Dasavatharam - Impressions

I managed to watch this movie finally. And when i came out i was left confused.
I am not even sure yet whether i like the movie or i hate it. This is one of the most difficult films to write review for. So, i am going to take a neutral stand here and review it. I have avoided spoilers as much as possible..

I, Me and Myself for you henceforth.

I: So we finally watched it, how was it ?

Me: Sucked, Big time, didn't expect this from Kamal. There was no plot at all to remember or follow upon. Basing the movie on chaos theory was a big mistake, the influence spread to everyone and it was nothing but chaos.

Myself: Dude, Hold on there. Can you show me one movie in Tamil cinema that you can compare to this one in terms of grandeur or concept. Come on, change is not easy to digest, but is good. We have to come out of the mindset of seeing a Tamil film where there is a Hero,heroine , Villain a plot involving the three and the movie ends with "All's well ends well" Note.

Me: So what, are you saying we should start seeing movies only for graphics and not story ?? Well, if so i would rather watch a proper animation film than one like this.

I: I think we are just "beating around the bush" here. Please be more specific.

Me: Ok, see, i just dont buy the fact that if Kamal is an Atheist he goes and makes a film that always projects his ideas and philosophies. There were tonnes of scenes that could have been avoided in this movie. Come on, why unnecessarily have dialogues that are against a particular sect or caste. At any case, making a movie based on Chaos theory is great. Agreed. But you should also know how to project it well. I mean, half the audience wouldn't even know what Chaos theory is even after the movie. Just by tying some unrelated strings together , you can make a small novel or may be give it a shot at TV serial, not a movie. There were just too many stories and characters running around...

I: Can you hold on for a sec, i understand you have lots of negative points, but lets give myself a chance.

Myself: Thanks, I dont want to make a pandora's box of crap just as my bro did now. Instead let me focus on point by point and will finish it all.

i) Attention to Detail: Simply Amazing. I always admired people like Kamal for this and he proved once more. Just take the scene where the vulture comes and sits on top of the pole when nambi is being tortured. That says how much work he shud have done to understand wats the significance of Vulture to Vishnu. Even now, people do believe that seeing a Vulture, the one with white neck, is equivalent to seeing God. The Tsunami scene, where the birds fly before the water comes in and no one but the Japanese guy saying the name Tsunami. Also, if you noticed closely, Vishnu was present throughout the movie either as a idol or as a picture. Even when Kamal and Asin go in the lorry the glass had a photo of Krishna in it.

ii) Timing Commedy: Balram Naidu was perfect here. Even Govind also at times. Agreed that this time it was not on par with Crazy Mohan's MMKR but it was not bad either.

iii) Concept: Great, Just Great. I think this is a milestone in Tamil cinema, Kamal is setting a new trend by making a Movie which is honestly out of everyone's comprehension and expectation. Matrix was one such film in hollywood. Not everyone understood at once, some even studied the stories in the www to understand the concept and then watched it. But the movie stands out even to this day. This is one such film. Butterfly effect and Chaos theory are concepts which we might have heard in Sujatha's novels but no one would have dreamt of giving them a shot at movies. Wikipedia hits are sure bound to increase. It is truly amazing how Kamal managed to put together a Plot that talks about everything, literally. The bottom line is Chaos theory and butterfly effect but he touches upon the religious beliefs and supersitions, politics, bio war, sand mafia and terrorism, atheism, Tsunami, u name it. For each plot and philisophy he "lives" as the character.

iv) Make up: This shud have been my first point. In any case, there is nothing more to say. He is truly a Ulaga Nayagan (Universal Hero). Although, in terms of makeup, i wud have to say, I go with the make up for George W Bush's character as the best. Simply because, it is the only character in the movie that has a frame of reference. Govind, Nambi, Povvarahan, Kalifulla, Avatar, Balram Naidu, Krishnaveni paatti, Fletcher, Japanese guy( god, i keep forgetting his name) have faces that are given by Kamal and that we never know of. So doing makeup for these characters, isn't a big deal. However everyone knows Bush. And i truly appreciate the team to having come up with such a makeup thts almost Bush like albeit not xactly.

v) First ten minutes. I dont think such scenes have ever been made and can ever be made again.

Last but not the least, don't watch movies like this only for entertainment. There is something more and we have to transcend the average thinking limits to see that.
Thats all i have to say.

I: Good one, Me wats ur thought ? Dumbfounded and dont' wanna talk ?

Me: Let me answer point by point to his point by point arguments.

1) Attention to Detail : I agree. But the question is, wats the point ? Itz like you doing ICE business in Antartica. First get the story right.

2) Commedy : Itz not some scenes that were laughable, the whole movie was.

3) Concept : As i said earlier, there is a difference between thinking big and making it big. You need to do both. "It is truly amazing how Kamal managed to put together a Plot that talks about everything, literally" :: Thats the whole problem. Why on earth does he have to take so many plots ? Characters, agreed, he needs to set a new record, but plots, come on there is a limit. Who asked him to talk about everything and convey nothing. No honestly, he started the movie by portraying 12th century Saivities-Vaishnavites tussle. And then he moves on to Bio war, blah blah and at the end he says that everything is interconnected based on chaos theory. Heck, is he kidding ? Even an amateur can then take ANY totally unrelated circumstances, think sometime to find a common platform and then take a movie basing it on Chaos theory.

4) Makeup: Yes, the fact that he has done a makeup can be seen very well.

5) This is one thing I agree. :) . Simply great,and it is because of this scene alone I still have some respect for Kamal.

Last but not the least: If you dont make a movie for entertainment then better make it a documentary. You can't HAVE THE CAKE AND EAT IT TOO. You can't make a totally commercial movie and then call it conceptual and philosophical.

I: Ok, Whew, that sure was long and interesting. Based on the comments, I have to agree that my confusion level has still gone up and i dont have an option but to give two ratings to pacify me and myself. The common theme i found though was, the story in this movie. Well, it was hard to find in the movie, but that saved my day. So here it goes,

For people who say Story is the centerpiece: **

For people who say Story is just another ingredient: ****

Legends :
* - Only to be seen in wall posters.
** - Try it out at ur own risk.
*** - Worth watching once.
**** - Good, really good.
***** - Amazing.