Your predications on DHOOL proved to be correct. Anbe Sivam is O.K and is considered a winner. It sets a different trend in Tamil Cinema. Ramachandra is a hit. Vaseegra is O.K. Boring. Choka Thangam is a hit. But Anbe Sivam is the Sethu of 2003. Do not foget it.
I doubt the credibility of this report. I watched Anbe Sivam in two different cities/states (Mass., NJ) in U.S. The Movie Hall was jampacked. And it was a thoughtful and wonderful movie... If this movie was a failure, then Tamil movie fans don't deserve Kamal...
I'm Selvam writing from the USA. Who is this little Aarkay? I'm a regular reader of rediff.com & was throughly shocked to read the review for the tamil film Anbe Sivam. I really request the editor to discourage people with prejudice to stop writing articles or news. Reviews or articles should be written as a news and not to be used for someone's false propoganda.
Well, first things first, coming back to Mr. Arkays review on Anbe Sivam, the tile reads "Why would Kamal make himself so ugly?" which hardly makes sense. The thing every viewer can ask is "Why not?" if the character deems it. In the context of the movie, the charatcer Nallasivam goes through a nasty bus accident which completley disfigures his face. The way the movie captures the gore of the bus accident was truly of high quality.
The other quotes of the review goes like this "The story starts on a night so inclement, with weather so bad, that flights don't take off. There are moments in this 14-reel film when you realise that the story does not take off either." This is the stupidest of the review that I have ever read in my recent memory. It was the first initial part of the movie that was most enthralling one with Nallasivam & A.Ars getting into each pther leaving into real life situation like comedies.
The other part of the review goes like this. "The film, in fact, suffers from the disease of excess. Makeup has been a Kamal preoccupation for some years now." Arkay seems to have had a field day as he doesn't stop at that but even goes further down to babble some thing like this "But why? A character -- especially the lead character -- wants the audience to empathise, not throw up. A child at the theatre, in fact, was overheard asking his mother why Kamal had made himself so ugly."
This remark obviously made very little sense and the reviewer seems to have already started into a little paranoid journey!
"Madhavan performs to the standards he has set himself. His breezy presence enlivens otherwise dull moments. Kiran has little to do except sing and dance."
I wonder Mr. Arkay has mistakenly watched some other movie instead of Anbe sivam as Kiran hardly sings or dances in this movie as the only song in which she appears "Poo vaasam" is a back-ground song.
Arkay's non-sense riot was complete with his last remark "Overall, the film tries to do too many things, and ends up failing at most, if not all, of them." Even a small kid or some one ho is insane can clearly understand the main theme of the movie which says "Love is God" ("Anbe Sivam" is what clearly conveyed). If Mr. Arkay was not able to make this message out of the movie then I wonder there is something "serious mental thing" about the reviewer.
Last but not the least, as a devoted reader of rediff.com, on behalf of several readers across countries, I sincerely request the editor to have film reviwers who are competent. Inadequate columnists who has their own personal propoganda should not be encoraged, fair enough. First of all one even ponders whether columnists like these are even qualified enough to write reviews abot living legends like Kamal Haasan. Otherwise reviewers like Mr. Arkay will serve as a bad advertisement for rediff.com
Everyone is entitled to hold and pronounce his/her opinion and my humble one is that people like Aarkay who are paid to write reviews are suckers for emotional escapisms plaguing the indian cine industry. These brain-dead morons do not realize what a treasure Kamal is to Indian cinema. Aarkay speaks about Kamal overdoing his make-up bit, as Kamal often asks "so what's the big deal? Next they'll be asking why i'm wearing clothes". If marlon Brando wears make-up in "Apocalypse now" or De Niro in "Raging Bull", they are praised by the same morons, but they can't recognize a gem in their own land. Art in India is indeed dying.
Mr Arkay I read your review of Anbae Sivam before watching the movie and hated you for it even then...Your style of writing reveals that you really have it in for Kamal Haasan.Anyway I saw the movie and I'm obviously not alone in saying that it was brilliant.This website has given good reviews for really sad movies but when someone makes an effort to do something really different you kill the effort and by this regressive attitude you kill Indian Cinema.You are fit to write reviews of only 5 songs,3 fights formula cinema...Kindly stick to that in the future.
hey Mr. Aarkay, you're right. "Dhool" is poised to be a huge hit. Will it beat "Gemini" in box office collections. Gemini had nothing but one mind blowing song which turned the movie a lot. Dhool has many excellent features. Vikram's acting, superb songs, weight reduced Jothika who is awesome, glamour Reema, our superstar "Vivek", etc. What about Vaseegara? I hope it does not beat Dhool as I love Jothika a lot. Good for Anbe Sivam. A good lessone for Kamal. He should not try too much. He must be back with his best, out and out comedy. he failed in "Panchathanthiram but he has to keep on doing that. And one thing, he must quit acting hero to very young heroines and must step to the roles of elder brother, father like Amitabh does in Bollywood. It will bring him more successes.
