Cinema, Karam, Kapi

Most of you who’ve seen Petta can resonate with many of Superstar’s movies over the past 40 years. Some are quite obvious, some are hidden gems. Am listing my few favourites here. The film starts with Thalaivar uttering the first dialogue - “Naan Veezhven endru ninaithayo!”. I could immediately connect with the opening scene of Muthu where he wishes the best for everyone, breaks the coconut and just when the horses scream - “Oruvan Oruvan Mudalali” song begins. Am sure Karthik Subburaj had this inspiration as well. All the more for Petta, since Kabali and Kaala were not up to the expectations of his hardcore fans, so KS had to ensure not only he delivers a blockbuster but also make Thalaivar say this dialogue, which is also something he openly mentioned in the 150th day celebrations of Chandramukhi where he mentioned he is not an Elephant, rather a horse and would get up just like that. Whattay fanboy moment when the film begins! The sarcasm that Kaali, the hostel warde

The first dialogue Superstar Rajinikanth utters in Petta is “Naan Veezhven enduru ninaithayo” after bludgeoning a few bad guys in his inimitable style. One cannot but remember the golden words of Neelambari “Vayasanalum un stylum azhagum  innum  pogale” - except that she actually said that 20 years back when Thalaivar was 49 years young. From this scene which is 4 minutes after the film reels on till the last scene - where Thalaivar ends with a pistol shot, its Superstar galore for over 150 minutes. Every fan who came out after watching the film has only one thing to say about Director Karthik Subburaj - “Only someone who has consumed Rajinikanth in every vein, muscle, blood and brain can create such a screenplay” - so true. KS has literally “Rajinified” the viewers with such a strong and gripping storyline which is a potpourri of Superstar’s antics for 40 years which most of his  ardent fans have enjoyed every bit and byte, literally . Kaali joins a convent in a hill sta

Releasing “Singles” ahead of the main album release has been prevalent in Tamil Cinema for over 4-5 years although I don’t recall which was the first movie which did this. So Music Director and Film Director of Petta Anirudh and Karthik Subburaj released the first single “Marana Mass” on 3rd December which opened to a thunderous response and garnered 1 million views on YouTube in just 4 hours.  This was followed by another number “Ullaallaa” which released on 6 Dec., a peppy number with a bit of reggae and rock. Finally, the full music album was released on 9 Dec. 2018 at a grand gathering which was well attended by the Cast & Crew of the film including Superstar Rajinikanth and Kalanidhi Maran of Sun Pictures. Subsequently, Sony Music released the entire album on YouTube the same day at 9pm and finally Amazon Music released it on 10 Dec. 2018 at 6pm. Marana Mass is a peppy tune sung by Anirudh and a short yet interesting part sung by SPB, perhaps as the voi

Being a fanboy of Shankar ever since his first film Gentleman in 1993, here are a few snippets I found out from the film 2.0. All the films of Shankar are named on the Hero / Key Character of the film except Jeans  although I wonder why - perhaps it was only his third film, so maybe he tried it differently. All his films have had the name of the protagonist such as Gentleman, Kadhalan, Indian, Mudhalvan, Boys (after all, the film revolved around all the four friends), Anniyan, Sivaji, Enthiran, Nanban, “I” and 2.0.  He seems to be a devout Hindu and references for this could be seen in most of his films. All his key characters have been Hindus and there’s a strong reference to the Almighty in every movie while in Enthiran, he takes to another level where Chitti, The Robot refers his creator Scientist Vaseegaran as the Go who created him. Subtle yet strong message that a Mother is God while for the machine, it is his Scientist. He has worked with AR Rahman in most pf his f

As always, I witnessed the frenzy and frolic during the FDFS today (29th Nov) for the Superstar Rajinikanth film 2.0 (also known as #2Point0) at Rohini Cinema, Koyambedu at Chennai. I have been watching FDFS of Thalaivar (as we popular address him) films for over 35 years and it’s a given thing that wherever I am or whatever I do the day before release or the next day, I must watch the First Show. We reached at 3.30 am (yes, that’s right) at the Cinema to witness the celebrations his ardent fans hold. Here’s a glimpse. The film started at 4am sharp and was welcomed with thunderous applause. Given that Superstar Rajinikanth’s last two films were with Pa. Ranjith and revolved around social issues, fans (and critics) have been waiting and wanting to see the magic that Director Shankar could weave after his 2010 release Enthiran (Robot in Hindi) with the Superstar which went on to be one of the biggest hits during that time in Indian Cinema. While 2.0 has been in the making f

I saw Kaala feat. Superstar Rajinikanth the third time yesterday (Thursday 21 June) on its 14 th day after release. Was happy to book online and reached KG Cinemas, Coimbatore ahead of schedule time. To my surprise, rather the lack of it, the screen was near empty. One of the oldest and largest Cinema Screens in India with over 800 seats, we were just 50 of us spread across the seating areas. Each of us had an agenda, perhaps. For me, it was noticing a few nuances and the undertones of dialogues, sequences and inner-meaning of the screenplay. Will reserve that for another column since I found a number of interesting perspectives. Kaala will be pulled off screens from today since Tik Tik Tik, a Space Odyssey feat. Jayam Ravi is finally releasing today and a dozen films are lined up for the next 3 months including big ticket releases featuring Ajith, Vijay, Surya and Karthi to name a few. Of course the much awaited Vishwaroopam 2 feat. actor turned politician (sic) Kamal Hassan

By now, most people who have been following the film and haven’t watched already know the storyline – Kaala alias Karikaalan is a migrant from South Tamil Nadu who settled in Mumbai a few decades back and helps scores of people settle and survive the tides of the mega city under the supposedly largest slum of Asia, at Dharavi. He is a Robinhood and savior for his people and the life story of the protagonist has its ups and downs. The storyline is just this without any overdose or complication. Previously, a few Tamil films have been made with the “Dharavi” area in the background, notable ones being Mani Ratnam’s Nayagan feat. Kamal Hassan (loosely based on the Western classic “Godfather”) and most recently, Thalaiva feat. Actor Vijay Joseph (Sathyaraj plays Vijay’s father who is also a Don). Kaala is an out and out Pa. Ranjith Film, the lucky Director who gets to work the second time with the Indian Superstar. Their previous outing Kabali in 2016 had a mixed result and a fair

This was one occasion that I have been eagerly looking forward for the past one year or so - To watch FDFS of Thalaivar movie. And it happened. Had the darshan of Thalaivar Superstar Rajnikanth in and as Kabali at 4.10am on Friday, 22 July 2016 at Kasi Theatre Chennai.  Watch my film review to The Hindu at 2.26 in this video  which was taken outside Kasi Theatre on Friday morning. I have seen the film thrice back to back on Fri/Sat/Sun and now content to my heart about the movie, fully satisfied as a fan that Thalaivar has not given us just a movie but something very special.  At 65, him acting and taking so many risks itself is a great deal. And he has given us such a splendid performance. Many fans cried along with him in the scene where he reunites with his wife. Fans celebrated fatherhood when Dhansika calls him "Appa" in a particular scene. You may note that Thalaivar has never had a son in any of his movies, just like his real life, in which he has