Late aa yezhudinaalum na latest aa yezhuduven!

I finally watched Kabali three days after its release and for one-third the release date's price! Thankfully, that was only one of the things I was pleased about. (Big bucket of pop corn all to myself, was another.)

For a Rajni fan, this movie was unusual to say the least. While he was obviously central to the movie, he featured in it quietly, even in the first scene. His slow walk out of jail was a contrast to his usual half-run directly towards the audience when he makes his appearance. His catchy oft-repeated one-liners were dwindled down to one word. And when he spoke, it was brief. He was hardly highlighted in any of the dance sequences (for good reason), and did not--thankfully--have a young love.

Instead, he wore his clothes and wig with grace. He appeared pensive rather than jittery, and he showed some emotion--not quite that of the Rajni from the 70s but certainly not the one from even two years ago. (Yes, I am referring to Linga.) He didn't fly in the air and perform any gravity-defying stunts, he just did a couple of pull-ups. And no, I will believe until my dying day that he, and not a stunt double, did that.

What worked in the film was the background score, the music and the Super Star himself. What didn't, was the illogical and unbelievable sequences, the 'romba sumaar' (average) screenplay and the incredible amounts of violence that left me wondering what had changed since Baasha released in the 90s, where he also plays a gangster. That was violent too, but this took gore to another, completely unpleasant level.

Although there was no comedy track at all--a first for a recent Rajni film--the subtitles provided enough entertainment. In addition to translating words like 'avall' to 'My beautiful Mrs', they also explicitly told us whether his laugh was a 'tickled-pink laugh', 'confident laugh', 'arrogant laugh', self-assured laugh' or 'brave laugh'. Rajni fan or not, we could've figured it out.

For a fleeting moment, I had wondered if I should take my children and introduce them to the experience of watching a Rajni film in a theatre. To hear the crowd go crazy when the words SUPER STAR RAJNI flashed across the screen! To not be able to hear the dialogues for the first few minutes because the whistles were so loud! To watch people cry and throw things towards the screen! But I'm glad that I didn't because none of it happened the way I remembered it. Maybe because it was a weekday, or maybe because it wasn't the first day, or maybe because it wasn't Madras.

I'm glad I watched the film but I'm even more glad that I watched it alone. Just me and my memories of how it used to be.

Lingaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!

It's interesting that yet another movie in the recent past (Katthi being the other) has focused on a topic that is a staple in recent news - water. Although I haven't watched the latter yet, I'm guessing that it was just as bad as Lingaa. Oops, did I just give away the gist of this post?!

(Those who haven't watched it yet, don't worry, no spoilers here.)

The Good
Amidst the drama, masala and political intent that one expects (and loves) in a Rajni film, the plot revolves around many aspects that go into the building of dams - displacement of villagers due to flooding that will be caused by the structure, resettlement in the form of allocating other land, compensation for the land lost, and the angst and confusion among the to-be-displaced partly due to mistrust and party due to having no knowledge of the mechanics of how it all works. The film highlighted these important points such that lay people, who are often clueless about the other side of 'development', can understand.

The Bad

• The comedy was a joke. (Get it?!)
• The soundtrack - really, the movie might have been more tolerable without any background score or duets at all. (Yes, the one time where being delayed to the movies would've been a good thing. Even the SPB/Rajni opening song sequence was pathetic.)
• Sets, costume & makeup - The amount of money spent on this could possibly have been used to fund the construction of a small-sized dam! (This statement is purely based on my imagination and has not been influenced by any knowledge of the film's budget or of the actual costs of dam construction.)
• Dance sequences - the one area where thalaiva has always struggled, and continues to do so. The editing has tried to minimise close up shots but the discomfort is more than evident even from a distance. (Using foreign dancers and glaring outfits can only cover up so much.) 
• The female lead(s) - Two for the price of one. (Two times the pain!)
• Fight sequences - Would've been better left to the viewer's imagination. (Felt a bit like watching Po go through the Matrix motions!)
• The villain - WHO?
• The one-liner - was a one-worder and certainly not worth repeating. (Naa oru darava kooda sollirka koodadhu!)

The Ugly
The last 11 minutes of the film.

I said no spoilers, and I've kept my word. Watch it at your own risk or under the influence - of friends, what else!

Ra-One - the review

I have to put in many disclaimers before I start writing this post.

• I don't watch too many movies, especially Hindi ones.
• I am a big fan of Superhero movies (apparently, in any language).
• I don't like the usual song, dance and crying kind of movies.
• I'm not a geek but I find certain aspects of technology really cool.
• OK, that's it. Now read on if you're still interested.

Met my expectations

Story line, music, acting - There was just enough of emotion and drama. No one overdid the death scene, there was no bawling etc. Music rocked! Acting - Ra-One's and G-One's expressions were naturally robotic and machine-like :)

Exceeded my expectations

Effects - The picturization of nano particles coming together to form Ra-One was awesome! Also the whole virtual environment that was created for the game was very neat.

Below my expectations

Shakrukh's South Indian imitation was terrible. The accent, the 'curly hair' and the AYYO - really bad. I'm glad that he was killed early on in the film.

The Voila factor
Roping in the big B for his voice and the Superstar for his style was really cool - a great marketing tactic. Showing a little respect to these two definitely doesn't hurt!

An out and out entertainer with great music and effects, Ra-One is a total time-pass movie. Throw your logical mind out and don't try to reason with the going-ons. You'll have a great time!

Second wind

Boring, tiring, same old beat going on in my head, huffing and puffing and not enjoying any of it. That's me on a treadmill. Hate it...always hated it. Then this on my shuffle! Catchy beat and imagining thalaivaa dancing (his version of dancing anyway) made me smile and get going with great gusto! Too bad that it lasted only until the song did but an extra 5 minutes is not too shabby...a much-needed 5 minutes too.

The name is Rajinikanth????

I've read a lot of books. Some good, some average, many boring but none that I thought of as terrible. But there's always a first isn't there? What's sad is that this book is non-fiction; a biography... about the most famous South Indian actor (debatable, some would say) alive!
How can one go wrong with a biography? The star's rags-to-riches story, professional facts, photos, comments from peers should pretty much cover it all. Hah! I wish.

Chapters alternate about the star Rajini and Shivaji the struggling boy. Its almost like a movie...present and flashback except that it happens for every scene. The author's English is terrible. She constantly moves from one tense to the other seamlessly, leaving the reader confused. She has mis-spelled names of movies, actors and many other important facts. She has literally translated most of the words (i.e say it in Tamil and write it in English). Many of her assumptions are completely biased as she is a hardcore 'thalaivar' fan. Like the teacher that everyone has had at some point that said 'open the door, let the climate come in', someone somewhere has said 'he has two daughters, both are girls'. Never before have I seen this in print(and not in the bloopers section, mind you). Apparently spelling and grammar checks were used neither by the author nor the editors. To publish this book and charge a whopping Rs. 495 is a crime. I feel cheated (although I didn't pay full price for it).

If we shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, should we by it's title then?