I shudder to write this coz am calling a Mani Ratnam movie "Ordinary". Was it a better watch that "Short Kut" or "Kya Kool Hai Hum" or the numerous Johar movies or anything that has Neha Dhupia in the lead? Probably yes! Atleast most part of it! But when you walk in to a much marketed, talked about and waited Manu Ratnam movie you probably expect more. Maybe thats what kills it. But as a buff and reasonable critic do i want to find solace in comparing a madras talkies release to a no-name, no-fame release from some dumb movie house, something that should not be even allowed to be screened because no self respecting human would want to see it and agree in public that it was watchable.. No not really!!
Being a fan of MR from long and having the distinct advantage of watching and understanding his tamil and hindi movies, i would say this is a let down for something that is claimed to be created over a long period. The one thing i felt through out the movie is that something was lacking.. The strong under current to a story that is so typical to a MR movie was not felt.. Either it wasn't there or i was not good enough to feel it..
Cinematography was awesome, camera work brilliant. No one works the contrasts in a scene better than MR. Long duration shots without cuts, shots that zone in on the characters blurring background etc were a visual treat. Ash does justice to her role though i felt she was few octaves too shrill and few decibels too loud in parts. Abhi was good, underplaying at time with a decent portrayal of beera contrasting shades of good and evil. a decent portrayal.. though his chak chak chak kept ringing in my head and i dont know why but i kept comparing it to laka laka laka a'la chandramukhi style and that meant i was laughing out loud at inappropriate times much to the amusement of my friends who anyways think my Hindi is weak!
I thought the background was brilliant,very little songs used in the movie helped. ARR sneezes and its still music to me... So not too surprising.. Recently, you would start liking ARR songs after you watch the movie and relate to it, like RDB or Delhi 6. NO such correlation with Raavan..
At a certain point i wondered if it was going to be a typical story of good hunting bad coupled with stockholm syndrome!! thankfully not!! But for one song where Ash did try real hard, there was no chemistry with Vikram. Would be interesting to see the tamil version and if there is chemistry there, then full marks to both Ash and Vikram. I'm not sure if Vikram dubbed in hindi for his role. if yes (and i thought it was his voice) its a very commendable job.
Bottomline - If you are someone not to miss a MR movie, go watch it. If you appreciate good cinematography and the technical aspects of a movie go watch it. If ur expecting MR or ARR magic, stay home and watch Alaipayuthae or Kannathil Muthammittal (and for my non-tamil friends Guru or Yuva)If you are as jobless as i was and have nothing better to do, its worth a watch. It did gross huge on opening in teh US, a country that does not watch football. If my understanding of growing football TRP in India is true, then movie owners may struggle to keep shows full.. Good luck ang Godspeed.. Now that i might go to chennai, you may find me watching the tamil version at noon coz i wont give up football to watch the same movie in another language..
