Dear BR,
Below is a topic which I felt can be discussed on the thread.
The gap between the first and second installments of Enthiran is almost a decade. A huge time frame from a technology stand point. So much has changed and developed in the area of AI,robotics, data age. While I wasnt anticipating a high concept flick from Shankar, what disappointed me is the lack of imagination in the main storyline?
While judging a movie by its trailer can be wrong, the main premise of phones being taken away from people and wreaking havoc in society seemed childish. Enthiran had a sci fi premise while this seemed more like a superhero premise.
What is important is the data being taken away or a digital dictator who seems to have control over all of our data. While I was discussing this with a Friend, my friend rightfully told me that the “masses” might not understand those concepts, rise of AI or digital dictatorship. With so much money at stake, the producers can’t afford to make a film which talks about a high concept.
Which brings me to the question of how can a balance be achieved by making high concept sci fi and making it accessible and understandable to the masses? Are there any instances of that in Indian Cinema? How does Hollywood achieve it? Some of the Marvel content has great sci fi and “massy” moments as well.
Thanks,
Sanjay NM
Baradwaj Rangan 
Srinivas R
November 3, 2018
I think the problem is with the assumption that the masses will not understand. It’s up to the writer-director to introduce the concept in a crisp manner. Taking the example given in the post, I think it is easy to explain the idea of data theft, identity theft etc. with a few characters and then introduce this techno dictator. I am simplifying of course, but mostly it’s full makers underestimating the audience.
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KK
November 3, 2018
I think masses will understand. There are many “high concept” movies.for example works of Nolan or Speilberg,where art and commerce effortlessly blend making way for a great cinema. You can take Interstellar,a movie that was as scientifically accurate as possible yet it wasn’t devoid of drama or emotional depth. So even if you fail to appreciate the scientific accuracy of the movie,the drama won’t disappoint you. So in a way it serves to both the classes and the masses. Same can be said for Arrival,The Martian,Minority Report and so on.
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AdhithyaKR
November 3, 2018
I once heard about a story by Sujatha that touched upon the idea of teleportation. There was another one by Veena S Balachander that spoke about a man finding a newspaper that predicted the next day’s events. These premises could make for some gripping storytelling, but I think science fiction is automatically equated with grand effects. We’re still a long way off from films like Arrival or Predestination.
I have not watched 24, Maayavan, Indru Netru Naalai or Tik Tik Tik. But the fact that these films didn’t really start a trend might indicate that this is a space yet to find it’s footing. Science fiction and fantasy are quite under-developed in Indian cinema. Though fantasy films do come out, they tend to have a mythological or historical touch, unlike the new creation of worlds in Harry Potter or Star Wars.
On a similar note, I’ve noticed that novels and short stories by Indian authors (at least the famous ones) usually deal with society, history or mythology. Take Five Point Someone or Immortals of Meluha or Sacred Games for example. If there are original works of Science Fiction and High Fantasy that do well in India, I think cinema will take notice and follow.
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sanjana
November 3, 2018
So no towers. No radiation. Using VFX to get the message to the audience.
Will people throw away their mobiles after watching the movie? Then the purpose of the movie is served. If not, it is another entertainer not to be taken seriously.
Back to landlines is the best away to counter radiation and its issues. Or we prepared for that?
Any solutions offered in the film? Let us wait.
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srijithunni
November 3, 2018
One of the irritating things about Indian sci-fi is that it is often mistaken for fantasy. Take netru, indru, naalai or 24, both require some suspension of disbelief. While this is okay in some ways, a much more closer to home inspiration is also possible. I remember an old Malayalam flick, Iyer the great about extra sensory perception, which built in a good storyline as well. Some original concepts needs to inspire some filmmakers. Also must add, it may even be a serial on T.V.. for that matter. Netflix series Black Mirror being a case in point on some exceptional content.
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krishna prasad
November 3, 2018
Sci-fi premise, being able to understand etc being aside, when it comes to them I have personally preferred Hollywood movies mainly for their rich production values. I think most of them would feel the same. Given a choice of watching a dubbed Hollywood film to a Indian sci-fi, most would go for the dubbed one. Guess endhiran maybe a one off. There simply is no market for spending 500 crores for making a good movie in India. Hollywood obviously can because its shown in n number of countries.
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Eswar
November 4, 2018
Literature is a window to the society. Literature is also a window for its people. Lack of a certain literary form could mean lack of certain sensibilities within that society.
In my limited exposure to Tamil Literature, the only Science-Fiction writer I have come across is Sujatha. Sujatha’s En Iniya Iyanthira*, written in 1980s, is an interesting science fiction novel for its time. In spite of this being a Tamil novel, the theme does not exactly feel native or home grown. If I remember correctly even the robotic dog Jeano was quoting Bertrand Russel. Suprisingly this was made into a Tamil Tv series, probably in 90s, of which the only part I remember is Charuhasan’s voice and his appearance in huge public screens like in George Orwell’s 1984.
Sujatha has written a sequel for this book and probably few other Science Fiction like works. Apart from that the only other book that comes to my mind is Jeyamohan’s Pani Manithan which, I think, revolves around Yeti which I am not sure if it even would fall under Science Fiction.
Now I don’t know the reason why Science Fiction as a literary form does not exist here. Nevertheless what this means is the reading Tamil society’s exposure to Science Fiction is only through the Western literature. I also don’t know if science fiction is popular in other Indian languages. I think Satyajit Ray has written a couple of Science Fiction stories.
I understand the percentage of Tamil readers in Tamil Society is questionable. But even within that negligible group there is almost no exposure to a homegrown science fiction. In spite of this tiny reading group, when the literature manages to seep into the movie world it eventually reached the masses. Jeyakanthan’s Sila Nerangalil Sila Manithargal would be a popular example. I guess the book, at least it’s idea, found its way back to the society through the movie version. Lesser known examples would be works like Bhaskar Shakthi’s Azhagarsamyin Kuthirai, Kothamangalam Subbu’s Thillana Mohanambal, Thi.Janakiraman’s Moga Mull, Uma Chandran’s Mullum Malarum or Shan Karuppusamy’s Vettattam which came out as NOTA. Even though the movie was never made, the presence of a work like Kalki’s Ponniyin Selvan inspired Mani Ratnam to attempt making a movie out of it(with Jeyamohan co-writing).
This adaptation of a novel to a movie is indeed very sparse in Tamil Cinema. But even within this limited scope, I am guessing, the lack of Science Fiction literature could be a reason for the lack of Tamil Science Fiction movies. This linkage probably sounds very hypothetical. But I am hoping if the Tamil Science Fiction literature ever arrives then it will have some effect on its moving counterpart.
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/En_Iniya_Iyanthira.
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Sai Ashwin
November 4, 2018
I urge people to watch a sci-fi film called Seconds (1966), its an extremely low-budget film with some interesting themes explored in it yet its done in a way that is entertaining to an “average” viewer.
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AdhithyaKR
November 4, 2018
Interestingly, there were allegations that ET was inspired by Ray’s script The Alien. Read this article for more details.
https://factordaily.com/satyajit-ray-mike-wilson-et-the-alien-hollywood-arthur-clarke/
Satyajit Ray also wrote science fiction short stories in the Professor Shonku series. The first story itself dealt with a trip to Mars! There was buzz that the story of Professor Shonku and El Dorado will be made into a movie by Ray’s son, supposed to release this year.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Professor_Shonku_adventures
Time to go and take a look at what else Sujatha has written.
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Reuben
November 4, 2018
@srijithunni- “One of the irritating things about Indian sci-fi is that it is often mistaken for fantasy”
And the reason it is mistaken for fantasy is due to the sloppy thought process of the director. No effort is made to understand the underlying science before it is fictionalized.
As KK said in a comment above, a movie like interstellar can still be enjoyed without understanding Relativity theory. But for discerning viewers, there are layers in that movie that touches upon some of the “mind-fuck” aspects of reality and nature.
In India, its not only the case with sci-fi but its with all other genres as well. The majority of the movies just sucks.
When Indian parents obsession to create engineers and doctors out of their children wane, we might start getting more quality directors.
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Enigma
November 4, 2018
Black Mirror is a TV show that is available on Netflix. It is a science fiction anthology, each of the stories is about the impact technology would have on human lives. Not high budget CGI but extremely well made series without much of special effects in it.
As for Tamil audiences and sci-fi, highly doubtful if they would ever take to it. Tamil audiences like their films to be dumbed down. Enthiran with any other actor would have flopped, it was brand Rajinikanth that ensured the movie’s success. Even then, many Rajini fans weren’t too happy. Sci-fi will never work in Tamil or Telugu – there is no market for intelligent movies there (movies like Inception or Interstellar). It is not that people are not educated or not intelligent enough, just that they have a mindset that cannot be changed.
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Rad Mahalikudi
November 4, 2018
There was a sci-fi movie called “Kalaiarasi” that came in early 1960s. MGR, Nambiar, Bhanumathi starred in that. Aliens (who look like humans) from another planet kidnap Bhanumathi since their society lacks arts and they want her to teach their people. I have watched it long time back as a kid and found it interesting with flying saucers, blinking control panel, moon walk (low gravity).
As such, Kollywood doesn’t have a concept of genre movies. We get genre-mix movies like horror-comedy, love-sci-fi-masala (like 24). Due to mix, time gets wasted in courting scenes, duets, which could have been used effectively to setup the premise. Good thing about Tik-tik-tik is, it stuck to genre to good extent and was watchable. I don’t think it is due to short of ideas. Sujata himself has written good number of sci-fi short stories which could be good starting point for sci-fi movies. Producers and directors think masses are not ready or there is no audience. There is some truth in it. Minority Report doesn’t run and make money like a Jurassic Park. Both are sci-fi but Jurassic Park can be seen as a pure horror movie with eye candy special effects. Since Sci-if gets equated with special effects, Kollywood may be taking the easy way out due to budget and reach. This is true not just for sci-fi even for good slasher, horror, or action (like John Wick) movies. We don’t get them in Kollywood. But Asuravatham and Tik-tik-tik holds out some hope.
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therag
November 4, 2018
The movie hasn’t even come out. I was pretty underwhelmed by the first Enthiran trailer and the movie surprised me. I hope 2.0 is the same. Replacing cellphones with digital content or personal data won’t work because it is too real. Cellphones are a reasonable proxy and probably easier to visualise on a screen and have some fun with.
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therag
November 4, 2018
I think it is unfair to say that Shankar lacks creativity or that he does not distinguish between sci-fi and fantasy. The first Enthiran had some very advanced themes. From training the robot to recognize/feel emotions to the robot going rogue, the events were presented in a very plausible way. I’ll believe him if he says the fantasy is purely for commercial reasons.
Interstellar almost had a sequence where the protagonists travel faster than the speed of light, but Kip Thorne would not agree. And the way it ended (some bull about love transcending dimensions or something) squarely puts the film in the drama category. I think it was intended to be a drama, you could have switched out space for the ocean in that film without really changing the emotional highs/lows.
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Voldemort
November 4, 2018
Agree with AdithyaKR. We have had a lot of mythological stories. Flying chariots, magical powers, immortals, etc. And there were the (devotional) god movies aplenty – where God/Godmen did several sci-fi like things. Also, we have hardly had strictly sci-fi films, most of the sci-fi we make are love/revenge stories in a sci-fi backdrop. That’s why smaller budget sci-fi films are a good option – If the makers can’t do without a comedy track or other mainstream elements on a big budget because of the unpredictability(?) of the outcome, we could resort to small budget films, which can survive even if it caters to a small audience.
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Madan
November 4, 2018
“. The first Enthiran had some very advanced themes. From training the robot to recognize/feel emotions to the robot going rogue, the events were presented in a very plausible way. ” – Sure but Shankar no longer has Sujata’s able assistance at his disposal. So let’s see what he can come up with. When there are interesting elements in a Shankar film (like the Garuda Puranam reference in Anniyan), there is a Sujata inside.
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Enigma
November 5, 2018
@Madan, Shankar’s first was pretty interesting and he did not collaborate with Sujatha on that one. He is the only filmmaker who is bold enough to handle sci-fi themes in Tamil cinema. I think he is a filmmaker witg vision and imagination. Will do a good job with 2.0.
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Aadhy
November 5, 2018
“When there are interesting elements in a Shankar film, there is a Sujata inside. ”
Couldn’t agree more. Sujata balanced out Shankar’s crude film-making to make his movies more watchable. The interview scene in Mudhalvan, a lot of Anniyan, the parents-children-Vivek interaction scene in boys etc., became 10 times more interesting just because of their sharp dialogues. Even in Sivaji, one can sense where Sujata exactly comes in and not. I read somewhere that Shankar & him got into a fight over the whole Angavai-Sangavai comedy track, which Shankar was very insistent on keeping. In general, Shankar tries to cloak his ordinary film-making with VFX, heavy production values and other over the top effects, but with Sujatha’s rooted dialogues, his movies existed in a space of magical realism. Now he just takes a super-imaginative crux and blows it up all over.
Which brings me to the question of how can a balance be achieved by making high concept sci fi and making it accessible and understandable to the masses? ”
With respect to sci-fi movies, I think it’s crucial to establish the world first, which good hollywood flicks do. A sense of time and place, strong characters (even if not entirely relatable), and the world’s science i.e. how things work. Then you can throw even an outlandish scientific concept at the audience and not fear about alienating them. Because even it they don’t get any of it, they won’t care because they are kept engaged by the ‘what next ‘ factor. In Tamil sci-fi flicks, especially the ones like 24, there is no such world- A hero is doing heroic things, heroine is doing cutey things, and mom is doing mom things. Even is that indeed is its world, it doesn’t stay loyal to it. Too many distractions and tonal shifts all over the place. Hoping Rajni comes out unscathed, I have least hopes on 2.0. Sivakarthikeyan’s next is also a sci-fi movie. Don’t know what to expect out of it.
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Madan
November 5, 2018
Enigma: Gentleman was a long time ago and also not a sci fi film. Anyway I will give it a fair crack, let’s see what he comes up with. But it wouldn’t surprise me if it’s nothing like Endhiran.
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therag
November 5, 2018
I keep hearing that Sujata is the brains behind Enthiran but I think people are missing the point. The concept of robot going rogue might have been Sujatha’s idea (in so far as you can call that idea his) but Shankar placed it in the right context and made it plausible. It is a difficult concept to execute and Shankar pulled it off with aplomb. Credit must also go to Rajni for playing the rogue robot so well. Enthiran never made a detour into masala-hero land and for the most part stuck to the core theme.
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sanjana
November 5, 2018
Is not technology different from pure science though pure science theories help technology?
If we can consume hollywood scifi, we can consume a well made Indian one as well. But even our scifi films have routine song dance and that dilutes the impact.
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Purple Sky
November 5, 2018
If anyone can “massify” sci-fi concepts, that has to be Shankar. Take the case of anniyan and chandramukhi. Both movies released at around the same time. But people understood the concept of dissociative identity disorder (split personality disorder) better in anniyan, than in chandramukhi (pei padam, punarjanmam padam, paambu padam etc). So, time will tell.
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kaizokukeshav
November 5, 2018
600 crores on bringing unrealistic Sci-Fi to masses seems a very bad idea. After looking at the trailer the story idea behind this idea seems very implausible in real world. Endhiran actually had concepts that the world is already experimenting on and so it worked. Added to that, our masses are already updated with technology. 2point0 looks looks like an extended version of Endhiran’s climax and some one gave the wrong news to Shankar that Endhiran’s climax was great.
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vijay
November 6, 2018
Shankar looks for returns from B and C centers. Forget sci-fi, even something like Mumbai Express will not work there but a Virumandi works well, We are far off from having something like Interstellar or Nolan-type of films getting acceptance here. Multiplex audiences will, but for a 500+ crore film, Shankar goes for all centers and always dumbs it down. trailer of 2 is underwhelming. Looks like one too many bad special effects, but let’s see. I would like to see a Subburaj or even an old timer like Mani rathnam make smaller budget focused sci-fi dramas where the effects are as much important as the screenplay/plot. Maybe the guy who made 24, can take another crack at it.
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MANK
November 6, 2018
.Enthiran never made a detour into masala-hero land and for the most part stuck to the core theme.
On the contrary Enthiran worked so well because it was set in the masala land. For all it’s sci find mumbo jumbo, Frankenstein monster themes and such, it was at heart the ramayana story. Of Rama and raavana battling it out for seetha.And as seen in Gentleman , Mudhalvan etc, Shankar at heart is a masala filmmaker.
Masalisation is the only way sci-fi would work in India
Which is why Mr. India worked so well. Because our country is steeped in mythological tales and they are more fantastical than anything sci-fi can cook up
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Nusharif
November 6, 2018
I found “Ready Player One” highly entertaining and it had a great futuristic concept based on VR. It is possible, even “Indru Netru Nalai” was a big hit. In my opinion, it is always the basic which is to engage and entertain the audience with good screenplay rather than focus on grandiosity. Also i watched many tamil short films with sci-fi concepts which has garnered good response. So, it is up to filmmakers to make a good presentation to reach the audience.
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Madan
November 6, 2018
MANK: Completely agree and Mr India was the very example I was thinking of.
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therag
November 6, 2018
@MANK, if you look at it that way almost any story can be thought of as set in masala land. Man-lusting-after-woman and kidnapping her is much too common to be called a masala theme exclusively. Sure, it still had some masala beats but it had enough sci-fi mumbo jumbo to not be called a masala movie.
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brangan
November 6, 2018
I’m thinking 2.0 will not be “pure” sci fi either (not that that’s a problem for me).
Given that Akshay is a bird, I’m thinking it’s something to do with how cellphone signals have messed with the navigation capabilities of avian creatures — and Akshay swoops in for revenge 😛
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Madan
November 6, 2018
therag: Point taken and in some ways, yes, there was much less ‘pandering’ (at least the ‘classic’ Shankar monologue in the end) in Endhiran than in many Tamil films of its vintage. Now if I compared it to Appu Raja, no, I would say Appu Raja was less masala than Endhiran. And Appu Raja’s a hardcore (but sensible) masala film imo.
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therag
November 6, 2018
Do people actually like real hard-core sci-fi? Something like Primer? Me thinks no. Even Hollywood “sci-fi” movies are not really hard-core sci-fi. It is usually packed into a Hollywood tent-pole framework. They just happen to take the world-building very seriously and have the cash to spend on good CGI.
@Madan, There is no proper definition for “Masala” like for example “film noir”. This site should have a wiki with definitions and examples.
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Aadhy
November 6, 2018
As Therag said, I think we can all lay out what is ‘masala’ in movies for us.
a) Does masala mean the must-haves of a commercial flick like song-dance routine, sentiment, stunts and comedy track ?
b) Or is it something pulpy, very much a part of the story, with a bit of make-believe thrown in, where emotional logic would make the suspension of disbelief possible?
If it’s a), then anything that’s not a pure genre piece is masala. If it’s b), even Indian myths, Shakespearean tragedies, Manga comics etc. could be called masala.
For me, as a basic definition, a) works. But if I have to make a distinction between bad and good masala, I use b). Endhiran, even with a sci-fi core, was a masala flick because of a). But due to lack of b) it didn’t make for a good masala movie, atleast for me. I have same expectations for 2.0.
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Ravi K
November 7, 2018
I could have done without the “Kaadhal Anukkal” and “Kilimanjaro” songs but other than that “Enthiran” did not have the meandering looseness that I associate with masala films. It’s a pretty tightly told story compared to Shankar’s previous films, and compared to Tamil cinema at the time in general. Very little flab. No interminable comedy tracks that were unrelated to the main story or characters. Santhanam’s betrayal, for example, was crucial to the plot. Karunas is barely in it. And Sana wasn’t just an obligatory love interest, but was central to the conflict about Chitti falling in love, and everything that ensued afterwards. She was the face that launched a thousand robots, so to speak.
kaizokukeshav “2point0 looks looks like an extended version of Endhiran’s climax and some one gave the wrong news to Shankar that Endhiran’s climax was great.”
I LOVED the climax of “Enthiran.” It’s some of the most inspired, bonkers VFX I’ve seen. The “2.0” trailer does feature a lot of similar imagery (multiple robots in different formations, bad Chitti shooting a circle of guns, etc.) but hopefully it features some surprises. I’m skeptical about the story without Sujatha’s involvement, though.
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Madan
November 7, 2018
” There is no proper definition for “Masala” like for example “film noir” – Of course. And I agree with you that even Hollywood usually tries to place sci fi in the context of a tentpole except if it’s stuff like 2001 Space Odyssey. Too much money to recover. So…for us, the tentpole is masala.
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Krithikha
November 7, 2018
I am usually a silent reader on this Blog, because I don’t watch too many movies, but I do love the way BR writes. I was interested in this Off topic, because I love Science Fiction.
Sanjay’s key question is “How can a balance be achieved by making high concept sci fi and making it accessible and understandable to the masses”
One of Science Fiction’s greatest authors is Isaac Asimov. In one of his interview, when asked to define what is science fiction he said that “I think science fiction is the very relevant branch of literature that deals with human response to changes in the level of science and technology…….It’s not important that the average citizen understand science so completely that he or she could actually become involved in research, but it is very important that people be able to “follow the game” well enough to have some intelligent opinions on policy.”
The Full Interview is on this link https://www.motherearthnews.com/nature-and-environment/science-technology-isaac-asimov-zmaz80sozraw?ViewAll=True#axzz2UBCCXdRA
So broadly speaking, it is the “Job” of Science fiction to make science or the inevitability of change accessible to masses. In that space, I think Enthiran did a pretty good job. You are left with the inevitability of artificial intelligence and that Vaseegaran may have dismantled his robot, but it’s not the end. Someone else with lesser scruples than Vaseegaran will make another AI another day and then what?
Even a bit of science in a otherwise non sci-fi movie is great. Take Spyder for example. Mahesh babu sets up fancy equipment to direct housewives for a rescue operation. That was a small but good bit of sci-fi.
A lot of Hollywood movies are pretty massy, with Avatar being the best example. Remove the CG and we have a pukka masala movie. It even has songs.
So basically Money to back up Sci fi (I heard that the movie Martian cost more than our Mangalyaan) and a certain amount of belief in our audience seems to be missing. The first one will take time, but the second one can be squeezed in gradually.
On a lighter note… I recently read this https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/RYCuTlBrcJTnHgwDM8q1ZM/Mr-India-and-his-forebears.html
which in turn led me to this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7JhRqCpCRK4
Sci fi also gives us scope for a lot of fun, which we in tamil cinema seem to be missing out for some reason.
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A reader
November 7, 2018
The trailer didn’t remind anyone else of Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’?
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Aparna
November 8, 2018
The trailer of 2.0 did not feel original at all and the idea of cell phones holding mankind hostage feels a bit dated. It may have worked in even 5-10 years back, but not right now where cell phone and internet usage is ubiquitous and everyone knows of the perils of oversharing information to unknown people (even thiruttu payale’s premise seemed to not fit in with these times) or how cells phones keep us addicted to social media etc. Whether it be the action scenes looking similar to 1.0 or the Bird poster looking similar to Game of Thrones characters or a huge step down from the Man Vs AI storyline in the first movie, the movie does not look promising.
For sci-fi movies in Indian cinema, I quite liked Maayavan from last year. The concept was refreshingly distinctly science fiction. The ideas that formed the story belong to the near future where Tech companies believe that there would be a day when we can upload and download ourselves digitally, thereby living immortally online. The message was effectively conveyed and was not dumbed down or spoon fed to the audience. Compared with what seems to be 2.0s story, Maayavan seemed to be thinking ahead, and with a little bit of refinement*, it could have been a much better movie. *For example: Jackie Shroff is never well cast in Tamil movies. His presence and dialogue delivery was jarring in the movie. Also, they could have done away with the romance angle.
“While I was discussing this with a Friend, my friend rightfully told me that the “masses” might not understand those concepts, rise of AI or digital dictatorship. With so much money at stake, the producers can’t afford to make a film which talks about a high concept.”
I think producers and script writers should not underestimate the movie going audiences. After a high concept (for tamil cinema) Endhiran 1.0, pulling off a Big Brother or Mass surveillance scenario in society should not be a big deal. This is so much more relevant to our times since people are worried about how our data (even Aadhar) can be misused by authorities. It is clear that not much thought has been put into the storyline of 2.0. Especially if the work had been started immediately after 1.0 with a quick sequel in mind, the resulting lag in development and the AI and tech advances in the intervening years have made the 2.0 concept obsolete. (Of course, that is going by what the trailers seem to depict).
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Magesh Margabandu
November 8, 2018
One should read Jeyamohan’s Visumbu, which is a set of sci-fi short stories. They are original home grown short stories. And I think shankar is colloborating with Jeyamohan for 2.0.
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KayKay
November 8, 2018
Aparna, “dated”concepts isn’t necessarily a harbinger of doom at the box-office. Hollywood movies still regurgitate “AI achieves sentience and goes rogue” plots to this day (using that trope certainly didn’t harm Avengers Age Of Ultron’s box office collection). It’s how you approach the subject
I’ll give Shankar the benefit of doubt and give the man props for delaying his movie’s release because he wasn’t happy with the quality of effects.
Imagine that. A film maker who refuses to release his product because he wasn’t happy with the end result.
If more directors applied such stringent QC on their scripts, we’d get far more films that are written well as opposed to those that look and sound like they shot the first draft
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KayKay
November 8, 2018
“I LOVED the climax of “Enthiran.” It’s some of the most inspired, bonkers VFX I’ve seen”
Ravi K, second, third and fourth that, brother! That’s exactly the climax a film about a sentient robot gone rogue needed. Imagine, the climactic action scene could easily have been a Robot Rajini vs Scientist Rajini slug fest replete with slo-mo, finger swishes and punch dialogues (shudder!)
I said it before, Endhiran gets very little love around these parts.
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Madan
November 8, 2018
“I said it before, Endhiran gets very little love around these parts.” – Fifthed, since you covered second, third and fourth. The climax was rollicking. Clear riff on Ramayan but why not. Rather, I am happy when filmmakers appropriate our rich mythology. That’s how good masala used to be made.
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Dora
November 8, 2018
Folks, for all the 600 Crores spent, I am praying that the 2.0 story does not come down to this: Akshay Kumar is a brilliant scientist and quiet family man who happily spends his days working on projects related to flight and studying birds. Sadly, his adorable wife and child are killed by a thoughtless texting driver who does not even notice what he has done and the passerby’s are too busy to help cos they have their noses buried in their phones and to make matters worse, a few heartless idiots take selfies as well. A heartbroken Akshay uses his science to morph into a bird monster and tries to use the same cellphones to wreak havoc on the same humanity that turned its back to him. Ofcourse, Rajni comes to the rescue and blah blah blah…….
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brangan
November 8, 2018
Dora: Have you just revealed the plot of 2.0? 😀
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MANK
November 8, 2018
Madan is absolutely right. That’s what great masala is. Creating an alternate mythic narrative apropos to our epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, with God like heroes and demonic villains
And I love the climax of Enthiran . It was truly bonkers and fun
And this should interest Enthiran lovers. If you can stand Rajni being called paunchy star and such. A western take on the film
https://film.avclub.com/enthiran-1798224462
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Dora
November 8, 2018
I really hope I am absolutely completely wrong. I have all the respect in the world for Shankar and team’s ambition and vision. I just hope the script doesn’t let us down.
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Aparna
November 12, 2018
@KayKay, I did not mean that 2.0 was going to be a disaster at the box office, perhaps given its datedness. It is sure to break the very many BO records set by our King Khans. Also I just realised, Endhiran 1.0 (2010) is a spiritual predecessor of Age of Ultron (2015) and I must say that Endhiran did the sentient-AI-goes-rogue sooner and much better!
I just rewatched the trailer of 2.0 and saw these words- When the fifth force evolves. I am quite intrigued as there isn’t much information on what a “fifth force” is, with respect to robotics. So, I have done some over analyzing and speculate that Akshay Kumar belongs to a higher dimensional race that oversees the evolution of mankind. When said higher dimensional race realizes that humans are getting chained to their phones, they send the AK to wipe out the human race as we are no longer fit for evolution. So Chitti 2.0 comes to the rescue and frees mankind from cosmic gaze of AKs race. In a way, AK represents God, pitted against our own demigod Rajnikanth. An ultimate battle for existence ensues which results in the destruction of AK and our high dimensional supervisors. At this point, I would like to bring in some philosophy about God and theism, but I will leave that for another day!
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Anu Warrier
November 12, 2018
May I add a ‘sixth’ to those who loved the total cheesiness of Enthiran? 🙂
@MANK – the initial comments under that article were a hoot. 🙂 For the much heralded ‘western perspective’ (as one of the comments under the article you linked to said: they don’t say that for Asian films. Why do that for ours?) read this one:
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Srinivas R
November 13, 2018
My liking for 2.0 trailer increased dramatically after watching my son go bonkers seeing it. He is like ” appa, this giant crow is trying to crash everyone and there are so many robos shooting it. This is so much fun.” That I guess is the whole point of this.
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Ramakrishnan Lakshmanan
November 27, 2018
Science in any kind (be it fiction or whatever) can be classified into 2 categories:
1) Engineering or Developing
2) Application
Films like ‘2001: A Space Odissey’ concentrates on Science Engineering/developing concepts and its relativity.
Films like ‘Indru Netru Naalai’ or ’24’ or ‘Back to the Future’ mostly concentrates on how the Science (say the Time Machine) can be applied for some useful purpose. The thought of going back in time to a century earlier to buy some gold with present day currencies is hilariously illustrated and can be viewed as a perfect example as a scene how a Science concept can be applied in real time and its aftermaths.
Enthiran tried to be both Engineering (Creating and teaching Chitti) and applying Chitti (for Military purposes, that’s what poor Vaseegaran envisioned though), and tried to be wonderful on paper-level even if not in visual level.
So in-order to make a successful Sci-Fi film, the team should decide on the path, they chose to travel.
As you look globally, a film like Inception (applying dream sharing and lucid dreams to a real time problem) yielded more than an Interstellar (developing a Sci-Fi story based on black-holes or relativity or dimensions) is a classical example of people are interested to watch a film in a theatre kinda rather than in Birla planetarium
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Aishu Shobha
December 15, 2018
In my personal opinion , we should take just inspiration from movies made all over the world, and make a product / film of our own. Indians should have faith in their own intelligence and talent. we should feel neither inferior or superior at all. Hollywood churns out good sci-fi movies because it keeps seeking/gaining knowledge from everywhere and use it in their work. India has been lapping up hollywood flicks more often which kind of puts indian makers in an inferior position, once science fiction films in India are encouraged, slowly the makers gaining positive confidence can come to making brilliant sci-fi movies.
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