A lot has been said and written about Virumaandi, Kamal Haasan?s latest venture and perhaps his last effort at understanding what would click with the Tamil Audience. An extremely important juncture in his illustrious career, it was imperative for Kamal to deliver a movie that would click not only with the critics but also please the layman so to say, who comes to watch Paisa-Vasool Entertainment.

Rajnikant and Vijaykant had understood the pulse of the audience, largely consisting of the front-benchers who whistle at the fights and songs, and customized their talent to suit the crowds tastes.

Kamal catered to the tastes of the City viewers?..but then progressively realized that he was missing the Bigger Chunk Critical acclaim never won anyone his bread and butter. We can only appreciate someone?s work of art, but the credit of making some actor a SuperStar goes to the millions who stick posters of these very people in their houses, auto rickshaws, even school bags and scooters.

Virumaandi is probably the first time Kamal has pitched into the so-called Popular Category. Like the promos have flashed high and clear, it?s a Village Drama that?s close on the lines of his previous tragic dramas like Mahanadhi. After watching the whole movie, I feel there?s a LOT of similarity between the movie in discussion and the one just mentioned the sentence before. Since I feel these two movies belong to the same genre, are scripted and made by Kamal, it makes Good Sense to have a Small Comparison between the two.

Mahanadhi , which MANY of you must have seen or atleast heard of, is one of the LANDMARK movies in Indian Cinema. It surpassed MY expectations in Virtually EVERY Department of Film-making, be it Story, Screenplay, Dialogues, Direction, Cinematography, Performances, etc?.It was so FULL of Emotions that it literally drove the Men too to grab onto their handkerchiefs and shed all their tears in them. I cried too.

When one compares Virumaandi to Mahanadhi, one can?t help but wonder why Kamal had to Incorporate to SO MUCH Violence in the Story. Perhaps that?s the REAL way things take place in the Villages, but to say the truth, I couldn?t identify with the Happenings till the Plot moved on to explain what exactly the Issue was. Its like the Hindi Audience watching Lagaan? everything feels a little Alien to you till the plot sets in and holds you with a Mammoth Grip!!

However, in this case the Story felt a little too similar to Mahanadhi, simply because it tells the story of a man who had been duped and framed in cases/crimes not committed by him. The feel is Different, yet the flow of events seems Strangely similar, much like Old Wine in a New Bottle. Not to discredit Kamal?s effort, but the Overall Effect Pales in Comparison with Mahanadhi.

Virumaandi scores Top Marks in some Departments.

Firstly, the Make Up Department has done a SWELL Job in portraying the protagonists perfectly according to the Occasion. Kamal sports the kind of Moustache design that you would NOT expect anyone in the City to have! Something Innovative,that has caught the fancy of the public?.!

Secondly, Attention to detail, a Hallmark of all Kamal projects, is evident here too. There have been countless movies made in the past that tried showing the village life in various viewpoints, but none show the kind of Scenery, Festivals, or Bull-Fights like this one!! The Bull-Fight Scene has been picturised with Elan, and it remains to be seen how other directors take to the task of showing such events with even more Chutzpah and Style.

Thirdly, the Performances, as in any Kamal film, are of a High Order. I must mention that Pasupathy, who plays the role of Thevar does a Brilliant Job, to the extent of overshadowing Kamal in some scenes!! He literally breathes Fire in the Violent Scenes and shows what he can do given a Well Developed Character and Powerful Scenes. Same applies to Napoleon, who does a commendable job but is limited by his role which is a little short.

Kamal does a Good Job with his role as Virumaandi. Somehow though, I don?t feel it is as Great or Well Researched a performance as say, Sivam in AnbeSivam or Mahanadhi. His character bears an Uncanny resemblance to his role in Mahanadhi, hence lessens the Impact, which would have otherwise been created.

Abirami has given the performance of her Life in this movie and proves that the right role is just what is required to bring out the best from any talented Individual. Her role has been given enough screen time to make sure the audience understand how important a role her character plays in the whole story.

Technically though, I felt Virumaandi did not Meet Expectations it had previously raised. The Cinematography by Keshav Prakash, who previously worked with Nagesh Kukunoor in Bollywood Calling is just about OK and barring the Moonlight Song, nothing to Rave about. Thiru in comparison did a BRILLIANT job in Hey Ram, giving the movie an International Look and Feel. The same goes for Editing, which feels a little loose in the Second Half, especially during the Riot Scenes in the jail. Also during the violent scenes, sometimes you feel that the scenes just go on and on!!

The Art Direction though is Stupendous and leads us into believing that we are in a real Village and Jail?.kudos to Prabhakar who did an Amazing job in films like Pandavar Bhoomi and Anbe Sivam.

Music by Illayaraja is Good?..but the title song feels kinda Half-Baked in nature?.the word Virumaandi being repeated n number of times doesn?t gel at all with the song. But the other 2 love songs are Very Melodious and compliment the script very well.

What Virumaandi Lacks Sorely is a GOOD Story/Screenplay and that?s where things start going Haywire. The first Half is Taut and proceeds at a good pace, but it?s the second half where the story starts to Nosedive and hits Rock Bottom during the last half hour. One may say the Screenplay is novel in the fact that it tries to present a Story from two viewpoints, but then that?s exactly where the role of a Screenplay writer and Director becomes FAR MORE Important in encapsulating the audience in the flow of events so that they don?t feel bored. Here?s where Virumaandi doesn?t succeed completely.

The jail sequences towards the climax are completely uncalled for and only irritate the viewer who has already had a SOLID dose of Violence. Also, killing the Warden and trying to create a commotion, then the clichéd way of Virumaandi playing the role of Saviour and protecting the two journalists from Danger is very BORING!!

All in all, Virumaandi is an Honest Effort. Quite Surprisingly, it has done MUCH BETTER Business than Anbe Sivam and Mahanadhi, two of Kamal?s BEST works in recent times and that only goes to show HOW DIFFERENT the tastes of the Classes and the Masses are!!

Plot Revealed In The Review:	Somewhat revealed
Best to watch with:	Family
Movie Genre:	No Comment
Best part in the movie:	No Comment