48/100 for Anniyan

anniyan_av

From a big Chee!!….. for Boys to a whooping 48/100 for Anniyan from Vikatan thatha, this could be one of the reasons why Shankar was burning his midnight oil for over a year. He should be a happy man now not mention the large integers being added to his fortune.

I haven’t seen Anniyan yet. May not see it until the DVD is out because all the tickets are sold out in Seattle. If only they add one more extra show for movie buffs like me, I can witness Shankar’s grandeur presentation on-screen.

66 responses to “48/100 for Anniyan”

  1. thennavan Avatar

    Guru, they should be sending you free tickets for at least two things:

    1. You are the second most popular Indian blogger AND who covers Kollywood unlike anybody thru what is arguably the most important medium of the future – BLOGGING.

    2. You put in a lot of effort for your reviews and analysis and many people have come to take your word as Gospel which puts added pressure on you to be impartial in your critique of Kollywood (and Bollywood) offerings.

    So, I should say, a FREE TICKET for you is warranted and you can give a plug to whichever person or organization who volunteers to do this 🙂

    Like

  2. aNTi Avatar

    That sify review spoiled the movie for me. Anyways still waiting to watch it, though interest level is flagging down. 48/100 is a “too good to miss” score. Paapom.. mudinja indha weekend. Dont ask me how!

    Like

  3. aNTi Avatar

    Was just now talking to someone familiar with AaVi reviews and she had several interesting things to say about the review process. And she informs me that the best ever score for a movie was 62/100 for 16 Vayadhinile followed by Nayagan with 60/100!

    Like

  4. Saravanan Avatar

    The movie was a disappointment for me(and my friends also). nowadays the quality of vikatan reviews has declined. Sudhish Kamath has better review for anniyan.

    Like

  5. Ajay Avatar
    Ajay

    aNTi,

    I vaugely remember people saying AaVi’s highest is 52/100 for “Oru Kaidhiyin Diary” followed by Nayagan [the fav. of many incl. me].

    Like

  6. Govar Avatar

    Hi, I’ve blogrolled you. Hope thats fine.

    Like

  7. Lazy Geek Avatar

    Mukund, I read your comment and went back to re-read my previous post 😉

    Anti, Hey Ram got 60/100 too. I vaguely remember Mahanadhi also in that range.

    Saravanan, Read Sudhish’s review. Well said.

    Govar, Thanks.

    Like

  8. Balaji Avatar

    as always, a spoiler-free review is available at http://bbthots.blogspot.com/2005/06/anniyan.html 🙂
    I liked it more than many of the commenters but 48 does seem a bit high…

    Like

  9. sat Avatar
    sat

    It seemed to follow the “Tell me you dreams” by Sidney Sheldon a lot.
    If you have read the book and seen the movie, you will know how closely they are related!

    Like

  10. Ram Avatar

    Sat, I have read the book and apart from Multiple Personality Synd, does it borrow scenes from it?

    LG, sorry to hear abt the 8:45 show… try calling them to see if they have tix sold at the venue.

    Like

  11. Nitin Avatar
    Nitin

    yeah, i agree 48 is bit high.i went and saw anniyan today with great expectations, apart from vikram’s acting, and sujatha’s dialogues, i didn’t see anything great. I was highly disappointed.

    Like

  12. Suresh Avatar
    Suresh

    I think if it was someone else directing this movie, I would have liked it more, but since it was shankar, i was disappointed, the movie was missing the director who directed gentleman and indian.

    Like

  13. Keerthivasan Avatar

    Aananda Vikatan has rightly pointed out the flaws in the movie, and direcly appreciated the good-efforts. Thats a good reviewer sitting at the back of the book.

    BTW, there’s a Editor change in Aananda vikatan. Mr. Balasubramanian is relieved of his services, and someone else has taken over. Let quality be with AV.

    Like

  14. sriks Avatar

    For some reason Vikatan has left out “Vivek” in the Review. There is no mention about him I think, Why? A review has to be without any partisan right ?
    btw: Anniyan is a great movie and makes lots of sense especially in Chennai where no one really cares for road rules. 🙂

    Like

  15. itend Avatar
    itend

    anniyan is great entertainment but some illogical fight scenes makes it hard to watch. The sify review and other reviews shd come with a spoiler tag. I was casually readin it when they just revealed the entire movie sans the ending.Y do ppl still think that only the last 5 minutes is spoiler?Professional reviews sucks in India. Anniyan doesnt match up to shakars previous 3 “social” movies,as this is just like Indian with MPD.But its much better than the crapfest we usually get. Only two of songs picturisation can be matched to shankars usual high standards.
    It falls short in technical aspects too,even when compared to Boys and Jeans.

    On the whole sidney sheldon thing, apart from MPD(which is not a copy) the only thing lifted from the book is

    SPOILER****************************

    the ending…for those who had read the book can now easily guess the twist in the ending

    SPOILER******************************

    Like

  16. Kumar Avatar
    Kumar

    I think AV lost its credibility in reviewing tamil movies long back when it gave Mahanadhi & Hey Ram 60/100.

    Now, let me present you some historical data (facts). I think the movie that got the highest from AV is either Uthiripookal or Mullum Malarum (one of them got 63 and the other got 61 or 62). 16 Vayathinile also got 62. Nayagan got 60 and Muthal Mariyathai got 58. Until then I had a lot of respect for AV. But, then came the shockers – Hey Ram & Mahanadhi were given 60. No, we all know that AV…right from his early days in the late 70s had a soft corner and strong bias towards Kamal. They always promoted him big time, which is fine. But they just looked like jokers when they went out of their way to help Kamal out with their ratings with Hey Ram. Mahanadhi was a good film, it stops there. It wasn’t a great one by any means. It never deserved to be in the league o f the films I mentioned above. Hey Ram was one of the worst Kamal films I have ever seen. I couldn’t sit through the film. It also got 60. It is one thing to feel sorry for a prson for Kamal who is so passionate about and involved in delivering good films. But, in attempting to be different, he mostly ends up compromising quality and fails miserably at the box office. (Don’t mistake me, succeeding in the box office doesn’t always mean making masala flicks.) It is one thing to sympathise with him when that happens but it is another to mislead people who rely on you for an unbiased review.

    I gave up on Vikatan then.

    Like

  17. Srihari Avatar
    Srihari

    I know it gave 60 for Mahanadhi & Hey! Ram

    There was a long discussion on forumhub about AV’s highest marks.
    I once went thru that real long thread at forumhub and with some digging using google, here’s the link (with lotsa further links to old responses)
    http://forumhub.mayyam.com/tfilms/1447.21051.12.58.44.html

    Like

  18. mani Avatar
    mani

    anniyan
    my verdict : onion

    story based on “garudapuranam”, but film looks
    like “burudaapuranam”

    waste

    Like

  19. Shan Avatar
    Shan

    In my point of view guys –
    Anniyan is a complete waste of time and money.I dont want to spoil interests for others by pointing out the ridiculous scenes.But the movie is just a lousy re-load of Indian/Gentleman.Good luck to all of you who are going to watch the movie.

    Like

  20. Kumar Avatar
    Kumar

    Guys,

    I think there is a concerted effort from certain quarters in the cyberspace to pull down Anniyan. Yes, it has its weak points bot on the whole it is a great entertainer with brilliant acting (probably none of the present actors could have managed this one, particularly the transition scenes) and various elements of entertainment. It is already on its way to be the biggest hit ever…and it is not a fluke.

    I guess some fans, particularly Kamal fans, are getting agitated for no reason and all out to criticise this film. While Shankar has to be extra careful next time with his theme, most of their criticism seem to be out of hidden envy and jealousy. Vikram has struck at the heart of Kamal’s territory. He is now looked at as the person carrying the ‘acting’ flag of tamil cinema, which seems to be unbearable to them.

    But, the fact is that Anniyan is worth watching once or twice on the big screen for Vikram alone, if not for the picturisation of songs, comedy of Vivek, stunts….and generally the racy screenplay.

    What is intersting is that 75% of the rating suggests that it is a 10/10 or 9/10 while the remaining 25% suggests that it is 1 or 2/10. I guess this supports my theory! 😉

    Like

  21. Lazy Geek Avatar

    Kumar, you kicked off the a new controversy. good it was a weekend and there aren’t many people around to read this today 😉

    Like

  22. mutRupuLLi Avatar
    mutRupuLLi

    I just couldn’t believe my eyes…..somebody calling Mahanadhi and Hey Ram bad movies.
    What according to you Mr Kumar are Kamal’s best movies?…. Kakki Chattai and Singaravelan?

    KATZ, thalaiva enga irukeenga….Kamal padangala pathi oruthara tharumaaru sollituirrukaru. Where are you?

    Like

  23. itend Avatar
    itend

    anniyan doesnt deserve 10/10 and the acting is overrated.Plot holes are there but it is a decent enuf movie and pbly the best movie of this year so far.

    BTW mahanadi was as disturbing as a tamil movie cd be. One of the best but with lil entertainment value. Hey ram is the most thgt provoking indian movie that i have seen.To each his own.

    I dont get how some ppl can give this movie 2 or 1/10.Cmon then whats 8?ET?If this is 1/10 then i guess 95% of the movies ever made wd be in negative.Nothing was horrible to make it 1/10.
    And blaming it on Kamal fans?I am one of them.

    Like

  24. aNTi Avatar

    ummm, I did not SEE those reviews mentioned, but I do have a very very reliable source. Anyways, it is just numbers, but from what i heard about the reviewing process, it seems to be a unique exercise.
    What actually prompted me to talk to my friend was LG’s first line, about the “Chee” for Boys. IMHO, Boys was the most realistic (some call it “cheap”, but I call it REALITY) of Shankar’s movies while the rest have been all fantasy! I am not saying I hated each of his earlier movies, but I thought Boys did not get its due from most reviewers and watchers.

    Like

  25. Lazy Geek Avatar

    Anti, I second you. Boys was realistic than many of his previous pedestrian fantasy flicks.

    Like

  26. iyengarkatz Avatar

    no matter how much i try to stay away from this, they pull me back in!!!

    kumar,

    if you really think vikram has struck terror at the heart of kamal’s fan base by taking the flag of “great acting” away, then you must be suffering from MDD (MAJOR DELUSIONAL DISORDER) a la anniyan of yours.

    vikram is a good actor but he is still to prove he is a great actor! vikram is one of the better actors amongst the current crop but vikram is hobbled severely by the fact that he cannot be versatile. he is most comfortable in the cheeyan, aarumugham kinda roles and that has consistently been his forte after his revival in movies. vikram does not have the sophistication and class to portray subtle characters. i doubt he can pull of the foreign return brother role that kamal did in thoongathe thambi thoongathe leave alone trying to do a moondram pirai or hey ram.

    kamal can easily go from playing a poor uneducated madras baashai speaking fireman to a palghat brahmin cook to a foreign educated man without breaking into a sweat. i doubt vikram can do any of that 1/10ths as convincing as kamal can. vikram has years to go before he can even lay claim to being kamal’s successor. all he can do is talk about he wants to be the successor, which he is doing anyways. and from what ive heard from sources is ramp up remo with a put on accent feels more like damp squib dodo!!

    as for mahanadhi and hey ram: it is hard to talk about the wonders of those movies when you are wearing commercial blinkers! mahanadhi and hey ram stand on their own merit in trying to push the envelope of quality commercial cinema. anniyan is like taking an used envelope (many times if we take shankar’s previous stories), trying to smoothe out the creases and trying to decorate it with eye catching accessories in order to ensure that no one realizes it is the same old envelope they have seen before. anniyan is just a medley of shankar’s usual bag of tricks.

    besides you have yourself said that anniyan is worth watching only once or twice, so how can that be a great movie? mahanadhi and hey ram no matter how many times are viewes will still be just as evocative for each time one will notice a new facet of the movie that they never saw before. and most importantly, unlike your anniyan as you say can be watched for individual pieces, these movies are complete as a whole and every single piece of effort is just as crucial as the rest. you cannot dismember the movie into parts such as vikram’s acting, vivek’s comedies etc, because that is an example of a half-baked dish, where certains areas are tasty and the rest is just not digestible!

    no true kamal fan ever needs to be envious or jealous of such bacchas because when you have someone like kamal who has blazed a trail and reached the peak of excellence, you don’t really have to worry about someone who has taken two steps forward and makes it look like that they are also on the same elevated level.

    besides when you have vikram wanting to be another kamal, there itself you realize that vikram can never displace kamal for all he can try to be is another kamal. if he truly was a greater actor than kamal, he need not aspire to be someone else, he should be happy being himself!!!

    katz

    Like

  27. dogz Avatar
    dogz

    yeah kamal is the greatest human being on the face of the earth! happy?

    Like

  28. Kumar Avatar
    Kumar

    Peace…..It was night time in Sydney and I woke up to a psunami of responses from all the Kamal fans (not that I didn’t expect….Guru had given me an early warning). First things first….I am a Kamal ‘admirer’ too. I wouldn’t call myself a ‘fan’ because in some quarters they demand ‘unqualified admiration’ from a fan, which I will never be able to satisfy. Moving on….let me take one at at a time 😉

    Mr. Muttrupulli, here is my list:

    Kamal’s great (very good) films:

    Nayagan, Devar Magan, Salangai Oli, Moondram Pirai, Kokila (not ‘Meendum Kokila’ – this is a Kannada film), Marocharithra, Saagara Sangamam, Varumayin Niram Sivappu, Vaazvey maayam, Sathi leelavathi, Apoorva Sagothararkal, Sakala Kala Vallavan & Kaaki Chattai.

    Kamal’s Good films:

    Aval Appadithan, Nizhal Nijamagirathu, Raaja Paarvai, Apoorva Ragangal, Sivappu Rojakkal, Oru Kaidhiyin Diary, Mahanadhi, Anbe Sivam, Pesum Padam, Guru, Sattam, Thoongathey Thambi Thoongathey.

    Having listed the ‘very good’ films, I looked back to see what was common among them. It was interesting to see that they were different in terms of ‘subject’ and ‘type’ but had many common features. To start with, there are pure classics, hybrids and typical masala flicks, but they have all been successful. Some might be more than others (Sakala is bound to be more successul in a commercial sense than say a Nayagan), but all of them satisfied the audience they were targetting….some had niche markets some had very broad ones….but they all delivered what was expected of them. They were mostly original (except may be Nayagan – but even that was smartly tamilised/indianised) and fundamentally tamil films (except of course Maro, Kokila and Saagara Sangamam). They told whatever they came to tell in an interesting and uncomplicated manner…and more importantly didn’t have any pretensions about them. They are movies that I don’t mind watching even now.

    The second group (the good ones) are movies which are ‘neat’ but lacked some thing (may be lacked that ‘spark’) to graduate to the next level up.

    Now…this list will probably create another ‘psunami’ but IMHO, good films need not always be made of intellectually stimulating, complex subjects with slick presentations and an ‘artsy’ effect. Kamal many a time tries to be different for the sake of it and falls flat. He gets too influenced by foreign movies and forgets that he is making a tamil film for the tamil audience. Obviousely, movies of that nature didn’t find a place in my list. And, of course, there is another list where I liked a certain aspect of the film or Kamal himself but the rest is crap (e.g. the Malayali Iyer in MMKR and the Kamal’s performance in Uyarntha Ullam)

    Cheers!

    Like

  29. Kumar Avatar
    Kumar

    aNTi,

    I support your view too. In terms of logic and reality, I think Boys was Shankar’s best to date. I didn’t mind Boys at all though it wasn’t as dramatic as Gentleman, Indian or Anniyan. But, Shankar should have stayed away from some ‘uncomfortable’ scenes.

    Kaadhalan was ok for a change but I didn’t like Geans. Given he had chosen a subject like that and Aish in the lead, he should have gone for another hero…not Prashanth (same with Sada in Anniyan). Indian was ok but I hated the make-ups…it didn’t let me get involved with the film right throughout the film. Kamal was ok as he made up with his body language what he missed out with all that ‘plastic and plaster’ on his face. But Suganya was horrible…they should have gone for someone like Lakshmi and cut short the ‘period’ sequences which was a bit of a drag. The younger Kamal also looked stocky and old with all those costumes…one of the younger heroes should have played that role…but that wouldn’t have been possible because it had shades of gray. Mudhalvan was neat film with an interesting concept I thought.

    Cheers!

    Like

  30. Saravanan Avatar

    Kumar,
    I really enjoyed shankar’s earlier films like Gentleman, Indian, Mudulvan and Boys. But Anniyan falls flat on its own. Vikram’s acting is the most irritating part of the movie.

    >>It is already on its way to be the biggest hit ever…and it is not a fluke.

    Yes it got the biggest opening for a tamil movie. you have to wait for the second week’s result.

    I can only laugh when you say Kamal’s fans are jealous of vikram. Checkout a review(in tamil) by a Kamal fan,
    http://arunhere.com/pathivu/?p=38#more-38

    you can try for reporter job in Junior Vikatan or Kumudam Reporter ;).

    ps: I am a fan of superstar.

    Like

  31. aNTi Avatar

    Kumar: But, in attempting to be different, he mostly ends up compromising quality and fails miserably at the box office. – IMHO, Hey Ram was not part of that trend at all. It did not do well in teh box office at all. Movies like Iruvar and Hey Ram will forever languish ONLY in the memories and thoughts of the ultimate movie freaks and never gain mainstream recognition cos of the political overtones and the total misalignment with popular thought.

    I am a total Rajini fan, but that will not stop me from saying that Hey Ram is one of the best Indian movies that i have seen! Period.

    Like

  32. Nilu Avatar

    I wonder how Guru, Sattam, Thoongathey Thambi Thoongathey are even mentioned in the same breath as Hey Ram.

    I also think Anbe Sivam is seriously overrated by many – the dialogues by Madan were amataurish and the direction in the first half was bad. The movie resembled a stage drama.

    That I do not sympathize(in fact hate) what the “message” was does not matter. I can’t believe a lot of folks think it was a great movie.

    Like

  33. Sunil Avatar
    Sunil

    Just wondering, what was AV’s rating for Kannathil Muthamittal?

    Like

  34. Keerthivasan Avatar

    Nilu, Anbe Sivam was an absolutely great movie. I wonder what directional mistake you found out in the movie. The movie is a marvel, in the sense that it makes a lot of implicit advices.

    We better appreciate a movie that emphasizes on Love – Anbu, in between humans.

    With a minimal story and a lot of events, i think Anbe Sivam was bang-on-target. How coould you get a feeling of a stage drama, with a natural bus accident on a hill-side, and a monstrous train accident. (Of course, the airport was ameturishly shown..)

    I suggest you watch the movie again, I promise you’ll like it.

    Like

  35. Nilu Avatar

    The movie is a marvel, in the sense that it makes a lot of implicit advices.

    If you are looking for advice Keerthivasan, I suggest you quit watching movies and read Sartre or Russell or the Isa Upanishad.

    Like

  36. Kreshna Avatar
    Kreshna

    Anniyan opened big but will fade soon.
    U can read the actual box office situation at cinesouth.

    http://tamil.cinesouth.com/masala/hotnews/new/23062005-5.shtml

    Like

  37. mutRupuLLi Avatar
    mutRupuLLi

    This is Kumar’s comment…
    ” but IMHO, good films need not always be made of intellectually stimulating, complex subjects with slick presentations and an ‘artsy’ effect. Kamal many a time tries to be different for the sake of it and falls flat. He gets too influenced by foreign movies and forgets that he is making a tamil film for the tamil audience. Obviousely, movies of that nature didn’t find a place in my list.”

    Kumar,
    One mistake everybody inluding Kumar does is trying to make an intellectual out of Kamal.He is just an ordinary man who does his job really well.
    Yes he is influenced heavily by foreign films( his major flaw in my opinion). But to call Mahanadi a complex theme which is intllectually stimulating and hence not accessible to the Tamil audience is just too much digest. Have the normal Tamil masala movies made us so dumb that we have to call a very serious movie which happens to not have the usual Item number and comedy track an intellectual effort ?
    The fact is it is a superb movie with a very good screenplay( which rocks effortlessly back and forth in the first half) and some brilliant acting and a touching story line. Intellectually stimulaing ??not very.Complex?? no way . An artsy effect…you must be joking.

    Same can be said of Hey Ram….it had too many indirect pointers in it, but the problem with Hey Ram i felt was the language or the languages and the mind set of the people who just don’t care about what happened in the past. It was a serious miscalculation on Kamal’s part but that no way makes it an “artsy” movie or a bad one.

    And Kumar, it is the fact that he tries to do different things and things differently that makes him a great movie-maker. Not the one to follow the lead sheep, you know.

    Like

  38. Kumar Avatar
    Kumar

    Iyengarkatz,

    Let me respond to you in three parts. Others, please excuse the length of this response.

    If you look back at the past that will give you some background as to who is Kamal and what made him the actor he is. Kamal is not a born actor like a Sivaji or a De Niro. True he is natural and versatile….but to an extent…he has limitations…in some areas, severe limitations.

    Except Sivaji probably all others have ‘comfort zones’. The effort and hard work they put in to excel in roles that falls outside of it is what makes them great. Kamal worked at it and succeeded (with the help of some other talented technicians) in some cases, but has failed in others (being a smart guy, he doesn’t try some is another matter altogether).

    Let me take you down memory lane. In his early to mid years (until 1982-83), Kamal looked good in films from good directors…..like Balachandar, Balu Mahendra, Bhaarathirajaa, Singeetham, KR Vishwanath. All his hits (though only a few in number) also had hit music from Ilayaraaja. He was never able to carry a movie on his own performance like a Sivaji or even Rajini (Kalayanaraman was an exception).

    In fact during those years would you beleive that Rajni had delivered more variety and better performances than Kamal by a distance. He was seen as a better actor than Kamal. he had delivered better performances in SP Muthuraman and Panju Arunasalam movies and not with the help of master directors and technicians. Those movies like Puvana Oru ?, 6 to 60, Netrikann, Engeyo Ketta Kural had great performances. When he had the support of a classy director like Mahendran, he took it to the next level in Mullum Malarum. Remember apart from giving him a break in Appoorva (and using him in some movies like Avargal, Thappu Thaalangal and Thillu Mullu) KB never directed films to lift Rajini (like he did for Kamal) but he made use of him by producing films with Rajini once he became a super star.

    Kamal had big weaknesses. First was that he couldn’t play mature, elderly characters with old get-ups. While Rajini or later even people like Sathyaraaj and Sarathkumar played those roles with effortless ease in commercial films, Kamal struggled big time in playing those roles. He had to hide behind a beard, a thick glass and a choked up voice almost always. Please watch all his old movies like Shankarlaal, Ellam Inba Mayam, Kadal Meengal and even Kaidhiyin Diary. Kaidhiyin Diary ended upto be a decent movie (thanks to Bharathiraaja) but all else failed miserably. Compare this with Rajni’s films like Netrikann or Engeyo Ketta Kural (or numerous movies of Sarath and Sathy where they play old roles)….you would see what I am talking about. Kamal will still not be able to do a Paalu Thevar or a Naatamai with ease (or without a complete make over like Indian).

    Between 82 and 85 something important happened. Rajini the actor became a star and the commercial world adopted him for good. Around this time, I think it was 82 or 83, Kamal also had a good year with Moondram Pirai and Vaazvey Maayam and saw an opportunity to fill in the gap left vacant by an aging Sivaji and a commercialized Rajini. That is when Kamal started working on his acting skills and started differentiating himself.

    But, then came Nayagan, which was refreshing. Kamal delivered a brilliant performance (though had Brando’s influence in many scenes). Even though he required a great director like Mani to bring the best in him and had fantastic technicians to support him, it was a good performance in deed. But, sadly, he went back to his old self after that. There was no ‘jeevan’ in Indran Chandran, Indian and all that because Kamal was hiding behind layers of pancakes and plastics (though I should admit that his body language was good in Indian).

    Most mature characters need a bit of ‘aggression’ and ‘gambeeram’. They don’t come natural to Kamal as much as to some others. No wonder he doesn’t excel (even now)in roles like policeman or military officer roles, village perisu or for that matter any role that need aggression and/or a ‘screen presence’.

    Don’t mistake me…I am not expecting a Kattabomman or a Manohara or a S P Choudhry or a Barister Rajnikaanth. Look at some other lessor mortals…..what they have achieved. You may discount Sathy and Sarath saying their personality suits these roles, but what about Rajini, Vikram and Surya. For those 3, a police officer role falls outside of their comfort zone clearly, but they made it work in Moondru Mugam, Saamy and Kaaka Kaaka with body language and all that. But Kamal looks like a postman every time he wears a uniform and looks pathetic when he appears in a costume drama (remember his walk in that song in Kaaki Chattai – Pattu Kannam) He looks silly when he tries to do them. These are all roles which need a bit of gambeeram and aggression and falls outside of his comfort zone…..but he is yet to succeed in them.

    But, Kamal has had some success outside of his comfort zones too. Would you beleive if I say that another one of Kamal’s major weaknesses was comedy. I’ll talk about it in my next post!

    Cheers

    Like

  39. Kumar Avatar
    Kumar

    Mr. Mutrruppulli,

    Get the facts right. Mahanadhi is in my ‘good films’ list. It isn’t a complicated them and it wasn’t delivered in a complex way. Though I felt it was one of those ‘I’ll try and make you cry’ type of film (I can think of a ‘Thulaabaram’ and Sivaji’s ‘Avan Thaan Manithan’ to be of the same kind), it was a nice film which moved you….and rightfully found a place in my ‘good’ list.

    For all others, I am not Oscar Ravichandran to be worried of whether Anniyan will run or not and I am not yet certain whether it will sustain its opening. If you can quote 1 or 2 websites like Cinesouth who have a bit of a suspician of its success or its sustainability, I can quote 10 other websites like Sify and Indiaglitz which have confirmed that its mega success backed up by collection figures. But, I am not going to get into this.

    Going back to where it all started, what I can’t still comprehend is why is there an unqualified criticism of Anniyan from a ‘partiqular’ sector. Aren’t there any good features in that film? Didn’t Shankar’s earlier fims have big minus points? Was ‘Indian’ logical and realistic? Not commenting about Vikram’s acting at all is one thing….but some one in this forum has even gone to the extreme of calling it to be irritating. It is comments like this that make me suspect of…….all what I have mentioned in my earlier posts! 😉

    Cheers!

    Like

  40. senthil Avatar
    senthil

    Anniyan

    illogical

    nothing new

    But good

    Like

  41. muRupuLLi Avatar
    muRupuLLi

    Kumar, sorry i didn’t notice Mahanadi in your list of good movies. You see i was wondering how come Guru and Thoongathey Thambi Thoongathey got into the list of good Kamal movies, so i missed that. But my comment remains pertinent with respect to Hey Ram.
    BTW i guess the best comedian around is you…
    what with making an attempt to compare Rajini and Kamal in terms of acting. Don’t you realise that good directors prefer good actors, actors good enough to carry the role a challenging role through. Kamal was acting
    in BaluMahendra’s, Balachander’s, K Vishwanath’s,
    Bharatiraaja’s movie because he was good….very good.
    And i don’t how u could rate an actor by how he looks in a getup in a dream song.
    Some people fit some getup’s well enough.Kamal and no present day hero would fit into the role of Kattaboman or Va Vu Chidambaram as played by Sivaji. But neither would Sivaji fit into the role of an innocent Palakkad Brahmin or
    a slow witted awkward doctor with a heavy coimbatore accent. Every actor has his zone of comfort. The question is how large is it? Kamal’s is pretty large enough to make him a good actor.
    If you trying to say that Kamal can’t look a policeman you have not seen Kuruthi Punal. A policeman need not have a moustache to look dignified and tough. Kamal pulled off a brilliant one in playing the suave tough police interrogation officer, in that one. He shows his anger and fear equally well in that movie. Yes he is not a born actor. Yes he works at it, so what?
    As long as the perormance is convincing & genuine enough , what is your problem?

    Nilu, i don’t get it , why should i read a Upanishad for advise. What is wrong in a movie stating the maker’s point. What is your problem
    if Kamal has things he feels he should say and goes on to say it very unintrusively. You may or may not accept his point of view. But that movie is not great beacuse of it’s content rather it is very good because of how it was presented.

    Like

  42. iyengarkatz Avatar

    Kumar,
    First of all, I suspected you may be a generation older than me, now I have doubts whether it could be two or three generations older.

    There is nothing called a born actor. Just like there is nothing like a born engineer or doctor. If at all something like that exists, then I would say only child artistes can lay claim to that because they start acting at a younger and more tender age and having to display emotions that may not at times be a part of the age. And if you go by that, kamal is a born actor for he was a child artiste too.

    Secondly, even sivaji and de niro have limitations too. they are not great actors because they did not have limitations, but because they knew what those were and discovered how to work with it to their advantage.

    Kamal was not the only person who had a hit music with illayaraja, the same rajini you mention did too. that was the time when music was as important as the story and if not for that, mike mohan would have never had such a huge career. And you are wrong in that kamal could not carry a movie on his own, in the 80s, people went to the see movies only for the heroes and nothing else.

    I am positive that kamal had more than his share of variety in those years when compared to rajini. And the reason why balachander never used rajini in his movies is because his movies were not similar to sp muthuraman’s and so he needed an actor and not just a star.

    You are right that kamal experimented with his looks and voice when he played older roles, but how is that a weakness? You would prefer to just seem him dye his hair and be as agile as the son?? Rajini’s father role in nettrikkan was famous for how the character was scripted and not because of his fabulous portrayal of an old man! Similarly, sarath kumar in all of his father roles will have a scene where the son sarath kumar is unable to overpower the villain and he will step in beat down the villain!! And you call this a realistic portrayal?? And ellam inba mayam, despite being a lousy movie, required the getup for kamal was playing different characters in disguise. Or maybe, for you “maaruvesham” means putting on a “macham” on one cheek and voila, no one can recognize that person at all!!!

    Balu thevar was a strong role yes, but nattamai, PLEASE! It is not that kamal cannot play a balu thevar, it is that he will not play it like sathyaraj did and that is not a weakness, it is each individual’s interpretation of a character. Even rajini or sarath kumar cannot play that balu thevar also by your logic!

    Kamal has always been doing roles that provide him opportunities to act. Some of the roles have been in other languages too. it is not because rajini became a star that kamal became an actor, but because kamal was, is and always will be an actor and therefore, but naturally took that path. Next what will you say?? Because balachander made movies with kamal only, he could ever become an actor, otherwise he would have never entered this field???

    You talk like only mani rathnam brought out the actor in him?? Did you not watch moondram pirai, salangai oli, avargal, 16 vayadhinile, sigappu rojakkal, saagar, varumaiyin niram sivappu etc?? nayagan came in 1987 only, before that itself kamal had a repertoire of movies where he excelled in. indhiran chandiran was time pass alone and for you to use that as an example shows that your MDD has progressed to advanced stage. I know for you, the makeup in Indian was not right, you would have preferred him to wear a wig and big moustache and be the thatha.

    Mature characters don’t need aggression or gambheeram, they need subtlety. They don’t need to be loud, they have to posses a temperament where they can make a point without having to shout AEI! And as muttrupulli said, watch kurudhi punal, watch the cop character in apoorva sagodargal, watch the cop in oru kaidiyin diary etc. but as usual, for you, a good cop is one who keeps shouting AEI or AAARUCHAAMY DAAA etc. so I really cant expect u to like the more balanced portrayal can i? you believe that saamy is the way cops need to be portrayed, fine. I don’t and so lets leave it that. Am not even gonna try to break down this further. Surya was good in kk though. And you talk about kamal doing that step in kakki chattai, it is the same as rajini throwing his cigarette in the air and shooting it in giraftar..dont compare masala movies and try to make it the benchmark.

    And I am surprised how you have gone from touting vikram as the born actor to now trying to pick flaws in kamal movies and that too predominantly his masala movies. If you take away the masala movies, vikram has at the most 3 good movies to his name. first let him rack up an equivalent number of movies as kamal has and then we can compare their respective acting skills. Why stop at vikram, why not claim that dhanush is the next super star because he had 3 consecutive hits???

    Ps – I saw the ramp up remo song from anniyan on sun tv and was disappointed. Compared to the akkada song from Indian, this was ordinary. Not to stoke another argument, but it just seemed like another song with those patented mtv shots. Even shakalaka baby seemed better than this.

    Like

  43. Tirukumar Thiagarajah Avatar
    Tirukumar Thiagarajah

    This is certainly an interesting discussion. There is no real point in comparing Vikram to Kamal Hassan because they are both actors from two different generations.

    No one can deny the fact that Kamal has pushed the boundaries of not just Tamil but Indian cinema as a whole – very much like the great Sivaji Ganesan. Kamal has not offered anything we have not seen in him for awhile (very much like a De Niro or Denzel Washington) – his focus seems to be on making greater movies. This is not to say that his performances are bad – they are just not new which is still great by most actor’s standards.I must say though that some of his overacting can seem a tad unrealistic at times-however his performance in Mahanathi was one of the best I have seen – from gullible villageman to lost father to man seeking revenge while carrying the disappointment of how terrble life and people are – was just fantastic!Note how he constantly extracts top performances from his supporting cast.

    Vikram – I was very impressed with his role in Kaasi and Sethu and Pithamagan but saw nothing new in Anniyan. The performance was good but not great. His Iyer character was quite disappointing.I agree that a lot of it was irritating.

    An actor whom I think has been displaying quite a bit of range is Surya. I think he is the person from the current crop who will actually live up to standards set by the Sivajis and Kamals. Watch him in KaakaKaaka and then in Pithamagan – two very extreme roles that he seemed to tackle with ease and then look at AyithaEzhuthu – very subtle (unlike KaakaKaaka which was more in your face).

    My contention is that Anniyan is an average effort from Shankar while it would have been a great effort had it come from a lesser director. Shankar like Maniratnam pushed the boundaries of Tamil directors with his films (in one way or other) but with Anniyan, Indian and so on, he fails at the core of any movie, which is the screenplay. While it is fine to focus on the technical brilliance of his films, his films in general seem extremely unrealistic and flow poorly. A strong screenplay is something other directors (Maniratnam, BaluMahendra, Mahendran, Bharathi Raja, Kamal Hassan, Bala and more recently Balaji Shaktivel for kathal)have focused on in delivering some very good movies (not just by Indian standards). In my opinion, that is Shankar’s biggest flaw which seemed lesser obvious in Boys (although Thulluvatho Ilamai by Kasthuriraaja did a better a job on much lower budget)!Mahanathi was a great film that dealt with very strong emotions and life which was a bit like 21 Grams – sad but well made drama….and Hey! Ram was a daring attempt at making a statement like Iruvar- a great effort by international standards.Virumaandi for example was a very well written movie with some great performances. Kamal actually did much better with his tight screenplay and direction compared to his acting in that movie. I think credit should be given where its due.

    Its pointless to start up camps and support one while running down the other. Lets just hope that more quality cinema is encouraged and produced by the filmakers in Tamil cinema.

    Cheers!
    Tirukumar,
    Sydney.

    Like

  44. shri Avatar
    shri

    Being a kamal fan, I am really happy to see any discussion on tamil cinema, leads to discussion on Kamal. Proves the point that in the Last 20 Yrs only Kamal has created more thought provoking movies..Good for him.

    Like

  45. anon Avatar
    anon

    Why are masala movies automatically considered “not-good” cinema? There are plenty of so called masala movies which would classify as good cinema! But whenever talk of good movies come up…the ones written off are categorized as masala!!

    Like

  46. Jacky Avatar
    Jacky

    Sivaji benefited greatly by being born in a melodramatic era. Sometimes it was tough to find subtleties in his acting even when he played contrastingly different characters. Kamal is the first Indian actor to display nuances of characters emotions in a realistic way. Be it crying while holding a dead baby in Thevar magan, venting out his frustrations when his daughter utters some swear words in Mahanadi or even Thenali where he tries hard not to cry but finally breaks down whilst narrating how his parents were killed.
    Chiyaan is a promising talent but is limited to Melodrama, as of now. Chittan (Pithamagan) was exaggerated and it definitely gives cover from exhibiting nuances of realistic acting which is a true skill to an actor.
    I don’t buy the logic of Kamal fans trying to put-down Anniyan.

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  47. Raja Avatar
    Raja

    Anniyan is a very average movie from Shankar. Hope the movie doesn’t do too well..coz that will make shankar do more of such movies with similar themes.. logic has gone for a toss.. but the fact is that i could sit through the 3 hours.. no more great expectations from shankar. Mudalvan was his best movie till date !!

    Like

  48. Kumar Avatar
    Kumar

    I was disappointed on two fronts:

    1. Things got personal….people trying to call me name like joker and all that. Then trying to sarcastically point out that I may be from an older generation. I franly think that Vikram and Surya have shown more promise than Kamal had at similar phases in their careers. Now, does that mean that I may belong to a generation or two younger than Iyengarkatz who is still bragging about an out dated 50+ Oldie like Kamal and unable to move on! 🙂

    (Guys, don’t mistake me, I am fundamentally not such a person but certain people understand things better this way!)

    2. The extreme absurdity and stupidity of comparing Sivaji with any other actor. It is not just a mistake …..it is a crime and a sin (I am sure the whole world will agree baring a few). I remember Kamal claiming that when it comes to acting No 1 to 10 is Sivaji and then comes the rest. That is, claiming someone to be second to Sivaji itself is a mistake. I will never get into anything where you pull in the great man.

    Iyengarkatz, I had a big laugh when you said that even Sivaji had comfort zones and an even bigger laugh when you commented about Paalakadu Iyer and Coimbatore Paashai. FYI, Kamal has gone on records saying that he had spent weeks staring at the banner of a film called “Vietnam Veedu” and lost shirts in trying to buy tickets to see that film. The world watched in awe when a non brahmin Sivaji play Prestige Padmanabhan and then the Barister Rajnikaanth and many more.
    That was the first and the best…and it will stay thatway for ever. Then, do you know that Kamal was not even born when Sivaji rocked Kollywood with Coimbatore bhashai (again first ever) in Makkalai Petra Maharasi.

    Iyengarkatz….you lokk plain silly man….please get your facts right before getting into an argument.

    Lets leave it at that because I will not get into any discussion about Sivaji. To use a metaphor….he is the university of acting and all others are students. Some of them may graduate to be lecturers, professors and even become the VC of that University……but they can never become the University itself. Period!!!

    Cheers.

    PS. Let me highlight his greatness with one example. Sivaji was never called the Kadhal Mannan or Kaadhal Ilavarasan. But, he delivered probably the best and most successful love story ever in the history of Tamil cinema….Vasantha Maaligai. Not only it had seen more than 100 releases in Chennai and other major cities (including many releases in big centers like Albert with big fan fare), I was shocked to see last week that it had been released in 2 theatres (6 shows) in Chennai along with movies like Anniyan and Chandramuki (please refer to http://www.chennaionline.com). This is happening after 32 years of is original release. Can you ever dream this happening to anyone (of course other than his worthy competitor MGR). Do we see Kalyanaparisu and Vaazvey Maayam being released like this? Please don’t compare mere stars to the Sun itself. Please!!!

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  49. Jacky Avatar
    Jacky

    Sivaji is epitomized for good acting cuz he was first of his generation and he was a good actor too. His peer MGR or his predecessor Bhagavathar did cater to a differnt audience I guess. He may be the first but that doesn’t mean he’s the best. When it comes to realistic acting Sivaji pales against Kamal. In real life it’d be impossible to find a sophisticated youth like the guy in Theiva magan whilst Kamal was far more convincing in MMKR as a rich man’s kid! Sivaji’s cat walk antic in Theiva magan is as pathetic as it can get. Kamal doesn’t resort to artificial antics to be convincing. Yes, Sivaji did have comfort zones – Period films. Even as a villain KH was more convincing in Indran Chandran over Sivaji – Pudiya paravai. Stretching both hands and crying “amma” “aiyoo” may convey a profound grief but it sometimes failed to portray realistic mental state of the character!
    If Sivaji is a university, it’s better Vikram and Surya find other schools!

    Like

  50. vijay Avatar
    vijay

    Jacky,Kumar and others, Sivaji, Kamal and Vikram belong to different eras. Acting has constantly evolved and they have served the requirements of their corresponding eras very well. Beyond that, it doesnt make much sense to compare one with the other. You are looking back 40 years at the movies made in the 60s and you now feel that there was a lot of emlodrama and overacting. Maybe you wouldnt have felt that way if you had seen those films in the 60s itself.

    Even overacting/underacting etc. is subjective. To some, Kamal’s crying in Nayagan looked like terrible over-acting. To few others it looked realistic. 10 years from now, many of Kamal’s crying scenes in movies could end up being termed as unrealistic and over-the-top(Moondram Pirai’s final scene is an example). Kamal has already been termed a little over-the-top when compared to his counterpart Mohanlal. Now, that may be a good comparison to make. Not between actors separated by 20 years or more.

    We are moving away and away from the drama/opera kind of performances with which Tamil cinema started. Lets keep that in mind while making arguments.

    Like

  51. iyengarkatz Avatar

    Kumar,

    Kamal started out with a lot more offbeat movies than either Vikram and surya. His first movie was arangetram. That was the time when he did movies such as apoorva ragangal, aval appadithan, nizhal nijamaagirathu etc. he even played jesus! And I think he played a character with std too. So once again there is no comparison. You can check back and report back with facts if this was not so. The movies that you are using for comparison are predominantly 80s movies and that phase was such where typically only commercial entertainers were made. Even the thespian whom you call the university of acting made movies where he was paired with sripriya and played elder brother to his son prabhu! Until the 80’s audience were more accepting of different themes and that is when a lot of the sivaji’s movies that you talk about were made. From 80s to mid 90s was the period when you had more of the commercial entertainers and when music was just as important as the story etc. now we are seeing a revival in the audience’s interest for varied themes, though not as much as before.

    And I can still brag about kamal, for he is very much a part of my generation. Sivaji was my parent’s generation. However, that does not detract from his acting skills.

    Just like you think one cannot compare anybody to sivaji, you cannot compare anyone to kamal. And if you think sivaji is an university, so is kamal. If sivaji is an anna university, then kamal is an iit!! That’s all. The words kamal said is that of an ardent fan. No ardent fan who has admired his favourite actor from close quarters will ever put himself above that actor for it would be akin to sacrilege to that person itself. But that does not mean that kamal is not as talented as sivaji if not more.

    Like you mentioned to someone about getting their facts right, you should too. I’m not the one talking about the coimbatore slang. What kamal as a fan did in trying to see the movie of his favourite actor is of no consequences when so many fans cast aside their families for their thalaivar. Watch kudumban oru kadambam for a better feel of it. And though Vietnam veedu was a hit, I don’t consider it an awe inspiring feeling when I see it, for I have never heard a more exaggerated version of the Brahmin speech as I did in that movie. YYYENDI PATTTTTUUUUU! In many ways it is precisely because people like you take that as the benchmark of how a Brahmin talks that even today there are very few movies where Brahmins talk normally. Most of it are as exaggerated as sivaji played them with the ACCHACCHO and YENNNADDAAA AMMMBIIIIIIII etc!!!!

    and again, check your facts, the palakkad Brahmin character was brought up when we were comparing vikram & kamal, not sivaji & kamal. Im not get into this argument, because I do think sivaji was a good actor too, but whether you agree or not I do believe he had his own comfort zone and that is a FACT! You can believe otherwise and that is your opinion. And your entitled to it. So go right ahead claiming sivaji did not have any comfort zones at all!

    And I am sure that sivaji had his own share of titles. and please don’t call vasantha maaligai the best and most successful love story in the history of tamil cinema, for I think you will be proved wrong. It is probably one of the best and one of the most successful love story. And I am sure kamal has lived up to his kadhal mannan tag and had one of the best and most successful love story in the history of Indian cinema, with ek duje ke liye! Beat that!

    Its really a waste of time to compare sivaji and kamal for both are one of the greatest actors of tamil cinema in their own right. Let’s just leave it at that.

    Ps- to the person who asked why we call some movies masala movies. Masala movies does not mean it is not a good movie. Somehow masala movies have gotten a negative connotation. I personally prefer the bambaiya term timepass as opposed to masala. When they say a movie is fultoo timepass, it means despite the clichés, it was a good commercial entertainer. But we are talking about acting strengths in this discussion and typically commercial entertainers don’t really need acting strength. They require more fluff than stuff and that is why i used masala movies to make that distinction in that they are not the right benchmarks for comparing acting strengths.

    ps 2 – on a personal level, i count timepass movies within the quality tolerance levels for what i deem are good movies.

    over and out.

    katz

    Like

  52. mutRupuLLi Avatar
    mutRupuLLi

    Kumar, most of the accusations you claim Iyengar
    made, were made by me. And i did not mean to get personal when i said you were a comedian to be comparing Rajini and Kamal in terms of acting.
    I like Sivaji as much as I do Kamal. I will go on to claim that Sivaji is genius material that Kamal is not.A genius has more to do with originality than perfection.Sivaji is more natural an actor than Kamal, but that does not mean Kamal is a lesser actor than Sivaji
    The problem with many Sivaji fans is that they believe that any comparison of Sivaji with others
    amounts to sacrilege. Nobody is beyond comparison or ridicule. When Vivek makes fun of Sivaji in Parthiban Kanavu, Kumudam claimed that it was too much and Nadikar Thilagam should not be made fun of.
    So a lesser actor can be made fun of, while a better actor can’t be made fun of. Double standards galore!!!!!

    And regards the “innocent Palakkad Brahmin” and
    the “sloppy, clumsy, slow-witted doctor with a heavy Coimbatore accent” …
    1. I have not seen Makkalai Petra Maharasi.( is it the movie which features that unforgeetable song “Manaparai Madu Katti”), but i have seen one particular movie of his where he speaks the Coimbatore accent(it may be MPM) and I can tell u Kamal did a better job than him.

    2. The emphasis in the above example was not just on the language…look at the adjectives too….
    Kamal plays the clumsy slow-wiited guy brillinatly…which i believe Sivaji can’t or didn’t. Atleast i can’t remember one movie of his where he did it better than Kamal.

    Like

  53. kannan Avatar
    kannan

    Well, this is my first post. I am a follower of kamal for the last 2 decades. so everyone would be now clear to which generation i belong to. Yestday i was watching “kuruthi punal” Well some one said police role doesnt suit kamal..who is it? Can any one find a flaw in that particular role. leave how he walks and all. Is there a thumb rule that how a police officer should walk..BS..His body language his dialogue his emotion i think thats a class apart.

    Well agree mundru mugam did create an impact and was a super duper hit..what happened to a movie called “pandian” in which the hero is a police officer. I remember a scene in that movie where the hero comes in with a police overcoat wearing nothing inside (i think not even a vest) I have never seen a tamil nadu police like that before.

    Well Kamal is Kamal..after him you can count any tom,dick and harry.

    Regards

    Kannan

    Like

  54. Lazy Geek Avatar

    I’ve been closely watching this space on the comments by Kumar/Katz and others. Looks like from Anniyan to Anti Kamal we went to Sivaji.

    As Mutrupulli says, they are on the public domain and anyone can comment on their professional skills. So killing an accusation on Sivaji or Kamal without rationale isn’t the sought out way.

    Also as Katz says, Masala movies are better called Timepass because sometime it misleads. And Kumar, I think Katz was referring to you and your generation just because he/including me were amazed by your remembering of yester year classics like Makkalai Petra Magaraasi on the fly. Great thoughts.

    Like

  55. anon Avatar
    anon

    “fullstop” said….The problem with many Sivaji fans is that they believe that any comparison of Sivaji with others amounts to sacrilege.

    er…substitute sivaji with kamal and the sentence is still true….

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  56. mutRupuLLi Avatar
    mutRupuLLi

    I agree ANON.

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  57. Andy Avatar

    Nominate the best ever movie you have watched so far, write your review for Great Prizes which includes FREE DVDS too.

    http://sulekha.com/dish100movies/

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  58. Kumar Avatar
    Kumar

    What I had suspected (the smear campaign against Anniyan from ‘certain’ quarters) from the 3rd day of Anniyan’s release and had indicated in my early posts in this thread was confirmed and became official a couple of days ago. Please refer to the following link:

    http://sify.com/movies/tamil/fullstory.php?id=13882062

    But, it seems nothing is going to stop Anniyan:

    http://sify.com/movies/tamil/fullstory.php?id=13883161

    http://www.musicindiaonline.com/n/i/tamil/2282/

    Like

  59. JRajesh Avatar
    JRajesh

    Indian + Matrix + Gentleman + Manmadan = Anniyan

    Vikram’s acting was really good and I am sure the lines about the development of Japan in comparison with India would definitely get a few people thinking…

    Like

  60. Arvi Avatar
    Arvi

    Fools will go watch shankar’s film for flawless screenplay or storyline. Anniyan is a pure entertainment.

    Film’s positives

    1) Historic use of special effects in any indian movie till date.
    2) vivek’s comedy
    and last but not the least
    3) Vikram’s mind boggling performance. You never feel that he is acting or giving a great performance. Which generally is visble in kamal’s performances(20%) ( example–nayagan cry scene!!! a comedy scene of all time). I do agree that kamal is a great actor. But one shud not compare acting on the lines of his expectations. Its a collective decision tamil fans will take. So, I suppose you all kamal fans stop this loose talk for supporting someones’s cause, who will not even help you earn you 10 rupees.
    while Kamal potray’s eccentric acting in films, sivaji used hyper expressions to win the hearts of their fans. Vikram might not be a great performer for you people, but you should agree that he is a natural actor. Lets not call him greatest actor but respect him as a national award winner.

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  61. rat Avatar
    rat

    vikram’s mind boggling performance! huh? what! when?

    Like

  62. VT Avatar
    VT

    Hi all I saw Anniyan yesterday …. my comment are below …
    Pros
    Hype given my Vikram and Shankar ( which most people blindly believed)
    Cons
    a) Overacting by Vikram in 3 characters …
    1. Ambi – think lota overacting had gone into this role … Vikram desperately tries to potray a iyengar,
    may times both Saada and Vikram make some crazy, hyper expressions, which is not needed atall
    2. Remo …. Vikram does not suite for this Role … think he had totaly over done it. He could have been more cool .. instead of sniffing his finger now and then.
    3. Anniyan – This roles actualy needs lota expression but Shanker gor caried away by by outward thins and made Vikram look crazy by giving importance to Hair, lowsy dress, and some Black paint in his face …

    We can relate to main characters in Nayakan, gentleman, Mudalvan .. the roles in this movie are totaly absured and unrealistic

    b) The fight sequence with the Karate fighters …. Its sooo stupid and awkward to see these fights, they are very much unrealistic and too much of graphics is fed into them.

    c) Weak screenplay … of all the Shankar’s movie this one has the most weakest sp …. got may loopholes …. there is no logic, reality etc … feel all the scenes are loosely hooked together …

    d) Music – inferior quality .. may be musicaly dumb people will surly enjoy it. Haris Jeyaraj is sleeping deep down, please dont disturb him ….

    I read in some interviews that Vikram is expecting National award for this movie Anniyan … I think he is just dreaming i guess the national award had gone into his head !!

    Like

  63. Nesh Avatar
    Nesh

    Dun look for logics when watching a movie…becos its a movie…not life…so just watch a movie with 1st thought…if u try to give it a 2nd thought or analyze it, this is wat u get. Simply speaking, the movie is just cool. Look at hollywood movies…they r not logical either…they also have alot of graphics…much of the act is not even done by the actors in hollywood…But I believe indian movies are skill based…So i would award Anniyan: 1000/100!!!
    Just watch it; Enjoy it; and forget bout it!Stay cool!

    Kamal Hassan is a great actor..but i believe anyone who is given a chance can act up to his standards. Good actors are said to be good coz they r given Good movies to act in. Let not put down Anniyan. At least its different from the everyday tamil movie. At least tamil movies are evolving now…Give them ur support. Alot of effort from both the crew and actors has been put to make Anniyan…Pls dun bring personal thoughts and grudges to put the movie down. What a world! People never get satisfied!

    Like

  64. Karthik Avatar
    Karthik

    I have never seen a movie which defy logic as much as this movie! It is utterly idiotic. He is comparing all the countries with India. You know what happens when you kill anyone for any reason even murderer in U.S? You will be sentenced to life or death! Here our hero anniyan freely go around killing people!! He would be ambi one moment. Next moment he would be 100 miles away frying someone!! Why would there be a fight sequence that was totally unnecessary? Is Sada’s IQ 10? She can’t recognize the resemblance between Ambi and Remo! I think people do not know what acting means!! Vikram is a committed actor. Agreed. But his performance as Ambi is mediocre. As Remo it makes me puke! Go, Watch Deiva Magan(Sivaji in triple role). He has not acted even 1% of how Sivaji acted in that movie.

    Our hero would assemble 1000s of people 100s of reporters just like that. He would show them a video of how he killed a guy who doesn’t do any work cruelly with snakes! Our public would be impressed right after learning that he is a psychotic murderer and crowd him to get autograph! This is probably one of the stupidest scene i have ever seen in Tamil movie history!!

    Another idiotic scene is he get beaten up by bunch of rowdies. He would plead

    “Naan thayir sadham en odambu thangadhu”

    Once he transforms into Anniyan suddenly he fights like “Ponnusami hotel biriyani”!!

    We have seen enough transformation scenes in tamil movie! Two that stand out in my memory is Rajini in Baasha and Madhavan in Run.

    Theme – Indian, Gentleman

    Basic plot – Sidney sheldon’s novel where the lady has 3 personalities. Each would be at different places at a given time. One personality would kill people who tries to rape her. She gets the MPD coz in her childhood days her dad would molest her. The MPD in this story is logically explainable unlike in Anniyan!

    Fight sequence – Matrix, Hero, Crouching tiger..

    These are some of the movies he has lifted his ideas from! Vivek comedy is the only plus.

    When you have multiple personality disorder only mentally you can become stronger or weaker not physically as here!

    You don’t need 28 crores to make a sub-standard movie like this. I personally feel dialogue delivery is defenitely not a strong suit of Vikram. He confirms it in all three roles. One of the best dialogue delivery i have heard in recent time is from Kakka Kakka by Suriya. I recently saw another movie “RAM”. That movie is far far better than Anniyan.

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  65. Karthik Avatar
    Karthik

    Dun look for logics? It is not a sci-fi movie! He wants to “convey message”!! How? One of his personality brings in 1000s of people and 100s of reporters to a common place which in itself is crappy! Then he would show a video where a guy is idling around. He would ask everyone “What should we do with him”. Our people would say “Kill him kill him” !! Do you see anything realistic here? Come on don’t get carried away with 28 crores spent on this movie! Gurinder chadha spent only 27 crores for Bend it like beckam that movie made 173 crores my dear! Then comes the idiotic scene ever in Tamil movie. Next he would show in detail how he killed that poor guy with snakes! Our people would be impressed by this barbaric act of a psychotic serial killer! They would crowd him around to get autograph! What the hell Shankar was thinking? He is such an amature film maker. Then the court scene where absolutely no soul will be there to watch his case! But there were 1000s of people listen to him before even knowing him! You gotta look at some basic logics. It is just a movie ! you say! Exactly for the same reason you should see all the logic! In Hollywood movies won’t be blindly glorified! If you watch Sci-fi movie it is completely fictional. But what Shankar made was a social movie. So there should be logic! You cannot expect us to believe ambi would be in tiruvayaru and at the same time anniyan would be somewhere frying somebody! Opening tiles, sending 100s of flowers without the knowledge of sadha’s parents, doing romance with sadha without anyone’s knowledge, keeping a sports bike without his parent’s knowledge,… there are billions of flaws in the movie that this page is not enough. If you choose to ignore all these flaws even in a story that he has handled so many times before, even after spending 2 year making this movie, even after spending 28 crores in this movie i have no problem! But some guys like me do not settle for absolute mediocrity.

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