Movie critics across a spectrum of publications have found Kamal Haasan’s freak show Dasavatharam less than satisfying.
Here are excerpts from a sample of Dasavatharam Reviews:
NDTV (T.S.Sudhir):
Dasavathaaram, unfortunately, remains just a film with its USP of 10 Kamals. This Kamal does not blossom the way he did in Indian or Nayakan, Appu Raja, Mahanadi, Avvai Shanmughi or in Thevar Magan.
As a Kamal admirer, I left the hall disappointed. Amid all the grandeur of a massive canvas, I missed the soul.
One of the best in the business falters with the film’s story and screenplay.
SIFY (Moviebuzz):
Dasavatharam will fall short of the huge expectation and hype it had generated.
So what went wrong? It had absolutely no story to speak of, and the twists and turns were predictable. In the end, it turned out to be a routine film rendered more aggravating by its incessant near-miss plot structure. You desperately want to like the film for its maddeningly zany characters played out by Kamal Hassan. Alas! There’s only so much life an actor can pump into a moribund script. It once again proves the old theory that, without a proper story and script, no film, however big the actors are, can succeed.
Rediff (Shobha Warrier):
In fact, it is very easy to dislike the film and get dissatisfied with the much hyped ten performances….
But first, let me talk about the 11th role that Kamal Haasan has performed; that of the script writer, which he has failed miserably…
The biggest failure of Dasavathaaram is the lack of a proper story, a tight screenplay and well connected characters. One gets the feeling that because Kamal Haasan wanted to make history by portraying ten different characters, he created them. Otherwise, one cannot think of any justification in him appearing all sorts of get-ups.
Behindwoods:
The usual filmi gimmicks such as grandma-Kamal walking on the shoulders of people, and Bush-Kamal trying to act hip could have been avoided.
In short, with unexpected twists and turns missing in the film, Dasavatharam is a make-up magic show that disappoints as drama and satisfies as a technical showpiece.
OneIndia:
After watching Dasavatharam- the so called magnum opus of the year- an ardent fan of Kamal Hassan will ask why indeed it is called a magnum opus in the first place. Why was all the hype, tension, cases, expectations and unnecessary expenses wasted on this average film. Once again, Kamal fails to attract Tamil audiences with his own script.
Times of India:
EXPERIMENTS aren’t always successful. Like Dasavatharam, Kamal Haasan’s ambitious venture which sees him playing ten roles which include a take on George Bush too. Daring, we’d like to insist; only the make-up and the fake appearance borders more on the comic.
SearchIndia.com:
A total mess of a story is compounded by a mostly so-so performance by Kamal Haasan (except in some roles like the Indian intelligence officer Balram Naidu, Patti and Rangaraja Nambi) and below par music.
Since Kamal Haasan also takes credit for the story, screenplay and dialogs in Dasavatharam, it’s only right that the major discredit for the movie should also accrue to this manga madaya (stupid fellow)….
Some of the roles that Kamal plays in Dasavatharam like the activist Vincent Poovaraghan, George W.Bush, the singer Avtar Singh, the 7-ft tall Kalifulla Khan and the Japanese martial arts expert Shingen Narahashi were very poorly fleshed out. It was as if these characters were included just to hit the magic number of ten and justify the title of the movie. An example once again of the sloppy work by Kamal in the story department.
Makeup work for the many roles Kamal Haasan plays in Dasavatharam is a mixed bag. While the makeup was decent for the Indian RAW officer Balram Naidu, Rangaraja Nambi and Patti (grandma), it was sub-mediocre for some of the others, particularly Christian Fletcher and George Bush.
Movie Critics Tear Apart Dasavatharam added by SearchIndia.com on
View all posts by SearchIndia.com →
I agree with these reviews,
Being a tamilian and Kamal’s fan, I went to this stupid move with family spending $15 per ticket with an additional service of $1.25 from Sulekha.com…came to $100 with snacks + three hours of precious family time(could have been well spent at home). Movie is for entertaining not for some individual’s record or for crowning a name called “Ulaganayagan” means world hero…If kamal does this way in the very future he would be crowned as “Ulaga pitchai” means “world begger”.
He is an excellent actor, unfortunately his ego doesn’t let him limit to his expertise.
I loved his movies, 16 vayathinile and Nayagan and PKS.
I can’t believe KS Ravikumar let him hijack his (direction) movie.
I want my $100 back and erase my memory about this film.
He should be ashamed to call himself as “ulaganayagan”
I think the reviewer does not have any responsibility. He is a critic without understanding the movies. The benchmark is never used. Just trying to get fame by being differnt using the choiciest words to put down the opponent. He has a nack of provoking people. If anybody in the film industry can perform even half as good as what the entire team has done hats of too them.
Yes there are lessons to be learned when yopu are producing a complex movie like this. It is beyond comparison to any Tamil movie or even any Hindi movie.
My reveiw of the reviewer. I can be critical too if that [trash talk] can be so critical without understanding the movie
[trash talk]
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write above: It is beyond comparison to any Tamil movie or even any Hindi movie
Can you please extricate your head from your derrière so that you don’t repeat jackass comments like the above point?
Dasavatharam is a piece of crap doomed by a poor story at the outset. Just take a dekko at the chorus of criticism on Dasavatharam.
Look at most Hollywood movies. The story, screenplay & dialogs are handled by teams of people (as it should be). Not by one ill-equipped bozo, who thinks he can handle all the tasks on a movie set. No single individual can.
Movie making is a complex business with so many different elements requiring specialized knowledge. Acting – sure, Kamal Haasan has some talent in this domain. But you need professionals to handle all the other tasks. Only a rank amateur would come up with as shoddy a script as Dasavatharam.
At this rate, in his next movie Kamal will take credit for Acting, Story, Screenplay, Dialogs, Cooking, making Coffee, Lighting etc. Of course, this Ulaganayagan (Universal Hero) will also star in 24 roles in the next movie. And all that will be done for the first time, a World Record. We can’t wait for that nonsense.
critics are not going to do anything with the commercial sucees of the movie. How is the reception for the movie in U.S.?
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Hard to say yet. Difficult to get box office information for Tamil movies unlike Hindi & English.
For the Friday 2:30PM show of Dasavatharam at Multiplex Cinemas in East Windsor (New Jersey), there were about 35 people in the hall, which is not bad.
While writing the review, I wish to approach this in a different angle. Am going to provide comments on the kind of damage Mr. Kamal has done to Hinduism and particular sects in it, by wearing the mask of atheism, which according to him is “not having belief in hinduism alone, while supporting other religions”. This is evident from the way he had picturised ‘alla saving the muslims’ and ‘a christian saving a child’. He has a created a ‘act – counter act’ scenario where he tries to show that the hindu god created tsunami for killing the virus (he finally shows the idol resting ashore) and counter-acting it with the very obvious question – Why did Hindu god kill thousands to do this? And he has twisted the history of Tsunami to satisfy his hunger of ‘Hindu Atheism’. Without a suitable disclaimer in the beginning of the movie, saying this is fiction, there is a chance this might spread incorrect message with the coming generations, which is even dangerous than the virus that he has shown in the movie.
The initial 20 minutes doesnt have any relevance to the technological – biological warfare he was trying to project through this movie. Nowadays the shivist and vaishnavites have got settled down with their disputes and are living in harmony, with some cross marriages also happening between them. Through this movie, he has tried to create a spark again, which definitely would seed the feeling of hatred in young minds.
Seeing all this, I have few words for Mr. Kamal. Sir, as an expert actor and famous personality, you have the moral responsibility to do something to the society, through your movies. If you are an atheist by belief, then please do not show your personal feelings in your movies and do not back-stab one particular religion alone. Please do remember that there are lot of hindus who are your fans and its your responsibility to do some justice to them as well. If you are so particular about your atheism, then do not stab hinduism alone. I know that you do not have the guts to show bad about christianity and being ‘Hassan’ you wont show bad about Islam either. Atheism is about not believing in any religion. Not hinduism alone.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Andava, Kapathu (God, Please help).
ya truly kamal has promoted atheism in the movie just by saying that ther is no hindu god.but other religion god exists.this is what atheism in india is all about. communist and all dk(dravida kalagam)followers will oppose only hindu gods and say there is no hindugod but other religion god exists.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Your comments are ample evidence that even God makes mistakes on occasion.
[Repeat of comment by inirschennai on June 18th, 2008 at 2:32 pm on Dasavatharam Review thread]
I pity everyone who have given comments did not understand the movie.
Every movie comes under some category like comedy, adventure, romance.
Whereas dasavatharam is not a movie sort of, it is just a narration of the various fictious incidents and grouping them.
I dont understand when people admire movies like matrix, pirates of the carribean where there all are fictions.
This also is such kind movie. It is a fiction sort. If people see this as fiction, it is wonderful movie. Why do everyone see themselves where close to them.
Again,
Coming to the athiest comment, govind is a scientist..generally scientist does not have time to think anything other than what they are doing. When some lady comes to him and telling her that something happening around is because of god. No scientist will agree to this.
It is a very good movie and really saying the 11th role the script writer does play the bigger role than the other characters in this movie.
Kudos to Kamal for such an effort.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write above: Every movie comes under some category like comedy, adventure, romance.
You forgot to add ‘crap’ to that category list.
2. You write: I dont understand when people admire movies like matrix, pirates of the carribean where there all are fictions.
We are not against fiction but against poorly conceived and badly executed movies.
Idiot, when you write a review you have the right only to criticise his work and not the one who made it. I am from Madurai and I will boldly say [trash talk] to the one who called Kamal as “Manga Madaya”. See the movie again if you could not understand. He has put on so much effort and the kind of differentiation he has shown in ten roles in a movie is something amazing. If you dont like Kamal personally, dont see the movie and avoid commenting on it. It is really a 3 hour entertainer and far better than any other usual tamil movie.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write above: I am from Madurai
Kaludhai, Who cares whether you are from Madurai or Parangipettai. That is irrelevant to the Dasavatharam review or the movie.
2. You write: It is really a 3 hour entertainer
No, it’s a depressant that made us want to reach for our Zoloft.
3. See the movie again if you could not understand
Kiddo, Dasavatharam is not E=MC2 or the Unified Theory.
I saved $17 by skipping the movie. I hate to say that one of the finest actors of India who gave some big hits like Salingai Oli, Avai Shanmukhi, 16 vayadinalai, etc., is wasting his talent by producing/writing/directing such ill conceived scripts. I decided, after watching the worst movie ever “Alavandhan” a few years ago, that it would be the last of his movies watched by me. I don’t even understand how in the world these people think that movies like this would be a hit and won’t lose their shirts.
However, I enjoy reading some of Kamal’s fans praising the movie….pls. keep writing it (laughter!!)
The reviews show exactly my view….there are few positives in the movie as graphics (especially the tsunami scenes were good compared to any other tamil film not hollywood films) and dialogs by balram naidu and the first 20 mins of the film as rangarajan nambi…kamal is the only actor who could have pulled of such a show….but on the story department I think the film was a complete let down…I also hear from other reviews that dasavatharam 10 characters are related to 10 avatars of Vishnu….but I didn’t c anything like that….I felt there were characters added to hit the magic number of 10….since expectation from his film was huge…I must say tht it was a complete let down…and I appreciate ur views from the neutral angle…
Can those who blabber, debate about the minute details for which a lot of attention has been paid.
1. In the 12th Century episode, none of the people, not only Kamal and Asin, but also the people who are surrounded, will have the vaccination marks in their arms which is very common now. Why should Kamal pay unnecessary attention towards removing the same through CG?
2. Just minutes before the Tsunami, Fletcher sees and wonders the flock of birds moving away from the sea, which is an indication of Tsunami in the next fewer minutes.
3. Subsequent to that, during the course of the fight between Shinghen Narasahi and Fletcher if anybody could observe, one could see the boats sinking down because of the shore water recedes towards the sea, which is again an indication of the Tsunami.
4. Once on the rise of the Tsunami, it is only Shinghen Narasahi shouts TSUNAMI and fleds to a safer place which is the indication that Japanese are well aware of the Tsunamis and what should be done when the disaster comes.
5. During the Car Chase scene, Krishnaveni Paatti asks for Water, and when it is brought to her in a Water bottle, she wonders how to drink from the bottle and slips the water.
How many people have noticed those finer details in the picture.
These are only fewer examples of the Directorial knowledge of the movie….
When it comes to the thematic senses of the movie…..
Did you notice that though some Shivites threw stones at Rangarajan Nambi, most were shocked and saddened when he was hooked up and swung around? I’m guessing this was to show the difference between the fanatics and the religious.
The many muslims saved from the tsunami in the mosque praised Allah for saving them. Allah saved them through the (hindu?) CBI officer being over suspicious and rounding up all of them for questioning.
The Christian Boovaragalam, saved the Hindu children.
Atheist, present Kamal gives blood to save the muslim lady.
The muslim boy fetches cotton for the Sikh singer.
Helping each other out, no matter who they are is yet another valuable lesson this movie teaches.
When it comes to the financials of the movie…
All the distributors/theatre owners/ the PRODUCER has made the money they have ever wanted.
What else do you want from a movie.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write above: What else do you want from a movie.
Quality.
I can understand the feelings of subbu…
but sometimes it looks like kamal does this wantedly…
in the much praised anbe sivam… the dangerous villain
is a serious hindu (surprisingly a hard core saivist).. and the people who save him and give him life r the Christian missionaries..
Talking on the minute detail of the film, here are a few,
in the final fight scene between Fletcher and Shinghen Narasahi, did any fool hear the dialouge do you remember Hiroshima and to that the reply is do you remember pearl harbour………are all fools……crap dialogue.
Even in his movie Anbe Sivam which was before the Tsunami in India, Kamal has explained the word Tsunami
In the movie talking about dialouges , the president GB says after talking and dealing about the of the virus says we have a problem, which is supposed to be a joke about him………………………..alas
The reviewer can comment on whatever he wishes to.. but has a responsibilty when commenting on a public forum..
The movie is indeed a magnum opus…whether its on par with hollywood is anybody’s guesss.. for that reason lot of Hollywood movie are good only in technology but zero in acting.
In a movie the central characters always hog the limelight and minor characters get smaal portion.. thts what has happened in the movie.. if all 10 characters need to have 1 hour.. then noone would see the movie..
probably the reviewer might show us all on how to take a movie as he seems to be the all pervasive one !!
Sorry if i have hurt your feelings Sir or written something which is abusive .. but one should appreciate greatness when one sees it. .rather than bringing petty ego clashes in a public forum
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Thee’s so much baloney in your comment that it’s hard to know where to start.
1. You write above: Hollywood movie are good only in technology but zero in acting
That is absolute nonsense. It seems you mistake Hollywood for Kollywood (Tamil film industry). There are plenty of good actors in Hollywood – Robert Di Niro, Al Pacino, late Marlon Brando, Charlize Theron, Robert Redford, Tim Robbins, Jack Nicholson, Morgan Freeman, just to name a few.
How many fine actors can you name in the Tamil film industry – Pasupathy and Kamal Haasan (to some extent)
2. You write: one should appreciate greatness when one sees it
We agree. But we saw in Dasavatharam was a freakshow, not a magnum op worth worshipping.
Searchindia.com sums up the movie accurately but with some rather strong words (it probably did not take much for the movie to light the reviewer’s apparently short fuse ;-)). I went to the movie with lots of expectations but was sorely disappointed with what was dished out. A weak plot, weaker dialogs, poor screenplay and poor characterization were the highlights of this much hyped, much talked about film.
I simply can’t understand why Kamal Haasan still thinks the audience will gleefully accept whatever he manages to throw at them. One feels he should stick to making good down-to-earth movies that dont borrow from or try to match Hollywood standards and that deliver on quality in terms of story and screenplay.
Its all well to talk about the effort behind the movie, the chaos theory and the butterfly effect and things but what is it that the audience get at the end of the day? This is what most people who have defended the movie in this thread have failed to see. If the movie’s no good then nobody cares about the effort or concept behind it! Its worthless.
I have a request for Searchindia.com. I recently watched the film ‘The Excorcism of Emily Rose’ by Scott Derrickson and was moved a great deal by it. I would like to know your take on it if you’ve watched it please.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write above: I simply can’t understand why Kamal Haasan still thinks the audience will gleefully accept whatever he manages to throw at them.
Most Indian film-maker suffer from this illusion. They fail to realize that people have lots of choices these days.
2. You write: I have a request for Searchindia.com. I recently watched the film ‘The Excorcism of Emily Rose’ by Scott Derrickson and was moved a great deal by it. I would like to know your take on it if you’ve watched it please.
We’ve just aded your recommendation The Excorcism of Emily Rose to our Netflix queue and intend to watch it shortly.
Your review is certainly lopsided. After seeing the movie one would definitely appreciate kamal’s dialogue delivery body language his studios hard work in researching grasping different characters.
The highlight of the movie and scenes are the Balram Naidu ‘s investigation and pucca dialogue delivery facial expression.
The main scorers are Balram with his witty comments and fletcher with his cool attitude. The expression on kamal when he sees a fellow telugu-waadu is simply awesome!!! I like the entire scene.
Rangaraja nambi episode is worth watching for its great camera work and excellent background score there. if you fail to see it you must be deaf and dump!
And you talk about kamals 3 decade of experience. Guess you live in foolish land. Better be true to yourself and don’t fake yourself believing that there are better actors than kamal in the planet
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write above: don’t fake yourself believing that there are better actors than kamal in the planet
1. Your above comment suggests that you must have lowered the collective IQ of the planet by 90% when you were born.
2. The character of Balram Naidu was OK but Fletcher was ugly in every possible sense.
Guess you got a sick mind and an american mask when you watched the movie. That shows in the way you reviewed it. And your sick mind tells to ignore whatever indian actors does so convincingly for majority indian audience. Nobody asked you to review it idiot.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Reading your comments is like watching human evolution in progress. When do you think you’ll learn to walk on two legs?
Dasavatharam is a piece of utter crap. What Fletcher had was not makeup, it was white canvas shoe polish. You want to see makeup and fine acting, watch Dark Knight.
oh, HOLLYWOOD [trash talk] in the name of MOVIE REVIEWER !!! (yes worst fear come true)
Why would anyone need to see a movie X to appreciate a movie Y. Who will ask “why there are no mangoes that are orange in color!”
Certainly you
Haven’t your substandard brain (if there is one present) apply this simple rule.
Again I repeat your review is PRODUCT of a sick mind and a retarded brain!!!
The reason i stop with this is i don’t want to give undue importance to your site by replying to your [trash talk] replies
I can’t stand the stench from your blabber
SearchIndia.com Responds:
Dumkopf, whoever said Where ignorance is bliss, ’tis folly to be wise surely had you in mind.
It looks like Dasavatharam was the first movie you’ve seen in your life. No wonder, you are hyperventilating over our objective review.
Objective Review What a great tamasha!!! Sheer lack of thought from a drainage mind!!!.
Do you know ABCD of reviewing or atleast acting. Think by just seeing 4 or 5 hollywood movies
anyone can become reviewer. If that is your notion I wonder where this will lead you when you
get rotten eggs on your face for your rotten dish in the name of review.
Now coming to the point DASA is the worst movie you claim!! There are always people
who can get attention by opposing anything. Like commies in India.
If setting things right looks like hyperventilating then its high time to learn fundas or atleast
understand the meaning of acting
Oh God Stop these creatures access to the worlds only true democratic medium net.
Note: Editing messages is not good for a site. That shows your intolerence
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write above: Do you know ABCD of reviewing or atleast acting
If only actors or writers could review movies or books, there wouldn’t be any movie or book reviews. (And in a similar vein if only sensible people could post comments on blogs, you wouldn’t be able to post any comments anywhere.)
2. You write: There are always people who can get attention by opposing anything. Like commies in India.
We agree with your implicit point that Communism is not a worthy ideology. But the commies in India have served a purpose by acting as a pressure point without which the plight of the poor (both urban & rural) would have been far worse. Wonder if Communism has any correlation with the high rate of literacy and human development index in Kerala?
3. You write: Note: Editing messages is not good for a site. That shows your intolerence
Only a dolt like you would make this ridiculous claim. As you can see (if only you could) from the various Bollywood & Kollywood reviews, we publish all strains of opinion including some of the harshest attacks on us. We delete filth and garbage because this is not a forum for depraved minds. As we clearly stated in our About Us section: We usually process most comments promptly except those we consider unacceptable (vulgar, racist, abusive, legally objectionable and malicious attacks on SearchIndia.com fall in this category) If you do not want your content to be deleted, avoid use of filthy language (both explicit and implicit).
4. You Thavakale (frog), if you think Dasavatharam is the ne plus ultra of movies and that Kamal is a non pareil actor, maybe you ought to step out of your well, at least once in a while. Forget Hollywood, there are talented film-makers even in other countries like Brazil, Italy, Hungary, France and Hong Kong. Talent seems to be missing only in Indian movies (just look at the very high ratio of crap to decent movies) . Here’s a short list of some nice foreign movies.
This is exactly the mindset with pseudo intellectuals like you. Never been able to see the local talent or FAILURE to do so because of ingrained prejudices. Of all the actors listed by you where is the great indian satyajit ray, mrinal sen or such persons if not kamal. Clearly it shows your confused desi mind. And you call yourself a great reviewer just by dropping some unknown names which only cater 2 percent of global audience. Hope this clears your foggy mind of all its dirt.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. Your Kamal hardly belongs in the category of great artistes. We have seen plenty of his Tamil movies. At best we can say of Kamal that in the country of the blind the one-eyed man is the king.
2. That you have a writing disability is by now a proven fact but you seem to be afflicted with a reading disability as well. When did we call ourselves great reviewers?
3. You write: And you call yourself a great reviewer just by dropping some unknown names which only cater 2 percent of global audience
You mock us for highlighting some fine foreign movies. Yet you do not hesitate to bring up names like Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen, who hardly have even 0.2% of the audience in India.
4. You write: Never been able to see the local talent or FAILURE to do so because of ingrained prejudices.
Since we are sane people, we can’t see things that don’t exist. You see, it’s hard to see talent where none exists.
If we have any ingrained prejudices, it’s against crappy Indian movies like Dasavatharam, Kuruvi and Sarkar Raj.
Why do you think most Indian movies bomb at the box office? Because they are trash. When you watch fine movies like Blame it on Fidel, Tell No One, Kontroll, Cafe Paradiso, On the Waterfront, Sunset Boulevard, The Departed or Casablanca, you realize how pathetic most of our Indian movies are.
Perhaps, if you weaned yourself away from mind-foggng distractions, then you might be able to think and write coherently.
Dasavatharam was disappointing! Try as I may, I can’t think of anything that stood out in the movie as remarkable or memorable. It is impossible to understand how a genius like Mr Kamal Hassan could possibly come up with a story that seemed tailored to accomodate all ten characters somehow-never mind the incredulity of it all. There was much hype about the makeup used to portray the characters but to be honest, it looked totally artificial and, in the case of the George Bush, Kalifullah and Fletcher characters, rubbery. While the opening scene was really impressive with all the splendour of the 12th century beautifully recreated, the later scenes were so fast-paced and ridiculous that it was impossible to concentrate after a while. To add to that, Asin’s apparent inability to speak a single sentence without shrieking and the constant introduction of new characters (some of them totally unrelated and irrelevant) made watching the movie a real effort. And the crowning glory of the movie was the ‘miracle’of the bullet saving the Punjabi singer’s life by removing the tumour in his throat. (!!!!)
The only roles of Kamal that I found convincing were those of Vincent Boovaragan,Balram Naidu and Rangarajan Nambi. The other roles, atleast in my opinion, were total misfits.
The whole story was supposed to be about the chaos theory and the butterfly effect. IMHO, the movie did nothing to explain or reflect either of these concepts. Kamal tried to tie up all the loose ends by bringing in idea after idea but ended up making a movie that just cannot be digested.
One surprise was that Mallika Sherawat did do justice to her role as seductress and small time criminal. Jayaprada was ravishing in her role as the Punjabi avatar’s wife, but unfortunately, she did not have much of a role to play apart from crying over her husband’s poor health and dancing to a few numbers with him.
About the music, it would suffice to say that the songs in the movie will not live on our minds.
Overall, a huge disappointment. It’s probably worth watching once for the superb 12th century re-enactment at the beginning and the tsunami at the end. But it comes nowhere near Kamal’s other masterpieces and only underlines the truth that you dont need special effects or multiple roles to make a good movie.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write above: But it comes nowhere near Kamal’s other masterpieces and only underlines the truth that you dont need special effects or multiple roles to make a good movie.
Very true. Some of the finest Indian, English and foreign movies we’ve seen hardly had any special effects. For example – Cinema Paradiso (Italian), Central Station (Portuguese), Kontroll (Hungarian), Eastern Promises (English), On the Waterfront (English), The Third Man (English), La Vie en Rose (French), Last King of Scotland (English), Blame it on Fidel (French), Sicko (English documentary), Johnny Gaddar (Hindi) and Manorama Six Feet Under (Hindi).
2. You write: There was much hype about the makeup used to portray the characters but to be honest, it looked totally artificial and, in the case of the George Bush, Kalifullah and Fletcher characters, rubbery
Yes, makeup was a disgrace for George Bush, Kalifullah and Fletcher characters.
To whoever is rebutting the comments on behalf of SearchIndia: Thanks for spanking the “Fan Boys” and sending them on their way :). I honestly wouldn’t have the patience to deal with the lot that thinks that a negative review on their “NADIGAR KADAVUL” is tantamount to blasphemy and subject to lynch-mob justice. They got served, duly.
My opinion on Kamal Haasan has somewhat deteriorated over the years. Who was once a beacon of talent and execution is now over indulging in satisfying his own ego and using the same to market half-baked story lines as “landmark epics.” Dasavatharam is one such fare.
In all fairness, the character of Rangarajan Nambi in the movie was strong and his devotion stirred some emotion in me. What followed after that was like eating a crab cake with very little crab in it. If there was any chaos theory that Kamal wanted to show the audience, it got lost in his egotistical attempt to show his expertise in playing 10 characters, at the expense of pacing and the story itself, and the movie seemed a good 40 minutes too long and with a lot of fat to trim. In addition, I couldn’t associate myself to any of his “avatars”, besides Rangarajan Nambi, whose character displayed a lot of soul and whose screen time is atrociously short.
Other issues with the film, that some of the posts didn’t mention:
1. While Shingen Narahashi is shown as an expert in Aikido, the climax fight with Fletcher had NO AIKIDO MOVES whatsoever. I’ll admit that the initial portrayal of Narahashi doing the aikido moves (Iriminage and Kote Gaiishi, among others) were examples of TEXTBOOK execution. Yet, the final fight was the stale Hong Kong, wire-work fare. As a Nikyu level Aikido practitioner, I know what I’m talking about.
2. “Yen Ya C Yel”!!: Pray tell me why would someone intelligent keep referring to COMMON SALT as “NaCl” to civilians/purported ignoramuses, especially when it’s so instrumental in negating the effects of an extremely lethal virus? I guess if an illiterate person suffering from diarrhea, went to SUPER-SCIENTIST Govind (from the movie) for information on a temporary relief, this is probably what he’d hear, “One spoon ‘C 12 Yech 22 WO 11’, pinch of ‘Yen Ya C Yel’ dissolved in one glass ‘Yech 2 WO’, WOGAY?!!”
The basis of scientific dissemination lies in simplifying technical language, isn’t it? Guess not.
I guess the above will give the Fan Boys something to carp about 🙂
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write above: Who was once a beacon of talent and execution is now over indulging in satisfying his own ego and using the same to market half-baked story lines as “landmark epics.” Dasavatharam is one such fare.
Very true.
2. If there was any chaos theory that Kamal wanted to show the audience, it got lost in his egotistical attempt to show his expertise in playing 10 characters, at the expense of pacing and the story itself, and the movie seemed a good 40 minutes too long and with a lot of fat to trim.
The only chaos in Dasavatharam was in the execution of the crap show. And what’s the big deal in donning roles at the expense of pacing and the story itself (to use your words)
3. As a Nikyu level Aikido practitioner, I know what I’m talking about.
Maybe, you ought to practice against these sycophantic fans, whose only credo seems to be my favorite star über alles. 🙂
4. Irrespective of the poor story, logical inconsistencies and shoddy execution, Dasavatharam seems on its way to becoming a big hit. Guess the message that film producers and directors will draw from Dasavatharam is that freak-shows can still work wonders. And that’s a scary thought because of what it portends for the hapless audience.
I am thinking that all these blogs will instill some sense into Kamal. Although the movie was a success, he has been insulted heavily. I don’t know think he will take it lightly.. Hopefully it will translate into a great Marmayogi.
Although the movie was bad, the effort into Dasavatharam would have been very daunting to others to even try such a freakshow.. Don’t think anyone (other than Kamal) would want to try such a thing again. And I think Kamal would think twice before doing such a thing because of all the bad reviews he got. Atleast I hope so.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
You write: Although the movie was a success, he has been insulted heavily….And I think Kamal would think twice before doing such a thing because of all the bad reviews he got
We are not convinced that at the end of the day Kamal or other top artistes give a flying f*&% for reviews or critics. It’s $, $ and more $ that ultimately calls the shots. Art be damned!
You said: Irrespective of the poor story, logical inconsistencies and shoddy execution, Dasavatharam seems on its way to becoming a big hit. Guess the message that film producers and directors will draw from Dasavatharam is that freak-shows can still work wonders. And that’s a scary thought because of what it portends for the hapless audience.
“If you cannot impress them with brilliance, baffle them with bull****”, and Indian moviegoers have been baffled since into spending money seeing one crappy fare after another. I however don’t sympathize with these people, especially those who display an insane level of sacrosanct fanaticism towards their movie idols (like many Tamil movie fans are) so much so that they’ll swallow whatever crap their ‘KADAVULS’ create in the name of art, as if it were nectar. Such audiences are not “hapless” as you put it. They are well-aware of what they’re seeing, and yet deliberately condone the errors in their pursuit of upholding their “loyalty.”
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. You write above: I however don’t sympathize with these people, especially those who display an insane level of sacrosanct fanaticism towards their movie idols (like many Tamil movie fans are)
Hindi movie fans are no different. Fans of Akshay Kumar (whose latest movie Singh is Kinng, is utter garbage, but still managed to gross about $1.2 million in the opening weekend in the U.S.), SRK, Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan (Sarkar Raj) et al get very upset when their favorite heroes are criticized.
2. You write: Such audiences are not “hapless” as you put it. They are well-aware of what they’re seeing, and yet deliberately condone the errors in their pursuit of upholding their “loyalty.”
We had poor us in the mind not the overzealous fans out to prove their loyalty to the King.
3. You write: “If you cannot impress them with brilliance, baffle them with bull****â€, and Indian moviegoers have been baffled since into spending money seeing one crappy fare after another
The critics and reviewers may fret and fume, rant and rave and hem and haw at movies like Dasavatharam or Singh is Kinng but at the end of the day, Vox populi, vox dei at the box office.
“Hindi movie fans are no different. Fans of Akshay Kumar (whose latest movie Singh is Kinng, is utter garbage, but still managed to gross about $1.2 million in the opening weekend in the U.S.), SRK, Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan (Sarkar Raj) et al get very upset when their favorite heroes are criticized.”
I only speak from personal experiences.
I always found the Tamil movie-hero fans to be bigger fan-boys than the Hindi movie-hero fans. There’s a very devout Rajinikanth fan I know who artificially created gash on his forehead with a blade upon discovering (from one of his movies from 4-5 yrs back) that his hero had one too. Sadly, he’s balding like his hero too :). Now, I can understand copying hair-do’s, but THAT’s a little extreme. I haven’t known a male SRK or Amitabh Bachchan fan who has carved himself up :).
In addition, with reference to rebuttals to criticisms in the form of physical threats, I am yet to be subjected to one from a SRK fan (who I love berating), but I have been threatened with physical harm for berating Rajinikanth or Kamal Haasan or their movies.
That said, your experiences might be different than mine.
SearchIndia.com Responds:
When Rajinikanth’s marriage was on the rocks in the mid-1980s, his fans from the slums gathered outside the superstar’s house in Poes Garden (Chennai) to prevent the divorce.
Brief excerpt follows below from The Name is Rajinikanth by Gayathri Sreekanth P.289-290
Heavy crowd had gathered in front of Rajinikanth’s house.
“Don’t separate.”
“Anni, don’t leave him. We will die.”
The mob was getting hysterical and Kuppu’s voice was lost in the din.
“I must draw the attention of superstar annan’, he thought and frantically looked around, ‘with so many people around how can I tell him that he is too great to contemplate mundane things like a divorce?’
An idea struck him. He popped the kerosene can open, lifted it and poured the entire content over himself.
“Long live Thalaivar,” he shouted as much as his laryngeal muscles allowed him and lit a matchstick.
Kuppu was admitted in the special burns ward of the Government Kilpaulk Hospital with 60% burns.
He died a week later.
**********
Guess you are right when you found the Tamil movie-hero fans to be bigger fan-boys than the Hindi movie-hero fans.
We haven’t heard of SRK or Hrithik fans demonstrating their affection, loyalty, frustration, agony or helplessness in such a fiery fashion.
this is a absolute fake makeover lot the reviews from different magazine ,newspaper and websites.all the reviewrs have givne thumsup. behindwoods has said that movie is superb and they have said about 10 pluspoints and only two minus points. but you have highlighted only minuspoints. hindu express and have given 4 stars for this movie.
http://www.behindwoods.com/tamil-movie-reviews/reviews-1/dasavatharam-movie-review.html
SearchIndia.com Responds:
1. This is what the Hindu paper, you so dearly love, had to say about Vishal in Satyam.
Donning khakhi with conviction and saluting with passion, the young hero has slogged to play the policeman to perfection. None can question Vishal’s sincerity.
After reading the above sentences from Hindu, one can be forgiven for questioning whether monkeys are reviewing movies at Hindu.
2. You write above: …has said that movie is superb and they have said about 10 pluspoints and only two minus points
Actually, the minuses outweigh the so-called plusses in Dasavatharam. Sometimes, less is more.
Reviews from express ,rediff ,behindwoods,sify,yahoo all have given more than three stars for the movie and all have given more pluspoints than minus points.ofcourse there are few flaws say one or two flaws in the movie commited by kamal which he himself accepted.he is also a humanbeing.but it is a blockbuster