Viswaroopam Movie Review

Release Date: 25-Jan-2013
Starring: Kamal Haasan, Pooja Kumar, Upendra, Andrea Jeremiah, Rahul Bose, aideep Ahlawat
Director: Kamal Haasan
Produced: Raaj Kamal Films International, Chandra Haasan, Kamal Haasan
Music: Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy

 

Ratings: 3.5/5.0

 

Kamal Hassan’s biggest-ever film Viswaroopam, which has been delayed for one or the other reason, has seen the light of day in foreign countries but not in Tamil Nadu and other Southern states as the High Court has stayed the release after several Muslim groups raised objection.

After a gap of three years, Kamal Hassan is back with Viswaroopam, which is written, directed and produced by himself. The film was supposed to be directed by Selvaraghavan but as the director walked out of the film due to other commitments, Kamal took the responsibility of directing the film. The film is simultaneously made in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi.

Story:

The movie starts in America. Viswanath (Kamal Hassan), who will be seen as Kathak trainer, is surrounded by girls and one among them is Andrea Jeremiah. This makes Dr Nirupama (Pooja Kumar) to doubt on her hubby’s character and hires a detective, who gets killed by Al-Qaeda group. The Al-Qaeda is planning to plant a Nuclear Bomb in New York and Kamal Hassan is well-aware of it. How? He has a past where he has a connection with the terrorist group, which is headed by Omar (Rahul Bose).

Will the terrorist organisation succeed in their mission? What role does Kamal play? Is he a terrorist or an undercover agent? To know all these, you should watch the film. The story of the film begins on a slow note but it is gripping. The first half is entirely shot in the US, and keeps you engaged and generate a lot of curiosity. When it comes to second half, the narration is dragging at parts but gets interesting with Kamal Hassan’s past getting revealed

Performances :

The man, who has done countless experimental roles and called as the modern-day Stanislavsky of Tamil cinema, is brilliant. Be it in his avatar of Kathak dancer with feminine qualities, or in the role of a terrorist, he proves again why he is the best when it comes to acting. He looks terrific in the Jihadi warrior getup.Once again Kamal Hassan has delivered a realistic and a classy performance and it will be delight for the audience to watch an actor like him on the big screen.

Pooja Kumar is a new find and she looks promising. She is sexy and adds glam quotient to the film.

Andrea Jeremiah has not got a big role and her role is not well described. Shekhar Kapur did a decent job and Bollywood actor Rahul Bose is good as a baddie. His dubbing could have been much better. Jaideep Ahlawat, Nassar and Zarina Wahab have done their job.

Technical Aspects:

The director has come up with an interesting storyline and while the presentation was rich, the narrative was engaging.  The dialogues were neat and sensible. Of all technical aspects, Sanu Varghese’s cinematography stands tall, as he has done a brilliant job.

He has wonderfully captured some of the rarest locales of Afghanistan. Shankar Ehsaan Loy’s two songs are good and background score is excellent. Especially, it is a treat to watch the Jet Fighter scenes on Auro 3D sound format. However, Mahesh Narayanan’s editing would have been better had he reduced the length of the film.

Analysis:

Firstly Kamal Hassan must be appreciated for his sincere effort, as always. The way he narrated the movie is completely brilliant and the technical aspect like cinematography and action sequences are well executed. Tittle song is good and it looked much effective at the time of first fight. Entire theater was filled with claps and whistles for this sequence, as everyone liked to see Kamal Hassan as an action hero rather a classical dancer.

Kamal Hassan tried to show some sensible elements especially in the Afghanistan episode. Scenes between Omar’s (Rahul) interaction with his family and his guilt after knowing that he has lost his family are touching. Vishwaroopam doesn’t have a huge star cast but every one has done their job well. It was good to see the famous director Shekar Kapur on big screen.

Viswaroopam might not go well with the masses but this film has been made with highly technical values and will remain as one of the better film of Legendary Actor Kamal Hassan.

Positives

Kamal Hassan brilliant in this film
Pooja Kumar performance
Especially the cinematography and the action sequences
Excellent Screenplay in Second Half

Negatives

Dead Slow Sometimes
Songs
Lack of entertainment

Final Word:

Good thriller with nice execution, Brilliant cinematography and superbly shot action sequences are major assets for the film.for action film lovers and the rest can watch for Kamal Hassan