I was eagerly waiting to watch this movie ever since it released for two reasons. First is due to the fact that it is about Periyar E.V.Ramasamy, a known atheist and rational thinking proponent. I am very poor in history & wanted to find out what Periyar's philosophy is and why he is so highly rated & respected. Second is because it is directed by Gnana Rajasekaran, the director of the movie "Bharathi". Though Bharathi was not a great movie, it was a decent attempt in making a biopic of a very popular person in Tamilnadu.The story of Periyar (1879-1973) starts with E.V.Ramasamy being shown as a person who hates the traditions and the associated superstitious beliefs that were prevalent during his time. He criticizes the orthodox practices of his mother and family. When his father openly condemns him in front of others for a 'perceived' disrespect to the Brahmin's community, he leaves Erode to make his own living. His growth from that stage as a rational thinker to a leader of the people is portrayed in a beautiful albeit slow manner.
Some of the scenes & dialogues are thought provoking and add the necessary spice to an otherwise slow narration of the events. Considering the fact that the director has to deal with narrating the life story of a person who lived for 94 years with a major portion of it spent under the public radar, it is indeed a commendable effort to sustain the interests of the viewer for a 3-hour span. Due to my lack of knowledge about the life of Periyar, I am unable to comment on whether the director covered all the significant events in Periyar's life. The only thing that I could vouch for is that the director did indeed keep me interested throughout and not even once did I feel bored with the proceedings. The music of Vidyasagar and the lyrics of Vairamuthu give able support to the director. Sathyaraj (as Periyar) comes up with a brilliant performance and portrayal of the aging Periyar is exemplary and surely deserves rich accolades (Check out the small peeve I had about Sathyaraj in the negatives)
The negatives of the movie are:
- There is no mention of the year of the incidents. The director assumes that the viewer is familiar with the dates & years (Which I was not) of those events and hence the narration appears incomplete
- Only the positive image of Periyar is projected. The balance that comes out of projecting the human frailty of Periyar is missing
- Some of the events look contrived and seem to be inserted to please Periyar's followers
- The camera work by Thankar Bachan is atrocious (Or was it the projector at Sree theater or my sullied glasses?). Many of the long shots appeared hazy and out of focus
- Sathyaraj's acting in the initial stages of the movie(As the middle aged person). He seems to have acted in a lot of action movies these days and his body language reflects that
- The makeup leaves a lot to be desired. The face of Sathyaraj projects a different age while his hands project a different age (Check it in the photo above). It is applicable for the rest of the cast as well
Rating: 7/10
P.S: For an entirely different view about this movie, check out my friend's review here. Read the interview of Gnana Rajasekaran here.
6 comments:
I need to watch this movie too ! I liked the way "Bharathi" was made. But Loori's review is quite evident on how much it kindled the "controversy" :-). Dont you think this is what I was talking about "No Religion"? Anyways, I will have those discussion for our chats and phone conversation. Review is good but one more suggestion. Think of what you experienced and got from the movie. Bad and Good. After certain point of time, the film making methodologies becomes a small para than a content. But definitely you are getting more analysis than before.
I liked your observation on the make up which a normal movie goer like me would even bother to look at. You are right about the stereotypic nature of satyaraj. I would add sarath kumar also in the list. I wonder if these guys would ever learn. Dont they even see guys like tom hanks , norton, will smith acting, Leave alone from a profession point of view atleast as a entertainment..?.. I have never had regards for satyaraj as an actor. He is just better than his stupid son sibi :)
Ashok,
The main reason I have not been able to analyse what I thought/experienced when watching the movie is may be bcoz of the fact that I look at movies purely from an entertainment point of view. Also, this review style is more neutral and less revealing of the plot of the movie. I would surely take exceptions for great movies like Shawshank but for now will stick with this style.
Aru,
First and foremost, thanx for dropping by. If my comments appear to mean that I don't like Satyaraj, I probably didn't do a good job in posting my views. I have always enjoyed the 'lollu thanam' of Satyaraj and also believe that he is a decent actor. His Vedham Puthidu, Kadalora kavithaigal stand as testimony to his histrionic skills.
Cheers,
Nagesh.
I agree that satyraj had done a good job in vedam puthithu and there is no second opinion in that. But offlate his lollu is becoming too much of an overdose is what i think. I agree he has his own style , but when it is a action movie he is just nauseating to me !
Aru,
Very true. Satyaraj is becoming too stereotypical in his roles. I would rather watch him as a villain (Like in Amaithi Padai) than in movies that he has been doing off late. I guess he would come back to being a villain very soon and life would come a full circle for him.
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