Finally, one of the most anticipated and expected project has been released and the Rajini-mania was blaring sky-high ! Holding the distinction of being India's first photo-realistic, performance & motion capture, 3D computer-animated film, 'Kochadaiiyaan: The Legend' features non other than 'Super Star' Rajinikanth as the titular character and though it may not feature the legend in live action, this must truly be a great relief for his 'devotees'. A lot is riding on Soundarya Rajinikanth Ashwin's debut as a director but can she pull it off successfully ?
The film works mainly thanks to the electric and charismatic presence of 'Super Star' Rajinikanth. He carries the entire film on his shoulder and his magnetic voice adds great amount of zing to the film. Among the roles he did, it was certainly the titular character which was the scene-stealer, especially with the powerful portrayal. 'Ranadhiran' has the usual swag and style associated with 'Super Star' Rajinikanth and its a pure treat for his fans. The powerful dialogues can only be mouthed as superbly as it was, by him alone and once again, he proves that no can can match his screen presence, tenacious personality and the magnetic charm, as he does. Hail the one and only 'Super Star' ! Nassar and Shanmugaraja holds more screen timing, next to the 'Super Star' and being talented artistes, they did their part quite well. Aadhi and Jackie Shroff looks convincing as in their roles of royal king and prince. R.Sarathkumar impresses with his Tamizh diction in his cameo appearance. The ladies, especially Shobana and Rukmini were unfortunately bowled out with very few screen timing apart from Deepika Padukone, who plays the heroine. Though her digital version looks pretty and statusque, the lip-sync was terribly out of place, which could be due to Deepika's inability to speak or pronounce chaste Tamizh. The surprise package of all, is the resurrection of the legendary comedian Nagesh, who was brought out well by 'Nagesh' Shankar and Ramesh Khanna. The body language was apt and the dubbing was way too perfect, and the dubbing artiste definitely deserves recognition for his talent !
Art direction by Velu was impressive, especially with the depiction of the huge palaces presented in the film. Also, the sail ships featured in an extensive action sequence, was very well designed. Kudos to Velu ! The action choreography was handled by leading choreographer Peter Hein, along with Micheal. The extravagant, elaborate, stylish, acrobatic action sequences were befitting of the film's genre and story setting. Both of them did an excellent work and their work complemented the style of 'Super Star' Rajinikanth, which further enhances the effects to another level. Neeta Lulla takes care of the costume designing, and her efforts delivered wonders, especially for 'Super Star' Rajinikanth's digital version. The 'Super Star' was looking a million bucks and the credits should definitely go to Neeta. Coming close was Nassar and Deepika Padukone's costumes as well, which had good detailing. Academy Award winner, Resul Pookutty is in charge of sound designing, alongside Amrit Pritam. Their work took the film's effects to another level up, especially with the sound design. Forgoing the usual sound samples, the designers original recording and minute details they gave attention to, from sounds made by the movements of clothes, to the battlefield scenes upped the ante and enhanced the nuances of the script. Editor Anthony's cuts were sharp and rapid, especially for the action sequences which kept the excitement alive and also for a tight duration.
Academy Award winner and India's most wanted film composer, A.R Rahman delivered a very detailed and intrinsic score for the film and has consciously avoided from having a signature 'mass' theme music or songs as well. The film starts off with "Karma Veeran" which was picturized on the younger version of Rana, making his journey to the kingdom of Kalingapuri. The water element was abundant in the forms of river and waterfall. The song also features during the end-credits, where the film shooting footage were shown. The all-important introductory song, "Enge Pogudho" sung by S.P Balasubrahmanyam was next and features as Ranadhiran's opening song. The flamboyant and rousing anthemic element, typical of 'Super Star' Rajinikanth's opening song was there, and the castle scenes, as well as the cute dance were the highlights of the song. "Medhuvaagathaan" is the duet song featuring 'Super Star' Rajinikanth and Deepika Padukone. The dance movements of Deepika's was very graceful and the imaginary natural landscape featured in the song, alongside the white peacock, were well designed. "Manamaganin Sathiyam" & "Manappenin Sathiyam" were jointly used for a wedding sequence of the characters of R.Sarathkumar and Rukmini. The detailing of the durbar and the color palette could have been better, though the Tamizh wedding depiction, was nicely done. "Idhayam" has elaborate and grandeur in nature, change-overs with the scene setting and the editing by Anthony was seamless. Velu's art designing for the song complemented the dark and moody element of the song. The pick of the lot among the song picturizations has to be the "Engal Kochadaiiyaan" number which served as the introductory song of the 'Super Star' Rajinikanth titular character. The gloomy and haunting Maha Shivarathiri atmosphere, on a rocky and hilly mountain brought out the fantasy element very well, and the 'Rudhra Thaandavam' choreographed for the character was amazing, considering you have 'Super Star' Rajinikanth's screen presence along with it ! "Maatraam Ondruthaan" features 'Super Star' Rajinikanth and Shobana's character and the picturization, complemented the song's theme. A.R Rahman's background score, recorded with the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg, fits the nature and historical period drama genre, though some will miss the usual mass numbers expected in a 'Super Star' Rajinikanth film.
Now coming to the all important USP of the film, the performance & motion capture, done by Centroid {U.K} Ltd, under the supervision of Phil Stilgoe. The animation, project execution and techniques used are definitely path-breaking, for Indian cinema. This could definitely lead more and better projects to come in the future. But in 'Kochadaiiyaan: The Legend', the final result will receive mixed reaction from the audiences. Some will appreciate the effort, but some will definitely point out the obvious flaws. The animated characters did not capture the emotions of the artistes and this is evident through the non-rolling of the eyeballs, expressionless faces and rigid and stiff movements of the character's body language. It can be a hindrance to some audiences, but if you choose to overlook these factors, it might not bother you further. Speaking of detailing, it looks like Soundarya Rajinikanth Ashwin has heavily invested her time in bringing out 'Super Star' Rajinikanth's character to alive so much so, that the other characters suffered big time. Shobana and Rukmini's character depictions were particularly very poor. Despite all these flaws, one should commend Soundarya Rajinikanth Ashwin for her project management and her ability to pull off such an attempt with the barest of budgets.
As for the script, the story, screenplay and dialogues have been taken care off by the veteran K.S Ravikumar. The story is as old as the hills and all the elements found in an historic drama is present in the film, from love to betrayal, from heroism to sadness and etc. What keeps the film together is the super-fast screenplay, starting with a voice-over of A.R Rahman, which leaves no time for unnecessary sequences, apart from the songs, which were too many for a 2 hour film, and were badly-placed. K.S Ravikumar's dialogues are a treat to the fans of 'Super Star' Rajinikanth and the matinee idol, delivered them fabulously. But still, the script suffers due to the animation factor. Yes, such animation helps one to do things which are impossible to execute with live artistes and animals, but it robs the excitement out of the story. Steven Spielberg pulled it off with 'The Adventures of Tintin', but this is where Soundarya Rajinikanth Ashwin's flounders and her weakness is made noticeable. Directing a film involving fantasy elements based on a real life Pandya Dynasty king is no joke. One needs to be a master in story-telling and apparently Soundarya lacks this particular skill. Its not her fault to be ineptitude, but such mastery can only be accrued through better understanding of the nuances of story-telling and from experiences of doing films, unless you are an auteur on the lines of Steven Spielberg, Akira Kurosawa or even Mani Ratnam. Many sequences in the first half fell flat, only for 'Super Star' Rajinikanth to rescue it in the second half with the episodes of Kochadaiiyaan. It could even be K.S Ravikumar's script writing, but unless he directed it on his own, its not fair to be judgmental of his directorial skills with such a story-line. Nevertheless, the film is worth checking out for the attempt of Soundarya and for 'Super Star' Rajinikanth.
'Kochadaiiyaan: The Legend' - Quintessential, yet a path-breaking 'Super Star' Rajinikanth film ! Can we expect a sequel, especially for the way the film was ended ?
Ratings: 3.5/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
After a long await, 'Podaa Podi' finally makes its cinema release after its launch, way back in 2008. Touted to be a dance and musical with dosages of romance and comedy, the makers of the film promised a clean and youthful entertainer for the audiences. With a young cast and peppy music, debutante director Vignesh Sivan, makes a confident entry with no experiences, whatsoever in the cinema field beforehand !
A favorite kid of controversy, Silambarasan is back a year after his last release, 'Osthe'. As Arjun, Silambarasan fits this role to T and he delivers a very good performance, effortlessly. Needless to say, his dancing and singing skills came in handy a lot, and he has utilized those set of skills to the core, here. He should be applauded as well, for daring to take the role of a young father, which is a hard role, to pull off. His emotional outburst confronting Shobana in the second half, was the best scene for him and it shows his maturity in handling emotional scenes. Besides the director, the heroine, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar too makes her debut. Its an apt and tailor-made role for her as well, since she's an accomplished dancer herself. Her boisterous and chatterbox-like characteristics suits her image very well, and she too delivers her best, when it mattered the most. An added advantage for her, is her ability to dub for herself and with the right projects, she's bound to move forward in Tamizh cinema. Kudos to her for persevering in delivering a good performance, on par with an experienced hero ! Veteran accomplished dancer and artiste, Shobana does a minor role in this film, but sadly it was a poorly written role for her. It could be due to editing, but her appearance in the film is very far and few in between. It was awkward to hear Vivitha dub for her. 'VTV' Ganesh appears in a couple of scenes, and as usual, he is a scream in most of his scenes.
Designer Sabir should be appreciated for his eye-catching designs. There's only one fight sequence in the film, and it was choreographed in a realistic manner by Rod Wan Ruff. Costume designing is an important part for such musicals and youth-oriented films and in this case, Vineesha Arora Sarin has done a good job with vibrant colors which suits the characters played by Silambarasan and Varalaxmi. Art direction was not bad from Ute Bergk and Kiran. The sets plays a big role in establishing the mood of the scenes, especially during the dance sequences. The interiors of the house of the lead artist as well as 'VTV' Ganesh was simple, yet urban and chic. Anthony's editing was a big help for the film, with his seamless cuts, especially for the opening song, "Love Panlaama Venamaa". Cinematographer Duncan Telford has captured the vibrant and hippie culture of the London quite well and the dance sequences, especially which are the highlights of the film.
Music director Dharan Kumar makes a comeback after two-years of absence after his last on-screen release, 'Thambikku Indha Ooru'. His contribution is the biggest plus for the film. His songs are vibrant and groovy, which gives you the dance-and-musical feel to the film. The film is littered with songs and it starts off with, "Love Panlaama, Venamaa". This song has fantastic choreography by Robert, who makes a cameo appearance alongside 'VTV' Ganesh, Premji and Santhanam. Duncan Telford handled the camera very well for this song, with colorful sets by Kiran. Added to that, you can see "tidbits" from Silambarasan who appears in get-ups of his previous films. "Un Paarvaile" is a situational song, shot in a dance studio and comes to during a crucial part of the script, where the hero learns of the heroine's involvement in dance classes, with some funny acts, here and there. "Podaa Podi", the title track has montage sequences along with the dance sequences with unique camera movements and colorization from Duncan. "Hare Rama" is another montage-sequences filled situational song showing the break-up period of the lead pair. "Mattikitten" has some elaborate dance sequences, which reminds us of Western musical-and-dance stage shows. The song features unique lighting during the dance portions, added with some montage sequences. "Appan Mavane" was shot extensively in Disneyland Hong Kong, backed by group dances and fireworks. The "Theme Music" piece was portrayed in a dramatic manner, which comes during a crucial dance competition sequence. The climax song, "I Am A Kuthu Dancer" was well shot with good lighting, and it highlights most of Silambarasan's iconic 'kuthu' songs, with energetic dancing from the lead pair. Dharan Kumar also scores in the background score department as well. Looking forward to better works from him !
Vignesh Shivan, a very young and debuting director, makes up for his wafer-thin story, with interesting dialogues and breezy screenplay. What's commendable is that, he made it a point to clearly sketch his lead characters with good characterization. Their fashion sense, point of views, likes and dislikes, everything looked believable and relatable for the youth audience. Also, its always interesting to see two polarly-different characters liking and falling for each other and in this case. Dialogues are a highlight of this film, because they were very casual and tongue-in-cheek, which leads to simple yet humorous scenes. Vignesh Shivan has articulated very well about the current, modern-day youths, who are impulsive, stubborn and idealistic, which relates very well with the youth audiences. The screenplay was not bad, which has couple of good scenes thrown in here and there, especially in the second half, which consists most of the serious portions of the film. Vignesh Shivan did prove in making a youth-oriented film, but his scripting is still very much teenage-oriented. Only his next films can determine the actual talent of Vignesh Shivan.
'Podaa Podi', a neat entertaining film which is strictly for teenagers and youths !
Ratings: 3/5 STARS
BY:TAMIL
