Banner: PVP Cinema
Cast: Kamal Haasan, Pooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremiah, Rahul Bose, Jaideep Ahlawat, Nassar, Zerina Wahab, Shekar kapoor
Lyrics: Rama Jogayya Sastry
Dialogues: Vennelakanti
Art: N.Ilayaraja
Editing: Mahesh Narayanan
Cinematography: Sanu Varghese
Music: Shankar- Ehsaan- Loy
Producers: Prasad V.Potluri, S.Chandra Haasan, Kamal Haasan
Written and Directed by: Kamal Haasan
CBFC rating: ‘U/A’
Release Date: 25-01-2013
Story:Vishwanath(Kamal Haasan) is a Kathak dancer and Nirupama(Pooja Kumar) is nuclear oncologist and they get married. Vishwanath runs his dance class in New Jersey, Nirupama seeks divorce from Vishwa and she appoints a private detective (shukla) to spy on him. The spy gets killed; who is Vishwa, what’s his real identity gets revealed slowly. What happens after that is what the movie is about?
Performances: Kamal is fantastic as usual; his transformation from kathak dancer to the action scenes is fabulous. Pooja Kumar is okay. Andrea has a small role to play. Rahul Bose as Terrorist Omar is okay. Jaideep Ahlawat is good. Nasser, Shekar kapoor are okay in cameos. The Cinematography is top notch. The art work is fine. Editing is okay (can be better). Music by trio Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is good. The story is simple and the screenplay is okay. Direction is very good. The production values are grand.
Analysis: Kamal’s Magnum Opus Vishwaroopam released today. Kamal has come up with a global theme and stuck to it right from the word go. It’s kamal show all the way both as an actor and Director. He has done very good job. Jaideep Ahlawat is good. It’s good to see Ahlawat after Gangs of Wasseypur movie. He suited to the role well and he did it with conviction. Rahul Bose is okay but could not bring/show villainy other than looking disfigured. Pooja kumar is okay; she brought some entertainment in the form of questions in the second half. Andrea role is limited to a couple of episodes. Shekar kapoor, Nassar have done cameos.
Cinematography was very good. The Artwork is very fine. The sets designed were realistic and it looked very much like Afghanistan. Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy was good. The background score (except English music score) is impressive. The sound design (Indian designer Krishna Moorthy and the Hollywood technicians) was very good. The action scenes are well choreographed and executed. The story is simple but has a universal appeal.
The Direction is good. The screenplay could have been better to give the audience a slick look. The Flashback is split and was narrated in bits and pieces. The freeze technique used was good (where he freezes the present and narrates the past and again freezes the past and continues the present). The movie is technically very sound which can match Hollywood standards in most departments. Kamal scored more marks as director than actor in many places. He conveyed much through subtle emotions (he generally does) instead of conveying them through dialogues.
Here are few (there are many) finely directed scenes:–
· The continuous shot of pigeons (film is opened on that during titles) and its connection in the end.
· The repetitive (slow motion shot) visual where Kamal escapes from the terrorists by killing them (where his transformation was shown).
· The water droplets (leak) were shown before every shootout (US)
· The Afghanistan shootout episode
· The scene where a Pakistani was hanged due to a misunderstanding
The movie starts on a slow note and the song (kamal’s kathak dance) make it look even slow. The movie picks up momentum only after kamal’s identity gets revealed. The Afghanistan episode also was stretched a bit before the intermission. The editor could have made it crisp. The second half is okay with some chases and thrills.
Kamal impresses everyone with sheer technical Brilliance. Don’t miss the movie if you like Hollywood Spy thrillers, as this movie has all such stuff. Even though we know the movie is not a Kamal’s typical slapstick comedy, entertainment is needed to the masses and this movie lacks that. There are fair chances of clicking at the ‘A’ centers. Will it be liked by the masses??? The response is awaited. Watch the movie in a Multiplex (equipped with latest Audio) to get maximum feel and effect.
The villain escapes at the end of this flick and a conclusion can only be got from the next part of the film……..VISHWAROOPAM- 2
Plus: Kamal Haasan, Technical departments, Narration
Minus: Wafer thin story, Entertainment
Verdict: Watch the film for its technical Brilliance, Entertainment seekers may not like the movie much.
