Aug 23, 2008 06:05 PM
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I didnt want to review a topic that was so beautifully expressed by star writer Paul sb but I just saw the movie on DVD with some friends who didnt watch it when it was released and just had to pen in my thoughts.
The movie's tremendous success and its line of remakes in tamil, telugu , hindi etc etc that too all with a stellar star cast makes you re analyse the movie. As my friend once famously said to me " the story can be written down on a bus ticket, its that short !! " applies here and it isnt a bad thing. It is a contrast to the twists , turns, double and triple crossing theme oriented cinema now adays. I am warning you guys now itself that I am mentioning the film's climax in the 3rd last para as I am sure people have already watched the movie. If you havent just skip the particular para,
The story as briefly as possible goes like this - An honest and straight forward barber in a small town village is facing tremendous competition from another barber with modern amenities and a better knowledge of modern hair fashions. He has nothing but a sharp tongue and witty remarks. Nothing seems to be going his way when out of the blue comes a cinema unit along with superstar Ashok Raj. Now due to gossiping by his wife and children the town comes to know that Barber balan and the superstar were close friends in school and how the town bribes and cajols a humble yet with a dignified pride filled balan to get near the Suprstar forms rest of the story. Later on when nothing seems to happen the townsfolks feels cheated and taken a ride for and they practically ruins Balan's life.
The climax of this movie is splendid and there is guaranteed watery eyes all around. At the stage function at a nearby school the superstar without any prompting bared his heart about his childhood friend who always believed in him and made him who he is much to the shock of the entire town including Balan's wife and children. Its the speech that is the defining point of this movie. The successful superstar still in search of his lost friend and the poor barber who is just happy with the fact that he is remembered. The movie has an open ending with the superstar inviting Balan's family back to their native town and Balan remaining non commital. The townfolks give Balan a heart warming welcome partly out of guilt and partly for the mere presence of this wonderful human being.
As you now see its the simpliciy of this movie that boggles the mind. Made on a shoestring budget with Superstar Mammotty appearing for free the producers made a killing. The story, script, screenplay and dialogues are by Sreenivasan ( who plays barber Balan ). The director is M Mohanan ( a relative of mukesh ) and the producers are Sreenivasan and Mukesh coming together for the creation of a new production house aptly named Lumiere.
The movie was appreciated by Rajanikanth and he confessed his desire for its remake in tamil. The movie Kuselan is modified to give more running time to Rajanikanth who plays the superstar. But Shahrukh Khan who too enjoyed the movie and is producing its remake in hindi titled Billoo Barber to be directed by Priyadarshan insisted that the movie must stick to its original. Such is the impact of this movie. The sound track is minimal and blends perfectly to the subtle mood changes during the movie. The potrayal of all the characters is amazing with each actor giving his best. Mammotty shined in his cameo. Nothing more needs to be said about this movie.... its story telling at its best.
