Haha! Touchy bastards.
Though if I'd been conned into watching a 2.5 hour movie that I thought was gonads, I might be too.
Anyway...Fight!

Which brings me to when are you gonna watch it? I reccy you see it with Sriram for added entertainment.

HathyaSaiBaba wrote:
Which brings me to when are you gonna watch it? I reccy you see it with Sriram for added entertainment.
Lol

Yeah, I can picture that. Me constantly pestering him to find out what's going on, him replying in his megaphone delivery, and the rest of the audience then beating the crap out of him. Oh wait, that actually sounds entertaining.

Aye! I should be back in Madras on Saturday (hopefully). Let's see if we can catch a show during the weekend.

I obviously haven't watched it yet and I'm not going to let this review influence me.

I'm still quite puzzled with Suresh's staunch anti-Kamal stand. Suresh, is there ANY Kamal movie (apart from Dashavataram, obviously :P) that you genuinely enjoyed without feeling compelled to roll out caveats like cheap heroin at Courtney Love's parties? I mean "decent" is a very harsh description of a certified classic like MMKR. Which 2 of the 4 characters did you feel were "thrown in for bragging rights"? Go on.

He feels Michael and the fireman guy (Rajan?) were superfluous. As for Camel, I think me and ravenus share a more or less similar attitude; essentially an irritation with the fact that a guy who has an above average level of talent is so annoyingly self indulgent. You'll have to admit that starting 1990 or thereabouts, Camel films have generally been ONLY about him and his character pretty much subsumes everything else. Also the fact that he's so high and mighty about commercial Indian films when for the most part he's never been anything other than a commercial film star (though one who has taken more risks than anyone else I can think of). In fact even the name Camel occoured to me after I was getting insanely bored by some shitty song in Indian where he assumed the form of various animals and I was hoping he'd turn into a camel and ah you get my drift.

The camel films I consider absolute classics are Pushpak (which would probably make it to any list of my favorite movies of all time), Sivappu Rosakal (though I do believe Rajesh Khanna for once in his life had an edge on the Camel read about it here), Varumayin Niram Sigappu, Kalyanaraman, Moondram Pirai, Appu Raja in Tamil and Ek Duhe Ke Liye (in spite of the fact that he comes across as a bit of a dick, in that movie it seemed kinda realistic). I think I liked the film where he gets smashed and dances on the well too but am not sure if its nostalgia or genuine quality and I don't want to revisit the film to find out. His performance in Nayakan was mostly good except for the bawling at his son's funeral which was unintentionally hilarious though (having unfortunately had a ringside view at many funerals subsequently), not unrealistic. But through the 90s I'd be hard pressed to think of any movie i really liked him in, before Dashavatharam. Abhay and Indian had their moments too, though.

what about his performance in Punnagai Mannan?

btw, so you are Ravi and is that your article in ET ?

Uh i think I found that one quite irritating and gimmicky. Camel as the angsty dance master was intolerable. Camel as Charlie even more so. And yep - guilty as charged on both counts.

HathyaSaiBaba wrote:
He feels Michael and the fireman guy (Rajan?) were superfluous.

I can see where you're coming from with Rajan but Madan was quite integral to the plot.

As for Camel, I think me and ravenus share a more or less similar attitude; essentially an irritation with the fact that a guy who has an above average level of talent is so annoyingly self indulgent.

Self-indulgent in what sense? That he likes to be in every frame of the movie? That his role clearly outshadows everybody else's? I think you have to view this in light of the fact that most of his films since the early '90s have seen him taking on the role of more than just the actor. Direction, production, screenplay, dialogue and in quite a few cases, all of those. Plus, when you view it from the Tamil film industry perspective, Kamal actually is the least narcissistic of the pack (apart from maybe Vikram). The rampant megalomania in the Tamil and Telugu movie industries is something you are probably already well aware of. We have "actors" like Vijay, Ajith and more recently, the quite hilariously named Simbu. These guys essentially make the same movie over and over again, portraying themselves as one man armies, having songs with amazingly pompous lyrics about their own grandeur etc. It's quite appalling, really. If these chaps, possessed of rather questionable acting talent can be so unabashedly indulgent, I don't see why a brilliant actor, with a career spanning 37 years (48, if you count Kalathur Kannamma and all) can't be a tad self-indulgent in his movies.

You'll have to admit that starting 1990 or thereabouts, Camel films have generally been ONLY about him and his character pretty much subsumes everything else. Also the fact that he's so high and mighty about commercial Indian films when for the most part he's never been anything other than a commercial film star (though one who has taken more risks than anyone else I can think of). In fact even the name Camel occoured to me after I was getting insanely bored by some shitty song in Indian where he assumed the form of various animals and I was hoping he'd turn into a camel and ah you get my drift.

Well, that really depends on how much of his work you are familiar with. He has done quite a few films where other actors have also shone through. Like Thenali, which was more memorable for Jayaram's performance. Or Sathi Leelavathi, Singaaravelan, Panchatantram etc. I know the numbers are quite low here AND all of these are out and out commercial, "masala" comedies, but then, Kamal's output since 1992 hasn't been very prolific. The movies that you're talking about, like Hey! Ram, Aalavandhaan, Virumaandi, Anbe Sivam (which, if you haven't watched yet, you should give a try) all contain Kamal in roles which I'm sure will have most Indian actors pissing their pants at the mention of. As for him being a commercial actor, I don't disagree. He's never claimed not to be one, as far as I can recall. The brilliance lies in the variety that he can bring to the table even in a commercial film. Films like Panchatantram and Sathi Leelavathi are testimony to this. He's never felt the need to be the macho, beating up a 100 goons singlehandedly type of character since the late '80s (Vetri Vizha being the last of such roles that I can remember, and even that was not as ludicrous as what even actors like Rajnikanth still do. There's always an element of experimentation, of straying from the tried and tested formula with Kamal's roles.


I think I liked the film where he gets smashed and dances on the well too but am not sure if its nostalgia or genuine quality and I don't want to revisit the film to find out.

Heh, that's Salangai Oli. Good movie, although I can understand why you wouldn't want to revisit it.

That's just it da - you don't expect the Rajnikanths and Simbus of the world to know any better. One of them was a bus conductor and the other had a father whose very face was an act of child molestation.
Whereas Camel seems to have a clue, has assayed some very challenging roles, and keeps giving interviews where he criticises song and dance sequences as being reminiscent of "animals trying to discover their sexuality" (ravenus will supply you with the exact quote). Against a backdrop of all of that you just expect him to know/do better. Anyway I shall check out the films you've recommended which I haven't watched yet. If they suck I shall rag you relentlessly and sneak mayo into your food even if we are catching dosas at Murugan Idli House.

Hey I liked Kurudhipunnal, even if I didn't understand what was going on half the time. Before anyone asks, I was on a school excursion somewhere in TN at the time.

Alavandhan = Abhay = Kamal being a super-asshole. But those comic book fantasy violence sequences rocked. I had a total love-hate equation with that movie.

I've seen bit and pieces of Kurudhipunal which was a remake of Nihalani's Drohkaal and they sort of missed the point. In the original Ashish Vidyarthi was a newcomer and appeared initially as a guy being completely harassed by the ATS people and then as a dominant force. Having a major league star like Nasser do the part defeats the purpose. And Om Puri did a significantly better job than Kamal. It's still one of the better Kamal films of that period, especially when compared to pure shit-fuck like the serial killer movie of which olo does a brilliant imitation of Kamal saying "semen traces"

It wasn't as funny as Michael Madana Kamarajan, or Pushpak. It was trying too many things, so some things worked, and some just didn't. Even my dad was bored, and he ambled on to the other TV set to watch some sad cricket match. And he's the kind of guy who watches about a dozen tamil serials.

About 30% of the movie was god awful, and around 50% was just boring. Why not make a shorter more bearable movie? Kamal calls himself Universal Superstar btw, which for some reason in my mind, equates his acting calibre to Van Damme. You'll find the same kind of boring gimmickry though, I'm not too thrilled just cause he pulls a rubber face on.

It was trying to ape off all the great projects of Kamal, including one which was shelved, but now he's found a softer target to stir some shit up with. Actually, that's the only part I enjoyed: the Chola Empire subplot, other than that, the movie was unbearably boring. The story could have gone like Cloud Atlas, but instead goes the way of most commercial horseshit. Special hate for that Asin, she does two roles in this movie, if one wasn't enough.

The ending was as trite and self congratulatory as the IIFA awards. It was overly secularistic and sentimental and so centrist that they had both Jayalalitha and Karunanidhi waving to crowds at the end. More trite than the ending of Return of the King.

slashgod wrote:
Special hate for that Asin, she does two roles in this movie, if one wasn't enough.[/quote]

You suck, whoever you are. Asin is a sweet piece of mallu goodness. Like an appam with stew. Or nendhranga chips.

sodom hussain wrote:
Asin is a sweet piece of mallu goodness. Like an appam with stew. Or nendhranga chips.

More like that sickly sweet banana halwa that gets stuck to your teeth when you eat it.

General Knowledge wrote:

More like that sickly sweet banana halwa that gets stuck to your teeth when you eat it.

Still good!

sodom hussain wrote:
slashgod wrote:
Asin is a sweet piece of mallu goodness. Like an appam with stew. Or nendhranga chips.

Did she suck you off or something?

I WISH!I really do, actually. :(

I'll refrain from calling you something that rhymes with ray. That's what a lesser man would've done in this situation. Kvltsite has more class than that.

Sriram, I mean the Mayo one. Calm down - You started it and especially knowing Sriram, you'll never win this one.

Srikanth Panaman wrote:
Sriram, I mean the Mayo one. Calm down - You started it and especially knowing Sriram, you'll never win this one.

"Baingareh confooshun!"

Rahul Chacko wrote:
Srikanth Panaman wrote:
Sriram, I mean the Mayo one. Calm down - You started it and especially knowing Sriram, you'll never win this one.

"Baingareh confooshun!"
ROFL.

I can't imagine he learned too much Tamil from Dee 'cos his test drive didn't consist of the phrase "Sootha kizhichiruvaen!". Must be Joe or Sundar at work. Good job, Chackie Chan.

I wouldn't dick Asin if she stripped naked in front of me. I'd like to see her mud-wrestling with Jenna Jameson though.

sodom hussain wrote:
I can't imagine he learned too much Tamil from Dee 'cos his test drive didn't consist of the phrase "Sootha kizhichiruvaen!". Must be Joe or Sundar at work. Good job, Chackie Chan.
"Thenga venoh, mathenga venoh?"

Rahul Chacko wrote:
"Thenga venoh, mathenga venoh?"


LOL!!