A TEN FOLD CHAOS!

MOVIE: Dasavathaaram
CAST: Kamal Hasan, Asin, Mallika Sherawat
DIRECTOR: K.S Ravikumar




The script of the movie is based on the popular mathematical idea of the west; the Chaos Theory. The Chaos theory believes that even though a particular event is deterministic, its fate is described by its initial state, it occurs through a random and unpredictable series of events. And as a further corollary to this theory, it goes on to say, that all events in this world is a part of the chaos theory. The initial state of the earth has determined its fate and whatever happens in between is a random, unpredictable juggle of events.

On the other hand, our Hindu mythology speaks of a multitude of Gods looking at earth and living with terrestrial beings in form of incarnations. The Hindu mythology supports the idea that even the biggest of disasters happen to overcome a bigger disaster and that everything is being controlled by the Gods.

The genius of the script writer of Dasavathaaram lies in the fact that he has collaborated both these distant ideas into one and has actually brought out the essence of these ideas in an entertainment packed manner. As a thought, this movie is a sheer winner, but it does not really translate as an equal wonder on screen.

The movie travels many generations ranging from the Cholas in the 12th century to George Bush, from Biotechnological Weapons to the Tsunami of 2004. Hasan plays 10 roles in the movie and like most of his movies, there is only he all around. I dont think theres a single shot without him on the screen. I saw the movies dubbed version, so many comedy scenes might have lost their wit. Asin overacted throughout but looked great. Sherawat's brief stint was good enough. All the 10 avatars of Kamal Hasan are brilliantly carried by him. No doubt, the make up job was brilliant.

Himesh Reshammiya surprised me with two tracks in this movie. While Mukunda Mukunda was a sweet portrayal of Vishnu's incarnations, Kallai Mattum was deep and very beautifully sung by Hariharan. The other tracks were very average. The movie towards the end had some stupid scenes. We were made to believe that a bullet hitting a cancer patients throat can do a miracle of taking the cancer away with itself......Also Asin's overacting was taking a toll on the viewers patience and more so because of the dubbing, until another version of Hasan, Khalifullah came to the rescue.

The beautiful correlation of the ten forms of Hasan and appropriate pattern of narration make Dasavathaaram an out and out entertainer. Though the style of filmmaking could be a little more mature than the typical Tamil action flicks, this movie is an intellectual treat if you put efforts to think about it. Though the movie is a few hours of entertainment, its idea, endless.

AATH AANA!

FILM: Barah Aana (2009)
CAST: Naseruddin Shah, Vijay Raaz, Arjun Mathur
DIRECTOR: Raja Menon





After coming to know that everyone else in my class had gone to the movies to celebrate the end of exams, I had become desperate to do so too.This quest led me to the doors of this movie.Sitting all alone with a friend in a neraly complete empty theater( this was not a reflection on the movie...actually it was 11 in the morning on a Monday) with my legs propped up on the seat in front, I watched the movie screen come to life.

The story goes something like this. Shukla(Naseerudin Shah) discovers that he has officialy been declared dead due to a series of misfortunes(This part may have no significance now but holds the key to the end). He moves to Mumbai to work as a driver and lives in the slums of Dharavi. Yadav(Vijay Raaz) is a watchman who is trodden over and abused to the limit and then beyond it. And he has no choice but to bear it for the sake of his family who are solely dependent on him for their existence. Aman( Arjun Mathur)- Yadav's room-mate is a waiter at a swanky restaurant. He crushes in a on Italian girl who unkown to him lives her life by selling drugs.The plot shows it face when Yadav receives a phone call informing him that back home money's needed for treatment of his child.

Unable to procure the money properly he turns to trickery due to a completely unseen turn of events. Enticed by the power, he coerces Aman and threatens Shukla to continue the "business". The conclusion of this whacky adventure is the best part of the movie. Add along a side track of romance between Aman and the beautiful Italian (Violante Placido) onlyn for him to be finally betrayed, you have a classic paani puri to be eaten. But sadly, I found the movie all paani and not much puri.

Now, the movie is not all that bad . In fact I had really liked the start and the end. But unforunately, that was it. Sure, certain moments provided amusement but nothing that kept you going along with the story.Over the years oppression of the poor/ helpless has been quite a hot topic with film makers. Sensationalisation along with some fantasy has led to this giving us several hits.

The biggest surprise for me was Vijay Raaz . He played his role with such sincerity...I truly say that this is his best performance till date. Arjun Mathur has done very good for a debut film although I felt he was trying too hard. Naseeruddin Shah is the cherry on the top! I've now come to expect nothing but the best from this man.
If I liked the acting so much, then what problem did I have with the movie you may ask. Frankly, for me, it was the implementation of the script.It truly left much to be desired.
But none the less, this film is truly timepass material- say for an afternoon weekend while lying in bed at home with hot samosas and a botlle of Pepsi. The originality of the script makes me give another half star...Its not the best, but its a start.


- Karthik Krishna

(For the first time on The Soaham Blog, we have a guest writer. Just wait and watch readers, there will be many new surprises coming for you. Karthik Krishna is an year junior to me, but has a tremendous writing flare and good insight on movies. He would be co-writing on this blog from today, Barah Aana is his debut! Lets all give him the warmest welcome to The Soaham Blog.)

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