There are various type of film goers in Tamil. Few for the hype, few for the music, few for the director, few for the genre but mostly for the star cast. And we all know where Mankatha fits in. Being myself a film goer of all the type, I went Mankatha especially for none other than Ajith. So whatever I write here might be biased. Beware! :)
Is it a new trend in Tamil cinema ? First there were heroes, then they did good for the people, then they fought for the good. Next there were anti-heroes. They had a flash back to prove their bad worth and then they turn good. Now is the era, all are bad, they talk bad, they live bad, they end bad. Here comes Aaranya Kaandam and now Mankatha! If there is anything common in both, its all about bad people and if there is anything that makes a difference and that is none other than Ajith!
I may not talk about the plot of the movie or its positives-negatives or its music or its cinematography but I may talk about the guy who made a difference. If you had asked me, if I had liked Mankatha without Ajith...well I have to think! I think acting bad is easier than acting good! People have always excelled. We all knew Sigappu Rojakkal and Endhiran! Ajith holds the film like John Travolta did it in Broken Arrow! Following all his movies including his flops, I cannot resist talking about Ajith here. His screen presence, his costumes, his looks are the USP and that is what that keeps the crowd cheering inside the theatre. He is damn smart in his natural grey hair and rayban coolers. He is open, natural and accepts he is aged forty. I might want to see this film once more for his daring villainous act. One of my favorite scene in the movie would be the chess sequence in the movie.
Well his characterization is of a greedy, selfish guy which is not a sort of a lead role the usual tamil hero plays in. Even if its a thief role, it ought to be a Robin Hood kind of role! But this one had broken all the conventions which is pretty new and welcoming here! It may sound awkward when the lead protagonist talks filthy language in Tamil cinema. Few of his dialogues are muted. Ofcourse we all knew those words and people in the theatre dubbed instead! So is it a question if all the female followers of him would not love this movie because he cheated his girl friend for money? Should an actor of star dom status not talk or act like this? Again all the barriers broken here!
Well if these kind of films have been tested and received in Hollywood, be it a gangster flick like The Departed or a heist movie like SwordFish, then why not Mankatha in Kollywood? You may want to complain about logic loop holes, lengthy first half, bad content and so on.. but who cares when Venkat Prabhu had used Ajith as the trump card for his game? Mankatha da!
As usual, it was another lazy Saturday afternoon. We had gone to the less publicized Aaranya Kaandam. There was not much a crowd. We were hardly thirty people in the theatre. I didnt mind. I knew that this is an experimental movie and also there were no advertisements in television. However I had been desperately wanting to watch this movie, since its theatrical trailer and teaser had released. By seeing the teasers, I felt this movie could have been inspired from Taratino's movies and my guess was right. This movie is totally unique, stylish, bloody. Yes, its a complete adult movie. Its not a movie where you go with your family, but still this movie is different. I am not sure if such movies will fill the producer's pocket. S.P.B Charan has the guts thought. In fact there are no songs in this whole duration of 150 minutes.
Gangster movies are not new to Tamil Cinema. However what is new in this film is the plot is revealed at its own pace by the different characters of the movie and it is the situation which makes the characters good or bad. Its not a racy thriller. Its calm, composed and rises to peak at instances. Debutant director Thiyagarajan Kumararaja seems to have completely inspired with neo noir films like Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs and he has given this product beautifully.
I completely enjoyed! Be it the blood shed scenes, the retro type background score, the ambience, the references to popular stars, its a complete inspiration from western movies. I am liking this trend in Tamil cinema. Even the plot of the movie is similar to Pulp fiction, where there is no story as such, but there are different incidents in which the characters cross each other and their transformation for survival. Every character here is a hero and every character here is a villain.
It is welcoming that there is no song in this movie. Yuvan's background score is promising. Silent in most places, violin interludes at a few places and Raja sir's songs at some places. Its again inspired from western films especially Tarantino's, where there are musical references like a popular song aired in a radio or television and some places there are references to the retro/pop culture similar to Kill Bill. Though Jackie Shroff's nude appearance doesnt impact or add any significance to the movie, the debutant character Somasundaram as Kaalayan and his son character Kodukkapuli, completely steal the show. An innocent-desperate-angry son and a completely drunk-dont care-attitude foul mouthed father. Their characterisation is laughable, interesting and entirely different.
If I am fascinated with the camera work, lighting, ambience and the apt back ground music, am more amazed with the kind of dialogues that are used in this film. They are raw at some instances, they are filthy in some but everytime they are spontaneous and that is one of the reason, I did find some difficulty in understanding a few dialogues. They were so spontaneous and lowly delivered that there should be pin drop silence to hear it. There are many notable places which will deserve applause especially when Sampath asks the kid whether he likes his father so much and the kid's response is simple and sensible. Another notable place is where the lady describes men and their attitude. I spontaneously laughed and clapped at another scene involving the astrologer.
I know its not the regular movie which will lure tamil audience and generate revenue. Still, this film will be a milestone in the list of good unique tamil movies. Well...I dont mind watching it again in theatre!
