Kamal - A versatile dunce. Review on Virumandi Movie

As there are already a lot of reviews on this movie (some of them were exceptionally good ) I won't delve much into the story. I would take this opportunity to talk about one of the most versatile actor in India (read as world) and some of his views - guess who? Some smart alecs out there would have guessed right after seeing the title of the review.

Kamal Haasan has always fascinated me as an actor. His off screen antics though, did have an impact on my views about him. Some people here might then argue that it is his own personal life and that we shouldnt look much into it. But learn to live with the facts my friend. In India stars cant have a private life. Sad but true.

This is not a review on any movie os his as such but on some of his views.

In some of the reviews on Virumaandi I saw people raising a few questions on what exactly was the crux of the story. Was it abolition of death penalty or was it a land dispute? Well from what Kamal tells us, it is a movie aimed at bringing out the dark side of capital punishment. If it were about capital punishment then am sorry to say that only the first and the last scene had anything to do with it. The rest of the movie had shades of Devar Magan in it.

In an interview to Ananda Vikatan, Kamal had said that he was opposed to capital punishment and that he was against it to the core. Some of the points that he brought out in favour of this argument are as follows:-

1)Death penalty is seen as a solution to violent crime in the land of Mahatma Gandhi who was an apostle of non violence.

2)Death penalty and murder are essentially the same. The former is legally done while the latter happens when a person takes law into his hands.

3)Executions show low regard for a human life and thereby cause an increase in the number of murders.

That is a load of bullshit. This is what I feel about the views raised by Kamal Haasan.

1)Death penalty is not seen as a solution to violent crime. They are in reality seen as the most appropriate punishment for people who deserve the same.

2)Death penalty and murder are not essentially the same just because they have the same ending. That way rape and making love are essentially same cuz they both result in a sexual intercourse. Kidnapping and arrests would then be the same as both of them result in imprisonment against one's wills, if what Mr. Kamal Haasan says is right.

3)Why would people engage in illegal activities when the punishment is severe? That absoultely makes no sense. People would refrain from engaging in such activities when the punishment gets severe.

For more severe criticism of opponents to death penalty u can visit Pro-death-penalty group in https://groups.yahoo.com. By the way am a member there.

So I would be happy if someone said that abolition of capital punishment was not the crux of the story cuz am so in favor of death penalty.

Well now let me move on to Anbe Sivam. That was one of the most critically acclaimed movie last year though it didnt do well in the box-office. Needless to say Kamal gave one of his best performances in the movie and each of his movies somehow bring out the best in him always.

Before I proceed I would advice people who would get sentimental if I raise questions on the credentials of a religion to not read any further.

I was told that the idea of Anbe Sivam was to propagate the feeling of love in one and all. First of all am totally against the name that he chose for the movie. I would have been pretty satisified if he had named it ''Anbe Kadavul'' or anything else. Do you think the Muslims or Christians would have taken it well had he named the movie as ''Anbe Allah'' or ''Anbe Jesus''? Am not trying to ignite communal hatred here. My point is about Kamal being biased or shud I say anti-biased. He is against Hinduism and he criticizes it whenever he gets a chance to do so.

This was just a minor thingy that offended me badly. He portrays Naaser as being a staunch Hindu but also brings out his nefarious side. On the other hand he portrays the Christian missionaries as people who have faith in Jesus Christ and also help others. This really offended me. Most of you here would argue in favor of this saying Nasser is just a character in the movie who happens to be a Hindu. Well to me he is not. In the movie the Christian missionary was shown drawing a cross on a child's forehead. If love and being affectionate to your fellow beings is God why draw the cross then?

And in another scene he says ''Kaasu vaangitu udhavi panre kadavul thaane unga kadavul''. For those of you who dont understand tamil it means ''Your god charges you (demands a price ) for helping you''. He said this to a hindu. Do you think Muslims or Christians dont contribute money to mosques or churches? Everyone does for that matter.

I would come to the point again. I am not trying to incite communal hatred in anyone here but am against anyone who criticizes something without any base just for the sake of it. Surely Kamal is entitled to have his own opinion about stuff. But being a public figure I would advice him to keep those opinions to himself if they would offend anyone. Being a public figure comes with with an additional responsibility of being responsible and sensible.

As an actor I admire Kamal the most. He is miles ahead of any other actor and is in a league of his own. I would rate him above several hollywood actors as well. But I am against some of his views and that is what this review is all about.