7-Aum Arivu

What was Murugadoss thinking when he decided to make this film? I still havent figured out that. Sometimes I think that he was partly inspired by Michael Moore.

7AA is a commercial documentary. The first 20 mins of the film is a technologically advanced version of the usual videos that films division used to show in cinema halls years back. Remember the video about Nehru; this was no different. This is where Bodhi Dharma is introduced. ARM goes on to tell us that whatever we saw in Crouching Tiger and other films - I mean flying swords, people and stuff that we saw in Shaolin soccer; is closely related to what Bodhi Dharma taught the Chinese.

The present day Chinese Military begin Operation Red whose only objective is to kill a girl in Chennai.

Suriya plays a circus performer in this film. I still can't figure out why he agreed to do that part because it didnt go well with the script of the film. I wonder if it was done to help the script where Shruti is looking to experiment with a monkey or ride an elephant (this scene is horrible), it still doesnt convince at all. We definitely know that a connection needs to be established between Bodhi Dharma and Suriya but not through a circus.

Coming to the main plot - The Chinese want to kill Shruti Hassan because they think she has done some research that would make India, some kind of a superpower. What I dont get from all this is the depth. Its never there at all. If it were such a research, then how come the Indian scientists are not bothered? And there are a bunch of people fighting about Tamil and English. Gimme a break director!!! There is a lot of cross-border tension between India and China, but China sending someone to India to kill Shruti is like watching a cartoon. The chinese villain using hynotic techniques to use people to his advantage is quite weird and at times very irritating as well.

Shruti Hassan has a very long way to go. I doubt if she will be very successful in the movies. She is awesome on the screen but dialogue delivery needs a lot of work. It feels like watching some US return tamilian on screen. We cannot put the heavy weight on her shoulder that she is Kamal's daughter. She is super talented but I am not sure if this film has done the magic for her.

I cant speak much about the new chinese villain who we have seen in many other hollywood movies. I dont remember doing anything other than staring.

The movie tells us that our traditions and superstitions have scientific reasons behind and we should understand the science and not blindly believe everything. And some of the examples are very effective. What I cant get to grips is when Shruti starts a scientific experiment on Suriya for 12 days; the villain manages to kill the experiment on the penultimate day and miraculously Suriya is still in great form. Suddenly, there is a superhero who has broken the scientific laws. Did I watch a Science Fiction?

What can I say about the songs. Same Harris style. He reminds you that every new song will remind you of his previous compositions. The SPB song in this movie reminded me of the 'Kanne Kalaimaane' sung by Yesudas but a few beats faster in the former. Most other songs are typical and sometimes the beat feels like a lift-off from ARR too.

The movie definitely lacks a good script and depth. Sometimes it looks as if the scenes were just put in place to make some logical sequence. I am supportive of the fact that ARM took up a different subject and exlpored a lot, but converting that into a bio-war is again like venturing into the lines of Dasavatharam. All of a sudden, the film starts wrapping up. The last 30 mins has all the prime content and I wonder why it was only for 30 mins. Romantic sequences were just time wasting tactics getting nowhere and only becoming script spoilers.

One piece of information I got from this movie is that the Chinese definitely have a great idea to eliminate the stray dogs in India but we never want them to help us do that.

Someone Like You

This time it was Springfield in Arkansas. The Tamil Assoc here decided to screen the film at Sunset Cinema, 15 miles from my place. Closer the better. I HAD to watch this movie. Every tamil from around this area was there. The hall was packed.

Unnai Pol Oruvan - as we all know, is a remake of the Hindi movie - A Wednesday. The Hindi movie, when it was out, created an amazing impact, was immensely successful and brought a new dimension to the until-then-trashy Hindi cinema. The Tamil re-make hence, had huge expectations.

And the tamil version does not let you down one bit. Considering the fact that the Tamil movie has come out in a time when you could have forgotten a good number of scenes from the Hindi movie, it manages to keep pace with the original in all aspects.

Strong characters - Kamal Haasan and Mohanlal play the lead roles.

Mohanlal, who is narrating the story for us, as the commissioner, has done a wonderful job. His patience in dialogue delivery and then moving into the comfort zone of malayalam when he gets tensed is very interesting. The conversations with the Chief Secretary and then the Chief Minister - I would rather call them intervention, show the need for protocols required when any action needs to be taken. The right use of police terminologies and words, brings intensity to the movie. Mohanlal also scores in handling dialogues with subordinates. The change of tones when giving orders and then making discussions with police officers is a great way to characterize a commissioner who controls the whole of Chennai.

The use of Karunanidhi's voice for conversations with the CM is quite funny, but makes the situation feel important.

Ganesh Venkatraman makes a comeback, after Abhiyum Naanum, as Arif, the hard-hearted police officer. I am sure that he is going to get noticed after this movie and will do well in films to come.

Aunja Iyer is the TV reporter. I wouldn't say that she scores better compared to the one who did the role in the Hindi movie. She is okay.

Being a re-make, there is not much to comment on the storyline or the screenplay. Its just the same. People, dialogues.. every bit. Art by Thota Tharani is worth a mention.

Shruti Haasan is a rockstar! Right from the titles, she has ensured that her Dad's movie gets the perfect score. Well, we know that the mood of the movie is extremely serious and Shruti's music brings that out, right from Minute One. Judicious use of Rock and not exactly Metal, shows that this Berkeley grad is out to achieve a lot more in the future. What I think could have been avoided is Kamal's voice for the songs. Those are not exactly songs, but bits and pieces in the background.

Padmasri Kamal Haasan. I dont need to tell you that he has done a wonderful job. He can never screw up. For serious roles, we dont have to judge him at all. It comes to him naturally. Kamal has portrayed Naseeruddin Shah's role in a flawless manner. His description of the "common man" is touching. His dialogues are powerful and have an iota of humor hidden here and there. In the first half, Kamal comes across as a powerful character. This is when he is in command mode only. In the second half, we get to see other dimensions of this multi-faceted personality. This is where it gets a bit emotional and conversational.

The other good things about this movie, like the original - No one has had to change costumes. No songs to waste your time. No unnecessary fights.

Something to mention. Sriman plays a role in the movie as a famous actor asking for police protection. His dialogues remind us totally of Illaya Thalapathi Vijay. Its a total dig at him and its hilarious.

Overall: Brilliant Movie.

Dasavatharam - typical hero worship

Seeing Shivaji Rao Gaekwad on screen - first day first show always gives you a great feeling. Its the distinct quality rather style that he brings to the forefront. Hey, I am talking about Superstar, if you didn't know who.

With Kamal, its different. The first day phenomenon doesn't work too well with him. He is more of an artist and there is more to observe from his movies than to sit back, relax and enjoy. I pretty much got the same feeling when I started seeing this movie today.

To begin with, I would say that DASA is yet another movie made JUST FOR KAMAL BY KAMAL. We have seen many movies like that in the past. Kamal uses the producers money to make a movie that is totally influenced by his views. I never say that is bad. Point is - most of the other top names would end up being a namesake. Anyway, lets come back to the movie.



Kamal's 10 roles in the movie occupy almost 90% of the movie. If you saw one avatar getting off the screen, then within seconds, another one joins the story. From the 12th century Rangarajan to Govind in the US, CIA Agent Fletcher, US President George Bush, a Japanese, Officer Naidu, Old woman Krishnaveni, Avatar Singh, the uneducated Annachi, and the Afghan. Click on the image to see the characters clearly.

Its a great effort on creating the 10 avatars. I believe that a lot of time has been spent on changing between one avatar and the other, which in itself is a commendable job by the make-up artist.

DASA is quite an extraordinary movie. The movie begins with the 12 century and then goes on to end in 21st century. One theme of the movie is biological warfare. The other one is what Kamal already questioned in Anbe Sivam - the existence of an entity called God. An atheistic attitude is evident, but at the end Kamal finishes safe by saying that he did not say God didn't exist but believed that if God existed, it would be nice. Kamal's mission is to save the world from a deadly vial. The vial reminds you a bit about Mission Impossible and a few other Hollywood flicks. The hunt for the vial takes Kamal from the US to India and all along this journey, we meet more Kamal characters who join the joy ride.

The final tsunami scene takes a lot of credit - amazing effort. The graphics have come out really well. Spending time on figuring out what NaCl (sodium chloride) means, is interesting too. Especially showing that Bush doesn't know what it is, is perhaps a clear indicator that Bush doesn't know so many things and this is just one.

Asin who plays two roles - one in the 12th century and one in the 21st, does not have any scope. In the first role, all she did was speak three lines and then cry. In the second role, she keeps running with Kamal, to escape from the cops and the bad guys. Throughout the movie, she is only worried about God. So, every other minute she keeps calling PERUMAL and keeps whining.



Mallika Sherawat - oh she definitely had a better role than Asin. Although she her total screen presence did not cross 15-20 minutes, she did a very good job of whatever was expected from her.

KS Ravikumar - the director who lent his name for the titles in the beginning and then makes a cameo towards the end of the movie. I doubt if he had much to do in the middle. With Kamal controlling the story and screenplay, Ravi probably ran a few errands.

Oscar Ravichandran, oops its Aascar Ravichandran now - a name change. Numerology and Kollywood is perhaps the best combination. The industry here does not lay emphasis on talent. If I change my name, I'll be lucky is what most think. Anyway, producer claims that he has recovered his money. I seriously think he is bluffing.

Himesh Reshamaiyya is another let down. I don't know what to say about his music. My only question to whoever chose him - Did you actually listen to his previous compositions? Or it could be like this. Himesh would have given the producer one or two crores to score in this movie. Producer gets some money and Himesh gets some mileage.

Overall: Can watch once to see Kamal in different roles.

Link 1 for Hawkeye's review.
Link 2 for Neha's review.
Link 3 for another review.