Dasavataram..After Watching the movie..

About the Tickets :

My dad's workplace has a recreation club which books tickets in large numbers for movies which generate a lot of interest. And so,they booked tickets and my dad bought the tickets for us. The tickets were for seating in the balcony of the Woodlands theater.

About the Theater :

The last time my parents were in the Woodlands theater was about seven years back. They are unable to recollect the name of the movie they watched. In fact i went along with them and i can't remember either. Anyways, we had no idea about what was in store for us.

The ambience was awful. Dirty toilets, chaos with people pushing to get inside,a car park where you have to wait for 10 others to move theirs before you can move yours, seats that were rock-hard, an AC system which didn't work and a cinema hall filled with waste bottles and wrappers.It was nightmarish and my dad felt bad that he got us into it. Filled with irritation and disgust we kept looking at the screen as we didn't want to face each other.

P.S-DON'T EVER GO TO 'WOODLANDS ' FOR WATCHING A MOVIE! DO SO AT YOUR OWN RISK!

About the movie :

I have made it clear in my previous post that i am not expecting a great deal from the movie which ,possibly, could be the reason why i found it interesting! The best part is that i found that the movie had taken my attention off the theater.That itself is a huge success.

The opening 10-15 minutes were unbelievable.I am not a fan of Devi Sri Prasad but i think his background score for the 12th century period was mind blowing.Being a staunch devotee of Lord Vishnu myself i was able to feel the emotion being conveyed.It was remarkable.

From there on it is the usual stuff.Commercial cinema at its best.The movie has an incredible pace to it in certain portions and is extremely sluggish in certain others.The manner in which the charachters are introduced and the roles they play as a part of the larger picture which unfolds is the work of a genius . The make-up was hyped but there were only two roles that stood out.The old lady and the Japanese teacher.The rest of them were mediocre. I will definitely have to agree with people calling it Kamal's magnum opus.More than his acting ability, the screenplay and storyline is what needs to lauded.The way the charachters were weaved into the story is terrific.Given that it is a commercial movie,we have to make our peace with certain illogicalities but from a bird's eye view everything seems coherent. And the song 'Mukunda' , has been beautifully picturized. It definitely deserves a special mention.You might have noticed that nobody mentions Mallika ,Asin or any other actor. They are merely props.

My Verdict..

From the perspective of a commercial movie lover (My mother) the movie is very entertaining and makes for an ideal evening with a bag of pop-corn.No doubt the movie is at the top of the food chain.

But for someone who is yearning for a change from the normal singing,dancing around trees, sentiments ,'Punch dialogues' illogical stories and invincible protagonists to a breath of fresh air with films that evoke concern on social issues , political issues or atleast a movie with a solid storyline where the director's prowess is the highlight , like in a play, in Tamil Cinema (Indian Cinema in general) the movie is a huge let down.Purely because Kamal Hassan is the only man who can make it happen.He has crossed the point where he has to do movies like Dasavataram to prove his brilliance.He should be looking at promoting meaningful cinema in our country and be more responsible.He must be looking at Cinema as a tool for providing people information about the world around them and promote awareness on issues that are plaguing our country.Considering the sort of interest his movies generate he can definitely make a difference.My rating ..

5/10