Aug 26, 2009 05:26 PM
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Despite mixed reviews from everyone, I decided to give Kandhaswamy a chance cause I am a big fan of Vikaram and respect the hardwork and dedication he brings on screen.Kandhaswamy is billed as a superhero film, and the trouble begins right from there.
The movie starts out with devotees writing slips of paper and keeping it in the Kandhsawamy temple somewhere in Tamil Nadu.A lady finds a huge amount of money, but it is siezed by a corrupt cop(Mansoor Ali Khan).Enter Kokoroko or the masked Kandhaswamy who returns the money.
Cut to chennai where you see Kandhaswamy IPS(Vikram) conducting a raid on a business magnate PPP(Ashish Vidyarthi).His daughter Subbulakshmi(Shriya Saran) decides to take revenge on our hero because she wrongly thinks he is responsible for her father's paralytic stroke(obviously a fake).Enter the DCP (Prabhu) who wants to get to the bottom of this Kokoroko business.
This in gist is Kandhaswamy.Interested so far?I am sure you are, but here comes the dampener. Kandhaswamy IPS decides to bring all the black money to India. Dhan Te Nan, Sivaji all over again.Downfall number 1.
The biggest problem with the film is its lethargic pace.Over 3 hours, this movie is no Rajini film to keep you hooked for that long.Shriya is wasted and looks weird in that crazy hair style of hers.The film is plagued by the typical tamil cinema problems:An item song for the heck of it, a seperate comedy track which has no relation to the main plot, too many dream songs and romantic sequences.
However, there are some nice twists and turns, though not extraordinary, keep you interested in the banal plot.I was disappointed with this whole Kokoroko superhero business.The movie was billed as a superhero, but the character is non-existent after the interval.It's more like Sivaji meets Anniyan.
The cinematography, action and graphics are excellent.All the Kokoroko fight sequences are extremely well executed.The songs, though a sheer waste, are shot richly.Music by Devi Shri Prasad's music is just about average, but his BG is decent.
Vikram is at ease playing the title character.Shriya is wasted.Ashish Vidyarthi is typical.Vadivelu is unneeded.Krishna is adequate. Kandhaswamy could have been a superb commercial entertainer if only:
1-It was 40-50 minutes shorter(not at all impossible to edit all those needless songs comedy)
2-There was no Vadivelu
3-No item song
I hope directors, producers and distributors get out of this silly mentality that the audience wants all these things.Audiences have matured over the years and such gimmicks are not going to work any longer.Commercialism like songs, comedy is highly appreciated if it is in sync with the plot(case in point, Dasavatharam). You might have seen that I have recommended this film despite the low rating.Watch it purely for Vikram and some time pass.
