Film: Dasavataram
Rating: 3.25/5
Banner: AASCAR Films Pvt Ltd
Cast: Kamal Haasan, Napolean, Chandran Bharathi, M.S. Baskar, Asin, Mallika Sherawat, Jayapradha etc
Music: Himesh Reshamiya
Dialogues: Vennelakanti
Editing: K. Thanika Chalam, Ashmit Kunder
Action: Thiyagarajan, Kanal Kannan
Art: Prabakar, Samir Chanda
Make-Up: Michael West More and Mosher
Cinematography: Ravi Varman
Story: Sujatha and Crazy Mohan
Director: KS Ravi Kumar
Producer: Oscar V Ravichandran
Released On: 13 June 2008
In international cinema, Eddie Murphy is the first man that strikes anybody's cognition for portraying different roles in same film - like a tall man, short guy, fat man, lean lad and so on. Here Kamal Hasan took the avatar as Indian Eddie Murphy. He portrayed 10 different roles in the film as:
- Rangaraj Nambi, the Vaishnav Brahmin
- Govind, the US Scientist
- Fletcher, American Terrorist
- Balaram Nadar, the Security Officer
- A Japanese Fighter
- Kamakshi, the Old Woman
- Avatar Singh, the Sikh Singer
- Punyakoti, the Dalit leader
- Bush, the American President and
- Khareemulla, the Tall Man
Padmashri SP Balasubrahmanyam has given voice for some of the above roles.
Story:
The movie starts with a verbose speech by Kamal Hasan in scientist's get up. He says that there is relation for every calamity in this universe quoting 'Chaos Theory' and takes the story to 12th century AD where Rangaraj Nambi, a Vaishvaite Brahmin was drowned alive in sea by the Saivaite rule 2nd Kulothunga Chola. (Idea to establish would be-People used to fight with differences of Vaishnav and Shaiva theories. And now people are fighting for supremacy!!!-but that was not established with clarity). The story comes to the present from then. Govind, a scientist discovers a bio-virus and the terrorists plan to grab that from him for supremacy. He keeps on escaping from them taking the virus in a vial. He loses that in a dramatic situation and moves till Chidambaram in Tamilnadu in search of that. He meets a girl Lakshmi there and runs along with her escaping from terrorists and also from police those assume him to be a terrorist. Finally what happens to the virus and how it gets deactivated is the theme.
Performances:
Kamal Hasan is omnipresent and omnipotent in this movie. He successfully played all roles with great dexterity. Once again he proved the best in adopting the body language of any character.
Mallika Sherwat is for glamour quotient in the film that played the villain. Jayaprada appears beside Kamal Hasan in Avatar Singh's get up. She is gorgeous as usual even at that age. Asin is the best choice for Iyengar Brahmin's role.
Technically the movie is brilliant where camera and make up deserves first mark. Music and background score follows.
Dialogues are good on a whole but some are funny and childish viz.
(In a fighting episode between an American terrorist and a Japanese fighter)
American terrorist: Do you remember Hiroshima?
Japanese fighter: Do you remember Pearl Harbor?
Such dialogues dilute the seriousness and bring unwanted laughter in theaters.
The dialogues for the character Balaram Nadar worked really well for humor. The film would have been an utter boredom without that character.
Cinematography efforts were seen to show short old lady and tall man. American President was shown as an illiterate in one scene where he asks the meaning of NaCl.
The Tsunami scene is a highlight which was pictured with great efforts and graphics support. Director KS Ravi Kumar appears in the climax song 'Loka Nayakudaa..' and on a whole his efforts are seen in big way.
Analysis:
It is natural to expect that there would be some rebirth concept involved in the movie when the story opens with 12th century theme in lead roles. But there is nothing of that sort. It is also difficult to make out the relation between 12th century story and the narration that continues from then in scientific way. Confusion and ambiguity hits every audience with the way the screenplay was dealt in first 20 minutes. And for mass audiences it would be a patience-tester. And class audience keep themselves engaged in drawing conclusions and inferences with their own heads. The narration goes very serious and hard till the character of Balaram Nadar, the security officer enters the scene. Laughter starts only from then with his typical Tamil-Telugu accent.
The entire theme revolves around a bio-virus that is detrimental to life on earth. Finally how the virus gets deactivated is the climax. But it is a hard nut to bite for mass audiences. Story part of the film is definitely weak and it goes without saying that the purpose of this movie is only to showcase Kamal Hasan in 10 different make ups which bear no resemblance from each other. Kamal quenched his desire that way.
It will be a treat for the audiences those wish to watch only the technical aspects and the heights of make up extravaganza. And for the audiences those expect a great story and sensible screenplay, the movie will be a disappointment. The film can be rated better only for technical efforts and Kamal Hasan's zeal but not the substance in it.
(SiraSri can be reached at [email protected])
