Spoilers ahead…
Read the full review on Film Companion, here: https://www.filmcompanion.in/vishwaroopam-2-review-kamal-haasan-baradwaj-rangan/
What a lovely decision to cast Waheeda Rahman, in Vishwaroopam 2, as the mother of Kamal Haasan’s character! You can just see it — one actor known for graceful dance begetting the other. They’re bonded over generations of cinema — but there’s more. If you recall the first part, RAW agent Wisam Ahmad Kashmiri (Kamal) refers to India as his mother, and this mother — his real mother — lives in New Delhi, the country’s capital, and she has Alzheimer’s, so she doesn’t recognise her son. She’s… Mother India, and she’s forgotten her Muslim children. Note the beautiful song, composed by Ghibran, that plays over the scene: Naanagiya nadhimoolame. It’s in the raga Desh, and the common-noun form of the word means… country. A series of Kamal-isms? I’d say so. The masala-movie trope of “amma sentiment” is transformed into a small commentary about the motherland.
Vishwaroopam 2, written and directed by Kamal Haasan, isn’t the James Bond kind of sequel/prequel, where you can miss one outing and not miss out on anything in the next. It’s more like something from the Star Wars universe, where the films are interlocked, and each new adventure takes off from where the earlier one ended and also takes the story forward. Take Rogue One. Did we really need an entire movie to learn how the Death Star schematics ended up in the hands of Princess Leia? Isn’t it enough that we saw her, in the very first (or fourth, based on chronology) film, feeding the plans to her droid and beseeching Obi-wan Kenobi for help? It depends, I guess, on how obsessive you are about filling in each and every blank.
Vishwaroopam 2, then, is the film for completists who want to know how, for instance, the “Wanted” poster of Wisam came about — the one we saw in Afghanistan in Part 1 — when he’s supposed to be a top soldier in the Indian army. Why was Wisam recruited in the first place? (Because his father is from Pakistan.) What’s the history between Wisam and Ashmita (Andrea Jeremiah)? (It involves coy looks and a sexy off-shoulder dress.) None of this is, in any way, necessary — but the first film, now, assumes a little more heft. The best way to experience these two parts may be to intercut between them and watch the whole thing in sequence.
Continued at the link above.
Copyright ©2018 Film Companion.
Baradwaj Rangan 
iyerravikumar0
August 10, 2018
Did you like it?
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Dracarys
August 10, 2018
Hmm…looks like average movie…it has all the qualities to come on a streaming platform…will wait…
But I feel like both the parts could have been a TV series from your review…
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HeyRam
August 10, 2018
You seem to be trying quite hard to not dislike the film if I read between the lines here (and given your generosity with the excuses). Did your Kamal bias (appreciation…sure) hold back a harsher judgement? Yet to see the film – but seems to be at best a filler for the first, from what you are saying. Will probably still end up seeing it for the Kamal’isms given that they are going to be in short supply soon. But was hoping this was an improvement on the first part.
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Rocky
August 10, 2018
Kamal Haasan – to my mind the first male actor to break the north-south barrier , and a true genius , genuine and passionate filmmaker who made/ acted in – Ek Duje Key Liye, Saagar, Sadma, Nayakan, Indian, Pushpak, Chachi 420 and Hey Ram is just like another genius ( Arun Shourie) is having quite a few senior moments these days.
Hota hai, Chalta hai, Mahaul banaya jaa raha hai…
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Vandana
August 10, 2018
HeyRam, I agree with you. As expected BR has tried hard not to dislike the film. Review is so predictable.
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Vidhya M
August 10, 2018
Kamal has made this movie more accessible to the common audience. If this movie had released within a year of the first one, it would have been a pucca crowd pleaser which would have complemented part 1’s elite status.
I may be crazy or maybe I watched these two films in quick succession – but did Mission Impossible Fallout and VR2 share some similarities? (Ofcourse MI- Fallout was spectacular no compsrisons there – just that I was reminded of it).
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brangan
August 11, 2018
Why is it always a binary that one should either LIKE or DISLIKE a film?
You can like some of it, have issues with some of it. That’s what this review is.
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Arvind S Srinivasan
August 11, 2018
@Brangan: Not sure if there’s a way for me to like what you said a thousand times.
Coming to the VR2, a Kamal Haasan movie may not work as a cogent/cohesive whole but has almost always intrigued. VR2 is the same. Is it perfect? Very far from it and actually makes VR1 look a few folds better than what it is. It’s also probably Kamal’s worst movie as a director. The pacing is laborious ( and I said that five years ago after VR1), the throwbacks rely on the audience’s recollection of the first movie (which is not a flaw) and much to the annoyance and discomfort of many, it neither enthralls nor thrills the like how an archetypal spy movie should. (And that MI-5 released just a few weeks does this movie no favours). But the movie does intrigue and the emotional pulses work. There is a significant dip in visual quality from VR1 which actually reminded me of Uttama Villain. A great script that looked pedestrian in execution. Both movies share the same cinematographer and editor by the way
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Ashwin
August 11, 2018
As a child in our home, my sister and dad were hard core rajini fans and for some reason I considered myself to be an “intellectual” kamal fan. And the feeling continued with Kamal seemingly always ahead of the curve and always relevant. There were some glitches like mumbai express. Damn I even forced myself to like Alavandhan. It was in Vishwaroopam 1 that I felt the kamal was losing it. So he too had a shelf life like illayaraja much as one would like to hate to admit. I have not watched Vishwaroopam 2 nor have any urge and desire to watch it, but for some strange reason I get a feeling that BRs review mirrors the movie – muddled, incoherent and all over the place that I gave up midway. Why BR, why? All kamal fans out there, isnt it time to admit that the legend is much much past his prime. Big boss, dont even want to mention it. A younger, less wordy actor would have done a better job. If you understand kannada, watch how Sudeep hosts it.
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Vishnu
August 11, 2018
Inspite of all it’s flaws, vishwaroopam1 has that excellent Afghanistan strech which made us overlook them. But Vishwaroopan 2 left me completely bored.
In that kamals interview, he was talking about Vikram and how Tamil directors doesn’t know to make spy thrillers and made them melodramatic and it is an irony that he himself ended up doing the same.
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Voldemort
August 11, 2018
When the film begins with a clip from the press meet Kamal had held during VR1’s release issues, I wondered what it had to do with this film. Later, when the Makkal Needhi Mayyam documentary thing is shown, I felt betrayed. What does it have to do here? Is this film an advertising campaign for his party ? A medium to throw around his political ideas? Many dialogues (like the one with Iyer) looked like short AVs of his speeches on the stages of Makkal Needhi Mayyam’s many programmes. It took me a while to get back from those jarring visuals.
This strange world, which, at times, appears populated only by Muslims and Tamil Brahmins.
Exactly.
Waheeda Rahman nailed the Alzheimer’s role. The way her eyes lit up when she mentions her son’s stories were beautiful. But the song of Wizam’s childhood seemed out of a different movie, IMO. It seemed so all over the place and I couldn’t bother to care about the mother character at all.
Some of Ashmitha’s dialogues like “Namma aalukkum konjam theriyum”, “Piece piece aakirven, Wizam training”, etc – I don’t know if they were added as mainstream punchlines, but I hated them totally. Ashmitha’s death too, was rather abrupt, IMO.
As someone who liked the first film a lot, I was disappointed with VR2, save for the classic Kamal-isms you mentioned. The hat tip to the stunt scene in the warehouse from the first part, the Ayudha Ezhuthu, the scene where he finds out he’s been bugged, were great.
The film ends with a shot of Wizam holding Nirupama’s hands. Joined hands are the logo of Makkal Needhi Mayyam. Was it deliberate?
Also, it is really very sad that Kamal Hassan is going away from cinema. As a huge fan of him, I wish he doesn’t. Even his worst movies have so much to make you think about. He is a great writer, director, actor. As much as it’s impossible, how I wish he would reconsider his decision. sighs
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Madan
August 11, 2018
” So he too had a shelf life like illayaraja much as one would like to hate to admit. ” – I don’t really agree and their situations are different. Raja is still making good-to-great music that appeals to melodic sensibilities. But not many films are being made, especially in Tamil, that cater to that sensibility. I am glad he hasn’t veered that far away from his core out of any misplaced desperation for hits. Would rather remember him as a great composer than as one who jumped the shark. His soundtrack for the Telugu film Abbhayitho Ammayi was great but there is no room for even THAT in Tamil cinema sadly. Shreya Ghoshal is half of Raja’s age and already in his predicament. Like Raja, she is setting a frenetic pace with her concert schedule.
Now, coming to Kamal, the problem isn’t that he is past his sell by date. He still has incredible name recall and the only Tamil actor other than Rajni who can open at least a dubbed version of his films in the North (like this here film). It is Kamal’s refusal to collaborate with other directors/scriptwriters on THEIR terms and his insistence on himself producing his self indulgent ventures that is the problem. Even if he wants to make films on his own, he should at least allow for the input of others on the input. Going by what GVM said about how Kamal got Vettaiyadu Villayadu altered, I guess he stopped doing that a long time ago. In any case, he is getting into politics so he will hopefully be out of films before his self indulgence lands him a Town & Country and gets him ‘banned’ from the industry.
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arampesu
August 11, 2018
Bad or worse part is the casual (google based research on Ship from WW2) tsunami in UK. Whole Csium and diving etc is done casually with no tension.
Too much manipulative movie. All movies are manipulative but has heart. These sequences dont have any.
careless movie making.
Second half is better. (After Andrea is sent as gift.)
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harish ram
August 11, 2018
Liked it in bits and pieces. The experience almost reminds of my time as a student where I would attend half boring speeches by industry stalwarts in the hope of finding something ingenious amidst the dissonance.
PS: I wonder who played the younger version of Waheeda Rahman. As suggested by the lyrics, she does resemble Pooja Kumar.
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Madan
August 11, 2018
Would also add that IR is doing BGM only films more and more now. So if you are looking for a song of his to go viral, you won’t find it. But he scored Kuttrame Thandhanai and Appa among other Tamil films in 2016.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
August 11, 2018
Hey Ram ! This is becoming another IR thread :):)
Hi Madan – Whenever you get lost in the beach crowd (Crazy Mohan Tamil translation) I find you ultimately in BR’s Cafe (also known as ‘Everybody Comes to BR’s)
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
August 11, 2018
BR : Simply loved the review. If I were to review the review I think you did an Indian Finance Minister like balancing act and the ending line was the piece de resistance.
Review of Viswaroopam II also has echoes of the review of Viswaroopam I (“Why Oh Why does the heroine have to sound as if she’s been teleported from Mylapore ?”)
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Madan
August 11, 2018
” Whenever you get lost in the beach crowd (Crazy Mohan Tamil translation) I find you ultimately in BR’s Cafe (also known as ‘Everybody Comes to BR’s)” – Bouncer keeper thala mela boundary poivittathu. Onnume puriyala saar. 🙂
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
August 11, 2018
Vishnu : Thanks for bringing up Vikram. I think its a highly underrated movie. The script was frenetic and far ahead of its time. Albert R. Broccoli would have loved the way the chase in the agraharam ends in a movie theatre while the films Divivision is showing a reel about the land of Salamia.
Catch my point ?
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Arvind S Srinivasan
August 11, 2018
@Ashwin: I second Madan’s thought. I agree that Kamal is probably close to his sell by date as a writer but not as an actor. Papanasam is a great example of what he can do under a decent director. Even as a writer-director, he needs better people around him and not his stooges who find it hard to call his self indulgences out. These traits were there in all his movies, but became increasingly so from after Virumandi. That was his last truly great work in my opinion.
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
August 11, 2018
Ashwin : The proof of the pudding is in the eating. My wife found Bigg Boss 1 highly engrossing. But with Bigg Boss 2 she dozes off in front of the tube big time …especially when Ulaganayagan starts speaking.
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Rahini David
August 11, 2018
Ha ha. I read the comment on Raja and thought “I’d bet Madan isnt going to take this lying down”
Boy, was I right. 😊
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Manikandan V
August 11, 2018
Dear BR , Nice Review, thanks
In my view,Morality arc got complete, New York Climax gives us ideal independent woman, London Climax signifies arrival of Victorian Morality – Man provides a controlled freedom to his woman, Delhi Climax signifies all male show, women in sidelines
Tambrahm / Middle class s love for America, how they have embraced assimilated USA into their lives Vs Jihadi s hate for America – a study in cultural assimilation and contrast
Journey of Kathak from time immemorial to current times, changes it underwent in Mughal courts, with english victorian moral stipulations to where it is now against a innocuous jalebi s journey from persia to today
Goswami s eye to eye Vs Eswara Iyer s lowly machinations
Finally, Eternal love of Radha & Krishna signifying Cosmic union of Self to God, relates to pang and love of Wisam for Jihadis, completes a passionate movie, a real embrace, all encompassing “Vishwaroopa”, peaceful and wrathful at the same time, there is no other – Us Vs Them in this state, its Infinite without beginning or end.
Thanks to Kamalhaasan for a highly suggestive movie.
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KayKay
August 11, 2018
Ye God’s! KH doesn’t so much as fumble ball as he tosses it into a ditch with a nonchalant shrug while walking off the field, flipping his fans the bird.
The taut and terrific Vishwaroopam gets a trite and turgid sequel with a schizophrenic 1st half that barring the returning cast, seems to have been ported over from another movie, and sadly a Captain movie at that given how 2 hot chicks (a nuclear scientist and an ex-special forces bad ass no less) spend a good portion of it glaring daggers at one another, calling dibs on the out of shape hero.
And when Nuclear Scientist who’s also an accomplished diver volunteers to disarm a submerged bomb, Schlubby Hero admonishes her with a “you’re not outta there in 15 mins I’m coming in to pull you out” in the tone of a harassed husband dropping his wife off at the grocers.
The Special Forces bad ass keeps getting told to shut up. Why not give the Obligatory Slap as long as we’re going full tilt on Regressive Masala tropes?
The narrative threads from the previous movie are only picked up post interval, culminating in a head-scratchingly underwhelming climax which provides resolution but very little satisfaction (unlike the hero’s tumble between the sheets with his wife a few reels back)
Waheeda Rehman gets wheeled out(literally) for a thankless cameo before becoming Martha Kent in Batman V Superman Dawn Of Justice.
With some judicious editing, the second half of V2 could have been added to the 1st for 1 terrific Terrorist Thriller.
Instead we’re left with a solid 1st part and a half baked sequel.
Any pluses?
Well Ghibran once again knocks it out of the park with a terrific soundtrack. And after a lengthy vegetarian stint, its nice to see Kamal visit the red meat section and getting a little frisky with his leading lady.
And who else but Kamal can stage a scene where he asks the director of Bandit Queen if he has his gun, while the latter is taking a piss! Not to mention lovingly stroking a rocket launcher that happens to be mounted on his hot trainee’s shoulder.
V2 is like one of the many incendiary devices its hero finds himself against. Dysfunctional and easily dismantled.
Its not even a bomb.
Its a dud.
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Thupparivaalan
August 12, 2018
Sorry for going an tangent, but why is it that the best filmmaking talent in Tamil cinema in different fields rarely collaborate? Someone like Kamal could have done a film or two with other brilliant directors like Karthik Subburaj, MR, Mysskin or vetrimaaran in the last decade. Or Mani/Mysskin/gautham could direct scripts written by other talented writers. I also desperately want karthik-rajni film to be a hit so that top names in the business are not afraid to collaborate with each other.
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vatsa
August 12, 2018
I felt the same. Explanations for ‘gaps’ in the first part was made into a movie. Unfortunately, it felt like the explanations cannot fill 2 hours or so. Also, the entire UK episode did not gel and was not of the quality of the first part episodes (content wise). Second half was primarily the actual sequel of the film!!
I felt like he could have released the explanations in a netflix/amazon series (that would have made it crisp and in a new shorter format).
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Voldemort
August 12, 2018
BR, will you do a review of Pyaar Prema Kadhal? Would love to hear your thoughts on it.
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Madan
August 12, 2018
“I read the comment on Raja and thought “I’d bet Madan isnt going to take this lying down”” – I was thinking maybe I shouldn’t live up to my stereotype so often but then I said what the heck, life is too short. 😀
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MANK
August 12, 2018
For a man who sang Kadavul pathi mirugam pathi Kalanthu seytha, Kalavai naan,, V2 is definitely a moment of reckoning
First the Bigg boss, then the official political entry and now this, Kamal’s transformation from a movie god to political animal is complete
You know a movie is in trouble
a) when the film begins with an advertisement for Kamal’s new party. i dont know whether MGR resorted to something like this, as far as i know he didnt. He dropped broad hints about his party policies throughout his films, but I never think he went for a full blown ad like this. but even if he did, it would have been forgivable as this was the only medium available for him. But having been peddling his party on every media since its inception and having the reputation for being someone who has always protected this artistic integrity of his films, this is definitely a new low for Kamal
b) when the same party ad turns out to be the most interesting aspect of the movie, which is supposed to be an edge of the seat thriller. Instead of thrills and spills, we get sheer boredom
c) when you begin you film with a party ad, then everything in the film becomes suspect. So you wonder whether the shots of people repeatedly holding hands is part of the film or part of the party propaganda to showcase the party symbol.
c) when Kamal builds false equivalence by setting up a hindu traitor, an eeshwar and an Iyer who speaks in Palghat tamil to boot, to counter the muslim terrorist angle
d) when he uses the same angle to deliver a lecture on muslim angst that would have captain vijayakant throwing up his hands in exasperation
e) when you conceive 2 strong independent working women, but they come across as nothing more than doing ego massage for the paunchy 60 plus hero
f) when the main record that Kamal looks to break with this film is that of the oldest Indian actor, or rather second oldest actor to kiss on screen having successfully overtaken Amitabh Bachchan. Of course dev Anand who did it way in to his 80’s in unbeatable and practically the Bahubali in this department. In ways ths kamal enterprise reminds one of Dev Sahab’s late in the years movie sojourns when Dev sahab decided to do everything in front and back of the camera, one that seems very similar is Awwal number where he played everything from DGP, to cricket selection committee chairman to captain of the team, to aditya pancholi’s brother, aamir Khan’s guardian and few more roles that I cant recollect apart from doing everything behind camera
g) when Waheeda Rehman, turns out to be the most brightest element of this film, an actress of unsurpassing poetry and subtlety who redeems the thankless role of the masala cine mother usually reserved for Nirupa roy. Her casting adds more dimensions than Kamal does with the rest of te subject matter because
Who was as good if not better as a classical dancer as Vyjayanthimala or padmini
She brings back memories of manmohan desai’s coolie, perhaps the last big hit muslim lead character masala film, where she played a similar character of a mother who forgets her son
Who makes Kamal second best in the scene with her subtle performance here, while Kamal resorts to his usual shocked expression topped off by that eye roll that he patented ever since he stared at Srividya coming out of the bath in Apoorva ragangal
e) When, the more rounded cerebral villain promised in the first part of the film resorts to the age old MN Nambiar\Amrish puri tactic of kidnapping hero’s wife and mother in the climax
f) When last but not the least, the mise en scene of a Kamal directed film sucks as hell and you feel daily soaps are much better in their staging. When you feel that you are watching 2 different films by 2 different directors when scenes shot for the first film comes in between scenes in the second film
So the question is is the filmmaking so bad because Kamal is joining politics or Kamal is joining politics because he has realized that he has no future in films and his skills have deteriorated. Guess the answer is somewhere in the middle.
All in all I wish that I had gone to Kamal’s next party meeting. That would have been more prudent than wasting time and money on this unabashed cash grab and propaganda vehicle for his party. And i’ll take my Kamlisms from more well made more well crafted fully realized motion pictures like Tevar magan, Hey Ram and Virumandi. Enuff said
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sanjana
August 12, 2018
Any reason for not reviewing Mulk, Karwaan, Fanney Khan?
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
August 12, 2018
KayKay : Enjoyed reading your take on V2 🙂
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Amit Joki
August 12, 2018
@KayKay, haven’t seen the film nor do I intend to, but your comment confirms the party ad being displayed before the film. I was thinking it was a rumour or something.
But now that I know it’s not, I can’t but help compare this premeditated plugging to Rajini’s statements (which were totally against the general public sentiment) right before Kaala’s release, which no other person would have the guts to give out.
It was a surprise Kaala got released despite that and ran successfully.
As for Kamal, most of his recent directorials have been duds. The few good ones like Thoongavanam, Papanasam were directed by others. May be he should just let him be a medium for other people’s stories than him being the medium of his own agenda.
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sanjana
August 12, 2018
MANK: Comment of the year! Hope Kamal goes through it.
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Arvind S Srinivasan
August 12, 2018
MANK: Hit the nail there. I was truly disappointed with the MNM promo that came before the movie. Was an absolutely ill advised move from Kamal’s end.
And am really not sure as to how his skills (at least on screen) can get so bad in a span of a few years. The best that I can come up with is that most of the second part was completed around 2013-14 with only a few scenes left but a lot CGI work to be finished. And that the producer ran out of money to complete it. In the end they just tried to fit the pieces together and release the movies despite the gaping technical holes. And that Kamal probably compromised on quality to give us this half baked product is what is disconcerting. A massive red herring that the man has truly given up on movies and is just completing the projects that he signed up for.
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V
August 12, 2018
@Amit – one of the reasons for this film not getting wide release / spl shows permission etc is because Kamal put a tweet criticizing the recent fracas over allotment of land for a memorial.
@MANK – Just before the MNM ad, another one was played for 5 mins with tacky visuals, eulogy & more importantly funded by “my” money. So Kamal’s indulgence paled in comparison. (Such parties dont get any coverage in the media, which are invariably controlled by politicos. Which is why Vijaykanth started Captain TV, PMK started Makkal TV)
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
August 12, 2018
MANK : Really Racy take on the movie ! Thoroughly enjoyed reading it
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Akhilan
August 12, 2018
‘In other words, apart from completists, Vishwaroopam 2 is for those who (a) remember Part One (Omar’s reference to the warehouse fight is hysterical), and (b) are invested in Kamal’s restless questing to reconfigure the shape of mainstream entertainment. Like its predecessor, Vishwaroopam 2 manages to infuse a dose of smarts into the big-dumb-action-movie template’.
If I may BR, I had a slight issue with this.. Admittedly, I’ve yet to watch the movie, nor do I intend to, but are either of those two reasons compelling enough to paper over the cracks that many of the other commentators seemed to have pointed out on here…? Just because Kamal might be relentless in his pursuit to ‘reconfigure the shape of mainstream entertainment’, doesn’t mean the viewer can automatically get invested in the movie… It’s all about intent vs execution right… And just because it’s Kamal, and because he appears to have delivered a few of his trademark Kamil-isms, shouldn’t give him a free pass in my view…
I’m also not sure why Part II should be for those who remember/have seen Part I… You bring about the connections and references from Part I into this review beautifully, vividly in fact, but if the best bits of Part II come from those very few connections and references to Part I, is that ‘good’ enough…? So does that mean Part II only works if you watch Part I, and not when viewed as a standalone movie…? ‘Infusing a few does of smarts’ doesn’t mean the movie can’t fall into that very same big-dumb-action movie template it intends to stray clear from…
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Madan
August 12, 2018
” May be he should just let him be a medium for other people’s stories than him being the medium of his own agenda.” – This ties in with Thupparivalan’s comment also. Why are these big personalities in Tamil film industry so reluctant to collaborate? That way, Rajni has at least been receptive to audience feedback and sought to work with the new-and cutting-edge-directors. The ones with more vaunted claims of artistry are apparently the ones less willing to sacrifice their ego for art.
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Vivek narain
August 12, 2018
At least Kamal is not bothered with the existential crisis, the meaning and purpose of life. He takes such childlike pleasure in doing most childish projects, it would appear almost astounding in the badlands of Uttar Pradesh and its politics. A self declared atheist is not such an exciting idea as a dedicated bohemian.
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jaga_jaga
August 12, 2018
More than the movie, I am disappointed with this review.
Say someone eats a spicy meal – replete with exotic herb and spices. She only partly digests the spices. Then poops. The poop of course contains all the undigested precious herbs in it. But in essence it is poop, might be embellished poop, but poop nonetheless.
Now say, someone takes a look at this poop. There are two ways to describe it:
(a) Shit, man! Yuck this is poop, it stinks. Some spices strewn across here and there?? Whatever!
(b) Aah, here are some extraordinary spices adorning the regal looking stuff. The stuff maybe poop, some may say, some parts of it could stink. But that’s fine. Let focus on what all is here. Look here, there is some thyme. Gosh! Thyme is heaven’s gift to earth. What an amazing smell. Pity that it is atop poop, Ooh here, some parsley, sage and rosemary too! Wow, what an astonishing concoction of smell and sight; poop being a part of it too!
This review of Viswaroopam sounded exactly like the case discussed in point (b) for me. In my opinion, this movie warranted a much stronger “this is a bullshit movie” type review. It is of course BR’s freedom to write like how he wants though.
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hari
August 12, 2018
Sanjana wishful thinking. Avar avar pechakettae rombha naal irukkum nu ninaikkiren
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brangan
August 13, 2018
jaga_jaga: In my opinion, this movie warranted a much stronger “this is a bullshit movie” type review.
And in my opinion, this movie did NOT warrant that kind of review – because I did not consider it “bullshit.” It was more in the “underwhelming” range.
Why is that so difficult to… digest? (Just continuing your analogy here 😀)
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Venky
August 13, 2018
BR: I guess, when something feels so blatantly bullshit, then it is probably no longer a matter of opinion(at least that’s what people who feel it blatant may think!). It’s more like, “Why don’t you see the obvious, man!” kind of exasperation, a typical scenario which is a byproduct of the majority opinion being overwhelmingly large, and the minority opinion being overwhelmingly tiny, which may be the reason for jaga_jaga’s analogy( and a few other commentators’ reactions as well) and why it is so difficult to…. digest! 🙂
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praneshp
August 13, 2018
@jaga_jaga: You’ve internalized the movie so much that you are continuing with the theme of a joke in the first half 🙂
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Vandana
August 13, 2018
BR it is difficult to digest because you don’t review the other movies in similar fashion. The bias in reviewing Mani Rathnam movies or Kamal’s movies is obvious. The first sentence when you review their movies starts on a defensive mode. Always hero worshipping them. Kamal is a great actor, has given hits like nayagan, thevar magan blah blah blah. You are frozen in time. Who cares about those movies now. Let’s move on and talk about the particular movie your are reviewing, not about their entire career.
This movie. was pathetic in my opinion, even worse than Uttama villain. What in the world was he thinking. Why was every single character talking in Brahmin tamil. Kamal is obsessed with the crazy mohan /mouli type of dialogues. He has not moved past that kind of dialogue writing for a couple of decades. His preachy dialogues are irritating. Dialogue delivery by most ofthe characters were delivered as though they were memorized. One character says, Wizam will die because of collateral damage. What kind of a dialogue was that, absolutely immatured. I didn’t find anything interesting in this movie. Unbearable. Shekhar kapur, ananth mahadevan To be honest, I am glad he is quitting cinema.
Sariyana mokka padam.
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Rocky
August 13, 2018
MANK- superb comment on KH….Maza aa gaya !!
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Madan
August 13, 2018
@jaga_jaga: The food analogy doesn’t really work when transposed to cinema because in cinema (or music or literature, for that matter) you can ignore things that don’t work for you providing those things don’t overpower the things that do work. Like, even in a classic like Wall Street, the badly miscast Daryl Hannah was painful to watch. If I were to strictly follow your logic, I should say the poop emanating from that one performance turned the entire film into a pile of poop. But that’s not how it works, does it? If we’re being honest, most of our favourite films still have some flaws. It’s about whether the film can get you to buy into it in spite of the flaws.
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Madan
August 13, 2018
@V: News to me that Viswaroopam 2 didn’t get a big release. In Mumbai, the Hindi version got a release comparable to big budget films (with regular Hindi stars). But the reviews have been so scathing that I wouldn’t be surprised if it vanishes from most theaters by end of week 1. Another heavy loss for exhibitors in a mostly bad year so far for Bollywood.
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sanjay2706
August 13, 2018
What a disappointment!
A bad Kamal film is still better than a lot of crap that gets churned out nowadays, but even this legend could not save the film from catastrophe. The real terror is Kamal losing his Mojo and the time bomb ticks away as he goes into sunset.
Growing up, there were jokes around directors such as KS Ravikumar and Sundar C being just a name on the credits of Kamal movies. But I do feel that those directors brought a lot to the table and saved those movies from being similar disasters. Kamal’s ships need proper captains and anchors, or else his ship is bound to sink, even under a low tide.
Mr Haasan’s scenes are brilliantly conceived,and are rich with ideas. But I still don’t think he can create a screenplay which is entertaining, and has the ups and downs that a screenplay should have. Action is also not a genre that he is comfortable with. Maybe a heavy drama/comedy would be his best bet today( Comedy with Crazy mohan would be a great comeback).
Not sure which is true. Is his cinema a channel for entering politics? Or is his so called “plunge” into politics a channel to market his movies?
Either way, it’s not working.
Kamal continues to cook pastas and steaks, and dips it in Kurma. Sorry but it doesn’t work.
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V
August 13, 2018
#Madan – the film hasnt released yet in Madurai, Cuddalore and parts of North districts in TN. Madurai is one of the major territories in TFM, especially for Kamal & not getting a release there is indicative of the problems the film had. One of the reasons is his open support to the late leader further aggravated by the tone and tenor of his recent tweet.
Many movies have had last minute financial issues / court cases & yet found a widespread release.
Most movies are granted spl shows on the day of their release (the latest example being Tamizh Padam 2). In TN spl shows need to be permitted by the powers-that-be.
Most movies start their advance bookings a week ahead of their release. This one had some theaters open bookings at 8pm on the eve of its Chennai release.
If all this is attributed to the producer’s “financial woes” then we are probably turning a blind-eye to the obvious. (Cant comment more)
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Venky
August 13, 2018
Mank: Kamal may be a movie god, but he is definitely not a story(and, to some extent, screenplay) god, which is primarily why, IMO, his recent movies are taking a beating, and not so much that he has turned to politics, though that also contributes. IMO, he hid this weakness of his splendidly in his hey ram and thevar magan days, but its showing up now like never before! Personally, I would take a kaadhal kondein any day to a guna!
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Madan
August 13, 2018
V – I see, so this is political and the political animal is eating up the filmstar. Chandra Haasan’s warning may come to haunt Kamal.
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Manikandan V
August 13, 2018
@BR @ Kaykay @MANK @ jaga_jaga
May be V2movie has not come out as intended , but spare a thought on below
Taking lead from BR s view on Indian Muslims and desh song , wonderful sequence,consider the choices of Kathak,Radha-Krishna,tambrahm and Jihadi for this movie titled Vishwaroopam
Title – Though we immediately relate it to raise of a cine star, its potent meaning is a force which is both loving-caring & wrathful at the same time – Wisam portrays both these qualities – KH beautifully expresses his all encompassing love for Jihadi his pang is evident
Kathak & Cosmic dance of Radha & Krishna – where does this relate to Jihadi context , Kathak dance underwent many changes from time immemorial more specifically during Mughal & British due to moral considerations, this art almost died during british tenure to be revived during independence movement – lesson is how it adapted to changes against morality in unobtrusive way to more confrontational approach of wahabism
we can fit Tambrahm Vs Jihadi also in similar vein – about how one assimilates and express Vs Confronting wahabism
From Wiki
” It should be remembered that the first Kathak dancers were, after all, Hindus who danced for Moghul overlords. Too much outward expression of religious belief was without doubt undesirable. It is therefore reasonable to assume that the wide use of ‘abstract’ dancing, intricate bell work (tatkar), dazzling turns and the fleeting, transient, glimpses of Radha and Krishna in Kathak arose both to remind the dancers about their reasons for dancing and (gently, unobtrusively) to deceive their courtly Moghul audiences. Perhaps tatkar and tukras formed the bulk of these first dancers’ performances. Gradually more and more images, then stories of Krishna and Radha crept in.
— Drid Williams, Anthropology and the Dance[34]
From Kathak we can move to innocuous Jalebi on how it has been the mainstay for India despite being a persian dish and the power of Kebabs in this context
3 Climax bomb diffusions ( Newyork – Independent women , transparent and scientific , London – arrives victorian morals for woman and heroic man – interval block , Delhi – all Man show diffusion behind doors lot of grey fitting the Indian Political context) – this is important because question of wahhabism is a question of Morality in a way, there is a need to cite victorian morals in this context
KH movies have a lot of external context same with V2,
One can read tharai thappattai with recent SC ST act amendments, why chettiars supported Baratham against Karagattam
One can relate Uttama Villain interval scene of kick in the hip with generation of Gounder-Senthil esp comic track of movie called Chinna Gounder
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sanjana
August 13, 2018
http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/bollywood/kamal-haasans-vishwaroop-2-washout/
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MANK
August 13, 2018
Thanks all, i was really pissed after i saw the movie and just vented it all out 🙂
Not discounting the political pressure here, But Regarding the release of the film, i hear that Rajkamal has asked for special terms from the exhibitors for the film, which is the reason that it has not been released in many theaters.
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shaviswa
August 13, 2018
Looks like yet another Kamalahaasan disaster. And as always the Kamal-apologists try to defend the crap he dishes out.
Kamalahaasan is beyond his sell-by date. He knows that and he is using politics to gain some advantages in selling a couple of more films before he would be forced to retire. His films are no longer relevant to the Tamil audience that now has access to better films made in India and abroad. It is high time he stops making films and instead chooses to act in films made by others in a senior role instead of prancing around with two/three heroines in his films which is getting to be very cringe-worthy.
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Madan
August 13, 2018
shaviswa: Except Manikandan, I don’t see anybody, Kamal fan or not, defending him. Most seem to have suggested BR was too lenient, if anything. Or are you referring to some Kamal fans commenting in general social media?
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Srinivas R
August 13, 2018
Definitely agree that it is time for Kamal to move to character roles. Post Virumandi, he has really struggled to sell his movies. I can remember only 3 movies of his in the last 15 years, that are a commercial success – VV, Viswaroopam and Papanasam. In two of the three movies Kamal was not the writer or director. My worry is except these three none of the others are gems like Anbe Sivam or Hey Ram that were under rated and had a cult following at least among cinephiles. Almost all of them were mediocre and lost in Kamlisms and some poor direction ( one could make a case for Mumbai Express not being mediocre, but it wasn’t all that good IMO). Kamal has never been a star who can sell mediocre movies based on his star value alone. His next best option is to move into web series content where there are no restrictions or take up interesting character roles.
About collaborating with other younger crop, I think it is a two way problem. Kamal wants them to direct his screenplay and they want to direct their own scripts, so it’s a deadlock there. Dasavatharam was first offered to Gautham Menon and I do feel he would have directed it better than KSR, but GVM was not comfortable with such a complicated script. Other new breed of directors like Karthik Subburaj or Manikandan or Vetrimaran seem to have a completely different sensibility to Kamal. Unless Kamal agrees to work on their terms or vice versa, no collaboration is possible
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shaviswa
August 13, 2018
@Srinivas R
“His next best option is to move into web series content where there are no restrictions or take up interesting character roles.”
Ayyoooo….saami!! If he can be so obnoxious in films that are subject to commercial risks, a web series where he may get more creative freedom would be intolerable. I don’t think even Kamal can see such a series. The cringe-worthy components will increase and you may get lost in all the crap that he would dish out.
“Unless Kamal agrees to work on their terms or vice versa, no collaboration is possible”
Given his bloated ego and the fact that he rates himself as superior to everyone else (at least in the film world), such a collaboration is impossible.
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Voldemort
August 13, 2018
Post Virumandi, he has really struggled to sell his movies. I can remember only 3 movies of his in the last 15 years, that are a commercial success – VV, Viswaroopam and Papanasam.
I thought Panchathanthiram and the other comedy movies – Avvai Shanmughi, Vasool Raja MBBS, etc were hits. Were they commercially successful?
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hari
August 13, 2018
@shaviswa neenga rombha Kamalnaala thakkappatu irukkeenganu ninaikeeren
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Madan
August 13, 2018
@ Voldemort: Vasool Raja came in the same year as Virumaandi and Pammal/Panchathanthiram before that. Srini meant the films after Virumaandi. Add Unnaipol Oruvan to his post Virumaandi hits which again was a remake of the Hindi film A Wednesday.
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Srinivas R
August 13, 2018
I thought Panchathanthiram, Avvai Shanmugi happened before Virumandi, no? Vasool Raja yes was in 2005. Again, lack of Kamalisms probably helped.
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bart
August 13, 2018
Looks like V2 might save its face at home..
https://www.businesstoday.in/trending/box-office/vishwaroopam-2-box-office-collections-kamal-haasan-movie-makes-rs-20-crore-first-weekend/story/281261.html
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MANK
August 13, 2018
Kamal hasn’t had a universal hit in a long time. perhaps one has to go back to 1996 when he had indian and avvai shanmughi back to back. After that he had more hits than flops and hits are never in the range of a Rajni or even a Vijay who achieves success in A,Band C centers.Its the rare Virumandi here , a dasavatharam there. otherwise his hits like VV are more A center successes
Kamal has had a horrid time finding financing in the last decade or so. look at the number of projects he tried to make but never took off. He could never restart marudunayagam. there was marmayogi, thalaivan irrukiran, the buddha tooth film with Mysskin, all of them were considered too expensive relative to his BO status. nobody wanted to touch vishwaroopam either, so he had to produce it himself. we all know what happened with that. i think he is tired , he dont want to go on any further in the film business and the political vacuum in the state happened at the right time for him
I though the first Vishwaroopam was self contained enough. it had a beginning, a middle and an end. it didnt have an ending like the first bahubali were we were teased with an interesting hook and we know there is a lot of story yet to be covered. V2 exists because, Kamal says at the end of the first film that, no this is not over, its going to continue.. i feel that after the crisis of the first film he had almost given up on making the second part, but i guess the reasons he decided to do Viswaroopam 2 are
1) he lost a lot of money on the first one , so he sees an opportunity to just cobble up a movie with leftovers from the first film and scrounging out some new scenes on a limited budget, he sees a certain commercial potential there to make some money on the cheap with minimal investment
2) to use the release of the film as an opportunity for publicising his new political party. he knows that the release of the film is going to create a buzz, knowing what happened with the first part, and he will be out promoting the film everywhere, and it will give him an opportunity in promoting his party. he is everywhere on TVchannels in TN and kerala and on national channels. For an half hour session of interviews, he talks 5 minutes about the film and rest about the party. Thats what the news channels, particularly the english national news channels want to hear as well and he is very smart to understand that. one thing he has always been good at it is marketing himself and his projects..Of course he outdid even himself by attaching the party ad with the film.
Kamal has made good, bad and in between films. but they are all made with a certain passion, certain honesty and ultimately a love for the art form. even films that floundered like aalavandhan or uttama villain , they ended up as terrible films, but you could see the intention and ambition behind it . this film turned out to be an utterly dishonest and cynical enterprise.
That’s what i hated most about the film. A man and an artist who had lived a lifetime in films and practically lived for films should know better than to besmirch his legacy when he is at the point of quitting .
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Rocky
August 13, 2018
Because of the film’s poor performance, Reliance Entertainment, who turned distributor for the spy-thriller, will reportedly lose a minimum of Rs 25-30 crores.
Speaking about the average business of the Kamal Haasan starrer, Johar told Pinkvilla, “What I believe is Kamal Haasan is sure shot a big icon in Indian Cinema but I think the film had similar kind of fate in the first part as well. The audience in the second time around were also not that keen because last time also the film did quite an ordinary business in Hindi version.
http://www.msn.com/en-in/entertainment/southcinema/kamal-haasan-s-vishwaroop-2-distributor-reliance-entertainment-suffers-a-rs-25-30-crore-loss/ar-BBLRpKR?ocid=ob-tw-enin-476
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Amit Joki
August 13, 2018
Regarding this bloated ego getting in the way of good collaborations, I am reminded of Edward Norton. I don’t think he has a bloated ego, but he was removed from the Hulk because he was too much of a perfectionist.
He changed the script too much and directed it too sometimes. IMO, the first Hulk with him was pretty good if not fantastic. He was termed too difficult to work with and was replaced with Mark Ruffalo. I guess Kamal isn’t wanting to branded as such and is merely extending his shelf life with his home banner to the end of the audience’s tether.
You either retire a hero or don all roles and indulge yourself long enough to see yourself becoming the villain.
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jaga_jaga
August 13, 2018
@BR, Madan etc – Have lots to write here. But very little time right now! Will find some time in the weekend to write more about the movie, err Bullshit, haha!
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Ada Pongappa
August 13, 2018
This blog’s comment space is much like the appraisals in the IT Industry. One quarter you slacken and all your efforts for the whole year go in vain. Two years you miss, your pink slip could be getting ready. You could be the star performer who kinda brought laurels to your (otherwise average) project – still, when you fail in something, you would have the worst ratings than the other guys who continuously manage to simply stay afloat. (The higher the expectations, the sharper the fall theory doesnt cut ice with me – when you pay the same 200/- for a Kamal movie and say, Vishal’s Irumbuthirai – how does A become lousy & B a very good attempt! Both should be on the same “ok” scale right?)
The film is picking up in the box office. Let us see if Kamal can atleast salvage some money out of this.
(To the person who mentioned just 3 hits in 15 years – Dasa and UPO were hits as far as I can recollect, with Dasa mentioned as a blockbuster in many sites. If you are going to nitpick on “genuine hits” or “profitable for all” theories – then even Enthiran, Kabali dont feature in that list, leave alone Kaala)
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Mank fan
August 14, 2018
Nice one chetta. Chetta has proven that he can kickass even when he is not defending or patronizing BR’s review, a welcome departure from the usual MANKisms.
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brangan
August 14, 2018
About Kamal-isms, I’d ideally prefer them organically (and invisibly) woven into a great screenplay and a well-directed movie like Hey Ram or Virumaandi, but in the underwhelming films (where the Kamal-isms stick out and say “look at me”), I’d rather watch a V2 any day over Uttama Villain.
The latter is too ambitious, too deep, and when it doesn’t work as it should, it’s much harder to take — with something like this, it’s a genre-templated film, so the Kamal-isms are far easier to digest (in the context of the movie).
Also, technically speaking, there’s one thing I really admire about V2.
Yes, it is a bit of a “cheat” film, cobbled together with old footage and not enough new footage.
But to slap that together in even this coherent a fashion requires major (re)writing skills (and a sharp sense of editing transitions).
Of course, this cannot compensate for one’s “enjoyment” of a movie…
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Srinivas R
August 14, 2018
“when you pay the same 200/- for a Kamal movie and say, Vishal’s Irumbuthirai – how does A become lousy & B a very good attempt! Both should be on the same “ok” scale right?” – It doesn’t quite work that way right? I mean your enjoyment of a movie is based on your expectations. So if it’s a Vijay movie, something like Thupaki is beyond expectations. But for Kamal something like Thoongavanam is underwhelming. It is unfair maybe, but based on an actor/director’s body of work this is sort of expected.
Yes Dasa and UPO were hits, but the point I was trying to make has been articulated much better by MANK in is comment about Kamal’s struggles in financing his movies. The general trend seems to be that if he works solely as an actor in service of a good script for a good director, we would get better movies and he has lost the marquee star value somewhere in the noughties.
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brangan
August 14, 2018
Was UPO a hit?
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Ramesh
August 14, 2018
And how many people know Rajini’s last hit was Chandramukhi!! and that was 13 years back..The problem is most big budget/big star movies are finding it difficult to recover the costs..Hindi movies are made between 50-80 crores and they make anywhere between 500-1500 crores.. where as tamil movies are made between 100-150 and they end up making jus that.
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Srinivas R
August 14, 2018
@Ramesh – Agree that Rajini’s star is also on the wane, but still the frenzy that was generated for Kabali is something very rarely seen. His health issue and decision to be part of the unmitigated disaster called Kochadayan really set him back.
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Madan
August 14, 2018
@ Ada Pongappa : To your IT appraisal comparison, I give the oldest adage of show business, “You’re only as good as your last show.” If anything, stardom has given Kamal latitude to fail and come back.
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MANK
August 14, 2018
I’d rather watch a V2 any day over Uttama Villain.
From the POV of its genre i agree, A bad action adventure picture is much easier to sit through than a bad philosophical drama. its same with the commercial potential of a movie too. Race3 is as bad or even worse film than Tubelight, but Race3 made money than TL. i wont be surprised if V2 becomes more successful than UV, which isnt much really 🙂
But to slap that together in even this coherent a fashion requires major (re)writing skills (and a sharp sense of editing transitions).
You dont say. This must have been a page 1 rewrite looking at the number of scenes inside cars and hotel rooms with all the characters crammed together in a frame, you can feel the tight budget 🙂
Regarding Hits and flops, these verdicts are very dubious these days. Mersal is supposed to have grossed 200 crs , but the producer seems to have made a loss on the movie.
As for UPO, it was a low budget film sold for a modest price. so i think it was profitable.
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Thupparivaalan
August 14, 2018
Ramesh: Sivaji definitely was a hit wasn’t it?
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praneshp
August 14, 2018
@ Ada Pongappa : Surely if you have missing goals two years in a row, it’s a poor fit, no? Being asked to leave is the correct approach in that situation.
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Ada Pongappa
August 15, 2018
@praneshp – Well, then lets make the goal-setting process more consistent. Let us atleast make it consistent between the two peers – Kamal and Rajni 🙂
Was there an outcry after Lingaa & Kochadayan asking Rajni to hang his boots – something acrimonious like what we see here? No – Kochadayan was immediately termed “not a Rajni padam” & one waited with bated breath for Kabali. Now Kaala did not set the cash registers jingling and yet, it gets termed “a poignant movie whose box office status is immaterial”.
Kamal had a critically acclaimed success in Papanasam followed by his successful season 1 stint in Bigg Boss. Vr2 was something like Kuselan, made to milk the market. And his political foray is much like Rajni’s Spiritual leanings. Sometimes we get force-fed, yet did we let it color our opinion on Rajni’s other facets?
Ada Pongappa
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KayKay
August 15, 2018
“but in the underwhelming films (where the Kamal-isms stick out and say “look at me”), I’d rather watch a V2 any day over Uttama Villain.
The latter is too ambitious, too deep, and when it doesn’t work as it should, it’s much harder to take — with something like this, it’s a genre-templated film, so the Kamal-isms are far easier to digest (in the context of the movie)”
I have the opposite reaction.
UV is a stand-alone, so I go in with a blank slate (the way it’s easy to do with a Kamal movie and damn near impossible with a Rajini flick), and yes, it is disappointing when parts of it don’t quite work (movie within a movie) but you chalk it up as an interesting failure, a one-off.
Why V2 is such a colossal disappointment for me personally is because it’s a SEQUEL, with expectations set by a pretty good first part that delivered thrills and suspense and left enough narrative threads dangling at the end for a follow up to pick up on and conclude.
Instead the slap-dash screenplay gives you a first half of a sequel that has little to no inter-connectivity to the first movie. Seriously, I spent the better half of the pre-interval portions asking myself “Wait, that attack on the convoy on the country road, is that Omar’s men?”, “Is that bespectacled, weaselly, pencil-pusher traitor one of Omar’s men?” “Is that underwater bomb set by Omar” I mean, where the hell is Omar???
I wrote my thoughts in the post above fresh off seeing the movie, without reading a word of your review or the other comments. Having now read your review and the other comments especially MANK’s and having realised that the existence of the sequel is because they had left over scenes and the 1st part was already running too long, then this makes the failure of V2 to engage all the more egregious.
This means they shot additional scenes with scant regard to continuity and slapped on the left over bits of V1 to wrap things up.
A cut and paste job. Of the worst type. Which no amount of Kamal-isms or Pooja Kumar shower silhouettes can paper over (although I am grateful for the latter)
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shaviswa
August 15, 2018
I never thought this would ever happen. But with V2 Kamal has made us feel Rajini’s Kaala is a very good film.
If this is not disaster, what else could be for a Kamal fan or even a Kamal-phile?
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Arvind S Chehtha
August 15, 2018
@Ada Pongappa: Unlike Rajini, it’s not one film or two that’s faced trouble. Rajini had his nadir with Linga/Kochadaiyaan. And before that was the hugely successful Enthiran. All this, while Kamal was been finding it hard to finance his movies for almost a decade. And his reluctance to collaborate with anyone but his cronies is what sets him apart from Rajini. Am sure investors wouldn’t mind dishing out money for a Kamal Haasan starrer with a non RKFI director. But will they do the same for ones helmed or pseudo-helmed by him?
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Madan
August 15, 2018
@Ada Pongappa: To add to what Arvind S Chehtha said, Rajni did get a lot of flak for Kochadaiyaan. Linga was a rush job made to pacify angry distributors and when even that got an underwhelming response, he WAS in big trouble. The difference is he adapted and started working with Pa Ranjith which seems to have worked out well, going only by the box office response. With Kamal doubling down on producing his own indulgences, that has not been the case.
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Pato
August 15, 2018
@Madan For your info, both kabali and kaala are box office failures. kabali had unprecedented pre-release buzz because of his collaboration with a new-age director, rajni playing his age, teaser and neruppu da song. But it received unanimous negative wom and it made mode of its money in the first 3 days. Kaala had poor hype because of the same collaboration and its collection is even lower than lingaa.
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Madan
August 15, 2018
@Pato: Kaala has done 150 cr or so at the BO and Kabali maybe around 200 cr. So their gross would be in hit category. But if you mean the films didn’t make much if any money for distributors after Rajni/the producers sold them the territory at exorbitant rates, yes, quite possible and that’s a problem that’s dogged him since Kochadaiyaan.
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Pato
August 15, 2018
@Madan Even lingaa made 150 crores.My point is a rajni starrer should be estimated against his standard not by absolute numbers.kaala hardly collected 55-60 crores in tamil nadu and that surely isn’t big numbers for rajni.While it’s commendable that rajni is collaborating with ranjith, subbaraj ,that doesn’t directly translate into box office success as proven by kabali and kaala.General audiences weren’t interested in a rajni -ranjith combo after kabali.There isn’t a formula like big stars + new gen directors = box office success+ critical acclaim.
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Ramesh
August 15, 2018
@Madan..it’s been a problem for him sine Sivaji.
@Thuparivaalan..Sivaji was a multiplex/city hit..there were lot of producers from rural areas complaining about loss.. same with endhiran because both were sold at exorbitant rates. Not everybody made money
A rajini film ending up in loss was unheard of 15 years back. HIs first flop in many years was Baba. So I would say his downfall started from Baba, however paradoxically the hype and hysteria sorrounding his release as increased.
KAala would have been a hit , if it had been publicised well, realeased on a holiday and if not for Rajini’s political mis adventures.
@BR.. I was wondering if u had any idea how these superstars films work..when most big stars film end up making losses for distributors how are they able to charge salaries on par with Hindi superstars.How are they able to retain their market , when their films don’t make huge profits or do they?
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Amit Joki
August 15, 2018
Lingaa and Kochadaiyan might be failures, yes. But it was just script selection that went wrong from Rajini’s part. The real failure is in the creative department and Rajini has nothing to do with it, may be his star image might have a say in the style of scripts that directors write for him, but that’s unchangeable now. He can’t undo his mass image.
He has learnt from it and is playing his age. Kaala wasn’t sold at exorbitant rates like his previous films. Dhanush is a clever producer. And in Madurai, I’ve seen 50 day posters all around. So it definitely is a hit. Didn’t see one for Kabali.
Now when we come to Kamal, Kamal doesn’t have a star (read “mass”) image to bother about and he is a cinema connoisseur unlike Rajini. His flops are films he had everything to do with – Story – Screenplay – Production, unlike Rajini who only does the acting part.
So, the flops of Kamal are due to Kamal’s self indulgence whereas Rajini’s failures was just law of average catching up to him for he was just a pawn in the director’s hand. But Kamal chose to be the king and yet faltered and that’s why the flak received is high and deservedly too.
And Kamal continuing to be fully romantic at 63 years of age not playing his age kinda seems way too off. May be he lives in the image of his past shadow. He needs to get out of it ASAP if his film career is to be revived or he must let himself be the pawn in the hands of masterful directors.
I don’t have high expectations from Indian 2, but let us hope it brings back vintage Kamal.
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Honest Raj
August 15, 2018
My love for VR 1 – thanks to the Afghan portions – has increased a bit ever since I watched the second part yesterday.
As harish ram says, the actress who played the younger version of Waheeda Rehman closely resembled Pooja Kumar. Also, I sense some connection between the casting of Zarina Wahab in the first part (albeit in a minor role) and Waheeda Rehman here.
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Madan
August 15, 2018
“There isn’t a formula like big stars + new gen directors = box office success+ critical acclaim.” – Sure but at least Rajni is trying. It is at least a recognition that he has a problem. There doesn’t seem to be any such from Kamal. And I never thought the day would come when I would say this. But it’s Kamal who seems to be resting on his laurels. Like:
“And Kamal continuing to be fully romantic at 63 years of age not playing his age kinda seems way too off. May be he lives in the image of his past shadow. He needs to get out of it ASAP if his film career is to be revived or he must let himself be the pawn in the hands of masterful directors” – Nail on the head.
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Madan
August 15, 2018
“HIs first flop in many years was Baba. So I would say his downfall started from Baba, however paradoxically the hype and hysteria sorrounding his release as increased.” – It’s not paradoxical at all; more hype is needed to prop up a floundering enterprise and convince the audience to believe in it. Back in 2003, you didn’t need to have Amitabh Bachchan guest commenting during a World Cup match to grab eyeballs. Just the word cricket was enough. That said, surely Padayappa was a pattikaatu hit?
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Ada Pongappa
August 15, 2018
Exactly what I said – I see a slew of comments like: “Lingaa Kochadayan Kaala Kabali are <bad/good/hit/flop/xyz> BUT ____”.
Why bring in the “buts” to defend this star – who has, at the least, been in the Industry for 40+ years & give him a clean chit for some of his obvious blunders, yet castigate another one for his choices? Rajni stopped Directing & collaborating creatively because his Valli, Baba experiences deterred him forever. Whereas Kamal’s creative inputs (Direction, Screenplay, Music, Lyrics etc) have given him results frequently – one VR2 or UV cannot be the yardstick to write him off (as seen in this comments space). As recently, his Papanasam inputs on the Tirunelveli milieu / Paava-naasam ideology gave a delightful flavor to Dhrishyam’s original. Nyabagam varugiradhaa? (Im not going into Katha Parayumbol – Kuselan – because people would squarely blame P Vasu for it, as Rajni to them is just a piece of clay. Just a paid actor who though would wield his influence to get AR Rahman sign up for his uninteresting projects if he feels so).
Rajni has just started collaborating with the new wave directors (that too only after they had proven their mettle) – dont open the gates to Paradise yet. And dont forget that Kamal has also been consistently collaborating with talents like – Su Ka, Ghibran, Jeethu Joseph, Ku Gnanasambandam, Cartoonist Madan, Sujatha, Tho Paramasivam, Jeyamohan, Pandit Birju Maharaj & ofcourse the biggest one, Ilayaraja – to name a few. Why doesnt one see this – why only Karthik Subburaj, Mysskin, Vetrimaran? Idha dhan solren bias.
About finding Producers – right from the 80s Kamal has always alternated his experimental movies made in his own banner with the commercial ones made for others. Finding a Producer for a Maruthanayagam or Marmayogi is going to be difficult – than for a Dasa or Papanasam or VV or even Manmadhan Ambu / UV (whose producers were his fans). A Vasool Raja MBBS still has more recall value among normal film-going audience than say a Mumbai Express. Still KH refused to do the Lage Raho remake. I find this commendable, whereas many here find comfort in routines.
(Rajni’s BO power has nothing to do with this comment. It is about ppl being biased about Kamal & Rajni being his peer, would be the right person to quote as an example / proof.
However – just to clarify – Kabali had insanely priced tickets that amped up its collection. Now there is a curb on rates I believe. So Kabali’s numbers dont reflect anything. It is Kaala that shows the mirror to things. 50th day posters dont mean anything – Kaala hasnt been listed in profitable movies of 2018 by anyone. Rajni would continue to get Producers because they keep making quick money thereby diluting the star’s equity to a point of no return. Distributors / Theater owners pounding at his doors are the issue. This time, Dhanush wisely did not go for Minimum Guarantee, that ensured losses wont be huge – yet the returns havent been favourable as per different online sources. Even VIP2 had a success meet, not Kaala)
If a Rajni fan can bolster his star’s power, I too can keep harping on how VR2 is still doing decent business & could make money in Tamil. But I guess, the point is made – it is not about VR/UV/Rajni. Dont write Kamal off yet. Or atleast be equally critical about the others too. Or adopt a relative grading scale – in which Kamal would be languishing in solitude on the positive side by virtue of his past/present laurels with others far behind. Some of the words used in the comments here sound like epithets for the countless non-stars non-actors in this Industry – dont want to name them, coz why shame them in a comment which requests not to shame someone! )
Phew am out of this!
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Madan
August 16, 2018
@Ada Pongappa: The pro Rajni bias is your faulty inference, my friend. Most of us criticising Kamal on this thread are bigger fans of Kamal than Rajni. I don’t think I have ever been a huge fan of Rajni and don’t like most of his work from Annamalai onwards. That is, from the time he decided to inflict the humble star trope on the audience over and over. So this is more of anguish at Kamal sticking to his reflexes while his once stodgy rival is actually trying to fix things.
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Srinivas R
August 16, 2018
@Adapongappa – I hope you do realize that, lot of comments in this thread are from people who appreciate Kamal, you just have to hop across to the Hey Ram thread to understand that. However, the frustration is that his potentially great movies are being undermined by
a) surrounding himself with yes men who don’t question his indulgences
b) directors with no vision or creativity
c) lack of BO clout to fund his expensive ideas
I hope you understand that collaborating with Gibran, Su Ka etc. is not the same as joining hands with new directors. Director has creative control over the movie and a MD or dialogue writer has no where near the same influence in the final product. The only movie where Kamal gave the creative control to a new director was VV and the result was a good movie and BO success. No it wasn’t a great movie, we don’t recall it same way we recall say something like Mahanadhi, but there is no harm in Kamal being part of more such ventures.
Coming to star power, somewhere around Anbe Sivam is when i see a noticable fall in Kamal’s BO clout, the fact that it was followed by Mumbai Express probably didn’t help.
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MANK
August 16, 2018
Coming to star power, somewhere around Anbe Sivam is when i see a noticeable fall in Kamal’s BO clout
Srinivas, no, the damage was done by Aalavandhan. it was a weird weird film that the audience just hated. some distributors are supposed to have lost almost 90% percent of their investment in the film, this considerably dented his clout in the trade and with the audience. he also had a running feud with the producer Thanu, who blamed him for the failure of the film. Hey Ram was at least considered a good film and had appeal with certain section of the audience. Aalavandhan , over the years has become kind of a cult film, but it was totally rejected at the time of its release and considered the height of Kamal’s vanity. his subsequent releases like PKS or pachathanathram were strictly average and didn’t help his cause either. Virumandi finally became both an artistic and commercial success, But he never recovered from the aalavandhan blow
I love Mumbai Express, Not as great as Pushpak, but the singeetham touches are there. his ability to milk humor from the existential crisis of the characters is remarkable. its again a film that should be seen in the hindi version for both the humor and the actors, Vijay Raaz, Om puri, sharat saxena were all terrific in the film, not mention one of the most subdued and humorous performance by Kamal
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MANK
August 16, 2018
I dont think Kamal wants to make good films with other directors. he wants to make HIS films, good or bad. Being an actor for hire in somebody else’s film is something he has been loathe to do for a long time. its for nothing that he keeps repeating that he is an accidental actor. which means that he would prefer to make a film like dasa with KSR on which he has full creative control than work with a subbaraj or even Mani Rathnam who are the authors of their films. which explains why he never worked with Mani after Nayagan.
And i dare say that he doesnt think too much of Mani as a writer or director and their film Nayagan. the other day on interview with Masand (I think), masand called Nayagan the greatest film Kamal had done, Kamal had a rather embarrassed look and he was trying hard to choose his words correctly and said something like we both were amateurs at the time and Mani himself would find lot of flaws in the film today etc, etc.., which actually is true to an extend. That’s why he made Tevar makan, his own version of the Godfather…which in some ways is a film that like more than Nayagan, not necessarily that its a better film. And the truth be told, Nothing that Mani has made has come close to Hey Ram or Virumandi, mainly because Mani is too much a refined and timid filmmaker. he would never go in to the dark recesses in exploring sex and violence the way Kamal did in those 2 films.
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Ramesh
August 16, 2018
Rajini’s failures are i guess due to producers hyping up the movie and selling at exorbitant rates.A good rajini movie( one that satisifies fans and gets an Ok from critics) can make around 500 crores today..but the problem is Sivaji, ethiran and Kabali were not that kind of movies and were sold at very high rates even by Rajini’s standards.All 3 wouldve been very profitable if the producers had sold those movies as per Rajini movies standards relative to that time.
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Madan
August 16, 2018
@ MANK: Once in an SEL interview, Shankar Mahadevan joked that they didn’t know if even Kamalji knew what he was doing in Alavandhan. It cost him a lot of credibility. Whether the damage was irreparable I don’t know. He did have Virumaandi after that. So maybe the bigger problem was not being able to get on a juggernaut post Virumaandi. His mixed record at the BO continued until eventually even the hits weren’t that big anymore.
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Ramesh
August 16, 2018
@Srinivas: Sorrounding himself with yes men.. thats a real worry.. thats the reason why, we need to be wary about Kamal the politician as well…hope he does well there and doesnt become dravidian 2.0
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Ada Pongappa
August 16, 2018
Madan: Precisely why Im irked. As fans, why do we undermine his work so much? Normal audience loved PKS, Pancha Thanthiram & Vasool Raja so much that even today you see references to these films in pop-culture. Anbe Sivam has attained cult status among film fans (not film buffs, but fans – because it was more relatable than the brilliant Mahanadhi). Dasa is a certified blockbuster – inspite of its flaws it did intrigue the viewers with it’s far-fetched ideas. UPO & Papanasam too were warmly received. Mumbai Express & Viswaroopam did stoke the interest of discreet viewers if not fans.
See, I know that these discussions dont amount to much – because we really dont know the profile of the commenters here. But someone here found Kadhal Konden that released 12 years after Guna to be a superior product. So Kadhal Konden’s juvenile college love angle did not put off that person but Guna’s single minded pursuit did? We are neither being fair nor adjusting for change in times.
And I reiterate – Rajni changed course only after Kochadayan and Lingaa crashed (& may I add, his health deteriorated to the point where even I feared that Kochadayan would be his last movie). It was a knee-jerk reaction. It is like the tamizh film villain undergoing a change of heart in the last reel. Appo varaikum he wouldnt budge from Shankar, KSR, ARR. Aana avaru super star, namma aalu egoistic aa? Avaru Kaala nadichaa it is a revolution, ivaru Vincent Poovaraghavan a vandhaa gimmick / preachy aa?
Ada pongappa
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
August 16, 2018
CARTOON : MANK TAKES A STAB https://thezolazone.wordpress.com/2018/08/16/viswaroopam-2-mank-takes-a-stab-at-reviewing-the-movie/
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brangan
August 16, 2018
Your own Ravishanker cartoon. MANK, you’ve arrived 🙂
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sravishanker1401gmailcom
August 16, 2018
Ha Ha BR ! Probably I (Capital “I”) have arrived :):)
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MANK
August 16, 2018
ayyo ammaaaaa,appaaaaa, ! this is too much for me to take. Thanks Ravi saar
brangan, yeah , after commenting here for almost 5 years now, finally, lateaaaa vandallum latestaaa varuvaaa (couldn’t resist that ) 🙂
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Madan
August 16, 2018
“Precisely why Im irked” – Since you inferred pro-Rajni bias previously, that cannot precisely be the reason but moving on…
“As fans, why do we undermine his work so much? ” – What you call ‘undermining’, I call acceptance of reality. For example:
“I too can keep harping on how VR2 is still doing decent business” – You could, except that after a wide release in Mumbai, it’s down to a matinee show and an evening show at Gemini G7 (talking about the Hindi version; pt 1 did pretty well here). That’s it. It’s about as spectacular a crash as it gets. Per reports, Monday collections were already steeply down in TN from the opening weekend. Unless the budget figure of Rs.100 cr doing the rounds is a gross exaggeration, no, it’s not going to make much money.
Apropos your entreaties to give due consideration to Vasool Raja or UPO, that is exactly what we have done and have been arguing that he ought to work with other directors on THEIR films more. It is a reasonable argument as far as I can tell. If you really find it so unreasonable to have that pointed out, that can’t be helped. Ego has to be at least part of the reason Kamal is more interested in his pet projects than in other directors’ vehicles. I know Indian fanboys in particular go absolutely Neruppu Da at the very mention of ego but it is the sword that many great artists live and die by. So it is not surprising that the same ego which has propelled Kamal to lofty heights also trips him up at times. It has just happened a bit too often in the last decade. Anyway, speaking of ego:
“Aana avaru super star, namma aalu egoistic aa? ” – Ennai porutha varai yaarum YEN aalu kidayadhu, not even Raja. I do NOT do idol worship. Now, as far as Rajni’s ‘humility’ is concerned, had you kept your cool, you could have grasped what I really think of his image from my sarcastic jibe at humble star films in my previous comment. Humility my foot, anybody who cites God to justify his entry in politics is pretty far from any reasonable definitions of humility as far as I am concerned and those actions speak louder to me than any self serving image he may choose to project in his films. All that said, whatever be the compulsion or motive behind it, Rajni has gone where Kamal has yet to. And it was easier for him because he is not a director per se though he obviously sets the agenda for what he wants from his films. Kamal’s accomplishment as a director gets in the way of accepting that MAYBE a Karthik Subbaraj can get a great performance out of him too. He thinks what would he need another director for but another director would bring a fresh perspective which, even if Kamal doesn’t particularly want it, the audience wants. It is the same problem that Mani also has in working with a good scriptwriter. Shankar had no such compunctions in opting to work on Sujata scripts because he (Shankar) was not very good at it anyway, lol.
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therag
August 17, 2018
Now I haven’t seen V2 and do not plan on seeing it. But as far as V2 is concerned I think we should cut Kamal some slack. Clearly, it has been in developmental hell for years, and the budget wasn’t there to complete the film. From Kamal’s POV, at least he can get this film out and call the project finished instead of letting it languish in limbo. I watched V1 and sort of liked it so I think if Kamal had had the budget this might have turned out well. Oh well.
OTOH I agree that Kamal has gone too far with his Kamalisms. As some poster mentioned, Kamal makes films now to feed his ego/star or whatever. Actually at the root, I think Kamal has always made films to aggrandize himself, or some part of himself. Even his great films like Apoorva Sagodharargal, Guna, MMKR, Hey Ram. People tolerated him because he was still one of the best Indian cinema had to offer. Also, in each of these projects, some Kryptonite curbed his excesses (Panchu Arunachalam, Singeetham Sreeniva Rao).
I think Kamal realises that the decisions made by people like Panchu Arunachalam, SSR etc actually helped the film, but that is not what he wants. He is alright with making an inferior film that will still do well and contain all his crap. And for a long time he was fine cause there was still space for his product in the market. As it turns out, not anymore. And frankly, he had his chance. He had 4 decades to dispense his Kamalisms and he did so with relish and the people lapped it up.
I don’t know if he will be successful as a politician and frankly I don’t wish him success as a politician. I genuinely believe he will be a poor representative/leader. The best outcome will be a more mature Kamal who becomes a gun for hire, not just as actor but a director/writer/choreographer for hire. Yeah yeah, I know that’s not happening, but a man can dream. I hope the market shapes up in such a way that a Kamal written-Mani directed film starring Vijay Sethupathy is not only possible (it’s possible even now but then..) but a no-brainer.
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Honest Raj
August 17, 2018
Actually, Dasa was tolerable largely because of K. S. Ravikumar.
Kamal collaborating with the “new wave” filmmakers is not going to happen at all. He’s had problems with many directors and producers in the past. Meendum Kokila was to be directed by Mahendran (he shot nearly 30 percent of the film before walking out). This despite him being a family friend of Kamal. He turned down BM’s offer to reprise the lead role in the Malayalam remake of Kokila – later Y. Gee. Mahendran was chosen for the role. Who knows? He could’ve very well been the original choice for Yathra. It took nearly twelve years for them to reconcile with each other. He reportedly had a fallout with KB as well – this happened during the making of Unnal Mudiyum Thambi. After the phenomenal success of Roja, Mani Ratnam progressed to a different level and became a bigger brand than Kamal (and the aforementioned directors). About Mysskin, I cannot imagine him working with Kamal for an ad-film let alone a feature.
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Madan
August 17, 2018
“I hope the market shapes up in such a way that a Kamal written-Mani directed film starring Vijay Sethupathy is not only possible (it’s possible even now but then..) but a no-brainer.” – Yeah, I still don’t understand why this is such an impossible prospect in our film industry. Hollywood routinely has films scripted by somebody, directed by another and with a heavyweight cast of actors who are not involved in the script or in direction. Those like Warren Beatty who ignored this separation of work eventually burnt their fingers. And it’s not like they don’t have personalities with gigantic egos too. So maybe it is because we still don’t consider the script as an indispensable part of the film, even though the Salim-Javed team, for instance, delivered two of Yash Chopra’s best films. Apparently, actors and directors would rather pocket all the money and credit and make an inferior film than share it with a scriptwriter.
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Ada Pongappa
August 17, 2018
Madan: Pro Rajni bias was not for you. Ive been following this blog long enough to know that.
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Thupparivaalan
August 17, 2018
MANK: You’re bang on about Mani being too refined in his tastes. Even when dealing with stronger subjects in a Kaatru-Veliyidai or Raavanan, it’s tough to viscerally feel the ragged edges of either the characters or the themes he works with. He has brilliant mastery of the craft but is incapable of something like virumandi or hey ram, because it’s not in his instinct. His brushes are broad and colorful, but once examined under a microscope, the lack of mettle in his material is evident. His best films for me that work as a whole are Nayagan, Thalapthy and Iruvar. He was never more braver as a filmmaker and writer, as he was in Iruvar, which bombed. Guess, that sort of explains why he couldn’t make a hey-ram or virumaandi in his later life.
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Honest Raj
August 17, 2018
I’m a huge fan of Virumaandi; it kinda changed my perception about capital punishment. However, if we talk about ‘form’ it isn’t a patch on Hey Ram. Kamal is an utter failure in this regard. Mani Ratnam, on the other hand, is probably the only filmmaker in mainstream Indian cinema who makes sure that each film is an improvement on the previous one. Which is why he’s still relevant. Also, let’s not forget that it was only after Roja that Tamil cinema started gaining more visibility outside India.
For those who think there’s no ‘sarakku’ in his films, here’s his response (dating back to 2002!):
“I feel that in Tamil cinema there’s a wrong kind of emphasis on the story. To me the story is merely a vehicle for the theme it underlines, along with many other elements, an excuse to make what you want to make. The less story you have the better.”
https://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/fr/2002/04/12/stories/2002041201050100.htm
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therag
August 18, 2018
@Madan, yeah until recently script was not king, star was king. Hindi cinema today sees a lot of collaboration. Even though the star system is still mostly intact, the stars make it a point to collaborate because they have to inorder to survive. Again, the market forced them to. Tamil cinema lags behind in the curve. Both Surya and Karthi at one stage got complacent and did only masala movies aimed at B/C centres, and got their asses handed to them. With Rajni/Kamal, the market has been much more forgiving.
For Rajni the fall has been precipitous – even 8 years back he was BO God with Enthiran. The Kochadaiyan-Lingaa debacle really brought him down. And that has forced Rajni to be more drastic in his measures – working with next-gen directors, giving up a lot of what made him star.
With Kamal, the downward curve is gradual probably because of his superior business instincts. He’s always had to do more work to sell his movies at the same level as Rajni and that kept him afloat for longer. But Kamal has also clearly reached a point where it’s no longer possible to make his kind of films.
Credit to Rajni for taking the steps to come out of the rut. Kamal in roughly the same position is noping out of cinema. I believe Kamal will be back to cinema but I find his decision to quit cinema disappointing. What I take away from this decision is his unwillingness to make cinema in any way but his own.
Think about the possibilities. For the right price, just about anyone in India will want Kamal as a gun for hire.
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Madan
August 18, 2018
“What I take away from this decision is his unwillingness to make cinema in any way but his own.
Think about the possibilities. For the right price, just about anyone in India will want Kamal as a gun for hire.” – Nail on the head. Exactly. Kamal still has more to offer as an actor imo and that he himself doesn’t want to do it any way but on his own terms is disappointing to me.
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Thupparivaalan
August 18, 2018
Honest Raj: I think virumaandi’s form was also good. Not as much as in the level of hey-ram but still really good.
Take this scene:
Scenes such as these with lots of conversation and extras are very difficult to choreograph. But, Kamal cuts through it with ease. To compare, just think how bad similar scenes were in kaala, with each character coming out and saying something and going back. There’s a lovely rythm to these conversations.
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Arvind S Chehtha
August 18, 2018
Kamal, the actor primarily works only for Kamal, the writer-director. And he probably means it when he says he’s a reluctant actor. It’s hard to understand how an actor of his caliber can sort of relegate it to being a tool for his writing-directorial ventures. Up until recently he actually did experiment with roles but now its almost only him that I see on screen. He’s still very much has his acting chops intact. It’s unfortunately his writing that’s gotten way too self indulgent.
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Manikandan
August 19, 2018
https://www.thehindu.com/entertainment/movies/kamal-haasans-greatest-artistic-obsession-is-himself/article24724999.ece
Splendid take on Kamal
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Honest Raj
August 24, 2018
Thupparivalan: I’m not saying Virumaandi (or VR for that matter) is a bad film. In an interview, shortly after the release of Virumandi, when asked about his best ever film Kamal said, the next one. Form -or content-wise, this has never been the case with his films.
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abishekspeare
August 16, 2023
BR, a lot of your FC reviews aren’t showing up on the website – getting some error when i try to open them
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