Movie Review - Dasavatharam

Warning*** Some spoilers below...

Seldom have I felt such conflicting emotions after watching a movie - do I love it or hate it? Well, after much thought - here is my verdict; the movie offered tantalizing glimpses into the immense potential that Thamizh and Indian cinema has; however, its impact is marred by innumerable gimmicks, dreadful makeup, and needless/endless hero-worshipping that much of Kollywood feels compelled to indulge in.

To state that Kamal is a great actor is like saying that the sun rises in the east. It is that obvious, and that indisputable. He does not act - he simply becomes the character. In the eighties, perhaps bored by simple "hero" roles, Kamal began experimenting with various avatars. And thus began the string of movies where the handsome actor intentionally disfigured and/or disguised himself, playing old men, midgets, etc etc. It just took a few eyebrow pencil lines on his forehead, a little talcum powder on his hair, a wig and some false teeth (and yea, the occasionally bound up legs or water bags tied around his stomach too)

Then sadly, Kamal discovered the "art"(?) of prosthetic makeup. Painfully enduring hours of application, and then many hours more for removal, Kamal transformed himself into an elderly vigilante for Shankar's Indian. Sure, he won a national award for the movie, but frankly, the makeup stuff (bearing scary resemblance to chapathi dough) ended up masking all his facial expressions (and Kamal is the most expressive actor I have ever seen). If one Indian-thatha was hard to watch, imagine the plight of the audience when asked to endure another eight such atta-masked characters in Dasavatharam.

Ironically, the only characters that leave a lasting impression on the viewer are the ones where Kamal allows his real face to show without the distractions of makeup (the scientist, and the 12th century Vaishnavite) or minimal makeup (the hilarious RAW agent). Watching the movie, you come to the quick conclusion that Kamal plays ten roles, just so that the movie could be called "Dasavatharam" and he could enter all the record books. Some of the characters do nothing to help move the story forward (Avatar Singh, the Japanese person), while the makeup on some other characters (the tall guy, the 95 year old paati) is so grotesque, you scratch your head wondering "what were Kamal and K.S Ravikumar thinking?"

Also, despite the seeming novelty of Kamal's multiple avatars, each role has a stale been-there-done-that feel. The Old lady? Yea, Avvai Shanmugi. Humanitarian guy pushing aside conventional religion? Kamal already did that in Anbe Sivam. Pious Vaishnavite? Remember Hey Ram? Suave foreign returned dude? the Madan character in MMKR....Hey, Kamal has even portrayed a japanese character already in the Kalyanaraman series.

Without the avatars, the movie would have been truly brilliant. A scientist participates in the creation of a bio weapon that could kill millions of people if released in the air. The bad guys want to get a hold of it. How he tries to save the weapon, dodging a ruthless ex-CIA agent forms the rest of the plot. Beautiful Asin reaches the pinnacle of her career with a fabulous performance as an orthodox Agraharam girl.

Kamal's Balaram Naidu character can easily be ranked the best, with laugh-out-loud funny dialogues. If you can forgive the bad makeup, Kamal has also excelled as the 95 year old lady and George Bush. The CIA officer would have been cool, but I could not look past the disproportionately sized head.

The biggest letdown however happens right in the beginning of the movie; There is a perfect sub plot set in 12th century Thamizhnadu - the tussle between a Chola king and a pious temple priest. Everything about this sequence was mind boggling - the special effects, majestic performances by Kamal and Napoleon, unparalleled art direction, lush cinematography and special effects hitherto never seen before in Indian cinema. I really thought the movie was going to evolve into a wonderful historical/supernatural/philosophical/religious/paranormal adventure. However, this sub-plot ends, without tying into the main script, and the rest of the movie is fairly mundane. What was the significance of this opening sequence? Was it to show that Kamal and Asin's souls are reincarnated and they unite in a later avatar? So?

Like it or hate it, the movie cannot be ignored. The special effects, while imperfect, are still truly commendable. The tremendous effort put in by the actors, and crew shows literally in every frame. Arggh....if only they had not bothered with the avatars and the makeup......

Here is the bottom line- Kamal is arguably the greatest actor in the world. A wonderful performer like him, does NOT need stuff plastered on his face. He has already set all the records he needs to in his illustrious career - he does not need any more gimmicks. As a movie buff, with a lifelong crush on Kamal, I can only hope that he goes back to his roots and leverages his talent and immense brainpower to make some seriously good cinema.

Mr. Kamal Haasan, you ARE the greatest. We already know that. So please, can we see the real you and nothing but your true face in your next movie? Please?

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