This is a very late review, so I’m sure most of you know what the movie is about and how it reminds you so much of Shankar’s earlier works. And I just read the review of the movie in my paper and kinda… er… disagree!
So I’ll just cut to my take on it. I watched the movie this morning. I’ve updated it cuz a lot of people seem to think that I don’t want people to watch the movie! That’s not quite what I meant. Presenting, my three takes on the film!
Take One (written by Psycho Suderman):
I laughed so much that my tummy still hurts.
Thanks to Vikram’s portrayal of Remo, the cool rampwalk model. The scenes are a howler. Sample this, with a fake wannabe ‘wuz’ accent (‘wuz’ if wikipedia forgot to mention, is colloquial for faggot): “We’re supposed in love right, so let’s go some place and do some Yo-Yo.”
It’s the most entertaining movie you can find in the halls, of course after Chandramukhi. But it doesnt quite entertain the way Shankar would have liked it to. The entertainment more is like: “Look at that… 28 crores through Shankar’s special effects appear so funny… It’s a three hour long joke!”
Take Two (from Pseudo-Cool Suderman):
What’s wrong with Vikram? He had scope for not one but three characters here.
His Ambi turns out to be irritatingly innocent … It’s okie for Ambi to be a conformist, but being a loser crybaby isn’t helping things. The plot just requires him to be a meek, timid guy next door who believes in following the rules. He could be frustrated alright but not irritatingly nagging to extent of making the character totally unrelatable.
Indian, Gentlemen and Muthalvan had strong protagonists. Even at their lowest point, they maintained their dignity. What does Anniyan have? Anniyan has Vikram in and as Chickenshit.
As I was saying, Ambi pisses you of being Mr. Loser Tinyballs, Remo cheeses you off being the wannabe from wuz-bekistan and the lesser the said about the psycho serial-killer Anniyan the better. Anniyan has to be corniest of vigilantes. Actually, Citizen comes a close second. Vikram resorts to gimmicks (his eye-ball movement looks like Pandiyarajan’s thiruttu moozhi) and talks like he just swallowed a toad.
Anniyan has to be his worst performance in recent times, the grunting Pithamagan comes a close second.
Shankar had a great premise in there for a worthy sequel to his ‘Gentleman,’ ‘Indian’ and ‘Mudhalvan’ masala-coated message movies, but he totally fucks it up by letting Vikram get totally indulgent. There was a soul to Ambi’s character, that unfortunately does not come out of Vikram’s over-the-top portrayal. Not all of Anniyan’s killings seem all that justified and him leaving a jumble puzzle for a clue to confuse the police makes you believe Shankar’s attempting a spoof of his own vigilante movies.
If you thought Shankar cannot possibly come up with a screenplay which more implausible than his Boys, you thought wrong. The situations seem so thrust in and forced … like Anniyan’s public appearance in Nehru Indoor Stadium to make the ‘Know-what’s-wrong-with-our-country-speech’… Why didn’t he just courier the tape to a TV channel? Cuz it’s been done before in Indian and Muthalvan!
Characterisation is sacrificed for gimmickry, the soul is given up for style, the logic is given up for convenience, the talented Vikram is given up for Chickenshit!
Shankar’s lost it. Like my friend asked at the end of the movie: “What punishment does the Garudapuranam hold for Shankar?”
Maybe we should tie him up and make him watch Anniyan 28 times! Okay, throw in another 28 screenings of Boys for bonus!
(Kenny, I don’t know you anymore!)
Take Three (written by ThAmbi Sudhish Kamath):
Anniyan has to be seen once, in spite of the annoying performances, ONLY because it tries to say something nice. Something which I really quite appreciate Shankar for. It’s been on my mind ever since I’ve been to Singapore. It’s been in my heart everytime I see yet another motorist jumping the divider, over to the wrong side to beat the traffic jam. It’s been a part of every right-minded Indian’s psyche: “What are WE THE PEOPLE doing, apart from complaining and bitching about the system and the corruption?”
It is a film with its heart in the right place. Just that the face of the film is so unwatchable!
P.S: I thought the art direction was quite cool in the last song ‘Rendakka’… I want an ambassador just like that!!
MADRAS INK. 