Bala's Naan Kadavul - Disappoints

Tamil movie director Bala is an eccentric genius. His movies are uniquely offbeat and to many he paved the way for the re-emergence of neo-realism in tamil movies providing an effective counter to the popular commercial 'masala' movies produced and which continue to dominate Kollywood. In the process he directly inspired several other new directors such as Ameer Sultan (Raam, Paruthiveeran) and Sasikumar (Subramaniapuram) , Selvaraghavan (Kadhal Kondein, 7G Rainbow Colony, Pudhupettai) amongst others to explore and bring out a freshness in terms of presentation, story-telling, dialogue etc. Bala's movies like Sethu, Nandha and Pithamagan were path breaking in terms of conceptualization and picturization, with the undercurrent of rawness and rage dictating the proceedings in each movie, striking a chord with the audience (and me personally). And his stories have no qualms about dealing with the characters outside the normal realm of Indian society and primarily present how the society deals with such individuals; for instance Sethu dealt with how society treat mentally unstable people, Nandha tackled the issue of juvenile criminals and Pithamagan had the audience mesmerized and empathize with an animalistic crematory caretaker. Highly unconventional indeed and as mentioned above simmering with anti-establishment fervour.

For instance here is a clip from the movie Pithamagan, where Vikram plays an individual who lacks social skills (for lack of better description) and is probably only a few notches above a savage animal, who beats up a couple of jail wardens and their enforcers in a prison!

The sheer raw anger and Vikram's powerful intensity in terms of body language (won him a national award) makes this an unforgettable scene in Tamil movie history.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VAOFld8cIcE


The success of Bala also provided the much needed break through for actors Vikram and Suriya (who were yet to establish themselves at that time) and helped them become the superstars they are today. However nothing was to beat the hype of director Bala himself, how he simply could not put a foot wrong, and his near 3 year production of 'Naan Kadavul' ( I am God) was eagerly awaited as the next masterpiece from the master.


But Naan Kadavul fails to create the same impact like Pithamagan. It starts off fine recounting the story of Rudran (played ably by Arya) who was left to fend for himself from a young age when his superstitious father abandoned him in Kasi due to some silly astrological reasons. When the father (after 14 years) realizes the folly of his deed, he goes back to Kasi in search of his young boy, only to find, to his dismay, that his son is now a Aghori saint, a recluse, who has acquired seemingly divine strength and knowledge through years of yogic meditation and intense Aghori training. Of course Rudran wants nothing to do with his family; "He is now a Aghori" whispers a trembling priest " they do not associate with this mortal world" he warns. Nevertheless Rudran reluctantly relents and travels back to his home town after heeding to his guru.

It is around here that Naan Kadavul starts to flounder. The aftermath of Rudran returning to his hometown and his dealing with the family would have on its own strength provided for riveting viewing, but alas Bala decides to switch tracks and shifts his attention to a rag-tag bunch of beggars, most of them either handicapped or freaks of nature (since they earn more) and the harsh conditions to which they are subject to by the beggar-mafia, ruled with an iron-fist by the cruel and equally cruel looking Thandavan. Bala introduces a blind girl (Fantastic performance by Pooja) with a beautiful singing voice, who is forcibly separated from her family of travelling artists, by one of Thandavan's goons, with the help of the local police, and thrown alongside the above mentioned rag-tag group of beggars, adds some macabre humor and bingo, you have, what can only be described as one "weird movie-going experience".

The entire second act, with the focus on the beggars and their universe makes for unpleasant viewing. Although history has taught us that Bala seems to derive sadistic pleasure from depicting unpleasantness. While it does not have the shock value of Slumdog Millionaire, nevertheless it is quiet disturbing. The third act, the decisive conclusion, where we expect Rudran (who was virtually absent from the second act either smoking the magic pipe to the chants of 'Jai Bholenath' or out cold) to save these beggars from their misery with a bang but ends with a whimper, all un-subtle symbolisms aside. Once again Bala misses a trick by tying things up rather abruptly. Pity, cos Thandavan deserved a more cruel death.

An engrossing beginning, Arya impresses with his presence, a meandering second half, sparkled with bits genuine dark humor, great performance by Pooja, and a frustrating conclusion. Overall disappointing.

Here is a review by the noted critic - Bharadwaj Ranjan of the Indian Express and I was happy to find atleast one other person who was equally let down by Naan Kadavul as I was.

http://www.desipundit.com/baradwajrangan/2009/02/12/conversation-with-the-creator-of-naan-kadavul/

A little less Revolutionary Road..and more of The Reader please...

It would seem the Academy and the members of the jury were not impressed by what they saw in Revolutionary Road. That should explain why the movie was almost completely ignored in the final list of major nominations (save for the one category - best supporting actor for Michael Shannon). To be honest, I haven't watched Revolutionary Road, and I based my predictions off popular and positive reviews. Just goes to show there are no sure things when it comes to Oscars. Sally Hawkins, for instance, was strangely omitted, in spite of her dazzling performance in Happy Go Lucky. Director Christopher Nolan also found himself falling short despite creating one of the biggest movies of the year. Wall-E too, another victim.
If many(including yours truly) were led to believe that this could possibly be the year the Academy traversed off the beaten track and considered alternative motion pictures such as Wall-E or The Dark Knight or hopefully honor some of the creative forces behind these movies, they were sadly mistaken. Instead two movies in particular were showered with attention - Milk (which I haven't watched) and The Reader (which I have watched). The other nominations for best motion picture were as expected.

And having watched the Reader, I do have some reservations from it being proclaimed as one the top five 'best' movies of the year. Yes, it was effectively directed, had coherent storyline, decent performances, but best movie and best director? Really? The movie had a detached feel throughout. I personally could not empathize with any of the characters though the movie dealt with the aftermath of the holocaust and German guilt and all that. Both pertinent, powerful subjects those. But the movie strangely fails to capture the grief. I suppose that might have been the intention to begin with - portraying an emotional subject without actual emotion.
I was partly aroused but never moved. People who watched the movie would comprehend, but I suppose the members, and its their votes which really count in the final tally, got their emotions mixed up?

In any case, the exclusion of Revolutionary Road by the Academy threw my predictions off whack. I will discuss my predictions for the Oscar winners in a latter post.

Here is a link to the actual 2009: 81st Academy Award nominations -

http://www.oscar.com/nominees/?pn=nominees

Nav

2008 - The Movies

I saw some outstanding movies in 2008. This given the fact for the first time in my life, I seemed to have less time for myself than ever before, between all the long hours at work, time spent with my girlfriend (and not watching movies), and the time needed for the rest of the daily chores - eating, drinking, commuting, sleeping etc. You know you've got it all wrong when sleeping is considered a chore.

My girlfriend took some time to digest my almost maniacal obsession with movies. She's better now. And its funny when I show her a list of movies I intend to watch (filtering out the crap out there) and she adds her own preferences, say like, Sex and the City, Marley and Me, Prom Night and National Treasure etc. I find it cute. Although it sort of defeats the very purpose of me making a list. But its all in good humor though.

And since I have loads of time at the moment, here are all the movies I watched in 2008 (at least the ones I remember) and my quick take on those movies. It should be a considerably short list and I would never dream of attempting a similar exercise from any other year. Here goes -

1) Semi-Pro - Funny in parts. Will Farrell being Will Farrell. Though his act is getting a little repetitive.
2) The other Boleyn girl - Watched it for Scarlett Johansson and Natalie portman. Very disappointing. Large screen soap opera with costumes. Eric Bana did nothing else this year.
3) 10,000 BC - One of the worst movies of the year. Never trust trailers.
4) Bank Job - Entertaining, british, hip, ever reliable Jason Statham. And Hercule Poirot plays a bad guy.
5) Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - A well made movie with excellent production values. Feel good story with a good heart and splendid performances by Frances Mcdormand and Amy Adams. Directed by British-Indian. Recommended watch.
6) Drill Bit Taylor - Funny but forgettable.
7) Run Fat boy Run - Star Simon Pegg and Thandie Newton. Sweet british comedy. Simon Pegg has good comic presence.
8) 21 - Half-baked plot based on best selling book which in turn was based on real life incidents. Intriguing for people who play blackJack. Boring for those who don't care enough.
9) Leatherheads - Another comedy which was interesting in parts. Captures the essence of the 20's-30's but do we really need to make this movie? If not for Clooney and Zellwegger, would have played on lifetime.
10) Street Kings - Keanu reeves plays racist, over-the-top tough cop in LA. Oscar winner Forest whitaker co-stars. Has some shock value but cliched storyline kills it. Mediocre.
11) Prom Night - Disturbingly stupid. The supposedly scary guy is a dude with a knife.
12) Forgetting Sarah Marshall - Definitely funnier than any of the comedy features discussed so far.Especially the dracula song was kinda hilarious yet sad. Definitely worth a watch.
13) Iron Man - Beginning of summer, and first real good movie of the year. Excellent storyline and Robert Downey Jr. makes a great superhero.
14) Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the crystal skull - Inane story line, boring action sequences, Spielberg's infuriating direction, framing all sequences in a bright, hazy mode - franchise killing episode. Hopefully we've seen the last of this series.
15)Kung-fu Panda - Really good fun. Entertaining. No grand storyline but keeps the kids happy.
16) Incredible Hulk - The second comic book hero coming to the big screen in 2008. Effective performance by Ed Norton. Keeps you engrossed in the story.
17) Love Guru - Idiotic. Amateurish. Mike Myers needs to work harder.
18) Get Smart - A much much better comedy starring Steve Carell. Maybe I'm more in tune with Carell's type of humor. Understated yet effective. I remember there were several sequences where I laughed out loud. Good watch.
19) WALL-E - One of the best movies of the year. Imaginative, persuasive, and compelling. Should win Oscar for best animation.
20) The Dark Knight - Christopher Nolan takes batman up a notch and introduces a Shakespearean like setting with an amazing interplay of well-defined characters - a brooding, enigmatic, yet incorruptible hero, an idealistic good man who loses both his identity and his idealism, and pure devil of a villain who creates chaos for the sake of chaos; who ultimately have to confront each other and the city of Gotham caught in the crossfire. Fantastic, entertaining and a superlative effort. The godfather of all superhero movies. And Heath Ledger's final role. One of his most memorable.
21) Elegy - Saw it online (does that count?). Powerful performance by Sir Ben Kingsley proving he is one of the elite performers of our times. A thought-provoking movie.
22) Tropic Thunder - One of the best, over-the-top, yet cynical comedies of the year. Fantastic special appearance by Tom Cruise who rocks the show. A fantastic spoof of Hollywood. Directed by Ben Stiller.
22) Vicky Cristina Barcelona - Breezy, artsy with well written dialogue - Woody Allen having fun with some good looking actors and exploring the beauty of Spain. Invites us to indulge in this tale of rich, bohemian lifestyle.

23) Che: Part One - Steven Soderbergh's ode to iconic Che Guevara. Working in close collaboration with Benecio Del Toro who immerses himself into the role of the controversial legend. Part One jumps right into the midst of the Cuban revolution and Che's key role in bringing Fidel Castro to power. The movie is cramped with names, dates, places - history buffs would find this all extremely satisfying, but at the end of the day soderbergh does not have a clear definition of the scope of his project and thus the audience is overwhelmed with details and as a result fail to connect with the movie or have an emotional bond with Che. Who is he? How did he form his radical ideologies? Who is this man behind the myth? It feels like a history lesson with action sequences. The movie in fact begins with Soderbergh spending a good five minutes showing the map of Cuba which we promptly forget once the rubber hits the road so to speak. However Del Toro lives and breathes Che. Fantastic performance. Need to see Part II.

24) Body of Lies - People know I'm reluctant to watch Ridley scott movies since they always seem to be an exercise of his showmanship and unnecessary razzle-dazzle, a sort of cinematic masturbation if you may. His brother, Tony Scott, cranks it up even further, if it that were physically possible. I've walked out of movies such as Domino, Man on fire with splitting headaches. However, Ridley Scott has managed to present Body of Lies without too much gimmickry and depicting an engrossing, involving story. Strong performances by Leonardo Di Caprio and Russel Crowe.

25) Zack and Mirni make a Porno - Given all the hype this was probably one of the more disappointing comedies of the year. An interesting idea but un-inspiring script and a very weak third act left me restless and irritated.

26) Madagascar 2 - A simple, fun-filled movie with universal appeal. I found hard to resist its kiddish charm and old-fashioned tale of combining humor with moral.

27) Role Models - A surprisingly well made comedy. It had ample laughs, and at same time engaged us to care about all the characters on screen. Even if they did partake in a make-believe world of elves, goblins and monsters.

28) Slumdog Millionaire - Danny Boyle's exhilarating, visual threat (in all ways Ridley Scott can never possibly achieve) A tale of dickens-ian proportions, with dark, disturbing places but an ultimately feel good ending. Right from the start, the director weaves a story of chance, fate and destiny with a never die spirit exhibited by the young protagonists in a cruel, cruel world. Excellent cinematography and editing to boot alongside an often pulse-pounding soundtrack by A R Rahman.

29) Quantum of Solace - One of the worst James bond movie of all times. An Un-inspired effort. A wimp of a villain, no gadgets, no wit, no charm, and clumsy direction.

30) Transporter 3 - Eh. They should stopped at Transporter I. For all the good things Jason Statham does in this movie, he ought to look to widen his portfolio a bit.

31) Frost/Nixon - a compelling watch. Draws you in and doesn't let go. Fantastic performances by Frank Langella who is sure to get a Oscar nomination this time around. One of the top ten movies of the year.

32) The reader - This was unusual movie. I suppose it was designed to be provocative in more ways than one, and draw some sort of emotional response as it proceeds, but it left me more cold than I'd expected. Ralph Fiennes is commendable. Kate Winslet gets under the skin of the character and gives a nuanced performance.

33) Tale of Despereaux - Boring. A convoluted plot with annoying voice over narration.

34) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button - When I was watching this movie I felt I was seeing something special. It proceeded at a languid pace, and I enjoyed the sense of tranquility about it. A movie of a man growing younger as the world grows older. It was all magical and meditative. Great work by David Fincher and Brad Pitt was born for this role. But after careful consideration, the skeleton of this movie was all too similar with Forrest Gump. But still a great movie nevertheless and should be get several Oscar Nods.

35) Transsiberian - This is one hell of a good movie. It puts us into the shoes of the female lead and then as the movie unravels it has us backing into a corner, we frantically look to escape, and another door closes shut trapping us in a dark,unfriendly place . Excellent story. Terrific performances. Sir Ben Kingsley is on top of his game this year (save the dreadful performance in Love Guru).

Movie yet to watch or which I missed out on

1) Revolutionary Road
2) The Wrestler
3) Valkyrie
4) Doubt
5) Che II
6) W
7) Happy go Lucky
8)Rachel Getting Married
9) Blindness
10) Miracle at St.Anna
11) Burn after reading
12) The Traitor
13) Milk
14) The Pineapple Express
15) X-files: I want to believe
16) You dont mess with the Zohan
17) Redbelt
18) Let the right one in
19) Gran Torino
20) In Bruges
21) I've loved you so long
22) Tell No One
23) The Last Mistress
24) Synecdoche, New York

If I were to select the 10 best movies of 2008 (those I've watched) they would be as follows -

1) Dark Knight
2) Wall-E
3) Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4) Slumdog Millionaire
5) Frost/Nixon
6) Elegy
7) The Reader
8) Transsiberrian
9) Iron Man
10) Body of Lies

This may change the moment I watch Revolutionary road, doubt and any of the other movies on my watch list. In fact I'm quite certain it will.

Nav

03/16/2010 Update: The underlined movies have been watched.

1) Revolutionary Road
2) The Wrestler
3) Valkyrie
4) Doubt
5) Che II
6) W
7) Happy go Lucky
8)Rachel Getting Married
9) Blindness
10) Miracle at St.Anna
11) Burn after reading
12) The Traitor
13) Milk
14) The Pineapple Express
15) X-files: I want to believe
16) You dont mess with the Zohan
17) Redbelt
18) Let the right one in
19) Gran Torino
20) In Bruges
21) I've loved you so long
22) Tell No One
23) The Last Mistress
24) Synecdoche, New York