Saturday, January 29, 2011

Kavalan- The defender

 
Its been long that i have written a movie review..I had planned to write on one of my favorites long back...But did not get a chance...Amidst that i happened to watch this movie and here I am to share my thoughts...To set things straight i must call this as my view than a review...I try to be always honest and say what i feel than to say the words put in my mouth by others.Honesty is the first thing that a writer should have.

I must confess two things before i proceed,one is that i am an Ajith fan.Second is that i dislike Vijay more than i admire Ajith.But despite that when i go and sit in theater-which i rarely do unless i feel the movie is worthy- i leave these favoritism out and focus only on one thing.That is,the movie.How the film makes me feel and does it do justice to the time i spend are important to me.

With that spirit i sit here to blog this.I absolutely have no problems to accept that a movie is good if it is really good ,no matter who has acted in it be it Vijay or anyone. I guess i know to appreciate a work done well keeping aside personal grudges and likings(if not why the hell on earth will i go to a Vijay movie on the 3rd day of the release when i have never seen a Ajith movie in the first week of release).Even after this precursory explanations i still stick to the idea of calling this as my view on the movie even then it is not going to be biased.Yes,not biased but honest.

To say about the movie,one can see Vijay in a different Avatar after a long time.Thats what the buzz is about and it has proved positive for the promotion of the film.As far the story is concerned it  shows how a irresponsible guy becomes a bodyguard of a respectable man in the society and how things turn when the respectable man's daughter falls in love with the bodyguard without revealing who she is.The story deals with emotions between the characters than on the top flashy action sequences and commercial elements.Vadivelu's comedy has worked out in few scenes and in others its rather dull and mirthless.Asin has acted well but i kept on wondering why the hell she cries a lot(amount of glycerin would have had an effect on the budget of the movie  for sure..:P)

Positives:
  • Its good to see Vijay in a role which does not  utter deadly punch dialogues or do superman comic action sequences or give build up than necessary etc.To say simply he has not tortured audience like his previous films.That in itself is a great plus.
  • The movie had not basked on the glamor quotient.Thanks for the producer and director for providing costumes that cover enough.:p..The movie sans obscenity  make it watchable with the family.
  • Considerable part of credit should go to Siddique as he had made his presence felt  in the movie in a lot of instances.His effort behind the screen is visible.

Negatives:

  •  Even though the movie is not a torture its hard to say it is awesome.Movie is too good comparing with other Vijay movies but not too good in general.
  • The way heroine melts and feels too much  for Vijay suddenly, without reason, is cinematic. Had that been justified it would have been more convincing.
  • Over sentimentality and emotions in some places makes it look like TV serial.I did not see any reason for Asin crying in lot of scenes.For instance scene in which Vijay says his opinion about Asin over phone.Too much tears proved irritationg after some point.I kinda looked at the corner of the screen to check suntv symbol at times.
  • The sad violin BGM in Asin's scenes during the second half and the climax BGM resembled BGM's where usually the TO BE CONTINUED will appear in soap operas.
  • Siddique's direction at some points beckons him to come out of small screen set up.

From my personal perspective,the twist the director gave in the climax was the death punch.(Angaye sethuten). The friend character turning into a cheater just like that reminds small screen again(well im exhausted saying this :().As far as Asin is concerned i think this is a milestone for her.If  bollywood doesn't click she can grab a chance for Zee TV serial with eyes shut.Trust me she had been trained well in the movie. I feel the opening and first one hour or so was bit ok.The 20 minutes before intermission was racy and proved good.I thought the movie will go in the same pace after that.But unfortunately.... It did not ..Asin's characters with tears in eyes and unnecessary display of emotions had altered the feel of the movie.

What ever it is i don't think it is a movie that has to be watched in theater.That too on the third day of release?..No way..As far as i am concerned i have wasted 3 hours of my sleep and 100 bugs.I could have watched it in TV later..May be if it is telecasted as half an hour episodes it would be a huge success.. :P..
                                                                                                                                                          One thing is for sure,i won't go to a Vijay movie even if it gets good review(coz this time i was bullshitted by these reviews only-that too from Ajith fans themselves- and i was not pleased as the movie was not upto the reviews).. Still i maintain that i have no qualms to call a  movie  good if it is really good..But this is not it..Perhaps if i had gone to the movie with less expectations it would have felt different...who knows...But hats off to Vijay for finally deciding to act..Bravo!!!!..Good try... :)

My verdict: Comparing other Vijay movies its too good..But in general it is mediocre.. Body guard has put in every effort to defend..