turned from a trip to New Zea-
do a round up
extremely sorry to say that the show
land before the guests who had
of the Tamil
(Manmadhan Ambu) scheduled to start
come for the book launch.
releases in 2010
at 8 pm has been cancelled as the prints
Charu, who was irked by his
haven’t reached us yet’. When I pressed
speech has lambasted Mysskin
for the reason they said Heathrow ter-
in his blog saying that he needs
minal is badly affected and many flights
to see a psychiatrist. Recently,
were cancelled.”
Charu had danced in an item
However, many were unconvinced
song for Mysskin’s Yudham Sei.
by the explanation and said that they
Send
Wil it be retained? Let’s see!
us your
thoughts:
O
didn’t do enough to ensure the timely
VER the last few years, every release. One wonders how much mon-
film of Kamal Haasan has been ey the film has lost due to this delay as
dragged into political controversies. United Kingdom is considered one of
This year, nature too has played spoil- the biggest overseas markets for Tamil
feedback@
sport. The much-awaited Manmadhan films next only to the United States,
clapsandboos.com Ambu, which was scheduled to release Singapore and Malaysia.
in the United Kingdom on Wednesday,
With piracy already affecting the film
December 22, a day before its release industry, the unexpected delay in the
in India, opened only on Sunday due release throughout United Kingdom
to the late arrival of the ‘film box’ as is definitely a bad news for those who
number of flights were cancelled at the have invested money in Manmadhan
Heathrow airport owing unfavourable Ambu, and also to the fans who couldn’t
flying conditions.
catch their favourite star on time.
This meant that the distributors could

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E N T H I R A N
We are actors. We are opposite of people. - Sir Tom Stoppard, famous British playwright
2
O
Even as the India u
n Institute of r
Manage
ment ‘
tries tT
o find out ho h
w, Enthiran, ina
spite of bei l
ng m a
ade in a regi i
onal l v
anguage maa
naged to ra r
Januar
ke in the
moolah across the world, Manoj Govindarajan tries to understand the phenomenon cal ed Rajinikanth, who has taken Tamil Cinema to the worl ’
y 2011
d
Stars are not born. They are re- part of his career. In his long career, his unkempt loose hair after he walks comfortable, cheap criticism. But one that romanticisation of the actor play-
alized. It is a conception within there have been so many critics and an off the screen, the trembling rich pipe- needs to realize that plain histrionics ing the same old, good. It is his mere
the actors to realise, and carve equal number of reviews on this actor, smoking villain that leaves an audience do not work with people all the time. screen presence. Mere Rajni. Just and
out a comfortable niche to reach a both trashing and justifying his acting, washed with hopeful energy. We, the At least half a dozen of heroes who only Rajni. Just recall how you felt
wide, wider audience. There used to his choice of films, and his political people from the south are an emotion- rose to fame within few years follow- watching Captain Planet! It is that
be a time when a story for the heroes views. The great Jack Lemmon, once al encyclopedia, and Rajnikanth has ing Rajni’s footsteps, were forced to crude, but a true sense of emotional
would be cleverly imparted in films. told in an interview for Glengerry Glen managed to strike a similar emotional face a steep fall, unable to recreate chocolate that transcribes from a tight
Real life didn’t seem to accommodate Ross, “When Foley narrated the script chord all around the globe. The sheer the superstar’s magical histrionics and wrapper (the screen). I just wish that
stars. But then came James Bond, who after every shot, Al wasn’t listening volume of his followers can make mannerisms.
people recognise the fact that Rajni is
extolled gimmicks, not to mention the to it. It was Ricky Roma.” It is that our jaw drop. It makes me wonder if
There is a common perception that a more of a performer than an actor. It
early rise of super-humanism in Dra- sunburn voice that has commanded Rajni-ism is a painless contagious dis- seasoned actor can pull off any scene is more of understanding an unimag-
vidian cinema via M G Ramachan- everyone’s attention, the helicopters ease that is impossible to cure. Few without much difficulty. Imagine inably huge fan base that holds on
dran, who man-handled a dozen men in Dog Day Afternoon, the drug-lord’s people consider his histrionics as an some other acclaimed actor pulling off to this spectacular phenomenon. By
at the same time, while Shivaji kept gang men in the finale of Scarface, a o p -
portunity a simple, cigarette mouth-catch! Rajni constantly criticising the eccentricity
falling prey to roles that lied about his bewildered Keanu Reeves in the finale
f o r has successfully set the yardsticks for associated with our movies, a few are
age.
of Devil’s Advocate, a silently baffled
stardom and style in its primacy, and slowly trying to erase cartoonscape
Rajni did come from a very humble Johnny Depp in Donnie Brasco.
it’s unfathomably variant and inevi- and childishness from films. We do
background. He has showcased some
It is that thigh slap in Annama-
tably fresh every time. It is not the not want our movies to be completely
versatile performances in the initial lai and the rhythmic jumping of
mouth-catch that works, but it is devoid of any cartoonscape. Do we?
THE MIDDLE CLASS ROBOT
SHANKAR has always rep- the entire corrupt political system the great Indian nation. Shankar en- designed to work for the Indian ics-laden action sequence. It is hard
resented the great Indian in a single day.
ables us to see these dreams through army. And he reasons that he wants to believe that Shankar had this idea
middle class in the truest
But Shankar, like the ever-busy Vaseegaran, an expert in robotics, to stop the killing of jawans. So, brewing inside his temple for ten
sense. His line of thought is always middle class doesn’t seem to care who works on the project tirelessly his idea is to replace human jawans years. The product looks as if it was
uncomplicated and most often not about the core issues that he actual- for a decade without caring a hoot with humanoid robots. One robot written after he, like his protagonist
well-researched. He is someone ly wants to talk about. Doesn’t mat- about the outside world. He comes equals 100 men, Vaseegaran in- Vaseegaran, had shut himself from
who is outraged at the society, and ter if auto owners fleece the auto up with a humanoid which would forms us.
the outside world.
like many of us, recommends ex- drivers, his hero would still shoot almost do anything. The humanoid,
But there is a conflict. Humanoids
Shankar’s very idea to present the
treme solutions. Shankar’s protago- the auto drivers for taking more Vaseegaran reveals, is ultimately don’t have emotions and hence can’t army with a deadly humanoid-com-
nists would chop the hands that ac- money. He decides what is right and
be allowed in the mainstream soci- batant like Chitti, when the army it-
cepts a bribe and puncture the chest what is wrong, instantly.
ety argues Vaseegaran’s senior pro- self is being accused of blatant hu-
of a politician who has siphoned off
Shankar loves typecasting, takes
Shankar loves
fessor, Bohra nicely underplayed by man rights violations is laughable.
public money on national TV. These pride in jingoism and ignores the
typecasting, takes
Danny Denzogpa. Vaseegaran fixes Remember, one robot equals 100
are mainly middle-class ideas of root. His latest release, Enthiran
pride in jingoism
the problem only to realise that he men, which means that the destruc-
justice. Shankar gives form to their too was conceptualized based on
has planted a new one. The human- tion by the Indian army, in Assam,
and ignores the root.
dreams; he constructs a world very his lame middle class dream. The
oid falls in love with Aishwarya, in Kashmir and throughout the red
similar to what the middle-classes, dream of having a machine that
Enthiran too was
and Danny Denzogpa adds salt to corridor will be multiplied a hun-
his admirers, dream of and designs would cook, wash clothes, dance,
conceptualized based wound by corrupting its files, we dred times by this magnificent ro-
a utopia inside a dark hall and lets save women from being raped in
on his lame middle
are shown. How Vaseegaran defeats bot. What a dream! Perhaps, Shan-
them enjoy it for three hours.
public, break the speakers playing
the rapidly multiplying manipulat- kar is after all a mere middle-class
class dream
His ideas are sometimes so ludi- loud music during exams, and fi-
ed humanoids is shown in a long- with a liking for expensive gizmos.
crous that his protagonist cleans up nally fight for the armed forces of
drawn out well-thoughtout graph-
—Udhav Naig

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S P E A K Y O U R M I N D
I had to decide early on whether I was to be an actor or a personality — Robert Deniro, Hollywood actor
3
January 2011
Kamal,
comedy and love
The modern day adaptation of ‘Tale of Cupid’ and ‘Psyche’ has a dramatic sweep, subversiveness, and
emotional resonance but also somewhat jarringly settles for a screwbal finish, writes Thilak Kumar
A FILM BY
WITH announcement of a K S sode that lays the initial foundation of Mad- and how the feminine kind still remains the KAMAL HAASAN
Ravikumar-Kamal ‘roman- han’s suspicion. Madhan, like Cupid, as the earnest, sincere type. It’s also appreciable
tic’ comedy, the reactions dutiful son of mother Venus (played by Usha that shards of melodrama weren’t attached
were mixed. Kamal hadn’t Uthup), is mislead to doubt the modern day to divorced woman. Another bit of gender
BEING a ‘Kamal film’, there’s a thin de-
marcation of the creation, and the creator.
done a light comedy since the box office de- Psyche in Ambu, the modern day Venus and subversion is to employ an actor, Surya (who
Is there harmony between the two? I have
bacle of his own produced bilingual Mum- Psyche here are seen to be traditional house- plays himself), to do the ‘item number’.
no qualms of his al round craftsmanship. Film,
bai Express. Therefore a return of sorts to bound mother vis-a-vis progressive working
And refreshingly, the story is simultane-
while being a democratic process is always at a
the genre in collaboration with Ravikumar woman. The film moves linearly like a hang- ously advanced to mess with the cardinal
danger of losing the primal signature of its maker.
seemed commercially wise.
out ‘cruise’ flick. Flashback isn’t the wisest rules of ‘Item number’. Now how many
I share none of the concerns with regards to the
ManMadhan Ambu as the title goes is device. But here it unfolds, like a short film films attempt to go ‘meta’ like that? The
ideological diffusions in his films.
from the three main characters, the affluent in itself, in form of the song Neela Vaanam, ensemble cast is brilliant. Madhavan does
Even if it’s al too natural for other superstars
Madanagopal/Madhan (Madhavan) suspects which feels gimmicky, and unintentionally extremely well in the earlier scenes but the
to occupy every frame in some measure, Kamal’s
his actress girlfriend Ambu (Trisha) of infi- funny in motion. But it slowly turns into performance turns overt as the film shifts
films are seen through different parameters. It’s
delity. Major Raja Mannar (Kamal Haasan) something powerful as we see Mannar’s to farcical gears. Sangeetha’s turn as Deepa
imperative to clock time for other characters, ir-
is the private detective, who does the surveil- relationship with his ex-wife, Juliet. As the is equally effective. Both characters have a
respective of first person narrative of Hey! Ram,
lance for Madhan on Ambu, who is on an word ‘flashback’ suggests, the montage in genuine screwball, but it all seems ‘off-key’
and gauge every move with blinkers on. Most of it
European ocean liner cruise for a vacation reverse is a novel idea. Trisha comes out to the predominant tone of the film, set by
seem ‘made up’ to demean his work. ’Narcissism’
with her long time friend Deepa (Sangeetha) with a much improved performance, but the initial scenes. The bigger problem of
(yet to encounter a star who isn’t guilty of it!) is
and her kids. Mannar’s friend who is under- she’s no Amala or Jaya Prada to convey ‘comedy of errors’ seemed to be in cutting
another baffling charge, I’m wary of the ‘wink’
going treatment and is in need of money. the smitten feel. It’s a genre subversion – room with several discontinuities, and not in
with which the self-glorification works out. As
The friend, played by Ramesh Aravind, and wherein the romance is underplayed to the unrequited anticipation of trademark chase
one of the friends in Apoorva Sagodarargal would
his wife Urvashi. The sentimental interlude extent where the characters don’t necessarily sequences. While this might not be a creative
go ‘Annan banian size 42,’ that has grown to be
of their track affects the tone of the film. The exposit in words to establish the same. There zenith, or a commercial milestone for Kamal
part of pop-culture. In Manmadhan Ambu, apart
sole function of this subplot is to provide the seem to be no archetypical ‘heroines’ in his in any sense - the kind of meta-crisscross ro-
from the moments of lingual expertise, Matador
grounds for Mannar to continue-on the job. recent films. In this film, the film heroine mance situational dramedy, which doesn’t
sequence which reminds one of the sequence in
Parts like these to make justifiable grounds takes shape of the character! It’d be useful necessarily end on ‘happily ever after’ all-
Thenali, and Deepa’s remark ‘semma kat a’, we
for the characters makes the film weak.
to compare the gender reversal of source of too-conclusive tone, is always welcome to
sense some of the idealistic aspirations, atheism,
Kamal’s script starts with a shooting epi- suspicion here, in contrast to Sathileelavathy round the year.
and political views of Kamal.
SEE WHAT IS NEW, NOT WHAT IS OLD
In Ratatouille (2007), there is read it on the internet, laugh out loud
a scene in which a critic writes an and share it with friends. And I feel
article, after his ego had been com- happy. But my review derives its hu-
pletely thrashed. And I shall repeat a mour from Aayirathil Oruvan. It is
VACUITY of Film criticism Right or Bicentennial man when
today is best represented by you review a studio-backed infant
the predictable pattern with (for the Indian film industry) Sci-Fi
which mainstream press and blog venture could be counterpointed to
part of it, “. . . in the grand scheme only when I acknowledge that basic
reviewing seem to get caught in a the kind of liberal gesture the same
of things, the average piece of junk fact my critiques wouldn’t just be an
warp: of plot, grounds of plausibil- writers show to Mysskin’s Nandha-
is probably more meaningful than expression of my ego. A critic must
ity, and plot similarities to foreign lala (vis-a-vis Kikujiro).
our criticism designating it so.” I try to discover the novelty in every
films. And also the word ‘realism’
And writers who have no funda-
believe reading this would make any film. It is easy to spot what is old and
should be taken out and shot. Rather mental knowledge of film music
rational critic feel responsible. This make fun of it. It is tougher to spend
than have a personal reaction, on composition engage in criticism of
quote conveys the message that all time searching for novelty. And if
grounds of politics, emotional reso- background score to incite the large
criticism is meaningless without the as a critic, I do not make an attempt
nance, ‘sub textual analysis’ and fan-following of the composer. In
art or artifact that it criticises. For to discover what is new, it means
visual grammar, it’s the superficial many cases, the nature of dissension
example, director Selvaraghavan that I am just playing safe. This in-
comparisons, and plot mechanisms is proportional to the magnitude
makes a film called Aayirathil Oru- terestingly equates me to the artist,
that takes the highest precedence. of film personality involved. So in
van (A Man In A Thousand), and I whom I criticize of being afraid to
The penchant to, not that anyone is spirit and tone, this review aspires to
thrash it for its inept screenplay and do something new.
not guilty of it including yours truly, steer off such pitfalls.
pathetic computer visuals. People
— Ramchander
name drop I-Robot or Making Mr.
—Thilak Kumar

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R E W I N D
If my films don’t show a profit, I know I’m doing something right —Oscar winning Filmmaker, Woody Allen
4
January 2011
VINNAITHANDI
AAYIRATHIL ORUVAN
VARUVAYA
Selvaraghavan came back with his magnum opus, a his-
torical-adventure saga starring Karthi Sivakumar, who
“Why, of al people, did I fal in
was basking in the success of Paruthiveeran. The movie
love with Jessie?” is how Gautham
had a good cast and a terrific story, but was let down by
Menon opens his movie and the
some tacky scripting. The movie made with a budget of
question seems justified at the end
32 crores was rumored to have recovered the investment,
of it. A bold Indian 500 days of
thanks to the bilingual release in Tamil and Telugu. Post its
Summer, Vinnaithandi Varuvaya
release, Aayirathil Oruvan has sown the seeds of explor-
manages to remain original and
ing new genres in Tamil cinema. The movie was almost a
tragic-romantic; thanks to a beauty
washout in the US and in other overseas markets.
of a score from Oscar winner A R
— Kartik Sriram
Rahman.
— Nishanth
ENTHIRAN
Touted as the costliest film of India, Enthiran
banked on big names like Shankar, Sun Pic-
RAAVANAN
tures, Rajnikanth, A R Rahman, and Stan Win-
With yet another Hindi movie disguised
ston Studios to deliver. As expected, upon its
under the garb of a Tamil film, Mani Rat-
release in October, the film rewrote the record
nam learnt crucial lessons on how to select
books. Thanks to its trilingual release and un-
his cast and crew with care.
believable opening in United States and other
To add insult to injury, the reunion of
overseas markets, Enthiran created a record for
Agni Nakstharam duo Prabhu and Karthik
the highest grossing Indian movie for the open-
was one of the dampest reunions of all time.
ing weekend. The highlight was that the movie
The movie had a huge opening in the US
was played on 66 screens simultaneously on
and other overseas market but succumbed
the opening day in Chennai’s arterial Mount
due to bad word of mouth and reviews.
Road.

— Karthik Sriram
— Kartik Sriram
T H E B E S T O F
NANDALALA
Have you ever seen a camera speak? I have. Mysskin continues
with his attempt to take on a well-known one liner. Nandalala is
what we get when the mentally challenged and a young boy walk
enter the world of Kikujiro. This film has touched an emotional
chord of the audience who have seen it.
— Nishanth
2 0 10
TAMIL PADAM
Sebastian
Amudhan
built on the seeds sown
by popular TV program
Lol u Sabha to make
a full-length film that
poked fun at our vener-
able stars, their films,
and laughed his way to
the bank.
Shiva, who is one of
the coolest heroes today,
gave a deadpan perfor-
MYNAA
mance, and ensured that
the movie had a terrific
Mystic locales, dubious characters, and a haunting score interspace run in Tamil Nadu and
one hel of a love story is how I would describe Mynaa. Mynaa is also in the US.
the result of the hard work of Prabhu Solomon and D Imaan on the — Kartik Sriram
silver screen. The film manages to take its audience on a thril ing
ride through the innocent hearts of its characters. What helps is the
camera and the very set ing of the story.
ANGADI THERU
—Nishanth
A romance that goes through
the grueling reality of the
life that exists behind the
sprawling stores of T Na-
gar. Angadi Theru is by far
the best researched work of
2010. Covering all the dark
events from T Nagar and the
areas around, Angadi Theru
knits in a tight screenplay
into a gut wrenching plot
featuring amazingly realis-
tic portrayals. — Nishanth
MANMADHAN AMBU
What happens when the exploited get exploited again? They
start to play a game that might prove costly to the heart. They
attack you with an arrow that was sent to them from none oth-
er than Cupid himself. Manmadhan Ambu is a terrible display
GOA
of haughty behavior from a rich boss, who ends up taking his
This Venkat Prabhu film came with the promise of topical hu-
own love life on a merry go ride. With crispy and witty dia-
mor, chilled out characters and some terrific screenplay. While
logues, some great moments, and a man you can never deny
all these elements were not completely addressed in Goa, it was
falling in love with, Manmadhan Ambu makes through the
still a winner among the youth. The movie did reasonably well in
year’s top 10. — Nishanth
overseas market. — Kartik Sriram

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