Apr 19, 2005 02:43 PM
2642 Views
(Updated Apr 19, 2005 02:43 PM)
Note - I intended to post this review for the tamil version. But the movie wasn't there on the list of tamil movies.
I take Kamalhassan’s comedies very seriously. Seriously, I do! Every one of his comedies from MMKR, barring Tenali to an extent, has been a laugh riot from start to finish. The effect stays with you for years after you’ve watched it. Whenever my roomies and I sit down for a chat, we use crazy-speak. It’s now reached a point wherever we cannot communicate effectively using just simple Tanglish.
I didn’t catch Mumbai Xpress on the day of its release. I seldom watch movies on the release days. There’s too much noise and it’s a huge distraction. I am not going to pay to listen to a few hundred fans hooting and get angry about it. Just not worth it!
A couple of things I’d like to mention before I actually review:
Singeetham Srinivas Rao and Kamal have worked together after a long time.
The movie does not have Crazy Mohan’s dialogues. This is a first for a Kamalhassan comedy.
I was surprised about all the negative feedback that came my way. No problem! Such things only lower your expectation from the movie. Still, I wasn’t quite prepared for this ride. You know things are not all right if the audience is clapping for a romantic scene and if you are feeling like you want to get out half-way from a Kamal movie.
The story had potential. A kidnapping gone wrong always produces a lot of funny moments and if the actors are talented, it can hold your attention and make you laugh. You couldn’t possibly ask for a better cast. Pasupathy, Nasar and Ramesh Arvind don roles that they haven’t really tried before. Pasupathy’s comic abilities come to the fore. Having been branded as a ‘Dada’ villain for some time now, he has seized this chance to prove that he is not a one trick pony.
Now there is a big question to ask: “Did Kamal really think that this was a good movie when he was hyping it up in the papers, or was he trying to say “This is enough for you people!”
A number of things in the movie point to the latter. The cinematography is the most pathetic in years. Dark, dull and grainy pictures make you wonder if you are watching a pirated VCD print. Before you blame the digital technology for this, go and watch ‘Vaanam Vasapadum”, an equally bad movie by P.C. Sriram, which also used digital format but had wonderful visual quality.
The dialogues by Kamal evoke some laughs here and there. It is downright stupid at other times. Crazy Mohan would have done a superb job here.
The movie has forgettable music by Ilayaraaja. That an entire song, a hummable item number was cut by the censors did not help his cause at all.
I know it is not a sin to make a bad movie. Spielberg’s made some bad ones (AI & The Terminal). Martin Scorsese (my favorite) made Gangs of New York. But what these people don’t do is hype their movies up like they were going to win the Oscars next year. Kamal does that for every movie. Very recently, he irked me when he compared Kill Bill with Abhay. That’s just plain wrong.
Anyway, coming back to the subject, this is Kamal’s day off at the office. But its time for him to get back to serious work.
