Nayagan, and a treatise on the Maniratnam biopic.

Nayagan (alternative spelling Nayakan, Hindi dubbed version titled Velu Nayakan) is often called one of the greatest Maniratnam and indeed one of the greatest Indian films of all time (it even earned a mention on TIME magazine's 100 Best Films of All Time), so it's rather odd that I get to this film so late in my film-watching career. It's even lauded as India's answer to Hollywood legendary The Godfather. Nayagan, in short, is an epic tale of criminal glory throughout generations, a story of an orphan boy, who ends up a hero for the poor community Tamil-speakers in Mumbai, regularly discriminated by various people in power. It's a tale of good and evil, and the hopelessness that drives people to cheat the system, and the contradictions of this criminality.

I suppose it makes sense that I only got around to watching this film now, because I've recently realised how strange my relationship is to Maniratnam (or Mani Ratnam, if you prefer). I began watching his films, thoroughly impressed with every aspect - the wild visuality that usually accompanies gorgeous A.R. Rahman songs, the strong, performance-driven stories, and the popular tackling of certain, heavier subjects. I was shocked by Dil Se, moved to tears by Bombay, and adored Alaipayuthe madly. Then something happened. I liked Guru, but did not love it; I was certainly impressed by Iruvar, but again, it didn't make it into my favourites; Kannathil Muthamittal was pretty good, I suppose, but I was just kind of lukewarm about it.

It's as if I moved from feeling Maniratnam's stories on a purely emotional, raw level to just appreciating the competent film-making from him. There are good performances in the films that did not make it into my favourites - I love Aishwarya in Guru and Iruvar, Madhavan was great in Kannathil Muthamittal, Prakash Raaj in Iruvar blew my mind - but overall I would rate none of these as favourites. Out of all these films, I think I like Raavanan the best, and even so, I think what I appreciate most about it are the performances, and the way its cast play off one another. The story is good, but could be better, and somehow ends up secondary.

So where does Nayagan fit in, then? While watching, I suddenly realised that this was where Maniratnam's real life inspired biopic career began, and also understood what binds all the male protagonist-centric biopics that he's done so far: the hero who breaks the law, but wins people over. There is a scene in Nayagan, where a police officer is eager to nail the main character, Velu, who's risen up the underworld rank to be a don of sorts, so he interviews those ordinary people closest to Velu. The common people won't betray Velu, however; he is their hero. Contrast this to the scene in Raavan/an where the exasperated Dev  hears from villagers how amazing Veera/Beera is in their eyes - the similarity is crystal clear. In Guru, Abhishek's character may be corrupt, but this corruption helps him succeed, so it is not condemned by the film's narrative.

Maniratnam's heroes are folk heroes, not revered by the institutions of the state, but by the people - there's an almost naive populism to them, but at the same time you can't fault him. The characters are all based on real people, who are also held up as heroes despite their crimes. Perhaps, instead of thinking about any kind of moral message woven into these stories, one should instead admire the lack of moralism - for better or worse, the films all present both sides of the story.

So I didn't fall in love with Nayagan, but was instead fascinated by this common thread that the film started in Maniratnam's career. There are other interesting things, too, though. Kamal Hassan, who I've always found charming and a good actor, does excellent in the role of the steadfast criminal, torn at times by his understanding that what he does is against the law. I've never been the biggest fan of Kamal, but in here he is at his very best: commanding the screen with such a presence that it's impossible not to pay close attention. The portrayal of the Tamil community is interesting as well - the sense of being outsiders in Bombay, despite being in their homeland, and the discrimination that comes from this, as well as their poorness, helps explain why Velu does become such a revered hero to them.

The songs are gentle and lovely Ilayaraja compositions and P.C. Sriram's cinematography showcases Bombay beautifully. Karthika, the Malayalam actress playing Velu's daughter Charumani, was a definite stand-out, so I was surprised to see the actress having a film career shorter than five years, retiring at a time when her career was reaching its peak. Sigh, the choices actresses have to make between a marriage and a career..

Another interesting performance was by a very young Nasser, as the police officer doing his damnest to catch Velu in the later parts of the film. Every bit as intense as Nasser's later performances!

Nayagan is a classic, but it is another one of those films I'd be forced to recommend purely on the strength of the performances. This film just didn't quite move me, didn't quite speak to me - I understand it might have a different appeal to different people, for different reasons. As such, I merely liked it, and would rate it among Maniratnam's best films - however, I'd still prefer the gut-wrenching Bombay, or the beautiful, equally well-made biopic Raavanan over it. These are purely personal picks, admittedly. 

Festival filmi - Lucky by Chance & Raavan.

Helsinki International Film Festival, which typically takes place in late September, is the only time I get to see Bollywood films in a Finnish theater. It's always a special occasion and therefore it matters a lot which films get shown, as the last thing I want is for the highlight of my Bollywood year to be a crappy film I had no intention of ever seeing, or have seen already and absolutely hated. Last year, they went for Shahrukh's Billu (incredibly unfortunate way of spelling the name, as it sounds like a slang word for female genitalia to most Finnish ears!), which I quite liked (review here) and Jodhaa-Akbar. The year before that, Chak De India.

So their picks have been quite good in recent years and this year they definitely hit the jackpot - two films I hadn't seen and especially in the case of Raavan, REALLY wanted to see.

Now the first film, Zoya Akhtar's directorial debut Luck By Chance was a fun watch among the festival audience, who typically aren't all Hindi film afficianados. My friend's boyfriend commented afterwards that he thought the film fell nicely between the two types of cinema often to be considered polar opposites - Bollywood and Hollywood. I agreed with him; there was the trademark sentimentality to mark this was Indian, where feelings are allowed to be shown, but there was also that groundedness and low-key acting that is familiar to people who mostly consume Hollywood films.

On the other hand, the story wraps and tangles itself around the inside workings of Mumbai's film industry. Virtually everybody making films in the city features in the movie, so much so writing a list of people who aren't in the film feels like less of an imposing task. The cameos are fun to spot but most praise should go the familiar faces we see in actual roles; Rishi Kapoor as the producer, Juhi Chawla as his wife, and Dimple Kapadia as the former starlet.

The main plot tells the love story of two strugglers, outsiders trying to make it in Hindi films; Vikram (Farhan Akhtar) and Sona (Konkona Sen Sharma). Konkona, as ever, is an utter delight but I found myself being not that impressed with Farhan's performance. While I loved him in Rock On, in here it just shows too much that he hasn't done acting a lot, and while Vikram starts out as an intriguing character, he ends up rather a puzzlingly empty one. I don't know what he's feeling because Farhan isn't projecting anything into the character. He's just there, looking wooden.

So that's my biggest complaint about the otherwise good movie. It doesn't make my favourites list, but I am so very glad I finally saw it, and that I also got to hear viewpoints from two people who hadn't seen a whole ton of Bollywood. And of course, Baawre remains an awesome audiovisual experience, one of my favourites.

Raavan is such a difficult film to talk about. I was set out to love it; Aishwarya acts well in Mani Ratnam's films, as does Abhishek, and Vikram of course I know to be stellar in nearly everything he does. ARR soundtrack, excellent cinematography to expect, intriguing epic basis for the story in Ramayana and we're pretty good to go, surely? Well, not so much.

Aishwarya's Ragini is good; she doesn't submit to her status, even when she becomes a plaything between two men and their power struggle. She's strong, she's fearless yet vulnerable, she's just a very intriguing, good take on the Sita character. Abhishek's Beera is interesting, as well, but I can't really get a hold of this character. I prefer Abhishek's performances in Yuva and Guru, where the characterization is strong enough to fit the excellent performance. In here, the character feels a little under-written. He has a background, he's got motivations, he's got his quirks, but there doesn't seem to anything that ties all of these together and would make the performance really incredible.

Vikram as Dev is more straight-forward and therefore better, to the point where I struggle whether the fault in why I don't feel the same about Beera, the main character of the film, lies in acting ability or script or what. The plot comes off as a tad uneven - it's slow-moving, then it's fast, then it wastes time on songs with very little connection to anything (and aren't all that). I was interested in where Aishwarya's character would end up so I wasn't exactly bored, but there was just something about the film that makes it all seem like a bit of a mess assembled from really good components. The cinematography, for example, is amazing, and the mood of the film is occasionally really good.

I might've just had extremely high expectations - god knows that's happened before. But I came out of the film a little unsure, and my friend was pretty underwhelmed, too. I've seen 20 minutes of the Tamil version on youtube (the rest was blocked) and will probably see how I feel about Vikram's take on the character Abhishek played here.

My most positive feeling walking out of the theater was this: I cannot believe I've finally seen Vikram on the big screen, something I never imagined I'd get to do. Let's hope it won't be the last time.


(Once again, sorry for radio silence. Other interests have completely taken over my free time, and uni's pretty demanding this year as well.)

Raavana & a totally real, not-at-all fake letter I just received.

[Click on thumbnails for HUGE pictures - pictures from official site.]

Dear Veracious,

This is Mani Ratnam. I know, I know. You must be thinking, "How can this be, Mani-saab? You at the release of not one but two of your films and you have the time to spare to write to a lowly film watcher such as myself!" but believe me, I'm not as busy as people would have you believe.

And anyway, let me be honest here for a second - at the end of the day, I made this film with you in mind.

I know it sounds unbelievable, but it's entirely true and not just something you made up while thinking of a way to intelligently fangirl the hell out of the Tamil Raavan pictures that you just saw online. No, that isn't what this is at all. You wouldn't be talking to yourself, that would just be crazy. See, I know how you feel about my films. I read your ambivalent review on Guru (2007) and I realize that film didn't work for some people. Still, I know you appreciated Iruvar and were down with Bombay and Alai Payuthe and that Dil Se played an important part in your early Bollywood watching career. I know you really appreciated the Tamil cast of Ayitha Ezhuthu, or as you like to call it "Tamil Yuva" for short.

So when it came to casting my latest film(s), I again looked at what you, dear Veracious, might enjoy. And so I went with this guy:


Of course, it didn't hurt that he'd done some quite impressive work in the Tamil industry before.

And of course I knew of that time you watched Kannukondain Kannukondain and imagined Abbas as Vikram (who Abbas was voiced by) and what his chemistry would be like with Aishwarya. And then I just made it all the more interesting by being my awesome self, throwing in some Ramayana and a little jungle and more than a touch of visually interesting stuff (Santosh Sivan helped, of course).

And of course it is a given that you can barely stand Aishwarya in most of her movies but can enjoy her in the direction of somebody good - hate to toot my own horn but Iruvar, Guru, one would be insane not to name these some of her best performances. So I put her in this, both versions, and I know you won't mind one bit.

And as a cherry on top, just so you can't really get grumpy about Vikram doing so few movies per year (or years, should I say), I put him in both versions, in different roles. And in the Hindi version, there is also Abhishek, so you've basically got no room to complain about my casting choices.

So yes, I hope you and many others enjoy it - whichever version, or both. I hope you don't gnaw your fingers off in anticipation. I'm sure there'll be other stuff to keep you busy while waiting for this movie. I hear Housefull's going to be quite good - ha ha ha.

Anyway, I must go now as I am a real film maker with busy schedules but I hope you read this entirely real, not at all fake letter and post it on your blog. It'll be good promotion for the movie and a way for you to describe your enthusiasm without resulting in keymashing and repeated exclamation marks after the name Vikram. Yes, I did this all just so you wouldn't have to type "omg" and "phwoarr" and "eeee" and "Aishwarya & Vikram eee omg!" over and over again. I care for your dignity.

Yours truly and genuinely and not in the least bit fakely,

Mani Ratnam

PS. I too severely hate Saif's bandanna. What was he thinking?!

Mini-reviews, part 6.

[Previous mini-reviews here.]

Sorry, I lack blogspiration nowadays. Better than nothing, isn't it?

51. Yuva (2004) - Probably the second Mani Ratnam film I ever watched and while it definitely has its good points (Abhishek, Rani-Abhishek, music), it felt like a disappointment by the time I was done. I assumed that once the storylines of the three heroes (Abhi, Ajay Devgan & Vivek Oberoi) would come together, the movie would more or less end. Well, it didn't. It goes on exceedingly long and it's just kind of, hmm, dull?

52. Hum Aapke Hain Koun...! (1994) - Damn, ain't sugar great? I remember watching this and just thinking what a perfect piece of fluff it was. The Rajshri megahit is just about two Indian families coming together, Salman and Madhuri's characters teasing each other, falling in love to the sounds of a million songs and it's all cushioned edges and niceties. They do mix in a little drama but it's nothing like the melodrama in Maine Pyaar Kiya (review here) or even the godawful follow up, Hum Saath-Saath Hain. HAHK is a fluffy classic. I really should rewatch. I yearned for more drama on my first (and only) watch but nowadays I think I might be more fine with no sharp edges and candyfluff.


53. Ishq (1997) - If you're sane, you hate Ishq. If you're lucky, you love Ishq. I love Ishq. Yeah, it's a wasted opportunity for a great 90's multistarrer (Aamir, Juhi, Kajol, Ajay), it's way too over-the-top, but it's so-bad-it's-good, and it's mind-boggling and every now and then I gotta youtube or pop in the DVD for the songs. It doesn't get more ballistic than this. Seriously.

54. Lamhe (1991) - This is one of those films where everything seems fine but where I can't get over the premise, where Anil Kapoor loves both Pallavi (Sridevi) and Pallavi's daughter (also Sridevi), after Pallavi died during delivery. Based on what I watched, it seemed like quite an okay film but once I realized what was coming I had to turn it off. I still feel kind of guilty about it, because it seems like a popular movie but eh there you go.


55. Nandha (2001) - I like Nandha but it is sadly my least favourite Bala film. For the purposes of keeping this short, here's my original review of it.

56. Doli Saja Ke Rakhna (1998) - Ohhhh boy. I talked about it here previously (in 2008!) and since I haven't rewatched it, my thoughts haven't changed. It's an okay Akshaye Khanna movie - which is saying something, but knowing the career of poor Akshoo, it's still not saying a lot. And Jothika is a shadow of the spunk she shows in her Tamil films. Oh and it's directed by Priyadarshan. Fantastic soundtrack, though, do youtube the songs!


57. Inkaar (1977) - Vinod playing policewallah detective proper in a 70's thriller I will discuss more during Khanna Week so ..til then!

58. Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) - Blaaaahhhhhhh. Blaahhhhhhhh. Blahhhhhh. This whole movie is like my relationship with Karan Johar in a nutshell. He spends one half of the movie building something I might enjoy and the second half tearing it down in the most ridiculously melodramatic manner possible. The less I can talk about this movie the better so --

59. Main Hoon Na (2004) - God I'm going to come off as such a party-pooper but okay, please sit down, take a deep breath, you calm? Okay. I'm not a fan of Farah Khan. I really am not. I like her movies but I don't get the excitement others have for them. I think the parodying aspect is fun, but it doesn't make me develop any sort of emotional attachment to the characters, and when she rams up the emotional moments, it just feels so fake. So that's the kind of attitude I have towards both MHN and OSO. Fun watch, maybe rewatch for some scenes.. (Also, I have an irrational annoyance towards the fact she's a female director who does absolutely nothing with her female characters, they're mostly there to look gorgeous and glam.)


60. Swades: We, the People (2004) - Mini-review triple whammy for Shahrukh! Swades is quite a good picture. It suffers from the usual Ashutosh Gowariker trait of being a little too overly long and I think some people found Shahrukh's NRI character a little too sermonizing. But on my first watch, I really enjoyed. It has very little repeat value, though, I've discovered. Still, fab soundtrack - one of the first ones I ever got into.

Fifty Bollywood films BBC thinks I ought to own.

Thanks to Beth for linking to this - it's a great excuse to detail some movies I've seen, and whether I appreciate them enough to make this list. Link: BBC Asian Network's 50 Bollywood movies

There's plenty of films I don't own and have not even watched but here are some random comments.

1. Black? Devdas? I know I'm sometimes in the minority as a Bhansali nay-sayer but come on. Really now.
   
2. Guru and Yuva are both quizzical choices. I'd like to have one or the other, for Abhishek's fantastic performances in both, but Guru just was not overall great and Yuva had plenty of boring, trite stuff, too. Bombay I agree with fully, though. It might be my favourite Mani Ratnam film - if nothing else, it is amazingly touching and moving, guaranteed to make you cry.
3. Agree with Beth on this - Munnabhai MBBS ought to be Lage Raho Munnabhai. The first one is good, the second one is absolutely stellar and one of my favourite post-2000 movies.
   
4. Naseeb - goddammit, I own this movie, it has Amitabh, it has Hema and it's a Manmohan Desai. Why haven't I seen this yet? I need to prioritize!
5. Rangeela, wow, really? Does anybody remember anything but bad fashion from that movie? If I was forced to pick a cheesy, classic but not amazing Aamir Khan film from the 90's, I would go with Raja Hindustani. It's not a clever film, far from it, but it has tons of heart. Rangeela has none, unless you count shots of the area where Urmila's heart is, I guess.
6. Some of my ultimate favourites on the list; Seeta aur Geeta, Sholay, Dil Chahta Hai, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Lagaan, Omkara, Rang De Basanti. I also really like Maine Pyar Kiya, Mughal-e-Azam, the previously mentioned Munnabhai, Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. Good on you for including this, list. Not all faith is lost.
   
7. Sarkar? Yawn. Life in a Metro? What the hell! That one was mediocre at best! Page 3? I don't know, I'm not really into these 'exposé' type of films. Yes, media and the glitz and glam of celebrities hides a lot of dirt and ugly behavior. Big shocker.
8. Films from this list I really want to see: Maachis, Taare Zameen Par (European DVD release, please? anybody?), Pinjar and of course, Naseeb.

Two posts within 24 hours, would you believe it? Go me!

PS. Should each of us Bollywood bloggers create our own "must own" 50 film list? I'm thinking while it might be a favourites list for most, and of course, excludes those who haven't really even seen 50 movies (my numbers are only at 200 at this point..) but it's a good way to evaluate whether you think you've seen a great variety in movies or if your viewing has been more focused towards your biggest favourites or whatever. 25 must owns might be more doable? I'll sleep on this, maybe work on my list tomorrow.

So tell me, Guru...

The first time I saw Mani Ratnam's Guru, I was put off by the idolization the main character receives in the movie. He's a businessman making profit any means necessary, disregarding laws and regulations, and yet this corruptness is being redeemed. Some people shared my problem; others were fine with the message, and it seemed, so was the Indian public, whose consensus is usually shown at the box office. People on Bollywhat's discussion of the film pointed out how this really is admirable to the Indian people - knowing how bureaucracy and other regulations limit a person's possibilities to succeed and make money, Guru's ingenuity is not condemnable but admirable. These sort of opinions opened by my eyes to look at the film a little differently. Still, I remained unimpressed.

I liked the songs, though, so I bought the DVD and just today, after over a year, sat down to rewatch it.

Unsurprisingly the story failed to engage me to watch the film all the way through. I guess it's just simply not Mani's best, though I certainly like some things about it. Abhishek's performance is undoubtedly a strong one, and the songs are lovely.

Aishwarya is rarely this lively and convincing in a role, which I guess just proves she needs a good director to pull a performance out of her. The love story within the film is down to earth and portrays two people who love and support one another, simple as that.

But even with those factors, my favourite thing about the film is hands down the graituitous love story line between Vidya Balan's and Madhavan's characters. It's not crucial to the plot in any way - Vidya's character, the disabled Meenu, doesn't really exist for any other reason than to give Guru more human, sympathetic flavor (as she and him are friends throughout the years). Madhavan's Shyam Saxena is a young journalist looking to reveal Guru's business frauds to the great public and therefore an important character, but there's no real reason why he ends up developing a bond to Meenu.

And yet, there it is. An utterly perfect, swoonworthy little tale of romance amidst this otherwise pretty straight-forward dramatic biopic. It's in touch with realities, too, of course, but still rather sweetly so.

What about the moral message, then? To be honest, I don't know. It is what it is, I guess. If the system is rotten, should we obey the system's rules? On the other hand, neither the film or its hero is looking for things to change - as things are, so they will be, and the thing to do is to try to make the best of it. Even if that means going against the rules.

I just know this; despite the film's credits, it's far from being one of my favourites. Maybe the story of an Indian entrepeneur isn't something to interest me despite impressive cast & crew. Perhaps it's just something lacking in the script or the way the story develops.

And here's another thought that occurred to me while watching: maybe we just expect too much from Mani Ratnam these days. It seems like he's the resident Good Director around, and any project with him usually gets most Hindi film fans salivating at the promise of another great Mani Ratnam film. And while the man has undoubtedly been responsible for a lot of really good films in the past, I suppose it doesn't really help when everybody's expecting a new Dil Se or a new Iruvar at the least. Next time, let's remind ourselves of Guru and Yuva before seeing Mani-ji's next venture, okay? (I know I will.)

Let's talk about ... R. Madhavan!

It isn't always easy to champion the little guy, but there are times when it truly pays off. Still, I do often ask myself, why is it that R. Madhavan, a talented actor who is also easy on the eyes, and with a handsome filmography behind him, is not as popular as he perhaps would deserve to be?

But let me first back up a bit. R. Madhavan is a Tamil actor who's also done a few Hindi films (Rang De Basanti, Guru to name the best). He debuted in Mani Ratnam's Alaipayuthey (later remade as Saathiya in Hindi) and has later collaborated with Ratnam on various occasions, producing perhaps his career's best works with the director. Married, vegetarian.. should you be interested in more biographical data, visit his Wikipedia page.

I have so many favourite performances of his to list. My first exposure was the aforementioned Alaipayuthey; the realistic struggles of the otherwise sweet married couple were touching, and while the film may have a few glitches, I was mesmerized by the chemistry, the performances, and the songs (Pachai nirame is one of the most beautiful Rahman tunes I have ever heard).

Then came Dumm Dumm Dumm, another romantic film, this time more comedic and Madhavan opposite Jyothika, my favourite Tamil actress then and now. It's hard to explain why I found him so appealing. The quality of the movies certainly helped, but there was something more to it. He had a presence on-screen that could be light and up-lifting (and my goodness, that smile) or pensive and darker, or various shades in between.

His villain in Ayitha Ezhuthu was disturbing and showed true range (of course, he is the least likely person ever to play a villainous role again), and while I won't even mention some of his early Hindi ventures, I cannot leave out Rang De Basanti and Guru. Both small roles, mere side characters in a way, but left such an impact on the movie, and hopefully its audience. (And if not, at least we fangirls swooned.)

Madhavan or 'Maddy' is a misfit, in a way. On various fronts, I think he will always be appreciated as a capable actor, I doubt he will ever hit mega-stardom, though technically he has all the right ingredients. But even for all his bilingual glory, Maddy simply just seems stuck in character actor pool in Hindi cinema, and not quite fitting the action hero roles of Tamil popular cinema, somewhat outcast there as well. Though I suppose it's possible Maddy is comfortable in his niche - a mix of masala and something more challenging every once in a while.

And if nothing else, I very much look forward to a DVD release of his best movie last year, Evano Oruvan. While I wait for that, I can always rewatch the song of the same name from Alaipayuthey. It was, after all, what made me fall in love with Madhavan in the first place.

Tamil Nadu politics, let me show you them. Iruvar.

How much do Indians love their films? Enough to promote their favourite stars into their political representatives. I know my favourite Bollywood actress Hema Malini busies herself in the Parliament nowadays (I don't pay much attention to her political beliefs; based on what I've heard about BJP, her party of choice, I doubt I'd agree with them) and she's not alone, far from it.

In the South-Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the relationship between films and politics is undeniable. Iruvar, one of director Maniratnam's best works, draws from this relationship - it depicts the lives of two men, who start out as friends working in the film industry (Prakash Raj plays the writer Selvam, Mohanlal the actor Ananda) and end up as political rivals. The story is loosely based on MG Ramachandran and R. Karunanidhi - two big names in Tamil Nadu's political history.

It's a little confusing, watching Iruvar without being aware of this connection. The film would end up as quite a vague whole without knowing the history of it, and the complications and controversies that rose from Maniratnam making the film.

Regardless, the film is definitely worth the watch even for those of us not too versed in the political history. It's a fantastic piece of cinematography, has a memorable A R Rahman soundtrack, as well as a star whose face the whole world would come to know; Aishwarya Rai makes her debut in the film. And while I'm far, far from being a fan, she is quite lovely in this. She's surprisingly sufficient in the role based on the actress-politician Jayalithaa (who marries MGR and carries on his political legacy, too). Her pairing with Mohanlal is far from believable (not to mention perhaps just plain gross), but Aishwarya does good for a debut performance.

Prakash Raj is an actor who belongs to my secondary top ten of actors, but this is without a doubt the best I've seen of him. He's nowadays seen mostly playing father roles or villain-y father roles in Tamil/Telugu flicks, and he's very good at that, too. But in here? He's intense in every single way; as a lover to Tabu's character, as a spirited politician, as a passionate poet. If I ever buy the DVD, he will be the reason.

It's difficult to analyze whether Iruvar's greatest shortcoming is really a flaw at all. It ties closely to reality, it probably makes a statement of some kind, and the implications of the last monologue by Prakash Raj's character are up in the air.. Is it great cinema only if you've done your homework? The texts of history basically shape the film into a cohesive one; without them, it's slightly difficult to grasp certain things about it.

Whatever your education level regarding Tamil Nadu history is, this is one film you shouldn't miss out on.