Movie : Viswaroopam
Rating: 3.25/5
Cast : Kamal Haasan, Rahul Bose, Pooja Kumar, Andrea Jeremaiah and others
Directed by : Kamal Haasan
Produced by : Kamal Hassan, Prasad
Banner :
Music : Shankar Ehsaan Loy
Release Date : 2013-01-25
Kamal Haasan's magnum opus Viswaroopam is finally out in theaters after going through various troubles to see light. Although the Telugu version of the movie released, the original version has been banned for fifteen days in Tamilnadu. So we get to see his film earlier than the Tamils.
What is it about?
This film is about Islamic terrorism based in Afghanisthan. Protagonist Vishwanadh aka Taufique aka Kashmiri (Kamal) is a jeehadi trainer and he is on a mission. Jihadi leader Omar (Rahul Bose) has scores to settle with Vishwanadh, who is leading his life as a normal dance school teacher. There is other side to Vishwanadh and that is the main base for this story.
Performances:
Kamal Haasan is as effective as ever. He has done a fabulous job as dance teacher and Jihadi trainer. The variations he shows for various shades of his character and the changes he brings about in his body language are impeccable. Not many actors could pull of this role at ease. Rahul Bose is fine as the baddie. He made his character believable with natural performance. Pooja Kumar is okay as Kamal's loud mouthed wife. Andrea did a tom boyish role and she is okay too. Nasser and others supported the main cast very well.
On the Technical Front:
There is no scope for songs in this action drama with some good thrills. However Kamal sneaked in few songs which were out of place. First song featuring Kamal as dance teacher should be chopped off immediately. It is painful on eyes and ears as well. Background score is good. Cinematography is the major asset to this film. Sanu Verghese captured the locations of the Afghanistan wonderfully well. Editing could have been way better. The film is sloppy at times.
Technically the movie is brilliant and the producers should be commended for spending so many crores of rupees on the movie without any compromise. Kamal Haasan wielded mega phone after a long time. He has been writing stories in the recent past but they were directed by others. Difference is clearly visible as he had immense command over every detail in this film. Any other director may not have done justice to this subject as Kamal did. Despite few shortcomings, Viswaroopam is easily the best among recent Kamal Haasan's movies.
Analysis:
This film is an action drama based on Islamic terrorism. Kamal Haasan didn't take sides in this film and hence there is so much reality in the portrayal of the story. Most of the times directors take either the army or terrorists side and you can see one side approach in those films.
Kamal Haasan made sure to stick with the reality and that turns out to be a boon for Viswaroopam. It is very different to what we see in the films linked with terrorism. World directors often make films with this concept and there were many great films in this genre. Viswaroopam's story might be weak but it is on par with those international films in the making standards.
We are not exaggerating about the making standards of the movie. Viswaroopam will rank among the top Indian films in terms of production values and technical wizardry. Sometimes you get a feeling like you are watching the dubbed version of a Hollywood film. Kudos to the director and producers and also the cinematographer.
Viswaroopam doesn't have any commercial elements and lacks mass entertainment. However, it has its own merits and has to be watched for its technical brilliance.
Verdict: Viswaroopam - Indian movie with international making standards