Movie Review - Kuselan

Whats up with malayalam movies? Well, atleast the ones they remake into Thamizh superhits? Their first two and a half hours plod along, at a pace that would give snails major superiority complex. Then bam! The final thirty minutes of the movie end up being absolutely incredible. Cases in point? Kathalukku mariyathai, Chandramukhi, and now, Kuselan.

It would be a blessing for the audience if the moviemakers would spare us the ordeal of the first 2.5 hours and just cut to the chase. But then, nobody on this planet can get away with a forty five minute movie. So, we are forced to endure an interminable number of puerile Vadivelu jokes, haphazardly thrown together montages of Thamizh cinema, and all the mandatory shots about a poor but peaceful family holding hands and prancing along the shores of a lake where dolphins leap out every now and then (yes, really, dolphins!!!! In Thamizhnadu!). And then we get to see Nayanthara, a lot of her in fact. The pleasantly plump fresh faced actress of Chandramukhi has now morphed into this entirely different person thanks to seriously thinned eyebrows, rebonded hair, and God knows what combination of diet and liposuction. The innocence is all gone, and she frankly seems rather angry that her nutritionist took her lunch away.

The still chubby and natural Meena is a welcome contrast, with her trademark wide-eyed charm and a subdued, gentle performance. Pasupathi shines with his sincere portrayal. G.V Prakash's musical score does not rise above the ordinary. Cinematographer Aravind Krishnan does a superb job, especially with his extreme closeups of Rajni's face; every single emotion is captured, while the Superstar's age is miraculously masked.

After patiently waiting out all the barber jokes and other "comedy", us loyal fans are finally rewarded with a truly brilliant performance by Rajnikanth. Sorry, calling it a performance is inaccurate. The Superstar does not act. He simply plays himself. It is as though he listened to all our complaints post Sivaji - the boss. Sure, even in this movie, he romances a young heroine, and appears in a number of super hero get-ups, but these are just for the movie shoot around which the entire film's plot revolves. He good naturedly spoofs himself, and appears to genuinely enjoy doing it.

In every scene, he makes the audience hang on to each word he utters. There is a lot to be said about the movie's climax, but then, that would be unfair to the reader who has not watched the movie yet. Rajni moves the audience with a never seen before display of real emotion. I can only say this - if you are the Superstar's fan already, you will worship him after watching Kuselan. Even if you are not a believer yet, you will be converted. In Kuselan, Rajni's soul shines through. And how!!!