Kaavalan: Odyssey of the Clueless

I agreed to watch this movie on my dad's insistence - that this was 1) "different" from Vijay's other movies, and 2) his famous "comeback" movie.

15 minutes into it and I knew that nothing had changed. I watched Vijay beat up men twice his size and alternate between military man and lover boy while serenading the heroine (Asin in a pitifully dumb role). It turns out that along with Rajnikanth's punch dialogues and Kamal Hassan's on screen charisma, romantic sweet nothings between the underdog and the rich heiress never goes out of fashion. If not for the denims and the cellphones on screen, this could well have been a 1990s, 1980s or even a 1970s movie.

The music is the only high point. Contemporary, to the point and heart touchingly poignant at the right times, it props up the story and the dull scenes as much as it can, and much more. The songs are also hummable.

I know that Vijay and his movies do not cater to us, the urban, English speaking Tamil population. Stories do not make sense because they are not supposed to. The hero always wins, no matter what the odds. Size, skin colour, height and money make no difference to the inevitable happy ending. I know that in Vijay's world the hero and the heroine are young, college going innocents waiting for their true love, and they always will be young and innocent. In his world love is the indefinable feeling that overpowers you when you are not looking. And it always wins in the end.

As I watched the annoyingly predictable story unfold I could not help wondering if unlike Vijay's movies, I had lost my innocence too soon, too fast. Maybe life's ability to stay simple depends on our ability to simplify it.

Manmadan Ambu: The cracker that almost burst

I walked into the cinema hall looking forward to light hearted entertainer. The good part is I got to see one. The bad part is this creation has some gaping holes that stay in your mind, like a bitter aftertaste.

The film begins on a high note, with dramatic entrances of the main stars (a stunning Trisha, an overweight Madhavan and the evergreen Kamal Hassan) and slick movement between scenes. Most of the story takes place in Europe, where Ambujakshi (played by Trisha), a top actress is holidaying with her school friend Deepa (played by Sangeetha) and Retired Major R. Mannar (Kamal Hassan) is spying on Trisha. The movie scores for its contemporary shades - Trisha holidaying with her school friend Deepa and Deepa's two children in Europe (in today's world, friends are like family), Kamal Hassan skypes with his friend whose chemo treatment he is raising funds for. Humour and drama interweave together comfortably.

The music is catchy and extremely hummable. I especially loved "Who's the Hero", the jazz-like tune which accompanies Kamal Hassan's entrance. It is a perfect integration of character, situation and background music. The cinematography is tight and makes clever use of metaphors to signify movement and mystery at key points of the story.

Trisha pitches in an understated performance which is demanded of her character. However in some scenes she lacks the fire and passion her character Ambujakshi (real name) aka Nisha (screen name) claims to espouse. Madhavan starts off with a bang and then proceeds to deteriorate steadily not only in sobreity but also in quality of performance. His character is a mess and he ends up looking like a bumbling fool who sets new standards for stupidity. Sangeetha is competent as Trisha's school friend Deepa and mother of two young children, bringing in just the right amount of pizazz and compassion without sounding like a wilting rose at one extreme or a bitter divorcee at the other. Vishwanath, Deepa's son's act is the only one which shines - from the curious child to the budding detective. My biggest regret is not seeing more of Usha Uthup, who plays Madhavan's mother. She is rivetting in the few scenes in which she appears to cooperate with her son's choice of life partner in Trisha but secretly conspires to separate them. The evil stepmother to the hilt, only that in this case she is the biological mother. Her role shows great promise but has been terribly shortened.

The build up after the second half pointed to a delectable comedy of errors involving all the lead actors, reminiscent of past works by Kamal like Magalir Mattum, Panchatantram, Sati Leelavati.. the list is quite long! Maybe it was the movie precedents or just great expectations, but the end petered out like a damp firecracker. Madhavan's eternally drunk act crossed from being endearing to being plain irritating. The romance between Kamal and Trisha was half baked and ratified by their staring into each other's eyes in the last scene.

MMA is definitely worth a watch. For the scintillating music, a gorgeous Trisha and for the promise of seeing Kamal Hassan in a role of the most endearing kind - the underdog with great strength of mind and body.