Showing posts with label kamal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kamal. Show all posts
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
dasavadharam movie review
Starring: Kamal Haasan, Asin, Mallika Sherawat, Jayapradha, Nagesh, Nepolean, Santhana Bharathi, P Vasu, R Sundarrajan, Erode Sounder
Direction: K S Ravikumar
Music: Himesh Reshammiya,
Re-recording: Devi Sri Prasad
Production: V Ravichandran
Dasavatharam, which was under production for almost two years, has finally hit the marquee and in style. Kamal and the marvel of technology rule this venture of Aascar Films directed by K S Ravikumar who has packaged Kamal's dream with aplomb.
It would be an uphill task in understanding Dasavatharam if one does not pay adequate attention to the opening stadium scene where Kamal as scientist Govinda Ramasamy, renders an acceptance speech for all the praise he receives. The ensuing 12th century sequences will not fall into place if one does not concentrate on this scene.
Kamal as Rangarajan Nambi, in a gravity-defying movement, flies from the bottom of the statue and thrashes the baddies who are involved in removing the Lord Ranganathar idol. Napoleon plays Kulothunga Chozhan who is an ardent devotee of Lord Shiva. He agrees to pardon Kamal if he just chants Om Nama Shivayah but the latter meets his watery grave by saying Om Namo Narayanaya along with the idol.
Sharpness of dialogues exchanged between Kamal's family and Napoleon in this scene is commendable and a testimony to the clashes between Saivism and Vaishnavism that persisted in those earlier times. Napoleon, albeit in a small role, dazzles in his performance as the Saivite King. His arrogant countenance and 'mightier than thou' body language reiterate the experience of this veteran star in filmdom.
Cut to the present time again: Govinda Ramasamy (Kamal) is a scientist working in America, researching the components of biological warfare which are potent enough to wipe out the human race. The story that follows shows Kamal in a race to save mankind from the hands of his superior who purloins this dangerous chemical. His struggle begins in America and ends in Chennai on the 26th of December 2004 - during the Tsunami.
Out of the ten Kamals, the first one who walks away with plaudits is Indian RAW agent Balram Naidu who is presented with little make up. His Telugu dialogues are enjoyable and remind us of the SPB of Guna. Next is Boovaraghan with his Nellai Tamil. His body language is exemplary. The Japanese kung fu exponent comes third in this avatar race with limited dialogues and moderate make-up. The remaining Kamals fail to make an impression.
The theatre broke into raptures when the American Kamal asks the Japanese Kamal if he remembers Hiroshima to which the Japanese Kamal counters with, 'Do you remember Pearl Harbor?' Dialogue writing in the movie needs to be singled out.
The filmmakers ought to have done a better job of the poorly conceived Mallika Sherawat song sequence. The lady has disappointed her fans. Asin has done her job as best as she could, given her hysterical character. M. S. Bhaskar tries to make us laugh.
Cinematographer Ravi Varman has worked in sync with the story line and his camera movements are commendable. He has used artificial lighting well, especially with the lengthy shots where more than two Kamals appear on screen. Himesh shines in the Kallai mattum kandal and Mukunda numbers, while Devi Sri Prasad has done a good job with re-recording.
The usual filmi gimmicks such as grandma-Kamal walking on the shoulders of people, and Bush-Kamal trying to act hip could have been avoided.
In short, with unexpected twists and turns missing in the film, Dasavatharam is a make-up magic show that disappoints as drama and satisfies as a technical showpiece. Atheist Kamal seems to be indirectly affirming the existence of God here.
Verdict: Watch for Kamal!
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Friday, April 25, 2008
dasavatharam mania has started
The audio release of Kamal Hassan’s Dasavatharam this evening in Chennai is probably the biggest Kollywood pre-release extravaganza that anyone will ever witness. Among the many luminaries who will be present, the star is undoubtedly Jackie Chan who arrived last night in the city at around 10 pm, and checked in at the Taj Coramandel. Awaiting him at the Chennai airport were throngs of fans to get a glimpse of this international star. Chan looked visibly impressed and happy at the crowd turn out. This afternoon he will meet the press.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
making of dhasavadharam
Nearly every Kamal film has required extensive makeup but nothing like Dasavatharam. It took nothing less than three hours each for the star to put on make up and take it off. And he had to sit still for the entire process. And this time it wasn’t only Kamal who had to undergo this ordeal but actor Napoleon who plays a King in the film, who required make up that took more than four hours.If you thought that was fun, wait till you hear the kind of time editing and postproduction demanded: there are several scenes that require different Kamal Hassans to appear together. Though the different costumes and make up were shot on different locations, to bring them together the post production crew and the director had to spend thrice the number of hours at the studio. For instance, it is reported that director K.S. Ravikumar had to view each frame 1000 times to make sure that everything about it matched! Well, we’re sure all the effort was worth it, and something spectacular awaits us.
Will asin continue in tamil cinema ?
The recently held protest Unnaviradam by Kollywood fraternity drew attention from everywhere. The South Indian film artists association had stressed on compulsory participation from all the stars during the protest, failing which they were asked to give an explanation to the union.
Some of the prominent absentees are directors K Balachander, Mani Ratnam, Shankar and Bharathiraja. From the actor's side Asin, Arya, Karthik, Simran, Navya Nair, Gopika, Padmapriya and Nila wereconspicuous by their absence. When the council met on the 8th of April, there was a discussion on the type of action to be taken against these members and it wasdecided to seek a written explanation from these people within 15 days. It was said that many of them had submitted their explanation except perhaps Asin!While talking about this issue, Radha Ravi who is the General Secretary of the union said that suitable action would be taken against Asin once Sarathkumar returns to Chennai. Whether she would actually be banned from acting in Tamil films is something we’ll just have to wait and find out.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Kamal reveals dhasavatharam story
Kamal is busy with the post production work and the audio launch of Dasavatharam. Amidst his busy schedule, he took time off to talk about this much coveted project to a popular daily ¬– The Hindu. In the interview with Malathi Rangarajan, he says that his story telling techniques are time tested and would keep it simple.
For the first time, the actor lets us know what Dasavatharam is about putting all speculations to rest. He disclosed that the film deals with environment, science and religion. In his own words, “Dasavatharam has a lot of Al Gore in it, and also Ramanujar.” It is also interesting to note Kamal’s statement that has explored religion at great length in the film.
Having penned the story, screenplay and dialogues, Kamal said that working on the screenplay was the toughest part, as the subject itself was very complex. This out of the ordinary story line should be another reason to draw the crowds to the theaters.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Kamalhasan a recognised his fan
Anjaathe, the recent hit of director Mysskin brought out many talents to the fore. Prasanna proved himself as a capable villain and heaps of plaudits have been showered upon Ajmal Ameer who had donned the role of Kripakaran in the film. His character which was a mix of good and bad was much talked about. This reel life actor is a doctor in real life who hails from Cochin. He has acted as hero in a Malayalam film titled Pranaya Kalam which was a damp squib at the box office but for a song which was a chartbuster and was a ticket to a call from director Mysskin's office for Kripa's role in Anjaathe.Ajmal is an ardent fan of Kamal Hassan and like any other Kamal fan, has grown up seeing and relishing his movies. Recently at the protest fast which was held in Chennai regarding the Hogenakkal issue, Ajmal was almost catapulted to stratosphere in ecstasy when Kamal recognized him and appreciated his work in Anjaathe. The young actor is yet to come out of his bliss.
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Sunday, March 16, 2008
kamalhasan
Kamal Hasan - one needs no introduction, though. Kamal is one actor the whole India is proud of. The debut, the personality, the versatility of skills, his films, the roles he played, performed and excelled, his achievements in every field he gets in are worth of appreciation, praise and are worth given an illustration. One has to consider Kamal as an actor, not an image because he just outclasses this so-called stardom and he feels and treats his profession as one of the fine arts. Kamal Hasan ia an actor of class, versatility and perfection who truly justified all the roles he did - from hero to villain, man to woman and a dwarf. Today, he is at a point where no one could reach him at all.
Kamal Hasan is a bridge between a lot of things. He doesn't fit in one box or a category or a classification. He belongs to no group in the Indian Film Industry because he has got his own style which is unique. All the roles in his films are either based on real life stories or from his own personal experiences and that make him live in whatever the characterisation he did and he lived in all the roles thus building a niche for himself as an alround personality in the field.
The greatest thing about Kamal Hasan is - he reached a point where one just can't emulate or imitate his dance, his delivery of words, his expressions, the way he presents and projects himself and above all, his acting capabilities and his skill which are a trademark.
After walking on Vani Ganapathi, he got married to actress Sarika who works as a costume designer for him in his films . In his films, the costumes designed from Sarika's galore are of such an importance that he looks just fit for the roles he plays in films keeping other actors out of his reach.
Kamal Hasan has not just acted in commercial films but in art films too - in fact, the number of art films are more than the commercial films that he acted in and all the glory he won is due in art films. Kamal works for no awards but for the cause of giving sort of an entertainment, joy and realisation to the indian population.
As a matter of fact, though he is there since his childhood, Kamal Hasan entered the industry as a classical dance director, then had his debut as a low-profiled hero maturing into an actor and finally turned out to be the producer-director-actor of historic movies, with the latest being "MurudaNayagam" which is believed to be in the final stages of making and released at the earlest. Kamal Hasan, thus in the long run, still remains and stands there.
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