Biopics, especially of army veterans, are an unexplored genre in Tamil cinema. Director Rajkumar Periasamy takes this road less traveled as he narrates the story of Major Mukund Varadarajan who was martyred in Kashmir shortly after celebrating his 31st birthday.
The unusual casting of leads - Siva Karthikeyan (SK) and Sai Pallavi - has worked exceptionally well as both provide stellar performances. SK undergoes a spectacular transformation in his muscular physicality as well as a controlled performance that is as distant from his usual casual self as snowy Kashmir is from sunny shores of Kanyakumari. Sai Pallavi is once again phenomenal as the emotional anchor to this film.
Amaran is a fine attempt as it blends the personal life comprising of an affecting love story along with a valorous life of a professional army man with exemplary leadership skills. The director deserves credit for steering clear of the usual pitfalls of loud jingoism and teary melodrama that mire most movies of this genre.
Two love birds on the run from predatory gangsters seek refuge in a rifle club nestled in the verdant Western ghats. The club traces its lineage to Tipu and colonials with its proud members transcending age or gender stereotypes. When the gangsters in pursuit land at the gates of the club, all hell breaks loose.
Director Ashiq Abu orchestrates a mayhem manufactured in malevolent Malyali gunslinger heaven set to a thumping score from Rex Vijayan.
The stellar cast including Dileesh Pothan, Anurag Kashyap, Varni Vishwanath, Vijaya Raghavan, Surabhi Lakshmi, Dharshana Rajendran and many more hit the bulls-eye delivering their roles with comic panache.
Overall, this is a stylish thriller mounted on a wafer thin premise where the count of bullets matter much more than the body count.
The first part of Viduthalai that was released last year was a fascinating exploration of politics and hierarchical structures (class, caste, etc). The story unfolded from the perspective of an impressionable rookie cop Kumaresan played by Soori in a career-defining turn with Vijay Sethupathi playing a cameo as Perumal Vaathiyaar - a charismatic mentor of a ruthless revolutionary force.
The sequel sees a role reversal as it dwells on the life and times of Perumaal Vaathiyaar, his evolution from a humble school teacher, his own schooling on left ideology, labour leader and thereafter to become a revolutionary. The role of Kumaresan is relegated to a cameo and an occasional voice over, except for a few scenes.
Most of the movie which is structured as episodic recounting of the life of Perumaal Vaathiyaar ends up as an unending and verbose monologue of political commentary and ideological propaganda - logical and lofty. Yet, these ideas lack a strong rooting in an engaging story or relatable character arcs and consequently, sink without striking an emotional chord. None of the the events linger long enough to make an impression and as a result, even some of the decently staged action set-pieces fail to make a mark as there is little emotional pay-off.
Vijay Sethupathi is phenomenal and is supported well by the star-studded supporting cast including Soori who continues to breathe Kumaresan, an ever-dependable Manju Warrier, Gautam Menon, Rajiv Menon, Chethan, Ilavarasu, Kishore and Ken Karunaas.
Director Vetrimaaran's sequel is too dense - it delivers a semester load of political, socio-economic discourse and much more in the span of almost three hours of runtime. If only, the strands of the story and characters were explored in as much detail as the ideas that he transmits, this could have been a far superior movie in terms of engaging the audience.
However, while the first part could keep us engrossed as we followed Kumaresan's hesitant footsteps in an unfamiliar and difficult terrain (in literal as well as figurative sense), in the second part, we often miss following the narrative trail as we struggle to keep up with the more certain Perumaal Vaathiyaar who is a veteran of this treacherous terrain.
Nevertheless, this is an important movie from one of our most outspoken auteurs as he amplifies those frequently forgotten voices which are often crushed under the cacophony of the commercial narratives which serve as convenient entertainment of the masses.
I revisited the movie before watching the sequel that has arrived on the silver screen this past week.
After a commercially successful outing with Asuran which also received a fair share of critical acclaim, ace director Vetrimaaran returns with the story of an underdog cop. Kumaresan (Soori), a rookie cop with a strong moral compass is thrust into the thick of things in a battle front drawn between a stubborn State and a relentless revolutionary force. The revolutionaries are keen to obstruct the proposed mining project in a densely forested area as they see it is exploitative to the people as well as nature while the State views the same as a tool for development of the area.
While the template story of development and its aftermath unfolds at the surface level, the primary narrative strand focuses on the story of Kumaresan - how he finds his feet in the rough grind between an indifferent system and a seemingly ruthless revolutionary band.
It does not take long for him to note that if a system could be so cruel and inhumane to its own foot soldiers, there is hardly any hope for the meek, voiceless and underprivileged lot who routinely get crushed under the giant developmental wheels of the System. Nevertheless, he marches on dutifully as a foot soldier even as he finds solace in the affections of a forest dweller who might be connected to the foes.
Soori who has been playing comical roles so far, submits himself completely to his first lead role. He is earnest in every frame as he grapples with each situation with his innate vulnerability. It would not be an understatement to say that this is a reincarnation for him as he lives through every facet of this challenging role. Vijay Sethupathy plays - Perumaal Vaathiyaar - a minor cameo as the mentor of the revolutionary force and is likely to gain more prominence in the sequel. Bhavani Sre, Gautam Vasudev Menon, Rajeev Menon and Chethan are apt in their supporting roles.
DoP Velraj excels in framing the verdant, albeit, very challenging terrain as is evident from the early unbroken long shot of a train accident as well as several others including one of Soori scaling a mountain with a senior colleague. Maestro's songs as well as BGM accentuate and add poignancy to the proceedings.
The narrative paints in broad strokes of black & white, good & bad and bypasses exploring any granularity or grey zones. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that director Vetrimaaran is able to engage and engross the attention of viewers during the entire duration of the movie. What's more...? He whets our appetite for the sequel which could be explosive in its intensity, especially given the incendiary glimpses that punctuate the end of this movie.
A SATISFYING WATCH (that could have easily been so much more) !!
In Iran, women are not allowed as audience in sporting events which is preserved as exclusive domain of men. A group of soccer loving girls, dressed as boys, try to sneak into a football stadium to witness a match of their national team. The movie captures the events that unfold when they are caught by the police.
A sports comedy centered on women in Iran is something that could well be in the realm of the impossible. Yet, noted director Jafar Panahi presents a sharp and layered snapshot of the contemporary Iranian society, condition of their women wallowing under the strict controls placed on them by the theocracy and the multiple - often ridiculous - ironies of such edicts, laced with oodles of humour.
This movie benefits immensely from the fact that it was shot in real settings of the stadium with Iran playing Bahrain in a World Cup qualifier. Consequently, the entire movie has a festive and electric spirit which is matched by the sheer spunk of some of the girls who are diehard fans of the game.
Just like a tense football match between two evenly matched sides, the movie grabs attention from the first minute and does not let go till its very last as Panahi mines comic gold at almost every turn of events and crafts a narrative with a natural, yet unpredictable flow.
It won a silver bear in Berlinale besides many other laurels.
