Kabali- Movie Review

Rating:

Kabali, as a movie: 2/5

Kabali, for Rajni: 4/5

Took my dose of Kabali! One dose and the Kabali fever is down.

Rajnikanth- the one and only reason for many to have watched this movie. It’s always a pleasure and a splendid experience to watch the SUPERSTAR on screen. No doubt, he has still got it in him- the style, the smile and the attitude. Every scene of his was a visual treat. The entry scene! Wish I had known how to whistle. His pose standing at the gate, the walk, the talk- I have no words to express my excitement and happiness on watching Rajni on screen after a long time (I didn’t watch Linga! LOL). His look with the white beard was too good. I wish he hadn’t taken it off in the later part of the movie. Though I am spell bound by his presence and speechless by his energy, I don’t have any shortage of words for Kabali, as a movie.

Yes! I am a Rajni fan. Yes. I went to watch this movie for him. Yes. I wasn’t disappointed by him. YES. The movie was an utter mess. A huge dud.

                          

The movie surrounds Kabaleeswaran aka Kabali, the good gangster (oxymoron?), the messiah of the Tamil people in Malaysia, who is released from jail after a long sentencing. There is the enemy gang, 43 (Oh yes! That’s the gang’s name), who is desperately waiting to finish off Kabali- their only competitor. The local government is sceptical wonderin if releasing Kabali will give rise to more civil unrest. Whatever it is, Kabali is released and we have a heavy dosage of Rajni for the next 15 minutes or so. The narration then plunges into the core of the movie and this is where the problem with the movie begins. I’ll jot down in points. I think that will add more clarity....

1. Clarity- The primary problem with Kabali is there is absolutely no clear objective. It begins with Kabali wanting to avenge the death of his wife. Then the focus shifts to the foundation run by him. Then it jumps into Kabali’s personal life. And then back to his gang life. As a viewer, I am completely tired of jumping emotions so quickly that at the end, I don’t feel the sadness or the pain of our lead character.
2. The Malaysian setting is very hard to connect. The basic problem being the discrimination of Tamilians isn’t projected with the needed depth.
3. All the scenes of gang 43 are so clumsily taken.
4. Every single character’s loyalty is doubted in almost every scene.
5. The movie might even surpass Mount Everest when it comes to melodrama.

Few questions and observations:

1. What happened to Ang Lee? Did his 100^th birthday turn into his death day? Poor guy.
2. Is Kabali’s suit custom made to hold weapons in his shirt sleeve or coat sleeve?
3. Does Malaysian jail allow prisoners to watch Tamil movies in prison? How did Kabali know about Vadivelu dialogues?
4. Is there a particular reason why villains are always supposed to wear atrociously coloured suits? Dark pink suit and violet shirt? Seriously? Kudos to Tony Lee for even carrying that with a smile.
5. Instead of having Tamil subtitles for Tony Lee’s English, there should have been subtitles for his Tamil. I realised he was speaking Tamil only because there were no subtitles.
6. Medical Miracle Moment: Kumudhavalli’s mental ill health vanishing faster than Usain Bolt. How? Must be Kabali’s magical eyes is it?
7. Yogi and Jeeva? What happened there? Sorry...how? Sorry....when?
8. The foundation wants to change the lives of the youngsters, but is willing to use them for their gang wars just because their cause is good?
9. 5 bullets and Kabali still survives. I believe it. It’s Rajni after all.
10. Who was the actual anointed comedian in the movie? Tony Lee or Jeeva?

Another problem I had with the movie was the unintentional message it was propagating. Violence. There is already so much violence going on, especially among youth. 75% of this movie has just blind shooting and bloodshed. With Rajni being followed so much by people of all ages, I feel a much more disciplined, much cleaner character would have been better. Of course, it’s a movie. Of course, Kabali is a character and miles away from the real Rajni- but how many really understand the difference?

Coming to the performances, Radhika Apte and Dhansika have given extra ordinary performances, in par with Rajni. Apart from that, the supporting cast come across very amateurish.

Moments to look for: Kabali’s entry, his encounter with Cheeni, the stylish fights, the firework shootings at the end. Mayanadhi song is beautifully picturised.

Rajni is known for the following factors and Kabali checks everything:
ü  Grand opening scene,
ü  Title song singing praises of Kabali,
ü  Revenge motive,
ü  Sentiment due to losing someone close and dear,
ü  Stylish fights,
ü  Trademark walk,
ü  Victory at the end.

Rajni fans get what they went for.

Watch it for Rajni. Ignore the rest.

TE3N- Movie review

Rating: 3/5

Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Nawazudin Siddique, Vidya Balan

Director: Ribhu Das Gupta

A crime investigation thriller, T3EN tracks the lives of John Biswas (Amitabh) and Father Martin (Nawazudin), 8 years after the death of John’s granddaughter, who was kidnapped and consequently died. Martin, then a policeman, failed to capture the kidnapper. John, unable to come to terms with his granddaughter’s death, doesn’t rest and wants the kidnapper brought to justice. 8 years, he visits the police for updates, tries to investigate himself but in vain. Martin on the other hand, resigns his job and becomes a Father. He keeps in touch with John and his wife but has no inclination towards the case. But a kidnapping with the similar MO happens when a little boy gets kidnapped. Savita (Vidya Balan), is in charge of the case and catches the similarity. She takes the help of Martin to put an end to the mystery and nab the kidnapper.  John, on the other hand, continues his investigation and acquires a break through.

                                               

T3EN works most of the time, but still falls short of being a perfect thriller. Why? One reason could be because of its similarity to Kahani- set in Kolkata, Vidya Balan factor; even the story telling is pretty much similar. Though it is credit to Amitabh for playing a very weak character in John Biswas, yet, it’s impossible not to miss the Amitabh in a more majestic role. Somewhere I felt, the character was a misfit to him. The story moves around between past and present, and most of the time it is done clearly. Yet (Yes...another yet LOL), there are lot of things which need more clarification (Can’t reveal as it would be a giveaway). The primary incident is shown too quickly, in bits, without any depth, for all the details to be digested. The director, Ribhu Das Gupta, has done a fairly good job with the script but the screenplay could have been better arranged. Just when you are into the present story, the past comes in, confusing the entire sequence.

The songs are fair, but forced into the story. Cinematography is good. Background music could have been better. BG plays an important role in stories like these.

Actors play their part well. Vidya Balan is good as Savita. The character is more than just a guest appearance. Amitabh as always is excellent. The standout has to be Nawazudin. He is great as a police officer first and then as a Father, ridden by guilt and running away from accepting failure.

T3EN is a onetime watch (Probably twice, if you want to understand better). The story is very interesting and executed well for most part of it. Thrillers of this kind have become too scarce.