
One striking feature
that hits you in the face once you have watched ‘Dasavatharam’ is
Kamal Haasan's passion for filmmaking. All the ten roles he has
essayed have been meticulously planned right from the body
language to dialogue delivery. Be it the American president George
Bush, the Vaishnavite priest of the 12th century or Fletcher, the
American baddie.
The eyes are considered the most effective tools in creating the
right kind of attitude for any actor and Kamal Haasan is a master
at that. There are many a time in the film when the audience would
have to force themselves to believe that it is the same actor who
is the good guy as well as the bad guy.
The expressive and determined eyes of the priest, the mushy and
yet funny countenance of Balaram Naidu, the hilarious CBI officer
and the peaceful martial artist eyes of the Japanese character
have all shaped up to fit into any acting text book. Hats off to
Kamal Haasan on the acting front!!
Based loosely on Chaos theory, the narration of the film promises
a lot of excitement and as the story unfolds, somewhere down the
line there are a few missing links that have been forcefully
stitched together. Govind, the bio-scientist in the United States
of America has been wronged by his boss who has intentions of
selling his invention to wrong hands. The determined scientist
doesn't give up. He sneaks it away and after a few accidents the
invention lands in India. The hunt and race against time
especially with Fletcher, the ex-CIA baddie sniffing at his neck
with murderous intent culminates into Govind meeting an
irrationally sentimental and at times sweet Andal (Asin). The
baddie with sizzling Mallika Sherawat for company proceeds along
the vulnerable Indian security system and shows up at the right
places at the right time.
The narration then makes sure most of the characters played by
Kamal get into close proximity in terms of geography. The stunt
sequences are quite professional with its share of thrilling
moments, but then there are too many coincidences consistently.
The protagonist and his slowly, but surely falling-in-love lady
companion seem to be jumping off just about everything. Soft
landing seems to be a predictable option at most times.
When it comes to action and stunt scenes, ‘Dasavatharam’ is head
and shoulders above most Indian films. The music element in the
film is passable with some breathtaking re-recording bits in
patches.
Cinematography has been simply awesome. The heavy compositing and
trick shots have not dampened Ravi Varman's innate talent at
creating the right kind of mood the film depicts.
‘Dasavatharam's’ review can never be complete without talking
about the makeup part. Apart from the desired result one can guess
the kind of effort and hard work Kamal Haasan would have had to go
through just to get them on and that too on a daily basis. Makeup
has been good overall except for a few shots that show off a kind
of plastic look.
Computer Generated Imagery plays a huge role in the film. When the
same actor plays seven feet plus youth and an old woman who is
barely five feet, one can imagine the kind of intensive scaling
and image manipulation by the CG team. Recreation of the 2004
Tsunami is impressive and the action part weaves the intensity of
the story.
The direction has been apt sticking to the script in the true
sense of the term. K. S. Ravikumar known for his simple style of
narration has not been himself with ‘Dasavatharam’, but has shown
sparks of ingenuity.
Kamal Haasan has stuck to his favorite subject of the 'no God'
debate in this film too and has glorified himself probably for the
first time on screen with a dialogue directed at him as being the
'Ulaga Nayagan'.
With Kamal Haasan playing ten roles, all other actors have been
completely overshadowed.
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