உலகையே கலக்க உலகநாயகன் எடுக்கும் விஸ்வரூபம்!

Malaysian politics, enakku terinja varaikkin, my twenty Malaysian cents:

- Indian votes are a bit stronger towards the ruling party for now, unlike the previous general election. Chinese is almost fully in favour of opposition. The ruling party, BN, needs Indians and Indian Muslim.
- Pressure is from the muslims, particularly Indian muslims. Now, these guys are the ones that is separated between ruling party and opposition party because BN alliance has a strong Malay party that is 100% muslim, and some of them are Indian Muslim lineage. The opposition has a muslim party that is very conservative (they endorse Hudud law).
- My opinion = the government wants to hear the Indian muslims out because they have recently been affected (in fact all Muslims) by the use of the word "Allah" to denote "God" in Bibles that are in Malay language. Ithu munna sila nAlA controversial-A irunthuchu. And was brought back recently during a Christmas celebration speech by an opposition leader who insisted that "Allah" should be in Malay language Bibles. Now, the Malay muslim are scared because the Allah in Bible would be confused with the Allah in Koran and confuse the Malays who are supposed to be Islam into conversion (they can debate all they want, I am agnostic remember, I am more worried about what to cook for wife tomorrow).
- To appease Muslims, the government listened to the small minority group, whose reaction is knee-jerk to TN ruling. They need Indian Muslim Aaaaand Muslims who are paying attention.
- Not all that, a Malaysian celebrity recently said something very hurtful to the Muslim community (quote "Koran thumping motherfuckers"). Remba kaduppula irukkAngga, namma muslim sagotharargal and sagotharigal.

I believe, as dell_gt or someone remarked over there, it will come back in more censored form. They still need Indian vote, remember.

And, when everything quietens down, the DVD version would be less censored. Ambuduthen.

NDTV's +ve review for the Telugu version

Kamal Haasan's Vishwaroopam is likely to be appreciated by lovers of Hollywood action films.


[removed the plot portion]


Kamal Haasan has delivered an outstanding performance. Shekhar Kapur makes a rare and satisfying on-screen appearance. Rahul Bose is dignified and effective as Omar, the boss of an Afghanistan-based terrorist outfit. Leading lady Pooja Kumar is more than adequate and the artiste who dubbed her voice in Telugu suits her style perfectly. Nazar and Andrea Jeremiah are average in their roles. Jaideep Ahlawat is good as Omar's right hand man.

Sanu John Varghese's cinematography is extraordinary. Mahesh Narayan's editing is also perfect. The choreography of the action scenes needs a special mention as being at par with Hollywood flicks. The credit goes to Kamal Haasan since he was the one who reportedly conducted a scientific study about the US Army and their fighting techniques. The background score by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy deserves another special mention. Kamal Haasan also excels as director. The narrative technique of flashback episodes is thrilling. The film's only minus point - the placement of songs works as speed breakers for a spy thriller.

The background score by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy deserves another special mention.

I heard Kamal saying BGM will be by Indrajit (?) No?

theatre lopalo unnaanu.tharavaatha sangathi
chepthanu

It's full house tonight. Booked for tomorrow night show.

This (temporary) with-holding in TN is totally unnecessary. Every one around TN would have watched and people for whom this movie was made could not watch. What a pity! I don't know what they are trying to achieve through this. Politics karumaandram!.

OK watched the movie..
The movie is a neatly made espionage thriller with the cliched save new york plot to culminate.
From a plot angle it is more close to "The Traitor" starring Don Cheadle http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traitor_(film).
The husband wife drama is more of an extended first act that soon withers off thankfully. The meat of the movie is the
scenes in Afghanisthan which is the "middle act". And true to hitchcockian rules of middle act what is shown is only the
"need to know" or the stuff that will affect the third act - which is the "save the city from terror". The middle act is
juicy and could have been expanded further - but would have gotten kamal into more trouble because the true reason
and meaning of Jihad would have to be explored and explained - much like Hey Ram - at the risk of making an action
thriller more verbose and preachy. Kamal chooses wisely to leave it because to understand the true spiritual meaning
of Jihad - is beyond a person who thinks in 'absolutes' which unfortunately most atheists are. However it is a missed opportunity nevertheless.
Having said that - the Afghanisthan episodes are the "motives" for the antagonist and in that way, make us in a small way
empathize with the antagonist and his group which most of the hollywood spy thrillers dont do well enough.
Without discussing the plot any further (which we will after the movie gets released in TN), the astute director Kamal, the clever scene manipulator is on display in every frame. He inserts "oil price rise" through a stock quote ticker beneath the footage of Obama praising the fall of Bin Laden.
Having said that one has to see the portrayal of all "guilty" parties in balance - in this regard, while USA's actions are mildly chided (as opposed to full blooded codemnation - like in the movie Syriana), the islamic jihad(the false jihad of al qaeda) is painted in one broad stroke. The only innocent muslims in the movie are children and women. No rational muslim to provide balance - like Amjad(There is one good muslim who fights against Omar - but I leave that one for the guys watching the movie to figure it out) in Hey Ram. This is what is causing all the trouble for kamal - there are a whole bunch of jihadis who are ready to face extreme pain only because their leader is out to avenge his personal loss - This is simplifying the whole myriad of issues into a simple comfortable equation. This works for action movie lovers. The transformation of effeminate dance teacher into a glorious RAW agent is indeed exhilirating for kamal fans and others - however the afghanisthan angle which is juicy outside eventually is a subject that needed pensive and careful prodding and exploration and extreme care. So net and net - Kamal the writer's triumph is the loss for Kamal the producer and these sequences were the most delightful exhibition of Kamal the actor too.
From acting perspective - While Kamal dominates expectedly - Rahul Bose contrary to his diminutive physique manages to create quite a persona and aura around Omar - the pashtun leader in Afghan - Pakistan border. The actor who plays Salim - Omar's brother is awesome too.
Shekar Kapur's unfussed, understated presence as Col.Jagannath - is graceful and the scene where he reaches for Nitroglycyrene - is quite special.
Pooja Kumar is the comedy in charge of the movie and carries her role with a grace that most of the Indian heroines simply plainly lack.
And what was Andrea doing in the movie - I thought it was the most underdeveloped role in the whole movie and therefore she appears quite lacklustre.
While the movie offers no simple solutions it underlines quite a complex problem in a relatively realistic manner and this is so beautifully brought out by one small scene (when a person by name "Imtiaz" is encountered by Kamal's character in Afghanisthan) . But the genre blunts such poignant scenes and what one comes out with is whole world (super power USA and our India) versus the muslims and that is rather uncomfortable to watch if you are an average movie going muslim. So in a way the groups feeling sore have some justification on their side. Ofcourse they havent expressed this in an eloquent manner.

and guys who watched please allow me to comment on that stupid (endha kadavul - repartee from kamal to pooja - unnecessarily DK's child kamal hassan is inserted when both the characters are not shown to be atheists).Stupid as stuid gets.

Usual caveats apply - Hope the film makes money, don't mean to upset Kamal fans, SPOILERS abound etc.

Vishwaroopam - The research and the hard work shows. Technically the best thamizh film ever. Where it falters is the script. I think he had a 5 hour film in his mind but had no clue how to separate them out. The afghanistan scenes, though extremely well shot had zero impact. The first major twist happens in a scene which borrows heavily from, don't flinch, thuppaakki. Imagine Mulla Omar, a terrorist feared by the entire world asks his sidekick to shoot a handcuffed Kamal on his knees. A straight order from Omar himself. Kamal pleads him to uncuff him(!) so that he can do his final prayers. (Thuppakki vijay: kattai avuthuvittu adingadaa paakkalaam). And they oblige and the rest is history.

The thriller part was shabbily done. The way they try to defuse a bomb, rather lethargically with ample time for louu between Pooja and Kamal, making some poor jokes while they do absolutely nothing about catching Omar who quite comfortably boards a private plane and flies out of the USA. These kind of tonal inconsistencies are hard to believe coming from Kamal. And several characters who had absolutely nothing to do (Can't help but think of the pimp in Hey Raam for one). Andrea, wtf was she doing in this film?

The terrorists portrayal was inconsistent too. They do the ceasium surandal with their bare hands(!) but are clever enough to bomb NYC and roam freely all around the city, take a private plane to fly out etc.

And Kamal sir not trusting his audience - Coming from the man who made Hey Raam in which he let most of the things to the audience interpretation. Replaying the 'Kamal-planted-the-GPS-locator' scene. Wasted 2 mins footage. His prayer before the final act and the geththu scenes, playing it to the gallery, so untypical of Kamal.

SEL's BGM was another ROFL factor. They play some kind of Indian classical when everybody was seriously(?) trying to diffuse a bomb. Dibarandaa think pannraaraamaa.

Absolutely hated the end with Vishwaroopam 2 - India it seems. The footages shown were nice.

Yeah, nothing against muslims etc., but given a chance I d fight against the censor certificate. Bloody violent and he got away with a U/A. I am open to re-evaluate this if and when V2 gets made and comes out.

Some things I liked:
-The geththu scene, how pooja kumar replays it slowly in her mind. Fantastic.
-That monkeys with tail on front dialogue.
-Some performances, Kamal, Pooja.
-The hand thuppaakki from Omar to Omar's son, Kamal to Omar etc. Neat scene.

on the violence part - i agree - this is a straight "A" movie for indian bublik.

Rajini, Ajith, Kalaignar, veeramani et all
If you do not intend to support Kamal (freedom of expression, democracy), it is fine - you could have maintained silence. Each individual would have some reason, fine. Vetriyo tholviyo naanga paathukkuvom. Your "support" is nauseating.
It's just an aattendance registration because people have been asking uncomfortablequestions . And the media calls this support!! Lol

And kalaignar - khaa thoo

Prakash Raj, Bharathiraaja :respect:

Ajith statement oru alavuku ok dhane?

sid_316 wrote:Ajith statement oru alavuku ok dhane?

Yes! he didn't mention kamal's name and film's name. kamal nnaa avarukku avlovaa pudikaathu pola.
but he said this issue is not jsut witht his film. And overall, yes he stands right!

I think this is the best place to have an open discussion.
I am distressed - and I am sure B(K) is - by the usage of this situation by DING opponents of KH to settle scores with him. Let's categorically understand that all of the following are condemnable and petty attitude:
1. "andha muslimsai thalaila thookki vechukittu nammavALa thAkkinArla nallA vENum."
2. "indha muslimsE ipdi thAn. most of them are unpatriotic - either directly or indirectly. most of them are terrorists or if they are moderate, incapable of condemning terrorism. They want to destroy us"
3. Most dangerous species are the dings and JJ supporters who show fake love for Muslims now and support this as "when a group is hurt and is offended, govt has to make sure that movie is not screened". These are people who hate muslims to the core and are hindutva hardcores but pretending now just to use the situation against hindutva edhiri Kamalahaasan. Example is Daddy hubber there(saw the thaai kazhagam link given by cinemarasigan above - shocking cunning displayed by Daddy hubber there. Deserves all round condemnation)
4. "namma evLO nallavangaLA irundhAlum, indha muslimslAm thirundha mAttAngappA." - this is another dangerous attitude.
5. Lastly, ppl who fail to realise that there are equal and opposit ehindu groups who do the same as TMMK except that they didnt find a patron like JJ to ban a movie that they have vested interest against.

Apart from this, suresh65 hinted about Kamal's lack of understanding of history etc in twitter adhau oru thani topicA discuss paNNa vENdi irukku.

apper - KaruthuKandasamy Corner-ai konjam ready paNNunga discuss paNNa!

I am disgusted by such people!

Yov apdilam onnum illaya. Ippolam normala andhaal vaayai thorarkaradhilla. But the guy respects both the biggies.

Sakalakala Vallavar wrote:

sid_316 wrote:Ajith statement oru alavuku ok dhane?

Yes! he didn't mention kamal's name and film's name. kamal nnaa avarukku avlovaa pudikaathu pola.
but he said this issue is not jsut witht his film. And overall, yes he stands right!

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

In no way connected to the film but connected to the issue.

Let me get one thing out of the way. Andha group-oda tolerance pathi maatru karuthu kidaiyaadhu. In the previous exchanges on Muslims vs others, i have always taken that side - not to defend obvious claims like the tolerance comparisons (idhuve andha naatla mudiyuma?) but to reiterate that those who talk about it need to look at our own houses first. etc etc. Now, it is reaching Vishwaroopamic proportions nation wide and world wide. Adhu irukkattum...

plum wrote:I think this is the best place to have an open discussion.
I am distressed - and I am sure B(K) is - by the usage of this situation by DING opponents of KH to settle scores with him. Let's categorically understand that all of the following are condemnable and petty attitude:
1. "andha muslimsai thalaila thookki vechukittu nammavALa thAkkinArla nallA vENum."
2. "indha muslimsE ipdi thAn. most of them are unpatriotic - either directly or indirectly. most of them are terrorists or if they are moderate, incapable of condemning terrorism. They want to destroy us"
3. Most dangerous species are the dings and JJ supporters who show fake love for Muslims now and support this as "when a group is hurt and is offended, govt has to make sure that movie is not screened". These are people who hate muslims to the core and are hindutva hardcores but pretending now just to use the situation against hindutva edhiri Kamalahaasan. Example is Daddy hubber there(saw the thaai kazhagam link given by cinemarasigan above - shocking cunning displayed by Daddy hubber there. Deserves all round condemnation)
4. "namma evLO nallavangaLA irundhAlum, indha muslimslAm thirundha mAttAngappA." - this is another dangerous attitude.
5. Lastly, ppl who fail to realise that there are equal and opposit ehindu groups who do the same as TMMK except that they didnt find a patron like JJ to ban a movie that they have vested interest against.

Apart from this, suresh65 hinted about Kamal's lack of understanding of history etc in twitter adhau oru thani topicA discuss paNNa vENdi irukku.

apper - KaruthuKandasamy Corner-ai konjam ready paNNunga discuss paNNa!

I am disgusted by such people!

I wish i don't bitch about the hub here but what the fuck, let's get on with it, what is there - I have been very closely following the hub from Jan 24th onwards to keep track of the release. Felt unbelievable joy and pride reading our "dear friend" NOV's reaction. Extremely relieved to see unanimous praise for the film. Yes, i'm also seeing the posts by messrs Daddy and wealthprince. To sum it up, i puke on them. Khaa thooo, idhellaam oru pozhappu? It is below my intellect and dignity to have anything to do with them. They are
(a) Brain dead or (b) have a venomous mind or (c)both. APPALLED!!

Cinefan texted me about one *review* in TOIlet in the morning. Mudiyala, thudikkidhu bujam. Unbelievable

athugaLoda logic e, VasoolRaja la varrathu pOla "27 oda 3 a koottinaa 30 vanthurum" type! Skip and Proceed!

en post-ai re-read paNNinadhula oru poruLkuRRam vandhirukku. The points 1-5 are about ppl I am disgusted with. nadula suresh65 paththiyum pEsi irukkEn - adhu vERa panjayathu. I am obviously not disgusted by our own RajaRatna, Super-Cool Suresh65, whom I have huge respect for. The mention of suresh was to continue a discussion we started in twitter. adhu vERa idhu vERa.

gavanamA illainA vaarthai EdAgoodamA vizhundhududhu

Plum,
Thanks for the PM,enlightning.

This issue has shown his true colours.He says in one of the threads that he is hoping there are no DTH,Islamic terrorism and other gimmicks..How much more cheap can one get :appalled:

Mathapadi oru good news-um illai.Keeping fingers crossed for the verdict tomorrow though I feel it's very easy to get the film off theatres even if the ban is revoked.All they need is a soft,cooperative government and it is available in plenty here.

Now, it's not even about Kamal, his financial health, Viswaroopam release for me. This is hitting at our fundamental values as a nation.

Unity in Diversity-nA enna? That I recognise you are different but respect that difference dhAnE? When we clearly don't have that respect for each other, I fear for the nation that we will leave behind for our children and grand-children.

This is not just about a small Muslim group which is holding Kamal, rest of their community to ransom. This is about how the majority is reacting, too. We are reacting like
:muslimsE ipdi thAn:
:"They" are like this only:


We are creating that "otherness" in muslims. What message are we giving our children?
Is this the time to create that "otherness".

As P_R says very eloquently there, radicals in each religion have more in common with each other. Therefore, adhu VHP-yO, TMMK0vO, RSS-O, whatever other fundamaental groups - they ARE ALL THE SAME!

THEY ARE ALL THE SAME!

We should never ever get into "But teacher, avan dhAn modhalla ennai adichAn" here. There is no end to that.

Please, please, please let's teach harmony and respect. Let's not try to settle past scores. Future is more important than post.
Again, P_R says this very eloquently, paraphrasing Kamal himself "Learn from the follies of the past, read about it, know the history, and move on to not repeat those mistakes. That is the purpose of learning history. Not to settle scores"


The worst fall out of this issue is the "Now Kamal would have learnt what it is to rub Muslims unlike sadhu hindus" mentality that a few vested interests are spreading. idhai tooth and nail oppose paNNiyE AgaNum.

Please let's not take that line. If Kamal preaches anbE allah, why does he? Why don't we think?

Is it not simple enough to understand? What you sow, you reap.
You sow hatred(even if you justify it as retaliation for hatred from other side), YOUR CHILDREN AND GRAND CHILDREN will reap that hatred.

ennaiya Vikraman mAdhiri pEsa vuttuttEngaLEdA!

PR on Viswarooba form there. :vaippillamai:

This group and the people it has galvanized is way beyond the realms of reason and logic. Negotiation seems to be futile. Arikkai after arikkai, statement after statement is so baffling, mind "blastingly" absurd that you actually feel helpless. We are completely at the mercy of Govt (State if HC appadichufies us, Central if we win it here or in SC) and/or these joker terrorists. Not looking good. What an utterly disgusting feeling to be this helpless