Dasavatharam

Ok I know this is kinda late in the day and the film is also on its way to touch the century mark, but seriously why did the world and its cousins condemn Kamalhaasan so much for Dasavatharam? By the world - I must say the media world, more particularly the press. The electronic media was kinder and rightfully so. I mean, who is doing whom a favor here by patronising or chiding a man who has been around for more than three decades...and still churning out super stuff for film goers and makers to be proud of, still achieving his goals, setting standards and of course entertaining us along the way. No surprise here with the not so flattering reviews, which were, I think essentially meant to evoke a response from K, maybe he would give them an exclusive interview if they trashed his film, but he gave them none whatsoever. So much judged yet so much un-swayed after it all - that's one more attribute that makes an Icon! And now coming to the film itself...

A second viewing of the film with my whole family in tow (after my First Day First Show with my Mirchi colleagues) was a revelation. My nephew is 13 and my dad is 68. Both of them understood and enjoyed the film equally. Despite my feeble attempts to try and explain a situation (like the much 'flagellated' synthetic bio weapon) was met with 'we know, we know' responses. My sister and mom grinned and laughed along everytime Balram Naidu appeared. My nephew cheered Shingan Narahashi as he punched Fletcher black & blue. My dad rooted for Rangarajan Nambi and Krishnaveni Paatti. And I was just wondering how the entire film rested and works so well because of this one man! The cash registers have'nt stopped ringing they say and any word or statistics circulating is not enough proof yet, as the film is still collecting!

Much has been said on the screenplay of this film. Happenstance has'nt happened to you or what? Coincidences dont occur? As one of my colleagues told me later, "We accept Artificial Intelligence if it is told by Spielberg, then why not Chaos Theory from our own Kamalhaasan? If not him, who will show us such things on screen?" The pace of the film has certainly helped the film run, some say. But hello, once a script is written the pace or timing of each scene is actually set (1page = 1 min of screen time), so if he can take a bow for all of his 10characters, then K can take an extra one for this as well.

Technically the best thing about the film is the interlinking of each character in different scenes - every scene has more than one K in it all the time. This has been achieved with remarkable clarity. Well, the lighting, camera, frames - is again all subject to this CG effect of having more than two KHs on location, right!? Hence, when we can call so many simpler films as experiments, why not this one for sheer technical extravagance and multiple narrative, which itself is new to Tamil cinema?! Ranjarajan Nambi and Balram Naidu score in acting, while the kicks are really provided for by Narahashi - slowly yet steadily, this one stands out. The lack of romance is not missed much as the shrill Asin (who is actually not so bad) is more in love with her Perumal than with the hero Govind. But the one who takes the cake for me is Boovaraghavan, who had everything going for him - makeup, body language, voice, diction, a cause to fight for and a sentiment to die for! He stays on even when we are trying to relive the Tsunami moment, which is so well captured visually!

And hey does George Bush throw his legs with so much style in real life as he does in the beginning of the 'Ulaganayagane' song...? Well, if Bush did see a print of this film, he would sure want to....and that is also one more reason why Dasavatharam is worth a repeat watch anytime - here we have HERO Kamalhaasan wave and cheer us onto cheering for him! The film didnt bore me at all the second time - and the next time, maybe I will watch it only for my fav characters, which is how most of the viewers were there in the theatre this time; almost pointing to the scene or dialogue even before it arrived.

With Dasavatharam, Kamalhaasan has proven one thing yet again - his critics & skeptics & all those who were waiting to watch him fall...he has proved them all wrong. I was waiting for this moment to be able to share this in my blog. Ample time has passed since the release, and this post like K's success is well worth it's wait.