“DASAVATHARAM” — Movie review

Disclaimer : Following is a perception of a free-lance and doesn’t have any far reaching implications to be viewed seriously.

With due respect to KAMALHASAN – THE artiste, THE actor, THE Universal Hero !!

Hello people, those who have grown up watching Kamal as the perfectionist, you need some reorientation. At a time when we are at peace with the belief that he would only back films with a credible storyline, Kamal resorts to sacrilege of sorts. For those who still have the robes of Hey Ram or the regimentals of Kurudhi Punal on, a word of caution DASAVATHARAM is int the place to be.

The film begins on an imposing note, as the flourish of Ravi verman’s camera and Thotta Tharanis art ‘mesmerizing-ly’ brings the 12 th century alive and captures one’s imagination. The music is an added plus as it leaves you enchanted to believe that you have got your moneys worth, The first hour or so is probably the best part of the movie. Before you recover from the impact of the first shot, the movie scurries into the 21 st century of advanced bio-weaponry. But it is here where the storyline miserably faulters before it mitigates to comedy of errors.

The Achilles Heel(s)

The single largest let down of the film is plausibly the feckless handling of scientific concepts. With just 10 minutes to interval it wouldn’t take much for a grade 7 to tell that it’s bull-shitting of the highest order. Probably the director has comfortably assumed that with a lightening paced screen play the blunders would go unnoticed; Unfortunately it doesn’t. You expect something much better from the Kamalahasan stables. you can do nothing but pity the story teller for his ignorance,when the world’s most deadliest Bio weapon is nonchalantly fidgeted around. Even bigger profanation is the way in which, an international terrorist is being tracked down. At this point you wonder whether the director is demented.

Even the the most insane of Governments wouldn’t let a jester of an officer, (who closely resembles your Shikari Shambhu and looks more like a tinsel cousin of Chacha Chowdry(remember your days of TINKLE !!), in the way he handles the situation.) to handle the crisis. Is the CBI, the special task force, the RAW, the army jolly well holidaying in Hawaii ? The chagrin part awaits you, as an utterly lackadaisical Bush (Mr.President of US) resorts to dumb witted slap stick, when an international terrorist with a weapon of mass destruction is on the run !! The director also makes a fool out of ‘THE’ FBI agents..?? He badly needs to be taught about the functioning of the agency..!! It is apparent that he is not clear whether to handle the subject on the lines of humor or to treat it solemnly.

Coincidences are one too many, much to the dislike of the viewers. From now on when ever Kamal slips, falls or Jumps, don’t get excited there is invariably a dump truck or a pile of sand to save his ass, and our hero would happily walk off unscratched every time; whether he falls from a moving train or a two story building, its immaterial!! (Hey Woolverine and Spidy ! watch out !!)

Special note : The censor bureau has been careful enough to silence the lines about PERIYAR (an atheist, reformer) but the comparison of toilet to the temple, quite carelessly is left untouched !! ok lets not dwell deep into politics !!!???!!

The 10 Avtars

Kamal as an actor, as usual, romps home in style. He effortlessly dons the roles with panache. But three roles need special mention. The Special Officer Balram Naidu steals the show; with his body language and slang , has the audience in splits of laughter ( he doesn’t help to the cause of the story, is a different issue!!). Kamal scores a centum in portraying the social activist Poovaragam, he (Kamal) has mastered the lingo and succeeds in producing the desired effect. Kamal as the protoganist scientist Govindarajan, holds the story from falling into a disarray. The other characters fail to impress largely because they have been fitted in for the sake of conjuring up the magical 10 !! and these characters don’t offer the veteran to showcase much of his acting skills.The villain, Khallif khan and old granny look too fabricated and contrived. Of course old granny is the biggest of the make-up malfunctions. She looks appallingly offensive and more like the Oracles of 300 (the movie)!! If people claim it to be a masala movie then, the melodrama quotient is brought in by Avtar singh (one more of kamal’s incarnation in the movie), it is hardly intriguing and is more of a passé.

Others

Asin is charming but irritates you most of the time with her rhetorics and cacophony. i would have felt happier if the character had some more sensibility attached to it. Asin is a better actor and could have been entrusted with a better responsibility, and a bit more room for acting. Mallika (sherawath) is look able only when she is in clothes ‘that-reveal-more-than-what-it covers’ and is better off with her mouth shut !! gifted with humongous assets, one just hopes that after these many years in filmdom she would by now at least try to act for god’s sake (God is not always magnanimous!!) , but the director has used her quite prudently.

Himesh has been a revelation, his rejuvenating numbers are already chart-busters. For the first time you can realize that Himesh is maturing and is turning into a more accomplished music director. Kudos to men responsible for the Special effects, camera and Stunts they are some of the positives of the film. Screenplay is breath taking, but after some time turns into a head ache.

The Bottom line

All said and done, hats off to Kamal for his audacity in embarking on such a herculean project, none other than Kamal himself could have imagined about such a venture. But THE UNIVERSAL HERO doesn’t have to don 10 roles from round the globe to ascertain and testify his title!! he is an actor par excellence, no doubt. From a promising start the film detours into jeopardy and with too many loose ends to tie up, struggles towards the end to recover. Fails to deliver what it promises. But it provides 3 hrs of wholesome entertainment (without logic tho’).

DASAVATHARAM is all about style than substance !!