Apr 23, 2004 01:22 PM
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(Updated Apr 23, 2004 01:22 PM)
Thevar Magan:
Review : Ahh......the two wonders of tamil cinema finally working together. Don't know who I am talking about? Sivaji Ganeshan and his prodigy Kamal Hassan -thats who. If watching them act at thier best in individual projecs is a treat for tamil movie fans, watching them play the roles of father and son respectively will surely be cinema's equivalent of a hardon.
More on that later. Thevar Magan is the story of a village torn by a war between the two most powerful families. Sivaji Ganeshan is the head of the most respected, and most liked of the two familes. He has two sons played by Wijay Adiraj and Kamal Hassan. Adiraj is a drunkard and recieves the disdain of his father, while Kamal Hassan is english educated and ambitious, choosing urban culture of Chennai over his family roots.
The other Family head is run by Sivaji's younger brother, played by a wonderful old man whose name I can never seem to remember (Kaka something). He is old, frail and doesn't gain half the respect or love of the villagers that his elder brother commands; instead he chooses violence to instill fear in them. His only son played by Naseer is the brawns of the outfit regularly provoking fights between the familes.
The movie follows the fortunes of these characther as tensions between the two familes rise, and the consequences of the fighting. Shades of the Godfather? After reading the above, any film buff will look up and say, ''hey this is a Godfather rip off!'', and in many ways they are right because at face value the influence of Coppola's masterpiece is all too aparent. What is not apparent for non tamil movie fans is that this movie can stand on its own legs and be counted.
For starters the central themes of both Godfather and Thevar Magan are similar, but universal: Love, love of family, loyalty, betrayal, changing cultural values. The differance is that one is about Italian immigrants' power struggle in America, the other is a power struggle of families in a small Indian village. Added to this, Thevar Magan's main strength is how well rounded the charachters are. The Director and screenwriter(Kamal Hassan himself) have gone to great pains to give each character a voice and a say in the overall context of the plot.
For example, Vadivelu, an actor regularly given roles as the village idiot, gets a chance to shine here , albeit as the village idiot, but with greater depth. In the end though the most talked about aspect of the movie will be the acting. Boasting a cast led by Sivaji and Kamal Hassan is one thing. Getting jaw dropping performances from them is another. Both of them don't act out the roles of father and son, instead they become the father and son: When Sivaji's characther is angry and shouts at Kamal, the response is not forced. It is almost instinctive, the kind most of us give to our fathers when they are in a sour mood.
It is that kind of acting that elevates this movie, almost destined for greatness, to a higher level. The rest of the cast is not far behind, although they are pale in the shadows of the fathers-son relationship that Sivaji and kamal build up. Having said all that, the movie is not flawless. If there is one thing I don't like about Kamal Hassan scripted (and directed) films is that there are instances where the momentum of the movie is stopped by one useless scene or poorly executed scene.
There is a scene in Thevar Magan where Kamal is provoked into taking part in a traditional martial arts match. Instead of taking the scene realistically, Kamal dives into an ego trip filled with stunts meant to impress the audience; It only made me wonder if they are aware of the laws of gravity.
Godfather changed Hollywood with its back to basics plot and execution; Thevar Magan learnt from Godfather, but it is not a student that copies the master.
