Spoilers ahead…
A discussion about 24 must begin with Suriya, and a discussion about Suriya must begin with the fact that you have to travel back in time, to Rakta Charitra in 2010, to get anything close to a performance from the actor. Had Suriya been just one of those “mass stars,” from whom we expect nothing but charisma and fourth-wall-breaking “fan moments,” we’d simply sigh and wait for his next movie to roll along. But in addition to Suriya’s star power – pretty much the only thing that holds up the Singam franchise – he’s also a persuasive performer, and one kept waiting for a film that felt worthy of him. And it isn’t as though he’s been picking easy scripts either. 7aum Arivu, Maattrraan and even Massu Engira Masilamani – all sound great on paper, high-concept star vehicles you can’t see too many other heroes being interested in. But the films were sloppily written, sloppily made. One more expensive, out-of-the-box dud, and we might have had to resign ourselves to a resumé filled with Singam sequels.
Suriya gets his mojo back in Vikram Kumar’s expensive, out-of-the-box, time-travel thriller 24. (It’s a high concept Modi would love: the world’s first time traveller is an… Indian.) The star delivers three finely calibrated “mainstream” performances, playing just enough to the gallery without breaking out of the characters. In the inventor named Sethuraman, we see a mad-scientist gleam in the eye – even his grin is situated the right distance between manic and nerdy. As the villain Athreya (Sethuraman’s twin), Suriya is all dark panache – he’s what he’d have been in Anjaan had the film had a script. At some point, Athreya ends up in a wheelchair, and we see a crumpled mass, crushed by decades of impotence and frustration. (Cinematographer Tirru lights the character in darker tones, ashen browns compared to the golden yellow Sethuraman is often bathed in.) And as the “regular” hero, Mani, Suriya is charming like he hasn’t been in years. The presence of a solid script, a director who knows what he’s doing, seems to have put the spring back in Suriya’s step. The look-ma-I’m-a-star smugness that infected a lot of his recent performances has been wiped clean. Watch his swagger as he discovers what he can do with the watch Sethuraman invented. It’s like Spider-Man discovering his powers. There’s wonderment, delight, and a hint of devilish mischief.
Unlike most directors who think their job is done once they get a star on board, Vikram Kumar believes that the star comes after the script (he’s the writer as well). I can’t remember the last time a star vehicle was so meticulously, so inventively written – the scenes move like moves on a chessboard. We’re constantly caught off-guard. We think we know what will happen when Mani overhears a conversation between Athreya and his loyal aide, but… We think we know what will happen when Satyabhama (Samantha) discovers Athreya’s secret, but… The way the villain reaches out to the hero (through an ad), the reason for the name “Project 24” (gradually unveiled) – everything clicks into place like components on a Swiss watch.
It’s a bit of a disappointment that a writer-director so attuned to surprise (and so averse to cliché) cannot think of anything to with Satyabhama except pack her off to an agricultural college we never see her in – she exists solely so the romantic track can exist (more about this later). But he compensates with the character of Mani’s mother (Saranya, who’s wonderful, even if you wish directors would give her instructions other than “exude maternal warmth”). I’ve never seen a mainstream movie treat a single mother with such dignity and empathy. She’s there for the requisite dose of “amma sentiment” – true. But she’s a fully-fleshed character. She’s out of myth. She’s the equivalent of Yashoda.
24 isn’t some wannabe tech-fest where a hotshot filmmaker ropes in some good visual-effects people and sets out to ape Hollywood. Like all good masala movies, the film, which opens with a scene featuring an eagle, is rooted in Indian myth – there’s a sense of karmic destiny all through. (Note, for instance, the way the “key” finds its way to its rightful owner.) And like the best masala filmmakers, Vikram Kumar infuses these mythical tropes with fun. The film’s core is the concept of time, and yet, it’s not a lumbering dramatic device. There’s a light, spot-the-reference quality to the way we’re constantly alerted to it. Look, it’s there in Mani’s name. Look, it’s there in the silly conceit of a family breaking a vow of silence at 6 pm. Look, it’s there at the bottom of a Co-optex ad (“your time starts now”). We have fun, because Vikram Kumar is having fun.
The romantic track gets tedious in the second half, but the initial portions are amazingly good. The director uses the love angle to “explain” to the audience the crucial sci-fi concepts, and these scenes are laugh-out-loud (though, I admit, had these scenes not been so entertaining, they may have played out like pages from Stalking for Science Geeks; maybe they still do). A stretch that ends with a selfie with Dhoni is a bliss-out. The scene needn’t have gone there, for the hero’s already done what he set out to do – but it’s these grace notes that make a love track sing. I would have been happy just seeing a sci-romance along these lines. And here too, the writing is rock-solid. Because we get the cricket-stadium scene, Mani needs to explain his presence there, which is why he invents a condition named imagine-o-romance-0-philia, which leads to a song in which the heroine keeps seeing the hero everywhere. The idea for the song isn’t new (we saw it in Baasha, for instance), but you have to respect a filmmaker who bothers to lead up to this idea, when we’d have happily bought the song sequence even without it.
Except for a terribly placed song in the second half, one of those numbers where hero and heroine straddle suicidal rock formations in order to proclaim their love, AR Rahman’s numbers are led up to, and the sole action scene, too, is built up to. It has a reason to exist. And it ends shockingly (and rather gruesomely for a ‘U’-rated movie), leading to the best kind of interval moment, one where you ask, “Erm… did he just die?” It helps that the villain is no papier mâché tiger. He’s murderous – though I wanted to know where the hate sprang from. In such a long film (almost three hours), why not spend a few minutes establishing the enmity between Athreya and Sethuraman? Okay, so 24 isn’t perfect. The insistent score gave me a headache. And the film, though it never loses its inventiveness, plateaus after a point. I wished the end had brought me more towards the edge of my seat. But these are minor reservations about one of the most intelligent, joyous mainstream films in a long… time.
KEY:
- Singam = see here, and here
- 7aum Arivu = see here
- Maattrraan = see here
- Massu Engira Masilamani = see here.
- Anjaan = see here.
An edited version of this piece can be found here. Copyright ©2016 The Hindu. This article may not be reproduced in its entirety without permission. A link to this URL, instead, would be appreciated.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Meghnath
May 6, 2016
Finally Surya has managed to breakthrough !! I am a big fan of ARR, but sometimes when a movie is a thriller, i feel it is better off without songs. I am sure ARR wouldn’t mind(with a bit of reduced pay) doing only the background score for a thriller.
@BR: What is your take on this ? Just because the music is by ARR it is not compulsory to have 5 songs is it ?
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Rohit Sathish Nair
May 6, 2016
Rahman score giving you a headache? Is that a first?
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Anand Sethuraman
May 6, 2016
Like how you prefer ‘Film Analyst’ instead of ‘Film Critic’, I always felt we need a better word for ‘Masala’ in Indian films. A Perarasu film like Sivakasi or Tirupathi can be referred to as ‘Masala’ but a Thani Oruvan or 24 which one might call a well-done ‘Masala’ film probably deserves a better word to signify the effort behind the writing & staging.
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Padhma
May 6, 2016
I was waiting for your review BR! I was having a hard time trying to pick between The Captain and this movie. Now, I am sold! 24 it is!
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brangan
May 6, 2016
Anand Sethuraman: Masala is not a bad word. It’s the films that reduce it to a one-note, bad thing. Otherwise masala has several flavours. It’s essentially a distillation of myth, with all the many-directional, navarasa elements attached. Deewar is one kind of masala. Yaadon Ki Baarat is another kind of masala. Singam is another kind. 24 is a dressed-up-in-sci-fi-clothes kind…
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The British Asian Blog
May 6, 2016
Good one!
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Rohit Sathish Nair
May 6, 2016
Sir, didn’t you find any reference to Western films on the same subject?
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Akhilan
May 6, 2016
I’m so happy for Suriya…!! I’ve been a huge fan for the longest time, but haven’t enjoyed a single movie of his since Aadhavan and that had more to do with the banter he shared with Vadivelu than anything else… Kudos to him for producing 24 as well…
Also, I know you didn’t care too much for Manam BR, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it’s good to see Vikram Kumar back it up in such an impressive manner…
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lowlylaureate
May 6, 2016
For those who are interested in things left unsaid please to see our FRS
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nnicolerr
May 6, 2016
“One of those numbers where hero and heroine straddle suicidal rock formations in order to proclaim their love” – THIS
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hikicha
May 6, 2016
How come you left out comparison with Inru Netru Naalai which is two steps beter thab this ?
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ruzaikadeen14
May 7, 2016
I’m one of your usually silent readers (the silence can be attributed to my almost always agreeing to what you have to say, LOL) and I’ve been waiting for this review ever since the accolades started pouring in for the movie after the premiere shows. It’s really great to see Suriya finally in a movie that does justice to all the effort he puts in- the wait for a widely appreciated movie of his has sure been quite painful for an ardent fangirl like myself! In spite of the lagging romance portions and whatever that didn’t work in favor for the movie, I’m really happy to see he’s back. My day has been made. incoherent squealing and lots of flailing
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Yoganand Netrakanti
May 7, 2016
When you have termed the film ’24’ as “time-travel thriller”(It’s a high-concept Modi would love:the world’s first true traveller is an ….Indian”), I was reminded of two things. First, I was reminded of the Telugu film ‘Aditya 369’ directed by Singeetham Srinivasa Rao and Balakrishna was the hero. The concept of time-machine was first(even may be last) introduced in the Telugu film. The name of the time-machine in the film is ‘Aditya 369’ created by a scientist Prof Ramadas, a proverbial absent-minded professor role played by Tinnu Anand.The Telugu film is also a “time-travel thriller” which shows the historical past, the life and time of Sri Krishnadevaraya, the emperor-poet ot of 15th century, played by Balakrishna himself, in the present , the main scene actions takes place and connect them with the past. In the future, the hero reaches to a period of 24th centurywhere he expereiences high-radiation in the aftermath of the Third World War. the hero is shown as omniscent, ominipresent and omnipotent in the past, in the present and in the future. The sub-plot of the story is about the disappearance of the diamond from the pooja room of Sri Krishnadevaraya and how it reaches the hands of smuggler in the 20th and how the hero saves the diamond. The filmhas been a commericial-hit. The “high-concept” of”time-travel” would not only be ” loved” by Modi but also by all our politicians, who always go back to past, for citing the greatness of their father, grand-father, great-grand father or even to the extent of great-great-grandfather(Nehru-Gandhi dynasty)if necessasary. The achievements of the present (or contemporary) rule of their government and again living in the 20th century they make a promise to take or catapulate India to 21st century. The film ‘Aditya 369’ may be a metaphor for the Indian dynasty politics governments. To this day ‘Aditya 369’ remains the only sci-fiction movie film Telugu. The film ‘Aditya 369’ is thoroughly Telugu.
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biggie3
May 7, 2016
This film, although may be very well done doesn’t seem like the formula for a big hit for Suriya. The budget is around 65-70 crores, the marketing went overboard…seem like they hyped it up too much, and Suriya’s market value is not what it was five years ago. Hopefully, the Tamil audience will lap up this sci-fi content. But I have a hard time seeing them want to watch this more than once when it is over 2hrs 30 minutes and Suriya does not have the public draw that an Ajith or Vijay does at this time. It could just be a Chennai city, A centre, hit and struggle in other centres. Great attempt and I hope he’s rewarded with a hit and maybe even a best acting award but strikes me more as a “Fan” attempt where the film just doesn’t reach the general audience as well as one would think.
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Aravind
May 7, 2016
Indru Netru Naalai (INN) and 24, on surface, are two brilliantly made time travel based flicks. But that’s just about where the similarity ends.
In my humble opinion, INN deals with the consequences of altering the timeline, like you being physically present as yourself in your current form in another time period, to meet and alter that timeline’s doppelganger’s actions. Here’s an analogy, Say you have a cassette tape, and every time you rewind, a new tape is generated from that point onwards and you are left with multiple tapes dealing with different events based on the magnitude of change caused by you. 24 deals with time as a recorded event wherein you can forward, pause and rewind and sometimes, write over existing events in a tape, but I don’t think you have the power to change the tape itself, which in my opinion removes a lot of paradoxes involved with time traveling. I may not be accurate, but that’s how I explained the distinction to myself.
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kartkum
May 7, 2016
Your take on ARR BGM is heartbreaking. I wonder if it has to do with the sound level or sound mixing or sound design team who work on base tunes and mix?. Maybe a better theatre with better sound system would have helped. For me one of the best BGM for a while now…
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venky
May 7, 2016
Sometimes I wonder, if you could bring your energies to write a book titled, “How to talk about Masala movies?” ( or if you prefer a serious sounding title: In defense of Masala movies)
I don’t know if you will enjoy writing this book. But, it may be a fun exercise to introspect how we deride masala movies, without acknowledging the part inside us which deeply enjoys that visceral feeling which breathes fire in the fibre of our being when stars do the kind of things we can only dream of.
Or may be, a cooking book form could do justice to talking about Masala movies. How about bringing in chapters with key ingredients, key rasas, which contribute to the rich fulsome flavor we secretly cherish?
I am not proud to confess this. But, I sometimes miss the kind of religio-masala movies baby sharmilee used to star in my childhood. I remember my childhood summers where I used to enjoy watching such movies where snakes, dogs, monkeys conspire with supernatural beings to teach you the importance of faith and devotion. Although I can’t stand watching those movies now, with my current sensibilities, there was a part in me in my extremely religious upbringing which enjoyed watching such movies.
There cannot be anything more reductive than “Masala = keep your Brains at home”
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TeluguOdu
May 7, 2016
Dr. Shiv Kumar (Suriya) is a scientist. He is married to Priya (Nithya Menon) and they have a cute little son. Shiv Kumar has a pet project, named 24. He puts his baby in an incubator like machine, which pacifies him and also brings up closer to sounds of different types. His elder brother, Athreya (also Suriya) is pure evil. He wants to snatch Project 24 away from Shiv Kumar. Athreya manages to kill Priya, which Shiv Kumar escapes with a watch and his son, but soon dies. Shiv Kumar lays a trap for Athreya, stopping him from killing them both and this trap paralyses Athreya and he goes into a coma. Meanwhile, Suriya is killed in a bid to escape, and his baby boy is brought up by a woman who finds him on the train. You can see the complete Suriya Movie at 24 Review at http://www.teluguodu.com
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Raj
May 7, 2016
I am not sure how can we claim the movie was very intelligent. Yes granted there were some unexpected twists but it was seriously distracted by the romantic angle. The attention to detail was definitely missing.
Mani being so smart and also being suspicious about the ad doesn’t use his power to look into the future and see who are the guys who are looking for the watch ? Huge risk to take right? The next flaw I felt was how does the Athreya character amend his mistake when we go back in time when the only person who can change the things was the watch bearer? Also what was the plan behind Suriya going back 26 years- just to warn his Father?? His wife was doing that all along!!!
I thought the biggest loose end was why Mani never questions who removed his watch and put it in the other hand and why? He is curious to see who came home but not about who Removed the watch from his hand? This was the scene that moves the movie forward and the director needn’t have given the room for such an open flaw..
Also thought the scene where he finds the key for the box seems to be lacking some punch.. It just happens and no one is surprised!!!
Overall thought was good movie but highly flawed one… Also felt the director was forced to have the romance angle which was serious distraction- took up at least 40 mins of the movie…
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Hariharan
May 7, 2016
While i enjoyed the movie as a whole, romantic portions were a big bore and were literally overdone. Not only me, many in theatre were shouting when romantic scenes went on and on. I need to admit that “Netru Indru Naalai” was a much better in terms of time travel concept. It had a proper reference to time. In 24, the people not only travel across time but also places at same time, which is taking too much of liberty. But happy to see Surya back to form in style.
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Utkal
May 7, 2016
If you are going to call Deewar, Yadon ki Baraat and Singam as all masala then the wprd loses its meaning. Thatw ay 90% of Indian films are masala films with a comination of f;lavours. So saying it is a masala film has no meaning. There are manybetter words. Melodrama. Mythical films. I prefer Brect’s ‘ Epic’ theatre. Basically it connotes a larger-than-life way of story telling, with use of archetypes, as against the pretense to realism of Hollywood. EVen Ritwik Ghtak’s films like Meghe Dhaaka Tara fall under this genre – Epic Cinema- ( But not ray’s films. )
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harish ram
May 7, 2016
considering the prevailing sentiments, I would be happy to see a post on ARR now. It’s about time BR. Even in your movie reviews you don’t give more than a sentence or two for that guy nowadays.
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Sai Balaguru
May 7, 2016
BR sir, I think Indru Netru Nalai (2015) was much more intelligent. 24 had many scientific and logical errors. Especially (spoilers ahead), the way Mani believes that Athreya as his father – If Athreya is his father, why can’t he modify the watch to his need, why he needs the help of Mani. Another instance is, after the interval Why Mani didn’t think of how Mithran got his watch ?
Moreover the teaser had the concepts of ” Mirror effect ” in it, that was not spoken about in the film.
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Vighnesh Hampapura
May 7, 2016
Just because some of comments also talk about masala films and their significance, weren’t mainstream masala films in the 80s and 90s better – well written stories transformed into well made films?
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Abishek
May 7, 2016
The movie was surprisingly well-written and I certainly enjoyed most of it but the romance portions were really annoying. In hindsight I wish I had a watch like Suriya in the movie so that I could have skipped them.
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Kumar
May 7, 2016
I am a vvvvvvvvvvvvery big fan of surya .I say that 24 movie is a mega mega hit movie. 24 movie wins the theri movie. I like 24movie it is a scitist movie .And a music is amazing it is a A.R. Rahman special music.
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Amit Joki
May 7, 2016
I would have no problem with the romantic part as long as Samantha is on screen 😊😍😍😘
Suriya is back with a bang I guess, but he should sustain it in Singam 3 to remain loyal to his actor-cum-star persona that some if us believe he has.
P.S Heard that the story is very, very similar to Clockstoppers film? Hope it isn’t true.
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Karthik
May 7, 2016
I watch at least a Tamil movie every week at cinemas and for the past 2 years I would have seen at least 150. Your reviews had on impact on shaping my view and opinion considerably. These high budget star vehicles never consider the viewers preferences before making and delivering. They seem to be behind times and are content doing pulp. In this movie a lot of time is spent on going back and coming to the same time period without giving an insight of how it happens. Most of these scenes are predictable lacking any particular logic. When the watch can freeze time does the world stop revolving. And how does Mani infuse travelling back and forth years in the watch overnight sitting in his room. When you make sci fi there should be some believable logic netru indru naalai had it 24 doesn’t even bother about it. Its a fantasy movie in the guise of sci fi. The love track was unnecessary. The large village family can’t bear that. If not for these scenes a whole bunch of actors often fixed to particular role would go jobless. I hate to see the same actor playing a mother or a damsel ready to be wooed by an hero or a very large family with lot of relatives and so on and on.
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Ramchander Krishna (@ramctheatheist)
May 7, 2016
BR, somehow for me in this film Surya’s acting didn’t work at all. I’d say 24 works despite Surya. His Mani character predominantly seems like him hosting Neengalum Vellalaam Oru Kodi.
Also, masala is not a bad word as you say. But, I long for a film to be made with the exact same time travel storyline but minus the amma sentiment and the loosu ponnu with a broken watch.
In the climax, when Nithya Menon asks Surya to throw away the watch, he considers it for a moment and hurls it away. And I’m like, “Dei! Un invention da! Time travel da!!! Wasn’t this your life’s purpose? How can you just like that throw it away?” But, in a masala film this is how it will be. A masala film will extract whatever juice or rasa it can from an ingredient and throw it away. The watch in this film is one such ingredient.
But, it makes my heart ache. I want to see that alternative film in which Athreya’s original motivation to get the watch is elaborated. In that alternative film, when asked to throw away the watch, the dilemma that Sethuraman faces should be elaborated more. Maybe that dilemma alone could be a movie. Like Darwin’s dilemma whether to publish On the Origin of Species or not, in the 2009 movie Creation.
My heart also aches because Terry Gilliam made 12 Monkeys and Isaac Asimov wrote End of Eternity. They’re both different storylines but both take the concept of time travel and raise it to a whole new level. In fact, the protagonist in End of Eternity faces a similar dilemma as Sethuraman in the climax. Should he or should he not abandon Eternity? And it’s so beautifully written by Asimov. But, here the mandates of masala give rise to a simple, escapist solution.
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Nitin Sundar (@knittins)
May 8, 2016
Anyone else sensed a bit of a nod to the greatest film ever made? The father’s name is Sethu (Raman, not pathy), the son is orphaned at birth and brought up by a single mother, as a mechanic, grows up to learn the truth, and rights the wrong. The main lead is playing a triple role. Perhaps reading too much into it, but the dynamic between Surya and Saranya, the fact that Sethu Raman was tied up to his chair when his wife was brutally killed… I sensed a connect like 5 mins into the film.
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Sundar
May 8, 2016
Very liberal review by BR!
This is just a poorly written movie that tries to pick up tempo at some places. And by no means an intelligent movie.. I’m sure the low profile Indru Netru Naalai was much, much better – intelligent, enjoyable and never boring..
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J V P Kumar
May 8, 2016
Looks like Time is Vikram’s lover, not Suriya’s. An old clock tower was the plot device in his previous film Manam, and it is a watch in 24. Wonder what his next plot device would be!
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rothrocks
May 8, 2016
weren’t mainstream masala films in the 80s and 90s better – well written stories transformed into well made films? – 90s, probably not. 80s, maybe. And even in the 80s there were masala films and then there were masala films. I once had the misfortune of catching a stupid Rajan Sippy-starrer from the 80s, don’t even remember the name of the film (not that it matters!). Today we separate the wheat from the chaff so to speak and highlight only the good films but at the time there were plenty of utterly formulaic, boring films. In the single screen era, producers were also more risk averse. But as a consequence, parallel cinema received more attention. Even take RGV’s Sathya (big director but no big names in the cast and a gritty subject) – reviews were overwhelmingly positive and TOI gave it 5 out of 5 stars. It is difficult to imagine so much interest today in an offbeat film. Badlapur may have been that film but I didn’t watch it so I can’t judge.
On average, films are more sensible today as the audience has got tired of outright hamming for 3 hours being passed of as masala. But everything also has an aspirational gloss these days where a film like Arjun, however flawed, had soul. To be fair, the middle class, though they refuse to acknowledge it, is also way better off today than in the 90s. Maybe the films capture the reality of the middle class lives of today rather than their own pessimistic perceptions. It’s the lower class which, at least in Bollywood, seems to have been completely excluded from films where they were the toast of Bolly in the 80s and the 90s.
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rothrocks
May 8, 2016
If you are going to call Deewar, Yadon ki Baraat and Singam as all masala then the wprd loses its meaning. – I’d definitely call both Yaadon kie Baraat and Singam masala. Deewar though is trickier. AB does not feature in any songs; this was part of Salim-Javed’s credo as they felt making the angry young man sing and dance would dilute his character. Deewar does have a lot of desi melodrama but maybe not outright masala.
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Venkat Ramanan CS
May 8, 2016
BR, may be you should write a piece like “What is masala, origins of masala” or make a video essay.
PS: here is some inspiration
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Vamshi
May 8, 2016
Not sure if you have seen Manam – Vikram Kumar’s earlier movie in Telugu. It was easily one of the finest Telugu movies in recent years. It marked him out as a dazzling screenplay writer. He has this ability to make even complex narratives make simple. Even Manam had, on paper, a confusing plot line across 3 generations, reincarnations and different timelines. But he just breezes through it, ties up confusing knots and makes it look like a child’s play. Vikram also appears to have fascination for these layered narratives but still rooted in Indian themes. Just like reincarnation in Manam, here too, he appears to have brought out many Indian ideas and icons to the movie. Have not yet seen this one, but would sure do so.
Sorry to hear about the music, his earlier movies in Telugu had great music and BGM through a upcoming MD – Anup Rubens. Instead of bloating his budget by going in for an AR past his prime, he should have continued his partnership with Anup Rubens.
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Siva
May 8, 2016
@brangan Great Review, BR.
Off topic – You gave us your thoughts on Batman v Superman. Any chance we’ll be getting one on the similarly themed, yet vastly superior, Captain America: Civil War ?
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MANK
May 8, 2016
Brangan, before we discuss the virtues and vices of this film, i would like to know your take on star heroes doing 2 or 3 characters in the same film. does this spoil the fun for you? because it certainly does for me. the illusion of the world that the film hopes to create never comes together. especially in a film like this- where it is not dependent on the fourth all breaking star antics or the multi role conceit is an integral part of the plot device say ram aur syam or don – is a genuine attempt at creating a cohesive world of its own where the characters and their behavior are inclusive of it, it really puts me out of the film seeing surya fighting surya or whatever this film would have been so much better if it was some other actor playing athreya Surya has such a limited range as a performer. he does alright with the character of the young watch mechanic in present day, but he is awful as the father and uncle characters trying to indulge in ‘acting’ acting in the worst form it actually started with kamal and now it has spread to other wannabe kamals like surya and vikram. the way the actors interact and create a chemistry between them is a pleasure to Watch in itself which is denied when the same actor is hell bent on playing all the major roles i suppose if avengers or suicide squad was to be made here, then kamalvikram\surya would want to play everybody from captain america to thor to ironman .hell i think that as what happened with dasavatharam
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Toni
May 8, 2016
I thought this was a delightful movie. Haven’t seen any others by the director but will make that a priority. I remember you liking Apartment B13 (better to go with Hindi or Tamil for this?) and not liking Manam much. Any word on Ishq? Look forward to whatever he does next!
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murugavel
May 8, 2016
24 – Defies logics
The Train Scene in the opening sequence – Athreya jumps out of train because of the bomb in baby carrier, if so how did others in the trained survived. further athreya jumping out of the train ,how dd he survive that height of the fall.
Pre Interval Block – The watch has ability to fast forward time ahead, if so why didn’t mani character fast forward to see what is going to happen in the Phoenix head office before visiting the place with his friend.
Ground rules aren’t established properly – if past could be resetted back to 24hrs only , if so is it same for future. what if surya dies during fast forward. The movie shows he fast forwards time to see rain pouring and resets back to present to give umbrella to his mataji. thereby he has to be live in future to reset back to present. further more will this rule work in pre intermission block.
Athreya – Throughout the entire movie he is shown intelligent, in the sense he manipulated Mani twice ,(i.e.) intentionally asking his friend to tie the watch in right hand and other comes where he sends mithra to feed thoughts to mani impersonating like him in the wheel chair. the question lies in here is , if athreya is so smart why didn’t he guess that mani would have checked the watch before handing it to him in the church.
atherya is so smart that he is able to spot mani with the watch that has design in backside similar to original , if this is scenario how come he is isn’t able differentiate the duplicate in the church scene.
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murugavel
May 8, 2016
BR REPLY PLS
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murugavel
May 8, 2016
A true blockbuster is that gets its logics correct, but i don’t see that happening in 24. Take Thanioruvan its logics and dots are connected perfectly , leaving no loose ends. further in 24 , true intentions of athreya isn’t explained.
NEVER INSULT THE AUDIENCE INTELLIGENCE !!!!!
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murugavel
May 8, 2016
when are offering a movie thats tempts and tests our intelligence, then do it in a boundary where logics and ground rules are clearly established.
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murugavel
May 8, 2016
BR sir , i am eagerly looking forward to your reply
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MANK
May 8, 2016
coming to the film,well if we take it merely as a masala film,then it works really well, because it has just too many scientific and logical loopholes to accept it as scifi including the final leap that surya’s athreya character takes from his wheelchair to the year 1990. you could accept it as a great masala moment.so is the interval segment . its after a long time that a mainstream tamil masala film delivers the bang for the buck at the interval point. time travel itself is such a logically contentious concept that i suppose it works best in the masala format.or you can do it even better as how its done in the back to the future movies , which has a spoofy comic tone all throughout. this film does maintain a very good pace with few speed bumps like the samantha romantic track that everybody has mentioned here. eventhough i found the earlier romantic comic scenes about the beginning of the courtship – which btw seems to be lifted from groundhog day – rather charming. it is technically competent and the VFX actually works really well(or once) in this case. but it had the potential of being so much better the delineation of female characters suffers a usual . it is a pity to see the beautiful and super talented Nithya Menen reduced to such a thankless role . the final scene between kiddie samantha and surya characters seems to be part of a project on how to raise the girl child to be loosu ponnu . apart from the triple role aspect -which irritated the hell out of me – that i have already mentioned, i do believe that the Athreya character suffers from a lack of motivation to all the anger and hatred he feels for his brother- or am i missing something here? anyway, its nice to see a star driven masala film after a long time ,which is not lazily made and where you feel the work put in by the makers
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hikicha
May 8, 2016
@ramchander krishna : Agree with your points – it is a delicate balance between the time you spend for characters Vs plot and experts beautifully manage them well.
Having said that , as a person who watches movies in Single screen, low end Multiplex to the sathyams – the type of audience we have is way different. Consider Surya in a movie like Indru netru Naalai, which is more focussed without the hanging flesh. It would have been a great experiene for a selected few in the audience – when you invest 40-50 cr in a movie , you tend to give something for all – that does dilute things , but brings diverse footfall to that big dark room . Not the one We want , but If i i had to look from a director’s angle , this dilution is justified. Thani ORUvan had a nice character trajectory but does not have the complexity like time travel.
And , this is not THE RING as in LOTR for that scientist to feel that much attachment. He kills his baby in the brain to save the baby in the arms is the message i get
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MANK
May 8, 2016
rothrocks, deewar is what i would call ‘serious masala’ . its different from the Manmohan desai brand of lighthearted song and dance masala – which i believe is what people mistake for when the term masala is thrown around -and i suppose that’s what you are hinting at when you say that AB does not feature in any songs .. my understanding of masala is that it is really about creating a quasi mythical narrative where the characters comes across as gods even when they remain the characters that they are playing in the context off the film. i dont think you will call dewaar a realistic crime drama . ardh satya and drohkaal are realistic and serious crime dramas. Zanjeer,trishul,kala pathar along with dewaar exist on a plain of their own which is larger than life and mythic and yet does not dilute their seriousness.masala is a uniquely indian genre which is derived from epics and legends and dewaar represents just on subgenre of that, amar akbar anthony represents another. you just take the ‘AB’s confrontation with god ‘scene from the film. or the famous exchange between the brothers under the bridge – which ends with line mere paas maa hai line-, there is hardly anything realistic about these scenes or dialogues these are mythical archetypes and the way they speak or the words that they speak have no relation to how people talk in real life . it is to AB’s credit that he pulls of those scenes without breaking character.i dont think song and dance or comedy is a prerequisite for all masala films.
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pato
May 8, 2016
The biggest logical flaw in the movie is the fact that a watch mechanic can add a additional feature to a time machine overnight.This whole point that Mani is the only person who can modify that watch isn’t convincing.
Apart from that,the whole romantic track is extremely irritating and tiring.In the whole of the first half,more than 50% of the time is dedicated to romantic track.By the time surya uttered “I’am a watch mechanic…” dialogue for the nth time,I was able to feel unrest among the crowd.Had the romantic arc been handled in a better way,the movie would have been a lot better.
Indru Nethi Naalai is certainly a better movie than 24.INN certainly doesn’t bore you like 24 did in certain phases of the movie.
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Zero
May 8, 2016
People who are looking for cases for masala cinema, surely you have looked for it enough in the Internet to have encountered the Satyamshot blog? 🙂
(If not) You might want to start with this piece: https://satyamshot.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/what-is-masala-cinema/.
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Hari
May 8, 2016
@Murugavel
I wonder if you actually paid attention to the movie when you watched it.
The train bomb scene was a hoax. Athreya hears the countdown and assumed that it was a bomb but right after the countdown, we realise it’s just a recording of Sethu teaching Mani his numbers and alphabet. In case people (such as yourself) didn’t realise this, this same trope is repeated in the climax when Athreya and Mani go back in time (and Athreya realises it wasn’t a bomb but just a recording).
The jump from the train does not defy logic in anyway. Athreya jumps and the consequence of that action is that he enters a coma for 26 years and becomes crippled below the belt. When we have James Bond surviving a fall from the bridge into the water and being perfectly fine in Skyfall, I don’t understand what’s so difficult to accept in Athreya surviving and becoming paralysed. I think you are nitpicking because you have some ulterior motive perhaps?
As for the pre-interval block, I agree. It makes sense for Surya to check the future but you can easily accept this as just a mistake on Mani’s part. His belief was that he’d be fine because this is an established company who he was visiting, and even if there were issues, he was under the impression that he can simply rewind time to get himself out of any sticky situations. As we know, he couldn’t do this because the battery was low on the watch.
With regards to Athreya, he is very calculated and intelligent, especially given his physical limitations. However, he has done stupid things (in hindsight, but sensible from his perspective at the time) whenever he is in an angry state. For example, him jumping off the train mistaking the baby compartment to be a bomb and also mistakenly signing the cheque as Athreya. It is easy to simply accept that Athreya, after years of waiting and executing a plan where he enters Mani’s life as his father, assumed that Mani would not have verified the future. This is because up until this point, Athreya played a very convincing father to Mani so Athreya must have assumed that Mani would be too sentimental and would have not checked the future.
Athreya has a huge ego for someone so intelligent. He wants the world to fear him and know his name for all the wrong reasons. Even when he returns to 1990 in the climax, he tells everything he has done to Sethuraman to once again make a point that he is more clever than his brother (e.g. he tells Sethu how he will kill him now for a second time, he tells him how he has his men placed at all escape routes, he tells Sethu how he has cut off all power to the house which is why he can’t charge the watch). Athreya is essentially a character who wants everyone to know how he is always two-steps ahead of the game. This is probably why he assumed Mani going into the future to check what would happen at the church was unlikely, especially given how in-depth his plan was.
Those who create huge, detailed masterplans often mess up the minor things (e.g. signing the cheque, not considering the possibility of Mani going into the future to check church events) which is probably the reason as to why this occurs.
It can also be said that Athreya couldn’t tell the difference between the counterfeit and real watch in the climax because it had been modified by Mani with a new “date” dial. Athreya has no device to compare this new modified device to check if it is real or original. The only way he could find out if the watch is real is by placing it on his wrist to see if it secures itself.
Remember, Athreya didn’t recognise Mani’s counterfeit watch in the pre-interval block because he is a genius but because Mani engraved the “Project 24” emblem on the back which no one knows about apart from Athreya/Mithran and whomever holds the original watch (Mani).
In response to the statement by another user regarding how Athreya leaps out of his wheelchair in the climax, this is because he instructs Mithra to throw him towards Mani so it is still consistent with the film’s logic of Athreya being crippled.
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Madan
May 8, 2016
@ MANK: I tend to agree with Utkal that I wouldn’t necessarily classify all larger than life epic films as masala. To me, song and dance is a must have in masala. Doesn’t necessarily mean the film has to be light hearted. I present you the Prabhu starrers Kanni Raasi and Anand which started out light hearted but gradually sunk to almost unbearable depths of tragedy. Raja Kaiya Vachcha was probably the same but didn’t watch even nearly up to the end, got derailed very quickly. Will run out of hankies (or Saridons, as applicable) by the end. I agree that Deewar is not of the same level as an Ardh Sathya but it is kind of mainstream non masala where a serious subject is made palatable for a large audience via mainly the star power of AB and thus basing the narrative around him (where Ardh Sathya is concerned with the larger societal issues). I think BR himself coined a nice term for that genre of AB films – Bombay films. Yes, they belong in a somewhat different genre from the typical masala films on the one side and parallel cinema on the other. Now I would classify Khuddaar as a masala film because it ticks more of the must haves even if it is not light hearted all the way through.
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Madan
May 8, 2016
By the by, just in case, rothrocks is just my wordpress moniker and sometimes that name appears when I have issues logging in or use the phone to post the comment.
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Madan
May 8, 2016
Interesting that sathyamshot also feels Deewar is not really a masala film. I think the point can be argued both ways but it is a less clear cut case than the Shakti Samantha/Naseer Hussain/MM Desai brand of masala (or the Hrishida brand for that matter) and I lean on the side of Deewar not being a masala film.
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brangan
May 8, 2016
(1) I too sense the Aboorva Sagodharargal link in the first few minutes, but later, not so much. This is much more of a Chosen One narrative, with mythical things like the key finding its way to the rightful owner. That was more of a straightforward revenge story (though the mythical angles, like the Yashoda figure, were very much there).
(2) I am surprised so many people seem to have hated the romantic track. I loved it in the first half. It’s only in the second half (in Gopalasamudram) that it got tedious for me, but even there the writing of the scenes wasn’t at fault. It was more their placement in the screenplay, which needed to accelerate instead of showing us a dull duet.
(3) Another thing I keep hearing is how “slow” the film is. Really? Except for the last couple of reels, I didn’t feel it at all.
(4) I am surprised so many people are getting all logical about this film. Yes, there is a bit of sci-fi, but the strong mythical overtones make it so easy to suspend disbelief.
(5) Finally, I loved the mix of Tamil-masala and Telugu-masala in the film.
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Hari
May 8, 2016
The more I think about it, especially now that you brought it up BR, I think the whole Gopalasundaram angle was more for the Telugu audiences.
Telugu audiences love those huge extended family type stories (Brindavanam, Darling, Mr Perfect are all Telugu masala films which use this family-values angle religiously) so I think it was more of a compromise on the director’s/producer’s end to have that whole “Mani-and-Satya-are-related” narrative decision. The whole silly “no-talking-between-6AM-to-6PM” sentiment that the film had going is also a bit of a throwback to Telugu masala films.
It’s funny how a single, misplaced scene (Surya and Satya exchanging addresses I’m Gopalasundaram) makes the audience discount the romantic track to “irritating”. Our directors need to know when to stop with the romance angle, I guess. But in the first half I loved it – it was a means to show off the watch’s capabilities in a nice way. A lot of fun visuals such as the cricket scene cropped up as a result of this lighthearted romance.
It goes to show how even the smallest flaws in a film can stick out like a huge sore thumb when the rest of the film is so well told. I don’t know if that is a compliment or more of a disappointment….
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M.R. Sharan (@sharanidli)
May 9, 2016
Fine review!
Ouch on the insistent track, though: thought there was enough to keep me interested. For instance, loved the BGM during the overlong Gopalasamudram romantic scenes before the (rather ordinary) Naan Un song played: (if my memory serves me right) a ghatam, a bass guitar and an acoustic guitar riffed off each other for a full two minutes in a spirit of beautifully orchestrated quiet mischief.
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Murugan
May 9, 2016
P.S Heard that the story is very, very similar to Clockstoppers film? Hope it isn’t true.
illaina mattum?
Suriya is back to form as the best actor/star at this moment in tamil cinema.
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Krish
May 9, 2016
THe movie was very good….The romantic portions could have been trimmed but the thrill portions were expertly executed. Suriya was wonderful and back in form…I always felt Suriya and Dhanush are the two best actors we have in our country…It was disappointing to see Suriya waste his talent last few movies but this was a welcome back to form for him…I find too many people over thinking on the time machine bit…We need to remember that time travel itself is a fantasy and there is no right or wrong there….We just need to enjoy the directors wonderful imagination and go along with the ride…Yes the romantic portions specially the song in second half must be trimmed.. Has ARR ever given a worse sound track in his life?
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Srikanth Govindan
May 9, 2016
I completely enjoyed the first half and Suriya was at his best and charming as ever (after Ghajini and Ayan) but for me the second half was too boring… the romantic track with Samantha was excruciatingly irritating and from that point I actually lost interest. I really felt that could have easily been done away with that part and just continued with the Athreya and it would have been so much better. Hope the second part is better 🙂
PS: VFX was awesome though!
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Aditya (Gradwolf)
May 9, 2016
Anyone enjoyed the church scene as much as I did? That was beautifully written, directed and performed. The whole Athreya standing up eclipsing Jesus and talking about using the watch for sort of redemption and return from practically, death. And then Mani pulling the chair (or the rug from under him if you will) and taking the game to him, with some delicious humor and punches (the whole scene also shows why Suriya has had a lot of fun in this, after a long long time). All in all, one of the best mass/masala (whatever you want to call it!) moments in the last few years.
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brangan
May 9, 2016
Srikanth Govindan: I hear they have trimmed the second half by 9 minutes.
M.R. Sharan: No, I mean the BGM for the thriller portions, which was a lot of the film. It was so heavy and overdone.
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Senthil (@itchyfeetindian)
May 9, 2016
Am really surprised you call this intelligent movie. As most of you say, INN is far far better. I dont understand why the big budget/star movies think audience as dumb while new directors create make-believe ones. Most of the scenes pass off as laughable ones.
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Pravin J Kalyan
May 9, 2016
Advantage of a time travel movie is that you dont have to worry about Logic – after all we gave a standing ovation to Inception and Inter-stellar but still came out why did we that ….The strength of 24 is that it is not confusing and has a clear script while the weakness is the romantic angle , repeated punch dialogue , BGM , and a 164 minutes length of the movie . Why is that our film makers cannot make a movie at the 120 hour slot which can make it more faster. Othere wise it is a good time pass for Summer vacation.
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Kumar Krishna
May 9, 2016
Bradwaj Rangan… Your review is near perfect… I too felt the same… Engrossing movie till half time… Inappropriate song in the second half … and was seeking a more strong ending. Yet the movie is a path breaking one and going to be a trend setter in the times to come. Tamil cinema was losing its sting with lack of quality films while the telugu industry kept spinning quite a few block busters… Surya has brought some life back with his acting. 24 in my view was thriller of sorts!
As is the case with our cinema we have been brought up with family enmity, songs for romance , run of the mill stuff, super hero fights , mindless action, etc. it must be mentioned we are made to overlook all these with the griping action sequences and screen play.
A lot of flaws could have been fine tuned to reduce criticism and make Indian cinema even prouder…
Changes in the past affecting the future…parallel future…etc…etc…
Mother who claims she has breast fed the baby without being pregnant… a challenge to science!
4.Rudimentery device a wrist watch…enabling time travel…may be a mobile device would have been convincing…
5.Surya( SON role) could have gone to the past after seeing the future where he has got the dates and prevented his parents death in the first [lace and could have come back to the future and married his love…Samantha (who was Cute) was totally cut off from the last scenes.
I can go on and on… But frankly I think a lot of kids will think more of TIME travel …that’s good. The movie is after all and worth watching. Have fun. I think Actor Sivakumar will be proud of his sons Surya and Karthi. Wish you guys all the BEST!
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Siva
May 9, 2016
Another high concept wasted by so called “Commercialization”. I mean, you have the director of Yavarum Nalam and Suriya coming together. You expect some good things. And you get… this!
Suspension of disbelief is subject to how good the rules are established within the film. So, I found it very hard to do so in this film. Where characters do anything and everything by chance. Film could have been called “Coincidence Max” for all you know.
You don’t expect to be treated with respect toward your intelligence in a Vijay/Ajith movie, and frankly, you don’t go to their movies expecting such respect. But, when a good director and a good star who can take all the risks come together, is it so bad to ask for a film that treats the material perfectly?
I mean it’s a Time Travel movie. Where are the consequences of time travel ?. Where are the twists that could have been elevated with the time travel angle ?
Begs the question: When a film like 24 comes out. Do you pat it on the back cause it was better than, say, a Theri. Or do you shake your head, disappointed that this was not what it could have been ?
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Iswarya
May 9, 2016
The irritation of the Gopalasamudram episode had me wondering and wishing for a movie where the hero “accidentally” discovers after a long and pointless (anyway) romantic track that the heroine is his sister! I mean, there is this long-standing tradition in Tamil (and maybe Telugu) cinema where long lost relatives turn out to be related to you actually in the most convenient way possible! Well, what if she had been his chitthapa-ponnu, instead of mora-ponnu? Frankly, probability-wise, that must be happening often enough, at least as often as the convenient marriageable uncle’s daughter scenario..
From what I remember, I think the only person bold enough to tackle that problem or even come anywhere near it in Tamil was KB, and that was also not in a movie (but the TV serial Sahana).
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Iswarya
May 9, 2016
SPOILER ALERT
And talking about logical flaws, Mani goes into the future to check the watch, alright. But how do we assume that in that hypothetical future scene Athreya was stupid enough to divulge his secret before securing the watch? At that point, Mani is shown as unsuspecting, so surely he couldn’t have given a fake watch to Athreya whom he believes to be his real father! If Athreya had got possession of the watch in that hypothetical future, how did Mani return to the present with the watch intact?
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brangan
May 9, 2016
Kumar Krishna: Mother who claims she has breast fed the baby without being pregnant… a challenge to science!
Not science, sir. Myth.
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adithya
May 9, 2016
I loved the film…I won’t fit films that deals with the time travelling concept into sci- fi genre I would call them as fantasy films…time can’t be controlled nor it can be manipulated… So i don’t really mind the flaws which the film had because the concept was more complex…was happy that the director didn’t try to explain paradox theory…
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paradox
May 9, 2016
“Mother who claims she has breast fed the baby without being pregnant… a challenge to science!”
I think there is a misunderstanding here.. Here Saranya attempts at breast feeding the child to stop it from crying and it actually worked in stopping the child from crying, maybe not satisfying its hunger, but merely like how a pacifier/baby’s dummy works..
To the mother, she felt like a mother as for the first time it made her realize that feeling of the baby suckle..
I understand this does not solve/answer the kids hunger/cry completely.. but this is not a docu film is it?
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Hari
May 9, 2016
@Kumar Krishna
“Ironically a baby seems to recollect the face of his adopted mother and conveys a message to is father seems to hard to buy…”
The idea here is that the baby Mani has all his memories from the present-day 26 year old Mani. The only limitation is that he has the body of a baby Mani so is limited in his communicative abilities. He can only do so much to warn his original parents. Even the final credits scene is of the child Mani telling the child Satya that she has “imaginoromansophilia” (a condition he created that only he reiterates because he remembers it from his present-day self).
The only genuine loophole I could really identify in the film is why Mani couldn’t find out the dates off Athreya in the hypothetical future. However, I will give the benefit of the doubt that Surya managed to escape a sticky situation somehow in the hypothetical future. Not everything has to be explained; it can be left to the minds of the viewer (e.g. a bit like the final totem shot in Inception).
If I can recall correctly, I think Mani is the one who asks Athreya if he remembers what date he needs to go to. This is probably something he didn’t get an answer to in the hypothetical future because he wasn’t expecting Athreya to be Sethu in disguise. But after experiencing the truth in the hypothetical future, Mani was able to “press the right button” (so to speak) so he got the correct answers out of Athreya in the present.
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Lakshmanan R
May 9, 2016
@Iswarya : Mani is not shown as unsuspecting! While altering the watch the previous nght, he sees the picture & realizes that the guy there couldn’t be Sethuraman, who has six fingers. He goes to the hypothetical future ONLY to confirm his doubts(by giving Athreya a duplicate). When he actually does give the duplicate(the 2nd time), it is to get to know the time & date of his parents’ death. Hope this clarifies!
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Manikandan S
May 9, 2016
It will take me at least 10-20 days to come out of it. This is a visual treat for all movie-goers. Esp, the rain drop freeze scene. So much effort went into it.
When asked people around “how is time travel possible with just a watch where you are only allowed to go 24 hours back n forth?” Everyone said it is not a time travel movie, it is a time rewind/forward/pause movie. Well, thank you, very much.
Another argument is time travel itself is a theory, it is not made practical yet. I totally agree, in some universe, the tree dancing scene in RamaNarayanan movies could be totally real and logically acceptable. I mean, God is theory, who proved it practically? There is a reason there are genres as Myth/fantasy/sci-fi.
Time freeze, by the Einstein’s unacceptable, non-practical theory (derived) is, if you travel exactly with the speed of light, you will be able to freeze time and play with it. Oh, did I say travel?? I’m sorry, you can very well enjoy the weather on your terrace too, if you are capable of being a WATCH MECHANIC.
The same similarity between watch and time is not relative to fancy watch and time travel, esp, a scientist and a watch mechanic. But if you are a WATCH MECHANIC, everything is possible. Mind you Chuck Norris, you are not a watch mechanic.
This movie works on various levels, you eliminate the time travel concept from the movie, still it works. There is Samantha(love/stupid girl), Saranya(mom sentiment), Surya(father sentiment), Surya(again, brother betrayal for, oh, never mind, that detail was never important) and Nithya Menen(mother sentiment again, just in case you are not convinced with Saranya’s mother sentiment), Family sentiment (i bet you say name of one of the members of the family). So, you don’t have to necessarily praise/find problems with the time travel concept, the movie has time travel as a component just like Sathyan was in the movie. Why dig deep into it?
Man, But I can’t stop thinking about it. I had to watch BTTF 2 last night, to get myself out of all those thoughts in my head. What the hell was I doing last night? I could have very well extended Google to search for things like my nosepicker, I misplaced it somewhere. Mind you, I’m a software engineer. Or at least Brim/Page’s son could do that in a night with a laptop and 2G dongle someday, because, they have their fathers blood running through their bloodstream. (no, I don’t mean to make you remind 7aam arivu, I always wanted to forget it). Who was the Nobel prize winner last year? Was that Sir CV Raman the Fourth?
Sorry I can’t get out of it. Seriously, one night, with the suitcase number roller? And, you had some spare time too? You made a fake one that looks exactly like that? Please tell me you used your time machine to go back in time every 2 hours, and it took you at least 40-50 hours. Please, I beg you. I understand you are a watch mechanic and all. But, seriously you did that just with whatever materials you could get in your shop? Cmon Swatch/Omega/Tag Heuer, you guys totally failed, or who knows they might have got something similar for years.
When is it going to change? That making something work is the last step of all. As far as I can remember, you get it activated, then you incorporate new features like, time rewind, forward and freeze. Also, he is as sophisticated as having a UI better than iOS, he could have spent some time creating a charger which doesn’t include putting your life in danger to charge the watch. Cmon, please don’t bite me, you are talented enough to keep a 3 minutes of Holographic media in a Floppy disk (max capacity 1.44 MB). I’ve a question, you had invented a baby cradle with a pacifier and a digital screen, and yet you are not introduced to a conecpt called CD? If you are thinking of timelines, please think like you belong there.
Co-incidences: Are you saying it is destiny?
Or, are you saying it is love (like in HP) ?
Please at least, say it is talent (being a watch mechanic).
Or genes?
Why Mithran had to be totally loyal to this person even though he had the time machine(i hate calling it that, watch, alright), he still was loyal. Was it loyalty or was it stupidity?
I’m not gonna talk about the unnecessary songs or romance or sentiment or romanco-whatever-crap, or the dialogues which were so pushed or time travel paradox, or any technical mistakes.
I was so happy when I saw the watch was tied to the arm of the child, thank Goodness I won’t hear I’m a watch mechanic theory again.
Just like 42 was the solution to the every problem in the universe. 24 proposes one thing. Jesus was born 2000 years back. And now, there’s born a watch mechanic.
And I’m very disappointed that you feel this movie is good.
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Prasad
May 9, 2016
Good review.My 2 cents
Ve
Efforts of the Director is commendable. Atleast he has tried something new(in Tamil)
Except one violent scene it’s a family movie which you can watch with children. There are VERY VERY few movies in Tamil offlate which belongs to this category.
Great to see Surya back in form…….still IMO the role of Pithamagan is his lifetime best in terms of entertaining/charming.
-Ve.
What a letdown by AR in songs and BG music. Almost after “Ok Kanmani” this album has come after a year gap. Don’t know what’s his strike rate nowadays. 4 hits songs in 2 years?
As somebody already mentioned, what is the need for Surya to do even “Athreya ” role. Can’t we have a another guy playing this? And he was really over the top in many scenes and gave a “B” grade movie feel. And they no scenes to establish the enmity with his brother?.
For anybody who likes time Travel movies, pl have a look at the both the below little underrated but very charming movies. Lot of similarities in this film with “About time”.
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Raj
May 9, 2016
I would still argue that in a sci-fi once set the premise, you need to make sure the logic behind it is strong and there is proper attention to detail. I think the movie missed out on the details portion.
I still don’t understand how the Athreya character can realise his mistake and resign as Sethuraman when the power to control the past is with the watch bearer.Though the scene was refreshing as a whole to keep up the pace of the movie.
Why would the brilliant Mani not be curious about how he lost the watch? He was more curious about who placed it back?
I was surprised that Saranya’s reaction to the opened box was not captured in the movie
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Ravi K
May 10, 2016
Prasad wrote: “What a letdown by AR in songs and BG music. Almost after “Ok Kanmani” this album has come after a year gap. Don’t know what’s his strike rate nowadays. 4 hits songs in 2 years?”
I didn’t care for the songs in “24” but his songs for “Tamasha” were terrific.
Kumar Krishna wrote:
“Tamil cinema was losing its sting with lack of quality films while the telugu industry kept spinning quite a few block busters”
But are those Telugu blockbusters any good? They mostly produce the same old mass masala nonsense in Telugu cinema. I could not see a “Visaranai” coming out of the Telugu industry.
“4.Rudimentery device a wrist watch…enabling time travel…may be a mobile device would have been convincing…”
The movie starts in 1990. Plus, a wristwatch is a simple wearable device.
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praneshp
May 10, 2016
I saw all the hate Udhayanidhi got in the Manithan thread, so I might be setting up myself for criticism here. But Udhayanidhi has grown as an actor from OKOK -> Manithan; Suriya has clearly regressed from Vaaranam Aayiram days, he could barely act in the few heavy duty scenes here.
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murugavel
May 10, 2016
@Hari
1.In the opening train sequence, if athreya thought the baby carrier was bomb why didn’t he throw it out , instead why has to he jump out of the train.
how could you freeze a time that lasts for only 1 min, and go to the stadium and change the position of the ball. all this sequence under 5 min
In skyfall james falls in the water, In this we are not shown were he lands. also in that height he goes to coma.
towards climax when athreya fires a bullet at sethu. sethu frezees the time, to do that he recharges the watch .to your kind attention human body carry only 10 mA. how does he survive that current and comes out of it .
Mani character suriya visits phoenix company with his friend, he sends his friend to take a token from reception in order to avoid getting caught in camera, this points he is suspicious about who the owner is and also he freezes time to take an elevator to avoid alarming . considering the above cases why didn’t he use fast forward option in the watch.
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paradox
May 10, 2016
@murugavel
In the opening train sequence, if athreya thought the baby carrier was bomb why didn’t he throw it out , instead why has to he jump out of the train.
I think you failed to notice that the baby carrier is tied to chain with a lock.. he tries to throw it away and realises it is locked.. even before establishing this surya when he enters the bogey with the baby carrier gazes through the floor and they show a chain with a lock which he later uses.
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Altman
May 11, 2016
I don’t get the hype around this one. It was a mediocre movie at best and yeah, Indru Netru Naalai was a much better, hip, humorous, kinda sci-fi thriller with a very narrow budget. It seems the whole premise of 24, right till the climax, was ripped off an incredible scene from X-Men: Days of Future Past. Now that’s a brilliant time-travel movie.
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Padhma
May 11, 2016
@ Kumar Krishna, as paradox said, the mother probably breast fed the baby to pacify him, not actually feed him. However, there is also something called induced lactation – wherein adoptive mothers feed their child, without ever having been pregnant. A nurse once told me about one such mother that she helped to induce lactation. It is not completely myth – there is some backing from science too!
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filmarcher
May 12, 2016
Been a silent spectator for over a year now. I personally feel this movie’s strength is the plot and the screenplay (except for a big chunk of the romantic track and the resulting distractions). It’s labeled a sci fi film about time travel…. but it doesn’t really have any science to it. The sci fi marketing is an excuse for the creation of the device itself and to have an excuse to erect a mad scientist laboratory set. I rather think the film plays up the saying, ” There are no coincidences.” or “There are no accidents.”, along with the concept of being able to control time. It’s a movie that’s definitely worth a watch for the plot, for Surya’s almost unhinged performance as Athreya and his return to form in the other roles, and its some awesome visuals and cinematography. But it doesn’t offer anything else or even a little bit of real science. For instance,what does a feather dissolving in a caustic / acidic substance have to do with time travel? I’ve seen people comparing the movie to Indru netru naalai and I must say that INN is a more intelligent film than 24, dealing with the concept of action and consequence and also lightly touching upon a little bit of the actual physics behind time travel through one of the characters, even while acknowledging that it’s going to fly over all our heads. What 24 has is a gripping (in parts) screenplay, star power and major acting chops (courtesy Surya), and stunning visuals ( the scene where he freezes time for the first time in the middle of a summer thunderstorm is the stuff of dreams.) You’re right in labeling it a masala film. It’s a very well constructed and mounted masala film… but it’s not sci fi.
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Raj Balakrishnan
May 13, 2016
@MANK: you beat me to it. I was about to say that I hate this trend (especially in South Indian movies) of leading actors playing all the important characters. Kamal is the worst offender. Now Surya has also caught this bug of bloody doing all the roles and appearing on all scenes. When these guys play a different role why do they have to balance it by playing the regular hero too?
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Ganesh
May 13, 2016
BR, am going to take a slight detour & talk about the video version of this review. I should say that I see a tremendous improvement over the last couple of weeks – the technical glitches are fewer, you appear & sound more confident as well. However, the more I see this, the more I realize that – we do not speak like we write & vice versa – we do not write like we speak. I think this is the biggest watch-out which if fixed – can make the video reviews stand out further. When you talk in a video, I think it’s supposed to be more conversational vs the intention while writing a review. And hence, certain things that are so impactful when I read them on your blog sound quite weak / incongruous when I hear you speak the same words. Take for instance, your point about Saranya’s character & the fact that you wished ppl gave us her a brief that had something more than just exuding maternal warmth. Sounds great on paper but a bit too much to digest in 1 sentence when I hear it in a video. I hope you’re getting the drift. Perhaps, simplifying things a bit might help with the video. Just trying to be constructive here. 🙂
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Srikanth Govindan
May 13, 2016
@Raj Balakrishnan: Yeah, I had the same feeling with Vaaranam Ayiram where I felt the “father” Suriya was very much artificial and could have been much better had it been handled by a veteran.
PS: I actually liked all the Suriyas in “24” though :).
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Raj Balakrishnan
May 14, 2016
@Srikanth Govindan, Surya is following kamal’s style of playing all the important characters in a movie.
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udhaysankar
May 14, 2016
Mank, Raj : I understand that the same actor trying to ace 3 or more roles in the same movie is so unsettling. But, it isn’t on the case of 24. In this movie it is just another masala trope. This style of casting the same actor in father-son roles is uniquely indian. They work best in masala films. Bahubali had three characters played by the same actor, and we were willing to suspend our disbelief there, so why not here?. The problem arises when the same actor plays such different characters in a serious movie driven by serious characters. And I get the point you are making about the inherent chemistry when two different actors play complementing roles. I could instantly think of DevarMagan, sivaji and kamal combo. If the same script is made today by a lesser director and star, I’m sure we would had the same actor essayist both those roles.
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MANK
May 14, 2016
Udhayashankar, Prabhas played 2 characters ,father and son in Bahubali, which is the third character?
The Ahreya type brother\villain character in bahubali is played by Rana dagubbatti and that gives the masala moments the real edge and thrill
Now imagine , if in Bahubali the Rana character is also played by Prabhas, just how tame and ridiculously uni dimensional the film would have become. thats exactly what has happened here in the case of Surya playing the Athreya character. the masala moments just didnt work for me when they go up against each other.
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Karthick S
May 16, 2016
I differ with almost everything in this review.
A Sloppy, un-intellectual, repetitive & ignorant venture made with an idea that a big star cast, excellent cinematography & a terrorizing villain can do wonders in this industry! ( which sadly is the case… Looking at most of the reviews )
Almost every scene in the movie leaves you feel why ? How ? Whaaat !!!! And doesn’t make you sit tight and enjoy the ride which is what a nicely woven film should do.
From the so called sci-fi concept of time traveling ( portrayed here ) to the romances and the family sentiments everything is very amateurly made ( masala mix gone bad )
Arr’s music is average – ayushman bhava is the only saviour in an otherwise unengaging soundtrack.
Gives a feeling that Vikram kumar had a very good idea and resources in hand but executed hastily taking the Tamil/telugu audience for granted.
Indru netru naalai had everything right for a simple time travel entertainer which 24 doesn’t making it look complex for the sake of it !!
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Amit Joki
May 16, 2016
Have not yet seen this, but from the people talking about scientific accuracy, I guess you need to have a scientific advisor in the sets, or make the film such that all things build to a very ambiguous end like Nolan does, so audience can make a climax of their own and even if more theories come up, you can go, Hey that was what I supposedly wanted to do, wanted to make you guys think.
Its a win win situation.
Also why the hell do every film need to have a heroine, needless songs, amma appa chitti appatha, sentiment being thrown in? Well never mind.
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NilFBosh
May 17, 2016
Baddie, just wanted to ask your thoughts on this film getting a U Certificate. In your Theri review you questioned how on earth they CBFC gave Theri a U, but I don’t see you ranting about that in here. The scene when Athreya cuts off Mani’s hand is so explicit and violent that I can’t see how on earth this was given a U certificate. Thoughts?
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Murugan
May 17, 2016
what kamal did in 4 roles of mmkr or 3 roles of AS, is unbeatable..or sivaji in deiva magan, gauravam.. proved they are high caliber artists in triple, quadrapule roles..
others like surya n vikram need to learn from these masters..
dasa n navarathiri both suffered frm makeup n budge problem..otherwise also a classic
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Sharmila Rao
June 10, 2016
The movie’s flaws aside, the most unacceptable fact is having girish karnad in the movie and not being involved with the main plot…what a waste…netru indru nalai is much much better…
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Karthik
June 12, 2016
Late comment, but 2 things you should watch:
http://bit.ly/1J7uyDu
http://bit.ly/eOM7II
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malayalidom
June 23, 2016
i don’t understand the whole bunch of over thinking of stuff in this simple and entertaining movie with its fair dose of surprises which every audience could capture.It is entertainment firsthand with its share of using time travel to upswing.Take it lightly people coz its meant to be !
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