Undoubtedly, Sivaji was the most keenly anticipated and awaited Tamil movie of all time. When one wonders why, a few factors come to mind.
1.Sivaji is Rajnikant’s 100th movie, an important milestone for South India’s biggest superstar
2.Sivaji is produced by AVM. AVM is a reputed production house, celebrating its 60th anniversary
3.Sivaji is directed by Shankar, who has consistently delivered super-hits
4.Sivaji’s script was so closely guarded that no one quite understood what it was all about. This raised curiosity to unthinkable levels
5.Sivaji featured the best talent that Kollywood(Tamil film industry) has to offer. This raised curiosity even further!
6.Sivaji is said to be the most expensive movie ever made in India
If curiosity built the hype, media did the rest! June 15th was Sivaji day on most news channels, with hour long programs on the celebrations, serpentine queues, and mobs that thronged the theatres at 5 in the morning! Interestingly, even film critics were generous enough to praise the film. Guess AVM didn’t want to take any chances!
Finally it was the turn of this critic to watch the extravaganza. Expectations were high, but so was the aim to be as unbiased and focused on quality as possible. Those who have read my review on Chandramukhi will understand what I am talking about! I started the debate as to why Rajni films should be measured with a different yardstick, allowing directors to compromise on content while focusing on gimmicks and under-utilizing Rajni’s talent. I will rate the film by both my standards, and Rajni’s standards.
Sivaji is one of the better Rajnikant films in recent times. Rajni’s delivered superb performances in films like Annamalai, Veera and Dalapathi, but beyond that it started getting gimmicky and repetitive. Directors exploited his popular gestures and dialogues by introducing variations in every film. Quality took a royal beating, even as box-office bells kept ringing!
According to me, Chandramukhi was his Nadir. It was disappointing to see him play a doctor who tries to be funny and behaves more like Superman. Rajnikant took a step in the right direction with Sivaji and the results are there for all to see. A good actor like Rajnikant needs a good director like Maniratnam or Shankar to bring out the best in him. And that’s exactly what this film has achieved.
Rajnikant is clearly in top form here. The guru of style looks dashing in designer clothes and suits designed by none other than Manish Malhotra, the guru of design. His dialogue delivery is crisper and cleaner than most of his recent films. And the much talked about hairstyle by some French hair stylist works wonders! It really makes him look hip and trendy! But the look that really takes the cake is the “Bald” look. Rajni never looked so state-of-the-art before! Kudos to Shankar for giving us a new, improved Rajni with all the latest features!
“Oru Koodai Sunlight” is by far the best song in the whole film. Its classy, trendy, stylish and exquisitely shot in Spain. Shankar, K. V. Anand and Anthony have toiled hard and their efforts have paid off handsomely. Rajni’s look throughout the song is Stunning! The asymmetric silver building that features in the background is mindboggling too!
Vivek, featuring for a 3rd consecutive time in Shankar films(after BOYS and ANNIYAN), scores a HATTRICK! He is stupendous as Rajni’s Mama, and even steals the show from the Superstar in certain scenes. The fact that the humor blends with the storyline is a major plus for Shankar and Sujatha, the dialogue writer. Kudos!
K. V. Anand has ensured that every frame of Sivaji looks like a picture postcard. His cinematography is rich, colorful and eye-catching, although I feel he experimented much more in “Khakee” and “Legend of Bhagat Singh”.
Sujatha, the renowned dialogue writer, proves his mettle again. The dialogues are fiery, practical and pack a Solid Punch. “Perra Kettale Summa Adhurudhulle?”, “Panni kuttama varum, Singam single aa than varum”, “Cool” are some of his trademarks. Thanks to him, Vivek has been able to outshine the hero’s in most of the films!
A. R. Rahman joins hands with Shankar after Boys. The background music is Superb, but gets noisy at times, especially during the car fight scene. People may not lap up the music instantly, but its Definitely Different! “Oru Koodai Sunlight”, “Athiradi Kaalam” will become popular disco numbers in the days to come. “Sahana Saaral” and “Vaaji Vaaji” are soaked in melody, but “Vaaji” sounds like “Ale Ale” from Boys. The most ordinary track is “Sooriyanum”, the opening track, which sounds like a poor cousin of Vidyasagar’s “Devuda Devuda” from Chandramukhi.
Shankar, the creator of Sivaji, has got many things right, but he has also repeated some of his earlier mistakes. Among his positives are
1.Presenting Rajni in a brand new avatar
2.Presenting a socially relevant message(Black money) in a lucid manner
3.Presenting corruption in a simple, yet practical manner
4.Powerful presentation of Adiseshan, the villain
Unfortunately, many of his earlier mistakes are repeated here too, like
Wasteful expenditure on grandiose sets that neither convey extravagance nor serve any purpose
Ordinary and repetitive song picturization, except “Oru Koodai Sunlight”
Screenplay that unsuccessfully fuses romance into the serious storyline
Screenplay that introduces too many songs without rhyme or reason
Absolute lack of emotional touch throughout the film
Yawn inducing, never-ending fight sequences
Story that gives no scope for lead actress to perform, except heave her bosom
Abrupt end of the film
Peter Hein, the stunt co-ordinator, makes life miserable for both Rajni and the viewer, by making him fly around endlessly, while the people around him whirl around as if caught in a twister! Come on Peter! Can’t you even copy the Matrix stunts properly? Go watch “Vetaiyadu Velaiyadu” for some world-class action.
Antony, the famous editor who made “Vetaiyadu Velaiyadu” a treat to watch with his style and switchblade editing, is surprisingly out of form when it was needed the most. I guess he too was overpowered by the pressure of playing safe with a Rajni film. Why else would he allow the endless action scenes, mindless songs and useless scenes like the train sequence?
Choreography in the film is Dull and Drab with a capital D. Lawrence, Brinda, Prabhu Deva and Raju Sundaram have ensured the dance steps drive the audience either to sleep, or outside for a smoke! What a disappointment to see Rajni moving his fingers as if he was holding tennis balls in the title song!
Shankar and Manish Malhotra are jointly responsible for the vulgarity on display during most of the songs. Why did they have to dress Shriya in various types of bikinis throughout the songs? And pray, why make Rajni caress her navel so often that you start feeling sorry for the poor girl.
All in all, Sivaji is a MUST WATCH for Rajni’s return to experimentation and quality, though the same cannot be said of Shankar or the film itself.
