Ponniyin Selvan: II

Ponniyin Selvan Part 1 was a sweeping epic tale of kingdoms, war, lost love and treachery, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute. I’m happy to report that the second part is even better, although with less focus on big battle scenes and more nail-biting drama. But there are still plenty of sword fights and large-scale action despite the move to add some more emotional and dialogue driven scenes. The scale is just as epic and the scenery and costumes are incredibly stunning. I still haven’t managed to read the books, so can’t comment on how well the film follows the printed word, but as an all-encompassing action story, it completely worked for me.

The story starts with a flashback to happier times for young crown prince Aditya Karikalan (Santhosh) and the orphaned Nandini (Sara Arjun). The music here is simply wonderful and the Santhosh and Sara are both excellent in portraying the story of their romance and Nandini’s betrayal as she falls foul of Aditya’s mother and sister. This early focus on Aditya and Nandini ensures they are always kept in mind as the story moves back to the present day and the question over the fate of Arulmozhi (Jayam Ravi) and Vanthiyathevan (Karthi), lost in a shipwreck during a storm at sea and simultaneous attack by the Pandiya rebels. The betrayal and revenge featured at the start also sets the tone for the rest of the film as the story of Pandya vengeance and treason by the Chola chieftains threatens Sundara Chola and his empire. But behind the action there is always the doomed romance between Aditya and Nandini that taints everyone it touches. It also serves to explain exactly why Aditya (Vikram) is so tortured by memories of Nandini (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan) and his rage when he found her with the dying Veerapandiyan (Nasser).

All the threads start coming together as the various plots to remove the Cholas from power reach fruition. The Pandya rebels seem to be everywhere – they have infiltrated every palace and seem numerous in the city, all of which seems amazing since originally there didn’t seem to be quite so many of them. Even Vanthiyathevan becomes more serious as he tries to warn Aditya away from meeting with Nandini. The warnings are as clear as the bright red light in the sky portends doom, but both Arumozhi and Aditya prefer to face their enemies head on, which ensures plenty of excellent and well-choreographed fight scenes as they dodge each assassination attempt.

Throughout all the treachery and sneak attacks by the Pandyas, the tension between Aditya and Nandini is never far away. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is simply magnificent here in the role of Nandini, and says so much with her body language alone. There is her deep and abiding love for Aditya, despite his actions when he slaughtered the Veerapandiyan in front of her eyes and her entreaties to stay his sword. There is also her deep hatred for the Chola royal family, and her promise to the Pandya King to look after his son as her brother that add spice to her interactions with Kundavai (Trisha) and her mother Vaanavan Mahadevi (Vidhya Subramanian). Nandini’s conversations with the Pandya leader are sharp and filled with her hate, but the final climax with Aditya is absolutely brilliant with Aishwarya perfect in the depth and range of emotions she shows. Thankfully Vikram has calmed down after his excesses in PS1, and here his betrayal of a man tortured by his memories is spot on, and just unhinged enough to understand his behaviour throughout the film. It’s fantastic, and really very sad, made even more dramatic by the intense close-ups and claustrophobic feel of the final encounter between the two.

Less successful is Aishwarya’s portrayal of Mandakini/Oomai Rani, the woman in the Sri Lankan forests who repeatedly saves Arulmozhi. Since Mandakini’s back story is only revealed at the end, her nervous flitting around the palace seems out of place. With so little to work with Aishwarya appears washed out and tired rather than ethereal and mysterious, which I suspect was more how Mandakini was supposed to appear. There is also a lot less of Trisha too, which is a shame as I think she nails the role of Kundavai. However her big romantic scene with Karthi is amazing and worth every second of screentime. Their chemistry, while more subtle than that between Aditya and Nandini, packs just as much of a punch. I loved both of these actors here and would love to see a spin-off focusing on just these two.

The rest of the support cast of thousands are all just as good as in PS1. There is no-one who seems miscast and all the various warriors, chieftains, rebels and assorted palace staff all excel in their roles and bring the story to life. A.R.Rahman’s music is just as perfect and enhances every aspect of the film, whether action, romance or drama. I especially love Chinnanjiru Nilave which plays during the romance of the young Aditya and Nandini, but I can’t find the video song. So instead here is the excellent Veera Raja Veera pictured on Aditya and the absolutely stunning Vaanathi (Sobhita Dhulipala).

The film looks amazing too. Ravi Varman’s cinematography keeps the film feeling real despite the often glamorous settings and historical action sequences. You can almost smell the blood and sweat in the battle scenes, while the palaces scenes bring the essence of perfume and lamp oil. The juxtaposition of battle and intrigue is smoothly captured while Mani Ratnam’s strength lies in bringing out the emotion behind every scene.

I loved this film. Every single scene is amazing and the whole is perfectly pieced together. Every character is beautifully realised, so that even those who only appear for a brief moment are still seen as important to the story and have a reason to be there. With fantastic performances from the whole cast, the mesmerising soundtrack and sublime images, this is surely the best film of the year. 5 stars!

HIT: The Second Case

HIT1 introduced us to the Homicide Intervention Team and investigator Vikram Rudraraju, and I was hopeful that HIT2 would reveal more of his back story. But instead we have a completely different case, in Vizag this time instead of Telangana area, and a new investigator Krishna Dev (Adivi Sesh). I didn’t enjoy this film as much as the first one and I definitely missed Vishwak Sen, but HIT2 has a few suspenseful moments and the investigation twists keep the film interesting.

The action takes place in Vizag where Krishna Dev (aka KD) has a new boss, DGP Nageswara Rao (Rao Ramesh), but not much excitement in his cases which he describes as being committed by stupid criminals. In the opening sequence he solves a murder in just a few minutes, much like the beginning of HIT1 where just a few clues allow for some major jumps in investigation and an easy solve of the case. At the start of the film, KD also asks his girlfriend Aarya (Meenakshi Chaudhary) to move in with him, and again, everything is smooth and easy. She moves in, her mother (the excellent Dhaasshyam Geetha Bhascker) comes to stay and even though she does not approve of the live-in arrangement, doesn’t cause any major arguments. The romance mainly plays out in a song and Aarya seems to only be added to the film to give KD another potential victim to try and protect. Just to make this even more obvious, Aarya quickly falls pregnant, giving KD another reason to keep her safe. There is little passion or emotion between the two and generally KD seems rather cold to everyone, which makes this part of the story seem rather clinical and formulaic. Basically, there is a murder, clues are left behind and KD works to put everything together and find the killer. The addition of Aarya and her unborn baby should have been the key relationship to add emotion and drama, but there just isn’t much warmth here.

The second case starts when a young woman is found murdered at a bar, and KD is brought in to investigate. Her head, torso and limbs have all been severed, and although the head is immediately identified as the bar manager, Sanjana (Anu Varna), forensic investigation reveals that the torso and limbs belong to different women. KD has not only to find the killer, but also needs to identify the other victims, with only a bite mark, a club stamp and some shoe prints as clues.

Still following the beats of the first film, KD has a potential antagonist to work with and this time it’s his subordinate Varsha (Komalee Prasad). The pair apparently have history (although the specifics aren’t revealed) and on learning of her appointment to his team, KD immediately tells her she annoys him and quickly dismisses her. But aside from ignoring Varsha for most of the first half, there is no significant friction between the two and Varsha copes well with her arrogant boss. Abhilash (Maganti Srinath) who was Vikram’s rival in the first film appears here as well, visiting Vizag to get some help with a case in Hyderabad. There are links back to HIT1 and some of the events with Vikram, giving some hope that perhaps Vikram’s story will get some resolution in subsequent films.

There is little suspense in the investigation until the second half, when KD and Varsha find a potential link and start to discover the identities of the other victims. They find a suspect and there is an encounter scene which ramps up the tension while Sanjana’s friend Rajitha (Divya Narni) and Aarya are both threatened by the killer, adding to KD’s problems. But the finale is a bit of a let down, with a protracted torture scene and plenty of blood and gore that still doesn’t pack much of a punch. Perhaps it’s the contrived fight scene at the start, or rather formulaic denouement, but the only character I was worried about during all the bloodshed was KD’s dog Max, who has a fairly significant role to play at the end.

Part of the problem I had with the film was the character of KD who appears arrogant and entitled for much of the first half. His behaviour to Varsha is particularly obnoxious without having any backstory to account for his attitude. KD also seems to treat Aarya like a possession, and for all his modern theory about wanting to live together before marriage to check that they are suited, it all comes across as tediously superficial. There is little warmth to their ‘romance’ and Aarya could have been replaced by any other possible victim for KD to react in much the same way. Adivi Sen is fine in the role of KD, but the character is just quite unlikeable, which makes it difficult to care about what is happening. Komalee Prasad fares better as Varsha and gets to show that she can be a good investigator when given the chance. Hopefully she will return in the third case.

Another oddity is the character of DGP Nageswara Rao who seems to think he’s in an American cop show. He’s antagonistic towards JD, tries to hush up various parts of the case and generally seems corrupt, but without having any rationale behind any of his actions. It’s an odd note in an otherwise fairly straightforward police procedural, and I’m really not sure what Sailesh Kolanu was aiming for. Also incredibly frustrating is a number of written clues that appear onscreen without any subtitles. There is a message left behind for JD and clues in newspapers, but these are all written in Telugu and while JD does discuss them with his colleagues, they don’t talk about what they say. While eventually it’s possible to work out what is going on, it’s annoying not to be able to understand what some of the key pieces of the puzzle actually are.

While HIT2 definitely benefits from Sailesh Kolanu’s experience making the first, the story here isn’t as gripping or the characters as immediately sympathetic. It’s still a fairly solid drama and I have hopes that the third case will be the best yet. 3½ stars.

Pathaan (2023)

After a long time away from the cameras, Shah Rukh Khan is back on the big screen. And in a completely new avatar too – this time he’s an action hero in YRF’s ‘Spy Universe’, home to previous films Ek Tha Tiger, Tiger Zinda Hai and War. It’s a change of pace for Shah Rukh, but he ably deals with a weak plot, below par special effects and some dodgy dialogue to deliver an entertaining and enjoyable film. The king is back!

The film starts with fight sequences, explosions and plenty of crazy action and that’s pretty much how it carries on too. There is no time to stop and try and work out what is happening – and it doesn’t really matter anyway. SRK is an Indian agent in an organisation for those who have been injured in service. They may be ‘broken eggshells’ as their commanding officer Colonel Luthra (Ashutosh Rana) describes their JOCR agency, but they are still able to act as spies even if their physical ability isn’t what it was. Not that there is any sign of Pathaan (Shah Rukh Khan) being incapable of destroying the bad guys as and when required. And yes, JOCR is pronounced joker although the head of the group Nandini (Dimple Kapadia) tried to ignore the implications of the acronym.

Honestly, the story doesn’t matter. There is a lot of switching between various flashbacks to explain the back story of the characters as well as continent hopping to have pretty locations to blow stuff up. But basically there is a bad guy, ex-RAW agent Jim (John Abraham) who is working for rogue Pakastani general Qadir (Manish Wadha) and is aiming to create as much chaos as possible when India revokes the special area status for Kashmir. Politically I guess writers Shridhar Raghavan and Abbas Tyrewala were trying to offend as few people as possible, but their approach leaves Jim in particular as having a rather weak motivation for his actions. The story is from Siddharth Anand who also directed the film.

Jim’s team consists of people from a lot of alphabet groups, and most are fairly disposable except for Dr Rubina Mohsin (Deepika Padukone) who kicks ass energetically while still managing to look like a supermodel. There is a vague romance between Rubina and Pathaan, which only really heats up in the songs (there are only 2). There is a lot more heat in the look Rubin has while working a big machine gun than in most of the scenes with Pathaan. Thankfully the focus here is firmly on the totally OTT, crazy action which is as fact paced and relentless as any Hollywood blockbuster.

But there are a large number of flaws in the film, which don’t stop it from being enjoyable, but for a big budget film it does seem that money wasn’t always well spent. The special effects for instance don’t always work as well as they should – and there are a lot of them! The fight sequences are beautifully choreographed, but the effects then look even more clunky in comparison. Of course, this isn’t the kind of film where the plot is ever going to be key – it’s all about the action and explosions, but there are a lot of holes and coincidences which keep adding up to a weak story. Pathaan has apparently worked everywhere they need to go, which means he has the contacts and knowledge he needs at every step. Too, the decision by Jim to use biological warfare as his way to create chaos never seems plausible, especially when he relies on Pathaan for a large portion of the plan. One other odd note is the white coat that scientist Dr Sahani (Prakash Belawadi) wears which looks more like a long white fitted evening coat that a lab coat. Surely much more expensive than the genuine article and an odd appearance for someone who has been kidnapped and forced to work on a project against his will. Just another one of those little details that nudged me out of the story but overall doesn’t impact the enjoyment. And anyway, at the end of the day it’s the performances, especially that of Shah Rukh, Deepika and John Abraham, that make the film worth watching.

Shah Rukh has always been generous in sharing screentime with his co-stars, and while Salman Khan’s cameo is a highlight, the fight scenes with Deepika are just as good. Deepika shines here and is amazing in every sequence. Talking too much about her role would give too much away, but basically she does just about everything you would expect from a successful spy – often better than the guys! John Abraham’s rather stilted style of acting plus his boyish charm work well for his character, so even if his motivation is suspect, he makes a convincing villain. His physicality stacks up well against SRK as well, although the overuse of make-up at times to define muscles for both is jarring. It’s also good to see veteran actors Dimple Kapadia and Manish Wadha with no nonsense portrayals of the more serious characters in the story and they do manage to keep some of the silliness in check.

But in the end it all comes down to Shah Rukh. Everything is here. The wobbling lip, tear-filled eyes and the blood. So much blood! Including the blood-stained teeth that SRK seems to love in his films. He looks amazing and is in great shape, despite the few digs at his age throughout the film. He has the energy of a man half his age at any rate, and his sheer presences dominates the screen – at least until Deepika appears and then it’s an even split. Pathaan isn’t a good movie, but it does everything you’d expect with the added bonus of an on form Shah Rukh Khan as lead. I loved it, despite all the flaws and will happily watch it again. Make sure you stay until the end credits for an extra bonus too.