Movie : Endhiran
Cast : Rajini, Aiswaryarai
Music : A.R.Rahman
Director : Shankar
The wait is finally over and Endhiran is here after a good three years almost. But upon watching the film the feeling you come out with is clear. The film is well worth the wait indeed!
Made at a budget of around Rs 160 crore, the movie is a VFX fest of a scale and grandeur hitherto unseen in Indian cinema. With the use of the animatronics technology (done by Stan Winston Studio) director Shankar brings his innovative imagination to life on the screen. The last half hour of the film particularly pushes the envelope and creates a spectacle of jaw dropping grandeur, packing in all the paisa vasool entertainment that any ardent Rajini fan asks for. Even if you don’t swear by the mega star’s demi-god status, you’ll still be sitting on the edge of your seat.
Endhiran does have its flaws, which is a bit disappointing. The first half is a smooth and jolly ride as the cute Chitty takes centre stage. A couple of fights set the tone for the fans to go overboard with excitement, a few lighter moment most of which are enjoyable and two songs make it a relatively light hearted affair. Shankar’s ability to write commercial Tamil cinema elements (hero rescuing damsel in distress, witty one liners etc.) into a sci-fi script is commendable. That stops Endhiran from being a pure sci-fi flick, making it apt for all class audiences. Beginning of the second half is however not an apt extrapolation of the expectations raised in the first half. Though too much does not go wrong, there are portions which one feels could have been tighter. Some sequences, especially the ‘Ranguski’ part, are dragged along for more than a reasonable length. A couple of songs follow each other in quick succession which dampens things a bit. But, if you are willing to be patient through these minor glitches, the rest of the second half is racy, action packed and intelligent.
Rajini turns into an insane caricature in his evil avatar, but the rest of the flick sees him pull off rather sedate stuff, with even his swagger being simulated by the machines. Rai has stunning screen presence despite her silly role and exaggerated heroine-histrionics.
Rahman's music is an important accompaniment to the film, given Shankar's fixation with high-end songs. The tracks are all pretty good, but the much-hyped Machu Pichu song comes in at a point where the movie is grating your nerves.
In the end, the kind of hype and money that floated around this flick could probably not have been matched by its IQ anyway, and maybe that was the problem.
