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| ENTHIRAN
MOVIE REVIEW |
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| Review
by : Behindwoods review board |
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Starring:
Rajinikanth,
Aishwarya Rai, Karunas, Santhanam.
Direction:
Shankar
Music:
AR Rahman
Production:
Sun Pictures
With
a bevy of machine guns in hand; all triggers
locked, Superstar delivers a resounding
punch line; ‘Happy Diwali folks’.
Yes, it was Diwali alright, minutes before
the start of the first show here in Chennai
with crackers going off in thousands,
flowers flying around and people going
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delirious
with excitement. This is Diwali; no matter even if
the real one is still a month away, Superstar has
arrived! The same dilemma that haunted while writing
the Sivaji review returns again; because it is so
easy to go overboard while writing about Superstar.
Well, let us get down to the task. There is nothing
much to reveal about the plot of Enthiran; one supposes.
Thousands of speculations, predictions and of course,
a mad frenzy about the trailer has given a rough idea
about the plot. Enthiran is about Dr. Vaseegaran and
Chitty, his creation- the robot with a 1 Zettabyte
memory and a speed of 1 Terrabyte. Chitty is envisioned
by Vaseegaran a humanoid that can serve intelligently
and efficiently in the defence forces. But, for that
he needs to prove the worth of his creation in front
of a panel headed by Professor Bora, Vaseegaran’s
mentor. Chitty is found to lack in discretion and
is consequently rejected. But, there is more to the
rejection than lack of merit in Chitty. A Professor’s
ego stands in the way of his protégé’s
success and he gives a blunt reason – ‘Science
must not suffer’. But, Vaseegaran is not ready
to give up. He goes back to the drawing board, training
Chitty to be more humane, teaching him discretion,
feeding him with emotions – anger, passion,
discretion and life, death and more. Chitty is a now
a person, no longer a machine. He can feel the grass
he walks, the air that ruffles his hair, the soft
touch of Sana. But, Chitty has evolved more than Vaseegaran
has imagined or desired. A heart starts pumping in
the metallic body (‘Irumbhile oru idhayam’)
and no prizes for guessing the object of affection
– Sana. There starts the rift between the creator
and his creation. With rift comes an opportunity for
a third person. A powerful creation in the wrong hands,
with the wrong intentions – there is only one
thing that can happen; total destruction. Chitty is
now a Terminator in the literal sense; killing at
will. How can he be stopped? Does Vaseegaran hold
the key? Watch Enthiran for the experience.
The foremost thing about any Superstar film is Superstar
himself. He is the air the film breathes, right from
the first frame. Watching Enthiran one feels no doubt
whatsoever that no one other than Rajinikanth could
have pulled off this character. It is destiny that
brought Enthiran to Superstar after travelling all
through Kollywood and Bollywood. He delivers a tour
de force performance – he owns the film. Be
it as the workaholic scientist, the obedient Chitty
or the destructive Chitty (‘upgraded version
– Chitty 2.0’), he scores; exuding brilliance
and charisma in every frame. Yes, there are the trademark
styles and mannerisms, but Rajinikanth transcends
style and goes one better with Enthiran. His restraint
while playing the scientist, the frustration that
he shows while his scientific endeavours go wrong,
underscore the fact that he is a brilliant actor who
has been bogged down by commercial demands and compulsions.
But, the focal point of the performance is definitely
the robot. Chitty, the innocent child like robot is
cute and loveable and dashing, once romance starts
flowing through his veins – wires. And, it is
when the destroyer arrives that we see the Rajini
in all his splendour. One wonders where the villain
in Rajini was all these years. There seems to be absolutely
no one who can come even close when playing a devilish
destroyer. The outrageous and maniacal laugh as he
proclaims his invincibility is a masterpiece –
a throwback to the heydays of Rajinikanth the villain.
The decades have not dimmed his brilliance and charisma
one bit. And, the effort he has put into Endhiran
shows in all frames; be it the fights or dance sequences;
the desire to excel still burns bright. Aishwarya
Rai looks ethereal as always. Though it is a bit difficult
to still accept her as a college student, she delivers
when it matters. Not the usual Shankar heroine (songs
and dance only stuff) here, she is almost the fulcrum
of the story.
Scripting
wise, Enthiran does have its flaws, which is a bit
disappointing. The first half is a smooth and jolly
ride as the cute Chitty takes centre stage. A couple
of fights set the tone for the fans to go overboard
with excitement, a few lighter moment most of which
are enjoyable and two songs make it a relatively light
hearted affair. Shankar’s ability to write commercial
Tamil cinema elements (hero rescuing damsel in distress,
witty one liners etc.) into a sci-fi script is commendable.
That stops Endthiran from being a pure sci-fi flick,
making it apt for all class audiences. The second
half is however not an apt extrapolation of the expectations
raised in the first half. Though too much does not
go wrong, there are portions which one feels could
have been tighter. Some sequences, especially the
‘Ranguski’ part, are dragged along for
more than a reasonable length. A couple of songs follow
each other in quick succession which dampens things
a bit. But, if you are willing to be patient through
these minor glitches, the rest of the second half
is racy, action packed and intelligent.
Action,
as all might now, has been the talking point of Enthiran
with world famous visual effects supervisors doing
the job. The sequences have been conceived by Shankar
(as shown in the titles) and do not lack in awe and
magnificence. Be it on the train, on the truck or
the highway – action is taken to a new plane
in Enthiran. As expected, logic does fly out of the
window now and then, but then, what is a Superstar
film if there is no suspension of belief.
As
expected, technical aspects of Enthiran are top notch.
Special effects are world class (except a few occasions
here and there) as they have been done by the best
in the business. Camera captures what Shankar has
envisioned, one believes, but does fall a bit short
in capturing the beauty of magnificent locations chosen
for songs. Make up is exceptional and has made Superstar
look even more stylish than he usually does. Re-recording
does not look like the work done by an Oscar winning
technician, especially in the final portions, but
still manages to impress. Rahman’s music which
is already a rage sits well on the film, but this
is definitely not his best work. Dialogues by Shankar,
Sujatha and Karki are sharp, using proper technical
terminology well balanced with Tamil lines.
Hats
off to Shankar for the vision and the effort. He has
taken Tamil cinema to a new plane on technical terms,
showing that nothing is impossible. The sets, effects,
sound, style are all amazing and good enough to rub
shoulders with Hollywood counterparts, give or take
a few points. But, the basic story is still a desi
love triangle! That is where Shankar has shown his
skills; making state-of-the-art film merge with our
regional cinema tastes.
The
one thing about Enthiran that might disappoint fans
is the rather sedate introduction and the absence
of the sacred intro-song very typical of Rajni films.
But, there is no other way in which this film could
have been done.
Overall,
Enthiran is a ‘robotic, hypnotic, supersonic,
Superstar’ experience, the first of its kind
in Tamil cinema and the only one of its kind for a
long time to come. It is going to take a Herculean
effort to equal or better Enthiran within the confines
of Tamil cinema. Lets hope the day comes soon. For
now, an ovation to the Enthiran team for making a
dream come true!.
Verdict: Tamil cinema’s pinnacle of
evolution – ‘Robot sapiens’
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| Tags
: Enthiran,
Rajinikanth,
Aishwarya
Rai, Shankar,
AR
Rahman, Santhanam,
Karunas,
Sun
Pictures, R
Rathnavelu |
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